WT Comments You Will Not Hear at the 3-30-03 WT Study

by blondie 26 Replies latest watchtower bible

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    WT February 15, 2003 Why Observe the Lord’s Evening Meal? study March 24, 2003

    As an outsider looking in, I thought it interesting to compare the observance of the Lord’s Supper with my own experience in Christendom‘s Churches. I won’t bother going in to the obvious WTS perversion, where the majority of the congregation can “look-but-not-touch” the bread and the wine. Such a class distinction cannot be supported by Jesus’ word and deed.

    On my web tour, I was disappointed to find that most sites are dedicated to supporting their own version of the Lord’s Supper. Fluffy bread or flat bread. Pre-broken bits or one loaf. Ritz or Matzo. Wine or Grape Juice. One cup or a zillion mini cups. Weekly or Monthly or Yearly. Who can partake and who cannot. One link, thankfully, focused more on the WHY rather than the HOW. I really could care less about the how. Wherever I plant my seat, there I share communion with my brothers and sisters, whether it is ritz or matzo or fluffy french bread. I do it to remember the sacrifice Jesus made for me.

    Just like other churches, the WTS picks and chooses which elements of the Lord’s Supper will be treated literally and which are flexible. There is no discernable pattern in their choice other than doctrinal preference.

    • Naming the Event
    - flexible. The WTS admits that the Memorial can be properly be called “The Lord’s Evening Meal ”. The term Memorial comes from the New Jerusalem Bible translation of Luke 22:19.
  • How Often
    • - once a year - inflexible. Some churches observe monthly or even weekly based on Acts 20:7-11
  • Which Day? -
    •  Nisan 14 - inflexible.
  • Time of Day?
    • - evening - inflexible!
  • Bread Broken?
    • - flexible. para. 13 Apparently then, the breaking of the Memorial bread has no spiritual significance. Huh? How about 1 Corinthians 11:24?
  • Bread Unleavened?
    • - yes - inflexible.
  • Wine
    • - fermented, red, unsweetened, and unfortified - inflexible.
  • One Cup
    • - not important in the WTS - flexible. No scripture cited, just the logistical problem of attempting to use one cup.

    The big mental stretch is where the WTS explains why Memorial is still observed, if Jesus has already come back in 1914.

    How long would the body of anointed Christians observe the Memorial of Christ’s death? “Until he arrives,” said Paul, evidently meaning that these observances would continue until Jesus’ arrival to receive his anointed followers into heaven by a resurrection during his “presence” (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17)

    Huh? Does this mean that Jesus is here but not really here? Is this like a really slow arrival, something like the JW crawl door-to-door?

    A Historical Side-Note, Communion Tokens. Now, don’t anybody go telling the WTS about this practice. It might give them ideas. (A judicious distribution of Anointed Tokens prior to Memorial, for instance, would ensure that the “true anointed” can be readily “marked”.)

  • happy man
    happy man

    gumby

    Idont now how i do this,can you explain how i check my messegebox,never now i have one

  • blondie
    blondie

    Good points, jgnat.

    Thanks, gumby for the site.

    happyman, I take it have you not read ahead in your Watchtower magazines for next week. Even a diehard JW will see that the WTS is strongly cautioning those who partake that if they have started recently, that there are in danger of doing so unworthily. The recent increase of 30 last year of partakers is not in line with the six lines of evidences the WTS published, the 6th being the "decrease" of the number of partakers. I have had several at the KH wonder why it seems to be increasing and I am aware of the direction to the elders as to who and how to count partakers, specifically not to count new ones and ones with mental problems. Since 1935 was the cut off date for the calling of partakers in general, only replacements of sinful anointed would make up the new partakers. We must conclude that 30 left Jehovah with no hope of coming back last year to account for the 30 new partakers.

    Blondie

  • eby
    eby

    In support of observing the Memorial annually the WT in paragraph 11, page 14, quotes from The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Volume IV, page 44.

    "The Christians of Asia Minor were called Quartodecimans [Fourteenthers] from their custom of celebrating the pascha [Lord's Evening Meal] invariably on the 14th of Nisan...The date might fall on Friday or on any of the other days of the week." Of course the words in brackets are inserted by the WT.

    To learn more about this pascha celebration and the Quartodecimans read page 46 of Schaff-herzog under "The Paschal controversy" at:

    http://www.ccel.org/php/disp.php?authorID=schaff&bookID=encyc04&page=46&view=

    Some interesting stuff.

    eby

  • blondie
    blondie

    Thanks eby. I also view the Lord's evening meal as the same as a engagement for an impending marrage. Both events are observed annually. I know that others do differently, perhaps feeling it has to do with their sins and renewing their relationship with Jesus. The Jews did that on Atonement day, and we can see that the observance of ritual days does not make us closer to God. Is what we do the rest of the 364 days of the year.

    Blondie

  • Room 215
    Room 215

    Along with the flowering of the daffodils and crocuses, one sure sign of Spring is the annual ``Don't You Dare Partake" article from the Gerontocracy. Their pick-and-choose exegesis of the parallels between the Jewish Passover and the Lord's Evening Meal-- i.e. everything foreshadowed something EXCEPT the participation in the Passover meal by the ``vast mixed company" -- scratch that one, little dubbies -- is ludicrous.

  • blondie
    blondie

    Hi Room 215. Yes it is time for the "you are not worthy to partake" article. Increase of 30 last year. I wonder if there will be a decrease this year?

    Blondie

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