by Motema Bolingo 32 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Hi Left Field, and welcome.
In case you haven't noticed yet, the vast majority of posting members are NOT JWs. Most of them are EX-JWs. Some are still Christian believers, many others are not. And not all Christians are Trinitarians.
Hope this may help...
Narkissos,
Could not John 5:4 be viewed as the intercession (intervention) of an angel? According to a commentary, although it is not in early Greek manuscripts and the earliest versions, including the original Vulgate, this verse was known by the Latin Fathers toward the end of the second century. "For [from time to time] an angel of the Lord used to come down into the pool; and the water was stirred up, so the first one to get in [after the stirring of the water] was healed of whatever disease afflicted him." The angel was a popular explanation of the turbulence and the healing powers attributed to it.
It's interesting to note that the Watchtower Society, once upon a time, believed it received its spiritual enlightenment from communication with angels. See
http://www.jwfiles.com/angels-transmit.htm
Now it receives enlightenment from necromancy? Revelation: Its Grand Climax at Hand! (1988), page 125, on the other hand, commenting on Rev. 7:13, 14a states: "Yes, that elder could locate the answer and give it to John. This suggests that resurrected ones of the 24-elders group may be involved in the communicating of divine truths today."
