Posts by Vanderhoven7

10

144000 and the great multitude

by cmaymann in

hellow.

i am studying some material about jehovah’s witness – and i wonder why they think, that the 144.000 from rev 7 should be in heaven, and the great multitude should be on earth.

can anyone give me some argument for this opinion?.

Vanderhoven7

On what basis do Jehovah's Witnesses distinguish the 144,000 from the "Great Multitude"? Why do Jehovah's Witnesses believe the 144,000 and the “Great Crowd” are different groups?

NUMERICAL DIFFERENCE: The 144,000 is not a "great multitude which no man could number".

- Couldn't 144,000 be an ideal, spiritual number, perhaps symbolic of perfection?

The 144,000 must be literal because it is given in contrast to the innumerable number of "Great Multitude" members.

- But couldn't this contrast be one of perspective

(i.e. divine/human) rather than numerical literalness?

CLARIFICATION: You say the tribes are figurative. The number12,000 figurative

But the total number is literal. How can that be?

- How can you be consistent if you decide that in the same phrase, the

tribes and their numeration is spiritual but the total number is literal?

- Why couldn't both the tribes and their numbers be figurative?

- Doesn't this "suspiciously tidy sort of number seem much more

likely to be a symbol than a statistic"?.

("The Message of Revelation", p.80)

LOOKING AT THE NUMBER A LITTLE MORE CLOSELY:

How is God to numerically express the entire church down through history? When you apply Christ's mustard seed analogy to the "Kingdom of Heaven", and the promise to Abraham of an innumerable progeny, wouldn't you be dealing with a sizable group? How is God to give a definite total for such an innumerable multitude? Why couldn't it be by a number which no man could number,- ie. by a symbol- which stands for completion and perfect symmetry?

David Chilton, in his commentary on Revelation entitled, "Days of Vengeance" says

The number 144,000 is obviously symbolic: twelve (the number of Israel) squared, then multiplied by 1000 (ten and its multiples symbolizing many; cf. Deut. 1:11; Ps.50:10; 68:17; 84:10; 90:4). St. John pictures for us the ideal Israel, Israel as it was meant to be, in all its perfection, symmetry, and completeness." (p.206)

"SEALING DISTINCTION: The 144,000 are distinct because they are "sealed".

- But, if both groups are identical, wouldn't the "Great Crowd" be sealed by the Spirit also and there would no need to repeat this particular fact?

IS THERE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THAT THE 144,000 AND THE "GREAT MULTITUDE" ARE IDENTICAL?

John's Literary Device in Revelation: Hearing & then Seeing

There is support for the idea that the 144,000 and the "Great Crowd" are really the same group being described from two different perspectives, divine and human. John heard the (perfect) number; then he saw the actual group. This "hearing" then "seeing" sequencing is a literary device that Saint John uses frequently in Revelation to display his images from different viewpoints. David Chilton clearly demonstrates this pattern of hearing and seeing in :”Days of Vengeance:”

For example, in 1:10-13, St. John hears a Voice, then turns to see the Lord; in 5:5-6, he hears the Lion of Judah, then sees the Lamb; in 6:1-8, he hears a living creature say "Come!"- then sees the object of the creatures command. The same pattern appears in this chapter: St. John tells us, I heard the number of those who were sealed (v.4); then, after these things - after hearing the number of the redeemed - I looked, and behold a Great Multitude (v.9).

Both the 144,000 and the "Great Crowd") consist of members who are:

.....................................................................144,000............................................GREAT CROWD

a. From every kindred and nation............. 5:9.... ..............................................7:9

b. Servants of God.................................. 7:3................................................. 7:15

c. Divinely protected thru tribulation...... 9:4,5 /.................................................Acts 14:22 7:14

d. followers of the Lamb ................................14:4 ..................................................7:17

e. Redeemed ...................................................14:3.............................................. 7:14

f. Pure and Spotless .......................................14:4 .................................................7:13,14

g. Standing before the throne .......................14:1,3................................................ 7:9

h. Before the Lamb................................... 5:8 ......................................................7:9

i. In His temple (naos) ....................................11:1,2 7:15; .......................................11:19

j. Tenting/residing with God ...........................2Cor.6:16 ...........................................7:15

i. Dressed in white robes........................... 6:11 ....................................................7:9

j. Wearing robes that are washed.................. 22:14............................................... 7:14

h. A heavenly class...................................... 14:1; 4:1,2; ........................................19:1

i. Spirit begotten ................................................7:3 I ..............................................Jn. 5:1

6

Phone-witnessing conversation

by Anony Mous in

just got called by a lovely elder(ly) woman trying to get a conversation started about the state of affairs in the world and if it is ever going to get better (this introduction is so old, this came straight from the old 1980's brown book of conversation starters).

at first i asked whether she was a telemarketer, no, she is a "bible student".

i hadn't heard that in a while, so i asked her what denomination, she kind of struggled and quietly said i'm one of jehovah's witnesses - the embarrassment was palpable.. so i said, oh, i'm one of jehovah's witnesses too!

Vanderhoven7

Great conversation! I like your question:

If the Watchtower and the Bible were in conflict, which would you believe?

Thanks for sharing!

27

List of Critical WTS Teachings

by Vanderhoven7 in

i sent a list of statements about current wts teachings to a friend who is being carefully recruited by a seasoned witness.. hi em..... just a quick summary of what all “good” jehovah's witnesses believe...even though some of these things witnesses are not always willing to be transparent about.

this is your crash course.

i have quotations for every item listed if you want or need them.. witnesses believes that:.

Vanderhoven7

For the record - just corrected a few minor points in the list

UNIQUE BELIEFS OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

Witnesses believe that:

a. the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is the one true religion

b. all other religions are part of Satan's organization, Babylon the Great, defined by the Watchtower Society as “the world empire of false religion”.

c. God is soon going to destroy the Whore of Revelation 18 at Armageddon, which includes all churches of Christendom, Catholic and Protestant, as well as all their followers and supporters.

d. with rare exceptions, only faithful Jehovah's Witnesses will survive Armageddon. The billions who perish at Armageddon will be forever destroyed without any hope of a resurrection.

e. they are to accept every official teaching that comes down from Watchtower headquarters and if they, as adults, vocalize any disagreement and persist in it, will be disfellowshipped and shunned by friends and family. Unity at all costs

f. proper disfellowshipping offenses include ongoing unrepentant celebration of birthdays including Christ's birthday, unrepentant acceptance of blood transfusions, refusal to quit smoking and willing ongoing association with a known disfellowshipped or disassociated person or persons.

g. the 8 member Governing Body serving at Warwick New York headquarters represent the channel of truth for mankind. Together they are the Faithful and Wise Servant spoken of in Matthew 24:45-47.

h. that in October 1914 Jesus second coming occurred invisibly; he then became king and from 1914 on has been ruling in the heavens giving his attention to the earth which initially involved the examination of the churches of Christendom. The last generation that Jesus said surely would not pass away...began in 1914. (note: the youngest of the 1914 generation i.e.,babies born in 1914, are 107 years old today)

i. in the spring of 1918 the apostle Peter and all anointed ones who died (less than 144,000) were raised to heavenly life. The rest of mankind good and bad remain in the grave until the second resurrection which will take place soon.

j. in the fall of 1918, Jesus finished examining the churches and rejected all of them.

k. early in 1919, Jesus found a group of faithful Bible Student leaders serving at Brooklyn New York and appointed them to exclusively channel his truth to the nations via the publishing company they were using (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania). This group of men was the original Faithful Slave of Matthew 24, whose office, mandate and ability to interpret the scriptures accurately was passed down to all subsequent Watchtower leaders. These leaders are not perfect and they can err in doctrine or organizational instruction, but they must be believed and obeyed nonetheless.

l. that prior to the 20th century (from AD 33 to 1900) there were less than 145,000 faithful Christians that ever existed. (Note: this means that the millions who perished as martyrs before the twentieth century were not real Christians in the Watchtower Society's eyes).

m. a new group of Christians began being called early in the 20th century; today there are 8.5 million of these Christians in the world. These are not born-again; they do not have a heavenly hope; they are not in the New Covenant and therefore are not entitled to partake of the bread and the wine symbolizing Jesus' death; they do not have eternal life, the indwelling Holy Spirit or the imputation of Christ's righteousness. They will only have a chance to earn eternal life if they survive Armageddon and serve God during the 1000 year millennium and prove themselves faithful to the end.

27

List of Critical WTS Teachings

by Vanderhoven7 in

i sent a list of statements about current wts teachings to a friend who is being carefully recruited by a seasoned witness.. hi em..... just a quick summary of what all “good” jehovah's witnesses believe...even though some of these things witnesses are not always willing to be transparent about.

this is your crash course.

i have quotations for every item listed if you want or need them.. witnesses believes that:.

Vanderhoven7

I know Witnesses believe everything on the list but probably would not want to reveal these unique exclusivitic beliefs to the uninitiated at the start. Eg. All you Catholics are in Satan's organization or we will break up your family and shun you to the day that you die if you leave Jehovah's organization...etc.

27

List of Critical WTS Teachings

by Vanderhoven7 in

i sent a list of statements about current wts teachings to a friend who is being carefully recruited by a seasoned witness.. hi em..... just a quick summary of what all “good” jehovah's witnesses believe...even though some of these things witnesses are not always willing to be transparent about.

this is your crash course.

i have quotations for every item listed if you want or need them.. witnesses believes that:.

Vanderhoven7

@ Minimus

Exactly what I want Witnesses to admit. To the one being recruited however, all these statements are mythology at best. If they have any Bible knowledge or appreciation at all they can just ask where these "facts" are found in scripture I.e., 1918, 1919, Bible students, Brooklyn etc. found in scripture?

27

List of Critical WTS Teachings

by Vanderhoven7 in

i sent a list of statements about current wts teachings to a friend who is being carefully recruited by a seasoned witness.. hi em..... just a quick summary of what all “good” jehovah's witnesses believe...even though some of these things witnesses are not always willing to be transparent about.

this is your crash course.

i have quotations for every item listed if you want or need them.. witnesses believes that:.

Vanderhoven7

Excellent point BluesBrother and Truth be known. This summary I created yesterday for a person who is being approached by a Witness. I wanted this unsupportable cult-proving list to be at least reluctantly affirmed by the recruiting Witness.

The Witness would have to admit to these unsupported beliefs or be caught in a lie.

27

List of Critical WTS Teachings

by Vanderhoven7 in

i sent a list of statements about current wts teachings to a friend who is being carefully recruited by a seasoned witness.. hi em..... just a quick summary of what all “good” jehovah's witnesses believe...even though some of these things witnesses are not always willing to be transparent about.

this is your crash course.

i have quotations for every item listed if you want or need them.. witnesses believes that:.

Vanderhoven7

I sent a list of statements about current WTS teachings to a friend who is being carefully recruited by a seasoned Witness.

Hi EM....

Just a quick summary of what all “good” Jehovah's Witnesses believe...even though some of these things Witnesses are not always willing to be transparent about. This is your crash course. I have quotations for every item listed if you want or need them.

Witnesses believes that:

a. the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is the one true religion

b. all other religions are part of Satan's organization, referred to as the Whore of Revelation 18...Babylon the Great, defined by the Watchtower Society as “the world empire of false religion”.

c. God is soon going to destroy all churches of Christendom, Catholic and Protestant during the coming “tribulation” or at Armageddon as well as all their followers.

d. with rare exceptions, only faithful JWs will survive Armageddon. The billions who perish at Armageddon will be forever destroyed without any hope of a resurrection.

e. Witnesses are to accept every official teaching that comes down from Watchtower headquarters and if they, as adults, vocalize any disagreement and persist in it will be disfellowshipped and shunned by friends and family. Unity at all costs

f. proper disfellowshipping offenses include ongoing unrepentant celebration of birthdays including Christ's birthday, unrepentant acceptance of blood transfusions or willing ongoing association with a known disfellowshipped or disassociated person or persons.

g. the 8 member Governing Body serving at Warwick New York headquarters represent the channel of truth for mankind. Together they are the Faithful and Wise Servant spoken of in Matthew 24:45-47.

h. that in October 1914 Jesus second coming occurred invisibly; he became king and from 1914 on has been ruling in the heavens giving his attention to the earth initially by examining the churches. The last generation which according to Jesus surely would not pass away...began in 1914. (note...since babies born in 1914 are 107 years old today, this generation teaching is just nonsense)

i. in the spring of 1918 the apostle Peter and all anointed ones who died (less than 144,000) were raised to heavenly life. The rest of mankind good and bad remain in the grave until the second resurrection which will take place soon.

j. In the fall of 1918, Jesus finished examining the churches and rejected all of them.

k. early in 1919, Jesus found a group of faithful Bible Student leaders serving at Brooklyn New York and appointed them to exclusively channel his truth to the nations via the publishing company they were using (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania) This group of men was the original Faithful Slave whose office, mandate and ability to interpret the scriptures accurately was passed down to all subsequent Watchtower leaders. These leaders are not perfect and they can err in doctrine or organizational instruction, but they must be believed and obeyed nonetheless.

l. that prior to the 20th century (from AD 33 to 1900) there were less than 145,000 faithful Christians that ever existed. So this means that the millions who perished as martyrs before the twentieth century were not real Christians in the Watchtower eyes.

m. a new group of Christians began being called early in the 20th century; today there are only 8.5 million of these Christians in the world. These are not born-again; they do not have a heavenly hope; they are not entitled to partake of the bread and the wine symbolizing Jesus' death; they do not have eternal life, the indwelling Holy Spirit or the imputation of Christ's righteousness. They will only have a chance to earn eternal life if they survive Armageddon and serve during the millennium and prove themselves faithful.

One can read each of these statements to a Witness and if they are honest, they will affirm their truthfulness.

11

Has someone messaged me ?

by jhine in

jw
friends

hi folks .

i haven't been on for a while and looked in today to see a notification that l had a pm .

however l can't see anything newer than a couple of months ago , which l had already opened .

Vanderhoven7

Congratulations Jhine

Now you've got us curious about the luck guy you are engaged to.

Vander

8

J Dublethink

by LoveUniHateExams in

i'm just thinking of examples of jw doublethink.. here's one - jws will tell a bible study or unbaptised publisher that there is no hierarchy within the org.

they typically remark on christendom's hierarchy but then say 'we are all brothers'.

but as a person gets further into the cult, jws will constantly stress the need to obey the governing body.. jw hierarchy .

Vanderhoven7

I laugh when they say we have no leaders. Our leader is Christ they add.

But in the next sentence they talk about those who take the lead...I.e., the GB.

28

Bathing Daily Doesn’t Help The Planet

by minimus in

jw
friends

the new york times as well as other news agencies are reporting that in order to help save the planet we should limit our daily bathing.

they say daily bathing really because popular in the 20th century because elites decided to impress and use petroleum based soaps and take advantage of their indoor plumbing.

a lot of this daily bathing ritual was just for show.

Vanderhoven7

For those who wish to get rid of BO that hangs around after showering...including foot odor....apply apple-cider vinegar to offensive areas once a week while in the tub moments before you shower. You won't believe the effect. Thank me later....or at least your wife will.

I am Vander and I approve this message.