Interesting point Lady Lee. In the Bible, some of Jesus' disciples see a man expelling demons by use of Jesus' name, yet Jesus never commanded that man to join him or an organization. Does this mean that Jesus approves of those actually doing his will no matter what organization they are in?
truthseeker
JoinedPosts by truthseeker
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"Lord Lord did we not prophesy in your name and expel demons in your name?"
by truthseeker ini would like to know if anyone can help me with this question.
presumably in the last days when jesus arrives as judge and executioner, he says the famous scripture, "many will say to me in that day, lord, lord, did we not prophesy in your name and expel demons in your name and perform many powerful works in your name?
and then i will confess to them, 'i never knew you, get away from me you workers of lawlessness'".
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"Lord Lord did we not prophesy in your name and expel demons in your name?"
by truthseeker ini would like to know if anyone can help me with this question.
presumably in the last days when jesus arrives as judge and executioner, he says the famous scripture, "many will say to me in that day, lord, lord, did we not prophesy in your name and expel demons in your name and perform many powerful works in your name?
and then i will confess to them, 'i never knew you, get away from me you workers of lawlessness'".
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truthseeker
I would like to know if anyone can help me with this question. Presumably in the last days when Jesus arrives as Judge and executioner, he says the famous scripture, "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and expel demons in your name and perform many powerful works in your name? And then I will confess to them, 'I never knew you, get away from me you workers of lawlessness'"
This being the case, how would someone or an organization be able to expel demons in Jesus' name if they are not approved by Jesus?
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Did the 7 congregations in Revelation apply Jesus' counsel?
by truthseeker indoes evidence exist, whether eye witness accounts or other means that the seven congregations jesus admonished accepted his counsel and repented?
were there only 7 congregations at the time, after 65 years of preaching?
(john presumably wrote revelation in the year 98 ad).
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truthseeker
Does evidence exist, whether eye witness accounts or other means that the seven congregations Jesus admonished accepted his counsel and repented? Were there only 7 congregations at the time, after 65 years of preaching? (John presumably wrote Revelation in the year 98 AD)
Revelation Book
Chapter 7 - Ephesus - Rekindle that first love
Chapter 8 - Smyrna - Striving to be conquerors
Chapter 9 - Pergamum - Holding Fast to Jesus' name
Chapter 10 - Thyatria - Abhorring the "deep things of Satan"
Chapter 11 - Sardis - Is Your Name in the Book of Life?
Chapter 12 - Philadelphia - "Keep on holding fast What you Have"
Chapter 13 - Laodicea - Buy Gold Refined by Fire
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He that is not against us is for us - JW's are not the only Christians
by truthseeker inever thought about the scriptures below as meaning that jehovah loves all christians and not just jw's?.
mark 9:38-41: .
"john said to him: "teacher, we saw a certain man expelling demons by the use of your name and we tried to prevent him, because he was not accompanying us.
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truthseeker
thank you for that info Valis, very interesting.
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He that is not against us is for us - JW's are not the only Christians
by truthseeker inever thought about the scriptures below as meaning that jehovah loves all christians and not just jw's?.
mark 9:38-41: .
"john said to him: "teacher, we saw a certain man expelling demons by the use of your name and we tried to prevent him, because he was not accompanying us.
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truthseeker
Ever thought about the scriptures below as meaning that Jehovah loves all Christians and not just JW's?
Mark 9:38-41:
"John said to him: "Teacher, we saw a certain man expelling demons by the use of your name and we tried to prevent him, because he was not accompanying us." 39
But Jesus said: "Do not try to prevent him, for there is no one that will do a powerful work on the basis of my name that will quickly be able to revile me; 40 for he that is not against us is for us. 41 For whoever gives YOU a cup of water to drink on the ground that YOU belong to Christ, I truly tell YOU, he will by no means lose his reward. "Here's what the WT of 1951 says....
Questions
from Readers•
How can we harmonize Matthew 12:30 with Mark 9:39, 40? The latter has been used to argue in favor of all the various religions that preach in Jesus’ name.—R. K., Ohio.Mark 9:39, 40 is harmonious with Matthew 12:30, of course. In Matthew 12 the Pharisees displayed themselves as not being on Jesus’ side because of their false accusations, and so Jesus said to them: "He that is not on my side is against me, and he that does not gather with me scatters." (Matt. 12:30, NW) The Pharisees were against him and were scattering Israelites away from him. But in Mark 9 the man involved was a fellow Israelite who was not falsifying about Jesus but who believed in the power of his name and was using it to cast out demons. The fact that he succeeded showed Jehovah God, Jesus’ Father, did not disapprove or leave the man in the lurch. So how could Jesus object? The record shows that he did not: "John said to him: ‘Teacher, we saw a certain man expelling demons by the use of your name and we tried to prevent him, because he was not accompanying us.’ But Jesus said: ‘Do not try to prevent him, for there is no one that will do a powerful work on the basis of my name that will quickly be able to revile me; for he that is not against us is for us.’"—Mark 9:38-40, NW.
Not all believers in Jesus followed him along with the twelve apostles. Some who wanted to follow Jesus were told to go back home and bear witness to him there. (Mark 5:18-20) Hence it was not necessary for this man to bodily follow Jesus to be on his side. There were only two sides in this controversy, either for or against Jesus, and since he was not against him he was for Jesus. From Pentecost and the outpouring of the spirit on the faithful it would be necessary for this man to associate himself with the congregation of Christians in order to receive the spirit and be approved of God for not being against Jesus. It is different with the religious systems that now preach in Jesus’ name. It cannot be said that all these are not against him for that reason, for they are against Jehovah’s faithful witnesses who do preach Jesus and his kingdom. So as they are against the least of these his brothers, they are against him and their mere use of Jesus’ name does not gain favorable recognition of them as true followers. Matthew 7:20-23 (NW) applies to them: "Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men. Not everyone saying to me, ‘Master, Master,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. Many will say to me in that day: ‘Master, Master, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew you at all. Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness."
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You can see the Society's spin on this, unless they are JW's, there work is in vain and Jehovah is not pleased with them.
I would also like to know if any non witnesses have ever successfully expelled demons in other religions.
Appreicate your comments
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Why do elders step down when their children are disfellowshipped?
by truthseeker inhi everyone, a question that has been on my mind for a while.. if jehovah appoints the elders, why is it that when one of their kids is disfellowshipped some of them step down as an elder?.
does jehovah dis-appoint them?
is this a scriptual thing?
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truthseeker
Hi everyone, a question that has been on my mind for a while.
If Jehovah appoints the elders, why is it that when one of their kids is disfellowshipped some of them step down as an elder?
Does Jehovah dis-appoint them?
And then later on, they can be re-appointed. Is this a scriptual thing?
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Conclusive proof - The GB is God's Channel
by truthseeker inbelow is a scan of a document given out at pioneer school.
havinging problems getting picture on my post, can anyone help me?
i have to go to work now, will try later on.
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truthseeker
Below is a scan of a document given out at pioneer school. Did anyone get this?
havinging problems getting picture on my post, can anyone help me? I have to go to work now, will try later on. -
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Does having chapters and verses in the Bible obscure the Bible's message?
by truthseeker ini was just thinking to myself the other day, why were chapters and verses in the bible, but precious few other books?
most people would say to make it easier to read, easier to locate "scriptures".
i mean, when you write a letter to a friend, do you break it down into chapters and verses?
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truthseeker
I was just thinking to myself the other day, why were chapters and verses in the Bible, but precious few other books?
Most people would say to make it easier to read, easier to locate "scriptures"
I mean, when you write a letter to a friend, do you break it down into chapters and verses? The book of Philemon is a prime example, less than one page of the Bible, yet it has about 25 verses or so.
Becasue there are chapters and verses in the Bible, there are thousands and thousands of reference points. You can also take verses out of context, by reading them and not reading what's around them.
The W/T Society often quotes dozens of scriptures in a single watchtower article, without regard for the scriptures around them.
In this case, taking verses out of the Bible, you have an enormous amount of potential for misapplication and misinformation.
For example, if you read the scripture (don't have it with me now) about 'this generation will by no means pass away" (Matthew 24), you could make 'it fit' the 21st century. But if you read the context around that particular verse, you would find that Jesus was only talking about the generation of the Jewish people living at the time.
I do not believe this verse was meant to refer to people living in the 20/21st centuries.
So, does the Bible having chapters and verses obscure the Bibles message? When did this practice occur?
Appreciate your feedback
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Why does the Society lie about not soliciting funds from door to door?
by truthseeker inrecently, it has been said that jw's do not solicit money going door to door.
if this is the case, then why are the following points going contrary to what the 'official line is' ?.
1-the co counselled the congregation recently saying that 'not enough people were mentioning the donation arrangement'.. 2-we are 'told' to mention the donation arrangement every time there is a presentation on 'what to say about the magazines'.
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truthseeker
Recently, it has been said that JW's do not solicit money going door to door.
If this is the case, then why are the following points going contrary to what the 'official line is' ?
1-The CO counselled the congregation recently saying that 'not enough people were mentioning the donation arrangement'.
2-We are 'told' to mention the donation arrangement every time there is a presentation on 'What to say about the magazines'
And yet, you would think that if mentioning the donation arrangement was so important, why is this not mentioned for each magazine presentation on the 'What to say about the magazines' column?
Something fishy going on here?
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Jesus invited 12 - The Society invites the whole world
by truthseeker induring his 3 1/2 hears of 'field service' jesus made hundreds, perhaps thousands of disciples.
amongst them, his closest associates, known as apostles numbered 12, and to these jesus gave special attention and consideration.. the 12 apostles, including judas iscariot, had the privilege of attending jesus' last supper, and it is here that jesus instituted the memorial of his death.. "keep doing this in remembrance of me".
the question is, why are 16,000,000 people doing it today?
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truthseeker
During his 3 1/2 hears of 'field service' Jesus made hundreds, perhaps thousands of disciples. Amongst them, his closest associates, known as apostles numbered 12, and to these Jesus gave special attention and consideration.
The 12 apostles, including Judas Iscariot, had the privilege of attending Jesus' Last Supper, and it is here that Jesus instituted the memorial of his death.
"Keep doing this in remembrance of me"
The question is, why are 16,000,000 people doing it today?
The Society is so hot on everything that Jesus did and said as being for them only, why do they make a huge media outburst (KM's) about inviting everyone? What exactly is the 'Memorial Season' and why is this phrase used when it is not in the Scriptures?
If we assume that everyone at the Memorial on Nisan 14, was annointed, and was going to rule in heaven, then what purpose is there in inviting everyone we know?
Besides, the Society don't like large gatherings, Jesus only had his 12 apostles.
Later on in Acts, we learn that upwards of 500 disciples witness Jesus being taken to heaven on a cloud. Why weren't they invited?
Anyone got any answers?