Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 09-30-2012 WT Study (WITH YOU)

(Matthew 28:16-20)16 However, the eleven disciples went into Gal′i·lee to the mountain where Jesus had arranged for them, 17 and when they saw him they did obeisance, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying: “All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded YOU. And, look! I am with YOU all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.”

HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER?

In modern times, how has “the true knowledge” become known?

How have those embracing the truth become “many”?

In what ways has accurate knowledge been made “abundant”?

START OF ARTICLE

1, 2. (a) How do we know that Jesus is with his subjects

now and will be with them in the future? (b) According to

Daniel 12:4, what would result from a careful study of the

Scriptures?

IMAGINE yourself in Paradise. Each morning,

you awake feeling rested and eager to begin

your day. You have no aches or pains. Any infirmities

you once had are gone. All your senses

—sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste—function

perfectly. Your energy is abundant, your work is enjoyable,

your friends are many, and all your worries

are gone. Such will be the blessings you can enjoy

under God’s Kingdom. Christ Jesus, the appointed

King, will bless his subjects and educate them in the

knowledge of Jehovah.

COMMENTS

So how long or how soon does the WTS say that people will get back any missing parts? Does the WTS reasoning answer the question or is it evasive?

*** w78 9/1 p.31 QuestionsFromReaders***

When in the future God resurrects persons on earth, will they be of about the same age and appearance as they were formerly?

The Scriptures do not specifically comment on this, but reason and certain Biblical indications suggest that they will .

Regarding the spiritual resurrection, the Bible uses the illustration of plant seeds and says: “God gives it a body just as it has pleased him.” Yes, he provides what is fitting and needed. (1 Cor. 15:35-44) We can expect the same of the earthly resurrection.

The Bible accounts of resurrections in the past give no indication that the humans raised were markedly changed in age or appearance. When a boy in Shunem died and was resurrected by Elisha, he came back with the age and appearance that he had at death. (2 Ki. 4:32-37) Consider also Jesus’ resurrection of Lazarus, who had been dead four days and whose body had begun to decay. Did Lazarus come to life drastically changed in appearance or with parts of his flesh decayed away? No. He looked about the same as before. Had he not, religious enemies would certainly have used that fact to discredit Jesus.—John 11:32-47.

Further, we know that Jehovah is a God of order, kindness and mercy. That weighs against thinking that he will bring someone back to life missing a limb or being horribly disfigured by the terminal stages of a fatal disease. (Jas. 1:17; Luke 11:13) This does not require, though, that the individual come back ‘in the prime of life.’ If someone died of heart failure at 75 years of age, why could not God raise him with a comparable body, but with a heart that would continue to pump? Then as the healing power of Jehovah’s provisions, including the merit of Jesus’ sacrifice, were applied, the person could progress toward perfection.—Rev. 22:1, 2, 17.

But it is not necessarily profitable or advisable to pursue questions about the state of resurrected ones . God could have included in the Bible detailed information about just what he will do. The fact that Jehovah did not do so indicates that he does not view it as vital information for us now. He did record in the Bible a number of accounts of resurrections being performed by his power. And he set out in the Scriptures assurances that there will be “a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Acts 24:15; John 5:28, 29) Then he left it up to us to develop faith in his Word and his promises. We can be certain that if we ourselves exercise faith and thus survive into the New Order, God will see to it that there will be no insurmountable problems regarding the resurrection. We will have the joy of receiving back, recognizing and helping those who are raised from the dead.

Remember that the word “paradise” is never used in conjunction with life on earth.

The WTS teaches that the elders and the “princes” will do this education, that Jesus will communicate with them but how if he is in heaven and they are on earth.

2 Jehovah will be with his loyal servants as they

engage in that future global educational work. God

and his Son have been with faithful ones for centuries.

Before ascending to heaven, Jesus assured his

loyal disciples that he would be with them. (Read

Matthew 28:19, 20.) To strengthen our faith in this

assurance, let us examine just one sentence of a divinely

inspired prophecy that was penned in ancient

Babylon more than 2,500 years ago. Concerning

“the time of the end” in which we now live,

the prophet Daniel wrote: “Many will rove about,

and the true knowledge will become abundant.”

(Dan. 12:4) Viewed metaphorically and in harmony

with the facts of our day, the Hebrew verb h ere

translated “rove about” conveys the idea of a careful

examination. What marvelous blessings such roving

about would result in! Those carefully studying

the Scriptures would be blessed with the

true, or accurate, knowledge of God’s Word. The

prophecy also states that many would

embrace “the true knowledge.” Moreover,

such knowledge would be abundant.

It would be widely distributed and

readily available. As we examine how

this prophecy has been fulfilled, we will

see that Jesus is with his disciples today

and that Jehovah is fully capable of carrying

out all that he has promised.

COMMENTS

What are the FACTS of our day? According to whom?

So if the WTS is doing the distribution what about China and India? How many billions have not “heard”?

*** w00 1/15 p.13 par.17***

Today, that prophecy is in the course of fulfillment on an unprecedented scale. True, untouched territories still exist, and it may be that in Jehovah’s due time, a large door leading to greater activity will open. (1 Corinthians 16:9) Nevertheless, the Bible does not state that Jehovah will wait until every individual on earth has received a personal witness. Rather, the good news must be preached to Jehovah’s satisfaction. Then the end will come.—Compare Matthew 10:23.

Jesus disciples = only jws

“THE TRUE KNOWLEDGE” BECOMES KNOWN

3. What became of “the true knowledge” following

the death of the apostles?

3 Following the death of the apostles,

foretold apostasy from genuine

Christianity developed and spread like

fire. (Acts 20:28-30; 2 Thess. 2:1-3) For

centuries thereafter, “the true knowledge”

was far from abundant not only

among those who knew nothing of the

Bible but also among professed Christians.

Though claiming to believe in the

Scriptures , the leaders of Christendom

taught religious lies—“teachings of demons”

that dishonored God. (1 Tim. 4:1) People

in general were kept in spiritual

ignorance. Apostate doctrines included

the false teaching that God is a

Trinity, that the soul does not die, and

that some souls are tormented eternally

in hellfire.

COMMENTS

Professed Christians = all non-jws who say they are Christians but aren’t really (also referred to as “so-called”)

True knowledge only through WTS/FDS/GB

*** w94 10/1 p.8***

CHANNEL TO UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE

JESUS assured us that after his death and resurrection, he would raise up a “faithful and discreet slave” that would serve as his channel of communication. (Matthew 24:45-47) The apostle Paul identified this channel to the Ephesian Christians when he wrote that “there might be made known through the congregation the greatly diversified wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose that he formed in connection with the Christ, Jesus our Lord.” (Ephesians 3:10, 11) It was the congregation of anointed Christians, born at Pentecost 33 C.E., that was entrusted with the “things revealed.” (Deuteronomy 29:29) As a group, anointed Christians serve as the faithful and discreet slave. (Luke 12:42-44) Their appointed assignment from God is to provide spiritual understanding of the “things revealed.”

Even as Bible prophecy pointed forward to the Messiah, it also directs us to the close-knit body of anointed Christian Witnesses that now serve as the faithful and discreet slave. It helps us to understand the Word of God. All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the “greatly diversified wisdom of God” can become known only through Jehovah’s channel of communication, the faithful and discreet slave.—John 6:68.

4. How did a group of Christians in the 1870’s

begin to search for “the true knowledge”?

4 However, in the 1870’s—about four

decades before “the last days” began—a

small group of sincere Christians in

Pennsylvania , U.S.A., met together to

study the Bible diligently and to search

for “the true knowledge.” (2 Tim. 3:1)

They called themselves Bible Students.

These were not “the wise and intellectual

ones” from whom Jesus said that

knowledge was to be hidden. (Matt. 11:4.

How did a group of Christians in the 1870’s

begin to search for “the true knowledge”?

25) They were humble people who sincerely

desired to do God’s will. Carefully

and prayerfully, they read, discussed,

and meditated on the Scriptures. They

also compared Bible passages and examined

the writings of others who had made a similar search.

Gradually, these Bible Students came to discern

truths that had been obscured for centuries.

COMMENTS

Sincere Christians = by implication other Christian groups were not sincere or they would be gathering with them

Can you imagine a group of jws independently gathering at someone’s home and discussing the bible this way? Just the way to end up df’d for apostasy.

Jws aren’t allowed to use other bible research books, not even the ones the WTS occasionally quotes without naming the author/book?

What truths, Jesus present in 1874, becoming king in 1878, the calling to heaven ending in 1881, and all of them going to heaven in 1914 as Jesus destroys this “system of things”?

5. What was the objective of the series of tracts

called The Old Theology?

5 Though the Bible Students were excited

about the things they were learning,

they did not allow their newfound

knowledge to puff them up with pride;

nor did they take credit for proclaiming

something new . (1 Cor. 8:1) Instead,

they published a series of tracts called

The Old Theology. The objective was to

acquaint readers with Scriptural truths

that had been recorded in the Bible.

The first of such tracts offered “further

reading matter to assist in Bible study,

with a view to getting rid of all false

traditions of men and to the full recovery

of the old theology of our Lord and

the apostles.”—The Old Theology, No. 1,

April 1889, p. 32.

COMMENTS

These same Bible Students said that their organizer Charles Taze Russell was the “faithful and discreet slave” and he did not correct them.

Did they get rid of Christmas (false traditions of men); did they actually adopt them…pyramidology?

http://archive.org/details/TheDivinePlanOfTheAgesAndTheGreatPyramid

6, 7. (a) What truths have we been helped to

understand since the 1870’s? (b) What truths

have you particularly appreciated learning?

6 What marvelous truths have been

uncovered since that small beginning

over 100 years ago!* These truths are not

dull, academic matters to be debated by

theologians. They are thrilling, liberating

truths that give meaning to our lives

and fill us with joy and hope. They help

us to come to know Jehovah—his loving

personality and his purposes. They also

clarify Jesus’ role , explain why he lived

and died, and point out what he is doing

now. These precious truths reveal why

God permits evil, why we die, how we

should pray, and how we can be truly

happy.

*You will benefit from viewing the DVD presentations

Jehovah’s Witnesses—Faith in Action, Part 1: Out

of Darkness and Jehovah’s Witnesses—Faith in Action,

Part 2: Let the Light Shine.

COMMENTS

Or covered over?

Buried in the WTS publications but revealed in 1993 when things started being revealed on the internet.

***Proclaimers book (1993) jv chap.14 p.201***

For some 35 years , Pastor Russell thought that the Great Pyramid of Gizeh was God’s stone witness, corroborating Biblical time periods. (Isa. 19:19) But Jehovah’s Witnesses have abandoned the idea that an Egyptian pyramid has anything to do with true worship. (See “Watchtower” issues of November 15 and December 1, 1928)

Debated by theologians…debating the GB even if you are right can lead to being kicked out.

7 We can now grasp the meaning of

prophecies that remained a “secret” for

ages but are now being fulfilled i n this

time of the end. (Dan. 12:9) These include

those found throughout the Scriptures,

especially in the Gospels and the

book of Revelation. Jehovah has even

helped us understand events that we

could not see with our eyes —the enthronement

of Jesus, the war in heaven,

and the hurling of Satan down to the

earth. (Rev. 12:7-12) God has also given

us insight into the meaning of what we

can see—wars, earthquakes, pestilences,

food shortages, as well as godless people

who contribute to these “critical

times hard to deal with.”—2 Tim. 3:1-5;

Luke 21:10, 11.

COMMENTS

While they might being fulfilled, does the WTS have a grasp on it.

End 1914, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1940’s, 1975, (1984), (1994).

http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/1800s.php

Earthquakes—so are earthquakes more frequent and damaging in life and property since 1914 as the WTS has asserted?

Despite no increase in earthquake size or frequency, one could imagine that the increasing global population would have at least resulted in the most earthquake related deaths occurring in the 20th century. Surprisingly this too has not been the case, with prior centuries having more earthquake related deaths. The Encyclopaedia Britannica 2002 on DVD lists major historical earthquakes over the last 1,500 years. Of the 5 earthquakes with the most deaths, only 1 was since 1914 and it was by no means the most destructive.

http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/earthquakes.php

8. To whom do we give credit for the things we

have come to see and hear?

8 It is easy for us to relate to what Jesus

told his disciples: “Happy are the

eyes that behold the things you are beholding.

For I say to you, Many prophets

and kings desired to see the things you

are beholding but did not see them, and

to hear the things you are hearing but

did not hear them.” (Luke 10:23, 24)We

give credit to Jehovah God for enabling

us to see and hear such things. And how

grateful we are that “the helper,” God’s

holy spirit , has been sent to guide Jesus’

followers “into all the truth”! (Read John

16:7, 3.) May we always treasure “the

true knowledge” and unselfishly share

it with others!

COMMENTS

Has the holy spirit helped jws….how? Directly or only through the WTS organization? (see quote from 1994 earlier)

So was the holy spirit responsible for the WTS not understanding about human traditions such as Christmas, when the end would be, well, you know. I wonder what the true knowledge will be tomorrow.

In the last ten years, the “overlapping” generation…

http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/generation.php

“MANY” EMBRACE “THE TRUE KNOWLEDGE”

9. What call went out in the April 1881 issue of

this magazine?

9 In April 1881, less than two years after

the first issue of the Watch Tower was

published, this magazine put out a call

for 1,000 preachers. The article read: “To

those so situated that they can give one half

or more of their time exclusively to

the work of the Lord, we have a plan to

suggest . . . , viz: That you go forth into

large or small cities, according to your

ability, as Colporteurs or Evangelists,

seek to find in every place the earnest

Christians, many of whom you will find

possessed of a zeal for God, but not according

to knowledge ; to these seek to

make known the riches of Our Father’s

grace, and the beauties of His word.”

COMMENTS

But remember that the WT in 1881 was named

1879, Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence

They were telling people that Christ had been present since 1874 invisibly in the heaven; 83 years later….they changed that retroactively to 1914.

Why does the WTS leave out this part?

*** jv chap.18 p.284***

In April 1881 (when only a few hundred persons were attending meetings of the Bible Students), the WatchTower published an article entitled “Wanted 1,000 Preachers.”

It wasn’t until 1922 and eventually about ten years later, that door to door was pushed upon the jws as Rutherford renamed the members of the WTS. By 1925 (1928) ¾ of the Bible Students had left to form their own groups.

10. How did people respond to the call for fulltime

preachers?

10 That call showed that the Bible Students

recognized that an essential work

of true Christians is to preach the good

news. But the call for 1,000 full-time

preachers was optimistic, since only

a few hundred attended the meetings

of the Bible Students at that time. After

reading a tract or a magazine, however,

many people recognized the ring

of truth and readily responded to the

call. For example, after reading an issue

of the Watch Tower and a booklet

published by the Bible Students, in 1882

a reader from London, England, wrote:

“Please instruct me how and what to

preach so as to accomplish the blessed

work God wishes done.”

COMMENTS

Colporteurs were book salesman who lived over the difference between what the WTS charged the public and what the colporteurs had to pay. Can you imagine pioneers paying rent, food, clothing, etc., even out of the profit they made in the olden days, 1960’s and 1970’s?

Remember this was pre-1900 when many new and different thinking religions had grown up in the time. People were looking past traditional religions.

Adventists—Second and later Seventh Day

Christian Scientists

Mormons—LDS

http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/similar-religions-to-jehovahs-witnesses.php

11, 12. (a) What objective do we have in common

with the colporteurs? (b) How did the colporteurs

establish “classes,” or congregations?

11 By 1885, about 300 Bible Students

were sharing in the colporteur service .

Those full-time ministers had the same

objective as we do today—that of making

disciples of Jesus Christ. However,

their methods differed from ours.

Today, we typically study the Bible with

one person at a time, providing individual

instruction. We then invite the Bible

student to associate with a congregation

already established. In the early

days, the colporteurs placed books and

then gathered interested ones together

to study the Scriptures as a group. Instead

of studying with individuals, they

established “classes,” or congregations.

COMMENTS

Different methods---no door to door; printed sermons in newspapers, public lectures, debates with other ministers publicly, book selling (6 volumes at a time).

It wasn’t until the 1937 that the WTS started training jws to have individual studies with people. They used testimony cards and phonographs and sound cars and placards. No theocratic school till 1943 and not until 1959 for women.

1933, testimony cards used

1934, phonographs used in field ministry:

1937, first ModelStudy booklet received

12 In 1907, for instance, one group of

colporteurs canvassed a certain city to

find those who already had copies of

Millennial Dawn (also called Studies in the

Scriptures). The Watch Tower reported:

“These [interested ones] were gathered

to a little meeting in one of their homes.

The Colporteur talked over with them

the Divine Plan of the Ages for a whole

Sunday, and on the following Sunday he

urged that they have regular meetings.”

In 1911, the brothers modified the procedure.

Fifty-eight special traveling ministers

gave public lectures throughout the

United States and Canada. These brothers

obtained the names and addresses

of interested people who attended the

lectures and organized them to meet together

in private homes to form new “classes.”

By 1914, there were 1,200 congregations

of Bible Students worldwide.

COMMENTS

So from the beginning the basis were WT books not the bible. In fact was the bible necessary?

9/15/1910 p. 298

If the six volumes of SCRIPTURE STUDIES are practically the Bible topically arranged, with Bible proof-texts given, we might not improperly name the volumes-- the Bible in an arranged form. That is to say, they are not merely comments on the Bible, but they are practically the Bible itself, since there is no desire to build any doctrine or thought on any individual preference or on any individual wisdom, but to present the entire matter on the lines of the Word of God. We therefore think it safe to follow this kind of reading, this kind of instruction, this kind of Bible study. Furthermore, not only do we find that people cannot see the Divine Plan in studying the Bible by itself, but we see, also, that if anyone lays the SCRIPTURE STUDIES aside, even after he has used them, after he has become familiar with them, after he has read them for ten years --if he then lays them aside and ignores them and goes to the Bible alone, though he has understood his Bible for ten years, our experience shows that within two years he goes into darkness. On the other hand, if he had merely read the SCRIPTURE STUDIES with their references, and had not read a page of the Bible, as such, he would be in the light at the end of the two years, because he would have the light of the Scriptures.

13. What impresses you about the scope of

“the true knowledge” today?

13 Today, there are about 109,400 congregations

throughout the world, and some 895,800

brothers and sisters serve as pioneers.

Nearly eight million people

now accept “the true knowledge,” applying

it in their lives. (Read Isaiah 60:22.)*

This is particularly impressive, since Jesus

foretold that his disciples would be

“objects of hatred by all people” because

of his name. He added that his followers

would be persecuted, imprisoned,

and even killed. (Luke 21:12-17) Despite

the opposition of Satan, his demons,

and opposers among mankind, Jehovah’s

people have enjoyed phenomenal

success in carrying out their commission

to make disciples. Today, they are

preaching in “all the inhabited earth,”

from tropical jungles to frigid tundra, in

mountains, in deserts, in cities, and in

the most remote countryside. (Matt. 24:

14) This could never have been accomplished

without divine backing.

*See Isaiah’s Prophecy—Light for All Mankind II,

page 320.

COMMENTS

Only jws—8 million people (doesn’t include about 10 million who attend the memorial)

So are only jws persecuted, imprisoned, even killed for being Christians?

www.forum18.org

“THE TRUE KNOWLEDGE” BECOMES “ABUNDANT”

14. How has “the true knowledge” become

widely known through the printed word?

14 “The true knowledge” has become

abundant through the many who are

proclaiming the good news. It has also

become abundant through the printed

word. In July 1879, the Bible Students

published the first issue of this magazine,

which bore the title Zion’s Watch

Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence.

That issue, printed by a commercial

firm, had a printing of 6,000 copies in

English only. Twenty-seven-year-old

Charles Taze Russell was chosen to be

the editor, with five other mature Bible

Students serving as regular contributors.

The Watchtower is now published

in 195 languages. It is the most widely

circulated magazine on earth, with a

circulation of 42,182,000 copies each issue.

In second place is its companion

magazine Awake! with a circulation of

41,042,000 in 84 languages. Additionally,

about 100 million books and Bibles

are printed each year.

Picture : Early Bible Students were humble people

who sincerely desired to do God’s will

COMMENTS

Yes, the WTS history shows that later Bible Students were not humble, not like Rutherford, right?

I wonder how many jws remember the 1993 statement by the WTS that they had consistently taught that the presence of Christ began in 1914?

Russell was the major investor…but who was the editor by 1931 as Fred Franz testified in court?

According to Fred W. Franz (vice-president of the Watchtower Society from 1949 to 1977, president from 1977 to his death in 1992), under oath in the Olin Moyle case (New York Supreme Court, Kings County Clerk's Index No. 15845, 1940, p. 795), Jehovah is the editor of The Watchtower. Franz gave his testimony in May, 1943, which is here reproduced:

Q. Who subsequently became the Editor of the magazine, the main editor of the "Watch Tower" magazine?

A. In 1931, October 15th, as I recall, the "Watch Tower" discontinued publishing the names of any editorial committee on the second page.

The Court. He asked you who became the editor.

The Witness. And it said --

The Court. Who became the editor?

Q. Who became the editor when this was discontinued?

A. Jehovah God.

15. How is our printing operation financed?

15 This mammoth work is financed by

means of voluntary donations.(Read

Matthew 10:8.) That alone is staggering

to those in the printing industry who understand

the cost of presses, paper, ink,

and other materials. A brother who is involved

in global purchasing said: “Business

people who visit our printeries are

amazed that such a technologically advanced,

high-production facility can be

financed by voluntary donations. They

are equally impressed that our Bethel

workforce is so young and happy.”

COMMENTS

Voluntary—I remember the accounts servants I have known were told to read the acknowledgment letters but not to thank the congregation but to remind them to donate.

Congregations are assigned a per publisher amount to donate….

Congregations pay the circuit overseer’s expenses, but no longer know how much that is since public congregation resolutions are no longer required.

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD WILL FILL THE EARTH

16. What is the purpose of making “the true

knowledge” known?

16 “The true knowledge” has become

abundant for a good purpose. God’s

will is that “all sorts of men should be

saved and come to an accurate knowledge

edge of truth.” (1 Tim. 2:3, 4) Jehovah

wants people to come to know the truth

so that they can worship him properly

and receive his blessing. By making

“the true knowledge” known, Jehovah

has gathered a faithful remnant of

anointed Christians. Out of “all nations

and tribes and peoples and tongues,” he

is also gathering “a great crowd,” who

have the hope of living forever on earth.

—Rev. 7:9.

17. To what does the expansion of true worship

point?

17 The expansion of true worship over

the past 130 years points to the overwhelming

conclusion that God and his appointed

King, Jesus Christ, have been with

Jehovah’s servants on earth

—directing, protecting, organizing, and

educating them. Their growth also underscores

the certainty that Jehovah’s

promises for the future will be fulfilled.

“The earth will certainly be filled with

the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters

are covering the very sea.” (Isa. 11:9)

What blessings mankind will then experience!

COMMENTS

True worship = on the WTS and its beliefs, all other religions are false

130 years, 10 years past the 120 allotted to Noah and the human race, but SOON per the WTS

(Genesis 6:1-3)6 Now it came about that when men started to grow in numbers on the surface of the ground and daughters were born to them, 2 then the sons of the [true] God began to notice the daughters of men, that they were good-looking; and they went taking wives for themselves, namely, all whom they chose. 3 After that Jehovah said: “My spirit shall not act toward man indefinitely in that he is also flesh. Accordingly his days shall amount to a hundred and twenty years.”

*** it-2 p.507 Noah***

Jehovah set a time limit for the existence of that ungodly world , saying: “My spirit shall not act toward man indefinitely in that he is also flesh. Accordingly his days shall amount to a hundred and twenty years.” (Ge 6:3) Evidently these words were spoken to Noah.

*** w10 2/15 p.31 Questions From Readers***

However, Genesis 6:3 reads differently; it does not mention Noah, nor does it say that God was addressing him

So which is it? So Noah knew the end was coming in 120 years from that. Does that mean that the WTS/FDS/GB know when? Starting from

1874 = 1994 already past like 1975

1878 = 1998 already past like 1975

1914 = 2034

1918 = 2038

1925 =

1975 =

CLOSING COMMENTS

Next week, CARRY ON AS KINGDOM CITIZENS!

How many jws realize the only true citizens are the anointed per the WTS? Non-anointed jws will not become part of God’s family until after the 1,000 years. Anointed will be kings and priests in heaven…elders will be “princes” but when will the other sheep become citizens. “citizenship in the heavens”?

Love, Blondie

konceptual99

Thanks Blondie. This was one of the most frustrating WT studies I have had to sit through for some time. Para 4 was particuarly annoying. I wanted to put my hand up and mention some of the "truths" they believed in at that time. I cannot think of one thing that Pre 1914 witnesses believed that a modern day witness would accept.

I can't wait to read your comments on next weeks study, especially the para 8...

"...Like them (sons of Korah), do you have a desire to study and recount the history of the earthly part of God's organisation?"

...erm... yes.... and you'll never guess what I found!

breakfast of champions

Ugh, this was a tough one. A two-Xanax meeting! I wanted to answer paragraph four as well:

4 However, in the 1870’s—about four decades before “the last days” began

In reality, those super-duper-ultra sincere bible students thought that they had already been living in the last days for seventy five years!

Sorry, just another of those apostate truths taken way out of context

WTWizard

This article is a typical bait and switch. You are given a description of a paradise, then told something that has nothing to do with getting in. You are supposed to do the same work that began in 1872. What they don't say is that the end was originally in 1874, and that this group was itself a splinter group coming off of speculation beginning in the 1820s and 1830s about when the world would end. They have been at it ever since.

One cannot live on the stipends provided by the washtowel--special pious-sneers get something like 640 toilet papers a month (that figure may be out of date). Imagine spending 80 toilet papers a month on suit dry cleanings, another 80 on gas donations (or gas itself), and who knows how much on supplies. By the time you are through with expenses from field circus, you barely break even. Getting 130 hours a month--at minimum wage, it would be 942.50 toilet papers. They aren't even making minimum wage, yet they have to pay for their own expenses.

For what? They were promised paradise. Did they get it? They promised paradise to everyone at the door. Then you are required to obey stupid rules in a vain attempt to attain this paradise. Jehovah does nothing for anyone--aside hot air. For nothing, you are supposed to waste your time going from door to door pxxxing off people.

Who ends up going in for all this work? Most sane, intelligent people will be attracted to an organization where the members appear genuinely happy. They can see through the fake-happiness going around. When people seem to be enjoying it despite the rules, that would attract people more than any doctrine or promise of paradise. However, if people are miserable in appearance or are fake-happy (and people can tell), they do not want to join the organization. They can only imagine how miserable such a "paradise(??)" actually would be, and they don't want it.

nancy drew

That article seemed like something they just dragged out from long ago made a few tweaks and reprinted it.

A Stone Crying Out

Most other translations say that 'knowledge will increase.' Why do the WT add the word 'true' to the text of Daniel 12:4, is there a genuinely good reason for translating it this way?

Bobcat

The whole premise of the article was false - and that in several ways.

Here is the NWT rendering of Daniel 12:4 -

(Daniel 12:4) . . ."And as for you, O Daniel, make secret the words and seal up the book, until the time of [the] end. Many will rove about, and the [true] knowledge will become abundant. . .

First point to notice is the context - the entire verse. Daniel is told to seal up the book. The obvious reference is to Daniel's writings, not the entire Bible, which, of course, did not completely exist at that point in time. (c.538 bc) The WT only quoted a piece of the verse. And with good reason. When you read the whole verse it becomes obvious (to anyone with any sort of reading skill) that the verse doesn't refer to what they were applying it to.

Second point to notice is that the word "true" has been inserted by the NWT. They did this because "knowledge" is articular. ("the knowledge") The verse is describing a particular "knowledge." But the context is describing a knowledge that would help unseal the book that is being referred to, not the entire Bible. But the WT was quoting their verse fragment, "true knowledge" as if it were referring to "true Bible knowledge" in general.

Third, "will rove about" was being applied by the WT to searching through the Bible. The idea of "searching" is correct. But the word has the idea of movement. Nowhere else in the Bible is this word used for searching through a scroll or book. Here is a list of the occurrences if any want to compare: (Strong's 7751)

Num 11:8; 2Sam 24:2, 8; 2Chr 16:9; Job 1:7; 2:2; Jer 5:1; 49:3; Ezek 27:8, 26; Dan 12:4; Amos 8:12; Zech 4:10

In every one of these verses (save for Dan 12:4) some sort of physical movement is involved.

Fourth, even if somehow you could apply "rove about" to searching the Scriptures, how could anyone in their right mind claim that 'roving about' in the Bible only began in the late 19th - 20th centuries. People have been searching thru the Scriptures since they came into existence.

Fifth. According to the verse, the 'roving about' would be done by "many." But since when did the WT allow any but the few leaders do any 'roving about' in search of "true knowledge." Any who tried except the leadership are branded as apostates.

Ding

Can you imagine a group of jws independently gathering at someone’s home and discussing the bible this way? Just the way to end up df’d for apostasy.

This reminds me of Randy Watters' account about how Bible study groups at Bethel in the 1980s kept WT literature nearby so if someone looked in on them they could pretend it was a WT literature study.

If that doesn't show that the WTS is a cult, what does?

stillin

I wondered whether the comment in paragraph 4 about comparing what they found with what other "similar' groups had found might be a veiled reference to the 7th day Adventists; there are a lot of similarities and they were both taking shape at about that time...

There was a slew of offbeat study groups back then...Millennialists of various persuasions.

JW GoneBad

Comment on paragraph 14:

Watchtower 42,182,000 circulation and Awake 41,042,000 circulation; like all the other statistics WT puts out there-highly exaggurated numbers!

What the WT does not want the rank and file to know is that the magazines are the least read magazines in the world. The majority of the public does not bother with them and most of the JWs themselves might if anything thumb thru the pages and then trash ‘em. It truly is a waste of paper.

Its’ high time for WT to think more green-as in help save the environment!

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 09-30-2012 WT Study (WITH YOU)

Share this