One of my professors is a JW scholar. He has written dozens of books and has been on the news and tv shows for years. His name is Firpo Carr and he is friends with Michael Jackson's family. But he claims to be of the Annoited and was disfellowshipped a few years back. He is reinstated but I thought JWs believe they lose their Annoited status if Dfd.
If one of the "Anointed" is Disfellowshipped and is Reinstated does he or she lose their "anoited" status?
by booker-t 10 Replies latest jw friends
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Simon
The anointed 'status' isn't really any sort of status as it's self-declared. Anyone can decide and announce that they consider themselves anointed - no special code or handshake needed to prove it.
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perfect1
When you self- identify as annointed, no one else is needed to verify your status, so no one can give it or take it away, except Big J if you believe in that vengeful minor god.
The worst People will do is just roll their eyes, especially if you are a lonely redheaded divorced female. (just my observation).
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jwfacts
No. Watchtower doctrine is that all Anointed regain the heavenly hope if they get reinstated. (Sorry, I don't have access to any quotes.) The reason they have to say no is that they admit that the NT says that all Christians go to heaven. There were not two hopes for "true Christians" until this century.
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Bobcat
Likewise, there is no demotion in WT theology. 'Once an "anointed," always an "anointed." ' (That sounds familiar!)
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TheOldHippie
QFR 1 March 1976
Can an anointed Christian who is disfellowshiped later be reinstated and still have the heavenly hope?
Yes, that is possible. Of course, in each case Jehovah God is the one to determine whether he will extend forgiveness.
The fact that this is possible is borne out by what we read in the apostle Paul’s letters to the Corinthian congregation. He wrote to Christians who had been anointed by holy spirit and given the hope of heavenly life. Paul addressed them as “you who have been sanctified in union with Christ Jesus, called to be holy ones.”—1 Cor. 1:2; 15:49.
One of these anointed Christians began to practice fornication. When he evidently did not repent and stop his immorality, Paul directed the congregation to disfellowship him. (1 Cor. 5:1-5, 9-13) However, it seems that this disfellowshiped person thereafter did sincerely repent. He is understood to be the person whom Paul was referring to in his second letter when he advised the Corinthians to forgive and accept back the former sinner.—2 Cor. 2:6-11; 7:8-13.
When that man was reinstated into the congregation, what was his hope? Had he lost the heavenly calling, and had his hope now been changed to everlasting life on earth? No, for the earthly hope is not, as it were, a second-chance prospect. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and multitudes of other persons of outstanding faith had the hope of eternal life on earth, but this was not because they failed to measure up to the heavenly calling. They simply did not live in the time when the heavenly calling was in process according to Jehovah’s will. (Heb. 10:19, 20) Comparable faith and integrity are required of all who will gain everlasting life, whether in heaven or on a paradise earth. A Christian who is anointed with holy spirit and made a joint heir with Christ must prove faithful to that calling if he is to receive eternal life at all.—Rev. 2:10, 11; Phil. 3:8-14; Rom. 8:14-17.
This, though, does not mean that while they are on earth anointed Christians never sin. In the flesh, they are still imperfect and consequently they sin, as do all humans, and may even commit gross sin. The Christian disciple and Bible writer James, certainly an anointed Christian, wrote: “For we all stumble many times. If anyone does not stumble in word, this one is a perfect man.” (Jas. 3:2; 2:5) It appears that such unintentional sin resulting from imperfection is what the apostle John meant by “sin that does not incur death.” (1 John 5:16) God can forgive such sins. John said: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous so as to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”—1 John 1:9.
But repentance is necessary. If an anointed Christian today practiced gross sin and did not manifest repentance, the congregation, out of obedience to God’s counsel, would have to disfellowship him. If he subsequently repented, though, he could be forgiven and reinstated, as was the man in Corinth.
God does not, however, forgive all sin. According to what Jesus said in Mark 3:28, 29, those who willfully and knowingly blaspheme God’s spirit can never be forgiven. And Paul wrote: “If we practice sin willfully after having received the accurate knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins left, but there is a certain fearful expectation of judgment.” (Heb. 10:26, 27) Such unforgivable sin is evidently what John referred to as “sin that does incur death.”—1 John 5:16.
If an anointed Christian sinned against the spirit, practicing willful sin without repentance and ‘impaling the Son of God afresh,’ God would completely and forever reject him. (Heb. 6:4-6) Not being repentant, he would not be reinstated. Jehovah would have to select and anoint another Christian as a replacement so that the full number of 144,000 would be kept complete. It might be compared to heaven’s choice of Matthias to replace unfaithful Judas Iscariot so that there would be twelve faithful apostles of Jesus on which to build the Christian congregation.—Acts 1:23-26; Eph. 2:20.
Is this to say that if an anointed Christian is disfellowshiped, Jehovah then and there selects a replacement? No human can say that, for we cannot know if the disfellowshiped individual has committed the unforgivable sin. Jehovah knows, and so the matter can be left in his hands. Just how and when he chooses to select a replacement is for him to decide. He did not give a detailed discussion of the matter in the Bible. So rather than speculate on what He will do or try to guess whether a disfellowshiped person is beyond the possibility of repentance, we can leave the matter up to Jehovah, the righteous Judge.—Heb. 12:23.
If a congregation has had to disfellowship a person but he later repents and is reinstated, we can rejoice over Jehovah’s mercy and forgiveness. (Luke 15:7) That is so whether the person professed the heavenly hope and continues to do so or had and continues to have hope of everlasting life on earth. All of us should take to heart the lessons learned from this—our own need to fight constantly against imperfection and sin, the importance of seeking forgiveness when we do sin and the necessity of enduring to the end so as to be saved.—Matt. 10:22.
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BizzyBee
If a congregation has had to disfellowship a person but he later repents and is reinstated, we can rejoice over Jehovah’s mercy and forgiveness.
Hmmmmm, "congregation" = Jehovah.
???
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T D Joseph
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries."--Hebrews 10:26, 27
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yadda yadda 2
There's no such thing as a 'true Christian' who is not anointed. It's a completely unscriptural idea.
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Caupon
Doesn't this mean that any person can become of the annointed since there's no stigma engaging them to the role? Worst Of all, there is no proof.