Posts by slimboyfat

152

Do JWs believe Jesus is an angel?

by slimboyfat in

i would suggest:.

the short answer is yes.. the longer answer is a qualified yes, with some caveats.

the short answer is yes because jehovah’s witnesses teach that jesus is michael the archangel, their leader, eldest and most powerful, and have taught this since the very beginning of the religion.

slimboyfat

Are you using ChatGPT to write these responses?

This exaltation does not imply that Jesus became more divine or that He was somehow less than God before

Yes, it implies Jesus is less than God. Because imagine if those NT statements were made by or about God himself. Imagine God said “all power has been given to me”. You would conclude he cannot be God almighty if he received his power. Or suppose it was said about God that he was “exalted to a superior position”. You would again conclude that we are not talking about God almighty because God cannot be exalted to a superior position as he is always supreme. When the NT repeatedly says things about Jesus that indicate that he is less than God almighty it ought to be clear that Jesus is distinct from and subject to God.

152

Do JWs believe Jesus is an angel?

by slimboyfat in

i would suggest:.

the short answer is yes.. the longer answer is a qualified yes, with some caveats.

the short answer is yes because jehovah’s witnesses teach that jesus is michael the archangel, their leader, eldest and most powerful, and have taught this since the very beginning of the religion.

slimboyfat

The NT clearly teaches that Jesus was promoted by God after his resurrection. Other scriptures affirm this, such as Philippians 2 and Matthew 28. It would be nonsense to talk about God being promoted to a superior position because God is supreme. The obvious conclusion is that Jesus is distinct and subject to almighty God and owes his position and very existence to God.

Phi 2.9–11 For this very reason, God exalted him to a superior position and kindly gave him the name that is above every other name, so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend—of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground — and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Matt 28.18 Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying: “All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth.

152

Do JWs believe Jesus is an angel?

by slimboyfat in

i would suggest:.

the short answer is yes.. the longer answer is a qualified yes, with some caveats.

the short answer is yes because jehovah’s witnesses teach that jesus is michael the archangel, their leader, eldest and most powerful, and have taught this since the very beginning of the religion.

slimboyfat

JWs believe that Jesus is superior to the angels for the reasons stated in Hebrews.

1. Heb 1.4 says that Jesus “has become” better than the angels because he has inherited a name better than theirs. This tells us that one reason Jesus is superior to the angels because he was promoted to a superior position by God.

2. But that’s not the only reason. Jesus is, and always has been superior to the angels because he is the “firstborn” according to Heb 1.6, and the angels worship him at God’s direction.

3. Another reason Jesus is superior to the angels is because he is the perfect reflection of God’s glory and he is the one through whom God created the world. (Heb 1.2, 3) Obviously the one who is the reflection of God’s glory is distinct from God at the same time as being superior to everything created by God through that person.

4. Heb 1.8 tells us Jesus is divine in words that were originally applied to the king of Israel but applies to God’s Son in a grander sense. Verse 9 also asserts that Jesus as a divine being is subject to his God.

JWs agree with all these reasons in Hebrews for saying Jesus as God’s unique Son is far superior to the angels. If the author of Hebrews actually believed that Jesus is superior to the angels because he’s part of a Trinity then why didn’t he just say so instead of beating about the bush with 6 or more reasons that place Jesus above the angels but also clearly distinct and subject to God?

72

The Watchtower's Depiction of 'paradise'..

by Ron.W. in

perhaps we could post the pictures the wt have presented in their literature that depict their version of paradise here for comment/discussion:.

from: spirits of the dead—can they help you or harm you?

do they really exist?.

slimboyfat

Very interesting thread.

The early depiction of cars in paradise is interesting.

Does anyone know why there are so many waterfalls and bridges in the pictures over the years?

18

First Church Service at 55 years Old

by SouthCentral in

jw
friends

i went to a christening at a church today, a black church.

it was an incredible experience!!

women were an active part of the service, and the people were very welcoming.

slimboyfat

That’s good 👍

It might not be your thing, but I’ve been to over 30 denominations now to see what they’re like. Yesterday I was in a Lutheran church for the first time, not for a service though. Some churches meet on a Saturday morning such as the Seventh-day Adventists, if you feel like a change of day. They give good food in the afternoon too, vegetarian though. The Iglesia ni Cristo give good food - non vegetarian too. Most just cup of tea and a biscuit, which is more than at the KH.

152

Do JWs believe Jesus is an angel?

by slimboyfat in

i would suggest:.

the short answer is yes.. the longer answer is a qualified yes, with some caveats.

the short answer is yes because jehovah’s witnesses teach that jesus is michael the archangel, their leader, eldest and most powerful, and have taught this since the very beginning of the religion.

slimboyfat

I don’t need to give you any evidence for angels any more than you need to give me evidence against them. If you don’t think angels exist nobody is compelling you to discuss them as if they do.

50

Pomo because of Proclaimers book, 1995 generation change and Daniel prophecy book

by Gorb in

jw
friends

have some time thinking about my recent and less recent personal history because of the summer holiday.. the 90's crossed my mind.

the years i became pimo.

a friend, a room mate during the 1993 moscow international convention, went to university.

slimboyfat

For me a real hair raising phrase came in 1996 when the WT claimed that the wrong interpretation of the superior authorities in the 30s to the 60s was a good thing because it helped JWs not to compromise during war. Can wrong interpretations be good?

50

Pomo because of Proclaimers book, 1995 generation change and Daniel prophecy book

by Gorb in

jw
friends

have some time thinking about my recent and less recent personal history because of the summer holiday.. the 90's crossed my mind.

the years i became pimo.

a friend, a room mate during the 1993 moscow international convention, went to university.

slimboyfat

Yeah whoever wrote that thought they were being smart, or appealing to their GB bosses, or whatever. Even if it loses member I guess they prefer that to losing face.

152

Do JWs believe Jesus is an angel?

by slimboyfat in

i would suggest:.

the short answer is yes.. the longer answer is a qualified yes, with some caveats.

the short answer is yes because jehovah’s witnesses teach that jesus is michael the archangel, their leader, eldest and most powerful, and have taught this since the very beginning of the religion.

slimboyfat

That’s a joke. The thought stopper came on page 3:

Angels can’t be demonstrated to actually exist so as a fictionalised trope, there is a fair amount of latitude for ‘defining’ what can be classified as an angel.
As such, it is entirely trivial that JWs consider Jesus to be an angel independent of other denominations’ characterisations of what it means to be an angel.

I can’t understand the mentality of people who are not interested in a topic themselves so want to stop it.

50

Pomo because of Proclaimers book, 1995 generation change and Daniel prophecy book

by Gorb in

jw
friends

have some time thinking about my recent and less recent personal history because of the summer holiday.. the 90's crossed my mind.

the years i became pimo.

a friend, a room mate during the 1993 moscow international convention, went to university.

slimboyfat

A lot fewer than used to. The conversation around the end is very different than it used to be. I’m still reeling from the fact that the summer convention released the first episode of a proposed 18 episode movie of the life of Jesus. What sort of message does that send about the nearness of Armageddon? It could be the 2030s before the project ever gets finished. I remember some JWs used to get twitchy if the speaker at the convention talked about next year’s convention without qualifying it with a comment about Armageddon coming first.

On the other hand, at least until the last year or so, JWs are still very active and engaged with the religion in other respects. There is a high number of pioneers and auxiliary pioneers and people still go on preaching vacations where the need is greater and all the kind of thing. Maybe participation in the ministry will begin to decrease because publishers no longer report hours. It would be remarkable if it didn’t have at least some dampening effect on participation in preaching. If it goes really pair-shaped then it’s possible to imagine a steep decline in preaching in the medium to long term. It will be interesting to see how it goes.