Posts by bennyk

12

Bible=Publications of the Faithful and Discreet Slave Class

by LostGeneration in

from the july 15th 2012 wt, page 26:.

ask himself, do i immediately apply.

everything i read in the bible and in the.

bennyk

Even as Bible prophecy pointed forward to the Messiah, it also directs us to the close-knit body of anointed Christian Witnesses that now serve as the faithful and discreet slave. It helps us to understand the Word of God. All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the “greatly diversified wisdom of God” can become known only through Jehovah’s channel of communication, the faithful and discreet slave.—John 6:68. ( The Watchtower, 01. October 1994, P.8)

Two problems:

1) C. T. Russell is portrayed in Watchtower histories as having studied independently, evidently finding it unnecessary to identify and join himself to the supposed "faithful and discreet slave" of his day.

2) Note the typical egregious (mis)use of the cited scripture. They are effectively equating themselves with Jesus Christ.

10

Hoist by their own petard: Using w86 4/1 30, 31 for your own defence

by rory-ks in

jw
friends

the april 1, 1986, watchtower, questions from readers is still the basis upon which jehovah's witnesses see fit to act against so-called apostates.

it is, however, completely shot through with discrepancies and weak arguments.

all of these can be used to build a solid defence.

bennyk

There is nothing to indicate that these men did not believe in God, in the Bible, in Jesus’ sacrifice. Yet, on this one basic point, what they were teaching as to the time of the resurrection, Paul rightly branded them as apostates, with whom faithful Christians would not fellowship.

Hmmm. In 1919 -- the year in which the Society claims they were chosen by the Lord and appointed over all his belongings (WT, 15. March 1990, p.15) -- they were still teaching that the resurrection had begun in 1878 (WT 01. May 1919, Reprints p.6426), which view they continued to hold until 1927, and which view they now admit was false.

Does anyone honestly believe the Lord appointed over all his belongings an organisation that (by its own published standard) would be 'rightly branded apostate, with whom faithful Christians would not fellowship'?

44

The Special Talk.....

by wha happened? in

wifey attends the spanish cong, so when we ran late in our errands, she started to get upset that she was going to miss the special talk.

i told her again, and i reminded her that we already talked about this topic.

the special talk is just a new outline.

bennyk

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

People in a local congregation were treated on Tuesday to a postcard informing them of the change in the magazines' format. It said: "Now it will take you twice as long to get your college degree."

Friday, another postcard arrived with a picture of the Special Issue of the 1968 Awake! and the statement: "only a few years, at most, remain..." (Elders got their postcards Saturday.)

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

12

Pre 1914 Utopia?

by Flat_Accent in

thinking back to all those talks i heard about the sign of the last days, one thing that many used as proof of christ's presence was the dramatic changes, socially and politically, which all began in 1914. in the reasoning book, a few quotes are listed:.

"looking back from the vantage point of the present we see clearly today that the outbreak of world war i ushered in a twentieth-century 'time of troubles'-in the expressive term of the british historian arnold toynbee-from which our civilization has by no means yet emerged.

directly or indirectly all the convulsions of the last half century stem back to 1914.

bennyk

Russell's readers felt things were so bad before 1914 that Zion's Watch Tower stated:

" Now, in view of recent labor troubles and threatened anarchy, our readers are writing to know if there may not bea mistake in the 1914 date. They say that they do not see how present conditions can hold out so long under the strain.

" We see no reason for changing the figures-- nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble. We see no reason for changing from our opinion expressed in the View presented in the WATCH TOWER of Jan. 15, '92. We advise that it be read again."

(15. July 1894, p.226; Watch Tower Reprints p. 1677)

65

Attention Governing Body: October 2, 2014 is only 940 days away...

by Alfred in

in 1823, john aquila brown (a man who is not mentioned in any wt publication) came up with a bizarre mathematical calculation which totalled 2,520 years (in an unauthorized attempt to predict the end of the gentile times).... several religions recycled this bizarre calculation, including the adventists and the bible students... when armageddon didn't come on the variety of early 20th century dates predicted by several "dooms-day" religions of that time (including charles taze russell's bible students who predicted that the big a would start in 1914), they all finally realized that this 2,520-year calculation was nothing more than arbitrary mathematical speculation derived from erratic biblical extrapolation.... except for the bible students who continued to move up the date for armageddon 2 more times (1918, 1925) and then decided to use wwi as the starting point for the "last days".. all the while, one thing that seems to remain intact is the october 2, 1914 date.

oddly, for the watchtower bible & tract publishing cult, this particular date still marks the end of the 2,520-year period (that john aquila brown referred to in his bizarre 1823 book "the even tide")... again, no mention of this in any watchtower publication.

but, for jws, that date still remains the starting point for the period of time often referred to as the "last days" or even "the generation that shall not pass".. because of this, the governing body has been forced to change the definition of "the generation that shall not pass" countless times since the early 1970's.

bennyk

reslight2 writes:

I am not sure what is meant by the "the Big A". Russell was expecting the "time of trouble" to begin in 1914.

Actually, Russell expected the "Time of Trouble" to end in 1914:

CAN IT BE DELAYED UNTIL 1914?

Seventeen years ago people said, concerning the time features presented in MILLENNIAL DAWN, They seem reasonable in many respects, but surely no such radical changes could occur between now and the close of 1914: if you had proved that they would come about in a century or two, it would seem much more probable. What changes have since occurred, and what velocity is gained daily! "The old is quickly passing, and the new is coming in." Now, in view of recent labor troubles and threatened anarchy, our readers are writing to know if there may not be a mistake in the 1914 date. They say that they do not see how present conditions can hold out so long under the strain. We see no reason for changing the figures-- nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble. We see no reason for changing from our opinion expressed in the View presented in the WATCH TOWER of Jan. 15, '92. We advise that it be read again. (Zion's Watch Tower, 15. July 1894; WTR p. 1677)

Russell also taught that the Battle of Armageddon would end in 1914:

The ‘battle of the great day of God Almighty’ (Rev. 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth’s present rulership,is already commenced. (The Time Is at Hand,p. 101 [1907 edition; 1912 edition reads: "1915"])

90

More anti-apostate rhetoric from the Watchtower - are they running scared?

by cedars in

yes, the may 15th watchtower is now available for download from jw.org.. the final study article, on page 26, directs another salvo at apostates - and warns witnesses not to try arguing with them on the internet:.

indeed, we ought to move as far away from wrongdoing as possible and not see how close we can get to it without being overcome by sin.

for instance, we need to guard against succumbing to apostasy, a sin that would make us unfit to glorify god.

bennyk

Let us therefore have nothing to do with ... anyone who claims to be a brother but who is dishonoring God.

The Governing Body members claim to be a "brother" (of Christ Jesus, in fact). Do you suppose it dishonours God to promulgate false prophecies, promote erroneous teachings and enforce unscriptural practices for decades?

Perhaps they are simply warning everyone to have nothing to do ... with them.

83

Anyone have the outline for the 2012 'Special Talk'

by Lore in

jw
friends

the sunday after every memorial they intruduce a new talk, which is the 'special talk'.. this year it's called: "is it later than you think".

anyone able to provide me the outline?.

bennyk

There are a number of reasons why individuals become inactive (w08 11/15 13-15 pars. 5-13)

Yeah. But your 2008 Watchtower doesn't mention that it might be because "individuals" have figured out that you are liars and charlatans...

Guess we won't be returning.

5

An observation from fading

by fadinfast in

my wife and i have been fading / faded for many years now, it was made easier by an elder 'balls up' over a very serious matter [they say "you have a right to be angry, but you shouldn't loose jehovah's favour by staying away from meetings, buuuut!!?.

] although i have reacted quite strongly to some elders who came by, even admitting to getting court cases off the 'internet', it was passed as 'he's angry'.

i had got to the point where i had decided i didn't care, i would just speak even more openly than i had been [and properly be d/f] when i observed the following happening:.

bennyk

My wife and I are likewise "faded". We have been subjected to shunning by numerous members of our former congregation(s), though not by all. It certainly does seem that the preemptive shunning works contary to the supposed goal of "restoring" the MIA's. Even the Society's worst threat -- DF'ing -- loses its teeth when all it means is that our one-time co-religionists will continue to carry on as they have been.

While shunning alleged "apostates" may protect the Flock from the truth regarding the Watch Tower Society, it appears quite the public relations gaffe when viewed from outside. But it may well be that the Society is far less interested in increasing the number of affiliates, than in retaining (most of) what they already have...

6

Meeting Invitation From 1877

by Bangalore in

jw
friends

.

bangalore.

bennyk

According to this 1877 leaflet, Armageddon was expected in 1917 (1877 + 40 years = 1917)...interesting

No. It claims "we have already entered the 'time of trouble'" -- viz. since 1874 -- "which is to continue 40 years", ergo 1914...

55

CO visit. New light

by 2tone in

jw
friends

if you want to skip to the new light or understanding, its underlined for you pleasure.

i think some will find this interesting.

we had the co tonight.

bennyk

He says no the FDS DOES NOT HAVE A PHYSICAL FORM and we cannot see them. Instead we have 7 governing body members that represent the faithful and discrete slave.

Too bad they've admitted they don't even know who the members of the "Slave Class" they allegedly represent are.

"The Governing Body does not keep a list of all partakers, for it does not maintain a global network of anointed ones." (Watchtower, 15. August 2011, p.22)