Your body is the physical temple which God has given you to dwell in while here on earth. The Soul is the core of your being, the part of you which holds personality, memories, emotion, etc. It is who you are - Adam became a "living soul." The spirit is your immaterial nature which, though the body dies, lives beyond the grave. Even our being is a type of trinity. See how it's possible? You are a living soul and your existence is made up of three distinct parts (body, soul, and spirit). God is also one God and eternally lives in the persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God did say, "let us make man in our image", and we've been make like Him in more than just a physical sense.
I'm not attempting to make this thread a trinity debate, but you should be able to see the relation here. It is possible for God to have three separate persons and inseparablly be one God. We have a finite human mind and in our mind it seems impossible, but nothing is impossible with God. He is greater than us and He draws near to Himself those He chooses. That's grace, nothing we have done. Those who do not believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God have been blinded and do not know the Father because they do not know the Son. The scriptures say that if you do not believe the Son, you also do not believe the Father and you make God to be a liar because you don't believe the Son whom He has sent. Eternal life is believing in Jesus Christ. If you believe Him, you will love His holy commands and live for Him.
Jesus said to Philip, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (Jn 14:9)
And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (Jn 20:28,29)
Posts by mdb
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7The Soul
by Honesty in.
why did jesus make a distinction between the body and the soul if they are one and the same as the watchtower society teaches?.
matthew 10:28 dont fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
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mdb
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Is there a human today who knows Jesus's opinion of things?
by DavidChristopher ini mean what did simple things like "bad associations", "sinners", "demons", "angels", mean in his opinion?
is there a human that will step up and take resposibility for explaining what jesus' opinion was when he called people these words?
can he explain the context he was using to us?.
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mdb
was a "sinner" anyone who opposed Him? I am kind of confused on this.
We're all sinners, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23) and the one who opposes Jesus Christ is an antichrist as well as a sinner.
Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. (1 Jn 2:18)
Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. (1 Jn 2:22)
and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. (1 Jn 4:3)
For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. (2 Jn 7)
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Is baptism essential for salvation?
by Honesty inis the following information from the watchtower bible and tract society what the bible really teaches?
*** watchtower 1989 january 15 p.15 how baptism can save us *** how baptism can save us
"immersion .
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mdb
There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.
1 Peter 3:21,22Talk about taking a passage out of context!
Baptismal candidates must acknowledge publicly that on the basis of Jesus' sacrifice they have repented of their sins and have dedicated themselves to Jehovah
Here's your public acknowledgement... it's not baptism by water that saves, but a spiritual baptism (death to the flesh and being born of the spirit), a spiritual rebirth.
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Rom 10:8-11"But those things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart..." (Matt 15:18)
If you believe in your heart on Jesus Christ, then you will not be ashamed and from your mouth public proclamation will be made. As followers of Christ, one will be baptised by water because Jesus commanded us that we should and if we love His commands, that's what we'll do. But to say one must be baptised by water in order to be saved is to add works to a salvation which comes only by the grace of God through faith.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Eph 2:8The thief on the cross was not baptized by water and the Lord said, "today you will be with Me in paradise." (Luke 23:43) Why did Jesus say it? Because the thief believed on Jesus Christ and was saved. God revealed that truth to him so it remains that God was gracious to save a thief, even gracious enough to save me. Savation is by grace, by faith, not by works or by a water baptism. Even John said that though he baptized by water, one was coming who would baptize us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (Matt 3:11)
And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Acts 1:4,5 -
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Some comparison
by Shazard ini never seen any debas or wt versions about following places in bible.
rev 21:22-23 with isa:60:19-20 .
who exactly is the light of the new jeursalem?
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mdb
“The sun shall no longer be your light by day,
Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;
But the Lord [yhwh] will be to you an everlasting light,
And your God [elohim] your glory.
Your sun shall no longer go down,
Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;
For the Lord [yhwh] will be your everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning shall be ended.
Isaiah 60:19,20But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God [kyrios theos] Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God [theos] illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
Rev 21:22,23Worth noting is the fact that the definite article ho is not used in Rev 21:23 "for the glory of God [theos]", which when in reference to Isaiah, is obviously speaking of the God [elohim] of Israel. This should cause a problem for the WTBTS since it is for that reason (the lack of a definite article) that the NWT translates John 1:1 as "a god". Of course, there are other passages where the definite article is present [ho theos] and directly used in reference to Jesus Christ: "And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God! [ho theos]” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:28,29
Anyway, to answer your question, the light of the new Jerusalem is the Lamb (Jesus Christ) who is the Lord (yhwh). Also notice that God is also called Lord (kyrios) in Rev 21:22.
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Jesus the archangel Michael? No.
by mdb injesus the archangel michael?
1 thess 4:16 (daniel 10:13).
the watchtower teaches that michael is the only archangel (aid to bible understanding).
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mdb
Jesus the archangel Michael?
1 Thess 4:16 (Daniel 10:13)
The Watchtower teaches that Michael is the only archangel (Aid To Bible Understanding). They say that since Christ returns “with the voice of an archangel” (1 Thess 4:16), this means he is the archangel Michael.
Logically then, we can also say that since Jesus also returns with the trumpet of God, that makes him God. A person can not use only the portion of the verse which, stripped from its context, supports one’s view. I don’t believe that having God’s trumpet alone means Jesus is God because Christ’s deity is proved in many other passages. However, the Watchtower’s reasoning here in this verse to support their belief that Jesus was the archangel Michael is in error.
Nowhere in the bible does it say or conclusively hint of Jesus being the archangel Michael. In John 3:16, the Greek word monogenes is used to describe Jesus, which means: unique, one of a kind. In Daniel 10:13, it says that Michael was one of the chief princes. Michael is one among equals and therefore not unique (as the Watchtower states in their book Aid To Bible Understanding). Besides, Jesus is never called a "chief prince" in the Scriptures and His superiority over the angels is written of in Heb 1:5-2:18.
What other Scriptural proof (or attempt) does the Watchtower use to try and support their doctrine?
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Is Christ Jehovah God.......
by RevFrank inis christ jehovah god?.
is christ jehovah god?
jehovah from jehovah?
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mdb
All things were made by themselves and without themselves nothing was made........(Bruce 1:3...)
Big bang, evolution. Is that what you're getting at? That takes a lot more faith to believe in than believing in God as the intelligent creator.Consider this...
I came from a speck of dust that exploded to create an infinate universe in which the earth resides and rotates around the sun at a perfect speed, rotation and distance so that we are neither squished by the force of gravity, nor shot out into space by a lack of the same. Neither are we burnt to a crisp or frozen to death by the sun. The moon revolves around the earth in it's proper place and creates the tide on the waters. Everything is in perfect ballance and if altered an unimaginably small amount, would cease to exist. Some sludge happened to form in the waters on earth of which all the vast creatures of sea, land and air owe their existence. I'm not only related to a monkey, but a frog, worm, bird, fish, and dung beetle. The atmosphere, which came from nothing protects us from harmful UV rays (thankfully). The rain comes in season to feed the plants and trees of which apparently, I am also related to since I came from the same pile of slime so many billions of years ago.
With this in mind, the Big Bang happens to be the only explosion I know of that people believe created something out of nothing instead of making nothing out of something. The day you take a stick of dynamite, blow a tree up and that tree turns into a dog I'll believe it. Funny though, if I put a watch in front of you and asked the question, "did this watch have an intelligent creator or did it just happen?", you'd surely agree that it had an intelligent creator. It boggles my mind that the same person could potentially claim that the world in which they live in was not created by an intelligent creator, but "just happened". Wow, that takes faith!
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Angel of the Lord
by mdb inbut you are not willing to come to me that you may have life.. jn 5:39,40. when jesus said this to the jews, the only scriptures they had were the ot, so the scriptures that testify of jesus are the ot and he can be found in them.. but jesus answered them, my father has been working until now, and i have been working.. therefore the jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath, but also said that god was his father, making himself equal with god.. jn 5:17. jesus made himself equal with god; making himself to be god.
god tested abraham, and it is the angel of the lord who said, you have not withheld you son from me and you have obeyed my voice.
as jesus said, you search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me.
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mdb
Then explain to me who the Angel of the Lord was. You failed to tell me. Who was it that Abraham obeyed: God, or the Angel of the Lord? The Angel of the Lord takes credit for saying something that the Scriptures very clearly say that God said. That's not an issue for you and your "Jesus is not God" belief?
Must I remind you of the OT Scripture (yhwh speaking to Moses) that says, "you cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”
Exodus 33:20 This passage does not apply in the case of Genesis 22 because the Angel of the Lord called from heaven and did not physically appear to Abraham, but the Lord (yhwh) did appear to Abraham in Genesis 17,18 when He gave Abraham the promise of a son and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. -
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Angel of the Lord
by mdb inbut you are not willing to come to me that you may have life.. jn 5:39,40. when jesus said this to the jews, the only scriptures they had were the ot, so the scriptures that testify of jesus are the ot and he can be found in them.. but jesus answered them, my father has been working until now, and i have been working.. therefore the jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath, but also said that god was his father, making himself equal with god.. jn 5:17. jesus made himself equal with god; making himself to be god.
god tested abraham, and it is the angel of the lord who said, you have not withheld you son from me and you have obeyed my voice.
as jesus said, you search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me.
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mdb
You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
Jn 5:39,40When Jesus said this to the Jews, the only Scriptures they had were the OT, so the Scriptures that testify of Jesus are the OT and He can be found in them.
But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”
Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.
Jn 5:17Jesus made Himself equal with God; making Himself to be God. The Scriptures say that there is none like Him, His glory will be given to no other, only God shall receive worshiped, and beside Him there is no God - He knows not one.
Was Jesus out of line by making such a claim as this – a claim to be equal with God and to be God (Emmanuel – God with us)?
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
Gen 22:1,2So, it was God that tested Abraham. The word of God says it, so it’s true because God does not lie, nor can He lie. God tested Abraham and is the One who said, “take your son and offer him.” Let’s take a close look at Gen 22:11,12,18.
But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.”
And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
Gen 22:11,12In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Gen 22:18Who was this Angel of the Lord? God tested Abraham, and it is the Angel of the Lord who said, “you have not withheld you son from Me” and “you have obeyed My voice.” Who did Abraham obey? Abraham obeyed God and the Angel of the Lord was the preincarnate Christ, the same Lord (yhwh) that introduced Himself to Abraham as Almighty God (Gen 17:1), talked and ate with Abraham under the tree in the heat of the day (Gen 18), and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:24).
The Scriptures are amazing! As Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (Jn 5:39,40) Jesus is found throughout the OT and they speak so loudly of Him. As Thomas rightfully believed and professed, He is truly our Lord and our God.
Did you also know that Jesus is also called the Lord of hosts?
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; [Jesus]
The whole earth is full of His glory!”
And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
So I said:
“Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.” [Jesus]
Isaiah 6:1-5These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. [refering to Jesus]
Jn 12:41He has made the earth by His power;
He has established the world by His wisdom,
And stretched out the heaven by His understanding.
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The Portion of Jacob is not like them,
For He is the Maker of all things;
And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance.
The Lord of hosts is His name. [Jesus]
Jer 51:15,19In Jer 51:19, the Lord of hosts [Jesus] is call the Maker of all things (Heb 1:10; Ps 102:25).
And:
“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
Heb 1:10 (Ps 102:25 - yhwh) -
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Questions for JW in Bible studies
by Shazard inhere was thread which gave me this idea http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/108254/1.ashx .
is there some good "compilation" of good questions (not too much) to ask jw in bible studies with potential new jw to expose their "truth".
i know there are hundreds of questions, dozens of sites with different questions for jw, but i am thinking about specific questions to ask in presence of new student and their "teacher" to plant seeds of doubt in the student that there is something wrong with studies!
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mdb
Ask them to explain who the "Angel of the Lord" is in the account of Abraham offering his son Isaac up as a burnt offering. That should be interresting - since they've probablly never thought about it before and won't have a rehursed answer ready.
The account is found in Genesis 22. I think I may post a separate thread on Genesis 22 to see what others here have to say.
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So much criticism...but what's the answer?
by thankyou12 inhi guys,.
good discussion here.
thanks.. what is real christianity?
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mdb
You should decide what is truth for you. What works for me might not work for you and visa-versa.
So, what you're saying is that if I decide for myself that my idea of truth (and what is right and wrong) allows me to put someone to death because they did evil against me (as far as I was concerned), that my actoins toward that individual would be justified?As to one's belief on God, you think one thing and I believe another, and someone else potentially has a different perspective on the matter. Who is right? There is only one right answer, one truth, one true God. 2+2=4, 2+2=7, 2+2=9... they're not all right even though in the mind of men a wrong answer is correct to them. The truth is 2+2=4, whether you believe it or not. Truth is absolute and you cannot logically make it what you want it to be. If you're uncertain of the truth, keep seeking to find it. Don't settle for that uncertainty. I know I have found the truth, or rather, the truth has found me. He opened my eyes and I am eternally grateful for His grace and mercy. Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the life. He is Lord and God, Savior and friend. You may desagree, but I cannot deny the One who saved me and I know with unwavering certainty that what the Scriptures (not the NWT) speak of Jesus Christ is the truth. As Keith Green (musician) put it, "I'd die for that faith; I'd die for that belief, because it's more than a belief. He lives in my heart. That's the only proof I can give you."
You will not find the truth anywhere else except in Jesus Christ. Good always prevails and light does away with darkness. Where there is light, there is no darkness and Jesus is the light of the world.