by dozy 81 Replies latest watchtower bible
Hmmmm... It is quite interesting that a study article on the two groups would fail to mention "144000."
This issue, too, was one that got me wondering even before the huge bump a few years ago.
But if you think about it, this is the next doctrine which needs an overhaul, and getting rid of the literal number will certainly buy them plenty more time, if it doesn't wake too many people up!
Soooooooon they will provide "NOOOOOO Light" beginning with:
......did I forget any?
In the meantime, no one should "run ahead of Jehovah's celestial chariot" by stating publicly that they might change the 144,000 to mean a figurative instead of literal number, or read the WT with the numbers increasing after the initial WT strudy, as it will be reading past WT information that might be written by apostates, not new information.
I think they've been slowly laying the groundwork for changing this doctrine for the past few years. They've made it quite clear in the WT study articles over the last couple of years that none of the 'annointed', outside of the Slobbering Body members, have any special "insight" into anything, and even made the comment a few years ago that they have no more 'Holy Spirit' than the R&F. This is obviously being done for two reasons: 1) So no 'annointed' person can ask any uncomfortable doctrinal questions and 2)To elevate the goons at the top even further.
I'm guessing that the next step will be to announce that only the Governing Body members themselves comprise the "Faithful and Discreet Slave" and that it does not apply to any others professing to have the 'heavenly hope' (if they haven't done this already). This will probably be somewhat shocking to alot of JWs, but they'll just carry on business as per usual. Once this has been accepted, it won't matter one bit to the GB if they make the '144,000' a "symbolic number" since they will effectively have reduced any sort of power or 'special insight', to that of the R&F with the 'earthy hope'. After that, you'll probably see the number of partakers skyrocket.
I did an interesting thread about the 144,000 a few years ago whereby they try claiming that the "Israel of God" is referring to mankind in general. My jaw dropped when I read this, so if you're interested, here's the link: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/164387/1/HERES-A-BOMBSHELL-ABOUT-THE-144-000-DOCTRINE
....announce that only the Governing Body members themselves comprise the "Faithful and Discreet Slave"
Mary, as much as this would consolidate control, I see this as a dangerous liability move from a legal standpoint. Now the world would have specific individuals to hang for advice/direction given. The FDS as a concept is way more slippery.
It is really trempting, but I doubt the lawyers within will let them do it.
Wow they have spirit directed lawyers ???
now we see where they get their direction from
who'd a thought it ;)
Now the world would have specific individuals to hang for advice/direction given. The FDS as a concept is way more slippery.
True enough. But unfortunately, it's still incredibly difficult to sue a religion right now as the courts feel that it's interfering with the 'freedom of religion' guarantee that they presently enjoy and since the GB seem to be getting more and more paranoid about losing control, I think it's a safe bet that they're not always going to make the smart decisions........Even if someone tried suing them, they've got an unlimited supply of lawyers, which the average person does not have access to. To me, they'll simply carry on with increasing impunity......from a legal point of view, I can't see that it would really affect them very much.
It does occur to me that they could make a move in the direction of dropping the literal 144,000 without actually saying the words:
They could simply bring up "new light" that says everybody (including the great crowd) should partake of the emblems. Then, there would be nothing public to count (they could easily suppress the tick marks on the publishers record cards) and the whole thing would lose its symbolic meaning. Everybody would be happy about this new light because it meant they got a new priviledge that makes them sort of special.
I discussed this with Ed Dunlap about 35 years ago, and while he was in favor of everybody partaking - he refused to support this idea because it was essentially dishonest. He wanted them to just admit that the literal 144,000 was completely crazy numerology - as bad as the pyramid dimensions to come up with 1914. He waid the writing department was well aware of how ridiculous the numbers were, given the facts about first century christians - for years ago but were stubbornly holding on to this anyway as a foundation doctrine from old Rutherford & Co.
I'm guessing that the next step will be to announce that only the Governing Body members themselves comprise the "Faithful and Discreet Slave" and that it does not apply to any others professing to have the 'heavenly hope' (if they haven't done this already). This will probably be somewhat shocking to alot of JWs, but they'll just carry on business as per usual. Once this has been accepted, it won't matter one bit to the GB if they make the '144,000' a "symbolic number" since they will effectively have reduced any sort of power or 'special insight', to that of the R&F with the 'earthy hope'. After that, you'll probably see the number of partakers skyrocket.
I agree with Mary - this is more probably the logical direction. There is a lot of evidence in the magazines already to support this.
I still think it would be a wasted opportunity to get rid of the weird notion of only about a tenth of a percent of true christians celebrating the last supper.
Hello there James_Woods :))
"They could simply bring up "new light" that says everybody (including the great crowd) should partake of the emblems."
How could that be Newlight for an organization that claims it's directed by holy spirit?
that would mean that Babylon's light is brighter than theirs ;)
everybody else already partake
Consider this. Most books of religion stick to generality and, therefore, cannot be invalidated by specifics. The dodge is in the interpretation of the generality.
You can't pin anything down to get rid of it.
Where religions like JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES screw up totally and expose themselves to disproof is SPECIFICITY. They only become explicitly SPECIFIC when it comes to their obsession with chronology (date setting) and their fetish for the 144,000 as literal.
This is a big fat target for disproof over and over.
Both Pastor Russell and J.F.Rutherford for a couple of decades exposed themselves to embarassing refutation with Pyramidology. Rutherford had to do a 180 flip flop after defending that silliness. The Pyramidology teaching was used as PROOF of chronology's accuracy (i.e. 1914). This was a blow!
The question that must be asked aloud again and again and again:
"Okay, you were dead wrong--but, tell us how you were being DIRECTED BY JEHOVAH all that time you were wrong?"
