Earnest
JoinedPosts by Earnest
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9
Question on an article back in the late 90s
by greenhornet ina "sister" that was in "truth" was a discussion one sunday at the meeting .she was in an iron lung ,anyone here might give a link.
i dont want a j dum dot com link.
just curious.. thank you .
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Rekindled Light — The Narrative Structure of the Hexaemeron (Genesis 1:1–31)
by Mebaqqer2 ini used to comment here many years ago when i had an interest in biblical research in relation to jehovah’s witnesses.
these days my biblical research is little concerned with jehovah’s witnesses.
i feel my time is better spent researching the diachronistic development of the biblical text and ascertaining what the biblical writers and editors intended in the times in which they lived.. i have recently placed a summary diagram for a paper that i have written with original research entitled the narrative structure of the hexaemeron on academia.edu.
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Earnest
Welcome back, Mebaqqer2. I remember you as a pretty good researcher.
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Hailstone message AND everyone will be saved? Questions
by slimboyfat ini’ve not been paying close attention to watchtower developments, but talking to a jw yesterday it occurred to me the society (yes, still use that term - old school) have been sending out mixed messages in recent years.
from what i gather, a few years ago the gb announced that during the great tribulation jws would be required to preach a “hailstone message of judgement” which involved telling people it was too late for them to repent and they were definitely going to be destroyed.
there were hints that this could be very soon, “any day now” preaching could stop and the hailstone message come in, kind of thing.
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Earnest
slimboyfat : I take it that’s what Russell also taught [about the Sheep and the Goats]
No, not quite. In Pastor Russell's Sermons on The Judgment Day Pictured by Jesus (p.224) he applies the parable of the Sheep and Goats to those resurrected in the Millenial Reign :
Our text [Matthew 25:40] refers, not to Christians, but to Gentiles—the world in general. Before Messiahʹs Throne shall be gathered all people, all nations…The whole picture refers to the thousand years of the Messianic Reign, the worldʹs judgment, the worldʹs trial.
At the beginning of the article on The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in the October 15, 1923 Watchtower, Rutherford discusses what was previously understood :
Heretofore we have applied the parable to the Millennial reign of Christ, and the final judgment of the parable to the end of that reign. Such interpretation has been difficult to harmonize. If we find objections to its application during the Millennial age, and if we find the physical facts now known to us to fit the word picture, we would be justified in concluding that we might not have heretofore had the proper interpretation.
With no disposition to criticize what has heretofore been written, we believe it profitable to consider whether or not our former application has been the right one. There seems to be a number of legitimate reasons why the parable will not be applicable at the final judgment of the Millennial reign of Christ.
So there were two changes in the understanding of the Sheep and the Goats. One in 1923 with the Millions Now Living Will Never Die teaching, and the other in the in the 1930s when the new teaching of the “great crowd” was developed.
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Hailstone message AND everyone will be saved? Questions
by slimboyfat ini’ve not been paying close attention to watchtower developments, but talking to a jw yesterday it occurred to me the society (yes, still use that term - old school) have been sending out mixed messages in recent years.
from what i gather, a few years ago the gb announced that during the great tribulation jws would be required to preach a “hailstone message of judgement” which involved telling people it was too late for them to repent and they were definitely going to be destroyed.
there were hints that this could be very soon, “any day now” preaching could stop and the hailstone message come in, kind of thing.
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Earnest
slimboyfat : The “millions” who were expected to survive Armageddon were currently unbelievers who would accept the truth in the new world in large numbers and never die.
Yes, slim, you've got that right. In the convention at Los Angeles in August 1923 Rutherford gave a talk on the parable of the Sheep and the Goats. This was reported on in the October 15, 1923 Watchtower (pp.307-314), the sheep were identified as those in Christendom who were sympathetic towards the Bible Students and their message. It says, on p.313 :
There is a large number of people in the denominational churches and outside of them who do not claim consecration, but who now see enough of the truth to convince them that the kingdom is at hand and who rejoice in the fact that the King is here. It is not at all unreasonable to conclude that there are millions now hearing about God’s plan of salvation who will pass through the time of trouble and never die, being amongst the first that will have opportunity for a trial for life everlasting.
An additional thought has occurred to me of the importance that it is no longer necessary for unconverted relatives and friends to die before the Great Tribulation in order to live in paradise. There have been a number of cases where a JW has murdered close relatives. There seems little doubt that the perpetrator was mentally unstable, but even so the thought that he was saving them from eternal destruction (as they would get a resurrection) apparently played a part in some such cases.
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Dates and times
by jhine inlast night at my bible study group we looked at 1thessalonians ch 5 .
we have been working through the whole letter.
verses 1-11 start with .
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Earnest
jhine : You must know that faithful JWs sold houses and cars to donate the money to preaching work . Then when it didn't happen none of the money was paid back .
It's true that some JWs sold their houses prior to 1975. But the purpose was to finance themselves to be able to preach full-time in the remaining months, not to donate the money for others to do the work. If I spend my money on myself, why should I be paid back?
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Visited the Russell gravesite yesterday
by dropoffyourkeylee inwife and i visited the russell gravesite in allegheny (pittsburgh) pennsylvania yesterday.
i’ll post photos if i can get them to upload on the hotel wifi..
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Faithful Slave Appointment: What are the assumptions of Watchtower Matthew 24:45-47 Eschatology?
by Vanderhoven7 intext: matthew 24:45-47.
45 “who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?
46 it will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.
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Earnest
At the time of the appointment of the faithful slave in 1919 it was understood to include all anointed Christians, and at that time all Christians were anointed. So it's a bit of nonsense to say that the faithful slave was appointed at Watchtower Headquarters. Or to say it included Watchtower directors as it included everyone. Or to speak of the appointment being passed on to subsequent Watchtower directors.
It was only in 2012 that there was a change in understanding that the faithful slave only referred to the Governing Body collectively (not individually).
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Comedian Katt Williams Wrongly Disfellowshipped By Jehovah's Witnesses!!!
by Golden4Altar incomedian katt williams wrongly disfellowshipped by jehovah's witnesses!!!.
here is the link: https://jehovahstruth.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=59.
golden 4altar.
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Earnest
00:59 - 01:08 "Anything that I'm going to do is going to fall out the guidelines but I'm not going to let you tell me what I'm going to be ..."
01:34 - 01:40 "Don't try and disfellowship me for sexual acts and I'm a virgin."
It's not quite clear why the disfellowshipping is described as wrong. He was apparently (according to his words) disfellowshipped for sexual acts which he justified because he didn't lose his virginity. Without knowing any further details it is simply conjecture, but sexual acts + lack of repentance = disfellowshipping. Case closed.
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How Do Jehovah's Witnesses View Education?
by southyukon ini have a question about this article.. https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jw-education-school/.
higher education can lead to moral and spiritual dangers.
a bible proverb says: "the shrewd one sees the danger and conceals himself.
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Earnest
Balaam's Ass, the same paragraph is in the October 2023 "Shepherd the Flock of God" edition.
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Elder abuser in Sunshine Coast down under (?)
by carla innot sure if this has been posted or not, apologies if it has.
i did a quick search and did not see it.
https://archive.md/5zcdi -a sunshine coast jehovah’s witness figure accused of horrific sex crimes has been remanded in jail for fresh offences which allegedly occurred the same day he attended court.. and https://archive.md/r2o6x -a sunshine coast jehovah’s witness figure who allegedly used his position in the church to sexually assault young men has been arrested by police.
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