Posts by pcop

20

If I Were Still A JW I Would Think We Had To Be Living At The Time Of The End!

by minimus in

jw
friends

with all the terrible things happening on this earth, i bet most witnesses feel that jehovah god has to step in..

pcop

The 1914 date foundation was a major mistake because of what Jesus said at Matthew 24:36, Matthew 24:42 and Acts 1:7.

The Watch Tower should have never delved into the establishment of dates. This shows that it has not listened to Christ as The Most High commanded. (Luke 9:35)

An entire system of worship has been built upon the false foundation of 1914.

I am an ex-JW of more than 30 years (disassociated) and I say to all: Which of the two slaves within Jesus' household at Matthew 24:45-51 were concerned about dates? The evil slave or the faithful slave?

The evil slave began to beat the faith slaves because he felt his master was "delaying." Thus, he must have been EXPECTING his arrival at a certain time.

The WT organization was expecting Christs arrival in kingdom power in 1914. It published this date years before its arrival.

As for the faithful slaves, they were "being watchful" as they knew what their Master told them: "Keep on the watch, therefore, because YOU do not know on what day YOUR Lord is coming."

This single statement by Jesus squashes the 1914 date. It is false and a concotion of arrogant men.

The impact is staggering! It means that we are not in the last days; that Christ has not been given his kingdom over the earth yet; that Satan has full access into the heavenly realm; and that the beast, it's image, the false prophet, the scarlet-colored wild beast, the 144000, 666, etc have not arrived or occurred yet and are distant future. (Nothing in the Revelation by Jesus Christ that God Gave him has had a start of fulfillment).

Only if men and women would listen to the one God told us to listen to ...

171

Dress & Grooming for visiting Bethel. scans inside!!!!!11 LOL

by karvel in

.

pcop

Establishing dress codes is a "control mechanism." The military used it. (I am a 20 year Veteran).

Dress and grooming codes psychologically binds individuals.

Yet, the Most High God does not see the outer appearance of a person, He sees into the heart.

These are Anglo/European/American dress and grooming codes.

I am an African American who lives in West Africa and I can tell you that the imposition of such codes upon many of the African people here is "un-natural" and arrogant.

It is very hot over here and Africans who have been "Europeanized" and "converted" by the Missionaries over the many years look uncomfortable and ridiculous walking around in suit and tie in this hot and human weather sweating in streams.

This is one of the evils of what men call and named "Christianity." It is not enough to strip African peoples of their natural identities, but to change them to have Anglo/European/American mindsets. This is a crime and it is ungodly and a thing God had not commanded.

It always bothered me when I went door to door in field service as an African American. My mannerisms were not natural because they were not mine.

Going into a ghetto area in field service: Who are the people who live in the ghetto most likely to listen to, a White Brother or a Black Brother who acts like he is a White man. I can tell you neither of them will get much of a hearing.

I new of an African American Ministerial Servant who was harrassed by a White Bethlite Elder in the congregation because he had a small shag of hair at the base of his neck. Not one Black Brother or Sister noticed it or was bothered by it when they were made aware of it. It bothered this White Bethelite.

The Ministerial Servant was a good dresser and speaker. He was losing his hair and was doing the best with what he had.

The Ministerial Servant was asked to step down because of the small patch of hair (combed against the grain) on his neck. I was shocked.

The Ministerial Servant was so upset he eventually left off from coming to the meetings. Quietly and secretly many Black Brothers and Sisters were upset but would put on fake smiles during the meetings. I was not quiet about it because that Ministerial Servant was my friend and he simply did not see what he did wrong.

I told him, "Your crime was you resisted being molded into the Anglo/European/Image that the Watch Tower promotes." You look African instead of White-looking (image-wise).

A balding White Brother who throws to strand of hair over his forehead to cover his baldness has nothing said to him. This shows a willingness NOT to understand and TRULY accept people of color as they are and as they were created. The Watch Tower organization and indeed all of Christianity desires to them us all makeovers to fit an Anglo/European/American image.

I said to him, "Do you really think that the Watch Tower will portray Jesus, Adam and Eve, Angels and others within the publications other than someone of European descent?"

We have to look at this for what it is: It is all about the exercise of power and control over the individual.

This is not the Most High God's way. He would NEVER burden persons down with such nonsense. Only men do this.

13

New light scripture??

by Daisychaindream in

jw
friends

i've seen it mentioned in a few posts and i didn't want to high jack!

can anyone explain what this is about?.

pcop

"New light" is simply a way out for religious organization to explain past errors it has made. God does not make mistakes.

With The Most High God, there is no "new light."

What many ARE NOT seeing is that "a book" is being made what God's Son ONLY is. For example, it the video playlist 6 "What Does the Bible Really Teach" notice what is happening right before your very eyes: The BIBLE IS MADE TO BE A TEACHER!!!

It should not be "What Does The Bible Really Teach" but rather "What Does Christ Teach."

Jesus said at Matthew 23:10 that he is our only Teacher and Leader. How in the world that a book usurp that role and gets all of the props?

Many love to talk about what the Prophets of old said, but The Most High God did not send any of them to us. He sent His Son to us and he commanded us to "Listen to" His Son.

People, what are you doing? A book has become a "Golden Calf" a replacement for the one who is "The truth, the way, and the life."

A book is being pushed upon the world by religious organization and it stands in a holy place where it does not belong. Only Christ can stand in that place.

Test this: Visit the official Watch Tower website and count the number of times "The Bible" is mentioned as opposed to "Christ."

Even on this webiste (I say this respectfully), count the number of times "The Bible" is mentioned as opposed to Christ being mentioned.

I might add that no human agency (Religious Organizations) can occupy that lofty and holy position.

Yet, it has positioned itself in between God's creation (man) and Christ himself and it prevents access to Christ and utlimately the Father.

Religious organization is like a virus software application. It quarantines the truth and removes those who question and challenges them.

Know who the truth is: Christ himself (John 14:6). No book by any name or religious organization is the truth.

Stop revering men and religious "organizations" as it is blasphemous.

28

Why were no sea creatures destroyed in the flood?

by smiddy in

all the animals on earth were destroyed in the flood of noahs day apart from those in the ark ,apparently no sea creatures were destroyed in the flood , why is that ?.

this is not an issue that only affects jehovahs witnesses , it is one that affects all beleivers that accept the bible as gods word.. obviously sea creatures were not put on the ark , no whales ,no dolphins , no fish , no krill , no plankton etc.

you can fill in the rest .. so my question is , why were land animals / birds singled out for destruction ?, what wrong did they do to deserve this judgement against them .

pcop

We have to exercise common sense with regards the flood of Noah's day:

We are not told the the entire earth was flooded. We are told that a "world" was. That world was the world (locale) in which Noah and other on the earth lived.
Keep in mind that God had not confused mankinds languages so there were no people anywhere else on the earth other than the locale (world) in which Noah lived.
Noah did not have the resources or time to travel great distances to gather all of the animals on the earth.
What was flooded was the locale in which Noah and the rest of evil mankind lived in those days. That was the only "world" there was.
Where did all of the water in the earth we see today come from? Genesis 1:2 provides the answer:

"Now the earth proved to be formless and waste and there was darkness upon the surface of [the] watery deep; and God’s active force was moving to and fro over the surface of the waters."

It was ALREADY there. Before God made dry land appear, the entire "planet" was all water.

More than 90% of the world claiming to profess belief in God and Christ has been misled with regards the flood of Noah's day. Why is that? Because they have chosen to listen to men via their religious organizations rather than to God through Christ.

Religious organization is responsible for this gross misleading and deviation of the truth.

The really sad part is that no matter how one is reasoned with, they will defend the misleaders and their teachings rather than listen to God and the one He told us all to listen to. (Luke 9:35)

"Man does not live on bread alone, but on EVERY WORD that comes out of God's mouth." says Jesus.

Jesus did not say that we live by every word that is contained in a book that men themselves named and made holy and call "the word of God." Jesus did not say that we live by every word that comes out of religious organizations.

But on what comes out of God's mouth. That Jesus [the] Christ is God's Word, we live by every word that comes out of his mouth.

Problem is: Many have been duped to believe that a book and the religious organizations that promote this book (their image) is what Jesus is.

They are mistaken and have really resorted to following men and not Christ; while at the same time claiming that they follow Christ.

60

How Do You Answer Someone Who Says JWs Are Not False Prophets?

by minimus in

jw
friends

it used to bother me that people would say that about my well meaning religion.

how do you prove that witnesses are indeed, false prophets?.

pcop

In order to answer this question one has to remove the element of emotion. (I am a former 30-year JW by disassociation)

Persons of ALL religious organizations believe that what THEY have is "the truth." Each of them claims that "the other guys" do not have the truth.

A false prophet is anyone or anything not sent from God and who makes predictions and utterances that do not come true.

There has not been one religious organization who has uttered a prediction or foretold something that has come true. Not one.

I remember back in 1986 many Witnesses believed that that was the year Armageddon would come. Many cashed in life insurance policies, sold their property and so-forth. Well, that year came and went without event.

The year 1914 is a date in which the very foundation of the WTBTS is built upon. It is the date that they claim as the end of the "Gentile Times" and when Christ received his Kingdom over the earth.

Well, this date is false as well for several reasons: (1) The date did not originate with the Watch Tower organization. It originated with the Second Adventist in the 1800s in which Charles Taze Russell was a member. When he broke away from that movement he adopted the 1914 date when he started his International Bible Students Association. If God has always had a faithful and discreet slave on earth - as the WT claims - was the Second Adventist that slave also since the 1914 date came from them? Obviously, the WT does not address this and would answer, no." (2) Something Jesus himself said at Matthew 24:36, Matthew 24:42 and Acts 1:7: That no one knows when Christ is coming. That information is privy only to the Father in heaven. So for humans down here on earth to be establishing dates is in direct opposition to what Christ stated. Yet, humans are stubborn and are listening to their religious organizations and not to Christ. (Luke 9:35)

So what I am saying is this: Remove the "emotional" element from it all and recognize that "the truth" is not human and it is not of human origin. The truth is not within any religious organization on earth because neither God or Christ established any religion on earth. Men did this on their own accord. Christ was not sent to earth to establish a religion. Religion is a mechanation of the devil.

The truth is a person. This person speaks only what God has directed him to speak. That is why he alone is The Word of God. No book by any name and no organization by any name is "the truth" or the "Word of God."

Jesus [the] Christ is "The truth" and nothing he utters by way of prophecy will fail. That is why it is imperative that "he" be listened to and not religious organization.

Jesus said of himself at John 14:6:

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Many have forgotten this and ascribes "the truth" to religious organizations and to a book.

The world is sick with humans and human agencies teaching and speaking false things.

Reliance in "the truth" Jesus [the] Christ is the ONLY way to be sure that one is on the right path and not being led astray by false utterances.

One must detach themselves physically, spiritually and emotionally from ALL religious organizations and attached themselves to the living Master Christ Jesus.

Sadly, many do not want to do this. Since they will not, they will always defend the religion and wander around in the dark thinking that they are in the light.

Treat anything and everything spoken by humans as false until it is tested. (1 John 4:1)

The Watch Tower organization is not immune from such examination. It claims its members are "in the truth." This is a clever way to get out of being tested in accordance with 1 John 4:1.

40

Revelation, its Grand Climax.... remember when?

by wallsofjericho in

i remember being at the assembly in 1988?

when this was released.

everyone was so excited that we finally had a simple explanation of revelation with pictures.

pcop

I studied and led studies of this book many times. I had read its predecessors "Then The Mystery is Finished" and the "Babylon" book. Back then, I too was very excited and had a "warm" and fuzzy about them.

Now, I know better and much differently.

I have come to realize that I made a grave mistake. That mistake was relying upon humans and human agency to explain the Book of Revelation. Whereas, my reliance to explain it should have been placed in God through His Son.

At the outset at verse 1:1 we are told that:

"A revelation by Jesus Christ, which God gave him, to show his slaves the things that must shortly take place. And he sent forth his angel and presented [it] in signs through him to his slave John ..."

It is a revelation by Jesus that God gave him. Thus, it would be the Master who would explain it to us (his slaves), not any religious organization. It is NOT a relevation by the WTBS that God gave them to show us (Jesus' slaves) the things that must shortly take place.

We see the folly and error produced when humans usurp what has not been given to them to explain. The Revelation Climax Book has gone through several revisions and corrections (implying error by a human agency as God does not err). It also shows that God has not entrusted to human agency to explain The Revelation "by" Jesus Christ. If it is a Revelation "by" Jesus Christ, he will be the one to explain it and declare it.

It all really shows a lack of faith in the "invisible" and living Christ Jesus. We have come to rely on the "visible" things to explain what God has given His Son. Many have come to walk by sight rather than by faith.

Since faith has been placed in human agencies to explain "The Book of Revelation" there will be gross error. And, that is what we have been and are witnessing at present.

The Book of Revelation should have never been placed in the canon men have given the name "Bible" to. It should be apart from it as a stand-alone book. It is unique from all of the other books within the Bible because it is the ONLY ONE that tells us from the very beginning WHERE it came from and TO WHOM it was given.

What I have come to learn based on placing full reliance in my Master Christ Jesus in prayer to the Father through him is that "The Revelation By Jesus Christ that God Gave him" is not for our time period today. It was given to Christ by God as a warning of what will happen in a future time period. What time period is that? The time period AFTER Christs 1000 year kingdom ends and Satan is released from the Abyss. (Rev 20:7-8)

Christ is warning and alerting his slaves of what will "shortly" take place after his 1000 kingdom over the earth ends. This book has NOTHING to do with our time period.

The reason why there has been so many confusing explanations, books, and revisions of those books on "The Revelation" is because the persons writing them have been laboring to make the contents of the book fit this time period. It will not because it is not for this time period.

If one wants an understanding of "The Revelation by Jesus Christ that God gave him" then all one has to do is "ask" the Most High God. Do not rely or follow human explanation.

The mechanism of prayer to The Most High God is in place for this purpose: To ask God through Christ for such understandings. Yet, many have been duped to rely upon religious organization. This shows faith in men and not in God and Christ.

I tell you, praying to God and asking for his wisdom, his understanding and his knowledge works. It works tremendously and it demonstrates that one TRULY relys on "every word that comes out of God's mouth" and not the words that comes out of the mouths of religious organization. (Matt 4:4)

Until one recognizes this and until one STOPS looking to religious organizations (no matter who they are) they will be roaming around in the dark.

One last comment: When you ask the Most High, do so incessantly. Go into a private place. Do NOT engage in group or public prayer. You do not have to assume some special position to pray such as kneeling, closing your eyes, folding hands, etc. You must ask God as an individual within a "private" place away from the eyes of others.

If you are in a public place, you can pray inside of yourself with your eyes wide open and no one would know that you are praying. The important thing is that you NEVER pray to God in sight of others. This is the the command of the Master. (Matthew 6:5-8)

This is the only way the Father will hear you: When you approach Him in secret.

In time, you will just come to understand and know things that many struggle with to understand. This is the mark that God has pour out upon you His Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit opens up your mental eyes to see what was not seen before.

Many will not understand you and will think you to be a "nut" but they will not be able to counter anything you say. They are already infected by the influence of religious organization teaching and will not understand you until the infection is removed.

Since they will not understand you they will wonder about you and will make YOU the subject rather than Christs teachings. (1 Peter 4:4)

1

The "Man of Lawlessness" - Reconsidered

by BitterTruth in

jw
friends

the "man of lawlessness".

where does the bible say the "man of lawlessness" sits?

2 thessalonians 2:4 says that the "man of lawlessness" sits himself down in the temple of the god, but the watchtower society says this is an "apostate temple.

pcop

Please permit me to say that it is not "What the Bible says." Rather, it is what The Son of God says. Many keep slapping and disobeying God's command given at Luke 9:35 to "Listen to" his Son.

None should care about what the Prophets of old say. They were sent to the people in their day. The Most High God has sent us His Son and commanded us to listen to his Son. How in the world did a book (and even religious organizations) take on that role? The Bible - contrary to what many have been taught is NOT the Word of God. The Son of God is The Word of God. There are NOT two Words of God. The Bible is NOT Scripture. Scripture is anything God "breathes" or speaks. Since Christ is Gods Word, then what ever he speaks is Scripture.

Jesus said at Matthew 4:4, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." That mouth today is Christ, the Word of God.

How can one claim that they are listening to Christ when it is "The Bible" that gets mentioned. Very few say, "Christ teaches" or "Christ says." Instead they say, "The Bible says" or "The Bible teaches."

They are not thinking. A book has superceded a living person: The Christ. The ONLY Word of God. (Rev 19:13)

With that said, what does Christ say about the man of lawlessness. This is very easy to know if Christ is "listened to."

At Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus identifies them:

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"

The "Man of Lawless" are persons CLAIMING to be followers of Christ and professing faith in him. The Man of Lawlessness are persons so sure that they KNOW Christ. No one can convince them otherwise. They are certain they have the truth. The Man of Lawlessness are persons who make prophetic utterances (1914, rapture, for example) in Christs name. The Man of Lawlessness are persons claiming claiming to have special powers to expel demons and perform miracles as humans. The Man of Lawlessness are persons who think they are doing God's will but are not. For example, preaching a Good News of the Kingdom message when no such message has been given to humans to preach. An angel will be commissioned to preach it in very distant future. (Rev 14:6) Because they do their own thing (their own will) and NOT God's, they are evildoers as far as Christ is concerned and he will not recognize or acknowledge them as his disciples even though they make self-proclamations that they are.

The entire world today is in captivity to religious organization and their is where their loyalties lie. They are are NOT in captivity or membered to Christ even though they freely use the name and carry Bibles.

The Man of Lawlessness is 99.9% of the world today. That is how far this rabbit hole of deception is. With more than 41000 contending Christian denominations in the world and each claiming they know and follow Christ. They each have their own respective rituals and rules and regulations that their membership must abide by and this gives false sense of being godly and doing God's will. It is doing "man's will."

Many who are in the category of The Man of Lawlessness are not aware that they are. They think they are in God's favor.

The bottom line is this: If you are membered with ANY religious organization on earth today, you are a "Man of Lawlessness." Why? Because God NEVER told us to be membered to anything "human" or "angelic." Our membership or attachment is to be ONLY to his son as his disciples.

The Man of Lawlessness is marked by the very man-made name he bears in the religious organization he is membered with. Did God or Christ tell anyone to be called Seventh Day Adventist, Jehovah's Witness, Catholic, Mormon, or even Christian, etc.

By virtue of taking upon oneself a name or title Christ did not authorize or give us makes one an adulterer in God's eyes. How so?

If one claims to be membered or married to Christ they would bear the name he told us to be known as. What name is that? Disciples. Nothing more, nothing less.

To take upon oneself other names and titles marks the person as to who they are membered or married with. If you take upon yourself the name Jehovahs Witness, for example, that name shows who you are membered or married with. It shows who directs you as Lord.

Is adultery evil and unlawful? Yes it is!

That is why Jesus called persons claiming to know him workers of lawlessness (evildoers) because they bear names and titles other than the one he told them to be known as.

If one were TRULY a disciple of Christ they would TRULY know him as their Lord (owner) and NEVER take upon themselves the name of another. They would insist upon being known as "Disciples."

For Christ to look upon persons bearing any of the names I mentioned above and the many others, Christ "would not recognize" them as his. Why? They do not bear the"his name", they bear someone elses.

Many will reject this, I know. But one must think: Did Christ tell anyone to be known as "Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Seventh Day Adventist, Quakers, Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, Christians, etc.

No he did not!

If he did not, who did?

Men!

Men today are following men while making it "appear" that they are following Christ.

That is what Christ is referring to at Matthew 7:21-23 and this following of men as Lords is what makes one The Man of Lawlessness.

It is not easy to be a disciple of Christ in this world.

It is more than Uncle Sam wants you, "Religious organization wants you."

38

Did it bother you that they taught, "miss a meeting and you'll fall away?"

by Wasanelder Once in

how many times did we hear that if we dont attend meetings we will leave the truth because satan will get ahold of us?

that always bothered me.

i thought, "if my faith isn't able to stand alone what good is it?

pcop

Notice that the WTBTS (and all of what is called Christianity" has established rules and regulations that THEY use to define who and what you are in relation to God and Christ! Christ did not establish any of these rules and regulations.

In fact, it was from such that Jesus freed his first 12 disciples from. He called them out of the domineering Jewish religious system of the day to himself as his disciples. (John 8:31-32)

What we see today is a reversion back to "law keeping." This time, men have established their own unique set of "rules, regulations and decorum" and enslaving men and women by them. There is no freedom of worship to the Most High God "without" following a set of rules and regulations. If one does not follow those rules - such as missing meetings or not putting so many hours each month in field service - one is somehow inadequate. This is from men!

It is really too bad that so many people have bought into the notion that they MUST belong to a system of religion to get to God or to please him. Jesus said something quite different at John 14:6. It would not be "through" other humans or their agencies that one would get to God, it would be ONLY by him.

Thus, our membership (discipleship) and attachment should not be to religious organizations, but to the "person" of Jesus Christ who is "The Way, The Truth and the Life."

And no other name has been given by God as to who it is we should be listening to and following. (Luke 9:35)

29

Do we know for sure what happens after death?

by Yondaime in

christian denominations say we go to heaven, witness say we stay alseep until ressurection.

quran says when we go we grt 72 virgins, unless we blow some people up.. .

i'm not really concerned with death atm, i'm not dead.

pcop

I believe what Solomon said concerning death at Eccl 9:5, 10. Death is inactivity, lifelessness. There is no going to heaven or an eternal hellfire at death.

The first man (you can call him Adam if you want) existed in two states: (1) As a dead soul and (2) as a living soul. So even in the death (dead soul) state Adam existed, but as a dead and lifeless person.

It was not until God blew into Adams nostrils the "breath of life" did Adam become a "living" soul.

So when a person dies it is the opposite: The breath of life exits the body and the person returns to be a "dead soul" (dead). (Gen 2:7)

In the dead soul state (and there are billions of persons in this state literally), all persons can have that "breath of life" reinserted back into them. This is the promised resurrection of ALL of mankind at John 5:28-29)

One must think: Jesus' friend Lazarus died. When Jesus resurrected him Lazarus did not report being in heaven or in a fiery hell. Why? Because he was dead. There is no consciousness of anything in the dead soul state.

Persons today claiming that they have died and came back to life and saw a white light are either lying or they did not really die. The world today is replete with liars. Such is a feature of this world as the "god of this world" (Satan) is a liar and the father of the lie. (John 8:44 and 2 Cor 4:4)

9

The Tree of The Knowledge of Good and BadHave JWs got it correctly?

by Kalos in

as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.

(genesis 2:17).

jws interpret this tree as the symbol knowledge of good and bad, right of god to set standards for us; hence eating of it means snatching gods right to rule over usthus self-rule means ruination and death, and conversely gods rule means blessings and eternal life.. this interpretation has some intrinsic problems!.

pcop

Here is an interesting article.

http://www.e-prophetic.com/articles/the-trees-of-eden/