for jws who believe that jehovah had a hand in reviving the truth in the nineteenth century this is enough explanation for how jws managed to achieve a closer approximation to early christian beliefs and practices than other groups.
but is there an explanation for this phenomenon that doesn’t rely on supernatural intervention?
new testament scholar james dunn explains the difficulty of interpreting the biblical texts in this way:.
Pastor Russell figured it all out by measuring the Great Pyramid.
That worked until Rutherford decided the pyramid was satanic.
After that, it's been new light continuously being revealed to the members of the GB who are neither infallible nor inspired.
But if you don't believe everything they say, you will be annihilated at Armageddon.
I trust that answers your question...
https://youtu.be/uxqqyrrffow?si=wo0jotyvjg76oljk.
well that's sort of related to the next talk on our program brother jeffrey jackson will discuss the theme don't be surprised by sudden changes, brother jeff you have our.
attention well i'm sure we all agree with this fact in recent years there have been a lot of changes even since the last annual meeting there have been many changes some of them perhaps are a little surprising or may seem to be sudden but you know brothers and sisters when we look back on how these changes have come we can see that jehovah has gradually prepared us for each of these adjustments and changes let's review some of the recent changes we've had what changes have we seen with regard to our understand understanding of bible teachings at the 2021 annual meeting we received an adjusted understanding of john 529 it was explained that the resurrection of judgment will not be a judgment of condemnation rather it will be more like a period of probation the unrighteous mentioned at acts 24:15 will have an opportunity to gain everlasting life but their names will not be written wr in the book of life at the time of their resurrection to have their names eventually written in that book these ones will need to respond positively to the great educational work that will take place during the thousand-year reign then at the annual meeting in 2023 we gained enhanced insight into what we do know and what we don't know concerning jehovah's judgments we learned that the door of opportunity for people to take a stand for the kingdom does not shut when the great tribulation starts with the destruction of false religion at that time perhaps some will be like the egyptians in moses day who took a last minute stand and joined the exodus of god's people at the same annual meeting we adjusted our views with regard to jehovah's judgments of those who died in the flood and those who were destroyed in sodom and gomorrah also at that annual meeting an adjustment was made regarding the reporting of our time and activity in our preaching work instead of focusing on reports we try to make good use of every opportunity to witness then we receive the 2024 governing body update number two in that update we saw the need to adjust how we interact with those who have committed serious sins and have been removed from the congregation what other major adjustments have we recently seen in our preaching work the emphasis now is on studing bible studies and making disciples not on distributing literature to that end the focus is on studying meaningful conversations not just on using memorized presentations were you surprised by these adjustments perhaps so but as we look back we see how one adjustment in understanding gradually helped us with the next adjustment isn't it true that gradually jehovah has prepared us and when we look back on it we see how logical this training has been to refine our understanding but events in the world likewise have changed it's true sometimes in the world you have sudden changes for example the pandemic but often times change in the world is gradual isn't it true with regard to the view of morality homosexuality abortion even what's acceptable and not acceptable with regard to conduct all of that has happened gradually in the world and it's not until you look back and see how different the world is today with regard to those matters that we see that there have been a lot of changes but this can be dangerous because as things gradually change we may get used to gradual change and forget that there are some sudden changes about to occur uh let's take our bibles please and if you turn with me to the book of luke chap 21 now this is an example of sudden change in luke chap 21 uh notice there in verse 34 the words of our lord jesus are recorded and he said in verse 34 but pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with oving and heavy drinking and anxieties of life and suddenly suddenly that they be instantly instantly upon you it's interesting to note that jesus had already said that this day he was referring to would occur at a time that we don't think is likely so what lesson do we learn from what jesus said it's a warning isn't it that we can't just sit back and think well things are gradually going to develop we know which way it's going and maybe it's not going to happen yet you know got a little bit more wiggle room there with regard to the schedule but you see that's dangerous thinking now what we're going to do is consider two examples of areas where perhaps we could be a little guilty with regard to that for example our view as with regard to the number of anointed ones remaining on the earth now for many years what did we think we thought well that number would go down and down and down and down now i don't know about you but me i you when that report came out just how many how many partakers and and what were we thinking we probably you maybe we didn't say it but we were thinking you know the number will go down down down down and there'll be just a couple of old guys in a wheelchair who will get their reward well i'm exaggerating but that was sort of the feeling wasn't it but now what have we seen in recent years those numbers have gone up and up and not only that younger brothers have been appointed on the governing body now i know what you're all thinking two new ones how old are they we know you're not googling now but you will be but you see we need to be careful about what we're thinking with regard to the number of anointed ones left on earth you see 19 years ago i was appointed on the governing body even i thought i was too young now they tell me i'm not so young anymore but do we see the point what does the bible actually tell us with regard to this well it doesn't say the number would just dwindle down to just having a few uh older ones left no the great crowd of other sheep will be judged on the basis of how they deal with
Don't tell me.
Armageddon is closer now than ever before!
thinking back when i was a true believer these are probably the top ten reasons why i believed jws are the true religion.
1. they show love among themselves by not going to war.
not killing your fellow believers in any circumstances, including war, would seem to be a very basic requirement for true christianity.
JWs believe the WT religion is "the truth" because that's repeated over and over and over in the mags and meetings.
here are a few of the questionable claims and actions of the gb that i have noticed:.
a. writing themselves into the salvation formula.
b. claiming they are jehovah's unique channel of communication.
The only pronouncement the GB has made on a subject is the latest one.
Pay no attention to anything else.
In other words, "the truth" is the truth until the GB changes it.
Then they never said otherwise.
new to the forum.
i have a question i did not get any feed back for on another site.
what to these people who gave decades working for free in bethel when they are 60 plus years old.
What do these people who gave decades working for free in Bethel when they are 60 plus years old?"
Warnings to "endure to the end" by continuing to do more and more for the organization so they don't get annihilated at Armageddon.
is it just me or has there been a massive change in jws of late?.
when i grew up in the cult they had a real sense of urgency and would do an hour minimum, these days it’s not even ten mins before coffee break.. same goes for everything else, it’s half hearted .
JWs used to thrive on arguments from householders, priding themselves on how to refute them with "the truth."
Now, JWs avoid any sort of questions, just referring the householders to the website.
according to the next boe letter to be read at next week's midweek meetings in the united states,.
the theme of the convention for next year is.
pure worship.
"Pure worship" = unquestioning loyalty to and obedience of the GB.
my family had several elders, ministerial servants, auxillary pioneers etc, so it certainly wasn't one of those 'barely in' families.
but in certain small ways, i think mine were slightly less hard line than some other families i've heard stories about over the years.
one example was the 'fall dinner'.
I've heard some JWs say, "Jehovah's Witnesses are thankful to Jehovah every day, not just one day a year..." as if that somehow explains why setting aside a particular day for special attention is wrong.
The GB should read Romans 14 about days being a conscience matter.
reading about jw.org rules changes these days gives me a sad observation.. everything what "is" today, can be gone tomorrow.. that makes it all worthless.
you were an elder, searching for evidence, and proof to df a person.
because he or she was not humble enough.
The JW religion boils down to one rule: "The Watchtower organization is always right."
awake 1976 - should a pocket calculator be in your pocket?.
somehow this totally zany 'bible based' article passed me by first time around!.
anyone remember it?.
Get out a calculator and figure out how long it's been since 1914.
