I prepared a serious Study on the subject in 2007, before the GB took over the FDS to itself. Nevertheless, the principles regarding the interpretation of parables and related matters still stands:
http://www.jwstudies.com/FDS_and_its_GB.pdf
Doug
Doug Mason
JoinedPosts by Doug Mason
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9
Parables, Illustrations, FDS
by berrygerry inthere was a recent post stating to the effect that fds was simply a parable.. i always remember the debates held with christian students, about whether something was a parable or an illustration.. another thread has that issue.. regardless of whether the word parable or illustration can be applied to the fds, i have a question.. both the aid and insight books have a lengthy article on illustrations.. the article lists 30 of jesus' prominent illustrations.. however, the fds is not one of the 30 (same in aid book).. why not?.
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Doug Mason
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Fill in the blanks on JW Memorial history
by kairos insorry if this has been covered, i am not able to access the search function since the new site version.. the topic:when did jws start observing instead of partaking?.
i'm embarrassed to admit i don't know this.. i would guess in the early 30's when the little flock/great crowd/we're jw's doctrines were implemented.. please include references to the publications in your answers!.
( did that sound like a desperate plea for comments on the service meeting?
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Doug Mason
“On November 15, 1934, the book Jehovah … on page 182 still expressed belief in a secondary spiritual class, yet expected to come out of Babylon the Great. … Thus this secondary class of spirit-begotten spiritual Israelites was still diverting the attention of the remnant late in 1934 and was taking a place of greater importance than the Jonadabs or earthly ‘other sheep’ class, who were to be marked in their foreheads. (Ezek. 9:4) So these marked ones were not specifically invited to attend the celebration of the Lord’s Supper on Nisan 14, 1935.” (The Watchtower announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom, February 15, 1966, pages 119-120)
“In the congregations of Jehovah’s people larger privileges of service were opened to the members of the Jonadab class or “great multitude” when the Watchtower issue of May 1, 1937, page 130, announced concerning the companies or congregations: “… Let the Jonadabs be placed on the service committee and give them opportunity to serve.” … At the celebration of the Lord’s Supper following the above announcement … the Jonadabs were specifically invited to attend as companions of the remnant on April 15, 1938. – The Watchtower, February 15, 1938, page 50” (The Watchtower announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom, February 15, 1966, page 121)
Doug
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Parables, Illustrations, FDS
by berrygerry inthere was a recent post stating to the effect that fds was simply a parable.. i always remember the debates held with christian students, about whether something was a parable or an illustration.. another thread has that issue.. regardless of whether the word parable or illustration can be applied to the fds, i have a question.. both the aid and insight books have a lengthy article on illustrations.. the article lists 30 of jesus' prominent illustrations.. however, the fds is not one of the 30 (same in aid book).. why not?.
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Doug Mason
The GB knows that the parable is about them because the parable is about them.
Doug
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25
Removal of Tetragrammaton from Early Greek Manuscripts
by jhine ina while ago i posted on another thread that i had been told by some witnesses that the tetragrammaton had been in the original christian greek scriptures but had been removed when apostacy came into the church .
i did not know where this came from at the time .however while looking something else up i came across this .as i could not find the original thread i have started a new one .here is a quote from nwt reference edition 1984 :-.
" matthew made more than a hundred quotations from the inspired hebrew scriptures.
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Doug Mason
BluesBrother,
Note that the article correctly differentiates between the "Hebrew Scriptures" and the "Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures". The latter is known generically as the Septuagint (LXX).
We do not know what the "Hebrew Scriptures" contained in Jesus' time because the earliest Hebrew text comes from the early Middle Ages, about 1000 years after Jesus' time. This happened because the Masoretic Jews decided there would be only one version. The Jews has long rejected the "Greek translations", mostly because the arguments that the Christians had drawn from those versions.
There were various versions of the Greek (Septuagint) translations and the NT writers drew from all of them, including some we no longer have access to.
The evidence from the Dead Sea Community shows that only their Isaiah scroll agrees with our current versions. Other scrolls (Habbakuk, etc., etc.) disagree with our texts. And the fragments that contain the Divine Name employ ancient Hebrew characters that were no longer in use; so these Hebrew characters appeared within Greek writing - hardly evidence that they had any contemporary meaning.
To make sweeping statements based on a few fragments is to indulge in the false reasoning of "from the individual to the whole". The typical example of this is: "I saw a dog with three legs, therefore all dogs have three legs".
Besides, the WTS does not use the Divine Name, whether in ancient Hebrew characters or modern. To say that such characters would be meaningless to a modern reader highlights how meaningless the apperance of the characters were to Greek readers. Perhaps the WTS could overcome this with HWHY. Yes, the Hebrew characters read from right to left whereas the Greek writing runs from left to right.
The WTS would be considered to be genuine if it only used the HWHY whenever a NT writer was directly quoting a Hebrew text that contained the Name. However, the WTS does nothing of the sort, sprinking "Jehovah" at places where it suits their predetermined outcomes.
Doug
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25
Removal of Tetragrammaton from Early Greek Manuscripts
by jhine ina while ago i posted on another thread that i had been told by some witnesses that the tetragrammaton had been in the original christian greek scriptures but had been removed when apostacy came into the church .
i did not know where this came from at the time .however while looking something else up i came across this .as i could not find the original thread i have started a new one .here is a quote from nwt reference edition 1984 :-.
" matthew made more than a hundred quotations from the inspired hebrew scriptures.
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Doug Mason
I have made Professor George Howard's recent handwritten available letter at:
http://www.jwstudies.com/Reply_to_M_P_by_Professor_Howard.pdf
I apologise for the quality but that is beyond my control.
Doug
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25
Removal of Tetragrammaton from Early Greek Manuscripts
by jhine ina while ago i posted on another thread that i had been told by some witnesses that the tetragrammaton had been in the original christian greek scriptures but had been removed when apostacy came into the church .
i did not know where this came from at the time .however while looking something else up i came across this .as i could not find the original thread i have started a new one .here is a quote from nwt reference edition 1984 :-.
" matthew made more than a hundred quotations from the inspired hebrew scriptures.
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Doug Mason
There were several versions of the Greek Septuagint. The texts located at the Dead Sea shows great variations. apart from the Isaiah scroll.
In its NT, the WTS does not limits its use of "Jehovah" (not the Tetragram) to places where the OT might have used the Tetragram. In places where the Greek text does include it, we see ancient Hebrew characters in a Greek text. These characters were so ancient at the time of the DSS community, that they were no longer in use.
I have a copy of a recent letter from Professor Howard in which he once again complains of the WTS's misuse of his work. He, of course, limited his work on Matthew's gospel, based on a middle age Hebrew text which used "H" to represent "Hashem" - The Name.
Doug
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The "Great Multitude" and the "Jehovah's Witnesses"
by Doug Mason ini wonder if someone is able to tell me the date and publication when those of the "great multitude" were first included with the "jehovah's witnesses".. i do not mean the "jonadab class", since to me they appear to be different to the "great multitude".
(i am open to correction on that but i will need precise references.).
doug.
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Doug Mason
Many thanks for pointing me to the time when they made this move. This was only one of several shifts.
Doug
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144,000
by freein2004 inokay so the number is literal but them coming out of israel is not?
huh?
what am i missing?
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Doug Mason
The 144,00 are sealed so that they are protected during calamities upon the earth. This shows where they are located.
Doug
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The "Great Multitude" and the "Jehovah's Witnesses"
by Doug Mason ini wonder if someone is able to tell me the date and publication when those of the "great multitude" were first included with the "jehovah's witnesses".. i do not mean the "jonadab class", since to me they appear to be different to the "great multitude".
(i am open to correction on that but i will need precise references.).
doug.
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Doug Mason
Hi,
I wonder if someone is able to tell me the date and publication when those of the "Great Multitude" were first included with the "Jehovah's Witnesses".
I do not mean the "Jonadab class", since to me they appear to be different to the "Great Multitude". (I am open to correction on that but I will need precise references.)
Many thanks,
Doug
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The Bible: gods word or mans
by freemindfade inso i was laying on my bed and i saw on a box a little orange hard cover book.
the bible gods word or man's.
it has my name in it and the release date when i got it at a convention when i was 10 (1989).
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Doug Mason
Some time ago, I prepared a study on one chapter of that book. It includes an analysis of that book's structure.
http://www.jwstudies.com/Critique_of_GM_on_Daniel_9.pdf
Doug