A Question For Scholar And The Celebrated WT Scholars

by Honesty 6 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Honesty

  According to the Bible, the slaves of God are sealed when they receive the Holy Spirit:

  In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—in Him when you believed—were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.
  Eph 1:13 (HCSB)

  Revelation 7:3 is often used by the WTBTS to support their position that Ephesians 1:13 refers only to an 'initial sealing' and that Revelation 7:3 refers to the 'final sealing':

  “Don’t harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we seal the slaves of our God on their foreheads.”
  Rev 7:3 (HCSB)

  w97 8/15 14-15 Living for Today or for an Eternal Future?
  12 Consider the text at Revelation 7:1, 3, which says that the “four winds” of destruction are held back “until after we have sealed the slaves of our God in their foreheads.” This is not referring to the initial sealing, which takes place when those of the 144,000 receive the heavenly calling. (Ephesians 1:13) It refers to the final sealing, when they are irrevocably identified as tried and faithful “slaves of our God.”

  What scriptures do they use and what is their reasons for supporting this doctrine of an initial sealing and a final sealing, when the cited scriptures do not refer to an initial or a final sealing, other than to reinforce the opinions of celebrated WT scholar J.F. Rutherford that there are two different classes of citizen Christians in God's Kingdom?
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  JosephMalik

  Honesty said: According to the Bible, the slaves of God are sealed when they receive the Holy Spirit:

  In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—in Him when you believed—were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

  Honesty,

  First determine: “Who are the slaves of God?” What is the word of truth? What is this gospel of salvation? Paul was writing to the Ephesians and by projection we may apply this text to others but was the message being offered to them the same one being preached today?

  The answer is no! It may look like that on the surface but the message being preached in our day is much different than the message offered to and accepted by these Ephesians.

  Honesty said: Revelation 7:3 is often used by the WTBTS to support their position that Ephesians 1:13 refers only to an 'initial sealing' and that Revelation 7:3 refers to the 'final sealing':

  “Don’t harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we seal the slaves of our God on their foreheads.”

  Watchtower doctrine is the problem and cannot be trusted as you are pointing out. Forget about history and the fact that it would take thousands of years to locate and seal such believers. Pay no attention to the fact that what is being described in Ephesians and the Revelation is an administration essential to the running or any Kingdom the size of which has already been predetermined and such winds that bring harm will be controlled until the last one is selected. Forget about the fact that this administration will exist here on earth just as the others are and that our Lord will return here to administer it just as the apostles expected in their day.

  Are we to think that those believing in such Watchtower lies are hearing “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation?” Do they qualify for such salvation as administrators as such Ephesians did? No! Do the many books and magazines they have printed and can no longer hold up as “truth” demonstrate that they have been sealed with the promised “Holy Spirit?” No!

  Sorry Honesty, but you will have to study the scriptures for yourself as the word of truth is not coming from Watchtower witnesses and never did. Their distorted version the Gospel is destructive and many have died and will die needlessly as a result. Joseph
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  OldSoul

  Hee, hee! He's right Honesty.

  I guess you'll just have to find some way to tear yourself away from the ol' JWs, huh? Hahahhaahahahaa!

  Joseph, Honesty's other posts make clear she/he holds to no delusion along these lines. But the points you make are very valid, and need to be stated for the sake of lurkers.

  Carry on.
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  Hellrider

  but you will have to study the scriptures for yourself as the word of truth is not coming from Watchtower witnesses and never did. Their distorted version the Gospel is destructive and many have died and will die needlessly as a result. Joseph

  Amen!
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  Honesty

  Joseph, Honesty's other posts make clear she/he holds to no delusion along these lines. But the points you make are very valid, and need to be stated for the sake of lurkers. Carry on. Old Soul

  I have been outed by Old Soul. You are soooo right, OS!!! It is for the benefit of the many people who are beginning to doubt (rightly so, I may add in my extremely biased mind) that the WTBTS is 'the voice of God'. There are so many questions and issues the WTS will not respond to that it is only fair to post some of these same topics on a forum where they will be considered by individuals who are seeking truth no matter what. Those truths can only be found by comparing the Bible with 'current New light' as compared with 'outdated old light' from the WTBTS. IMHO, the WTBTS is an apostate religious society. It doesn't even qualify as a religion in my little black dictionary due to its structure and form. As for being the 'voice of God' as it asserts, one can only surmise that the WT god is a false god that has taken the lives of millions of people throughout its notorious and colorful history of changing doctrines and production of thousands of little 192 page books filled with heresy and contempt for Jesus.
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  JosephMalik

  Honesty,

  I am not picking on you, or at least I hope I'm not. Just commenting on your comments hoping to take them to another level, not so much for your sake but for others. I pretty much guessed where you are so I appreciate your work for the faith. Just using it as a springboard. But I can see why you may be concerned. As the theme song for Monk goes, "Its a jungle out there." I will just have to find a better way to word things and am sorry if I caused you any problems.

  Joseph
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  Honesty

  Honesty, I am not picking on you, or at least I hope I'm not. Just commenting on your comments hoping to take them to another level, not so much for your sake but for others. I pretty much guessed where you are so I appreciate your work for the faith. Just using it as a springboard. But I can see why you may be concerned. As the theme song for Monk goes, "Its a jungle out there." I will just have to find a better way to word things and am sorry if I caused you any problems. Joseph

  I appreciate people like you Joseph because there are a lot of concepts that you bring into a thread that help expose the Watchtower lies on a personal level. My relationship with the WTBTS can be summed up in a scripture, Genesis 3:15a