wannabe

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  80

  I am totally confoused who is the Faithful and Discreet Slave Class?

  by booker-t in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have been hearing and reading on websites about some "new light" jws are saying concerning the faithful and discreet slave class.

  it sounds like the same information they have been saying for years.

  i was always taught the faithful and discreet slave class is the annoited governing body members dispensing food at the proper time for the non annoited jws.

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  wannabe

  According to Hebrews 3:1-6 and Herbrews 10:19-21 - it is Jesus who is the faithful slave as the great high priest; appointed over the house of God! wannabe- don't thank me, buy me something ! Ha
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  10

  According to Hebrews 3:1-6;10:19-22 Jesus is the faithful slave, as the great high priest

  by wannabe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs
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  wannabe
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  How To Edit?

  by wannabe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i noticed my addition to my post is all messed up and impossible to read.

  is there any way i can edit that post so that everyone will have a sharing with the knowledge i feel i now possess?

  understand please i'm not trying to hurt anyone, just trying in my own way to help everyone; but how am i helping anyone if they cannot read my posts?

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  wannabe

  Hello!

  I noticed my addition to my post is all messed up and impossible to read. Is there any way I can edit that post so that everyone will have a sharing with the knowledge I feel I now possess? Understand please I'm not trying to hurt anyone, just trying in my own way to help everyone; but how am I helping anyone if they cannot read my posts? Thank you Wannabe!
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  Why Did Jesus Address His Apostles As A Little Flock? Addition

  by wannabe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  [revelation 5:9,10;20:4].

  " [ephesians 2:19-22] so, from that we see, that it was only the twelve apostles that jesus referred to as a little flock, as it says about other members of the heavenly calling; ''you are fellow citizens of the holy ones and members of the household of god' 'you too have been built upon the foundation of the apostles, and prophets... together into a place for god to inhabit by spirit.

  ' [ephesians 2:19-22. this is why paul could say the following, about the heavenly calling: "what!

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  wannabe

  Why did Jesus address his Apostles as a Little Flock?

  With Addition!

  It is pretty well common knowledge today, that the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society's teaching is, that this 'little Flock' referred to by Jesus, was the entire 144,000 selected from this earth, by Jehovah, for offices as King Priests; to rule with the Christ for the Thousand year period. [Revelation 5:9,10;20:4]

  Now logically, is 144,000 a little flock? Now anyone who is able to reason logically, and sensibly, 144,000 is quite a large number to be reffered to as a 'Little Flock.' To me, at least, that sounds a little silly, to say the least.

  One needs only to delve deeply into this subject to learn, the Watchtowers interpretation of this scripture is seriously flawed; and I will go on to show exactly why that is.

  The scripture in question is worded thusly: "Have no fear, little Flock, because your Father has approved of giving you the kingdom." [Luke 12:32]

  It is interesting to note, that when the Christ instituted the memorial of his death, only the Twelve Apostles were with him in that room; none other of the heavenly calling were present with him at that time. Proof of that is found in these following three scriptures: [Matthew 26:20-28] [Mark 14:17-25] [Luke 22:14-30]

  Now, were you to have read those three scriptures through from beginning to end, you will see I have backed up what I have stated with scriptural proof, that cannot be argued.

  Getting to the reason for calling them a little flock; it should be considered that only the Twelve Apostles was referred to as 12 foundation Stones, with the Christ the head of the corner. So they were the foundation of Jehovah's new spiritual building, and none of the other of the heavenly calling were any part of that foundation; it took only the Twelve to form it.

  Paul gives us a description of this new spiritual building in the following words: "Certainly, therefore, you are no longer strangers and alien residents, but you are fellow citizens of the Holy Ones and are members of the household of God, and you have been built up upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, while Christ Jesus himself is the foundation cornerstone. In union with him you, too, are being built up together into a place for God to inhabit by Spirit." [Ephesians 2:19-22] So, from that we see, that it was only the Twelve Apostles that Jesus referred to as a little flock, as it says about other members of the heavenly calling; ''You are fellow citizens of the Holy Ones and members of the household of God' 'you too have been built upon the foundation of the Apostles, and prophets... together into a place for God to inhabit by spirit.' They were too, 'members of the household of God.' [Ephesians 2:19-22

  This is why Paul could say the following, about the heavenly calling: "What! Do you not know that the body of you people is the [Temple] of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? Also you do not belong to yourselves, for you were bought with a price. By all means, glorify God in the body of you people." [1 Corinthians 6:19; 3:16,17] "Do you not know that you people are God's Temple, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him; for the Temple of God is Holy, which Temple you people are."

  So, one needs to walk very cautiously while around these true people of God; being very careful in the way that you may speak to them, or treat them, because Jehovah is watching over these ones very carefully; and will not take kindly any cruel treatment that might be dealt them. [Matthew 25:31-46]

  Something that Religious Christendom, nor the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society is aware of, is, that none of them should partake of the emblems in celebration of the memorial of the death of Christ; that celebration was meant only for the 12 Apostles; we will remember that only the eleven were in the room when Christ instituted the memorial of his death; the covenant was made only with them; they were the ones who would, 'eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and sit on Thrones judging the Twelve tribes of Israel.' [Luke 22:28-30] Matthias would later be chosen to take the office of Judas Iscariot. [Acts 1:16-26]

  Paul made that very clear, because certain ones were partaking of the emblems, but not approving themselves after scrutiny, then after doing that, and realizing they were not of the foundation, as the Twelve, they were not supposed to partake of that celebration. Notice what Paul told them, and remember he was talking to those of the heavenly calling, when he said: "Consequently whoever eats the loaf or drinks the cup of the lord unworthily will be guilty respecting the body and the blood of the lord. First let a man approve himself after scrutiny, and thus let him eat of the loaf and drink of the cup. For he that eats and drinks eats and drinks judgment against himself if he does not discern the body. That is why many among you are weak and sickly, and quite a few are sleeping in death. But if we would discern what we ourselves are, we would not be judged "... [1 Corinthians 11:28-31]

  They obviously, were not discerning, that they were not one of the twelve foundation stones; because only those of the Twelve could approve themselves after scrutiny, and most certainly they could partake of the emblems without being judged, after doing that; the reason being, they were the ones with the Christ when he instituted the memorial of his death; who was clearly told by the Christ: "However, you are the ones that have stuck with me in my trials; and I make a covenant WITH YOU, just as my Father has made a covenant with me for a kingdom that YOU [the little flock] may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel." [Luke 22:28-30]

  One might wonder, since there was only 'one body,' what was there to discern before eating and drinking? [Ephesians 4:4-6] They were all of the heavenly calling; so what was it they had to discern? That was the simple fact, that they were not all foundation stones; not of the little flock; with their names written in the heavens in a very special way. Note these next words: "The wall of the City also had Twelve Foundation Stones, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the lamb." [Revelation 21:14]

  So, the little flock that Jesus referred to was not the entire 144,000; it was merely his Twelve Apostles, and I feel it safe to say, everyone will agree that Twelves is a small number as opposed to 144,000. Or, if you will, A Little Flock!"

  One other scripture that is a bone of contention are Jesus words at John 10:16 where we find Jesus telling us this: "And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; [not of the little flock] those also I must bring, and they wlll listen to my voice, they will become one flock, [under] the one shepherd." [John 10:16] You will notice, Jesus never said, that there would be two flocks under the one shepherd, one earthly, one heavenly; Jesus was drawing a line of demarcation between the Twelve Apostles, the foundation stones, and all the other members of the heavenly calling; who was not of that fold, not foundation stones. Now, did it really take a rocket scientist to figure that one out?

  When a Religious Organization, such as the Watchtower Society, establishes a 130 year record of failed predictions and false prophecies, while telling us that they are Jehovah's Spirit directed organization; is it any wonder they do not understand the words of Jesus? Because, quite clearly they do not!

  I should add in summary, how long they was to celebrate the memorial of the death of Christ; Paul tells us: "For as often as you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the lord until he arrives." The disciples of Christ had asked him: "What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the system of things?" Those words of course are a dual prophecy, on the one hand, they were looking to the end of the Jewish system of things, on the other, it has application also to the complete end of our own system of things. But they were to continue taking the emblems until the Christ arrived at the end of their system of things; which occured in 70AD when general Titus leading the roman Army attacked the City of Jerusalem as foretold by Jesus; tearing up ten miles of forest land to build a wall of pointed stakes all around the city of Jerusalem. {1 Corinthians 10:11] He slaughtered one million Jews who had failed to heed the words of Jesus when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by encamped Armies to flee that city. [Luke 19:41-44; 21:20-24]

  The Roman General, Cestius Gallus, in 66 AD made a thrust up to the Temple wall but was driven back by the Jews manning the wall; Gallus losing 6,000 of his Troops in the retreat and the majority of his war machine. That gave the Jews inside the Walls of Jerusalem the opportunity to flee into the mountains, as Jesus had warned them; those that failed to heed the warning given by Jesus paid with their lives when the Roman General, Titus attacked Jerusalem four years later, in 70AD tearing up ten miles of forest land to build that wall of pointed stakes foretold by Jesus; distressing them from every side. When Titus was through, one million Jews were put to the sword, and 'not a stone was left upon a stone' of the Jewish Temple; exactly as Jesus had prophesied, it all came true. As it will on our system of things!

  Now we know, that Jesus never came as Jehovah's authorized reigning King in the first century; that event was reserved for the complete end of our system of things; the way that he did come though was being Jehovah's appointed judge, and prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem, and having it all come true just exactly as Jesus had prophesied, in that manner he had come, or arrived. Recall they was to partake of the emblems until he arrived, at the conclusion of the Jewish system of things; notice the words of Paul respecting that: "Now these things went on befalling them as examples, and they were written for a warning to us upon whom the ends of the system of things has arrived." [1Corinthians 10:11] So the time for the judgment of the house of God to begin; as mentioned by the Apostle Peter: "For it is the appointed time for the judgment to start with the house of God. Now if it starts first with us, what will the end be of those who are not obedient to the good news of God."] and if the righteous man is being saved with difficulty, where will the unGodly [Man] and the sinner make a showing?" [1Peter 4:17]

  Concerning the Judging as done by the Christ, we read: "For the Father judges no one at all, but he has committed all the judging to the Son." So the judgment passed on the Israelite Nation, came at the arrival of the Christ, at the conclusion of the Jewish System of things, that arrival shown by the fulfillment of all the words of Jesus against the Nation of Israel. [John 5:22]

  Bringing it down to our own day, we know the chosen ones would be on this earth, because they were mentioned by Jesus when he gave the composite sign of his coming, at Matthew 24:24.

  The Apostle John in his Revelation mentions the final calling, choosing, and sealing, of a remnant of the seed of the heavenly woman, sealed just prior to the outbreak of the great tribulation, so, very probably none of them even knew they were of the heavenly calling, up to that point in time, and in, that, the great tribulation had to be cut short to save their lives, none of them would have ever observed the memorial of the death of Christ, not themselves belonging to any organized religion on this earth; in the sense that they themselves was organized as an organization that belonged to Jehovah. They would know that Jehovah's Organization is now a heavenly organization, with the Christ directing all of its affairs by means of the Holy Spirit now in his hands ever since his ascension; from the heavenly spirit realn. [Acts 2:33] It's true they might have been seated in the pews of Babylon the great, the empire of false religion, but Jehovah would draw them out of there to his Son, so that they could gain free approach to him through his son. [John 14:6;6:44] [Revelation 18:4] [Revelation 7:1-4;12:17] [Matthew 24:21,22] [Hebrews 12:22-24]

  But only being sealed for heavenly life, just prior to the outbreak of the great tribulation, how much would they have known about taking those emblems? Very probably, some, who may have applied themselves vigourously at study of God's word, would very probably have known enough not to touch those emblems, realizing that they themselves was not part of the foundation stones, not of the little flock. so not wanting to receive judgment to themselves would never have touched those emblems, as did, and does, religious Christendom, on a regular basis, and the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society, once every year. Some would know better than to do that. Others may have come along more slowly at taking in knowledge, but Jesus in control of the true teaching instrument, the holy spirit, would be sure to enlighten them on the taking of the emblems, so that they too would refrain from taking such a course as that, in time. [1John 2:27] [John 14:26; 15:26,27;16:13]

  Religious Christendom, as Well as the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses and their followers, have been without knowing it, eating and drinking judgment against themselves, by taking the emblems meant only for the little flock of Jesus followers; the twelve foundation stones of God's new building; none of them being of that particular body of believers. A heavy price will be exacted for that presumptuous action, when the due time comes, and, it will surely come! Make no mistake about that!

  Notice, next, how it came to be, these, 'other sheep' Jesus spoke about came on the scene at that time:

  Found in Jesus last prayer, prior to his ascension:

  "I have made you known to those you gave me out of the world. [12 Apostles] They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your word, 7 and now they know that everything you gave me comes from you. 8 I gave them the message that you gave me, and they received it; they know that it is true that I came from you, and they believe that you sent me. [Luke 6:12-16]

  9 "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those you gave me, for they belong to you

  .

  10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine; and my glory is shown through them. 11 And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one just as you and I are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me. I protected them, and not one of them was lost, except the man who was bound to be lost—so that the scripture might come true. 13 And now I am coming to you, and I say these things in the world so that they might have my joy in their hearts in all its fullness. 14 I gave them your message, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One. 16 Just as I do not belong to the world, they do not belong to the world. 17 Dedicate them to yourself by means of the truth; your word is truth. 18 I sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world. 19 And for their sake I dedicate myself to you, in order that they, too, may be truly dedicated to you. 20 "I pray not only for them, [The Little Flock]but also for those who believe in me because of their message. " [The Other Sheep] [John 17:1-20] [GNT]

  Notice something else Jesus Commanded His Eleven Apostles just prior to his ascension:

  18 Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."[Matthew 28:18-20] [NLT]

  Many today take these words of Jesus, as a reference to Baptism in a water Baptism similar to John's, but that is not the case at all; this Baptism was done by means of the Holy Spirit, and only done on those chosen directly by Jehovah as the Twelve Apostles were, for immortal heavenly life in the Spirit Realm. Paul will fully explain this point: Not from the Jews alone, but also from the Gentile Nations. Note the following words of Paul: [Matthew 3:11] [Mark 1:8] [Luke 3:16]

  3 "For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 you have heard, haven’t you, about the administration of God’s grace that He gave to me for you? 3 The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above. 4 By reading this you are able to understand my insight about the mystery of the Messiah. 5 This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6 The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of His power." {Ephesians 3:1-7] [HCSB] [Romans 11:13]

  Notice the paralell account in Luke about this very thing:

  45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And he said, "Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ 48 You are witnesses of all these things.49 "And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven." [Luke 24:45-49] [NLT]

  Had this have been a Baptism in water, they could have started out immediately, due to the fact there was plenty of water in their area; but notice! Jesus instructed them to wait in the City of Jerusalem, until they were filled with power from on high. That outpouring of Holy Spirit was done after the ascension of the Christ, to his Fathers right hand at Pentecost at which point he received the promised Holy Spirit, and was able to pour out same. Peter will explain that, next:

  33 "Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today." [Acts 2:33] [NLT] [Psalms 110:1,2]

  This was when the Apostles received the gifts of the laying on of the hands, by which means others of the Heavenly calling, not only from the Jews, but also from among the Nations were chosen; evidenced by these following accounts:

  19 "While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. 2 "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" he asked them."No," they replied, "we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."3 "Then what baptism did you experience?" he asked. And they replied, "The baptism of John."4 Paul said, "John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus."5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied." [Acts 19:1-6] [NLT]

  Paul further explains this, as follows:

  "

  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in union with Christ, just as he chose us in union with him before the founding of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love. For he foreordained us to the adoption through Jesus Christ as sons to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, in praise of his glorious undeserved kindness which he kindly conferred upon us by means of [his] loved one. By means of him we have the release by ransom through the blood of that one, yes, the forgiveness of [our] trespasses, according to the riches of his undeserved kindness. This he caused to abound toward us in all wisdom and good sense, in that he made known to us the sacred secret of his will. It is according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself for an administration at the full limit of the appointed times, namely, to gather all things together again in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth. [Yes,] in him, in union with whom we were also assigned as heirs, in that we were foreordained according to the purpose of him who operates all things according to the way his will counsels, that we should serve for the praise of his glory, we who have been first to hope in the Christ. [The Little Flock] But you?also [Other sheep] hoped in him after you heard the word of truth, the good news about your salvation. By means of him also, after you?believed, you?were sealed with the promised holy spirit, which is a token in advance of our inheritance, for the purpose of releasing by a ransom [God’s] own possession, to his glorious praise.That is why I also, since I have heard of the faith ?you?have in the Lord Jesus and toward all the holy ones, do not cease giving thanks for you. I continue mentioning you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the accurate knowledge of him; the eyes of your heart having been enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he called you, what the glorious riches are which he holds as an inheritance for the holy ones, and what the surpassing greatness of his power is toward us believers. It is according to the operation of the mightiness of his strength, with which he has operated in the case of the Christ when he raised him up from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above every government and authority and power and lordship and every name named, not only in this system of things, but also in that to come. He also subjected all things under his feet, and made him head over all things to the congregation,which is his body, the fullness of him who fills up all things in all."[Ephesians 1:1-23] NWT] [Philippians 2:5-11]

  Due to the influence and false teachings of certain claimed believers today in the Christ, this issue has been seriously clouded, by teaching that these other sheep; the first to be gathered together in the Christ are of an earthly class of survivor, but as you have seen from all of the preceding all of those first gathered were of the Heavenly calling only. All having its beginning first in Jerusalem.

  There is no mention of an earthly class in the first century. The main reason being, all of the things in the Heavens had to be gathered first; of which there is a surviving remnant on earth when the Christ arrives in Kingdom Power; those ones he rescues from death at the height of the great tribulation. Some, of course are resurrected first! [Daniel 12:2] As evidenced from the following verses of scripture. [Matthew 24:19-22,24] [Revelation 7:1-4;12:17] [1Thessalonians 4:14-18] 2Thessalonians 1:6-10

  Those of the earthly class appear on the scene after the Heavenly Government has come fully into Kingdom Power; due to Jehovah's promise to Abraham to, 'bless all the Nations of the earth, due to the fact that Abraham listened to the voice of Jehovah.`' This would take place after the Battle of Armageddon, with satan abyssed and put out of the way for the thousand year period. With all of that Heavenly Government now seated, the resurrection of all the human dead would begin, and very gradually a large crowd of the earthly class would begin to appear. [Daniel 12:1,2] [John 5:28,29] This would be the gathering of the things on the earth; but all accomplished under the direction of the Christ and his 144,000 underpriests. [Genesis 18: 18,19;22:17,18; 26:1-6] [Galatians 3:16] [Revelation 20:1-3-11-15] [Revelation 16:13-16] [Revelation 5:9,10;20:1-5]

  The Prophet Zephaniah will explain to us just why there are no earthly surviving sheep, alive after the battle of Armageddon.

  [Zephaniah 1:14-18] Not a happy note to end on, but that depends on your point of view.

  Writer: William James Parker

  E-mail: [email protected]
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  Why Did Jesus Address His Apostles As A Little Flock? Addition!

  by wannabe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  [revelation 5:9,10;20:4].

  " [ephesians 2:19-22] .

  ' [ephesians 2:19-22. this is why paul could say the following, about the heavenly calling: "what!

• 

  wannabe

  Why did Jesus address his Apostles as a Little Flock? With Addition! 2nd Try! It is pretty well common knowledge today, that the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society's teaching is, that this 'little Flock' referred to by Jesus, was the entire 144,000 selected from this earth, by Jehovah, for offices as King Priests; to rule with the Christ for the Thousand year period. [Revelation 5:9,10;20:4] Now logically, is 144,000 a little flock? Now anyone who is able to reason logically, and sensibly, 144,000 is quite a large number to be reffered to as a 'Little Flock.' To me, at least, that sounds a little silly, to say the least. One needs only to delve deeply into this subject to learn, the Watchtowers interpretation of this scripture is seriously flawed; and I will go on to show exactly why that is. The scripture in question is worded thusly: "Have no fear, little Flock, because your Father has approved of giving you the kingdom." [Luke 12:32] It is interesting to note, that when the Christ instituted the memorial of his death, only the Twelve Apostles were with him in that room; none other of the heavenly calling were present with him at that time. Proof of that is found in these following three scriptures: [Matthew 26:20-28] [Mark 14:17-25] [Luke 22:14-30] Now, were you to have read those three scriptures through from beginning to end, you will see I have backed up what I have stated with scriptural proof, that cannot be argued. Getting to the reason for calling them a little flock; it should be considered that only the Twelve Apostles were referred to as 12 foundation Stones, with the Christ the head of the corner. So they were the foundation of Jehovah's new spiritual building, and none of the other of the heavenly calling were any part of that foundation; it took only the Twelve to form it. Paul gives us a description of this new spiritual building in the following words: "Certainly, therefore, you are no longer strangers and alien residents, but you are fellow citizens of the Holy Ones and are members of the household of God, and you have been built up upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, while Christ Jesus himself is the foundation cornerstone. In union with him you, too, are being built up together into a place for God to inhabit by Spirit." [Ephesians 2:19-22] So, from that we see, that it was only the Twelve Apostles that Jesus referred to as a little flock, as it says about other members of the heavenly calling; ''You are fellow citizens of the Holy Ones and members of the household of God' 'you too have been built upon the foundation of the Apostles, and prophets... together into a place for God to inhabit by spirit.' They were too, 'members of the household of God.' [Ephesians 2:19-22 This is why Paul could say the following, about the heavenly calling: "What! Do you not know that the body of you people is the [Temple] of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? Also you do not belong to yourselves, for you were bought with a price. By all means, glorify God in the body of you people." [1 Corinthians 6:19; 3:16,17] "Do you not know that you people are God's Temple, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him; for the Temple of God is Holy, which Temple you people are." So, one needs to walk very cautiously while around these true people of God; being very careful in the way that you may speak to them, or treat them, because Jehovah is watching over these ones very carefully; and will not take kindly any cruel treatment that might be dealt them. [Matthew 25:31-46] Something that Religious Cristendom, nor the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society is aware of, is, that none of them should partake of the emblems in celebration of the memorial of the death of Christ; that celebration was meant only for the 12 Apostles; we will remember that only the eleven were in the room when Christ instituted the memorial of his death; the covenant was made only with them; they was the ones who would, 'eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and sit on Thrones judging the Twelve tribes of Israel.' [Luke 22:28-30] Matthias would later be chosen to take the office of Judas Iscariot. Paul made that very clear, because certain ones were partaking of the emblems, but not approving themselves after scrutiny, then after doing that, and realizing they were not of the foundation, as the Twelve, they were not supposed to partake of that celebration. Notice what Paul told them, and remember he was talking to those of the heavenly calling, when he said: "Consequently whoever eats the loaf or drinks the cup of the lord unworthily will be guilty respecting the body and the blood of the lord. First let a man approve himself after scrutiny, and thus let him eat of the loaf and drink of the cup. For he that eats and drinks eats and drinks judgment against himself if he does not discern the body. That is why many among you are weak and sickly, and quite a few are sleeping in death. But if we would discern what we ourselves are, we would not be judged "... [1 Corinthians 11:28-31] They obviously, were not discerning, that they were not one of the twelve foundation stones; because only those of the Twelve could approve themselves after scrutiny, and most certainly they could partake of the emblems without being judged, after doing that; the reason being, they were the ones with the Christ when he instituted the memorial of his death; who was clearly told by the Christ: "However, you are the ones that have stuck with me in my trials; and I make a covenant WITH YOU, just as my Father has made a covenant with me for a kingdom that YOU [the little flock] may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel." [Luke 22:28-30] One might wonder, since there were only 'one body,' what was there to discern before eating and drinking? [Ephesians 4:4-6] They were all of the heavenly calling; so what was it they had to discern? That was the simple fact, that they were not all foundation stones; not of the little flock; with their names written in the heavens in a very special way. Note these next words: "The wall of the City also had Twelve Foundation Stones, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the lamb." [Revelation 21:14] So, the little flock that Jesus referred to was not the entire 144,000; it was merely his Twelve Apostles, and I feel it safe to say, everyone will agree that Twelves is a small number as opposed to 144,000. Or, if you will, A Little Flock!" One other scripture that is a bone of contention are Jesus words at John 10:16 where we find Jesus telling us this: "And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; [not of the little flock] those also I must bring, and they wlll listen to my voice, they will become one flock, [under] the one shepherd." [John 10:16] You will notice, Jesus never said, that there would be two flocks under the one shepherd, one earthly, one heavenly; Jesus was drawing a line of demarcation between the Twelve Apostles, the foundation stones, and all the other members of the heavenly calling; who were not of that fold, not foundation stones. Now, did it really take a rocket scientist to figure that one out? When a Religious Organization, such as the Watchtower Society, establishes a 130 year record of failed predictions and false prophecies, while telling us that they are Jehovah's Spirit directed organization; is it any wonder they do not understand the words of Jesus? Because, quite clearly they do not! I should add in summary, how long they were to celebrate the memorial of the death of Christ; Paul tells us: "For as often as you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the lord until he arrives." The disciples of Christ had asked him: "What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the system of things?" Those words of course are a dual prophecy, on the one hand, they were looking to the end of the Jewish system of things, on the other, it has application also to the complete end of our own system of things. But they were to continue taking the emblems until the Christ arrived at the end of their system of things; which occured in 70AD when general Titus leading the roman Army attacked the City of Jerusalem as foretold by Jesus; tearing up ten miles of forest land to build a wall of pointed stakes all around the city of Jerusalem. {1 Corinthians 10:11] He slaughtered one million Jews who had failed to heed the words of Jesus when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by encamped Armies to flee that city. [Luke 19:41-44; 21:20-24] The Roman General, Cestius Gallus, in 66 AD made a thrust up to the Temple wall but was driven back by the Jews manning the wall; Gallus losing 6,000 of his Troops in the retreat and the majority of his war machine. That gave the Jews inside the Walls of Jerusalem the opportunity to flee into the mountains, as Jesus had warned them; those that failed to heed the warning given by Jesus paid with their lives when the Roman General, Titus attacked Jerusalem four years later, in 70AD tearing up ten miles of forest land to build that wall of pointed stakes foretold by Jesus; distressing them from every side. When Titus was through, one million Jews were put to the sword, and not a stone was left upon a stone of the Jewish Temple; exactly as Jesus had prophesied, it all came true. As it will on our system of things! Now we know, that Jesus never came as Jehovah's authorized reigning King in the first century; that event was reserved for the complete end of our system of things; the way that he did come though was being Jehovah's appointed judge, and prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem, and having it all come true just exactly as Jesus had prophesied, in that manner he had come, or arrived. Recall they were to partake of the emblems until he arrived, at the conclusion of the Jewish system of things; notice the words of Paul respecting that: "Now these things went on befalling them as examples, and they were written for a warning to us upon whom the ends of the system of things has arrived." [1Corinthians 10:11] So the time for the judgment of the house of God to begin; as mentioned by the Apostle Peter: "For it is the appointed time for the judgment to start with the house of God. Now if it starts first with us, what will the end be of those who are not obedient to the good news of God."] and if the righteous man is being saved with difficulty, where will the unGodly [Man] and the sinner make a showing?" [1Peter 4:17] Concerning the Judging as done by the Christ, we read: "For the Father judges no one at all, but he has committed all the judging to the Son." So the judgment passed on the Israelite Nation, came at the arrival of the Christ, at the conclusion of the Jewish System of things, that arrival shown by the fulfillment of all the words of Jesus against the Nation of Israel. [John 5:22] Bringing it down to our own day, we know the chosen ones would be on this earth, because they were mentioned by Jesus when he gave the composite sign of his coming, at Matthew 24:24. The Apostle John in his Revelation mentions the final calling, choosing, and sealing, of a remnant of the seed of the heavenly woman, sealed just prior to the outbreak of the great tribulation, so, very probably none of them even knew they was of the heavenly calling, up to that point in time, and in, that, the great tribulation had to be cut short to save their lives, none of them would have ever observed the memorial of the death of Christ, not themselves belonging to any organized religion on this earth; in the sense that they themselves was organized as an organization that belonged to Jehovah. They would know that Jehovah's Organization is now a heavenly organization, with the Christ directing all of its affairs by means of the Holy Spirit now in his hands ever since his ascension; from the heavenly spirit realn. [Acts 2:33] It's true they might have been seated in the pews of Babylon the great, the empire of false religion, but Jehovah would draw them out of there to his Son, so that they could gain free approach to him through his son. [John 14:6;6:44] [Revelation 18:4] [Revelation 7:1-4;12:17] [Matthew 24:21,22] But only being sealed for heavenly life, just prior to the outbreak of the great tribulation, how much would they have known about taking those emblems? Very probably, some, who may have applied themselves vigourously at study of God's word, would very probably have known enough not to touch those emblems, realizing that they themselves was not part of the foundation stones, not of the little flock. so not wanting to receive judgment to themselves would never have touched those emblems, as did, and does, religious christendom, on a regular basis, and the governing body of the watchtower society, once every year. Some would know better than to do that. Others may have come along more slowly at taking in knowledge, but Jesus in control of the true teaching instrument, the holy spirit, would be sure to enlighten them on the taking of the emblems, so that they too would refrain from taking such a course as that, in time. [John 14:26;16:13] [1John 2:27] Religious Christendom, as Well as the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses and their followers, have been without knowing it, eating and drinking judgment against themselves, by taking the emblems meant only for the little flock of Jesus followers; the twelve foundation stones of God's new building; none of them being of that particular body of believers. A heavy price will be exacted for that presumptuous action, when the due time comes, and, it will surely come! Make no mistake about that! Notice, next, how it came to be, these, 'other sheep' Jesus spoke about came on the scene at that time: Found in Jesus last prayer, prior to his ascension: "I have made you known to those you gave me out of the world. [12 Apostles] They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your word, 7 and now they know that everything you gave me comes from you. 8 I gave them the message that you gave me, and they received it; they know that it is true that I came from you, and they believe that you sent me. [Luke 6:12-16] 9 "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those you gave me, for they belong to you . Notice something else Jesus Commanded His Eleven Apostles just prior to his ascension: 18 Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."[Matthew 28:18-20] [NLT] Many today take these words of Jesus, as a reference to Baptism in a water Baptism similar to John's, but that is not the case at all; this Baptism was done by means of the Holy Spirit, and only done on those chosen directly by Jehovah as the Twelve Apostles were, for heavenly life in the Spirit Realm. Paul will fully explain this point: Not from the Jews alone, but also from the Gentile Nations. Note the following words of Paul: [Matthew 3:11] [Mark 1:8] [Luke 3:16] 3 "For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 you have heard, haven’t you, about the administration of God’s grace that He gave to me for you? 3 The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above. 4 By reading this you are able to understand my insight about the mystery of the Messiah. 5 This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6 The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of His power." {Ephesians 3:1-7] [HCSB] [Romans 11:13] [Galatians 1:11,12] Notice the paralell account in Luke about this very thing: 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And he said, "Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ 48 You are witnesses of all these things.49 "And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven." [Luke 24:45-49] [NLT] Had this have been a Baptism in water, they could have started out immediately, due to the fact there was plenty of water in their area; but notice! Jesus instructed them to wait in the City of Jerusalem, until they were filled with power from on high. That outpouring of Holy Spirit was done after the ascension of the Christ, to his Fathers right hand at Pentecost at which point he received the promised Holy Spirit, and was able to pour out same. Peter will explain that, next: 33 "Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today." [Acts 2:33] [NLT] This was when the Apostles received the gifts of the laying on of the hands, by which means others of the Heavenly calling, not only from the Jews, but also from among the Nations were chosen; evidenced by these following accounts: 19 "While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. 2 "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" he asked them."No," they replied, "we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."3 "Then what baptism did you experience?" he asked. And they replied, "The baptism of John."4 Paul said, "John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus."5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied." [Acts 19:1-6] [NLT] Paul further explains this, as follows: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in union with Christ, just as he chose us in union with him before the founding of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love. For he foreordained us to the adoption through Jesus Christ as sons to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, in praise of his glorious undeserved kindness which he kindly conferred upon us by means of [his] loved one. By means of him we have the release by ransom through the blood of that one, yes, the forgiveness of [our] trespasses, according to the riches of his undeserved kindness. This he caused to abound toward us in all wisdom and good sense, in that he made known to us the sacred secret of his will. It is according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself for an administration at the full limit of the appointed times, namely, to gather all things together again in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth. [Yes,] in him, in union with whom we were also assigned as heirs, in that we were foreordained according to the purpose of him who operates all things according to the way his will counsels, that we should serve for the praise of his glory, we who have been first to hope in the Christ. [The Little Flock] But you also [Other sheep] hoped in him after you heard the word of truth, the good news about your salvation. By means of him also, after you believed, you were sealed with the promised holy spirit, which is a token in advance of our inheritance, for the purpose of releasing by a ransom [God’s] own possession, to his glorious praise.That is why I also, since I have heard of the faith you have in the Lord Jesus and toward all the holy ones, do not cease giving thanks for you. I continue mentioning you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the accurate knowledge of him; the eyes of your heart having been enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he called you, what the glorious riches are which he holds as an inheritance for the holy ones, and what the surpassing greatness of his power is toward us believers. It is according to the operation of the mightiness of his strength, with which he has operated in the case of the Christ when he raised him up from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above every government and authority and power and lordship and every name named, not only in this system of things, but also in that to come. He also subjected all things under his feet, and made him head over all things to the congregation,which is his body, the fullness of him who fills up all things in all."[Ephesians 1:1-23] NWT] Due to the influence and false teachings of certain claimed believers today in the Christ, this issue has been seriously clouded, by teaching that these other sheep; the first to be gathered together in the Christ are of an earthly class of survivor, but as you have seen from all of the preceding all of those first gathered were of the Heavenly calling only. All having its beginning first in Jerusalem. There is no mention of an earthly class in the first century. The main reason being, all of the things in the Heavens had to be gathered first; of which there is a surviving remnant on earth when the Christ arrives in Kingdom Power; those ones he rescues from death at the height of the great tribulation. Some, of course are resurrected first! [Daniel 12:2] As evidenced from the following verses of scripture. [Matthew 24:19-22,24] [Revelation 7:1-4;12:17] [1Thessalonians 4:14-18] 2Thessalonians 1:6-10 Those of the earthly class appear on the scene after the Heavenly Government has come fully into Kingdom Power; due to Jehovah's promise to Abraham to, 'bless all the Nations of the earth, due to the fact that Abraham listened to the voice of Jehovah.`' This would take place after the Battle of Armageddon, with satan abyssed and put out of the way for the thousand year period. With all of that Heavenly Government now seated, the resurrection of all the human dead would begin, and very gradually a large crowd of the earthly class would begin to appear. [Daniel 12:1,2] [John 5:28,29] This would be the gathering of the things on the earth; but all accomplished under the direction of the Christ and his 144,000 underpriests. [Genesis 18: 18,19;22:17,18; 26:1-6] [Galatians 3:16] [Revelation 20:1-3-11-15] [Revelation 16:13-16] [Revelation 5:9,10;20:1-5] The Prophet Zephaniah will explain to us just why there are no earthly surviving sheep, alive after the battle of Armageddon. [Zephaniah 1:14-18] Not a happy note to end on, but that depends on your point of view. Writer: William James Parker E-mail: [email protected] ?? ?? 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine; and my glory is shown through them. 11 And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one just as you and I are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me. I protected them, and not one of them was lost, except the man who was bound to be lost—so that the scripture might come true. 13 And now I am coming to you, and I say these things in the world so that they might have my joy in their hearts in all its fullness. 14 I gave them your message, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One. 16 Just as I do not belong to the world, they do not belong to the world. 17 Dedicate them to yourself by means of the truth; your word is truth. 18 I sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world. 19 And for their sake I dedicate myself to you, in order that they, too, may be truly dedicated to you. 20 " I pray not only for them, [The Little Flock]but also for those who believe in me because of their message. " [The Other Sheep] [John 17:1-20] [GNT]
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  Why Did Jesus Address His Apostles As A Little Flock?

  by wannabe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  " [luke 12:32].

  "[ephesians 2:19-22] so, from that we see, that it was only the twelve apostles that jesus referred to as a little flock, as it says about other members of the heavenly calling; 'you too have been built upon the foundation of the apostles, and prophets... together into a place for god to inhabit by spirit.

  ' [luke 22:28-30].

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  wannabe

  I'm happy to say you got that out of your system as you did. Hope that makes you feel better. I think, though, it would pay you to read Matthew 11:25. Of course I picked up on your snide innuendo, but, I'm thinking, so did Jehovah who of course will hold you accountable for that. You just might try adding something constructive to the conversation rather than make yourself out to be the most intelligent person alive. You should also know Jehovah chose men unlettered and ordinary to give his truths to. That of course lets you out. To you his word is hidden as you read. Your attitude will change when Zephaniah's Prophecy is fulfilled. Zephaniah 1:14-18 Wannbabe
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  1

  Why Did Jesus Address His Apostles As a Little lock Addition

  by wannabe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  why did jesus address his apostles as a little flock?.

  with addition!.

  it is pretty well common knowledge today, that the governing body of the watchtower society's teaching is, that this 'little flock' referred to by jesus, was the entire 144,000 selected from this earth, by jehovah, for offices as king priests; to rule with the christ for the thousand year period.

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  wannabe

  Why did Jesus address his Apostles as a Little Flock?

  With Addition!

  It is pretty well common knowledge today, that the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society's teaching is, that this 'little Flock' referred to by Jesus, was the entire 144,000 selected from this earth, by Jehovah, for offices as King Priests; to rule with the Christ for the Thousand year period. [Revelation 5:9,10;20:4]

  Now logically, is 144,000 a little flock? Now anyone who is able to reason logically, and sensibly, 144,000 is quite a large number to be reffered to as a 'Little Flock.' To me, at least, that sounds a little silly, to say the least.

  One needs only to delve deeply into this subject to learn, the Watchtowers interpretation of this scripture is seriously flawed; and I will go on to show exactly why that is.

  The scripture in question is worded thusly: "Have no fear, little Flock, because your Father has approved of giving you the kingdom." [Luke 12:32]

  It is interesting to note, that when the Christ instituted the memorial of his death, only the Twelve Apostles were with him in that room; none other of the heavenly calling was present with him at that time. Proof of that is found in these following three scriptures: [Matthew 26:20-28] [Mark 14:17-25] [Luke 22:14-30]

  Now, was you to have read those three scriptures through from beginning to end, you will see I have backed up what I have stated with scriptural proof, that cannot be argued.

  Getting to the reason for calling them a little flock; it should be considered that only the Twelve Apostles was referred to as 12 foundation Stones, with the Christ the head of the corner. So they were the foundation of Jehovah's new spiritual building, and none of the other of the heavenly calling were any part of that foundation; it took only the Twelve to form it.

  Paul gives us a description of this new spiritual building in the following words: "Certainly, therefore, you are no longer strangers and alien residents, but you are fellow citizens of the Holy Ones and are members of the household of God, and you have been built up upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, while Christ Jesus himself is the foundation cornerstone. In union with him you, too, are being built up together into a place for God to inhabit by Spirit." [Ephesians 2:19-22] So, from that we see, that it was only the Twelve Apostles that Jesus referred to as a little flock, as it says about other members of the heavenly calling; ''You are fellow citizens of the Holy Ones and members of the household of God' 'you too have been built upon the foundation of the Apostles, and prophets... together into a place for God to inhabit by spirit.' They was too, 'members of the household of God.' [Ephesians 2:19-22

  This is why Paul could say the following, about the heavenly calling: "What! Do you not know that the body of you people is the [Temple] of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? Also you do not belong to yourselves, for you were bought with a price. By all means, glorify God in the body of you people." [1 Corinthians 6:19; 3:16,17] "Do you not know that you people are God's Temple, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him; for the Temple of God is Holy, which Temple you people are."

  So, one needs to walk very cautiously while around these true people of God; being very careful in the way that you may speak to them, or treat them, because Jehovah is watching over these ones very carefully; and will not take kindly any cruel treatment that might be dealt them. [Matthew 25:31-46]

  Something that Religious Cristendom, nor the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society is aware of, is, that none of them should partake of the emblems in celebration of the memorial of the death of Christ; that celebration was meant only for the 12 Apostles; we will remember that only the eleven were in the room when Christ instituted the memorial of his death; the covenant was made only with them; they was the ones who would, 'eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and sit on Thrones judging the Twelve tribes of Israel.' [Luke 22:28-30] Matthias would later be chosen to take the office of Judas Iscariot.

  Paul made that very clear, because certain ones was partaking of the emblems, but not approving themselves after scrutiny, then after doing that, and realizing they was not of the foundation, as the Twelve, they were not supposed to partake of that celebration. Notice what Paul told them, and remember he was talking to those of the heavenly calling, when he said: "Consequently whoever eats the loaf or drinks the cup of the lord unworthily will be guilty respecting the body and the blood of the lord. First let a man approve himself after scrutiny, and thus let him eat of the loaf and drink of the cup. For he that eats and drinks eats and drinks judgment against himself if he does not discern the body. That is why many among you are weak and sickly, and quite a few are sleeping in death. But if we would discern what we ourselves are, we would not be judged "... [1 Corinthians 11:28-31]

  They obviously, were not discerning, that they was not one of the twelve foundation stones; because only those of the Twelve could approve themselves after scrutiny, and most certainly they could partake of the emblems without being judged, after doing that; the reason being, they was the ones with the Christ when he instituted the memorial of his death; who was clearly told by the Christ: "However, you are the ones that have stuck with me in my trials; and I make a covenant WITH YOU, just as my Father has made a covenant with me for a kingdom that YOU [the little flock] may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel." [Luke 22:28-30]

  One might wonder, since there was only 'one body,' what was there to discern before eating and drinking? [Ephesians 4:4-6] They was all of the heavenly calling; so what was it they had to discern? That was the simple fact, that they was not all foundation stones; not of the little flock; with their names written in the heavens in a very special way. Note these next words: "The wall of the City also had Twelve Foundation Stones, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the lamb." [Revelation 21:14]

  So, the little flock that Jesus referred to was not the entire 144,000; it was merely his Twelve Apostles, and I feel it safe to say, everyone will agree that Twelves is a small number as opposed to 144,000. Or, if you will, A Little Flock!"

  One other scripture that is a bone of contention are Jesus words at John 10:16 where we find Jesus telling us this: "And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; [not of the little flock] those also I must bring, and they wlll listen to my voice, they will become one flock, [under] the one shepherd." [John 10:16] You will notice, Jesus never said, that there would be two flocks under the one shepherd, one earthly, one heavenly; Jesus was drawing a line of demarcation between the Twelve Apostles, the foundation stones, and all the other members of the heavenly calling; who was not of that fold, not foundation stones. Now, did it really take a rocket scientist to figure that one out?

  When a Religious Organization, such as the Watchtower Society, establishes a 130 year record of failed predictions and false prophecies, while telling us that they are Jehovah's Spirit directed organization; is it any wonder they do not understand the words of Jesus? Because, quite clearly they do not!

  I should add in summary, how long they was to celebrate the memorial of the death of Christ; Paul tells us: "For as often as you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the lord until he arrives." The disciples of Christ had asked him: "What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the system of things?" Those words of course are a dual prophecy, on the one hand, they were looking to the end of the Jewish system of things, on the other, it has application also to the complete end of our own system of things. But they were to continue taking the emblems until the Christ arrived at the end of their system of things; which occured in 70AD when general Titus leading the roman Army attacked the City of Jerusalem as foretold by Jesus; tearing up ten miles of forest land to build a wall of pointed stakes all around the city of Jerusalem. {1 Corinthians 10:11] He slaughtered one million Jews who had failed to heed the words of Jesus when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by encamped Armies to flee that city. [Luke 19:41-44; 21:20-24]

  The Roman General, Cestius Gallus, in 66 AD made a thrust up to the Temple wall but was driven back by the Jews manning the wall; Gallus losing 6,000 of his Troops in the retreat and the majority of his war machine. That gave the Jews inside the Walls of Jerusalem the opportunity to flee into the mountains, as Jesus had warned them; those that failed to heed the warning given by Jesus paid with their lives when the Roman General, Titus attacked Jerusalem four years later, in 70AD tearing up ten miles of forest land to build that wall of pointed stakes foretold by Jesus; distressing them from every side. When Titus was through, one million Jews was put to the sword, and not a stone was left upon a stone of the Jewish Temple; exactly as Jesus had prophesied, it all came true. As it will on our system of things!

  Now we know, that Jesus never came as Jehovah's authorized reigning King in the first century; that event was reserved for the complete end of our system of things; the way that he did come though was being Jehovah's appointed judge, and prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem, and having it all come true just exactly as Jesus had prophesied, in that manner he had come, or arrived. Recall they was to partake of the emblems until he arrived, at the conclusion of the Jewish system of things; notice the words of Paul respecting that: "Now these things went on befalling them as examples, and they were written for a warning to us upon whom the ends of the system of things has arrived." [1Corinthians 10:11] So the time for the judgment of the house of God to begin; as mentioned by the Apostle Peter: "For it is the appointed time for the judgment to start with the house of God. Now if it starts first with us, what will the end be of those who are not obedient to the good news of God."] and if the righteous man is being saved with difficulty, where will the unGodly [Man] and the sinner make a showing?" [1Peter 4:17]

  Concerning the Judging as done by the Christ, we read: "For the Father judges no one at all, but he has committed all the judging to the Son." So the judgment passed on the Israelite Nation, came at the arrival of the Christ, at the conclusion of the Jewish System of things, that arrival shown by the fulfillment of all the words of Jesus against the Nation of Israel. [John 5:22]

  Bringing it down to our own day, we know the chosen ones would be on this earth, because they were mentioned by Jesus when he gave the composite sign of his coming, at Matthew 24:24.

  The Apostle John in his Revelation mentions the final calling, choosing, and sealing, of a remnant of the seed of the heavenly woman, sealed just prior to the outbreak of the great tribulation, so, very probably none of them even know they was of the heavenly calling, up to that point in time, and in, that, the great tribulation had to be cut short to save their lives, none of them would have ever observed the memorial of the death of Christ, not themselves belonging to any organized religion on this earth; in the sense that they themselves was organized as an organization that belonged to Jehovah. They would know that Jehovah's Organization is now a heavenly organization, with the Christ directing all of its affairs by means of the Holy Spirit now in his hands ever since his ascension; from the heavenly spirit realn. [Acts 2:33] It's true they might have been seated in the pews of Babylon the great, the empire of false religion, but Jehovah would draw them out of there to his Son, so that they could gain free approach to him through his son. [John 14:6;6:44] [Revelation 18:4] [Revelation 7:1-4;12:17] [Matthew 24:21,22]

  But only being sealed for heavenly life, just prior to the outbreak of the great tribulation, how much would they have known about taking those emblems? Very probably, some, who may have applied themselves vigourously at study of God's word, would very probably have known enough not to touch those emblems, realizing that they themselves was not part of the foundation stones, not of the little flock. so not wanting to receive judgment to themselves would never have touched those emblems, as did, and does, religious christendom, on a regular basis, and the governing body of the watchtower society, once every year. Some would know better than to do that. Others may have come along more slowly at taking in knowledge, but Jesus in control of the true teaching instrument, the holy spirit, would be sure to enlighten them on the taking of the emblems, so that they too would refrain from taking such a course as that, in time.

  Religious Christendom, as Well as the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses and their followers, have been without knowing it, eating and drinking judgment against themselves, by taking the emblems meant only for the little flock of Jesus followers; the twelve foundation stones of God's new building; none of them being of that particular body of believers. A heavy price will be exacted for that presumptuos action, when the due time comes, and, it will surely come! Make no mistake about that!

  Notice, next, how it came to be, these, 'other sheep' Jesus spoke about came on the scene at that time:

  Found in Jesus last prayer, prior to his ascension:

  "I have made you known to those you gave me out of the world. [12 Apostles] They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your word, 7 and now they know that everything you gave me comes from you. 8 I gave them the message that you gave me, and they received it; they know that it is true that I came from you, and they believe that you sent me. [Luke 6:12-16]

  9 "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those you gave me, for they belong to you

  .

  10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine; and my glory is shown through them. 11 And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one just as you and I are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me. I protected them, and not one of them was lost, except the man who was bound to be lost—so that the scripture might come true. 13 And now I am coming to you, and I say these things in the world so that they might have my joy in their hearts in all its fullness. 14 I gave them your message, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One. 16 Just as I do not belong to the world, they do not belong to the world. 17 Dedicate them to yourself by means of the truth; your word is truth. 18 I sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world. 19 And for their sake I dedicate myself to you, in order that they, too, may be truly dedicated to you. 20 "I pray not only for them, [The Little Flock]but also for those who believe in me because of their message. " [The Other Sheep] [John 17:1-20] [GNT]

  Notice something else Jesus Commanded His Eleven Apostles just prior to his ascension:

  18 Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."[Matthew 28:18-20] [NLT]

  Many today take these words of Jesus, as a reference to Baptism in a water Baptism similar to John's, but that is not the case at all; this Baptism was done by means of the Holy Spirit, and only done on those chosen directly by Jehovah as the Twelve Apostles were, for heavenly life in the Spirit Realm. Paul will fully explain this point: Not from the Jews alone, but also from the Gentile Nations. Note the following words of Paul: [Matthew 3:11] [Mark 1:8] [Luke 3:16]

  3 "For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 you have heard, haven’t you, about the administration of God’s grace that He gave to me for you? 3 The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above. 4 By reading this you are able to understand my insight about the mystery of the Messiah. 5 This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6 The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of His power." {Ephesians 3:1-7] [HCSB]

  Notice the paralell account in Luke about this very thing:

  45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And he said, "Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ 48 You are witnesses of all these things.49 "And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven." [Luke 24:45-49] [NLT]

  Had this have been a Baptism in water, they could have started out immediately, due to the fact there was plenty of water in their area; but notice! Jesus instructed them to wait in the City of Jerusalem, until they were filled with power from on high. That outpouring of Holy Spirit was done after the ascension of the Christ, to his Fathers right hand at Pentecost at which point he received the promised Holy Spirit, and was able to pour out same. Peter will explain that, next:

  33 "Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today." [Acts 2:33] [NLT]

  This was when the Apostles received the gifts of the laying on of the hands, by which means others of the Heavenly calling, not only from the Jews, but also from among the Nations were chosen; evidenced by these following accounts:

  19 "While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. 2 "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" he asked them."No," they replied, "we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."3 "Then what baptism did you experience?" he asked. And they replied, "The baptism of John."4 Paul said, "John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus."5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied." [Acts 19:1-6] [NLT]

  Paul further explains this, as follows:

  "

  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in union with Christ, just as he chose us in union with him before the founding of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love. For he foreordained us to the adoption through Jesus Christ as sons to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, in praise of his glorious undeserved kindness which he kindly conferred upon us by means of [his] loved one. By means of him we have the release by ransom through the blood of that one, yes, the forgiveness of [our] trespasses, according to the riches of his undeserved kindness. This he caused to abound toward us in all wisdom and good sense, in that he made known to us the sacred secret of his will. It is according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself for an administration at the full limit of the appointed times, namely, to gather all things together again in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth. [Yes,] in him, in union with whom we were also assigned as heirs, in that we were foreordained according to the purpose of him who operates all things according to the way his will counsels, that we should serve for the praise of his glory, we who have been first to hope in the Christ. [The Little Flock] But you?also [Other sheep] hoped in him after you heard the word of truth, the good news about your salvation. By means of him also, after you?believed, you?were sealed with the promised holy spirit, which is a token in advance of our inheritance, for the purpose of releasing by a ransom [God’s] own possession, to his glorious praise.That is why I also, since I have heard of the faith ?you?have in the Lord Jesus and toward all the holy ones, do not cease giving thanks for you. I continue mentioning you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the accurate knowledge of him; the eyes of your heart having been enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he called you, what the glorious riches are which he holds as an inheritance for the holy ones, and what the surpassing greatness of his power is toward us believers. It is according to the operation of the mightiness of his strength, with which he has operated in the case of the Christ when he raised him up from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above every government and authority and power and lordship and every name named, not only in this system of things, but also in that to come. He also subjected all things under his feet, and made him head over all things to the congregation,which is his body, the fullness of him who fills up all things in all."[Ephesians 1:1-23] NWT]

  Due to the influence and false teachings of certain claimed believers today in the Christ, this issue has been seriously clouded, by teaching that these other sheep; the first to be gathered together in the Christ are of an earthly class of survivor, but as you have seen from all of the preceding all of those first gathered were of the Heavenly calling only. All having its beginning first in Jerusalem.

  There is no mention of an earthly class in the first century. The main reason being, all of the things in the Heavens had to be gathered first; of which there is a surviving remnant on earth when the Christ arrives in Kingdom Power; those ones he rescues from death at the height of the great tribulation. Some, of course are resurrected first! [Daniel 12:2] As evidenced from the following verses of scripture. [Matthew 24:19-22,24] [Revelation 7:1-4;12:17] [1Thessalonians 4:14-18] 2Thessalonians 1:6-10

  Those of the earthly class appear on the scene after the Heavenly Government has come fully into Kingdom Power; due to Jehovah's promise to Abraham to, 'bless all the Nations of the earth, due to the fact that Abraham listened to the voice of Jehovah.`' This would take place after the Battle of Armageddon, with satan abyssed and put out of the way for the thousand year period. With all of that Heavenly Government now seated, the resurrection of all the human dead would begin, and very gradually a large crowd of the earthly class would begin to appear. [Daniel 12:1,2] [John 5:28,29] This would be the gathering of the things on the earth; but all accomplished under the direction of the Christ and his 144,000 underpriests. [Genesis 18: 18,19;22:17,18; 26:1-6] [Galatians 3:16] [Revelation 20:1-3-11-15] [Revelation 16:13-16] [Revelation 5:9,10;20:1-5]

  The Prophet Zephaniah will explain to us just why there are no earthly surviving sheep, alive after the battle of Armageddon.

  [Zephaniah 1:14-18] Not a happy note to end on, but that depends on your point of view.

  Writer: William James Parker

  E-mail: [email protected]
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  16

  Why Did Jesus Address His Apostles As A Little Flock?

  by wannabe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  " [luke 12:32].

  "[ephesians 2:19-22] so, from that we see, that it was only the twelve apostles that jesus referred to as a little flock, as it says about other members of the heavenly calling; 'you too have been built upon the foundation of the apostles, and prophets... together into a place for god to inhabit by spirit.

  ' [luke 22:28-30].

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  wannabe

  Why did Jesus address his followers as a Little Flock?

  It is pretty well common knowledge today, that the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society's teaching is, that this 'little Flock' referred to by Jesus, was the entire 144,000 selected from this earth, by Jehovah, for offices as King Priests; to rule with the Christ for the Thousand year period. [Revelation 5:9,10;20:4]

  Now logically, is 144,000 a little flock? Now anyone who is able to reason logically, and sensibly, 144,000 is quite a large number to be reffered to as a 'Little Flock.' To me, at least, that sounds a little silly, to say the least.

  One needs only to delve deeply into this subject to learn, the Watchtowers interpretation of this scripture is seriously flawed; and I will go on to show exactly why that is.

  The scripture in question is worded thusly: "Have no fear, little Flock, because your Father has approved of giving you the kingdom." [Luke 12:32]

  It is interesting to note, that when the Christ instituted the memorial of his death, only the Twelve Apostles were with him in that room; none other of the heavenly calling was present with him at that time. Proof of that is found in these following three scriptures: [Matthew 26:20-28] [Mark 14:17-25] [Luke 22:14-30]

  Now, was you to have read those three scriptures through from beginning to end, you will see I have backed up what I have stated with scriptural proof, that cannot be argued.

  Getting to the reason for calling them a little flock; it should be considered that only the Twelve Apostles was referred to as 12 foundation Stones, with the Christ the head of the corner. So they were the foundation of Jehovah's new spiritual building, and none of the other of the heavenly calling were any part of that foundation; it took only the Twelve to form it.

  Paul gives us a description of this new spiritual building in the following words: "Certainly, therefore, you are no longer strangers and alien residents, but you are fellow citizens of the Holy Ones and are members of the household of God , and you have been built up upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, while Christ Jesus himself is the foundation cornerstone. In union with him you, too, are being built up together into a place for God to inhabit by Spirit." [Ephesians 2:19-22] So, from that we see, that it was only the Twelve Apostles that Jesus referred to as a little flock, as it says about other members of the heavenly calling; 'you too have been built upon the foundation of the Apostles, and prophets... together into a place for God to inhabit by spirit.' They was too, 'members of the household of God.' [Ephesians 2:19-22

  This is why Paul could say the following, about the heavenly calling: "What! Do you not know that the body of you people is the [Temple] of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? Also you do not belong to yourselves, for you were bought with a price. By all means, glorify God in the body of you people." [1 Corinthians 6:19; 3:16,17] "Do you not know that you people are God's Temple, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him; for the Temple of God is Holy,

  which Temple you people are."

  So, one needs to walk very cautiously while around these true people of God; being very careful in the way that you may speak to them, or treat them, because Jehovah is watching over these ones very carefully; and will not take kindly any cruel treatment that might be dealt them. [Matthew 25:31-46]

  Something that Religious Cristendom, nor the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society is aware of, is, that none of them should partake of the emblems in celebration of the memorial of the death of Christ; that celebration was meant only for the 12 Apostles; we will remember that only the Twelve were in the room when Christ instituted the memorial of his death; the covenant was made only with them; they was the ones who would, 'eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and sit on Thrones judging the Twelve tribes of Israel.' [Luke 22:28-30]

  Paul made that very clear, because certain ones was partaking of the emblems, but not approving themselves after scrutiny, then after doing that, and realizing they was not of the foundation, as the Twelve, they were not supposed to partake of that celebration. Notice what Paul told them, and remember he was talking to those of the heavenly calling, when he said: "Consequently whoever eats the loaf or drinks the cup of the lord unworthily will be guilty respecting the body and the blood of the lord. First let a man approve himself after scrutiny, and thus let him eat of the loaf and drink of the cup. For he that eats and drinks eats and drinks judgment against himself if he does not discern the body. That is why many among you are weak and sickly, and quite a few are sleeping in death. But if we would discern what we ourselves are, we would not be judged "... [1 Corinthians 11:28-31]

  They obviously, were not discerning, that they was not one of the twelve foundation stones; because only those of the Twelve could approve themselves after scrutiny, and most certainly they could partake of the emblems without being judged, after doing that; the reason being, they was the ones with the Christ when he instituted the memorial of his death; who was clearly told by the Christ: "However, you are the ones that have stuck with me in my trials; and I make a covenant WITH YOU, just as my Father has made a covenant with me for a kingdom that YOU [the little flock] may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel." [Luke 22:28-30]

  One might wonder, since there was only 'one body,' what was there to discern before eating and drinking? [Ephesians 4:4-6] They was all of the heavenly calling; so what was it they had to discern? That was the simple fact, that they was not all foundation stones; not of the little flock; with their names written in the heavens in a very special way. Note these next words: "The wall of the City also had Twelve Foundation Stones, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the lamb." [Revelation 21:14]

  So, the little flock that Jesus referred to was not the entire 144,000; it was merely his Twelve Apostles, and I feel it safe to say, everyone will agree that Twelves is a small number as opposed to 144,000. Or, if you will, A Little Flock!"

  One other scripture that is a bone of contention are Jesus words at John 10:16 where we find Jesus telling us this: "And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; [not of the little flock]those also I must bring, and they wlll listen to my voice, they will become one flock, [under] the one shepherd." [John 10:16] You will notice, Jesus never said, that there would be two flocks under the one shepherd, one earthly, one heavenly; Jesus was drawing a line of demarcation between the Twelve Apostles, the foundation stones, and all the other members of the heavenly calling; who was not of that fold, not foundation stones. Now, did it really take a rocket scientist to figure that one out?

  When a Religious Organization, such as the Watchtower Society, establishes a 130 year record of failed predictions and false prophecies, while telling us that they are Jehovah's Spirit directed organization; is it any wonder they do not understand the words of Jesus? Because , quite clearly they do not!

  I should add in summary, how long they was to celebrate the memorial of the death of Christ; Paul tells us: "For as often as you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the lord until he arrives." The disciples of Christ had asked him: "What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the system of things?" Those words of course are a dual prophecy, on the one hand, they were looking to the end of the Jewish system of things, on the other, it has application also to the complete end of our own system of things. But they were to continue taking the emblems until the Christ arrived at the end of their system of things; which occured in 70AD when general Titus leading the roman Army attacked the City of Jerusalem as foretold by Jesus; tearing up ten miles of forest land to build a wall of pointed stakes all around the city of Jerusalem. {1 Corinthians 10:11] He slaughtered one million Jews who had failed to heed the words of Jesus when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by encamped Armies to flee that city. [Luke 19:41-44; 21:20-24]

  The Roman General, Cestius Gallus, in 66 AD made a thrust up to the Temple wall but was driven back by the Jews manning the wall; Gallus losing 6,000 of his Troops in the retreat. That gave the Jews inside the Walls of Jerusalem the opportunity to flee into the mountains, as Jesus had warned them; those that failed to heed the warning given by Jesus paid with their lives when the Roman General, Titus attacked Jerusalem four years later, in 70AD tearing up ten miles of forest land to build that wall of pointed stakes foretold by Jesus; distressing them from every side. When Titus was through, one million Jews was put to the sword, and not a stone was left upon a stone of the Jewish Temple; exactly as Jesus had prophesied, it all came true. As it will on our system of things!

  Now we know, that Jesus never came as Jehovah's authorized reigning King in the first century; that event was reserved for the complete end of our system of things; the way that he did come though was being Jehovah's appointed judge, and prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem, and having it all come true just exactly as Jesus had prophesied, in that manner he had come, or arrived. Recall they was to partake of the emblems until he arrived, at the conclusion of the Jewish system of things; notice the words of Paul respecting that: "Now these things went on befalling them as examples, and they were written for a warning to us upon whom the ends of the system of things has arrived." [ 1Corinthians 10:11] So the time for the judgment of the house of God to begin; as mentioned by the Apostle Peter: "For it is the appointed time for the judgment to start with the house of God. Now if it starts first with us, what will the end be of those who are not obedient to the good news of God."] and if the righteous man is being saved with difficulty, where will the unGodly [Man] and the sinner make a showing?" [1Peter 4:17]

  Concerning the Judging as done by the Christ, we read: "For the Father judges no one at all, but he has committed all the judging to the Son." So the judgment passed on the Israelite Nation, came at the arrival of the Christ, at the conclusion of the Jewish System of things, that arrival shown by the fulfillment of all the words of Jesus against the Nation of Israel. [John 5:22]

  Bringing it down to our own day, we know the chosen ones would be on this earth, because they were mentioned by Jesus when he gave the composite sign of his coming, at Matthew 24:24.

  The Apostle John in his Revelation mentions the final calling, choosing, and sealing, of a remnant of the seed of the heavenly woman, sealed just prior to the outbreak of the great tribulation, so, very probably none of them even knew they was of the heavenly calling, up to that point in time, and in, that, the great tribulation had to be cut short to save their lives, none of them would have ever observed the memorial of the death of Christ, not themselves belonging to any organized religion on this earth; in the sense that they themselves was organized as an organization that belonged to Jehovah. They would know that Jehovah's Organization is now a heavenly organization, with the Christ directing all of its affairs by means of the Holy Spirit now in his hands ever since his ascension; from the heavenly spirit realn. [Acts 2:33] It's true they might have been seated in the pews of Babylon the great, the empire of false religion, but Jehovah would draw them out of there to his Son, so that they could gain free approach to him through his son. [John 14:6;6:44] [Revelation 18:4] [Revelation 7:1-4;12:17] [Matthew 24:21,22]

  But only being sealed for heavenly life, just prior to the outbreak of the great tribulation, how much would they have known about taking those emblems? Very probably, some, who may have applied themselves vigourously at study of God's word, would very probably have known enough not to touch those emblems, realizing that they themselves was not part of the foundation stones, not of the little flock. so not wanting to receive judgment to themselves would never have touched those emblems, as did, and does, religious christendom, on a regular basis, and the governing body of the watchtower society, once every year. Some would know better than to do that. Others may have come along more slowly at taking in knowledge, but Jesus in control of the true teaching instrument, the holy spirit, would be sure to enlighten them on the taking of the emblems, so that they too would refrain from taking such a course as that, in time.

  Religious Christendom, as Well as the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses and their followers, have been without knowing it, eating and drinking judgment against themselves, by taking the emblems meant only for the little flock of Jesus followers; the twelve foundation stones of God's new building; none of them being of that particular body of believers. A heavy price will be exacted for that presumptuos action, when the due time comes, and, it will surely come! Make no mistake about that!

  Writer: William James Parker

  e-mail - [email protected]
• 
  4

  Sequence of events leading to Armageddon!

  by wannabe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  " [revelation 12:1-12] .

  [revelation 16:13-16; 17:14].

  " [revelation 18: 22-24] [nlt] [matthew 23:33-36].

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  wannabe

  Sequence of events leading into Armageddon!

  Those of us, who are close students of the Bible, know that this final sealing of the Heavenly calling, is still being done by this Angel with the seal of the living God, and will continue to be done until these four Angels release these four winds of World destruction. That being the case, the full number of the Heavenly calling, is not yet done to completion, as others are yet to be sealed by this Angel, with this marking seal.

  Notice how the Apostle John describes this final sealing work, just prior to the outbreak of the Great Tribulation, foretold by Jesus: .............

  1 "After his I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow on the earth, or on the sea, or upon any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascend from the sunrising, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a great voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we shall have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. 4 And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel" ... [Revelation 7:1-4] [ASB]

  We know, the great tribulation foretold by Jesus had to be cut short to save the lives of the few remaining ones of the seed of the heavenly Woman, described as follows: ....

  21 ..." 'for then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.'" [Matthew 24:21,22] Notice, next, exactly what it is, that is the direct cause of this foretold great tribulation:

  7 "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels; 8 And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him. 10 And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying:

  "Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death.

  12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and ye that dwell in them. "Woe for the earth and for the sea: because the devil is gone down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time." [Revelation 12:1-12]

  13 "And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he persecuted the woman that brought forth the man child. 14 And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness unto her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman water as a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream. 16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon waxed wroth with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, that keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus" ...

  As we might have expected, satan, upon being cast down to our earth, is the one to bring this, "Woe for the earth and for the Sea," and knowing that his time is short, with extreme hatred for Jehovah's Heavenly Woman, he maneauvers his own seed in among these nations of the earth, to murder and persecute the last remaining ones of the seed of the Heavenly Woman, during the great tribulation foretold by Jesus. Creating the need for those days to be cut short, to save the lives of the surviving remnant of the Heavenly Woman. Next, Jesus explains:

  9 "Then they will hand you over to suffer affliction and tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake." [Matthew 24:9]

  We noted in the preceding, that it is Michael and his Angels involve themselves in this war with satan and his Angels, and to prove that Jesus and Michael are one and the same person; one needs only to look at Revelation 19:11-16-- Verse 11 tells us, in part: ..."he judges and carries on War in righteousness." In verse 16 we learn, 'he has a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.' In Reveation 6:2 speaking about this same King, we read: "And Look! a White Horse; and the one seated upon it had a Bow, and a crown was given him, and he went forth conquering and to complete his conquest." We know, too, that Jesus is the appointed Judge of both the living and the dead. [2Timothy 4:1]

  Holding all of those credentials, as he does, Michael the Archangel, and the Christ have to be, one and the same person.

  As well, we also know that the Father, 'has commited all the judging to the Son.' [John 5:22] So, with that in mind, when Michael stands up, the great prince, we know that the Christ has taken Kingdom Power. Read again these following words:

  "Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night. "

  [Daniel 12:1]

  In-as-much as the great tribulation foretold by Jesus has not erupted on this earth, even up to this present moment in time this Angel doing this sealing work, has not as yet done his work to completion, for even yet more are to be sealed in their foreheads for heavenly life in the spirit realm. So, those four Angels continue to restrain those four winds of World destruction. However, we have learned, up to this point, that when those four Angels release those four winds, simultaneously with, that, a War will be being fought in heaven, with satan and his demons being cast down to our earth, and that event will trigger the great tribulation, that had to be cut short. We notice, too, with John's account, when satan is cast down to our earth, God's Kingdom will then be operational, with the Christ holding his authority over it. Notice Matthews description of this event:

  29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and beat their breasts and lament in anguish, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliancy and splendor].31 And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect (His chosen ones) from the four winds, [even] from one end of the universe to the other." Matthew 24:29-31 [Amplified Bible (AMP)

  The Apostle Paul will explain this more fully, next:

  15 "We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with [employing] the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever." [1Thessalonians 4:15-17] [NLB]

  This War, now in Heaven, clearly shows us, that Jesus, now, is in War mode, and at this point, these following words of the Psalmist have now come to pass; for there we read the following:

  110 "Jehovah saith unto my Lord, [Jesus] Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool. 2 Jehovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion: [saying] "Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies." [Psalm 110:1,2 ASB] We know, for an absolute fact, that satan, was not only Jehovah's great adversary, but also the one foretold to deliver the heel-wound to the Christ, which he did at the crucifiction of the Christ, in the first century. [Genesis 3:15] [Acts 2:33]

  An interesting point surfaces here; the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society, will tell us that the Christ has been invisibly present ever since the year 1914, but does not the words of the Psalmist contradict that claim? According to that very scripture, the Christ could not make a move, until his Father makes his enemies a footstool for his feet. Then, was to tell him: "Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies." According to that, he is still sitting there waiting for those words to see fulfillment. So, how could he possibly be, invisibly present in the year 1914? That is absolutely, not even possible. Then, too, it must be remembered, that Jesus does not come into kingdom power, until, as Matthews acount says; "After the tribulation of those days." Those days, I would remind everyone, have not even begun as yet, they still lay directly ahead of us. So, as yet, he is not in Kingdom power as they make claim. Not invisibly! Not in any way, shape, or form.

  Keep in mind, too, All of the Christ's Angels are now with him, as well, all those, 'called chosen and faithful,' who would be with him, taking part in the War of the Great Day Of God The Almighty at the Battle of Armageddon. [Revelation 16:13-16; 17:14]

  12 "At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince [Jesus] who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." [Daniel 12:1-3 ESV]

  In this scenario, it is seen, that the tribulation Jesus spoke about was cut short to save the lives of the chosen ones, that he came into kingdom power after the tribulation of those days, which tells us the time of World peril Daniel speaks about, is an extension of the tribulation Jesus spoke about, but leads right into the War of the Great Day of God the Almighty at Armageddon. Listen now to the words of the Prophet Daniel: ........

  12 "At that time shall arise Michael, [In Kingdom Power] the great prince who has charge of your people. [Jesus] And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." [Daniel 12:1-3]

  The Prophet Jeremiah, next reports on this unequelled time of trouble, Jesus, and Daniel spoke about, in these next following words:

  31 "A noise shall come even to the end of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the nations; he will enter into judgment with all flesh: as for the wicked,

  he will give them to the sword,

  saith Jehovah.32 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth. 33 And the slain of Jehovah shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the face of the ground.34 Wail, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow in ashes, ye principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are fully come, and ye shall fall like a goodly vessel. 35 And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. 36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the principal of the flock! for Jehovah layeth waste their pasture. 37 And the peaceable folds are brought to silence because of the fierce anger of Jehovah." [Jeremiah 25:31-37] [ASV]

  These words of Jeremiah are another example of the Watchtower Societies flawed reasoning, for when dealing with the composite sign of the coming of Christ, without exception the will skip verse 6 of Matthew 24, and zero right in on Matthew 24:7 explaining that Matthew 24:7 is applied to the outbreak of World War One, where we are told: "Nation will rise against Nation and Kingdom against Kingdom." Following that, World War Two! But notice what verse six has to say: "You are going to hear of Wars and reports of Wars; see that you are not terrified. For these things must take place, but the end is not yet!" From the year 1914 we have had, Two World Wars, and reports of Wars; even now we hear about Wars, and actually see Wars going on all around us. As well, do we not hear of reports of Wars on a daily basis? But has the end come yet? Absolutely not! Which means, of necessity, Matthew 24:7 is yet ahead of us. Does not Jeremiah tell us that very same thing? Read it again!

  "Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth. Does not Ezekiel tell us the very same thing? Notice what Ezekiel reported on, next: ........

  21 "And I will call for a sword against him unto all my mountains, saith the Lord Jehovah: every man's sword shall be against his brother." [Ezekiel 38:21 ASV] Worldwide madness!

  What might be the reason for every mans sword to be turned against his own brother? Could it be because of what John reveals next, in his Revelation?

  16 "And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire.17 For God did put in their hearts to do his mind, and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished.18 And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city,

  which reigneth over the kings of the earth."

  [Revelation 17:16-18] (ASV)

  4 "I then heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out from her, my people, so that you may not share in her sins, neither participate in her plagues.5 For her iniquities (her crimes and transgressions) are piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her wickedness and [her] crimes [and calls them up for settlement].6 Repay to her what she herself has paid [to others] and double [her doom] in accordance with what she has done. Mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed [for others].7 To the degree that she glorified herself and reveled in her wantonness [living deliciously and luxuriously], to that measure impose on her torment and anguish and tears and mourning. Since in her heart she boasts, I am not a widow; as a queen [on a throne] I sit, and I shall never see suffering or experience sorrow—8 So shall her plagues (afflictions, calamities) come thick upon her in a single day, pestilence and anguish and sorrow and famine; and she shall be utterly consumed (burned up with fire), for mighty is the LORD [Jehovah] God Who judges her." [Revelation 18:4-8] [AMP].

  Notice, now, what is said about the riches of the Pope's of Vatican City, being the richest individual of the Twentieth Century, enough to shock anyone senseless; read on:

  ..."When to that is added all the real estate, property, stocks and shares abroad, then the staggering accumulation of the Wealth of the Catholic Church becomes so formidable as to defy any rational assessment. "The Catholic Church is the biggest financial power, Wealth accumulator and property owner in existence. She is a greater possessor of material riches than any other single institution, Corporation, Bank, giant Trust, Government or State of the whole Globe. The Pope, as the visible ruler of this immense amassment of wealth, is consequently the richest individual of the twentieth century.

  No one can realistically assess how much he is worth in terms of billions of dollars."

  "The Patrimony of St. Peter had become, not a modest sum of liquid money to be "distributed to the destitute," but the accumulated wealth of a rich religious system determined to become even richer in the years ahead."

  Do the Popes of the Vatican City fit this following description, as well? Notice these next words taken from John's Revelation: ....

  18 "And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world." [Revelation 17:18] [NLT] Give your consideration to these next following words:

  "At this point this most spectacular of all forgeries makes its official appearance: the Donation of Constantine. Purporting to have been written by the Emperor Constantine himself, it emerged from nowhere. The document with one master stroke

  put the popes above kings, emperors and nations, made them the legal heirs to the territory of the Roman Empire, which it granted to them, lock stock, and barrel, and gave to St. Peter - or rather to St. Silvester and his successors - all lands to the West and beyond,

  indeed, all lands of the planet."

  What more proof is needed? Is not, the Catholic Church, headed by the Pope's, the richest Religious Organization on this earth today? Do they not have a Kingdom over the Kings of the earth, as John Prophesied? Read about what will happen to their great riches, next:

  15 "The merchants who became wealthy by selling her these things

  will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will weep and cry out,16 "How terrible, how terrible for that Great City! [Vatican City] She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens, decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls!17 In a single moment all the wealth of the city is gone!"

  And all the Captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance." [Revelation 18:15-17] [NLT] Read about her affect on the Kings of the Earth, and their terror of her fall:

  9 "And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her and enjoyed her great luxury 10

  They will stand a long way off,

  in terror of her torment, and they will cry, Woe and alas, the Great City, the Mighty City, Babylon! [Vatican City] In one single hour how your doom (judgment) has overtaken you! Also the Traveling merchants of the earth will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains." [Revelation 18:9,10] [NLT] [Revelation 18:9-14] Oh! There's more!

  19 "And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and grieved, exclaiming, Woe and alas, for the great city, [Vatican City] where all who had ships on the sea grew rich

  [through her extravagance] from her great wealth! In one single hour she has been destroyed and has become a desert!"

  [Revelation 18:19] [AMP] [Ezekiel 27:30-36] [AMP]

  22 "The sound of harps, singers, flutes, and trumpets will never be heard in you again. No craftsmen and no trades will ever be found in you again.The sound of the mill will never be heard in you again.23 The light of a lamp will never shine in you again.

  The happy voices of brides and grooms will never be heard in you again. For your merchants were the greatest in the world, and you deceived the nations with your sorceries. [False Teachings] 24 In your streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God’s holy people and the blood of people slaughtered all over the World." [Revelation 18: 22-24] [NLT] [Matthew 23:33-36]

  8 "Then another angel followed him through the sky, shouting, "Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen—because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality." [Spiritual Adultery] [Revelation 14:8] [NLT]

  Notice! Not all, will be weeping and wailing at her fall:

  20 Rejoice over her fate, O heaven and people of God and apostles and prophets! For

  at last God has judged her for your sakes.21 "Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted, Just like this, the great city Babylon [Vatican City] will be thrown down with violence and will never be found again."

  [Revelation 18:20,21] (NLT) For that! Praise Jehovah! All Praise to our God Jehovah!

  Now we know, who the Mother of the Harlots is, but who takes the positions of these other Harlots spoken about in John's Revelation? Notice, first, how Jehovah addressed, the Israelite Nation, who he had husbandly ownership of, as his Wife:

  30 "How weak [is] thy heart, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, In thy doing all these, The work of a domineering whorish woman." [Ezekiel 16:30] YLT] So, we can say, that the Israelite Nation was the type, while the over Ten Thousand divided Religions of Christendom, is the Anti-type. As much a domineering prostitute, as the Israelite Nation ever was.

  What will be their fate, since the great City Babylon was thrown down with violence? Notice the following:

  "Why do the nations plan rebellion? Why do people make their useless plots? Their kings revolt, their rulers plot together against the Lord [Jehovah] and against the king he chose. [Jesus] "Let us free ourselves from their rule," they say; "let us throw off their control." [Psalms 2:1-3] [GNT]

  Of course taking these actions, will bring about the following:

  34 "Wail, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow in ashes, ye principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are fully come, and ye shall fall like a goodly vessel.35 And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the principal of the flock! for Jehovah layeth waste their pasture.37 And the peaceable folds are brought to silence because of the fierce anger of Jehovah.38 He hath left his covert, as the lion; for their land is become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword, and because of his fierce anger." [Jeremiah 25: 34-38] [ASV]

  While they are turning on each other like a pack of wild Wolves, is the time for Jehovah to involve himself. Note the following:

  "And I will call for a sword against him unto all my mountains, saith the Lord Jehovah: every man's sword shall be against his brother. And with pestilence and with blood will I enter into judgment with him; and I will rain upon him, and upon his hordes, and upon the many peoples that are with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. And I will magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am Jehovah." [Ezekiel 38:21-23] [ASV]

  Only prior to this blood-letting, while they are fighting for supremecy, notice the stand taken by the kings of the earth and the World Rulers:

  2 "The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Jehovah, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bonds asunder, And cast away their cords from us." [Psalms 2:2,3] [ASV] This is when, the idea of doing away with every Religion on this earth, will be their aim.

  What effect does this have on Jehovah? He finds them very humorous, as these next words will show:

  "He Who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord makes fun of them. Then

  He will speak to them

  in His anger and make them afraid, saying, 6 "But as for Me, I have set My King on Zion, My holy mountain." [Psalms 2:4-6] [NLV]

  We can see from the following, that speaking to them in his anger, is in the literal sense, and all the Governmental Authorities World-Wide, will actually hear Jehovah telling them that he has set his King on Heavenly Mount Zion, and that all of their power and authority is now terminated.

  25 "So see to it that you do not reject Him or refuse to listen to and heed Him Who is speaking [to you now]. For if they [the Israelites] did not escape when they refused to listen and heed Him Who warned and divinely instructed them [here] on earth [revealing with heavenly warnings His will], how much less shall we escape if we reject and turn our backs on Him Who cautions and admonishes [us] from heaven?26 Then [at Mount Sinai] His voice shook the earth, but now He has given a promise: Yet once more I will shake and make tremble not only the earth but also the [starry] heavens." [Hebrews 12:25,26] [AMP]

  Hag. 2:6.

  19 "And they said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!" [Exodus 20:19] [NLT]

  Give this some thought! There are over Ten Thousand divided religions that cover our earth at this time, from one end of our earth clear to the other end. They encompass, our entire globe. Recall, now, if you will, this following point, already covered:

  2 "The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Jehovah, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bonds asunder, And cast away their cords from us." [Psalms 2:2,3] [ASV] This is when, the idea of doing away with every Religion on this earth, will be their aim, and when they do that enmass, it will create this figurative earthquake that will rock this earth from end to end. John will next describe this earthquake, for us, in his Revelation:

  18 "And there followed lightning flashes, loud rumblings, peals of thunder, and a tremendous earthquake; nothing like it has ever occurred since men dwelt on the earth, so severe

  and far-reaching was that earthquake.19 The mighty city was broken into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And God kept in mind mighty Babylon, to make her drain the cup of His furious wrath and indignation." [Revelation 16:18,19] [AMP]

  Notice once again these following words, penned by Jeremiah:

  34 "Wail, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow in ashes, ye principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are fully come, and ye shall fall like a goodly vessel.35 And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the principal of the flock! for Jehovah layeth waste their pasture.37 And the peaceable folds are brought to silence because of the fierce anger of Jehovah.38 He hath left his covert, as the lion; for their land is become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword, and because of his fierce anger." [Jeremiah 25: 34-38] [ASV] Recall, now, this following scenario, to mind:

  "Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth. Does not Ezekiel tell us the very same thing? Notice what Ezekiel reported on, next: ........

  21 "And I will call for a sword against him unto all my mountains, saith the Lord Jehovah: every man's sword shall be against his brother." [Ezekiel 38:21 ASV] Worldwide madness! Look, what transpires next in John's Revelation:

  17 "Then I saw a single angel stationed in the sun’s light, and with a mighty voice he shouted to all the birds that fly across the sky, Come, gather yourselves together for the great supper of God,18 That you may feast on the flesh of rulers, the flesh of generals and captains, the flesh of powerful and mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and

  the flesh of all humanity, both free and slave, both small and great!19 Then I saw the beast and the rulers and leaders of the earth with their troops mustered to go into battle and make war against Him Who is mounted on the horse and against His troops.20 And the beast was seized and overpowered, and with him the false prophet who in his presence had worked wonders and performed miracles by which he led astray those who had accepted or permitted to be placed upon them the stamp (mark) of the beast and those who paid homage and gave divine honors to his statue. Both of them were hurled alive into the fiery lake that burns and blazes with brimstone.21 And the rest were killed with the sword that issues from the mouth of Him Who is mounted on the horse, and all the birds fed ravenously and glutted themselves with their flesh." [Revelation 19:17-21]

  The Prophet Zephaniah shows us all the end results of these sequences of events leading right into the war of the great day of God the Almighty at Armageddon; and these final words should sober any reading these following words of Zephaniah; and should, if taken seriously, strike great fear into the hearts of all mankind; who have, for the most part ignored Jehovah's warnings delivered by his faithful prophets today; so if you've never listened before, listen closely now to the words penned by Zephaniah, in these following words: "The Great Day of Jehovah is near, and there is a hurrying of it very much. The sound of the Day of Jehovah is bitter. There a mighty man is letting out a cry, [in sheer terror]. That Day is a Day of fury, a Day of distress and of anguish, a Day of Storm and of desolation, a Day of darkness and of gloominess, a Day of clouds and of thick gloom, a Day of horn and alarm signal, against the fortified cities and against the high corner towers. And I will cause distress to mankind, and they certainly will walk like blind men; because it is against Jehovah that they have sinned. And their blood will actually be poured out like dust, and their bowels like the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the Day of Jehovah's fury; but by the fire of his zeal the whole earth will be devoured, because he will make an extermination, indeed a terrible one, of all the inhabitants of the earth." [Zephaniah 1:14-18] [Revelation 16:13-16] Yes! It is very near!

  "And when it comes true ---Look! it must come true--they will also have to know that a Prophet himself had proved to be in the midst of them!" [Ezekiel 33:32,33] ... "And they certainly will hear your words but there are none doing them!" Think about that!

  Writer: William James Parker

  E-mail: [email protected]
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  4

  The Christ Not Invisibly Present in 1914!

  by wannabe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  was the christ really invisibly present in 1914?

  would it not be reasonable, for a religious organization, that makes this following claim, that to them alone the bible is not a sealed book; that also makes the claim, that they are, "jehovah's spirit directed organization," to actually miss seeing that it is impossible for the christ to be invisibly present in the year 1914?

  notice what they themselves will tell you about god's sacred word, the bible, as follows:

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• 

  wannabe

  Was the Christ Really invisibly present in 1914? Would it not be reasonable, for a Religious Organization, that makes this following claim, that to them alone the Bible is not a sealed Book; that also makes the claim, that they are, "Jehovah's Spirit Directed Organization," to actually miss seeing that it is impossible for the Christ to be invisibly present in the year 1914? Notice what they themselves will tell you about God's sacred word, the Bible, as follows: 1972 Only this organization functions for Jehovah's purpose and to his praise. To it alone God's Sacred Word, the Bible, is not a sealed book. (The Watchtower; 7/1/1973; pp. 402) According to those words, we can expect them, since they are, 'Spirit Directed,' to know all of the truths revealed in this sacred Book, as they say. Was that to really be true, then their reasoning on this matter, would, of necessity have to be true. The question is, is it really true that the Christ was invisibly present in the year 1914? Does the Bible itself support that claim? We know, that the Christ ascended to the right hand of his Father in the first century, and from that point on would be with them, as he said, 'all the days, even unto the conclusion of the system of things.' [Matthew 28:18-20] Notice next what Peter will tell us, about the ascension of Jesus: 33 "Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear." [Acts 2:33] [RSV] Now, we need to know, how long Jesus would have to sit at his Fathers right hand, until he came into Kingdom Power? That when he did come, would it be an invisible presence in the year 1914? Or is it entirely possible, that interpretation is seriously flawed reasoning? We will learn that it most certainly is flawed reasoning, and actually shows that the Bible is a sealed Book to them, if it is sealed to anyone. Why do I say that? We already know that the Christ has been seated at his Fathers right hand, since the first century, but notice what his Father had said to him at that time, revealed to us in the Psalms, in these following words of his Father, to him: "The utterance of Jehovah to my Lord [Jesus] is; "Sit at my right hand UNTIL I make your enemies a stool for your feet." The rod of your strength Jehovah will send out of Zion, [saying:] "Go subduing in the midst of your enemies." [Psalms 110:1,2] Do you see, what the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society is missing seeing? Jesus is not able to make one single move, until he gets that command from his Father, to, "Go Subduing in the midst of your enemies." Even Jesus himself, never knew the day or hour for that command to be issued from his Father. According to his own words found at Matthew 24:36! That being the case, how then could the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society, know something that even Jesus himself did not know, and since Jesus is still sitting at his Fathers right hand, waiting for that command to be issued; how could he then, be invisibly present in the year 1914? That is virtually impossible! Too make matters worse for the Governing Body, are the words Matthew penned about the arrival of the Christ in Kingdom Power, found at Matthew 24:29-31- Notice what is said there: "Immediately AFTER the Tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet sound, and they will gather his chosen ones together from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to the other extremity." Did you notice something else they have missed seeing? Did the words, AFTER THE TRIBULATION OF THOSE DAYS, not ring any bells for you? That tribulation spoken about there has not even occurred as yet, but is still yet future! Two other points are missed. The sign was to appear in heaven, and all will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with power and great glory. No invisible presence is involved in this scenario at all. Because, it is said, 'all the tribes of the earth are beating themselves in lamentation,' would any invisible presence produce that kind of fear among the races of mankind? The Apostle John predicted exactly the same thing as Matthews account, for John had said: "Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, and those who pierced him; and all the Tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief because of him." Yes! Amen! [Revelation 1:7] So, with an established record of 130 years of failed predictions and false prophecies, this is just another example of the Watchtowers Societies, blunders, because it is shown, the Christ was not invisibly present in the year 1914, at all. So, if the Bible is really a sealed Book, it has to be sealed to them; and their one hundred and thirty years of failed predictions and false prophecies is ample proof of that. The answer to my theme text question, is NO! Absolutely not! The Christ was not invisibly present in the year 1914 at all! Writer: William James Parker E-mail: [email protected] Previous Topic | Next Topic Reply Quick Navigation: Select a Forum News Moderators Only