Posts by trevor

35

When did the "other sheep" class begin to form?

by Vanderhoven7 in

jw
friends

is there anything in wts literature as to which century the alleged non-anointed class of the wts began to form?.

i thought it was early on in the 20th century.. am i wrong?.

vander.

trevor

“The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated than 1914.” Watchtower - January 1922 Page 22

The booklet “Millions Now Living Will Never Die” written in 1920 stated under the heading “Earthly Rulers:”

“As we heretofore stated, the great jubilee is due to begin in 1925. At that time the earthly phase of the Kingdom shall be recognised. The Apostle Paul in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews names a long list of faithful men who died before the crucifixion of the Lord and before the bringing of the selection of the church. These can never be a part of the heavenly class; they had no heavenly hopes; but God has in store something good for them. They are to be resurrected as perfect men and constitute the princes or rulers of the earth according to his promise (Psalm 45:16; Isaiah 32:1; Matthew 8: 11) therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old, particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews chapter eleven, the condition of human perfection.” Page 88 89

The Society had decided that the Bible’s faithful men of old including Abraham would not go to heaven. They had reserved this hope for themselves. Not only were they going to heaven but also they were to be Kings and Priests with Jesus. Members around the world spread the word and eagerly looked forward to Armageddon and the return of the faithful men of old. As late as 1924 the Society maintained the anticipation and repeated their prophecy:

“We should therefore expect shortly after 1925 to see the awakening of Able, Enoch, David, Abraham, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, John the Baptist, and others mentioned in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews.” The Way To Paradise - Page 224

(Opening the Door to Jehovah's Witnesses - by Trevor Willis)

35

When did the "other sheep" class begin to form?

by Vanderhoven7 in

jw
friends

is there anything in wts literature as to which century the alleged non-anointed class of the wts began to form?.

i thought it was early on in the 20th century.. am i wrong?.

vander.

trevor

The Great Crowd

Up until 1935, the Society had claimed that their entire membership would go to heaven, quoting from Revelation 7:4 to show that the literal number of 144,000 would go to heaven. As their membership had now passed 60,000 they realized the need to allow for expansion. They achieved this in 1935 by announcing that, in addition to the chosen few there was also a “great multitude or crowd” who would not go to heaven, but grow to human perfection and live forever on earth with the resurrected men of old. This was based on a “new truth” regarding their interpretation of Revelation 7:9 which refers to a “great crowd.”

This great crowd could not have direct communication with God, but could only gain salvation through association with the chosen ones in the Society. Thus they now claimed to have replaced Jesus as the only way to salvation. From this time on, most Witnesses could only look forward to life on earth. They could only be granted everlasting life by total obedience to the Society. They were to follow its dictates to the letter. If they in any way questioned its decisions or interpretations, they would be expelled. As there were now two classes, one with a belief that they would live forever on earth, the other with a heavenly hope, how would anyone know which class they were in?

The directors at head office decided that they themselves would go to heaven, and in line with this status, retained their title of elder. Each congregation had until then, been run by members who had been voted in to the position of elder, by the other congregation members. They were now stripped of this title, and told that all congregations were to be run by company servants appointed by head office. The Society had, in one move, taken away these men’s positions as elders chosen by each congregation, and at the same time the hope of heavenly life for nearly all the members. This position was now reserved for the directors. In view of the higher class they were now in, they would make all future decisions regarding congregation matters. This gave the Watchtower Society total control.

Finding suitable candidates of this calling to replace those who leave or pass away, has contributed to the drop in the number of men in the Governing Body from 18 to 10 at present. These men consider themselves to be the “faithful and discreet slave” that Jesus is said to have returned to gather in 1914. What is curious is that the latest member was not born until 1941, or baptised until 1959! Needless to say, the members who had loyally devoted their lives to the organization were deeply hurt. The Watchtower Society had come a long way from their original roots as a sincere group of Bible students, under the direction of Pastor Russell. Too far for many – and they left as they had done ten years earlier in 1925, when the date for Armageddon had again proved to be a false prophecy.

Taken from: Opening the Door to Jehovah's Witnesses. By Trevor Willis. A free download is available. If you are interested, go to Lulu.com and type or paste into the search box the number 5456415

4

Steward or Manager?

by Haelcer in

in english edition nwt we read:.

luke 12:42 and the lord said: who really is the faithful steward, the discreet one, whom his master will appoint over his body of attendants to keep giving them their measure of food supplies at the proper time?.

but in russian edition we read:.

trevor

I think the more accurate translation, to convey the true meaning of this biblical text, would be 'elder' or even 'pioneer.'

56

This blew me away"The distant between Egypt and the promise land"

by jam in

i was reading a article about a national acclaim charles lummis for.

his poetry.

in 1884, while working at a newspaper in ohio, he was offered.

trevor

Having read through this thread, I am left wondering...

One would think that a divinely inspired account of God's chosen and rescued people, wandering for 40 years in the wilderness, would contain some detail.

All those years of people being stoned to death for kindling wood on the sabbath or walking too far and not a mention. Perhaps a papyrus map of the lost nations movements?

The Hebrew desert god should have provided google sooner!

52

Proving Thor Exist: Reason why the proofs of God fail.

by bohm in

jw
friends

had there been theistic/atheistic debates 1300 years ago, my relatives might have heard this definite argument for the thundergod thor:.

without thor there can be no lightning.lightning exist.therefore thor exist.

qed.the atheist in that time would properly have gone after #1. i imagine the theist would have said:.

trevor

Are we talking of a personal god as defined in historical books - or a pervading intelligence that defines the unity found in the universe?

52

Proving Thor Exist: Reason why the proofs of God fail.

by bohm in

jw
friends

had there been theistic/atheistic debates 1300 years ago, my relatives might have heard this definite argument for the thundergod thor:.

without thor there can be no lightning.lightning exist.therefore thor exist.

qed.the atheist in that time would properly have gone after #1. i imagine the theist would have said:.

trevor

Are we talking of a personal god as defined in historical books - or a pervading intelligence that defines the unity found in the universe?

158

DO WE NEED TO BELONG TO A RELIGION TO BE A "SPIRITUAL PERSON"?

by foodalls in

jw
friends

i have been noticing people posting on this site have a "deep" spiritual desire, but don't quite know how to find it, or where it is at.. this beg the question...do we need to be involved with a "religion" to find "spirituality"...especially an "organized religion"???.

anyone that has there eyes open can see that all religion is loosing their influence over people around the world...i spent 47 years thinking i was in the "truth" being one of jw's!

and now that i am out...and looking back from the "outside"...all i see is that its just another religion...filled with all the "control-grid" stuff found in any other group.. worse yet...they are worse than other religions...so it begs an answer..is there such thing as a "true religion"???.

trevor

foodalls What the F*** has this garbage got to do with the title of this thread.

One day you will hear a loud popping sound and see the light. Your head will finally have come out of your ass!

24

God and the Meaning of Life: Where I Now Stand

by neverendingjourney in

fifteen years ago, jehovah god was as real as the ground below me.

as it turns out, my belief was founded on lies, half-truths, and a burning desire on my part to possess a theory of everything, something that tied up all the loose ends and make sense of the world.. i stopped going to meetings nearly six years ago, and ive mostly given up the search for the ever-elusive theory of everything.

im not really a science guy, but ive read a few books on atheism and biology in the past few years.

trevor

neverendingjourney Your opening post was both thoughtful and enlightening. There is nothing I can add or take away.

158

DO WE NEED TO BELONG TO A RELIGION TO BE A "SPIRITUAL PERSON"?

by foodalls in

jw
friends

i have been noticing people posting on this site have a "deep" spiritual desire, but don't quite know how to find it, or where it is at.. this beg the question...do we need to be involved with a "religion" to find "spirituality"...especially an "organized religion"???.

anyone that has there eyes open can see that all religion is loosing their influence over people around the world...i spent 47 years thinking i was in the "truth" being one of jw's!

and now that i am out...and looking back from the "outside"...all i see is that its just another religion...filled with all the "control-grid" stuff found in any other group.. worse yet...they are worse than other religions...so it begs an answer..is there such thing as a "true religion"???.

trevor

VoidEater

Spirituality is born from an inner experience.

Religion is someone else''s theory, a mental exercise. Institutionalized dogma.

They are antithetical to each other.

Beautifully put.

Religion does not necessarily encourage a spiritual approach to life. Things that cannot be observed through our 5 senses require a deep spiritual appreciation. Spiritual awareness may not require belief in a personal god or membership of a religion.

It does require awareness of our limitations as humans. What is now thought to be spiritual may one day be part of mainstream scientific discovery.

31

Life changing books?

by iamwhoiam in

what are some books you may have read that have changed your life?.

two of mine are: .

1. tao te ching version by steven mitchell.

trevor

The Bible.

Fortunately I realized it was a hoax and read some factual books in time to mitigate the damage.