Posts by The Searcher

21

For All Jehovah's Witnesses: When did Jesus begin ruling as King?

by Darth Rutherford in

to all jehovah's witnesses, here is an easy question you can answer... when did jesus begin ruling as king?.

watch tower answers:.

following his resurrection, jesus ascended to heaven and waited at gods right hand until 1914 to begin ruling as king.

The Searcher

Just thought I'd include these WTBTS references for truth-seekers. Sorry if they cause more confusion. :)

*** w81 6/15 pp. 26-27 par. 3 “Be Glad, You Nations, with His People” ***

On that day, [PENTECOST] by means of his glorified royal Son Jesus Christ, the heavenly Father poured out his holy spirit first on the waiting disciples, about 120 of them at Jerusalem. Thus they were transferred from under the authority of worldly darkness into the spiritual kingdom of God’s beloved Son, Jesus Christ, “the light of the world.” (John 8:12) That spiritual kingdom was set up by Jehovah God, and in it Jesus Christ as the spiritual King served as Jehovah’s minister of state.

*** it-2 p. 711 Psalms, Book of ***

Though laid in a tomb, Jesus was not forsaken in Hades nor did his flesh see corruption, but he was raised from the dead. (Ps 16:8-10; Ac 2:25-31; 13:35-37) Upon his ascension to heaven, he was seated at God’s right hand, waiting until his enemies would be placed as a stool for his feet. (Ps 110:1; Ac 2:34, 35) He also became a priest according to the manner of Melchizedek. ('also' = Melchizedek was also a KING!)

*** w82 7/1 p. 18 par. 20 Birth of the Royal Nation on a Newborn Land ***

Is there a modern counterpart of the “birth” of the restored Israelites as a “nation” in 537 BCE? Yes, for in the year following the first world war of 1914-1918 a spiritual “nation” was born, under the Greater Cyrus, the enthroned King Jesus Christ! [didn't the Watchtower previously quoted say differently?]

63

BROTHERS & SISTERS - READ THE BROCHURE!

by The Searcher in

jesus always used illustrations to help people reason on the import of what he was saying.

here is an illustration followed by a reality;.

imagine that your heart went out to all those poor people who suffered when fukushima blew up, so much so, that when an internationally renowned charity asked for donations to help those in need, you donated $5000 to the cause.

The Searcher

Jesus always used illustrations to help people reason on the import of what he was saying. Here is an illustration followed by a reality;

Imagine that your heart went out to all those poor people who suffered when Fukushima blew up, so much so, that when an internationally renowned charity asked for donations to help those in need, you donated $5000 to the cause. How would you feel months later if you discovered that your worthy donation had been loaned to those needing it (albeit, tax-free), not given to them? The charity was eventually getting it all back for themselves!! The word "incensed" would probably initiate your revulsion at such a deceptive rip-off.

Here is a real-life situation being repeated year-in, year-out, as described in our new brochure, "Who Are Doing Jehovah's Will Today?".

Lesson 25 p. 28 Kingdom Halls—Why and How Are They Built?

"They are built with donations made to a central fund. In every Kingdom Hall, there is another contribution box for Kingdom Hall Construction Worldwide. These donations are sent to the branch office so that money can be made available interest-free to congregations needing to build or remodel a Kingdom Hall."

QUESTION: When you give a gift of money for someone's benefit, do you expect the person delivering the money to lend it to the intended recipient?

Needless to say, my conscience does not permit me to donate 1 cent to the Kingdom Hall Construction box!

Take from the needy, then lend to the needy.

18

Governing Body Members Appointed By Jesus Christ And Not Men?

by frankiespeakin in

this is an unfounded delusion or lie either one take your pick.

blondie quoted this on another post and i'm pasting it here.:.

*** w01 4/15 p. 29 do you remember?

The Searcher

@ frankiespeakin - having come to a knowledge of the real truth, as opposed to the 'truth' presented by self-appointed 'spiritual leaders', I could not improve on Christ's salutory warning - "by their fruits you will recognise them". Some, not all, of the fruits being produced are downright rancid, rotten, and poisonous when held up to Scriptural light!

As regards those who are responsible in any way for the dissemination of the falsehoods being presented as 'Bible truths', they would have to be either spiritually blinded, or are conscious that what they are helping to perpetuate on a global scale is nothing short of being inspired by demons!

If the latter, and you are 'lurking' here, be like the prominent ones in 33 CE at Pentecost, abandon your "privileged position" and become an honest Christian Witness!

Matt. 10:18; Mark 13:9; Acts 1:8; John 1:15; John 5:37; John 8:18; John 15:26,27; Acts 10:39; Acts 10:43;Acts 11:26; Acts 13:31; Acts 22:15; Acts 22:20; Acts 23:11; Acts 26:16; 1 Cor. 1:6; 1 Tim. 2:6,7; 2 Tim. 1:8; 1 John 5:9; Rev. 1:9; Rev. 12:17; Rev. 17:6; Rev. 19:10; Rev. 20:4.

@ Muddy waters

You're not alone - many of us are grieving that we trusted men who indoctrinated us to believe that they were Christ's brothers, when in fact, we are all Christ's brothers and God's sons. Those men are trying to shut up the Kingdom for others as well as themselves!

Matthew 6:9 Matthew 12:50 Matthew 13:38 Matthew 25:40 Mark 3:35 Luke 8:21 John 1:12,13 John 15:14 Romans 8:14

@ Muddy waters
You're not alone - many of us are grieving that we trusted men who indoctrinated us to believe that they were Christ's brothers, when in fact, we are all Christ's brothers and God's sons. Those men are trying to shut up the Kingdom for others as well as themselves!
Matthew 6:9 Matthew 12:50 Matthew 13:38 Matthew 25:40 Mark 3:35 Luke 8:21 John 1:12,13 John 15:14 Romans 8:14

23

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!!!!!!

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

that's how i feel when i see these crazy new wt study articles and the inane reasoning contained therein, and the indoctrination machines of meetings run by all those little hardened human cogs and the unending stream of propaganda we're pitched up against.

.. you could spend all your time working through those wt articles (see cedar's post on the latest 'new light') and refuting the stupidity, and yet most witnesses aren't even concerned with changes to the fds or 144 000 because like all of humanity they're too busy trying to scratch a living as it is.

such airy doctrine changes don't have any effect on their day to day lives and is thus irrelevant.

The Searcher

Wouldn't you agree that your feelings and personal dilemmas are pretty much much the same as those experienced by 1st century faithful Jews who were awaiting the Messiah's arrival?

They must have been sickened by the teachings and practices of the Pharisees and their self-righteous, self-appointed priesthood who were lording it over the people and making God's Word invalid by their traditions. Faithful Christians are now awaiting the Messiah's arrival also. Sound familiar?

211

New light Watchtower magazine leaked from organization weeks ahead of general release

by cedars in

http://jwsurvey.org/governing-body-2/new-light-watchtower-magazine-leaked-from-organization-weeks-ahead-of-general-release.

if doctrinal explanations are missing from the article, it is because they are also missing from the magazine.. i would like to give my thanks again to my source for supplying me with the magazine article weeks ahead of its scheduled release.

it showed remarkable courage, because risks were taken.

The Searcher

Mene, Mene, Tekel & Parsin? (Daniel 5:25)

6

Requirements for Attending Memorial

by cptkirk in

luke 10:27 required to attend: love god with your whole soul, heart, mind--and you love your neighbor as yourself .

required to attend: you have listened to christ (forget verse) where he said you must lose yourself to find him--and in doing so this means that you would not be doing things like competing against other people in the church or looking for status ,or seeking good paying jobs)...etc.

required to attend: oh and the big one, you are not doing what you are doing (going to memorial/meetings etc) because you are just wanting to make sure you live forever--but instead you do these things purely because you just love god and your neighbor so much..... what would global attendance look like?.

The Searcher

Requirements for attending the Memorial of Christ's death? Being a Christian who believes in Christ's ransom and all that he promised it would bring. 'Spectators' would not have been invited by early Christians to such a deeply personal and significant meal within their homes with their brothers and sisters. If you couldn't eat and drink at a meal, and didn't have any faith in the Messiah why would you go? To be a voyeur, a masochist?

8

Did Jesus had a passover meal AND then a wine/bread meal?

by pixel in

why the witnesses separate these two event?.

The Searcher

@ Leaving Quietly

I adhere to Luke's account in chapter 22. He's the only Gospel writer who mentions both the New Covenant & the Covenant for a Kingdom, thereby reflecting Moses being used to mediate the Law Covenant with everyone in the newly formed nation (aliens included) as well as establishing a priesthood for that new nation. Moses validated the Law Covenant with blood sacrifices, but not the priesthood arrangement.

Likewise, Jesus validated the New Covenant with his blood, and commanded his disciples to use symbols of bread & wine in commemoration. He did not use any symbols for the priesthood Covenant, (Moses didn't either) neither did he command that it should be commemorated!

Whether Judas did or didn't partake of the emblems is ultimately a moot point - the fact remains that all Christians were expected to commemorate this event and partake of the bread and wine as stipulated. (John 6:48-58; Matthew 26:28) Since Jesus' blood was to be poured out on behalf of "many", then the "many" would naturally commemorate his death in the way that he told them to do!

4

anti-shunning

by Honeybucket in

The Searcher

The shunning of disfellowshipped ones has no basis in Scripture. An 'apostate' is defined as someone who 'stands away from the teachings or abandons a faith in such'. As such, Satan the Devil is viewed as the very first apostate. Was he shunned?

By reading Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7, and Matthew 4:1-11, it is clear that God and Jesus had no concept of a shunning policy for someone who was opposed to their thinking. In the four Gospel accounts, Jesus furnishes us with numerous further examples of how he was more than willing to speak to apostates - the Pharisees and the Sadducees - whom he said were Satan's offspring!

At Mark 3:22-30 Jesus actually called them over to himself, in order to to preach to them. Neither Jehovah nor Christ would condemn us for copying their examples, would they? Likewise, when preaching the good news of the Kingdom, every Witness is obliged to speak to 'apostates' - people within Christendom! Otherwise, preaching within Christendom must stop! Christendom is apostate, isn't it? Or are there differing degrees and classes of apostates? ("apostate Christendom" w05 11/1 p. 24 par. 12)

18

What if you were DF'd for apostacy, but instead of the expected...

by respectful_observer in

this is a hypothethical, so i'm not looking for whether you would ever do this, or "why would you want to subject yourself to this...", but rather, what would happen if some did do this..... .................... you're half of a married jw couple, and you admit to doubts about certain wts teachings and it leads to an eventual disfellowshipping.

but instead of walking away from the kingdom hall forever, you stay put.

you faithfully go to every meeting with your spouse.

The Searcher

Unbelievable!!

I posed this scenario to my wife last week, putting myself in the d/f role. I told her that it would really cause all sorts of mental anguish for "those taking the lead", because they've never had to deal with such a situation in their lives! I said that if they asked me to sit somewhere 'special' I would lovingly remind them that a) they shouldn't be talking to me, and b) as a registered charity with wonderful tax benefits, surely discrimination of a person would be viewed very seriously by the Charities Commission - in other words, back off or we'll let the "superior authorities" decide where I can sit!

Who knows, one day soon I may be in that position!

3

Self-Condemned!!

by The Searcher in

be careful of sanctimony and piety, because both attitudes have big teeth which can devour those flaunting them!.

awake 1973 12/8 p. 29 watching the world.

"some religious organizations are going to new ends to acquire money.

The Searcher

Be careful of sanctimony and piety, because both attitudes have big teeth which can devour those flaunting them!

Awake 1973 12/8 p. 29 Watching the World

"Some religious organizations are going to new ends to acquire money. The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Buffalo, New York, now accepts credit cards, not just cash donations."

Watchtower 1975 12/15 p. 743 Christendom’s “Holy Place” Soon to Be Desolated

"The religious systems of Christendom have constructed magnificent buildings throughout the earth. They have also amassed great wealth in other forms. In many lands, these vast holdings are, by reason of their claimed sacred status, exempt from the assessments and taxes imposed upon businesses in general."