Posts by Doug Mason

6

Virgins and the Bride?

by Doug Mason in

i know that a parable must never be made to walk on all four legs, that many of its elements are there to act as "fillers".. nevertheless, i wonder if i have missed something with the watchtower's "explanation" of the parable of the ten virgins.

they state that the parable relates to their anointed class.

but the wts also says that the 144,000 are the "bride".. so are the "anointed" part of the wedding party that is waiting outside as well as being the "bride" waiting inside?.

Doug Mason

Hi Phizzy,

In my estimation, terms such as "spiritual virgins", "spirit-anointed" and the like are offspring whose parents never knew one another. I am sure we could think of more of these.

Doug

6

Virgins and the Bride?

by Doug Mason in

i know that a parable must never be made to walk on all four legs, that many of its elements are there to act as "fillers".. nevertheless, i wonder if i have missed something with the watchtower's "explanation" of the parable of the ten virgins.

they state that the parable relates to their anointed class.

but the wts also says that the 144,000 are the "bride".. so are the "anointed" part of the wedding party that is waiting outside as well as being the "bride" waiting inside?.

Doug Mason

Now I am further confused by the WTS.

In the March 15, 2015 Watchtower magazine, I read of the Parable of the Ten Virgins:

"Clearly, Jesus intended the parable recorded at Matthew 25:1-13 as counsel and a warning to his anointed followers. ... [Jesus] gave this parable to admonish all his anointed followers in the last days to 'keep on the watch'.” (page 13).

But in the February 15, 2014 magazine, I read:

"Since 1935, millions of people have allowed the remnant to ‘bring them to righteousness.’ These loyal companions of the anointed Christians have purified their lives, becoming spiritual virgins. These “virgin companions” of the bride have dedicated themselves to Jehovah and have proved themselves to be faithful subjects of the Bridegroom-King. The remnant of the bride class have been particularly grateful to these “virgin companions” for their zealous help in preaching." (pages 11-12)

Their "bride" is their 144,000, their "anointed followers". In the 2015 article, the warning about the virgins is to the "anointed" (even though the anointed are the "bride"). But in the 2014 article, the "millions of JWs" are the spiritual virgin companions of the bride.

It's a good thing I don't take any of this seriously.

Doug

6

Virgins and the Bride?

by Doug Mason in

i know that a parable must never be made to walk on all four legs, that many of its elements are there to act as "fillers".. nevertheless, i wonder if i have missed something with the watchtower's "explanation" of the parable of the ten virgins.

they state that the parable relates to their anointed class.

but the wts also says that the 144,000 are the "bride".. so are the "anointed" part of the wedding party that is waiting outside as well as being the "bride" waiting inside?.

Doug Mason

I know that a parable must never be made to walk on all four legs, that many of its elements are there to act as "fillers".

Nevertheless, I wonder if I have missed something with the Watchtower's "explanation" of the parable of the Ten Virgins. They state that the parable relates to their Anointed Class. But the WTS also says that the 144,000 are the "Bride".

So are the "anointed" part of the wedding party that is waiting outside as well as being the "bride" waiting inside?

Doug

12

Your Expert Research is needed!

by Atlantis in

friends:.

doug mason needs no introductions here.

we all know him to be an excellent writer, such as: blondie, terry, jwfacts, barbara anderson and countless others on this board.. doug is asking for assistance on a new project he is working on to explain in terms easy to understand, the changes the watchtower now expects jehovah's witnesses and others to believe.. your expert knowledge on these subjects such as: 144,000, great crowd, order of special full time servants, and governing body would be greatly appreciated.

Doug Mason

Please allow me to show you how fundamental some of my questions relate to. And I must preface this by saying that I do not voraciously devour everything the WTS churns out, so I am not across nuances that might creep in.

So to some fundamental questions:

1. Does the WTS still refer to the mass of JWs as the "Other Sheep" and "Great Crowd"? (Or do they use "Great Multitude"?)

2. By what other Bible-based designations does it identify the earth-bound class? (I suspect that terms such as Publisher, Overseer, and Pioneer are not Bible based, but I could be wrong. It has been known to happen.)

3. I see the term "spirit-anointed". Where do they get this? Is it from the gospels or from Pentecost?

4. What are the names it currently uses to identify the 144,000?

5. Does it openly refer to the Order of Special JWs, apart from that brief entry in the Year Book statistical summary?

6. Do they still see members of the 144,000 as having been gathered in every age since the start of Christianity?

I am not interested in pursuing the WT's past, only what it is saying today.

Thanks,

Doug

19

Has the WT ever specifically said in print that GB is NOT the FDS in contradiction of current position?

by Pubsinger in

just out of interest.

Doug Mason

Hi,

I wrote the following Study prior to the 2013 amendments to the FDS, although I do include a comment on the update. I left the remainder of the Study as I originally wrote it, in order to keep the history.

http://www.jwstudies.com/FDS_and_its_GB.pdf

Doug

10

PESHER: an Historic scheme of INTERPRETING SCRIPTURE. . . Watchtower style!

by TerryWalstrom in

george bernard shaw said: no man ever believes that the bible means what it says.

he is always convinced that it says what he means.. shaw must have had pesher in mind!

but, what is pesher?.

Doug Mason

Jonathan D,

I would like to suggest a more realistic and fruitful approach to the Scriptures: Take full account of the complete context.

Not only does this include the structure and format but the understanding of the people originally being addressed - their concepts, idioms, the religious and secular politics, geography, and so on. The writers were writing to their immediate community with the purpose of influencing them.

The Bible is the Word of Man.

Doug

10

PESHER: an Historic scheme of INTERPRETING SCRIPTURE. . . Watchtower style!

by TerryWalstrom in

george bernard shaw said: no man ever believes that the bible means what it says.

he is always convinced that it says what he means.. shaw must have had pesher in mind!

but, what is pesher?.

Doug Mason

Well done Terry,

I understand that the term "pesher" entered the scholarly lexicon following the discovery of the DSS, where the term carries the meaning of "solution" or "interpretation".

Richard Longenecker includes several examples from the Gospels of pesher treatment (Biblical Exegesis in the Apostolic Period, pages 70-78).

Longenecker writes:

"But though it is often done, it is not sufficient to define "pesher" as midrashic exegesis, which displays a greater audacity in its handling of the text, coupled to an apocalyptic expectation. Such a characterization is true so far as it goes, but it does not touch upon the vital factor in Qumran hermeneutics. Central in the consciousness of the covenanters of Qumran was what might be called the raz (mystery)-pesher (interpretation) revelational motif, which is found explicitly in the commentary on Hab. 2:1-2. (Longenecker, page 41)

Critical to the Essene community, and where the WTS could be seen to replicate, were their extensive production of writings and in their "Teacher of Righteousness".

Doug

11

WT for March 15, 2015: “Consider the context”

by Doug Mason in

my study on the watchtower magazine for march 15, 2015 is available at:.

http://www.jwstudies.com/the_watchtower_and_the_contexts_of_jesus__stories.pdf.

this watchtower presents jesus stories at matthew 25: the ten virgins; the talents; and the final judgment (sheep and goats).

Doug Mason

southwest,

I absolutely agree with you.

The prophecy at Daniel 4 was fulfilled in Nebuchadnezzar. It was a dream by a heathen king, not of a prophet from God.

The WTS reckons that the fulfillment was itself a prophecy! They say that this heathen king of Babylon was the symbol of God's kingdom and that his seven times experience was itself a prophecy. Pure speculation. And this is meant to pass as the foundation stone.

The GB knows that the parable of the FDS refers to it because they are the FDS. Well, at least they are the FDS since 2013, Prior to then all of the Spirit-Anointed were the FDS. They know this is all true because they know that they were appointed in 1919 (not that the year-day interpretation of prophecy is invoked with that fulfillment).

Doug

11

WT for March 15, 2015: “Consider the context”

by Doug Mason in

my study on the watchtower magazine for march 15, 2015 is available at:.

http://www.jwstudies.com/the_watchtower_and_the_contexts_of_jesus__stories.pdf.

this watchtower presents jesus stories at matthew 25: the ten virgins; the talents; and the final judgment (sheep and goats).

Doug Mason

jwleaks,

OK, will do. Give me a few minutes.

Thanks,

Doug

11

WT for March 15, 2015: “Consider the context”

by Doug Mason in

my study on the watchtower magazine for march 15, 2015 is available at:.

http://www.jwstudies.com/the_watchtower_and_the_contexts_of_jesus__stories.pdf.

this watchtower presents jesus stories at matthew 25: the ten virgins; the talents; and the final judgment (sheep and goats).

Doug Mason

My Study on The Watchtower magazine for March 15, 2015 is available at:

http://www.jwstudies.com/The_Watchtower_and_the_Contexts_of_Jesus__Stories.pdf

This Watchtower presents Jesus’ stories at Matthew 25: The Ten Virgins; The Talents; and The Final Judgment (“Sheep and Goats”). With each story, the magazine says that the context has to be understood. However, it does not give contexts in terms of Matthew’s Gospel but in terms of the Watchtower Society and its organisation. Its self-obsession and its self-importance suffocate and distort the Biblical message of each story. The truths are swamped by the wet blanket of the WTS’s soteriology and its eschatological framework.

Doug