Posts by Listener

21

Who writes Awake! ?

by Drwho in

just a quick question.

who actually writes the awake!

and the watchtower publications ?

Listener

I believe it is mostly done at Bethel and branches. Unannointeded Brothers could only write non biblical articles, that may have changed. The GB authorise the article's.

49

How Do You Stretch Your Food Dollars?

by compound complex in

jw
friends

dear budgetarian grocery-buyers,.

i am an artist though hardly a starving artist.

some of my patrons kindly feed me and i do have my well-stocked freezer.

I've been buying short cut bacon. It is only the top part of the bacon which has the most meat and less fat. When it's on special I will buy a kilo or two, break it up into much smaller quantities, put it in freezer bags and freeze it.

It's a great addition to many dishes for extra flavour and I don't add extra salt. It can also serve as the only meat in some dishes, with very little needed. That includes fried rice, spaghetti sauce and baked potato dishes.

One of my favourite soup's is split pea. Soak the dried split peas overnight then cook with plenty of water, bacon or bacon bones, a little grated carrot and finely diced onion and celery. Celery is a great addition in any soup, it adds a lot of flavour.

15

How the Present G.B. Deceives its Followers/Readers....................

by The Searcher in

............into believing that inferred "statements" are actual facts, while never stating anything!

w07 1/1 p. 28 pars.

11,12 "the first resurrection"—now under way!

Listener

These are some quotes from JW Files, there may have been earlier statements made by Rutherford

These angels are invisible to human eyes and are there to carry out the orders of the Lord. No doubt they first hear the instruction which the Lord issues to his remnant and then these invisible messengers pass such instruction on to the remnant. The facts show that the angels of the Lord with him as his temple have been thus rendering service unto the remnant since 1919.” (Vindication III, 1932, pg. 250)

The Lord Jesus came to his temple in 1918 and that would mark the time of the cessation of the work of the holy spirit as an advocate, helper and comforter for the members of the church on earth." (Preservation, 1932, pg. 202-203

15

How the Present G.B. Deceives its Followers/Readers....................

by The Searcher in

............into believing that inferred "statements" are actual facts, while never stating anything!

w07 1/1 p. 28 pars.

11,12 "the first resurrection"—now under way!

Listener

They are constantly doing this and it is very deceitful. I think at times they also use this method to introduce new teachings or thoughts then wait some time to see how the idea is accepted and if it goes well then they start teaching the idea as an accepted doctrine.

The Watchtower article in your OP appears to be written to explain when the chosen ones were resurrected but also to explain how they knew the Great Crowd was identified around 1935. In order to substantiate their reasoning they introduce a new thought which is that the resurrected anointed are communicating with them. However, there are some serious problems which they may not have realized (or it may have been on purpose to see how the idea would go down).

In the Proclaimers book of 1993, page 708, they had clearly stated that this type of communication was out of the question by stating “those who make up the one true Christian organization today do not have angelic revelations or divine inspiration”

I've previously written some comments about this 2007 article and they are as follows -

The GB claim they are not inspired but only directed by God's Holy spirit through diligent research, meditation and prayer to come to understand the Bible. There is one particular teaching that the GB admit that they believe their understandings are not known to them purely on this basis and that is identifying the Great Crowd in 1935. It was around that year that Rutherford believed the Great Crowd was being drawn to their organization.

As we know, before 1935 all JWs (or bible students) were considered to be anointed with a heavenly hope. How did Rutherford come to this knowledge? There is nothing in the bible to back up this claim - that is there is nothing in the bible to identify the year of 1935 or thereabouts (and there is still no specific date identified) as being the year that the Great Crowd would now come into the congregations. There are no prophecies that the GB use to back the claim, their is no time line and nothing in the bible that identifies this period as being so significant.

God's Kingdom Rules Ch 5 states "In 1935 came a brilliant flash of spiritual light. At the convention held in Washington, D.C., the great multitude was identified as an earthly class, the same as the sheep in Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats."

How would he explain what this brilliant flash of spiritual light actually is. No amount of research or reading the bible would give Rutherford this brilliant flash because there is nothing in there that supports the idea that they would be identified in 1935.

W 07 1/1 "11 What, then, can we deduce from the fact that one of the 24 elders identifies the great crowd to John? It seems that resurrected ones of the 24-elders group may be involved in the communicating of divine truths today. Why is that important? Because the correct identity of the great crowd was revealed to God’s anointed servants on earth in 1935. If one of the 24 elders was used to convey that important truth, he would have had to be resurrected to heaven by 1935 at the latest. That would indicate that the first resurrection began sometime between 1914 and 1935. Can we be more precise?"

This is an amazing claim. They are suggesting that the resurrected anointed MAY be communicating truth's. For one thing, this means that there is supernatural/spiritual/divine communication involved and they think this might be the case. So they are going way beyond the idea that it is just HS guiding them through research and clarity.

What is even more interesting is that they say this may be the situation, they don't know for sure. In other words, they claim that someone is communicating to them but they are not sure who it is. They would know for sure as to whether they are coming up with these ideas under their own steam or if it is coming to them through some other means. It clearly wasn't found in the Bible so it's coming from elsewhere. By acknowledging it might be from the resurrected anointed they are, as a consequence, acknowledging that it is coming from an external source by implication. They have identified that it is coming from supernatural means.

With that being the case we know that if it was God doing this through HS then truth would not change. Why would his lines of communication be faulty and shedding bad light which later needs to be re communicated with complete reversals in understanding?

They are not sure who is communicating to them, leaving us with only the information that is being communicated, from whatever source. Is it true or is it sometimes incorrect? How do they know if what is being communicated is right or wrong? They don't because the evidence shows that, at times, it needs correcting or changing. Yet, and here is the big problem, they accept that communication as being right regardless of not even knowing where it is coming from or how they are receiving it.. This is really scary and a brave admittance by the GB.

Back to this 1935 teaching. It was Rutherford that revealed this idea. However, the 2007 article with all it's indecisive words, do not attribute the idea to him, or it even being a possibility. The GB still accept the concept as truth and they know that Rutherford was wrong in other matters. They accept it today without any biblical basis but on the basis that it may be from a spiritual source. They have already shown that they accept lies as truth and think they only need to wait on God to reveal corrections, it doesn't make sense. Are these corrections through the same source (the resurected anointed) that they are not even sure about or some other source? If their not sure who is communicating with them then how can anything be trusted other than what is clearly written and provable from the Bible?

It is pretty obvious to any Christian that receiving communications from a supernatural source that proves to be false has to be from Satan.

82

meeting with elders about WT involvement in UN

by LevelThePlayingField in

i still go to the meetings because of my in wife and it came about that the elders knew of my pissed off attitude about the society getting involved in the un.

so the elders said they could help me get over that and wanted to meet with me.

now just to let you know, i have only told my wife and her mom so far about it, that's it.

Listener

LevelThePlayingField, did you ever work out who spoke to the Elders and what they said?

76

Visit From Jehovah's Witnesses

by Vanderhoven7 in

had two lovely jws (stephen and ruth) visit this morning.

this was our second study in the last 2 weeks.

they first knocked on my door (bell is out) 3 weeks ago and i shared my testimony and we arranged to meet last tuesday which we did.. our first study went like this:.

Listener

Landy, why did you just bother to make that comment? It's obvious that some JWs do wake up.

23

Any word on the annual meeting?

by careful in

have all the leaks at ny bethel been discovered, or are there still some who are revealing the inner secrets beforehand?

i haven't seen anything here about the annual meeting just a month away now.

anyone have any real info on it?.

Listener

I would think it was going to be a bragging session about Warwick. That should inspire all the Bethelites they just kicked out.

76

Visit From Jehovah's Witnesses

by Vanderhoven7 in

had two lovely jws (stephen and ruth) visit this morning.

this was our second study in the last 2 weeks.

they first knocked on my door (bell is out) 3 weeks ago and i shared my testimony and we arranged to meet last tuesday which we did.. our first study went like this:.

Listener

This is interesting Vanderhoven. The JWs aren't in the least bothered about earlier teachings but I didn't realise that they are only accepting as far back as what is currently online, which is to the year 2000.

34

Does it not dawn on the cart witnesses?

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

i sat in town recently, right in the window of a nice wee pub.

within minutes i realised that i had a perfect view of a jw cart and the two ridiculously dressed jw's (they have absolutely no individuality at all.

what's more, they all look like they're going to a funeral).

Listener

Who even knows what the message is that they want to convey? They have a campaign for this and for that. One month they focus on a leaflet the next month, on the Awake. It's not as if they are seeing the same people.

The message of the good news is simple but I doubt you would find one person who would tell you that is what the JWs are preaching. It's got lost in all their printed material and in their weekly ministry practice sessions.

4

Tribulation, Hardship and Jehovah: Will He Manifest Himself?

by Cold Steel in

what are the expectations of jws regarding future tribulation and "the church"?

do they expect that at some point yahweh will manifest himself to the faithful and discreet slave to bring about the temporal salvation of his people?

and if a member of the gb claimed to hear from jehovah in some way, like an angel, light or voice, how would the general membership react to the news?

Listener

Watchtower 14 11/15

They stated this in the article that God will give them instructions during the GT, although they don't say how they can't already be included in the Bible because they would already know these instructions (or before the GT) as they specifically say they will be given them during the GT.

Sorry but I am having trouble with the quotations and this is an edit to say that the second quote is about the scrolls of Revelation being opened after Armageddon with instructions. It seems a bit of a contradiction that they say he will give them instructions during the GT but after the GT, they will be in scrolls.

When Gog begins the assault, Jehovah will tell his servants: “Go, my people, enter your inner rooms, and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself for a brief moment until the wrath has passed by.” (Isa. 26:20) At that crucial time, Jehovah will give us lifesaving instructions, and the “inner rooms” might well be connected with our local congregations.
18 If, therefore, we wish to benefit from Jehovah’s protection during the great tribulation, we must recognize that Jehovah has a people on earth, organized into congregations. We must continue to take our stand with them and remain closely associated with our local congregation. With all our hearts, may we join the psalmist in proclaiming: “Salvation belongs to Jehovah. Your blessing is upon your people.”—Ps. 3:8.

Likewise, the Bible informs us thatscrolls will be opened to give us directions in new world living. (Read Revelation 20:12.) These scrolls will most likely set forth Jehovah’s requirements for mankind at that time. By studying these, all people, including resurrected ones, will be able to know God’s will for them. These scrolls will surely give us further insight into Jehovah’s mind. Guided by an ever-increasing understanding of God’s inspired Word along with what will be revealed in the new scrolls, inhabitants of the earthly Paradise will certainly treat their fellow man with love, respect, and dignity. (Isa. 26:9)

Then there is this very interesting article from the Watchtower 07 01/01 where they are telling us that they know someone is communicating with them but they don't know who.

Watchtower 07 1/1
11 What, then, can we deduce from the fact that one of the 24 elders identifies the great crowd to John? It seems that resurrected ones of the 24-elders group may be involved in the communicating of divine truths today. Why is that important? Because the correct identity of the great crowd was revealed to God’s anointed servants on earth in 1935. If one of the 24 elders was used to convey that important truth, he would have had to be resurrected to heaven by 1935 at the latest. That would indicate that the first resurrection began sometime between 1914 and 1935. Can we be more precise?

The Bearing Witness Book claims that they are the only organization being led by HS

This should not surprise us, for no other organization on earth is led by holy spirit in “bearing thorough witness” worldwide regarding Jehovah God, his Messianic King, and the established heavenly Kingdom!—Acts 28:23.