there's a preview note on one of the articles in this newly released watchtower.
the note can be found on an article titled "part 1 of 4 love and justice in ancient israel".the note states -.
this article is the first in a series of four that will discuss why we can be sure that jehovah cares about us.
The blatantly obvious fact is this, (which JW's at every level refuse to accept) elders do not have the legal right, training, or expertise to deal with criminals or their crimes.
The WTBTS/CCoJW should instruct their elders to restrict themselves to "sins" and let the legal system deal with JW crimes.
(acts 9:15, 16) but the lord said to him: “go!
(revelation 17:6) ......and with the blood of the witnesses of jesus.
(revelation 1:5) "....jesus christ, “the faithful witness,”.
1) If asked what your religion is, your answer should be Christianity, not "Jehovah's Witness." JW identifies the denomination of Christianity to which you assign your allegiance/worship. JW's, whether they like it or not, are simply part of Christendom. Google the proper meaning of the term - not the org's corrupt version.
2) Scripturally you are not Jehovah's witnesses - the Bible tells Christians to witness for Christ - not for God. Christians were never to do anything in/for God's name.
(Matthew 10:18) ....before governors and kings for my sake, for a witness....
(Mark 13:9) ...be put on the stand......for my sake, for a witness to them.
(Luke 24:48) You are to be witnesses of these things.
(Acts 1:8) ..witnesses of me in Jerusalem,.....the most distant part of the earth.”
(John 1:15) (John bore witness about him, (Jesus)
(John 5:37) And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me.
(John 8:18) ...bears witness about myself, and the Father..bears witness about me.”
(John 15:26, 27) ....bear witness about me; and you, in turn, are to bear witness....
(Acts 9:15, 16) But the Lord said to him: “Go! because this man is a chosen vessel to me to bear my name [Jesus] to the nations as well as to kings and the sons of Israel. For I will show him plainly how many things he must suffer for my name.”
(Acts 10:39) And we are witnesses of all the things he did.......
(Acts 10:43) To him (Jesus) all the prophets bear witness....
(Acts 13:31) .......These are now his witnesses to the people.
(Acts 22:15) because you are to be a witness for him (Jesus) to all men......
(Acts 22:20) and when the blood of Stephen your witness...
(Acts 23:11) ....witness about me in Jerusalem,.....also bear witness in Rome.”
(Acts 26:16) .....a witness .....................respecting me.
(1 Corinthians 1:6) ...the witness about the Christ has been made firm among you,
(1 Timothy 2:6, 7) ...this is what is to be witnessed to in its own due time.
(2 Timothy 1:8) ....the witness about our Lord.......
(1 John 5:9) ....this is the witness God gives, the witness.....about his Son.
(Revelation 1:9) ......bearing witness concerning Jesus.
(Revelation 12:17) ....have the work of bearing witness concerning Jesus.
(Revelation 17:6) ......and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.
(Revelation 19:10) ....witnessing concerning Jesus...the witness concerning Jesus...”
(Revelation 20:4) ...for the witness they gave about Jesus......
Christians were to witness for Christ. There is not one single verse which commands Christians to witness for God. Jesus was assigned to be God's witness:
(Revelation 1:5) "....Jesus Christ, “the Faithful Witness,”
(Revelation 3:14) "....the faithful and true witness.."
(Revelation 19:11) "And the one seated on it is called Faithful and True,.."
The following verses also show that Christians were to rely on Christ's name for all things, because he was their mediator for all things. (1 Tim. 2:5)
(Isa. 62:2) ...a new name.....Jehovah’s own mouth will designate. (see Acts 11:26)
(Matthew 10:22) And you will be hated by all people on account of my name,......
(Matthew 18:20) For where there are two or three gathered together in my name,....
(Matthew 19:29) .......for the sake of my name......will inherit everlasting life.
(Matthew 24:9) .......and you will be hated by all the nations on account of my name.
(Luke 10:17) “...even the demons are made subject to us by the use of your name.”
(Luke 21:12) ......brought before kings and governors for the sake of my name.
(Luke 21:16, 17) .......and you will be hated by all people because of my name.
(John 2:23) .....many people put their faith in his (Jesus') name........
(John 5:27, 28) .....in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice..
(John 14:26) But the helper, the holy spirit, which the Father will send in my name,
(John 15:16) ......no matter what you ask the Father in my name,
(Acts 2:38) Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ
(Acts 3:6) In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!”
(Acts 4:10) .....in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,
(Acts 5:40) . . .and ordered them to stop speaking on the basis of Jesus’ name.
(Acts 5:41) ....counted worthy to be dishonored in behalf of his [Jesus'] name.
(Acts 9:14-16) .....all those calling on your name.....he must suffer for my name.”
(Acts 10:48) .....he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
(Acts 11:26) ..........the disciples were by divine providence called Christians.
(Acts 16:18) “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.”
(Acts 19:5) On hearing this, they got baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
(Acts 22:16) ....get baptized, and wash your sins away by your calling on his name.’
(1 Corinthians 6:11) ...been declared righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(2 Corinthians 5:15) .....no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them.
(Philippians 2:10) .....so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend......
(Hebrews 13:15) Through him (Jesus) let us always offer to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that make public declaration to his name.*
* Exactly whose name was to be "publicly declared"? See 27 "witness" scriptures.
saysorry.org and the jw news facebook page, with 16k followers, have joined to 'shine a light' on the watch tower society and those leaders within the jehovah's witness organization that disregard or violate the laws of the land.
it is also our hope that the governing body of jehovah's witnesses will "say sorry" by acknowledging their errors and by adopting a culture of acting lawfully, ethically and in a socially responsible manner.. the jw news facebook page was launched in 2011 and has recently undergone a major timeline clean up to remove copyrighted material from the past three years.. facebook.com/jwnews.
image: the crushing evidence of the final report of the australian royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse and case study 29 into jehovah's witnesses (second volume from top), sitting on the new world translation of the holy scriptures outside parliament house, canberra..
A powerful and poignant image.
lm getting conflicting advice.ls it the 144000 or jesus.l was always under the impression it was jesus.lf its the 144000 then when they pray the jw;s should be praying through the remnant not in jesus christs name but in the 144000;s name..
w89 8/15 pp. 30-31 - Is Jesus the Mediator only for spirit-anointed Christians or for all mankind, since 1 Timothy 2:5, 6 speaks of him as the “mediator” who “gave himself a corresponding ransom for all”? The Bible contains both basic teachings and deep truths, which are solid food for study. One such study involves Jesus Christ’s role as Mediator. The apostle Paul wrote: “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all—this is what is to be witnessed to at its own particular times.”—1 Timothy 2:5, 6. To grasp what Paul is saying, we must first appreciate that the Bible sets out two destinies for faithful humans: (1) perfect life on a restored earthly paradise and (2) life in heaven for Christ’s “little flock,” numbering 144,000. (Luke 12:32; Revelation 5:10; 14:1-3) Christendom teaches that all good people go to heaven, which unscriptural position has colored the general view, so that Jesus is considered a go-between for all such people. What, though, does the Bible indicate? The Greek word me·siʹtes, used for “mediator,” means ‘one who finds himself between two bodies or parties.’ It was a ‘many-sided technical term of Hellenistic legal language.’ Professor Albrecht Oepke (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament) says that me·siʹtes was “one of the most varied technical terms in the vocabulary of Hellen[istic] law.” But why does the Bible use a legal term for Jesus’ mediatory role? As background, consider what Paul wrote about God’s Law given to Israel assembled before Mount Sinai: “It was transmitted through angels by the hand of a mediator.” (Galatians 3:19, 20) That mediator was Moses. He was the intermediary agent between Jehovah and the fleshly nation of Israel. An agent for what? For establishing a covenant, or legal contract, between God and the nation. Does this mean that there is a specific legal sense involved in Jesus’ role as Mediator? Yes. Note Paul’s comment at Hebrews 8:6. After speaking about the tabernacle and other typical representations under the Law covenant, he wrote: “Jesus has obtained a more excellent public service, so that he is also the mediator of a correspondingly better covenant, which has been legally established upon better promises.” The “better covenant” was the new covenant, which replaced the covenant mediated by Moses. (Hebrews 8:7-13) The new covenant was “legally established.” It laid the basis for some of Christ’s followers, beginning with the apostles, to gain “entry into the holy place,” heaven itself.—Hebrews 9:24; 10:16-19. There are other indications too of the legal nature of Jesus’ role as Mediator of the “new covenant.” Commenting on God’s promise at Psalm 110:4, Paul wrote: “To that extent also Jesus has become the one given in pledge [enʹgy·os] of a better covenant.” (Hebrews 7:22) This is the only Biblical use of the word enʹgy·os. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology says: “The engyos guaranteed that a legal obligation would be carried out.” So Jesus as Mediator of the new covenant serves as a legal pledge that “a better hope” would be realized.—Hebrews 7:19. Elsewhere Paul uses yet another word having a legal sense, ar·ra·bonʹ, translated “token.” The same dictionary says: “The Gk. word arrabōn . . . is a legal concept from the language of business and trade.” Note how Paul used this legal term: “He who has anointed us is God. He has also put his seal upon us and has given us the token of what is to come, that is, the spirit, in our hearts.” (2 Corinthians 1:21, 22) Both other occurrences of ar·ra·bonʹ also deal with God’s anointing of Christians with spirit, bringing them an ‘everlasting reward or inheritance in the heavens’ as spirit sons of God.—2 Corinthians 5:1, 5; Ephesians 1:13, 14; see Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures. Clearly, then, the new covenant is not a loose arrangement open to all mankind. It is a carefully arranged legal provision involving God and anointed Christians. This should help us to understand 1 Timothy 2:5, 6. Here the reference to “mediator” was made after the five other occurrences of the word in letters written earlier. Hence, Timothy would have understood Jesus’ mediatorship to be His legal role connected with the new covenant. The Pastoral Epistles, by Dibelius and Conzelmann, acknowledges that at 1 Timothy 2:5 ‘the term “mediator” has a legal significance,’ and “although in this passage, in contrast to Heb 8:6, the [covenant] is not mentioned, one must nevertheless presuppose the meaning ‘mediator of the covenant,’ as the context shows.” Professor Oepke observes that 1 Timothy 2:5 presents Jesus as “the attorney and negotiator.” A modern-day illustration may help to clarify this, especially if you are not a spirit-anointed Christian. Think of a legal case in which an attorney is involved. His role may be not so much that of a lawyer arguing for justice as that of one who is mediating or bringing about a legal contract acceptable to and beneficial to two parties. Of course, you are not in that legal case, so in that sense he is not serving as your attorney. Yet he may be your very close friend who in other ways gives you valuable help. Sometimes an attorney’s work produces results that benefit many others. So it is with Jesus’ legal accomplishments as Mediator of the new covenant. It produces what the Law covenant did not, a heavenly “kingdom of priests.” (Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9) Thereafter anointed Christians in the Kingdom will work with Jesus from heaven to bring a blessing to “all nations of the earth.”—Genesis 22:18. The people of all nations who have the hope of everlasting life on earth benefit even now from Jesus’ services. Though he is not their legal Mediator, for they are not in the new covenant, he is their means of approaching Jehovah. Christ said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) All who will gain life on earth must direct their prayers to Jehovah through Jesus. (John 14:13, 23, 24) Jesus also serves as a compassionate High Priest who is able to apply in their behalf the benefits of his sacrifice, allowing them to gain forgiveness and eventual salvation.—Acts 4:12; Hebrews 4:15. Consequently, 1 Timothy 2:5, 6 is not using “mediator” in the broad sense common in many languages. It is not saying that Jesus is a mediator between God and all mankind. Rather, it refers to Christ as legal Mediator (or, “attorney”) of the new covenant, this being the restricted way in which the Bible uses the term. Jesus is also a corresponding ransom for all in that covenant, both Jews and Gentiles, who will receive immortal life in heaven. The apostle John referred to these at 1 John 2:2. But he indicated that others too will receive the benefit of Christ’s sacrifice: “He is a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours only but also for the whole world’s.” Those of ‘the whole world’ are all who will gain eternal life in a restored earthly paradise. Millions of such approved servants of God now have that earthly hope. They view Jesus as their High Priest and King through whom they can daily gain approach to Jehovah. They rely on Jesus’ ransom, which is available to them, just as it will be to men such as Abraham, David, and John the Baptizer when these are resurrected. (Matthew 20:28) Thus, Christ’s sacrifice will lead to everlasting life for all obedient mankind.
lm getting conflicting advice.ls it the 144000 or jesus.l was always under the impression it was jesus.lf its the 144000 then when they pray the jw;s should be praying through the remnant not in jesus christs name but in the 144000;s name..
This statement from the current G.B. confirms the org's dogma of 1st & 2nd class Christians:
w08 12/15 p. 14 par. 13 - "Jehovah applies the value of Jesus’ blood to those being brought into the new covenant...As their Mediator, Jesus assists them in maintaining a clean standing before God."
The very long and convoluted reply given in this QFR, is compelling evidence of the "faithful slave-master's" belief that the minions will swallow anything!
w89 8/15 p. 30 - Questions From Readers - "Is Jesus the Mediator only for spirit-anointed Christians or for all mankind..."
you've likely heard all this before, but i had to laugh (silently) at the public talk today.. he focused on how close we are to the end.
we're not only in the last days, but we're in "the final part" of the last days.. also, we are nearing "the end of the final part of the last days".
he didn't read any scriptures backing up how the last days are broken up like this.. i went today since relatives es were visiting, but it was more entertaining than usual.. as well, the gb isn't warning us about armageddon, rather they're mainly warning about the great tribulation, which is "very, very, close!
Did the speaker say it was the GT of Matthew 24, or the one which is ignored by the org at Revelation 2:22?
back in 2001, i left the jws rather abruptly.
i had discovered things about the watchtower that really made me quite angry, angry because i had been lied to, and it took me just to darn long to figure it out.
before i had left, my husband and i wrote 3 letters, one to the elders at our congregation, and two to our parents.
Tameria - it's their loss, not yours or your children's. Not having a relationship with them is much better than having a toxic, conditional relationship.
One word of caution I'd give is this - never put anything in writing to any JW's, especially elders. If they pervert what the Bible writers said, they'll pervert what you say.
the watchtower and quite a few other religious groups don't do certain things because of pagan origins.
they go on about the different holidays, certain traditions, and say they don't do those things because of pagan origins.
yet they turn right around and do other stuff, which does have pagan origins.
(Romans 14:5) One man judges one day as above another; another judges one day the same as all others; let each one be fully convinced in his own mind.
(Colossians 2:16) Therefore, do not let anyone judge you about what you eat and drink or about the observance of a festival or of the new moon or of a sabbath.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/france-ban-islamic-veil-niqab-human-rights-united-nations-1.4874465.
“the un human rights committee said tuesday that france's ban on the niqab was a violation of human rights, and it called on the government to review the legislation.. france had failed to make the case for its ban, the committee said, giving paris 180 days to report back to say what actions it had taken.
the panel's findings are not legally binding but could influence french courts.. .
What would a western government's response be if an association of males got together and membership required wearing one of these when out in a public place, as an "indicator" of their association?
this is such an important issue, more and more people are succumbing to what must be some viral outbreak wreaking havoc in the world.. i'm talking about unnecessary punctuation.. it's easy to become infected.
you want to write something and add some emphasis so you add an exclamation mark to make it "important!
" but dang, it's not important enough is it??
I always liked spelling at school and find it interesting that so many people struggle when asked to spell out everyday words like ecstasy, woollen, sheriff, queue, paraffin, & manoeuvre. Two common errors are a) the wrong application of the words there, their, & they're, and b) using the word lead instead of led. Lead is a metal.
