Hi mouthy,
I expect you know Matthew 24 and Mark 13
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=24&version=31
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=13&version=31&context=chapter
I agree, it has to get a lot worse. The key point is that the Gospel has to be preached to all nations and then the end will come.
The most important thing as you mention is when our personal end will come, not the end of the age.
Hebrews 9:27 (New International Version)
Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.
Well I am glad we have Jesus as our advocate!
Love in Christ,
Stephen
Posts by Chalam
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17JW's not the only one preaching the end is near. Born agains are doing it.
by jaguarbass ini get this news letter daily from a biker friend who used to sing with my band.
he is a born again type and has a ministry to outlaw bikers called the prodigal sons.the wactower is not the only group that preaches the end is near.
i think its a biblical message that people that read the bible tune in too.i think the problem with the wactower and the end of the world is they or i took it seriously, and they tell you not to get an education and make provisions for living in this system, which is also somewhat biblical.
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Chalam
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Alpha & Omega / Aleph & Tav / First & Last
by AlphaOmega indoes anyone know anymore about this and whether it has been specifically mentioned in the jw literature ?.
as we all know, the first and last letters of the greek alphabet are alpha and omega.... .
the first and last letters of the hebrew alphabet are aleph and tav.
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Chalam
Here's some more "coincidences"
Name-Applied to Jehovah-Applied to Jesus
Alpha and Omega
Revelation 1:8
Revelation 22:13
Lord of Lords
Deuteronomy 10:17
Revelation 17:14
First and Last
Isaiah 44:6
Revelation 1:17-18, 22:13
King
Isaiah 43:15
Revelation 17:14
Owner
Jeremiah 3:14
Jude 4
Husband
Hosea 2:16
Revelation 21:9
Savior
Isaiah 43:11
Luke 2:11
Judge
Genesis 18:25
2 Timothy 4:8
More here
http://healtheland.wordpress.com/2007/08/03/how-to-prove-jesus-christs-deity-to-a-jehovahs-witness-or-anyone-else/
All the best,
Stephen -
48
Wow, I can't believe I'm doing this....
by megawatt inwelp...
it's been a crazy ride for over 25 years, pretty much raised as a witness (ever since i could remember), rebelled against my parents, came back, straighten out for a little while, married within "the truth", but the last 5 to 7 years, i've been seriously questioning the changes and doctrines established by the wts.
never thought i would be looking from this side of the fence.
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Chalam
Hi megawatt,
Welcome!
Have a read of the letter at the top of this thread.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/150963/1.ashx
I think it will explain many of the same problems you have with the WTS.
It is quite a long read but well worth the time.
All the best,
Stephen -
19
What do I tell the kids?
by strawberry cake ini am quickly fading, desperate to leave.
my children, however have been brought up jws and are used to the jw way of life and ethos.
i have told them how i feel.
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Chalam
Hi,
My mum always used to tell me when I was growing up "honesty is the best policy".
I didn't believe it was all the time when I was a child but now I do :)
Living a lie will put you through more pain that the pain of coming clean about how you feel.
Integrity is very liberating.
John 8:32 (New International Version)
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
All the best,
Stephen -
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Chalam
Here's some more!
Petty dumb JWs who read this in Exodus 3 of the NWT
13 Nevertheless, Moses said to the [true] God: “Suppose I am now come to the sons of Israel and I do say to them, ‘The God of YOUR forefathers has sent me to YOU,’ and they do say to me, ‘What is his name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 At this God said to Moses: “I SHALL PROVE TO BE WHAT I SHALL PROVE TO BE.” And he added: “This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, ‘I SHALL PROVE TO BE has sent me to YOU.’”
and don't say to themselves, pretty strange God didn't reply "Jehovah and make sure you use only that name".
Pretty dumb that Jesus said "do this in rememberance of me" but none of them do.
Pretty dumb that the Bible mentions hell many times but Armageddon only once, yet JWs don't believe in hell and that Armageddon is the only thing worth talking about along with the 144 000.
Pretty dumb that God said He would pour out his Spirit on all flesh but JWs believe it is only for the GB.
Pretty dumb that the Bible says the gifts of the Spirit are prophecy, speaking in tongues, healing etc. but the JWs think the gift have finished and that those people who are clearly using the gifts are using demonic powers.
Even dumber is their explanation of why the gifts have ended.
1 Cor 13:10
1 Corinthians 13:10 (New International Version)
10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
Do they think we have reached perfection or the completion of things? Looks pretty imperfect out there to me!
This looks more like it right at the end of the Bible.
Revelation 21:4
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Well there are many more things but should do for now!
All the best,
Stephen -
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Chalam
The worst thing is that they believe the biggest lie of the WTS.
Christ died for all mankind, not just the 144 000 as the WTS purport, and in believing this they unknowingly exclude themselves from salvation.
1 Peter 3:18
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
After all, the New Testament is all about the new covenant (testament means covenant) that we can enter into with God through Christ. Why would this only be for a relatively tiny group of 144 000 who are only mentioned twice in the New Testament?
As I understand the NWT does not even use the term, New Testament-no wonder, they don't want you asking about it, understanding it or entering into it.
Luke 22:20
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
The unfounded ruling on transfusions sets the scene for JWs to refuse the blood of Jesus, but the New Testament mentions umpteen times that Jesus' blood is for sinners.
All the best,
Stephen -
17
JW's not the only one preaching the end is near. Born agains are doing it.
by jaguarbass ini get this news letter daily from a biker friend who used to sing with my band.
he is a born again type and has a ministry to outlaw bikers called the prodigal sons.the wactower is not the only group that preaches the end is near.
i think its a biblical message that people that read the bible tune in too.i think the problem with the wactower and the end of the world is they or i took it seriously, and they tell you not to get an education and make provisions for living in this system, which is also somewhat biblical.
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Chalam
"I have been doing Revelation Book weekly reviews and I am floored by the WTS manipulation of scripture to make the FDS/144k/Spritual Israel things work."
Yes, it is not for only these matters only. The critical doctrines of who God is, what His judgement will be, what His salvation is and who it is for, what the afterlife is etc. are at the core of many faiths.
Those that WTS purport do not stand up against any Bible, so that is why they have their own erroneous translation and another book to embellish the mistruths.
All the best,
Stephen -
9
Another serious WTO blunder
by Chalam inoff the back of the excellent "letter of disassociation" http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/150963/1.ashx i was checking out a couple of bits of the bible.
romans 8:14-16 (new international version) .
14 because those who are led by the spirit of god are sons of god.
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Chalam
"You've found him? wow, he's been missing for a long time, where was he? "
Jesus explains it all here.
John 14 (New International Version)
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15"If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
22Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"
23Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25"All this I have spoken while still with you. 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
OK here is my explanation of the passage if it isn't clear where Jesus has been.
15-16 So Jesus says he will ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to be with his followers when he leaves.
17 Then Jesus describes that the Spirit will live in those who follow him but the world will not know the Spirit or see him.
Note that Jesus clearly describes the Spirit as a person ("him") not a thing, and after all the Spirit is a counselor!
18 Jesus says he will come to us. Strange as Jesus just said he was leaving and the Spirit was coming?
19 Then Jesus says the world will not see him any longer but those who follow his command's will. Look back to 17 and you see that Jesus said the same thing about the Spirit. So obviously they are the same.
20 When this happens we will understand that Jesus and the Father are one (Jn 10:30), we are part of them too (joint heirs with Christ Rm 8:17 etc.) and that Jesus and the Spirit are one also because Jesus is living in us.
21 He who follows Christ command loves Christ. The Father will love him and Christ and the Spirit will live in him (see 17 again).
22 Self explanitory question
23 Those that love Jesus follow his teaching. Also the Father will love them too. They will come and make their home with them (another reference to the Spirit). See Rm 8:9 too.
24 Those that do not love Jesus will not follow his teachings (these are the Father's words).
25 Jesus is explaining things before they happen so they could understand when the did (Acts 2).
26 The Spirit, the Father will send in Jesus' name will teach follower of Christ all things and remind them of Jesus' commands (1 Cor 2:14).
27 Jesus leaves his followers peace, not the peace of the world but a supernatural peace (Ph 4:7)
Hopefully you are getting the multiple references to the doctrine of the Trinity in these verses and have noted that the Holy Spirit is a person, not an impersonal 'active force' (a false translation of Gen 1:2). Also that Jesus have been around even since the Spirit came to the us back in Acts 2.
All the best,
Stephen -
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"This Generation..." dogma change. Any effect??
by Asheron inhas anyone seen any fall out from the "this generation" change?
i wanted to call my brother and mom on this one but they will prob reply with the "new light" mind control response.
any faders hearing any moans or groans?.
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Chalam
Forget the vagueness, I liked it back in the old days when they gave out dates!
Stephen -
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how to help a loved one
by FlyAway2 ini come here today to ask for any thoughts on how i can help my girlfriend, an ex-witness.
coming from a background of being raised in the "truth" from day one, and also suffering numerous bouts of abuse from an elder in her congregation as a small child, she seems to have now reached a point where she's simply dead inside.. i thought (foolishly, perhaps) that i could help her recover, "worldly" as i am, and not having been raised in such a religion, i believed i could help her learn that the outside world is not what she was raised to believe it to be; that there are good people out there, and a loving god as well.
not one based on fear and hate.. unfortunately, as we've progressed through our relationship, i'm beginning to see the effects of the brainwashing used by the witness organization take its toll.
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Chalam
Hi FlyAway2,
I just read your post. You are in the right place in some ways, there are plenty of people here who have been seriously hurt as JWs.
There are those that are still mad with the organization, others that are mad with God, others that prefer to believe He doesn't exist any more, and others in varying degrees of numbness and confusion.
But there are success stories, some people have seemed to find a new path in life and there are others that are now truly fulfilled.
I personally believe that only Jesus can heal the deep rooted wounds left by life as a JW. Here are some verses written hundreds of years before Jesus was born.
Isaiah 53:5 (New International Version)
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
So I will pray for peace and emotional and spiritual healing for your girlfriend.
All the best,
Stephen