The apostles in Jerusalem were NOT the governing body and did NOT direct all the work.....

by EndofMysteries 5 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  EndofMysteries

  Here is exposing the big lie on a governing body in early christian times.

  The WT use Act 15:1-30 to support that Paul himself went to a governing body in Jerusalem and after they agreed on the circumsion issue, they give Pual an assignment, showing they were controlling everything. And if you only read Acts 15:1-30 you might come to that conclusion as well.

  Well, here is the truth........

  If you read vs 31 to 41, the REST of the chapter, you'll find out that everything in context......Paul heard about the teaching that circumsision was required and knew it was wrong. Since he knew that he and the apostles in Jerusalem were all on the same team, the message should be the same. So he goes to Jerusalem to settle it. It's discovered that false brothers had snuck in and tried to bind others consciences and start having people obey law again. (Like the GB of the WT).

  Paul helped clear it up, that Jesus sacrifice is pointless if they STILL have to do those things. So after that they all agreed that the only restrictions would be what they put in vs 29. Since Paul had helped them correct that, they wanted him to go to THEIR congregations to help explain this correction. So he does that, when you read the entire rest of Acts chapter 15, once he is finished, does he go back to Jerusalem for new orders?

  Nope..."after some days Paul said to Barnabas: "Let us return and visit the brothers in every one of the cities in which we published the word of Jehovah (JW bible but others would say the Lord) to see how they are."

  Infact, if today you were speaking to Paul and insisted that he took orders from a governing body, this is what he would say, he actually addresses that, in Gal 1:11 - 2:21. If you asked him he would say, "Absolutely not, and let me tell you something, the good news is not something human, NO PERSON taught me. It was revealed to me. And when I learned it, I DID NOT run to Jerusalem, but I began my assignment. I was in Jerusalem 3 years later and met Cephas but I did not consult or meet with any of the other apostles and I never went to any of their congregations.

  It was FOURTEEN YEARS LATER when I first met with the other apostles and ONLY because false ones had seen our freedom, false brothers who tried to ensnare them. So I went there to settle the matter so that all of our witnessing is in harmony and agreement.

  So Paul made it clear, anointed as the WT says do not need human teachers.

  1 John 2:27 says how the anointing you receive teaches you and you do not need anybody to be teaching you

  Jesus said in John 16:13 how the spirit of truth will teach you.

  He also gave the parable of the father feeding birds and how much more would he give holy spirit to any asking him and not a scorpion, etc. Look up all versions of that parable, one of them says food I think the other says holy spirit.

  There are problems and corruptions in many parts of the bible. He can help to guide your path.

  In Is 30:19-21 - when you seek him out and trust him he will guide you, HE will direct you. (not another human)

  Many scriptures talking about the last days and end how the shepherds have been leading astray and how HE would gather his sheep and HE would instruct them since they have failed to do so.

  James 1:5-7 brings out if you feel you lack in Godly wisdom, pray for it and have no doubt you will receive it, if you doubt it, then you won't get any.

  So one thing that has been in harmony w/ the whole bible is that in the last days human leaders have been lying, corrupt, leading all astray, and the only chance is trusting that the true creator, (my prayers are not saying specific names anymore or I try not to because impossible to know now). So there is much I still do not know, but with what I do know and have learned, I have full trust the true one is helping me, it's just as described. It does not mean every single word and aspect in the bible is true or not a change or corruption, and since this as Paul said is not a human thing, it's very hard to describe, but those who have got our or getting out and need help, think about these things and give it a try. It's your only chance.

  O I almost forgot the most important part, so WHO IS THE FAITHFUL AND DISCREET SLAVE THEN????

  Read lukes description of it Luke 13:41-48. You'll see there is a faithful slave, evil slave, slave who knew what he was supposed to do and didn't so will get many lashes, and the slave who did not know what she was supposed to do so even though he deserves many lashes will get few.

  So 4 slaves.......and if you read Luke 19:11-23 you see how one slave is given 10 cities, another 5, and another nothing, and no slave told them what to do, they each went out on their own.

  So the faithful and discreet slave is a parable in Luke 13, showing 4 categories all anointed would fall under at the time of their death or when the end comes. Luke 19 shows each being given something and depending what they do with it depends on what reward they get.

  True ones guided by holy spirit work directly with that and all over the world the true body of christ would work in harmony. Nobody reports to a central human command center.

  Even in Pauls time.....everybody was NOT anointed either (I only say annointed but many different terms as well)......

  Phillipians 3:12-16 make it clear that even in that time there was a HIGHER CALLING. Paul was reaching out for the HIGHER CALLING. So be aware of that, sometimes things you read may be applying to the higher calling or just for everybody in general.

  In all the scriptures up to the end, there is NOT a religion to go to, only groups or scattered individuals, etc, who are truly following the scriptures and trying to do what's right. It seems everytime it gets too big, eventually corruption takes over. Paul constantly warned about this and about them accepting things without being unreasonable and checking all the scriptures. Do not ever full trust somebody, even if in the beginning everything seems the truth. They can become corrupt later, or just tiny little things can be wrong.

  Hope this helps some.
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  Satanus

  'just tiny little things can be wrong.'

  When and where aren't they? Anyhoo, a person walking in the spirit needs no man to teach him. Noone examines him, but he examines all things. No?

  S
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  EndofMysteries

  That's correct Satanus, Paul said he wouldn't have a human tribunal and he doesn't even examine himself.

  So all I am doing is helping expose the lies and showing what the scriptures say is the way.

  The most a person can do is set a foundation of the truth. That is called drinking milk if you get it from another person. Paul kept asking when would they begin to eat solid food. Once they understand the basics their faith and understanding should let the true creator or spirit of truth, etc, take over.

  If they have this faith on their own from the start, then even the foundation and everything they can get without anyone having ever told them.
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  drewcoul

  Here's what Fred Franz said in 1975. I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks to gwest59.tripod.com a more complete transcript is available here:

  Then something happened right after that. And, eh, the Lord Jesus Christ took action. And he took direct action without consulting any man or body of men on earth. And that's when He, the Head of the Congregation, met Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor there, on the road leading to Damascus. He stopped him! And he said , 'Now, this is a chosen vessel unto me. I'm choosing him as the Head of the Church, without consulting any people on earth.' And he chose Saul to be an evangelizer, to carry the message not only to the Jews but also to all the gentile nations.

  Well, what about Jerusalem and the body down there? Later on the account tells us that Barnabas took Paul, or Saul of Tarsus, down to Jerusalem. But they were all afraid of him! And Saul of Tarsus, or Paul, tells us that when he went up there to Jerusalem he saw none of the apostles except Peter, with whom he spent fifteen days, and also, uh, the apostle James. [Nota bene: this is an error, as Galatians 1:18, 19 indicates it was "James the brother of the Lord," not the apostle James.] Those are the only two. And then he went back to Tarsus, and, uh, he continued on his way. Later on, why, Barnabas was sent down there to Antioch, and he hunted up Saul, brought him there, and, uh, they talked in Antioch for quite a while. Paul became a member of the Antioch congregation. And he was one of the prophets there in that congregation, specially mentioned. And then, all of a sudden, as he was serving there, uh, in Antioch, in Syria not in Israel, but in Syria why, God's spirit spoke to that congregation there in Antioch and said, 'Now, of all things you set aside, you, this congregation in Antioch, YOU set aside these two men, namely, Barnabas and Saul, for the work for which I have commissioned them.' And so the Antioch congregation did that! And they laid their hands upon Paul, or Saul, and Barnabas and sent them forth as a number of translations read 'sent them forth.' And then they went forth by the holy spirit operating through the Antioch congregation, and they went out on their first missionary assignment.

  So you see, the Lord Jesus Christ was acting as Head of the congregation and taking action directly, without consulting anybody here on earth what he could do or what he could NOT do. And he acted in that way with regard to, to Saul and Barnabas. And they were both apostles of the Antioch congregation. And so they went out on the work and had great success, and in course of time they completed their first missionary tour, and where did they go where did they report? Well, there's a record, you read it for yourself in the closing verses of the fourteenth chapter of Acts: THEY WENT BACK TO ANTIOCH, TO THE CONGREGATION THERE, and the account says they related things in detail to them, to this congregation that had committed them to the undeserved kindness of God for the work that they had performed. So there's where they reported. So the record also says, now they stayed in Antioch not a little time.

  Well, now, what happened? All of a sudden something, eh, occurs, and, uh, Paul and Barnabas, they go up to Jerusalem. Well, what's the matter? What brings them up to Jerusalem? Well, is it, uh, the body of apostles and of other elders of the Jerusalem congregation that have summoned them up there and said, 'Looka here. We have heard that you two men have gone out on a missionary tour and you finished it, and you haven't come up here to Jerusalem to report to us. DO YOU KNOW WHO WE ARE? We're the Counsel of Jerusalem! Do you two recognize the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ? If you don't come on up here in a hurry, we're going to take disciplinary action against you.' Is that what the account says? Well, if they had acted that way toward Paul and Barnabas, because they reported to the congregation, uh, by means of which the holy spirit had sent them out, then this Counsel of Jerusalem, of apostles and of other elders of the Jewish congregation would have put themselves ABOVE the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ.

  But that isn't what occurred. You know what happened, how Jews came down from Jerusalem and stirred up the matter of circumcision, and, eh, it troubled the congregation there in Antioch so much that the ANTIOCH congregation sent Paul and Barnabas UP TO JERUSALEM, to have the Counsel settle the issue. And, of course, being sent by the Couns by the congregation at Antioch, they had to come back and report and advise the congregation of the settlement of the question, or the decision that was made by the Counsel there at Jerusalem. And THEN it was, when they were arguing in favor of Christians from the gentiles not having to be circumcised like Jews it was THEN that Paul and Barnabas told what God had done by means of them in the gentile world. And THEN it was that the counsel got the report. Then they went back to Antico...och,, which had sent them forth to make known the decision, and the Jewish, then, eh, Counsel , why, sent along two men, Judas and Silas, with them. And so they delivered the report from the Counsel and, eh, there was great rejoicing among the gentile believers.

  Now time passes, and Paul and Barnabas are at Antioch. And what occurs now? Well, did they receive an assignment from somewhere on their next move? The account says that, eh, the two men, Paul and Barnabas, Paul says to him, he says, 'Of all things let us go and visit the congregations that we have established.' And, eh, they were agreed on, on this matter. And then, eh, the matter of, uh, accompaniment came up-who was gonna go with them? And, eh, Barnabas was in favor of Mark John Mark. But, eh, Paul didn't want him, because he had left them in Pamphylia in Asia Minor and had not gone along with them to the finish of the first missionary tour. So Paul didn't have any confidence, eh, in Mark for the time being. And they had a great altercation, as you know. And it resulted in a split! And Barnabas took along Mark, and it proved to be a good choice, because afterwards Paul appreciated now the faithfulness of Mark and said, 'He's a useful servant even to me.'

  But what about Paul? Well, he chose Silas, or Silvanus, as his companion in his missionary tour. And here's one thing we must note again now this happened up in Antioch. Toward the close of the fifteenth chapter of Acts it says that after Paul and Barnabas had been commended by the brothers of the Antioch congregation to the undeserved kindness of God, that they went forth on the second missionary tour of the apostle Paul. So again the Antioch congregation is being used to send out missionaries.

  And so, as we examine this account of these two most outstanding among the missionaries, uh, recorded, in, uh, Bible history, we find that they were sent out especially by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church a fact which the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society has upheld and accepted ever since the Society was formed. So we see how the Lord Jesus Christ as the Head of the Church has a right to act direct, without other organizations in view, no matter WHO we are. He's the Head of the Church, and we can't challenge what HE does."
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  EndofMysteries

  thanks drewcoul - so I guess franz was willingly lying when they put the spin on Paul reporting to a governing body since he seemed to know what the scriptures really said on it.
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  Emery

  What I like to point out is that, even if there was a GB in the 1st Centurty...these guys were handpicked by Jesus and were inspired (according to WT).