As A Witness Did You Believe That Jesus Was Your Mediator??

by Lady Liberty 18 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Lady Liberty

  Good Afternoon Everyone.. Happy Wednesday!!

  When you were a Witness did any of you know that the Society actually teaches that Jesus is NOT your Mediator unless you are one of the 144,000?? When my Dad was first researching, he came across this belief, and shared it with my Mom. She said to him, "That is apostate talk, where did you get that??" My Dad said, "No it's not! I got it right here out of the Watchtower bound volume..see for your self." As unbelievable as it seemed being in the "truth" all their lives, and VERY active they had never known this teaching. My Dad had even been a elder and my Mom a pioneer!! Apparently, they teach Jesus is the rank and files High Priest, but not their Mediator. My question is..wasn't the High Priest the MEDIATOR?? So what is the difference?? I believe it is all a play on the words. I guess by being in association with the 144,000 your sins are forgiven, and you can approach God. This was all new to me as well..and I thought I knew alot of JW doctorine, but I never knew they taught this! I don't think most JWs do! I was angry when I first saw this for myself. How dare ANYONE try and come between me and my SAVIOR!! What did you think when you first realized this teaching??

  Sincerely,

  Lady Liberty

  Here is the article:

  (From the Watchtower- 1979 April 1st issue page 31, under qustions from the readers.)

  Questions from Readers
  

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  Is Jesus the "mediator" only for anointed Christians?

  The term "mediator" occurs just six times in the Christian Greek Scriptures and Scripturally is always used regarding a formal covenant.

  Moses was the "mediator" of the Law covenant made between God and the nation of Israel. (Gal. 3:19, 20) Christ, though, is the "mediator of a new covenant" between Jehovah and spiritual Israel, the "Israel of God" that will serve as kings and priests in heaven with Jesus. (Heb. 8:6; 9:15; 12:24; Gal. 6:16) At a time when God was selecting those to be taken into that new covenant, the apostle Paul wrote that Christ was the "one mediator between God and men." (1 Tim. 2:5) Reasonably Paul was here using the word "mediator" in the same way he did the other five times, which occurred before the writing of 1 Timothy 2:5, referring to those then being taken into the new covenant for which Christ is "mediator." So in this strict Biblical sense Jesus is the "mediator" only for anointed Christians.

  The new covenant will terminate with the glorification of the remnant who are today in that covenant mediated by Christ. The "great crowd" of "other sheep" that is forming today is not in that new covenant. However, by their associating with the "little flock" of those yet in that covenant they come under benefits that flow from that new covenant. During the millennium Jesus Christ will be their king, high priest and judge. For more detailed information, see AidtoBibleUnderstanding, pages 1129 and 1130 under "Mediator"; also God’s"EternalPurpose"NowTriumphingforMan’sGood, page 160, paragraph 10; also TheWatchtower issues of February 15, 1966, pages 105 through 123; November 15, 1972, pages 685 and 686, under the subheading "Leading the Way to a New Covenant"; and April 1, 1973, pages 198 and 199, under the subheading "The New Covenant."
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  stillajwexelder

  I had to toe the party line so I accepted it and taught it from the platform but one of the things I never accepted
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  Lady Liberty

  I had to toe the party line so I accepted it and taught it from the platform but one of the things I never accepted Dear Stilla....

  I wonder if its typically only the rank and file that buy into it. Amazing..thanks for sharing!! Sincerely, Lady Liberty
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  Alligator Wisdom

  From what I know, not everything the WTS teaches is 100% foolproof correct.

  Jesus is mankind's mediator to God and it is clear in the Bible. I teach it from the platform. I end my prayers at the meetings with Jesus Christ as our mediator...amen! Everyone in the hall says "amen" to that, so they all must agree regardless if the WTS says otherwise. Not a single elder/CO/DO has ever stopped me from saying so. I think because they too don't believe it. Honestly, I don't think many JWs really buy into that reasoning that Jesus is the mediator only for the annointed. Really, they don't.

  Sure, the typical R&F may somehow try to understand the reasoning of the WTS for this topic. But really, not every JW believes it. I should know. I talked with several about this.

  Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
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  Finally-Free

  As a JW I believed Jesus was my mediator. I didn't accept the JW position, but I kept my thoughts to myself. I kept my thoughts to myself about a lot of things. Once I opened my mouth there was no stopping it, and here I am.

  W
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  Bumble Bee

  I didn't know he wasn't until after I left.

  BB
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  greendawn

  I never realised that according to the dub position Jesus is not the mediator but for a tiny number of them. It was later that I realised this long after leaving the dubs. IT is a very strange teaching that some christians are not part of the covenant and can only benefit from it indirctly through those that are. It's the outlandish kind of stuff that cults are made of.
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  wednesday

  This is one of the thigns thaat finaly made we "think".
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  zack

  I found out about this in preperation for Pioneer Service School as part of the curriculum is the hammering home of the all important position of the FDS, and part of this is that you can't have Christ without them. Anyway, when this part was covered in the school, our CO asked the question about who was the mediator. Almost everyone said JC. Well, the younger ones were very confused and vocal about the correct answer from the WTS. They all believed JC was their mediator. Not so. It was very enlightening to many people. It was one of the moments that helped break my mind free from the grip of the WTS. It's ironic that what helped me leave the Org.(I am a precipitous fader) was their own indoctrination school. 2 solid weeks of nothing but the GB and FDS was circuit overload for me. I was able to see it clearly for what it was: lies and deception, double speak, propaganda.
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  JeffT

  This was the issue that pushed my wife (in particular) and myself over the edge. At the time of the 1979 article it somehow just blew past us. I always thought that Jesus was mediator, and as it has been mentioned always ended prayers that way. When we started doing our research we came across this again, only ten years later it registered what they were saying. Wife got in a fight with the relative, who said we must be reading it wrong.

  A few months ago a couple of dubs came to my door. I told them that as a Christian, I couldn't go with a religion that didn't acknowledge Jesus as my mediator. They said "the Watchtower teaches that." I said "when did that change?" He said they've always taught it. I told him to look up the '79 WT and get back to me. I never saw him again.

  I don't think most Witnesses know the official line on this, if called on it, I imagine they react like my wife's relative, that somehow they've got a bad understanding of what was said.