I was going to partake this year but I didn't get to attend the memorial. After reading the bible and realizing I have the heavenly hope I began to doubt JW's as having the truth. The insomnia due to researching the Society and stimulants I took to stay awake led to a mental breakdown and I was hospitalized. So even if I had remained in the borg as a fader & started to partake they would have dismissed me as mentally imbalanced like the QFR suggests.
Were any of you anointed?
by TimothyT 70 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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sizemik
I was considering being annointed as an alternative job skill.
A career move . . . . love it!
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Iamallcool
Aguest (Shelby) was anointed JW.
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Botzwana
What does the Bible mean when it says beware for those partaking unworthily though?
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ProdigalSon
an invitation to ALL who wanted to be in union with Him.
Interesting Tammy. You're no longer believe that there's a special class, but you're still holding onto Watchtower terminology that ensures completely missing the point about what it means to be "anointed".
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iamwhoiam
my grandmother claims annointed, she has been partaking for as long as ive been alive. when i asked her how she knew she was one...she simply said that it was because there was no desire in her to live forever on earth.
an old friend of mine who partook said that while he was driving from new york to florida, he had a vision of ruling in heaven that he can't explain in words. he said he was so freaked out that he then felt the presence of an angel in the backseat of his car assuring him that "everything is going to be alright".
anyone else have or have heard anything like this?
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Awen
The term "anointed" in my opinion simply means one who has received the Holy Spirit. You ask, you get it, you're anointed. Nothing special about it no matter what the WTS says. The use of WT terminology is just a way of expressing what we're talking about. But for myself I know when I use the term it doesn't mean I'm part of some elite sort of class for the simple reason that Jesus said the Holy Spirit is available to ANYONE who asks for it. Also Jesus said that anyone who wants to be first must be last and anyone who wants to be leader over all must be servant of all. Again speaking for myself I don't want to be anyone's leader or teacher, but out of Love for Christ I share what I have been taught.
ALL Christians should partake of the Memorial emblems.
The WTS has tried to turn the emblems into something they're not. They have tried to say that because the Apostles were the only ones present with Christ when he instituted the Lord's Evening Meal (again WT terminology just so you know what I'm talking about) that they somehow had a special standing with him that the disciples did not. There is nothing in the Bible that even remotely presents this as the truth.
The GB also uses the partaking as some outward sign of some special standing with Christ. This would be akin to praying in a public place so as to be seen by others, when in fact you should pray in private so as to not put on a show for others.
The ones who have received the Holy Spirit or to use the WT terminology "anointed" are no better than anyone else. Period. All it means is you have answered the call. It does NOT mean you will definitely rule with Christ. It means the invitation to be part of Christ's Body has been sent. If you accept it then you have the possibility of gaining some sort of life in the new heavens or the new earth, Nothing is written in stone and it's up to use to make sure of that calling by working in harmony with the HS (paying attention to where it leads us and doing just so). This is also an act of mercy on God's part. It has to be kept in mind that we don't deserve this and there's nothing we can do to deserve it. So why do follow the leading of the Spirit? Out of love for God, Christ and our neighbor. Not for selfish gain or to have some sort of "authority" over others, but out of love for God, Christ and our fellow man.
What we do with that invitation is completely up to us. We might answer the call and bury our talent in the field and thus prove "unworthy" or we might produce fine works befitting Christ.
The GB has made it into some elitist nonsense, as if they're somehow better than everyone else. This is false.
In my opinion, based upon Bible reading and the urging from the Holy Spirit every person on this planet who identifies themselves as a Christian should partake of the Memorial emblems. To do otherwise is to deny Christ.
When I understood this back in 1997 I started partaking at the Memorial which some considered unusual because I was only 28 years old. There is no age limit. It's a requirement of ALL Christians which commemorates the sacrifice of Jesus and the partaking is an outward expression of faith, much like Baptism.
Some would ask how do you know if the Holy Spirit has been "poured out" upon you (which is what anointing actually means)?
For me it was knowing things about people I had no way of knowing. Being able to read the heart as it were. Sometimes prophecy comes into play but for me not often and if it does it's usually having to do with myself alone. It also gives a different understanding of the Bible than what is in the WT articles or other Christian periodicals. I can recall reading the WT articles and "hear" a "voice" (some might call it an urging or pushing to go in a certain direction with a train of thought or action) that would tell me the WT was incorrect then point me towards the correct scripture. I have never read the Bible all the way through and many times I would be pointed to a particular book of the Bible and find the answer I needed.
When it first happened I thought perhaps I was under some sort of demonic influence (you know how JW's love to think that) and that is what was speaking to me, but after a while I discounted it because when I would "listen" and do what was asked, everything would work out fine. If I didn't, then disaster would strike. I couldn't use the ability for self-gain. It has always been in service to another. What I mean is I can't pick winning lottery numbers (I have tried..LOL). It simply doesn't work that way. I also sometimes get physical sensations like my whole body becomes very hot (as if I have a fever). I even feel the sensation on the top of my head as if there were a flame there.
I know this sounds hokey. Sometimes doubt creeps in. But time and experience have taught me that it isn't. It's not hokey nonsense, it's quite real and sometimes a little scary because of the realization of the enormous responsibility I have to myself and everyone around me. To Love everyone as if they were my own body. It's very difficult sometimes. Sometimes I just wanna smack people, but that's wrong and so I don't (but the urge is still there, :P)
It's not easy to type these very personal things out, but it always bothered me that no one in the Org would ever share what it's like. It took me meeting another of the Body of Christ in Chester, SC to reinforce that what I was experiencing was real. I have also speken with others on this board privately and on the telephone and our experiences are the same or very close to one another. Could it be a mass psychosis? Doesn't seem likely when you consider the similarities and the different cultural backgrounds and personalities involved.
No, something else is going on here. Oh and yes I have been to several Psychiatrists over the years because of this and was given a clean bill of health by all of them. Just in case you wondered.
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N.drew
Wow Awen, that is the best post I ever read on any Bible forum. Thank you for sharing.
Mass psychosis? LOL, I think you have to be present with the other ones for that to be real.
I don't think "mass" works if two people experience similar phenomenon but each person has never seen or heard of the other one.
Perfect post, thanks!
So according to the experience of anointing, it is not anointed, it is a process of anointing. Just like they say it is not once saved always saved. It is submission to the requests coming from God via holy spirit.
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designs
When I went to the Christian Millennial Fellowship (First Beakaway group from the Bible Students 1906) I partook, it was nice and a warm hearted group, and I partook at the final Memorial I attended as a witness, probably more in contempt and to say goodbye. After several years of exploring local Churches and Synagogues I was done with religion. Now its all pretty good everyday just being free.
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Magwitch
I had a Bible study that ended up getting baptized. She always professed of being of the annointed. I was always so embarrassed. She would say "I do not want to be annointed - I cannot help that I was chosen." She joined another church a couple years after her baptism. I was quite pleased.