What is God's Rest? Watchtower Study Articles for 12-25 September

by TimothyT 9 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  TimothyT

  In a few weeks I am going to be disfellowshipped for being gay and my dad told me that I may want to read the two study articles coming up in the 15 July 2011, Watchtower regarding entering into God’s rest. I thought I would share my thoughts with you all.

  The first article on page 24 is entitled: “God’s Rest-What Is It?”

  It explains what God’s rest is and why it is important. As with all the Watchtower publications, it focuses on three eras: mosaic, messianic, and the present. I agreed with everything I read up until the last heading: “Entering into God’s Rest Today”. Despite the fact that the article just spoke about the importance of having faith and obedience in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the article appears to imply that there is a new entity in which we must place our faith and confidence! YOU GUESSED IT!!! “We can enter into Jehovah’s rest—or join him in his rest—by obediently working in harmony with his advancing purpose as it is revealed to us through his organization”. Can a true Christian really accept that this organisation has replaced Jesus Christ as Jehovah’s instrument through which we can have salvation? (1 Tim 2:5)

  The second article on page 28 is entitled “God’s Rest-Have you entered into it?” and is far more controversial (and from my dad’s point of view is quite immoral).

  On page 29, the heading entitled “Keep Pace with Jehovah’s Organisation” follows on from the previous article about trusting in the organisation. If one assumes what the bible teaches is correct and that Jesus is still the means that we enter into Jehovah’s rest then this section is irrelevant. These us terms such as “God’s unfolding purpose”. I was under the impression that his purpose for us at the moment has been unfolded and once completed, new scrolls would then be opened. Again the organisation is cast in the light that it has replaced the older arrangements, those of the mosaic and messianic laws.

  The next heading: “When Someone We Love Leaves Jehovah” is detestable and in my dad’s eyes, immoral. As this article is coming up around the time of my being disfellowshipped, it is going to give the wrong impression to many. Paragraph 12 says: “Suppose, for example, that the only son of an exemplary Christian couple leaves the truth. Preferring “the temporary enjoyment of sin” to a personal relationship with Jehovah and with his godly parents, the young man is disfellowshipped.” I believe the article makes the readers assume that if one is disfellowshipped then he is “enjoying” sin, for example by leading a sordid life of pleasure. Then to say that this one has sacrificed his relationship with Jehovah for this, is taking it a step further. In my case, I am certainly not living this life because I’m “enjoying” sin, and I don’t feel my relationship with Jehovah has been sacrificed. The only thing that gets me is that the brothers and sisters whom I have been friendly with will likely assume that about me.

  The rest of this section encourages parents to quite literally sever all their ties with their disfellowshipped children. It encourages parents to stick to Jehovah and his council on the matter, making them out to be victims. Paragraph 17 says: “How would Jehovah feel, though, if the parents of an unrepentant wrongdoer kept putting Him to the test by having unnecessary association with their disfellowshipped son or daughter?” If this isn’t guilt tripping, I don’t know what is! My dad told me he would never give me up for this kind of nonsense. Cheers papa!

  All in all, I enjoy looking at such articles and trying to understand the truth in the bible. I have a good idea what God’s rest is now, but I have also proven to myself, and hopefully those who have read this, that the JW’s have a very warped idea of what God’s rest really is.
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  thetrueone

  Paragraph 17 says: “How would Jehovah feel, though, if the parents of an unrepentant wrongdoer kept putting Him to the test by having unnecessary association with their disfellowshipped son or daughter?”

  I think its fair to say that the WTS. is cranking up their cult control over people since they are up against the wall in being exposed as corrupt

  house of devious charlatans. God equates to fear and guilt which these people exploit to maintain their position of power in the organization.

  Flipper on the forum did a thread recently on how the WTS. has been deliberately cranking the stay away from DFed persons even if they are

  family or not.
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  journey-on

  Timothy, your dad sounds like a man who has natural affection. The witnesses teach that in the last days there would be none. They need to look at their own organization to see it being fulfilled right there among themselves...the loss of natural affection.

  The WTS is slowly but surely putting the screws in tight and twisting...twisting the scriptures, that is. Their brainwashing techniques work on most of their followers, but there are some like your dad who are able to see with seeing eyes and hear with hearing ears. They know what's going on because their heart knows. They are being guided by God's Love, and are able to see right through the teachings of men.

  The best advice I can give for young people in the organization today is: DON'T GET BAPTIZED BY THE WTS. My nephew was raised in it by a fanatical mother and strong elder father. He never took the step to get baptized although they cajoled him to death. He left when he got old enough and just stopped going to meetings. He is not shunned and never has been. Yet, my brother, who was baptized as a ten year old, was disfellowshipped and my sister and bil shun him and condemn him. His lifestyle is probably no different from the nephew's, but the difference is...he got baptized.
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  iamwhoiam

  “We can enter into Jehovah’s rest—or join him in his rest—by obediently working in harmony with his advancing purpose as it is revealed to us through his organization”.

  Simpler version : We are only worthy of Jehovah's rest if we are obeying what he does/does't say as interpreted by the Watchtower.
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  thetrueone

  The inquisitive question remains why does a super natural spirit need to rest their tired weary body if they don't have a body of flesh and bones..

  Oh I forgot this is mythology . Duh

  They had great imaginations back in those days didn't they, all epistemic to the human ignorance in which they had to endure in that era of

  mankind's history.
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  Larsinger58

  Interesting. Just what is God "resting" from during the millennium?

  Obviously, a world influenced by Satan. God is resting from Satan during the millennium, during which time Satan is abyssed.

  LS
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  the-illuminator81

  This is soooo 1984-like. War is Peace.

  God's rest, what is it? Work.

  Rest = Work

  WORK WORK WORK
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  WTWizard

  God's "rest"? You mean the endless toil of going to the same doors, knocking with the same message, and getting the same people and expecting different results? People have been known to do that their whole lives, with no results. They die stagnant and devoid of any accomplishment. To me, that is a complete waste of life.

  And for what? The end was originally supposed to happen in 1874--as promised in 1872. Of course, that failed--and they just changed the date. By the time they reached 1914, they had already tampered with it several times. For sure, when 1914 came, they should have been held to it. Yet, they simply tampered with the message and put 1914 as the beginning, not the end, of the end. And the generation that saw 1914 was supposed to still be present when the end came--now they are stringing generations like Christmas tree lights. Some rest that is.

  As for the being gay, the Washtowel Babble and Crap Slaveholdery is hypocritical. They bash homosexuality. At the same time, they do things that pair same-sex people together for prolonged periods. They do this all the time at Beth Hell. Too many present and former projects where someone is supposed to assist someone else, including the home Bible Washtowel study, pair same-sex people for periods of 6 months and up. This, plus that they rarely get to meet opposite sex people for the purpose of dating, may bring out latent homosexuals into active homosexuality. Yet, they will not discontinue the practice or balance same-sex exposure with opposite sex exposure. They are too paranoid of straight fornication--yet they are bringing latent homosexuals into becoming practicing homosexuals. Hypocrites, all of them.

  Which further downgrades their "rest". Do things to drive them to doing things you yourself proclaim are wrong, then punish them. Some rest that is.
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  moggy lover

  Much of the theological argumentation on which the Watchtower article is based, derives from a totally idiosyncratic reading of the text found at Gen 2:3. I can find no competent translation that parallels the NW"T" here, and it must be accepted that Freddy Franz's attempt at rendering the Hebrew here is more doctrinal than lexical.

  Franz insisted on translating the verb "S-H-aB-ath" here as a complex perfect passive which in turn yielded the expression: "He has been resting". By constructing, quite unjustifiably, I believe, the verb this way, Franz has hoodwinked the rank and file followers into believing that whatever else "God's rest" may mean, it is continuing on till this day. The articles in the July 2011 Watchtower are entirely predicated on this fallacious argument.

  Since Yahweh's rest evidently continues on till our day, and since he evidently left the GB in charge of disposing how this rest should effect His people, it evidently means that everything the GB dictates must be accepted without either criticism or verification. That is a bit too much "evidently" for my liking, and methinks the Society doth plead too much, to cover up the inadequacy of firmer revelation.

  Every Hebrew grammar I can lay my hands on shows that the verb here is a "qal preterite" which means it is best translated as a simple past in English. This why most competent translations here say "God rested". Indeed the same form of the same verb occurs at Ex 31:17, and here the NW"T" has the word "rested". Thus the same event is related to us in two separate verses, and while Franz was content to use the simple past at Ex 31, he suddenly felt some petulant impulse to use the perfect passive at Gen 2. Talk about consistency!

  Do not be in awe of these men, who as leaders of the Watchtower movement, have abrogated to themselves authority that is not theirs to have. Rather than emulating the Christian Saviour, they are displaying that they have inherited, like the Pharisees, their true calling from their father. [Jo 8:44]

  Not myself being gay, I am regret not being able to empathize with you, but whether straight or gay, we must all walk the perilous road of human existence according to the light we have been given, and we must all pursue our own purpose in life. You are the captain of your own destiny, and you do not need intolerant men of dubious spirituality and whose hands have for all time been stained with the blood of those innocents who have bowed to their pompous will, to quantify your reality.

  All of us must seek meaning in our lives, and the quest for such serenity is what ennobles the human spirit. The quest itself is a journey, not a terminus, and the goal may never be realized in this life. But the adventure is to participate, and live it and to be enthralled each day by it. Cherish the journey and love life in all its manifestations and beauty.
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  MrFreeze

  God gets tired sometimes and needs to take a nap. He can't be bothered worrying about who's doing what.