Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 04-01-2012 WT Study (ROYAL PRIESTHOOD)

Well timed to have this review of the Memorial ritual the Sunday before 4/5/2012. Originally, there were only “anointed” members of the Watchtower Society. They were a small group and they were fixated on finding other anointed and preparing for the ascent to heaven at the end of the Gentile times in 1914. When that did not occur, Charles Taze Russell died in 1916 in the midst of WW1 (known as the Great War then), the arrest of the WT board of directors, they were still waiting. The directors were released in 1919 and in 1920 Rutherford came out with the Millions Now Living Will Never Die brochure now targeting 1925 as the date to ascend. The last date promoted as the end or understood by many jws was 1975. The anointed few in comparison to the 7 million non-anointed jws, are still waiting but growing in number, what will the increased in anointed be this year?

YEAR	PARTAKERS
2000	8661
2001	8730
2002	8760
2003	8565
2004	8570
2005	8524
2006	8758
2007	9105
2008	9986
2009	10857
2010	11202
2011	11824

http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/memorial-partakers.php

Few congregations have any anointed present with over 100,000 congregations of jws worldwide. Many see them as doddering, mental cases. But I remember them as younger, friends of my family.

The WTS did not start inviting non-anointed jws to the memorial until 1938, three years after the “new light” about the great crowd/other sheep in 1935. The WTS had a big drop in the anointed from 1925, 90,000 plus to 25,000. Many ways of thinking changed from Russell’s time. Now most jws see Jesus only as an impersonal object, a tool used by God to give them everlasting life. Back then they saw Jesus as a loving, older brother. The great crowd/other sheep are told to see him as a father and God as a grandfather putting them way down the list.

***w82 7/1 p. 20 par. 4 ***

As “servants” dedicated to him through their older Brother, Jesus Christ, they were comforted to know that the “hand” of Jehovah was operating in their favor. (1919)

The non-anointed don’t become sons of God until after the end of the 1,000 year reign and they pass the “final test” from Satan.

*** Survival book chap. 13 p. 104 pars. 13-14 ***

This will be the time when, at long last, mankind is relieved of the physical and mental disabilities produced by sin . When on earth, Jesus instantly healed persons who were paralytics, those who were blind or deaf or who could not speak, and persons whose flesh was disfigured or whose strength had been sapped by disease. Those powerful works were just a foretaste of what he will do for all mankind during his Millennial Reign. With good reason, any who witness or experience such marvelous evidence of Jehovah’s kindness and who then spurn his sovereignty will be destroyed forever. But by means of education in Jehovah’s righteous ways, the thinking and motivations of those who demonstrate sincere faith and obedience will gradually improve until they attain to full perfection. Such lovers of Jehovah will truly have experienced a regeneration, a re-creation. It will be as if they were given a new start in life with a new father, the Eternal Father, Jesus Christ.—Isaiah 26:9; 9:6.

Then, after passing a final test at the end of the thousand years, they will be adopted by Jehovah God through Christ as God’s own sons, as part of His perfect universal family. What an encouraging prospect this is—not only for survivors of the great tribulation but also for all the dead who are brought forth to share in the joy of life in a Paradise earth!—Romans 8:20, 21.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN?

When was a royal priesthood

first promised?

How does the new covenant

produce the royal priesthood?

What benefits will the royal

priesthood bring to mankind?

START OF ARTICLE

1. Why is “the Lord’s evening meal” also called the Memorial,

and what is its purpose?

DURING the evening of Nisan 14 in the year

33 C.E., Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles

observed the Jewish Passover for the last

time. After dismissing the traitorous Judas Iscariot,

Jesus introduced a different observance, later called

“the Lord’s evening meal.” (1 Cor. 11:20) Jesus twice

said: “Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” This

event is also known as the Memorial, a memorial of

Christ with emphasis on his death. (1 Cor. 11:24, 25)

In obedience to this command, Jehovah’s Witnesses

worldwide observe the Memorial annually. In 2012,

Nisan 14 of the Bible calendar begins at sundown,

Thursday, April 5.

COMMENTS

That is a point for discussion, was Judas part of the Lord’s evening meal. How was Judas any worse than the “apostate” and unrepentant Solomon when he died?

Do other Christian groups use the term “Memorial”?

Why do jws celebrate on April 5 this year, and the Jews start celebrating after sundown on Friday, April 6?

http://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/day.asp?tDate=4/6/2012

2. What did Jesus say about the emblems he used?

2 The disciple Luke sums up in two verses what

Jesus did and said on that occasion: “He took a loaf,

gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying:

‘This means my body which is to be given in your

behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.’

Also, the cup in the same way after they had the evening

meal, he saying: ‘This cup means the new covenant

by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured

out in your behalf.’ ” (Luke 22:19, 20) How would

the apostles have understood these words?

COMMENTS

Did the apostles understand Jesus’ to mean that there would be a large group of Christians who would not participate? They did have to be taught that the Gentile Christians were part of this process; but even then they tried to apply the Law to them. Were the Gentiles to worship in separate buildings from the Jewish Christians so the Jewish community would not persecute the Jewish Christians?

3. How would the apostles have understood the meaning of

the emblems?

3 As Jews, the apostles were well-acquainted with

animal sacrifices that priests offered to God at the

temple in Jerusalem. Such offerings were made to

gain Jehovah’s favor, and many served as a token

covering for sin. (Lev. 1:4; 22:17-29) So the apostles

could understand that when Jesus said that his

body and blood were ‘to be given and to

be poured out in their behalf,’ he meant

that he was to give his own perfect life

as a sacrifice. It would be a sacrifice of

far greater worth than that of animals.

COMMENTS

So is the WTS going to show later in this article anything the apostles wrote or said that showed they understood this?

4. What did Jesus mean when he said: “This

cup means the new covenant by virtue of my

blood”?

4 What about Jesus’ words “this cup

means the new covenant by virtue of my

blood”? The apostles knew the prophecy

about the new covenant, recorded

atJeremiah 31:31-33. (Read.) Jesus’

words indicated that he was now introducing

that new covenant, which would

replace the Law covenant that Jehovah

had established with Israel through Moses.

Were the two covenants related?

COMMENTS

Did you have to be born Jewish to be under the Law covenant or could individuals choose, such as proselytes?

Thus could you choose to be under the “new covenant”?

5. What prospects did the Law covenant offer

Israel?

5 Yes, their purposes were closely

linked. When introducing the Law covenant,

Jehovah told the nation: “If you

will strictly obey my voice and will indeed

keep my covenant, then you will

certainly become my special property

out of all other peoples, because the

whole earth belongs to me. And you

yourselves will become to me a kingdom

of priests and a holy nation.” (Ex. 19:5, 6)

What would these words have

meant to the Israelites?

COMMENTS

Did the Israelites understand that they would all be priests, or did they still have a separate tribe (Levi) that only functioned as priests. Even having been recorded so long did this MEAN anything to them?

THE PROMISE OF A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD

6. Of what promise was the Law covenant a

further development?

6 The Israelites understood the term

“covenant,” for Jehovah had concluded

such solemn agreements with their

forefathers Noah and Abraham. (Gen.

6:18; 9:8-17; 15:18; 17:1-9) As part of his

covenant with Abraham, Jehovah had

promised: “By means of your seed all

nations of the earth will certainly bless

themselves.” (Gen. 22:18) The Law covenant

was a further development of this

promise. On the basis of it, Israel could

become Jehovah’s “special property out

of all other peoples.” For what purpose?

To ‘become to Jehovah a kingdom of

priests.’

COMMENTS

So was God saying there was not a chance of a non-jew would be part of this kingdom? Does a non-jw today have a chance even if they call themselves Christian?

7. What was meant by the expression “a kingdom

of priests”?

7 The Israelites were familiar with

kings and priests, but Melchizedek was

the only man of the past who had held

both offices at the same time with Jehovah’s

approval. (Gen. 14:18) Jehovah

now offered to the nation the opportunity

of producing “a kingdom of priests.”

As inspired writings later indicated,

this meant the opportunity to furnish a

royal priesthood, kings who would also

be priests.—1 Pet. 2:9.

COMMENTS

Were the Israelites familiar, having the law and reading it and studying it are 2 different things. How many jws can explain 1914 to someone at the door?

Just remember that anointed jws are not yet kings and priests here on earth, and never will be per WTS dogma.

8. What services do divinely appointed priests

provide?

8 A king, of course, rules. But what

does a priest do? Hebrews 5:1 explains:

“Every high priest taken from among

men is appointed in behalf of men over

the things pertaining to God, that he

may offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”

So a priest appointed by Jehovah represents

sinful people before God by

means of prescribed offerings, pleading

with Him on their behalf. Conversely,

a priest also represents Jehovah before

people, instructing them in divine law.

(Lev. 10:8-11; Mal. 2:7) In these ways, a

divinely appointed priest works to reconcile

people to God.

COMMENTS

So why if perfect Jesus is the High Priest, why does he need assistants…like the imperfect human high priest in Israel?

9. (a) On what condition could Israel realize

the promise of providing “a kingdom of

priests”? (b) Why did Jehovah establish a priesthood

within Israel? (c) What prevented Israel

from furnishing “a kingdom of priests” under

the Law covenant?

9 The Law covenant thus offered to Israel

the opportunity to produce a royal

priesthood that would benefit “all other

peoples.” This awesome prospect came

with a condition, though: “If you will

strictly obey my voice and will indeed

keep my covenant.” Could the Israelites

‘strictly obey Jehovah’s voice’? Yes, to a

certain degree. Could they do so perfectly?

No. (Rom. 3:19, 20) For that reason,

Jehovah established in the meantime

a priesthood within Israel, separate

from any kingship, to offer animal sacrifices

for sins that the Israelites would

inevitably commit. (Lev. 4:1–6:7) These

sins included those of the priests themselves.

(Heb. 5:1-3; 8:3) Jehovah accepted

such sacrifices, but they could not

fully compensate for the sins of the offerers.

The priesthood under the Law

covenant could not fully reconcile even

sincere Israelites to God. The apostle

Paul put it this way: “It is not possible

for the blood of bulls and of goats to

take sins away.” (Heb. 10:1-4) Because

of their violating the Law, the Israelites

actually came under a curse. (Gal. 3:10)

They could hardly serve the world as a

royal priesthood in such a condition.

COMMENTS

Did the Jews ever come close? Even Jesus when he came said they had made the word of God invalid because of human doctrines.

Didn’t the heads of households function as priests? Did you have to be a Jew to be a priest (Melchizedek)?

Wasn’t all humankind under that same curse?

10. What purpose did the Law covenant serve?

10 Was Jehovah’s promise that they

could furnish “a kingdom of priests”

therefore an empty one? Not at all. If

they sincerely tried to obey, they would

have this opportunity—but not under

the Law. Why not? (Read Galatians 3:

19-25.) For those who faithfully endeavored

to observe it, the Law had the effect

of preserving pure worship. It made

the Jews aware of their transgressions

and of the need for a sacrifice greater

than their high priest could offer. It

was a tutor that would lead them to

the Christ, or Messiah, titles that mean

“Anointed One.” However, when the

Messiah arrived, he would introduce

the new covenant foretold by Jeremiah.

Those who accepted the Christ were invited

to become party to the new covenant

and would actually become “a

kingdom of priests.” Let us see how.

COMMENTS

Basically, the law covenant said that something beyond humans was needed. That humans could not do it.

So non-jws who say they have accepted the Christ, are they qualified or do they have to be jws since 1879 and the formation of the Watchtower Society and identification as the only true religion?

THE NEW COVENANT PRODUCES

A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD

11. How did Jesus become the foundation of a

royal priesthood?

11 In 29 C.E., the Messiah arrived in

the person of Jesus of Nazareth. At

about 30 years of age, he presented himself

to do Jehovah’s special will for him,

symbolizing this by water baptism. Jehovah

acknowledged him as “my Son,

the beloved,” anointing him, not with

oil, but with holy spirit. (Matt. 3:13-

17; Acts 10:38) That anointing commissioned

him as High Priest for believing

ones of the entire human family and as

their future King. (Heb. 1:8, 9; 5:5, 6) He

would be the foundation of a truly royal

priesthood.

COMMENTS

Was anyone besides John the Baptist present for Jesus’ baptism? If so, who, and where does it indicate that in the Bible? Jesus was not high priest on earth, there already was one on earth, and Jesus was not from the tribe of Levi.

12. What did Jesus’ sacrifice make possible?

12 As High Priest, what sacrifice

could Jesus offer that would completely

cover the inherited sin of believing

ones? As he indicated when instituting

the Memorial of his death, his own perfect

human life was the sacrifice. (Read

Hebrews 9:11, 12.) From the time of his

baptism in 29 C.E., Jesus as High Priest

submitted to tests and training until the

time of his actual death. (Heb. 4:15; 5:7-

10) After he was resurrected, he ascended

to heaven and presented the value of

his sacrifice to Jehovah himself. (Heb. 9:

24) Thereafter, Jesus could plead with

Jehovah on behalf of those exercising

faith in his sacrifice and assist them to

serve God with everlasting life in view.

(Heb. 7:25) His sacrifice also served to

validate the new covenant.—Heb. 8:6;

9:15.

COMMENTS

Jesus’ mother, Mary, was imperfect, how then could Jesus be perfect?

“value” because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom?

“assist them” only the anointed?

13. What were the prospects of those invited

to be in the new covenant?

13 Those invited to be in the new covenant were

also to be anointed with holy

spirit. (2 Cor. 1:21) Faithful Jews and

then Gentiles were included. (Eph. 3:

5, 6) What were the prospects of those

in the new covenant? They would receive

true forgiveness of their sins. Jehovah

had promised: “I shall forgive their

error, and their sin I shall remember no

more.” (Jer. 31:34) With their sins legally

canceled, they would be in a position

to become “a kingdom of priests.” Addressing

anointed Christians, Peter

wrote: “You are ‘a chosen race, a royal

priesthood, a holy nation, a people for

special possession, that you should declare

abroad the excellencies’ of the one

that called you out of darkness into his

wonderful light.” (1 Pet. 2:9) Peter here

quotes Jehovah’s words to Israel when

introducing the Law and applies them

to Christians in the new covenant.—Ex.

19:5, 6.

COMMENTS

Faithful today = only jws?

Did you realize that the WTS teaches that the anointed are instantly perfect upon resurrection yet non-anointed must take 1,000 years to reach that same state?

A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD BRINGS

BENEFITS TO ALL MANKIND

14. Where would the royal priesthood serve?

14 Where would those in the new covenant

serve? On earth, where, as a

group, they would serve as a priesthood,

representing Jehovah to people

by ‘declaring abroad his excellencies’

and providing spiritual food. (Matt. 24:

45; 1 Pet. 2:4, 5) After their death and

resurrection, they would serve with

Christ in heaven as both kings and

priests, fully carrying out the functions

of both offices. (Luke 22:29; 1 Pet. 1:

3-5; Rev. 1:6) Confirming this, the apostle

John saw in vision a number of spirit

creatures near Jehovah’s throne in heaven.

In “a new song” addressed to “the

Lamb,” they sing: “With your blood you

bought persons for God out of every

tribe and tongue and people and nation,

and you made them to be a kingdom

and priests to our God, and they are to

rule as kings over the earth.” (Rev. 5:8-

10) In a later vision, John says of these

rulers: “They will be priests of God and

of the Christ, and will rule as kings with

The royal priesthood will bring

eternal benefits to mankind

him for the thousand years.” (Rev. 20:6)

Together with Christ, they make up a

royal priesthood to benefit all mankind.

COMMENTS

Do some religions teach that Christians will rule on earth in Jerusalem? Did the WTS teach that?

At the same time Rutherford taught that the "ancient worthies" would be resurrected as already perfect men and would rule in Jerusalem over the earthly part of the kingdom. Would they shuttle back and forth between Beth Sarim and Jerusalem?

"Seventy jubilees of fifty years each would be a total of 3500 years. That period of time beginning 1575 before A.D. 1 of necessity would end in the fall of the year 1925, at which time the type ends and the great antitype must begin. What, then, should we expect to take place? The chief thing to be restored is the human race to life; and since other Scriptures definitely fix the fact that there will be a resurrection of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other faithful ones of old, and that these will have the first favor, we may expect 1925 to witness the return of these faithful men of Israel from the condition of death, being resurrected and fully restored to perfect humanity and made the visible, legal representatives of the new order of things on earth." Millions Now Living Will Never Die p.88

The Watchtower, February 15, 1925, page 57, "We know the work of restitution must come to the Jews first, and through them to the rest of the world. As the Scriptures state that Jerusalem is to be the capital of the world and that the ancient worthies are to be princes in all the earth, we are warranted in expecting that the kingdom work will begin at Jerusalem."

15, 16. What benefits will the royal priesthood

bring to mankind?

15 What benefits will the 144,000

bring to those on earth? Revelation

chapter 21 portrays them as a heavenly

city, New Jerusalem, called “the Lamb’s

wife.” (Rev. 21:9) Verses 2 to 4 state:

“I saw also the holy city, New Jerusalem,

coming down out of heaven from

God and prepared as a bride adorned

for her husband. With that I heard a

loud voice from the throne say: ‘Look!

The tent of God is with mankind, and

he will reside with them, and they will

be his peoples. And God himself will be

with them. And he will wipe out every

tear from their eyes, and death will be

no more, neither will mourning nor

outcry nor pain be anymore. The former

things have passed away.’ ” What

wonderful blessings! The elimination of

death will remove the principal cause

of tears, mourning, outcry, and pain. It

will mean lifting faithful humans to perfection,

completely reconciling them to

God.

COMMENTS

Remember the anointed did not give a perfect life; they are not the sacrifice, Jesus is.

16 Further describing the blessings

this royal priesthood will bring, Revelation

22:1, 2 states: “He showed me a river

of water of life, clear as crystal, flowing

out from the throne of God and of

the Lamb down the middle of [New Jerusalem’s]

broad way. And on this side

of the river and on that side there were

trees of life producing twelve crops of

fruit, yielding their fruits each month.

And the leaves of the trees were for the

curing of the nations.” With these symbolic

provisions, “the nations,” or family

groups of mankind, will be completely

cured of the imperfection inherited

from Adam. Truly, ‘the former things

will have passed away.’

COMMENTS

Completely cured – but only at the end of the 1,000 year reign of Christ.

THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD

COMPLETES ITS WORK

17. What will the royal priesthood eventually

accomplish?

17 By the end of 1,000 years of beneficial

service, the royal priesthood will

have elevated its earthly subjects to

human perfection. As High Priest and

King, Christ will then present the completely

restored human family to Jehovah.

(Read 1 Corinthians 15:22-26.) The

royal priesthood will have fully accomplished

its purpose.

COMMENTS

“Restored” all but the children of non-jws who are slaughtered at Armageddon because of being born in the wrong time period and having the wrong parents (non-jws).

18. After the royal priesthood has accomplished

its work, how will Jehovah use Christ’s

associates?

18 Thereafter, how will Jehovah use

these highly privileged associates of

Christ? According to Revelation 22:5,

“they will rule as kings forever and

ever.” Over whom? The Bible does not

say. But the quality of life that they possess

and their experience in helping a

world of imperfect people will equip

them to hold a regal position in Jehovah’s

purposes forever.

COMMENTS

Rule as kings but no longer priests. Since everyone will be perfect what kind of rules do they need, laws, etc.

19. Of what will those present at the Memorial

be reminded?

19 When we gather to observe the Memorial

of Jesus’ death on Thursday,

April 5, 2012, these Bible teachings will

be on our minds. The small remnant of

anointed Christians still on earth will

partake of the emblems of unleavened

bread and red wine, signifying their being

party to the new covenant. These

symbols of Christ’s sacrifice will remind

them of their awesome privileges and

responsibilities in God’s eternal purpose.

May all of us attend with profound

appreciation for Jehovah God’s provision

of a royal priesthood to benefit all

mankind.

COMMENTS

Small remnant but ever growing….

Is the “new covenant” mentioned at 1 Timothy 2:5, where Jesus is said to be a mediator, or that Jesus is a “legal” mediator, why then does the WTS say he is the mediator only for anointed Christians (jws)? Isn’t Jesus mediating prayers?

Even the WTS says this scripture is about prayer not the new covenant.

*** w02 7/1 p 8”***

Is it proper to pray to Jesus’ earthly mother, Mary, or to particular “saints,” asking them to intercede with God in one’s behalf? The Bible’s direct answer is: “There is only one mediator between God and mankind, himself a man, Christ Jesus.”—1 Timothy 2:5.

http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/mediator.php

CONCLUDING COMMENTS

I found this to be a time for sisters to parade their new outfits like non-jws would at Easter Sunday…while jws held the people at Easter in derision for doing the same thing. Jws would make fun that these people only came once a year to church as I looked around at jws that only came once a year to the memorial.

I saw the push and pull as to which family or sister would provide the flowers, the crystal glasses, the linen napkins, the “special” table, the wine and the bread.

I would see the elders run up and greet people and smile and say it was good to see them there only to return to the men who ignored you the rest of the year (a phenomenon seen during the circuit overseer’s visit).

Little is said about Jesus………..and those attending are made to feel that their part in the kingdom is small and unnecessary.

Not going….11 years now.

Love, Blondie

Blind_Of_Lies

Jeeze Blondie you put a LOT of work into that! Thank you!

I am going to be honest however, I didn’t read past the first paragraph. Undoubtedly that entire post was a breakdown of this week’s Watchtower study and a point by point call out of all the complete BS that streams out of the WTBTS via the study.

I have spent my entire life (less the last 18 months or so) reading their nonsense and frankly I refuse to let them occupy another nerve ending in my brain. Thanks for calling it all out however, I am sure it will benefit those who still read and study that stuff J

Amelia Ashton

Thanks Blondie.

I found this to be a time for sisters to parade their new outfits like non-jws would at Easter Sunday…while jws held the people at Easter in derision for doing

the same thing. Jws would make fun that these people only came once a year to church as I looked around at jws that only came once a year to the

memorial.

I remember reading years ago that the churches judge a nation's faith by the numbers who turn out for Easter Sunday rather than Chritmas Mass.

Disillusioned Lost-Lamb

So much arrogance and so many lies; this makes my head hurt.

blondie

Blind of Lies, I too wonder how I do this week after week (mostly). But I do it only 3 to 4 paragraphs at a time and most of this are repeats from years ago on JWN. Some articles are soooooooooooo boring although most are. Just read my opening and concluding comments.

Amelia, that was my observation even during my years as a "faithful" jw. I hated the memorial which highlighted the hypocrisies. It hs been 11 soon 12 years of not going. It would make more sense to stay home and do it on Friday night, April 6, the correct date and have some matzoh and red wine at home if you have that spiritual need.

DLL, take an aspirin and lie down. What amazes me is that I sat through the meetings for 3 years, writing down my "comments" and posted them on JWN for 1 before stopping all meetings.

PaintedToeNail

Thanks again, blondie!

ziddina

Blondie, thank you so much for plowing thru this article and posting allthe extra info hi-liting the inconsistencies and hypocrisies!!!

bobld

Thanks,Blondie

I appreciate your comments.You hit them on the head.They(GB) make all these assumptions about themselves and end up saying,"The Bible does not say".

Bobcat

Notice how they emphasize "a kingdom of priests" and neatly set aside "and a holy nation." (Peter is quoting from the LXX of Ex 19:6 by the way.)

As you mentioned, the Jews who heard this in Sinai understood that not all would be priests, but the covenant included the entire nation. The whole nation was commanded to eat the Passover, not just the priests. Conversely, those who were not to eat the Passover were 'not to come near it' (Ex 12:43-49) Thus, there was no such thing as merely 'observing' the Passover. (Aside from the complete nonsense of inviting someone to watch you eat a meal.)

Jesus told Peter that those 'who have followed me would sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel' Similarly, the 144,000 mentioned in Rev 7 are from "out of" (Gk: ek ) the twelve tribes. They don't make up the tribes, rather, they are selected from among them. (As the Jewish priests would have been until the provision of a priestly tribe. - Num 3:41) As a comparison, the great crowd is from "out of" every nation etc. The priests of Rev 5:9, 10 are from "out of" every tribe, etc. Each group mentioned is smaller than the group(s) they came "out of."

In Galatians 6:16 "the Israel of God" is paralleled with "all those who will walk orderly by this rule of conduct." (The word "even" in this verse is actually the conjunction normally translated "and." The NWT translates it as "even" because they - rightly - understood the conjunction to be explanatory [epexegetical].) In other words "the Israel of God" is another way of describing "all those who will walk orderly by this rule of conduct."

I could go on about the relationship between the new covenant and adoption as sons. John 1:12 says that all who exercise faith in Jesus are 'given authority to become God's children.'

Yet in all these, the Society finds some reason why it doesn't mean what it actually says. The WT makes a living off of saying they follow the Bible - but please don't take the Bible at its word ?!? I've come to the conclusion that there are just too mant examples of this to be able to say that the Society does this in ignorance.

Bobcat

Ugh! I had to comment again because I saw 1 Tim 2:5. (Jesus being the mediator between God and men.)

A couple years ago a man ranted with some sisters in field service about the NWT's "all sorts of" in 1 Tim 2:4. The sisters came to me and I checked the Greek and Lexicons and sure enough "all sorts of" is a possible translation of the Greek pas . Case closed. It only occurred later to me what the NWT was actually doing.

Verse 4 says that God's will is for "all" / "all sorts of" men to be saved. Verse 5 starts out by saying "For" 'there is one mediator between God and men.' According to the AMG Greek lexicon, "For" is a causative particle ... expressing the reason for what has been [said] before." In other words, God wants "all" / "all sorts of" men to be saved as members of the covenant that Jesus mediates. The NWT can't say "all" because that would go beyond the 144,000 that the Society says are the only ones in that covenant. From their standpoint it has to be "all sorts of" or "all kinds of" as opposed to "all." Of course, the NWT doesn't mind saying "all" in 2 Peter 3:9 because there is no mention of the new covenant there. For the same reason they don't mind saying "all everywhere [should] repent" in Acts 17:30.

Some time later we had a KM article on the need to preach to "all sorts of" people (the article quoting from 1 Tim 2:4). I told the PO that the writer of the KM article didn't understand why the Society said "all sorts of" in that verse and, in effect, the KM article was misapplying the verse (according to how the Society wanted it understood). The PO acted like he knew what I was talking about, but he didn't seem pleased that I would suggest that the KM writer was ignorant about such things.

The Society uses 1 Tim 2:4, 5 one way when they talk about the new covenant and another way when it suits them. I have to give this to them, they "Adroitly (as in with great skill) set aside the commandment of God in order to retain [their] tradition." Mark 7:9

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 04-01-2012 WT Study (ROYAL PRIESTHOOD)

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