Is the Organization a self-appointed group of people and is it any better or worse than the rest of “Christendom?” Of course it is much better than Christendom. There have been shed blood 'in the name of God' in war or crusades or anything of that sort by JW's. There has never been anyone burned to a stake or killed because they disagreed with something JW's teach. There have never been any meddling in politics and government disobeying Jesus' clear command to stay separate from the world. Instead of clinging to human traditions and "Christianized" pagan philosophies, JW's are humble enough to discard any wrong teachings that are not in harmony with God's word the Bible. Isn't the church still promoting it's same pagan doctrines it was 1,000 years ago?
Thanks for the response, Recovery. Still, you have not answered the question.
My church can make the same claim. We haven't burned anyone at the stake. As for meddling in politics and government, there is no "clear command" to stay separate from the world. In fact, Jesus said we were to be in the world, but not of the world. Voting and being a member of the armed service is nowhere condemned in the scriptures, nor did the early church fathers or any of the early apocryphal writings not in the Bible ever indicate that it was forbidden. Of course, one must use one's own conscience in these matters, but God's people have always supposed to have been in the world but not of the world — yet they supported the crown when called to service in the Old Testament. And before the crown, they fought under the prophets, holy men of God.
You also say that the churches of today are "still promoting [the] same pagan doctrines it was 1,000 years ago." In some cases, yes, but what pagan doctrines are you talking about? The JWs have preached that the doctrine of man having a spirit was a pagan doctrine when the early church and the Old Testament church both taught that man had a spirit. Not only that, but that he existed before he came to the Earth. This is supported by many accounts of Near Death Experiences (NDEs) where people have visited the spirit world and met people they remembered from before their birth into mortality. Some had lived hundreds of years before; others, several thousand. And then there are the words of God to Jeremiah: " Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5)
In short, Jeremiah was called of God and ordained a prophet before he was born. And the apostles asked the Lord concerning the man who was born blind: " Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9) Bible commentators have long answered this by saying that it was an old Hebrew trandition that people could sin before birth, and that the consequences of such sins resulted in human defects during the lifetimes of the people who sinned. Still, Jesus did not correct them by instructing them that they were in error for asking such a question. Instead, he put a new spin on it by saying, no, the man was born blind so " that the works of God should be made manifest in him." This also is confirmed in many NDEs where many people were born blind or deaf, yet when they visited Paradise, they could both see and hear.
In the New Testament, the body was frequently referred to as a "tabernacle" inhabited by a spirit. Other scriptures referred to the body as a garment that could be put off. Paul stated: " For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you." (Philippians 1:22-23) Why didn't he say he had a desire to fall asleep in Christ, but to abide with you is more needful for you?" Too many "soul sleepers" chase after Ecclesiastes, where Solomon states there is no wisdom in the grave; however, Solomon had lived a wicked life and his body was bowed down with age. His meanderings had to do with those things that occurred "under the sun." It was not an eschatological writing, but a philosophical writing. He had married outside the faith, he had erected heathen altars to false gods. He had sinned mightily and to him the afterlife held nothing but pain and disappointment. He also wasn't a prophet, but a king.
In short, your answer is that by the process of elimination you know that the Jehovah's Witnesses is the only true and living church in the world. But that's not an answer. The question of how God conveyed this acceptance to the Bible Students remains unanswered.
You also mentioned the two prophets of Revelation 11. Here John is speaking about the final assault on Jerusalem by Gog, the Beast or the Antichrist (Ezekiel 38-39) These are not figurative prophets in my view, but literal. Some believe them to be Enoch and Elijah or John and Elijah, all who were taken into heaven without tasting death. But there's nothing to prevent them from being two new unknown prophets. These prophets will have the literal power to call down fire and cause famine and draughts in defense of Jerusalem. (See also Zechariah 12-14)
Their literal corpses have been revived and they have been resurrected and are now going to heaven. But 1 Corinthians 15 tells us 'flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God'. This large combination of things leads us to conclude that these are not 3.5 literal days, or 84 hours. Further proof of this in found back in verse 7 "And when they have finished their witnessing, the wild beast that ascends out of the abyss will make war with them and conquer them and kill them.." Most people agree that the wild beast is the Anglo-American world power. Notice it says the wild beast 'ascends out of the abyss', meaning it appears during this time period. It is in the present tense. This had to have occurred sometime after the Wild Beast emerged (1914).
This exegesis is one of the most bizarre I've ever read, no offense. And it's an excellent example of why biblical interpretations should never be of any private interpretation. You say that the two prophets can't stand up literally and ascend into heaven because "flesh and blood" cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. This is true, but when men are resurrected, they will not resurrect as spirits, but will resurrect as flesh and bone animated by spirit, just as Jesus was. Remember that Jesus went out of his way to show his disciples that he was not a spirit, for "a spirit hath not flesh and bone as ye see that I have." See? Flesh and bone. As a spiritual being, Jesus could go through walls and ceilings. He also could travel great distances with the speed of thought. Blood was the corruptible element in his body that did not course through his veins as a resurrected being. The same thing is true for the two prophets. They stood on their feet and ascended into heaven. Keep in mind that they don't ascent to heaven, but ascend to meet the returning Christ, whose feet will stand at that day upon the Mount of Olives. An earthquake will rend the city, part to the north and part to the south; and the fleeing Jews will run into the great rift. When they see him, one will ask where he got the wounds in his hands; and he will reply that he received them in the house of his friends (see Zechariah 12-14). At that point, there will be a great lamentation throughout the land, for they will realize that their fathers killed him in the Meridian of Time and that they killed their Messiah.
The beast also is not the Anglo-American world power, but a great army that comes from the North. My own theory is that it will be China or Turkey. The only thing we know is that whatever the army of the beast is, it will be combined with the armies that surround Israel (Zechariah 12). The two prophets will minister in Jerusalem, and by the time the armies of the Beast come down upon the Holy City, the United States will no longer be a world power. Otherwise, it would have come to the defense of Israel.
Finally, regarding 1914, certainly you know it's just another year dreamed up by the Bible students. When Christ did not return in that year, a new spin was placed on the prophecy. Instead of being a literal prophecy, it was an "invisible" return. It's kind of like transubstantiation. You take the tokens of wine and bread and it invisibly transforms to the literal blood and flesh of the Savior. Because it's invisible, there's no way to prove it or disprove it. Personally, if I were going to pick a date, it would be 1861 or 1865. When the American Civil War ended, the world pretty much felt that a new era had dawned. All the old ways of doing warfare were done away and the word of officers in the field no longer was held with any honor. In 1866, the world had literally changed. Even today, people come from all over the world to visit Gettysburg — especially military men who wanted to see where elements of the battle took place. There is certainly nothing in the Bible that points to 1914.
