I had one elder come up to me and say "you know what you have to do" is that a standard line they are given by the KGB to pass on to thos who are d'fd...man it's all so schizophrenic , I know that now they would all go back to the shunning thing should I see any of them again or attend another meeting! I think most JW;s are just ordinary folks, but completely under the spell of the GB. Very sad actually .
Raphael
JoinedPosts by Raphael
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SURPRISED AND SHOCKED
by Raphael inmy dad passed away in december and i had to fly to south africa for his funeral.
both my parents and just about all the extended family are devout witnesses.
the funeral talk was held at the local kh.
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SURPRISED AND SHOCKED
by Raphael inmy dad passed away in december and i had to fly to south africa for his funeral.
both my parents and just about all the extended family are devout witnesses.
the funeral talk was held at the local kh.
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Raphael
My dad passed away in December and I had to fly to South Africa for his funeral. Both my parents and just about all the extended family are devout Witnesses. The funeral talk was held at the local KH. The talk itself was the worst I have ever heard - complete without any emotion whatsoever, however although I am disfellowshipped - almost everyone in the congregation came upto me shook my hand and gave me their condolensces. Some even chatted about my dad and mentioned how much they loved him and what a wonderful man he was. I was surprised and taken back by the concern and warmth shown. My brother and sister who are also devout Witnesses and very active in their congregations were also very warm and loving and it was good catching up with them also.
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"All of Israel will be saved" vs JW salvation
by *jeremiah* init seems as if the jw religion in general has much contempt for israel.
correctly me if i'm wrong, but,...in short, the jw religion thinks they have become israel,...."spiritual israel", anyways.
or, in other words, the blessings and promises for israel have been transfered to the wts and it's faithful members.. which brings up an interesting question.
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Raphael
Papha...just a correction regarding Russell - right up until his death in 1916 - he continued to teach that fleshly Israel would be restored to divine favour - this view is still held by the Bible Students Association. It was Rutherford who began to spiritualise these scripture references.
If interetsed in current Bible Student view on Isael see the link http://www.biblestudents.com/FreeBibleVideos.cfm and watch the video Israel Fulfilling Bible Prophecy.
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WTS misrepresented what CTR wrote
by Doug Mason init is bad to make a false and misleading prophecy.
it is worse to later infer that the prophecies were correct.
in 1973, at the height of the frenzied anticipation for the imminent start of the millennium in 1975, the wtbts published gods kingdom of a thousand years has approached.
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Raphael
In a sense 1914 could be seen as the beginning of the "end of the gentile times" when the figurative fig tree in Jesus parable began to blossom. World War I resulted in the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, which controlled all of the Middle East including Palestine.
1917 - The Balfour Declaration favours establishing a national home for the Jewish people.
1922 - The league of Nations establishes the British Mandate over Palestine and the Zionist movement enters a new phase of activity leading to a steady rise in Jewish state-like institutions.
1948 - Palestine , becomes an independant Jewish state
What the future holds for Israel remains to be seen. The bible is clear that it will play a pivotal role in prophecies relating to Gods Kingdom being established on earth. Russell was correct in this regard.
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THE RESURRECTION
by Raphael ini've recently started studying with a house church movement, and they have an interesting slant on the ressurection and eternity:.
firstly with regard to time and space as we experience it in our 4 dimensional world and time as experienced in the spiritual world :.
it seems that time between the two worlds does not run parrallel, and of course god and christ can move and exist outside of time and space in both worlds , hence it is possible for god to see all of history at once - should he choose too.
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Raphael
I've recently started studying with a house church movement, and they have an interesting slant on the Ressurection and Eternity:
Firstly with regard to time and space as we experience it in our 4 dimensional world and time as experienced in the spiritual world :
It seems that time between the two worlds does not run parrallel, and of course God and Christ can move and exist outside of time and space in both worlds , hence it is possible for God to see all of history at once - should he choose too. It also means that when we die and enter eternity as in death there is no consciousness of time , when the ressurection occurs it will seem to those who are "sleeping" in death that they have been transferred in a moment - even though to us here in the physical plane they may have been dead and waiting for resurrection for thousands of years.
So it will when the resurrection occurs along with the rapture of true christians form the earth at Christs second comming seem that we have all arrived at that point in the same moment. Untill this occurs no one is in heaven and yet from Gods standpoint and those who have died they are already there with us - sounds like a contradiction , but makes sense if we think outside of the constraints of the laws we experience in the physical universe - things in other words are not always what they seem and time is simply an illusion we experience in this reality.
We also receive new glorified bodies in an instant , and there are no disembodied souls floating anywhere on the clouds , alththough I do wonder about some folks ! Our spirits the essence of who we are returns to God untill he unites the essence of whome we are with a new body at that moment.
All those who die in Christ from Adam to Jesus - those who put faith in the promises of the messiah are counted righteous along with those who receive christ from the 1st Century onwards. These take part in the first ressurection that occurs at Christs comming and so are also not effected by the second death. Then all the other dead outside of Christ are raised and given a judgement based on works and , those who had never heard the gospel judged on how they responded to the law written on the hearts i.e consciences and if declared righteous the benefits of Christs ransom applied to them also and so Christ dies not just for our sins (Christians) but also for the whole worlds (those outside of Christ, wh had not heard the gospel, those given an adverse judgement experience the second death i.e could be conscious existence without God or non existence - not sure!
The earth is restored miraculously and God and Christ along with the bride of Christ the pre-tribulation church make there home with mankind.
The 1000 year reign only symbolic of Christs reign in the hearts of all true believers until the church age ends at the start of the tribulation.
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BETHEL NYC ......ANYONE KNOW????
by Raphael inanyone know merton & olga campbell from bethel,.
met them years ago at bethel nyc and thought they were an amazing couple - very hospitable and warm... merton i think is quite senior at headquaters , but seemed more liberal than most .. also anyone know olaf stephenson from watchtower farms, was a really nice fella and often wonder what they are doing with their lives today?????.
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Raphael
Anyone know Merton & Olga Campbell from Bethel,
Met them years ago at Bethel NYC and thought they were an amazing couple - very hospitable and warm..
Merton I think is quite senior at headquaters , but seemed more liberal than most .
Also anyone know Olaf Stephenson from Watchtower Farms, was a really nice fella and often wonder what they are doing with their lives today?????
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The ideal christian church should be how?
by greendawn inthe wts claims that it is the true christian religion but it obviously isn't, it is a heartless business more than anything else.
but how do imagine the true religion to be?
it obviously should be very spiritual but how exactly is this to be manifested in its life?
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Pedophilia with 3-year old slave girls in the Bible!
by mike87 ingirls at the age of 3 were forced into sex in both the talmud and the bible.
also, the age consent in us and europe was as low as 10:.
http://www.answering-christianity.com/age3.htm.
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Raphael
....Deuteronomy 20 , discusses in some detail the issue of war under Mosaic Law....
Interestingly in most instances verse 10 commands the army to make an offer of peace to their enemies, only if the offer was refused did they lay siege to that city ...
Deuteronomy 21: 10 - 14 deals with the issue of captive women ....it speaks of "women" not little girls.
Young children , who may have been orphaned by the israelite army and carried into captivity would have been protected under the laws dealing with widows and orphans . Exodus 22 : 21 - 24 says " Do not ill - treat an alien or oppress him...do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan, if you do and they cry out to me , I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused and I will kill you with sword : your wives will become widows and your children fatherless."
Children would also have been protected from Paedophilia under laws dealing with incest - which was forbidden under penalty of death.
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Pedophilia with 3-year old slave girls in the Bible!
by mike87 ingirls at the age of 3 were forced into sex in both the talmud and the bible.
also, the age consent in us and europe was as low as 10:.
http://www.answering-christianity.com/age3.htm.
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Raphael
Several Psalms shock those familiar with New Testament teachings. The Pslam writers didn't hesitate to demand Gods justice and make vivid suggestios on how he might carry it out.
To understand the words of anger and vengeance we need to understand several things:
1 - Personal and national suffering. The Israelites were often unable to take revenge themselves and are asking God to intervene. Because few of us have suffered intense cruelty , we find it difficult to grasp these out bursts.
2 - If we dare to write down our thoughts while being unjustly attacked or suffering cruelty i.e "seeing our own children being hacked to death by an enemy " we might be shocked at our own bold desire for vengeance.These ancient writers did not have Jesus command to "love your enemies". We are challenged today as Christians to pay back good for evil,but until we respond to this challenge , we will never know how much we need Gods help to forgive others.
3 - The vengeance Pslams are intense and graphic ,but they are directed at God. He is boldly told how disapointing it is when he turns his back on his people or acts too slowly. These thouhts are sincerely expressed , the Psalm writers freely spoke their minds to God , having confidence that he could sort out what was meant and what was felt...
On the other issue of paedophilia....
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Who really is Babylon the Great?
by sinis ini know the wts says it is false religion, but if you read daniel, jeremiah, and revelation it shows that babylon the great is actually ruling over the ten kings.
how can "false religion" rule over the kings of the earth?
it seems that babylon the great might actually portray a real government.
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Raphael
CHECK THIS OUT ....
THE TWO BABYLONS - BY REV ALEXANDER HISLOP (1858)
Long before CT Russell came up with the theory.