There is no heavenly calling, it is a wishful thinking of JWs

by Abraham1 in

then jesus said to his disciples: “truly i say to you that it will be difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of the heavens.

again i say to you, it is easier for a camel to get through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of god.” (mathew 19:23, 24, https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/matthew/19/) for jesus both “kingdom of heaven and kingdom of god” are interchangeable—they are one and the same.

when earth comes again under god’s rulership, earth becomes a “kingdom of heaven.” (mathew 5:3, 5) “those poor in spirit” are defined as those having no self-importance or egoless (mathew 16:24) and “the meek” too are egoless.

Abraham1

mickbobcat,

That is a valid point--especially so when Jesus revealed vital spiritual lessons to woman (John 4:7-26) and even appointed woman to convey the important message to his male disciples.(John 20:16-18) He also declared that all women-inferior verses are the result of “hardheartedness” of some ancient men, which obviously has nothing to do with Scriptures. (Mathew 19:4-8) He even rated woman as having keener insight into future and spirituality than men (Mathew 26:10-13 Contrast John 6:60).

19

There is no heavenly calling, it is a wishful thinking of JWs

by Abraham1 in

then jesus said to his disciples: “truly i say to you that it will be difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of the heavens.

again i say to you, it is easier for a camel to get through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of god.” (mathew 19:23, 24, https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/matthew/19/) for jesus both “kingdom of heaven and kingdom of god” are interchangeable—they are one and the same.

when earth comes again under god’s rulership, earth becomes a “kingdom of heaven.” (mathew 5:3, 5) “those poor in spirit” are defined as those having no self-importance or egoless (mathew 16:24) and “the meek” too are egoless.

Abraham1

Instead of presenting New Teachings such as heavenly hope for 144000, Issue of Sovereignty, other issues such as blood transfusion, national anthem, military service, image of the beast etc, they had something important to do--separatng weeds from the Bible. They did it with John 8:2-11 which they moved into footnote. If they had done this with other weed-like verses (such as given in https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5671141438914560/single-bible-verse-that-explains-everything-hope-even-disfellowshipped), they should have received praise from God and from tree seekers of truth. They sadly missed that precious opportunity of really taking care of interests of Kingdom.

19

There is no heavenly calling, it is a wishful thinking of JWs

by Abraham1 in

then jesus said to his disciples: “truly i say to you that it will be difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of the heavens.

again i say to you, it is easier for a camel to get through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of god.” (mathew 19:23, 24, https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/matthew/19/) for jesus both “kingdom of heaven and kingdom of god” are interchangeable—they are one and the same.

when earth comes again under god’s rulership, earth becomes a “kingdom of heaven.” (mathew 5:3, 5) “those poor in spirit” are defined as those having no self-importance or egoless (mathew 16:24) and “the meek” too are egoless.

Abraham1

Yes Jan, You nicely summed it up.

The concept that God gives special treatment to some of His children is pagan concept. (Deuteronomy 10:17; Romans 2:11). And 'People who do NOT know God" are called "pagans." (1 Thessalonians 4:5) And JWs are known for refusing to greet their former associates. And see how Jesus describes as one of the key characteristics of being pagan: "And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? " (MAT.5.47.NIV)

13

Satans plans

by asp59 in

if you are a believer.

what you think was the most important thing for satan to stop.

the preaching work or humans becoming kings and priest in heaven?.

Abraham1

Smiddy3,

People who personified Satan may have done it for good intention, but they never realized it put God in a bad light.

For the really inspired ones matter is very clear. This world is spoken as “lying under the power of wickedness” (1 John 5:19) which many Bible Translations rendered it wrongly as “wicked one” implying Satan. The word for “wickedness” is πονηρός (ponéros), and it means wastefulness such as a fruit of tree that has gone waste (Mathew 7:17, eyes that are not focused (Mathew 6:23). In all these places the same word πονηρός (ponéros) is used. (4190. πονηρός (ponéros) -- 79 Occurrences)

“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them.” (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

The pleasurable days of one’s youth is good, and it is contrasted with unpleasurable days of old-age which is called “evil days.” Thus for the Bible writers evil simply means what is “waste, boring.” “All these evils (ponēra) come from inside and defile a person.” Mark 7:23 πονηρὰ (ponēra) Neutral plural

19

There is no heavenly calling, it is a wishful thinking of JWs

by Abraham1 in

then jesus said to his disciples: “truly i say to you that it will be difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of the heavens.

again i say to you, it is easier for a camel to get through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of god.” (mathew 19:23, 24, https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/matthew/19/) for jesus both “kingdom of heaven and kingdom of god” are interchangeable—they are one and the same.

when earth comes again under god’s rulership, earth becomes a “kingdom of heaven.” (mathew 5:3, 5) “those poor in spirit” are defined as those having no self-importance or egoless (mathew 16:24) and “the meek” too are egoless.

Abraham1

There could be variation in doing the will of God among the obedient ones. Hence minority (symbolized by 144000) are described as those having “Father’s name written on their foreheads”—they did God's will perfectly. They are “redeemed from the earth and were purchased from among mankind and offered as first fruits to God” [not from any single nation on earth] and “No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.” (Revelation 14:1-5) Number 144000 is made up of multiples of number 12 which symbolize “perfection or authority.” (Interesting Facts about the Meaning & Importance of the Number 12 in the Bible) . Hence 144000 stand for the small group of people who perfectly reflected image of God! If a small group is called “first” fruits it presupposes the existence of those who trailed behind them becoming second-fruits in spirituality. And both the groups would reap accordingly. (Mark 4:24, 25) This is repeated in many places such as Luke 6:38 which was later elaborated as “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6; Revelation 14:13)

19

There is no heavenly calling, it is a wishful thinking of JWs

by Abraham1 in

then jesus said to his disciples: “truly i say to you that it will be difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of the heavens.

again i say to you, it is easier for a camel to get through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of god.” (mathew 19:23, 24, https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/matthew/19/) for jesus both “kingdom of heaven and kingdom of god” are interchangeable—they are one and the same.

when earth comes again under god’s rulership, earth becomes a “kingdom of heaven.” (mathew 5:3, 5) “those poor in spirit” are defined as those having no self-importance or egoless (mathew 16:24) and “the meek” too are egoless.

Abraham1

Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Truly I say to you that it will be difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of the heavens. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to get through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” (Mathew 19:23, 24, https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/matthew/19/) For Jesus both “kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God” are interchangeable—they are one and the same. When earth comes again under God’s rulership, earth becomes a “Kingdom of Heaven.” (Mathew 5:3, 5) “Those poor in spirit” are defined as those having no self-importance or egoless (Mathew 16:24) and “the meek” too are egoless. Both are interchangeable, and their destiny too is the same.

Disobedient ones CANNOT change God Almighty's plan

This is better understood against the larger picture. God warned against fall of Kingdom of God on earth if humans disobey Him. Yet they disobeyed, and Kingdom of heaven was rejected from earth. Yet there are many who do not disobey Him (Genesis 5:24) For their sake, God is “recreating” the heaven on earth again. (Mathew 19:28-30) Just because some people rejected God’s rulership even against the warning of death punishment, God will not change His purpose for this earth: “So my word that goes out of my mouth will be. vIt will not return to me without results, But it will certainly accomplish whatever is my delight, And it will have sure success in what I send it to do.” (Isaiah 55:11) https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/isaiah/55/) God going for a new arrangement of heavenly call would mean HE is partial, and disobedient ones could change the plan of God Almighty.

Teaching about heavenly call is one among other things JWs got wrongly. See how they got wrongly the definition of pagan and God’s people. According to God's word a pagan is one who is loving/greeting only those loving/greeting him, ruled by such things as fear, sensuality, ego, greed, alcohol etc (Matthew 5:43–48; Matthew 6:32; 1 Thessalonians 4:5; Galatians 5:19–21; Luke 22:25). (EPH.4.17-19.NIV) (1PE.4.3-4.NIV). This is in the same vein as God's word describes God’s people as “peace-makers, those pure in heart and those circumcised in heart.” (5:9; Psalm 73:1; Romans 2:11, 28, 29; Jeremiah 4:4) Jesus simply praised non-Jews when they displayed theocratic spirit (Mathew 8:10-12; Mathew 22:1-14) and promised he would disown anyone already belonging to him but fails to be theocratic. (Mathew 7:21-23)

How can such people catch the mind of God and Christ when they refuse to greet their former associates, thus identify themselves as pagans?

4

Roger aka Andre' cites scripture that contradicts major wt false doctrine.

by waton in

in the just finished wt study # 38, "--spiritual family" , par.

19 , " robert " is reported to have cited math: 12:50. note he has limited "bible knowledge" therefore is not fully indoctrinated.

jesus: .

Abraham1

Matter is absolutely clear from that Scriptures. Yet it is a wonder of all wonders that JWs got away with their false definition who Christ's brother really is.

Luke 8:21 made it even simpler: "he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

Similarly, they got wrongly the definition of pagan. According to God's word a pagan is one who is loving/greeting only those loving/greeting him, ruled by such things as fear, sensuality, ego, greed, alcohol etc (Matthew 5:43–48; Matthew 6:32; 1 Thessalonians 4:5; Galatians 5:19–21; Luke 22:25). (EPH.4.17-19.NIV) (1PE.4.3-4.NIV). This is in the same vein as God's word describes God’s people as “peace-makers, those pure in heart and those circumcised in heart.” (5:9; Psalm 73:1; Romans 2:11, 28, 29; Jeremiah 4:4) Jesus simply praised non-Jews when they displayed theocratic spirit (Mathew 8:10-12; Mathew 22:1-14) and promised he would disown anyone already belonging to him but fails to be theocratic. (Mathew 7:21-23)

63

Is Bible prophecy now starting to come true regarding the prelude to the great tribulation?

by Disillusioned JW in

is bible prophecy now starting to come true regarding a prelude to the great tribulation?.

full disclosure: i still don't believe in the bible's claims about the existence of the supernatural, even of jehovah god (i'm an atheist and a scientific/philosophical naturalist), but i am asking this question because recent events are starting to seem (to me) to fit well the description of some prophecies in the bible.

consider the following.. several hours ago (on 11-26-2021) as i was about to enter a local fred meyer store of my city (in suburb or small city in the metro area of a large city) a person i know told me that a moment earlier a person left the store in a hurry with a cart load up with unpaid merchandise (i think i was told it was groceries but i don't remember that for sure).

Abraham1

Disillusioned JW,

"Tossing of the sea" is the correct translation because that is that the interlinear says. When you toss a coin, it is all about a vertical rise of the coin from your palm to the height of your choice.

This predicted "tossing of the sea" [which is now softly worded as "sea-level rise"] is to happen before "Great Tribulation" which is already underway from 2020, and "Great Tribulation" will last over a decade because Last Generation is of 120 years.*

Why many Bible translators missed this is not important because they have also deliberately made wrong translations. For example, only KJV, Duay and Wycliffe got rightly Romans 14:17. NW translation of JWs made deliberate mistake in Mathew 25:46 where they translated as "eternal cutting off" which no other translations have done it. (https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5915507227099136/new-world-translation-much-different-other-translations.)

Interestingly, secular person gained the victory over JWs. John Hogue published a book in 2016 implying great tribulation would start from 2020 because the very title of his book was: "

The Roaring 2020s: Decade of Destruction and Transformation

http://www.hogueprophecy.com/predictions-2016-the-expanded-donors-only-edition/

People will readily accept such a message because they are desperate as the South Korea is now planning to do. (https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/south-korea-plans-to-host-worlds-first-floating-city-by-2025/) JWs are struck in the literal reading of "seventy years" exile foretold for the Jews. Yet Jews began returning after fifty years, state all of Jewish documents.

*That means 70 years is like 120-year lifespan foretold for humans. (Genesis 6:3) Some will live less or more than 120 years. Moses lived 120 years (Deuteronomy 34:1-12), the full years of what God decreed as duration of one generation. (Genesis 6:3) That means First World war started in 1914 + 120 = 2034, which means “Last Days” or Last Generation would last till 2034. During this period, "sea-level rise" would be something about which people will feel like "fainting out of fear."

13

Satans plans

by asp59 in

if you are a believer.

what you think was the most important thing for satan to stop.

the preaching work or humans becoming kings and priest in heaven?.

Abraham1

JWs' understanding about Satan is wrong. They made the mistake of taking Satan literally whereas Jesus and his half-brother James taught evil as originating from within each human being. (Mark 7:21–23); James 1:13) When James says God has “not tested anybody,” but humans are “tested” by their own greed, he makes even the Serpent/Satan in Genesis account too symbolic. For Psalmist, serpent was a symbol of “poison and disobedience.” (Psalm 58:4–5) The word for serpent, used in Genesis account, is “nahash” and it literally means ”Serpent, Bronze, Oracle.” It can also mean “ability to achieve a great technological feat,” or “some kind of mental process, usually intuitive and usually impure or otherwise detrimental.“ (Nahash)

Interestingly, Jesus never intended his followers to be made into an organizational set up with ladder-like authority structure as also seen among JWs which Jesus described as the characteristics of “pagans.” (Luke (LUK.22.24-27) So question is “how can pagans understand Satan or God?”

Literal understanding is of no help. For example, literal understanding about a drunkard is to think "he has money to enjoy life." You don't feel the need to help him. But in essence, you see him as an unhappy one. Empathy results, you feel like helping to come out of his inebriated, hopeless state.

63

Is Bible prophecy now starting to come true regarding the prelude to the great tribulation?

by Disillusioned JW in

is bible prophecy now starting to come true regarding a prelude to the great tribulation?.

full disclosure: i still don't believe in the bible's claims about the existence of the supernatural, even of jehovah god (i'm an atheist and a scientific/philosophical naturalist), but i am asking this question because recent events are starting to seem (to me) to fit well the description of some prophecies in the bible.

consider the following.. several hours ago (on 11-26-2021) as i was about to enter a local fred meyer store of my city (in suburb or small city in the metro area of a large city) a person i know told me that a moment earlier a person left the store in a hurry with a cart load up with unpaid merchandise (i think i was told it was groceries but i don't remember that for sure).

Abraham1

Situation is not comparable with other times.

In the past, we could boast we have technology, but now technology is the culprit. (Financial Times)

Governments too are powerless because their main source of income is from fossil fuel or from taxes on it, and they want to exploit the same till its supply is exhausted. (The Glasgow summit left a huge hole in the world’s plans to curb climate change)

Abraham1

Posts by Abraham1

mickbobcat,

Disillusioned JW,

The Roaring 2020s: Decade of Destruction and Transformation