Posts by Vanderhoven7

80

Flee to the Mountains......What Mountains?

by liam in

may 2025 study article 21 seek the city that will remain.

what i remember was, when you see the romans, flee to the mountains.

now the wt is saying that's not enough.

Vanderhoven7

@Vidqun

Context is everything

Matthew24:21. FOR THEN SHALL BE GREAT TRIBULATION, SUCH AS WAS NOT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD TO THIS TIME, NO, NOR EVER SHALL BE.

The word tribulation means calamity or suffering. Lu.21:24 specifies the nature of this suffering. Josephus uses almost the very words of the Saviour.

"All the calamities says he, which
had befallen any nation from the beginning of the world, were but small in comparison to those suffered by the Jews. (Jewish Wars, b.i. preface, p.4)

The carnage of the siege, which lasted five months, was horrible beyond belief. Thousands died of starvation. When the Romans finally broke into the city, the sight of so many corpses shocked even hardened soldiers. The slaughter of the city’s citizens was so terrible that fires were extinguished by the profusion of blood" (Josephus, Wars 6.8.5).

Josephus records that 1,100,000 Jews were killed in Jerusalem, and that some 97,000 others were taken as slaves into captivity. It has been estimated that some 1,337,490 Jews in Jerusalem (and in the regions adjacent to Judaea) died — by famine, by the sword, by burning, and by crucifixion (Wars 6.9.3-4).

Some scholars believe that even these figures are too conservative. In fact, Josephus himself expressed the view that the suffering of this holocaust exceeded anything known to man previously (Wars, Preface, 4; 9.4).

This was the worst catastrophe Jerusalem and the Jewish faith would ever experience. To this day, they are without the law, priesthood, temple, sacrifice and their Messiah.

19

On the anniversary of Anthony Morris' Resignation

by Vanderhoven7 in

strange that after 2 years we still don't know the facts about anthony's resignation.

grant davus writes:.

the announcement.

Vanderhoven7

Strange that after 2 years we still don't know the facts about Anthony's resignation.

Grant Davus writes:

The Announcement

A great deal can be read into the way in which it was announced.

“Brother Anthony Morris III is no longer serving as a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

How about “It is with great regret that we have to announce that due to failing health . . . etc.”?

The lack of context and a consoling message places this announcement in the same league as

“Joe Bloggs in no longer a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

Past Behaviour

There have been many past rumours about his drinking which, though unconfirmed, do match the Bottlegate affair when Tony Morris was recorded buying half a dozen bottle of McAllans scotch at $80 a bottle on a Sunday morning and the slurred delivery of many of his talks and broadcasts. Here the empirical evidence tends to back rumour.

Protocol

Notable is the fact that Governing Body members cease their position when they die. Even when they become less active and retire, they are still classed as one of the Governing Body; we can assume he didn’t retire.

Unless Tony Morris himself breaks ranks or someone with a genuine inside track provides more detail, Watchtower, as a highly secretive organisation, will certainly not provide any further information.

On balance, particularly the curt delivery of the message, it’s more reasonable to assume Tony Morris didn’t jump; he was pushed.

Thank you

https://www.quora.com/profile/Rick-Vann-5/https-www-quora-com-profile-Norea-Pleroma-Sage-p-212059240?ch=8&oid=212097827&share=ff73386e&srid=f7CQl&target_type=post

80

Flee to the Mountains......What Mountains?

by liam in

may 2025 study article 21 seek the city that will remain.

what i remember was, when you see the romans, flee to the mountains.

now the wt is saying that's not enough.

Vanderhoven7

Absolutely clear that the GB does not know how to interpret scripture. The GT of Matthew 24 occurred and terminated in the first century with the destruction of Jerusalem. The GT was a non-repeatable local event affecting "this people" inhabiting Judea and Jerusalem.

To make it a dual prophecy, is to make Jesus speaking simultaneously, literally to His generation of believers and figuratively to ours. And we are left trying to figure out what praying our flight will not be in winter or on a Sabbath means. And what Jerusalem and Judea means and what the mountains mean and what not going home to pick up your jacket when roofing means...etc.

That there is not a Bible Scholar among them is obvious.

14

The Governing Body have a lack of self awareness in this discussion

by ukpimo in

david splane's infamous pandemic "land of the living" speech will be shown at the midweek meeting in 2 weeks.. https://www.jw.org/en/library/jw-meeting-workbook/march-april-2025-mwb/life-and-ministry-meeting-schedule-for-march-3-9-2025/.

in this item,.

7. demonstrate trust in jehovah’s organization.

Vanderhoven7

Talk about a lack of self awareness.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Bkta13hXrYY?si=M6DJefB9WARPztw4

51

Leaked Annual Meeting Video: "Expect Sudden Changes" Jeffrey Jackson

by raymond frantz in

jw
friends

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

Vanderhoven7

😂😂

37

serena williams

by FreeFallin in

not really a scandal, but serena williams doing the crip walk on national tv wtf .

Vanderhoven7

I don't see the problem either. You would think that the WT would have had a problem with Serena Williams posing topless for the 2016 Pirelli Calendar though. And did WT say anything about Venus Williams posing naked in 2014 and offering to do it again?

12

Beroean Pickets - Is there a problem?

by BoogerMan in

jw
friends

having watched the latest offering from beroean pickets - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpuelgtf4ka - i contributed the following factual information along with several consolidating scriptures:.

"naos - metaphorically the spiritual temple consisting of the saints of all ages joined together by and in christ,

of a company of christians, a christian church, as dwelt in by the spirit of god.

Vanderhoven7

The Great Crowd members are all anointed, saved, washed in the blood unlike WT OS

A modern Jehovah’s Witness other sheep is a person:

a. who is not born of the Spirit of God (not Spirit begotten) and therefore cannot see/inherit the Kingdom of God.

b. who has not been justified by the blood of Christ.

c. who is not part of the New Covenant.

d. who has no personal Mediator.

e. who is bereft of a heavenly hope.

f. who cannot come unto Jesus Christ when troubled or commune with him i.e. relate to him on a personal level.

g. who believes an extra-biblical gospel that the Apostle Paul knew nothing about.

h. whose faith is primarily centered in men (GB) not God or the Bible.

i. who must never voice any opinion on any doctrine (even the extra-biblical stuff) contrary to that of the GB or risk discipline and possible disfellowship.

j. whose organization feels free to invent conspiracies and arbitrarily add words to the New Testament, as in the case of the name "Jehovah", selectively reflecting its doctrinal bias.

k. who previously (before November 2023), after doing fieldservice (which usually involves the extra-biblical practice of going door to door) was required complete an extra-biblical written report every month detailing time spent preaching to remain in "good standing".

l. who believes that those of all those of other faiths (including those claiming to be Christian) are part of satan’s organization and if alive will die at the hand of Jehovah during the tribulation or at Armageddon.

m. who are not eligible to partake of the bread and wine which represent the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

n. who take full advantage of government provisions such as health care and income benefits, yet will not vote, or work for a governmental organization.

o. who will strongly encourage you to read their organization's literature while openly refusing to receive or read literature from you developed by your church or church publisher.

p. who is not allowed independent religious thought.

q. who must avoid relating to and in many cases actually shun family members who have been disfellowshipped from the organization.

r. who would lose the privilege of giving a public address in North America if he grew a beard.

s. who will be disciplined and possibly disfellowshipped if caught celebrating birthdays, Christmas, wishing people a happy birthday or reading literature opposed to the WTS.

t. Who can be disfellowshipped for smoking cigarettes.

u. who actually plans/aspires to be raised in the resurrection along with the UNJUST.

v. whose religion is spurious to scripture in the sense that everything that is original and unique to it is in fact, extra-biblical.

w. who believes that a criteria for salvation is that one must find and submit to an organization. One cannot be saved without the GB.

x. who readily embraces extra-biblical information.

y. whose doctrine is often determined by at least 2/3 majority vote of the Governing Body.

z. who rejects biblical salvation (which is a gift of God, not of works) for a gospel of relative works-righteousness.

12

Beroean Pickets - Is there a problem?

by BoogerMan in

jw
friends

having watched the latest offering from beroean pickets - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpuelgtf4ka - i contributed the following factual information along with several consolidating scriptures:.

"naos - metaphorically the spiritual temple consisting of the saints of all ages joined together by and in christ,

of a company of christians, a christian church, as dwelt in by the spirit of god.

Vanderhoven7

Eric has his flaws. You know there is a problem when you can't agree to disagree on non-essentials. Also, he wastes his energy alienating Trinitarians who would otherwise be interested in his videos.

The other sheep are the Gentiles. If Jesus had said Gentiles he would have invited violence as was the case with Paul.

4

Calling on Trump to investigate JW CSA.

by Vanderhoven7 in

menacing mistral writes:.

for those who may be interested, jimmy bell has, with the help of others, created a letter to be sent to president trump regarding watchtower and their harmful practices and danger to children.

below is the link where you can download the letter.

Vanderhoven7

Menacing Mistral writes:

For those who may be interested, Jimmy Bell has, with the help of others, created a letter to be sent to president Trump regarding Watchtower and their harmful practices and danger to children. Below is the link where you can download the letter. I also have the video where he reads it and gives instructions.

Please, if you're willing to do so, also send your own letter along with it. The personal account of what you suffered will demonstrate the damaging toll these abuses have on real people.

Operation-Spotlight-longer-version-5.pdf

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AGoSdrV4pzkmJ27CNN73bzh1RkH4OPuY/view

https://www.youtube.com/live/kafzgcIBqHA?si=H9QAnePvAJnKzpqr

18

Child abuse calculations

by Anony Mous in

there are no real numbers for jws but they are a relatively small group.

compared to the number of catholics at least.. the australian commission gathered more than 5000 cases with over 1000 perpetrators that went completely unreported for the jws.

likewise they did the same for catholics and collected just under 4800 cases with 1880 perpetrators.

Vanderhoven7

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/01/22/aroostook/woman-sues-fort-kent-jehovahs-witnesses-alleged-sexual-abuse/

Jws 4 Justice

If you or someone you know needs resources or support related to sexual violence, contact the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s 24/7 hotline at 800-871-7741.

A Pennsylvania woman is suing the Jehovah’s Witnesses of Fort Kent and the New York-based headquarters of the church for alleged sexual abuse committed decades ago by church members.

Shannon Simendinger, 45, alleges that three church members sexually abused her from approximately 1985 to 1993, when she was between the ages of 6 and 14. She and her family lived in Fort Kent at that time and attended the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Fort Kent.

Lewiston law firm Berman & Simmons filed the civil suit Jan. 8 at Aroostook County Superior Court in Caribou. The firm has handled

multiple sex abuse cases brought against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland and is also representing some families and victims of the deadly Lewiston shooting rampage in October 2023.

The 24-page document accuses elders David Ezzy and Ernest Fyans and church member Daniel Plourde of multiple acts of sexual abuse against Simendinger when she was a minor. The suit alleges that the Fort Kent congregation and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc. were negligent, failed to keep her from harm and caused her emotional distress.

“It left me vulnerable. It left me scared,” Simendinger said in an interview on Wednesday, in which she was joined by her attorney, Mike Bigos. “It made me feel like I was responsible for what happened to me. I was intimidated.”

It is the second recent case against the Fort Kent Jehovah’s Witnesses. In October 2023, Fyans was found guilty of sexually assaulting two children in the early 1990s.

Simendinger is coming forward now because she feels safe and is no longer intimidated by anyone in the church, Bigos said. He and his client want a jury trial.

“We want to ask a jury to find damages for the health that was taken from Shannon as a result of the abuse that she experienced, that we believe the evidence will show was enabled by the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the institutional betrayal she experienced once she notified them,” Bigos said.

Simendinger shared the alleged abuse with her mother at the time, and her mother notified the police, she said. The church allegedly punished her mother for going to law enforcement. Simendinger did not state what the alleged punishment was.

She hopes the legal process will help others and aid her own healing.

The lawsuit contains seven counts. The first, sexual assault, charges that Ezzy, Fyans and/or Plourde abused and assaulted Simendinger while acting in their church roles, according to the document.

Other alleged violations include negligence and breach of fiduciary duty — given the protection the church should have been providing to children — as well as actual or implied malice, and inflicting emotional distress. The lawsuit seeks damages, punishments, costs and other relief.

The attorneys representing the church — Brad Patershall of Portland and Joel Taylor of Brewster, New York — did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Simendinger is not intimidated anymore and wants the church and its members to be held accountable for what she went through, she said.

“Other people are going to be harmed if I just sit back,” she said. “The main goal for me is healing, helping others, and for them to be accountable for letting this stuff happen.”