The org's "new lights" - corrupting Proverbs 4:18

by BoogerMan 20 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Konagirl

  Proverbs 4:18 says, "But the path of the righteous....grows brighter and brighter until full daylight."

  The Bible "light" doesn't get brighter - it never changes - it's a person's direction & course of life which gets brighter.

  So very true.

  James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

  2 Pet 1:19 - And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

  Rev 22:16 – “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.

  Wt. leaders pretend to embrace Jesus Christ and his teachings. But Jesus never lied. They do.

  Luke 6:45 - A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; (“good gifts” from God) and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

  Isa 5:20-21 - Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
  

  Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
  Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

  21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
  And prudent in their own sight!

  And they cause their people to lie, because their people carry only their leader’s teachings, to others.

  11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says:

  “Awake, you who sleep,
  Arise from the dead,
  And Christ will give you light.”

  For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

  Eph 5:8-14
• 

  fedup

  The WT's use of this scripture simply reveals their lack of integrity and a continued willingness to deceive everyone, this way they delay the consequences of their lies.
• 

  Konagirl

  For sure, anyone who makes a profit by their lies, lacks integrity.

  “But false prophets also arose among the people. In the same way, false teachers will come among you. They will introduce destructive opinions (new light) and deny the master who bought them, bringing quick destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow them in their unrestrained immorality, and because of these false teachers the way of truth will be slandered. 3 In their greed they will take advantage of you with lies. The judgment pronounced against them long ago hasn’t fallen idle, nor is their destruction sleeping.” 2 Peter 2:1-3
• 

  truthlover123

  The kicker in this scripture is the wording - righteous. They are passing it off as though this was meant for them- who are far from that, and in so quoting, along with the light indicates to the congregations that they are truly conversing with God who is directly giving them the light because they are "righteous"
• 

  blondie

  https://jwfacts.com/watchtower/light-gets-brighter.php

  Light Gets Brighter

  Jehovah's Witnesses claim to be the only group to teach truth, as revealed to their Governing Body by Jehovah. If this is the case, why has Watchtower doctrine experienced ongoing changes? Watchtower justifies this as the "light gets brighter." This article examines the logic behind such a claim.

  A key premise of this site is that constant changes in doctrine and failed predictions are clear indication that Jehovah does not direct Watchtower. For the external observer this is the logical conclusion, yet for one of Jehovah's Witnesses it barely raises a grimace. How can this be? Because changes and failures are immediately dismissed by the thought stopping concept:

  Does truth change?

  
  "The Bible tells us the light would get brighter."
  

  This is based on a phrase from Proverbs.

  "But the path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established." Proverbs 4:18

  Addressing this claim is required to render the information contained within this site effective.

  The main justification from the Watchtower for changed doctrine is Proverbs 4:18.

  “The Light Keeps Getting Brighter … Increasing light from Jehovah continues to illuminate their way organizationally, doctrinally, and morally. What are some of our beliefs that have been clarified in recent years?” 2016 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses p.25

  ““The path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established,” states Proverbs 4:18. Yes, Jesus’ leadership is progressive, not stagnant. Another way to cooperate with Christ’s “brothers” is to have a positive attitude toward any refinements in our understanding of Scriptural truths as published by “the faithful and discreet slave.”” Watchtower 2011 May 15 p.27 (Contines...worth a read)
• 

  blondie

  Brighter or Changed

  Regularly, Watchtower light is not brighter, it is vastly different than the past

  Proverbs 4 identifies that righteous people fare better than the wicked, and not prophetic of the Watchtower Society. However, let us entertain the idea that within this passage there is the prophetic foreshadowing that God progressively reveals truth to his people during the time of the end. This concept cannot apply to Watchtower history, as Watchtower doctrine has not refined but changed. Consider whether the following change is really a matter of doctrinal light getting lighter:

  Imagine being the Witness parent of a child that needed a kidney transplant in 1970. Although the Awake! 1949 Dec 22 had described transplants as "wonders of modern surgery", in 1967 God revealed that transplants were wrong in his eyes. The Watchtower 1967 Nov 15 pp.702-704 stated that being now "enlightened by God's word" God's people understood that transplants are against divine principles and cannibalistic. The parents must sincerely have believed they were putting Jehovah first when watching their child die, refusing them the opportunity of possible survival through a transplant. How would that parent feel on reading the Watchtower 1980 Mar 15 p.31 - "There is no Biblical command pointedly forbidding the taking in of other human tissue. It is a matter for personal decision. " The enlightenment of 1967 had proved to be dark, harmful and in need of later correction, a regressive doctrine that resulted in the unnecessary death of members. When a doctrine changes and then reverts back to the original position this is not evidence of light getting brighter, it is evidence of a lack of Holy Spirit directing the Governing Body.

  The concept of light becoming brighter implies that previous doctrine was correct, but incomplete. Russell eloquently wrote the following truism that:

  "If we were following a man undoubtedly it would be different with us; undoubtedly one human idea would contradict another and that which was light one or two or six years ago would be regarded as darkness now;… But with God there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, and so it is with truth; any knowledge or light coming from God must be like its author. A new view of truth never can contradict a former truth. "New Light" never extinguishes older "light" but adds to it…"
• 

  TonusOH

  The changes have little effect on JWs because they are rarely aware of them. When I was a JW, I felt confident that I knew the organization's history better than any outsider. How could I not? I was a JW! I had the books, and those books had the history, and I had lived that life for decades.

  Then I get out, start reading, and am surprised to find that I knew almost nothing about the organization's history. What little I did know what severely skewed by the WTS to present the version they wanted me to know. And then I realized that JWs know less about their own religious organization than most people, because even the stuff we do know is false or so skewed that it may as well be false.

  And frankly, the concept of "new light" is a convenient cover for the fact that religious beliefs have to change as humanity learns more about ourselves and the world around us. The illumination isn't coming from god; it's coming from people. Even today, after more than two thousand years, we still can't agree on what the Bible says or means in a lot of places. How 'bright' can it be?
• 

  Rattigan350

  Why does this matter to you all?
• 

  blondie

  Rattigan350, probably because so many were deceived by this, the WTS using this to excuse their mistaken predictions. And still are being deceived and some POMIs are still believing the WTS crap.
• 

  Rattigan350

  Blondie, the Watchtower has not made predictions.

  Pre - before. Diction - speaking. Prediction means speaking before. Speaking before what? Things happening, but nothing happened so it can't be a prediction.

  And who exactly is wanting the kingdom to come?

  Proverbs 4:18 says, "But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light That grows brighter and brighter until full daylight."
  

  vs 14 " Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil men"

  The context is about listening to the discipline from a father and gaining wisdom.

  Then it contrasts of the path of the wicked to the path of the righteous.

  But what does it mean 'like the bright morning light'? There must be more to it from the righteous perspective.

  'That grows brighter and brighter until full daylight.'? It shows of change of something that gave them sight to something that makes their sight clearer.

  Then vs 19 says the wicked are dark "The way of the wicked is like the darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble"

  You all just focus on vs 18 but miss vs 19. The darkness of the way of the wicked is because they don't have spiritual light that gets brighter. They are just stumbling in the darkness.