Posts by Vanderhoven7

21

Ministry in John 3:16

by JW Answers in

a lot of false teaching darkens our doors today, especially with watchtower teachings, calvinism and lordship salvation.. latest video below explores the verse john 3:16 and shows forth the truths which christ preached to nicodemus.

the jws also spread fear amongst their followers stating that if the leave the org, then jehovah will strike them down at armageddon.

this video covers this same fear.. feel free to watch below..

Vanderhoven7

Hi Smiddy,

Do you think that the American government in 1945 was justified in ordering the dropping of atomic bombs in Japan?

21

Ministry in John 3:16

by JW Answers in

a lot of false teaching darkens our doors today, especially with watchtower teachings, calvinism and lordship salvation.. latest video below explores the verse john 3:16 and shows forth the truths which christ preached to nicodemus.

the jws also spread fear amongst their followers stating that if the leave the org, then jehovah will strike them down at armageddon.

this video covers this same fear.. feel free to watch below..

Vanderhoven7

Hi Terry,

GOD permitted the distribution of birth defects (sin from Adam) as though He (YHWH) were ignorant of the damage in advance. As JWs teach: "God does not permit Himself to know certain things in advance." If we are to accept that deliberate ignorance, the results of transmission of the "sin of Adam" in subsequent offspring (Cain murders Abel) made it clear enough.

It seem, biblically speaking, that God knew in advance that man would sin. The lamb was slain before the foundation of the world. God could have made man operate on the level of lower animals where right and wrong, good and evil, don't exist. But it appears He wanted the crown of His creation to, like Him, be able to distinguish between good and evil and choose good. Even in his fallen state man can choose good and take responsibility for his actions, be faithful to his wife and family etc. Free will therefore is actual and not artificial and acts of evil merit condemnation and punishment.

We can make our life and the lives of others a living hell or we can bless our neighbors with kindness and grace. And receiving grace makes it considerably easier to be kind and gracious....and that's good preaching.

21

Ministry in John 3:16

by JW Answers in

a lot of false teaching darkens our doors today, especially with watchtower teachings, calvinism and lordship salvation.. latest video below explores the verse john 3:16 and shows forth the truths which christ preached to nicodemus.

the jws also spread fear amongst their followers stating that if the leave the org, then jehovah will strike them down at armageddon.

this video covers this same fear.. feel free to watch below..

Vanderhoven7

Unfortunately we can.

God has given mankind free will. Love requires the freedom to reject.

Calvinism denies man freedom to love, universalism the freedom to reject it.

God's will submits to ours.

Grace is always resistible. Demons attest to that...as does the lake of fire.

21

Ministry in John 3:16

by JW Answers in

a lot of false teaching darkens our doors today, especially with watchtower teachings, calvinism and lordship salvation.. latest video below explores the verse john 3:16 and shows forth the truths which christ preached to nicodemus.

the jws also spread fear amongst their followers stating that if the leave the org, then jehovah will strike them down at armageddon.

this video covers this same fear.. feel free to watch below..

Vanderhoven7

@Slim

That might be nice and would certainly encourage sin if believed...but free will and the predominance of scripture seems to suggest that God will destroy the wicked...post resurrection.

Here is just one:

Rev. 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

21

Ministry in John 3:16

by JW Answers in

a lot of false teaching darkens our doors today, especially with watchtower teachings, calvinism and lordship salvation.. latest video below explores the verse john 3:16 and shows forth the truths which christ preached to nicodemus.

the jws also spread fear amongst their followers stating that if the leave the org, then jehovah will strike them down at armageddon.

this video covers this same fear.. feel free to watch below..

Vanderhoven7

Hi Nathan,

It is obvious that you love the Lord.

You did a good job on John 3:16 aside from your understanding of perishing.

What do you think will happen to those who never heard the gospel; BC and AD?

Will they ever get a first chance? Will Jesus draw them at some point?

Or is the devil going to beat God and have his desire inflicted on 90% of the world that God loves?

BTW I agree with your stand against Reformed Theology. Makes God and the devil in cahoots.

34

“Heaven and Earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away.”

by Fisherman in

“this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.

heaven and earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away.”.

the destruction of jerusalem is insignificant in the large scheme of things.

Vanderhoven7

"This generation" in all 4 gospels invariably refers to Christ's contemporaries.

There is no support for the WTS current application let alone the 1914 overlapping generation manufactured without precedence.

36

Are YOU saved?

by JW Answers in

sadly today, many churches and religious organisations teach their followers that they are saved based on something the bible does not record.

many people are following a lie, and are heading to a lost eternity and do not know it.. my question here is... are you saved?

it's vitally important to know!.

Vanderhoven7

According to Jehovah's Witnesses teachings, who will be saved?

Helge Kåre Fauskanger writes:

Well, it’s a bit … complicated.

Ultimately, just who will be “saved” and gain eternal life supposedly normally won’t be decided before some point more than 1,000 years into the future! Yes, CE 3020 at the very earliest. Probably even later.

In Watchtower teachings, the current world order is about to be wiped out in Armageddon, God’s great war, and replaced by an earthly paradise where people will be frolicking with pandas and pet lions/tigers for a full millennium. Like this:

But — simply getting to live in the earthly paradise isn’t enough to secure permanent “salvation”, just a sort of necessary Step One. In Paradise, people will apparently finally learn the 100 % correct interpretation of the Bible (currently the Witnesses are still refining their doctrine after 140 years, so this is clearly a complicated matter), and the Paradisians will be raised to human perfection, physically and mentally.

But just reaching perfection isn’t the ultimate salvation, either. You must also make it through Step Two at the end of the 1,000-year program. Satan, who has been bound in the meantime, will be released by God and allowed to tempt the entire human race as it then exists to rebel against God. But this is really God’s way of weeding out the unworthy ones, who will then be eradicated forever, along with Satan himself. (Apparently Satan should stall his own execution by refusing to tempt anyone when he is released, thus derailing God’s plan, but the infinitely cunning Prince of Evil will somehow be too dumb to realize this. Doesn’t he read Watchtower literature, where everything is predicted in plain words, more than 1K years in advance?)

If you got through this Step Two alive, you are as “saved” as you will ever be in this religion, and you can potentially live on forever. (But of course, God will still eradicate you from the universe at once if you ever misbehave according to his standards, so don’t get any clever ideas.)

However, to even get to Step One you must first make it into the coming earthly paradise itself. Here there are essentially two options.

Be dead (in time). This is by far the easiest option. Watchtower teaches that once someone dies, their death pays for their sins and they are normally in line for resurrection on the paradise earth. There are some exceptions who just stay dead forever, such as those who have “sinned against the holy spirit”, but nobody seems quite certain what that even means, so don’t worry about it. Witnesses typically assure people that they can meet their loved dead ones again in Paradise, the doorknockers never inquring about the moral status of these dead individuals, much less about their interest (or likely lack of such) in the Watchtower message. If you are simply dead before God brings Armageddon to wipe out this world order and make room for the ensuing paradise, you can pretty much count on a resurrection into said paradise (with no conscious existence in the meantime). Deliberate suicide may be a risky strategy, since Jehovah doesn’t like that, but unhealthy living typically shouldn’t be a problem. Smoke, drink, do hard drugs, enjoy your colesterol, don’t let the red light bother you — you’ll wake up in paradise before you know it! .
Be a Jehovah’s Witness (in good standing and with no serious hidden sins). This is the second, and far more demanding option if you want to make it through Armageddon into paradise alive. You must obey an elaborate set of rules that would make the Pharisees proud, hawk Watchtower literature, live by Puritan morals and promptly revise your religious views whenever the Watchtower Governing Body think it will be fun to tinker with the doctrines again. Salvationwise, this strategy has the perk that you may attain eternal life without ever dying at all, but since in this religion death is just unconsciousness, skipping Armageddon in favor of a dirt nap may arguably be the better scenario. If you are alive and a Jehovah’s Witness when Armageddon strikes, you are supposed to stand there cheering and happy as the world burns around you, God wiping out some seven billion people for … not being Jehovah’s Witnesses, essentially. And they won’t ever get a resurrection, either! Too bad they didn’t step in front of a bus in time.

The world is burning and billions are dying. YAY! The happiest day of our lives!

This, more or less, is how you get saved, Watchtower fashion.

36

Are YOU saved?

by JW Answers in

sadly today, many churches and religious organisations teach their followers that they are saved based on something the bible does not record.

many people are following a lie, and are heading to a lost eternity and do not know it.. my question here is... are you saved?

it's vitally important to know!.

Vanderhoven7

Hi Wozza,

Those that hear the voice of Christ belong to Him. He knows those who are His and those who are not. Those who profess Christ are encouraged to examine themselves II Cor.13:5 The best description I know of one who is saved by Jesus Christ is found in the Beatitudes. Matthew 5:3-12 It is the person who realizes his abject spiritual poverty; weeps over it, hungers and thirsts for the righteousness of Christ and is willing to share the gospel of Christ even if persecuted for doing so. The first step (verse 3) leads to all the others triggering the need to rely on the holiness of another. If we are not His, our prayer should be, "Lead me to Calvary"

Jesus said, that no one who comes to Him will be cast out. He went to the cross to save the lost and to deliver them from the powers of darkness. He is altogether wonderful and beautiful beyond description. There is no one on this planet that will be able to say truthfully to Jesus on that day, "I came to you sincerely Jesus and you rejected me." The universe that He created would implode if that were to happen. "Whosoever will, may come and take of the water of life freely." Rev.22:17

20

What are the odds that Armageddon is soooo close?

by Vanderhoven7 in

well judging from past prophetic pronouncements....go figure.

"surely there is not the slightest room for doubt in the mind of a truly consecrated child of god that the lord jesus is present and has been since 1874;…" watchtower 1924 jan 1 p.5).

"the prophecy of the bible, fully supported by the physical facts in fulfillment thereof, shows that the second coming of christ dates from the fall of the year 1914.

Vanderhoven7

Actually DoC, in this case at least, someone else did the research. I'm happy to pass it on to others who might find it useful in ministry to Watchtower Witnesses.

36

Are YOU saved?

by JW Answers in

sadly today, many churches and religious organisations teach their followers that they are saved based on something the bible does not record.

many people are following a lie, and are heading to a lost eternity and do not know it.. my question here is... are you saved?

it's vitally important to know!.

Vanderhoven7

Hi Jehalapeno,

I agree that if there is no God, sin does not exist...because sin is a transgression against divine law.