To define something is to explain it by breaking down its meaning into simpler, separate terms.
For example: To LEAVE is to depart from a location by going elsewhere.
To RETURN is to come back to a location after having departed.
Simple enough? Yes!
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What if somebody was visiting you in your home and they told you they were leaving and going away to their
fabulous castle in Europe, but they were going to return and take you with them next time?
What is the simple understanding of their statement?
LEAVING: departing from your house
RETURNING: coming back to your house
Simple enough? Yes!
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Now let's go through this exercise using WATCHTOWER STYLE DEFINITION, shall we?
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From: Watchtower reference book, REASONING FROM THE SCRIPTURES, page 340 under the heading: RETURN of CHRIST
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Quote:
"Before leaving the Earth, Jesus Christ promised to return."
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Will this Watchtower publication explain the Return of Christ by breaking down its meaning into simpler, separate terms?
Or, will this reference book DEFLECT, CONFUSE, and REDEFINE the meaning to fit pre-existing Watchtower Doctrine? Let us examine.
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Definition: "Before leaving the earth, Jesus Christ promised to return.
Thrilling events in connection with God’s Kingdom are associated with
That promise. It should be noted that there is a difference between
coming and presence. Thus, while a person’s coming (associated with his
arrival or return) occurs at a given time, his presence may thereafter
extend over a period of years . . . "
__________STOP!______________
Notice above: Immediately a deflection (in red) creates an argument. Instead of
giving the complete definition AND THEN building an argument, the indoctrination
process CORRUPTS the definition before and during the dishonest definition.
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WHAT DOES THE PHRASE: THE RETURN OF CHRIST MEAN?
Where is the actual DEFINITION?
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Watchtower style"definitions" crowd out the defining process and interrupt it by diverting attention to DOGMA indoctrination instead.
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Let us now continue and observe how jumbled, mixed, confused, and muddy the words RETURN, COMING, PRESENCE become.
__________CONTINUING from above:___________________
". . . In the Bible the Greek word er’kho-mai (meaning“to come”) is also
Used with reference to Jesus’ directing his attention to an important
Task at a specific time during his presence, namely, to his work as
Jehovah’s executioner at the war of the great day of God the Almighty.”
________STOP!____________
Did you notice?
A definition begins again--only to be interrupted by a side argument!
Coming? Presence? Return of Christ? These are tossed in willy nilly for a reason.
Watchtower teaching requires confusing these terms with their own doctrine of invisible return=2nd coming=1914 followed
by an excuse for JW's to go door to door for an extended period of time, to be followed by Armageddon.
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NOW IT GETS REALLY TRICKY!
Will the Watchtower publication tell us WHERE it is Jesus RETURNS to at his second coming?
Remember, Jesus departed and promised to RETURN. When Jesus departed he was ON THE EARTH.
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RETURN--verb--To come or go back to a place or person
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Throughout the history of Christianity on Earth there has never been any confusion about what the phrase
"The Return of Christ" actually means. But, the doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses seek to destroy and replace
the obvious meaning with an unnecessarily complicated teaching. This teaching became complicated for a reason.
1. False date of Christ's return failed to produce the actual return of Christ! First, 1874 and later 1914.
2. To cover up the failure of prediction, a silly"invisible presence" argument was tacked on to save the day.
3. Once the invisible returned Jesus was argued, there had to some reason given for NOTHING HAPPENING beyond the
unrest of WWI. Why did things go back to normal?
4. The preaching work and door to door ministry was invented to fill up the deafening silence and inactivity of a returned King Jesus.
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The entire doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses rests on one tiny point.
JW's must try very, very hard to distort the meaning of 2nd COMING.
The Greek word "parousia" can mean either COMING or ARRIVAL, or PRESENCE depending on the CONTEXT.
Jehovah's Witnesses ignore context and ignore "coming" and insist on PRESENCE to foist the "invisible" rescue argument into it.
Why?
Remember, for Jehovah's Witnesses, if Jesus did NOT return when they PREDICTED IT--they are obviously FALSE PROPHETS.
To avoid being identified as such--they must insist JESUS RETURNED, but the reason you could not see him was (insert invisibility here.)
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Let us ask an important question here.
IN THE DAYS OF NOAH the flood was coming.
When the flood finally arrived (parousia) . . . WAS IT INVISIBLE WATER?
No.
With that understanding in mind, read this:
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MATTHEW 24:39
“And they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood
Came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming
Of the Son of Man.”
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The Watchtower religion is built entirely on an ERROR in predicting the 2nd COMING.
The doctrines are silly, contradictory, and illogical because they must bend everything to make that work.
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Think of the burden JW's must carry around lugging the heavy anchor of 607 B.C.E when it is easily refuted.
607 "proves" 1914 or it refutes 1914. The Watchtower has to insist, no matter what, this date is true.
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In the Bible, the SIGN of something comes BEFORE the event itself, but using Watchtower style reverse-definition
we find in REASONING FROM THE SCRIPTURES:
“Following Christ’s return, some persons show faith; they recognize the
Sign of his presence. Others reject the evidence, but when Christ goes
into action as God’s executioner of the wicked, even they will discern
From the manifestation of his power that the destruction is not from men
but from heaven. They will know what is happening because they were
Warned in advance. Because of what is overtaking them, they will ‘beat
their selves in grief.’”
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WHY does the Watchtower put the SIGN of Jesus' return AFTER he arrives?
Because they have to cover up the fact JESUS DID NOT return in 1914.
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Dishonesty, corruption, false teaching, poor reasoning, and outright lying is at the bottom
of all DEFINITIONS given by this religion. This is what we mean by WATCHTOWER STYLE.