Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 05-12-2013 WT Study (HEART)

The good figs were “very good,” and pictured, in the first instance, those Jews who would act in faith in returning from Babylonian exile after 70 years to restore Jehovah’s worship in Jerusalem. In modern-day fulfillment, they represent the faithful remnant who have returned from captivity in Babylon the Great, particularly from Christendom’s religions, from 1919 onward.

*** w79 9/15 p. 20 par. 18 “Figs” That Give Pleasure Even to God ***

If spiritual Israelites of today do not live up to the new covenant, if they do not uphold Jehovah’s universal sovereignty, if they do not support the Messianic kingdom of his Son Jesus Christ, they will have an outcome like that of those ancient “bad figs,” in the coming “great tribulation.” (Matt. 24:21, 22) Then, also, the religious population of Christendom, who pretend to be spiritual Israelites, will come to their calamitous finish like “bad figs.”

And again in 1994

*** w94 4/15 p. 30 Do You Remember? ***

In Jeremiah chapter 24, what did the two baskets of figs, the good figs and those that were bad, represent?

The good figs represented the Jews initially taken captive to Babylon, from which a remnant would return to Judah. The bad figs stood for King Zedekiah and those with him who rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar despite having taken an oath in God’s name. Comparably, we find in modern times the remnant of spiritual Israel, who have produced good fruitage in their lives, in contrast with the clergy of Christendom, who have produced rotten fruitage.—3/1, pages 14-16.

START OF ARTICLE

1, 2. Why might some be interested in figs?

DO YOU enjoy eating figs, either fresh or dried?

Many do, so edible figs are cultivated widely. Ancient

Jews valued the fruit of fig trees. (Nah. 3:12; Luke 13:

6-9) Figs contain fiber, antioxidants, and minerals;

hence, some say that they are good for the heart.

COMMENTS

Not me, I hate figs, can hardly choke down fig newtons, and date bars…I would be a poor ancient Jew.

2 Jehovah once linked figs to hearts. God was not

describing the nutritional benefit of eating figs. He

was speaking figuratively. What he said through the

prophet Jeremiah has implications for your heart and

the hearts of your loved ones. As we consider what

he said, think about what this can mean for Christians.

COMMENTS

Back in my younger days, the WTS had a convention with beating hearts out in the infield at a baseball stadium. I can’t quite remember the year but I do remember it was “adjusted” the doctrine connected with it.

They also biblicized this idea now medically outdated:

*** w75 9/1 p. 519 Insight on the News ***

A peculiar factor sometimes noted is a so-called ‘personality transplant.’ That is, the recipient in some cases has seemed to adopt certain personality factors of the person from whom the organ came. One young promiscuous woman who received a kidney from her older, conservative, well-behaved sister, at first seemed very upset. Then she began imitating her sister in much of her conduct. Another patient claimed to receive a changed outlook on life after his kidney transplant. Following a transplant, one mild-tempered man became aggressive like the donor. The problem may be largely or wholly mental. But it is of interest, at least, that the Bible links the kidneys closely with human emotions.—Compare Jeremiah 17:10 and Revelation 2:23.

3. What did the figs spoken of in Jeremiah chapter 24 stand

for?

3 Let us first consider something God said in Jeremiah’s

day about figs. In 617 B.C.E., the nation of Judah

was in a bad spiritual state. God gave a vision

about what the future held, illustrating it with two

types of figs—“very good” figs and “very bad” ones.

(Read Jeremiah 24:1-3.) The bad figs meant King Zedekiah

and others like him who faced severe treatment

by King Nebuchadnezzar and his troops. But

what of Ezekiel, Daniel and his three companions already

in Babylon, and some Jews soon to be taken

there? They were like good figs. A remnant of them

would return to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple. In

time, that did occur.—Jer. 24:8-10; 25:11, 12; 29:10.

COMMENTS

Yes, another OT example…no NT Christian experiences considering it is supposed to be a “Christian” (only jw) audience?

4. What encouragement can we draw from what God said

about the good figs?

4 Jehovah said of those represented by the good

figs: “I will give them a heart to know me, that I

am Jehovah; and they must become my people.” (Jer.

24:7) That is the theme text of this article, and how

encouraging it is! God is willing to give individuals

“a heart to know” him. In this case, the

“heart” relates to one’s disposition. Certainly,

you want to have such a heart and

to be part of his people. Steps to that end

include studying and applying his Word,

repenting and turning around, dedicating

your life to God, and being baptized

in the name of the Father, Son, and holy

spirit. (Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 3:19) You

may already have taken those steps, or

you may be regularly associating with Jehovah’s Witnesses

and be in the process of doing so.

COMMENTS

Because it is an OT example no room for individuals to get a heart to know Jesus Christ.

His people = today, only jws

Are jws baptized in the name of the holy spirit? No only in the name of a “spirit-directed organization.” Did you know that this is the only place where all three, Father, Son, and holy spirit are mentioned in the Bible in regard to baptism? Are they identified as Christians?

*** w06 4/1 p. 22 ‘Go and Make Disciples, Baptizing Them’ ***

The Two Baptismal Questions

On the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will?

Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with God’s spirit-directed organization?

5. About whose heart did Jeremiah principally

write?

5 Whether we have taken some or all

of those steps, we still need to give attention

to our attitude and conduct.

You can see why from what else Jeremiah wrote

about the heart. Some chapters

of the book of Jeremiah dealt with nations

round about, yet its main focus was

the nation of Judah during the reigns of

five of its kings. (Jer.1:15, 16) Yes, Jeremiah

principally wrote about men, women,

and children who were in a dedicated relationship

with Jehovah. Their ancestors

had voluntarily chosen to be a nation in

that relationship. (Ex. 19:3-8) And in Jeremiah’s

day, the people confirmed being

dedicated to God. They said: “We have

come to you, for you, O Jehovah, are our

God.” (Jer. 3:22) However, what do you

think the condition of their heart was?

COMMENTS

Why no examples of our first century Christians that Christians today can more closely identify with?

FIGURATIVE HEART SURGERY NEEDED?

6. Why should we be especially interested in

what God said about the heart?

6 Modern physicians can use advanced

technology to see what the condition

of a heart is and how it is functioning.

Jehovah, though, can do much

more, as he did in Jeremiah’s day. God is

outstandingly qualified, as we see from

his words: “The heart is more treacherous

than anything else and is desperate.

Who can know it? I, Jehovah, am searching

the heart, . . . to give to each one

according to his ways, according to the

fruitage of his dealings.” (Jer. 17:9, 10)

“Searching the heart” involves no medical

exam of the literal heart, which in

70 or 80 years might beat some three billion

times. Rather, Jehovah was speaking

of the figurative heart. That “heart”

refers to a person’s entire inner self, encompassing

his desires, thoughts, disposition,

attitudes, and goals. You have

such a heart. God can examine it, and to

a degree, you can do so too.

COMMENTS

Can humans, elders, examine or read hearts? Partially…?

*** w08 1/15 p. 14 par. 7 “Rightly Disposed” Ones Are Responding ***

Jehovah has appointed Jesus as Judge; hence, we do not have the right to judge anybody. That is fitting, since—unlike Jesus—we can judge only by the “mere appearance to [our] eyes” or “the thing heard by [our] ears,” whereas Jesus can read the intimate thoughts and reasonings of the heart.—Isa. 11:1-5; 2 Tim. 4:1.

*** w81 7/1 p. 21 par. 15 The God of Love Hates a Divorcing ***

Elders can base their decision only on the apparent repentance, but they are unable to read the heart fully.

7. How did Jeremiah describe the heart of most

Jews in his day?

7 To prepare for this examination, we

might ask, ‘What was the condition of

the figurative heart of most Jews in Jeremiah’s

time?’ To answer, consider an unusual

phrase that Jeremiah used: “All the

house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”

He was not referring to normal circumcision

of Jewish males, for he had said:

“ ‘Look! Days are coming,’ is the utterance

of Jehovah, ‘and I will hold an accounting

with everyone circumcised but

still in uncircumcision.’ ” Thus even circumcised

Jewish men were “uncircumcised

in heart.” (Jer. 9:25, 26) What did

this mean?

COMMENTS

Uncircumcised in heart…….only males then, only males today figuratively?

Are Christians required to be circumcised even figuratively, even women?

If per the WTS only some “Christians” are spiritual Israelites, the 144,000, do the non-anointed jws have to be “circumcised”?

(Romans 2:28, 29) 28 For he is not a Jew who is one on the outside, nor is circumcision that which is on the outside upon the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one on the inside, and [his] circumcision is that of the heart by spirit, and not by a written code. The praise of that one comes, not from men, but from God.

Paragraph 5:

You can see why from what else Jeremiah wrote

about the heart. Some chapters

of the book of Jeremiah dealt with nations

round about, yet its main focus was

the nation of Judah during the reigns of

five of its kings. (Jer.1:15, 16)

8, 9. As regards their heart, what did most

Jews need to do?

8 We find a clue as to the meaning of

“uncircumcised in heart” in what God

urged the Jews to do: “Take away the

foreskins of your hearts, you men of Judah

and inhabitants of Jerusalem; that

my rage may not go forth . . . on account

of the badness of your dealings.” But from

where did their bad dealings originate?

From inside, from their heart. (Read

Mark 7:20-23.) Yes, through Jeremiah,

God accurately diagnosed the source of

the Jews’ bad dealings. Their heart was

stubbornly rebellious. Their motives and

thinking were displeasing to him. (Read

Jeremiah 5:23, 24; 7:24-26.) God told

them: “Get yourselves circumcised to Jehovah,

and take away the foreskins of

your hearts.”—Jer. 4:4; 18:11, 12.

COMMENTS

So God has to go through Jeremiah, a man, to “diagnose” the source of the Jews to know their motives and thinking? Does God have to go through the “Governing Body”?

9 Hence, Jews in Jeremiah’s day needed

figurative heart surgery—‘circumcision

of the heart’—even as those in Moses’

time did. (Deut. 10:16; 30:6) To ‘take

away the foreskin of their heart’ meant

getting rid of what made their heart unresponsive—

their thinking, affections, or

motives that were in conflict with God’s.

—Acts 7:51.

COMMENTS

It was only the Jews, not the non-Jews. Do jws today who are not “spiritual Jews” have to get circumcised? Based on Colossians, 2:11, were the other sheep being discussed?

*** w98 2/1 p. 20 par. 6 The Other Sheep and the New Covenant ***

Some 1,500 years before the making of the new covenant, Moses urged the Israelites: “You must circumcise the foreskin of your hearts.” (Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 4:4) While compulsory fleshly circumcision passed away with the Law, both the anointed and the other sheep must “circumcise” their hearts. (Colossians 2:11)

(Colossians 2:11, 12) 11 By relationship with him YOU were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands by the stripping off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision that belongs to the Christ, 12 for YOU were buried with him in [his] baptism, and by relationship with him YOU were also raised up together through [YOUR] faith in the operation of God, who raised him up from the dead.

Does the WTS teach that the other sheep will be buried with Christ in his baptism?

*** it-1 p. 252 Baptism ***

He anointed Jesus, making him the Christ or Anointed One. (Ac 10:38) Thus God baptized Jesus with the holy spirit in order that, through Jesus, his followers might thereafter be baptized with holy spirit. Therefore, those who become joint heirs with him, with heavenly hopes, have to be “baptized into Christ Jesus,” that is, into the Anointed Jesus who, at the time of his anointing, was also begotten to be a spiritual son of God. They thereby become united to him, their Head, and they become members of the congregation that is the body of Christ.—1Co 12:12, 13, 27; Col 1:18.

“A HEART TO KNOW” HIM TODAY

10. As exemplified by David, what should we

want to do?

10 How thankful we can be that God

offers us insight into the figurative heart!

‘But why,’ some might wonder, ‘would

this be of concern to Jehovah’s Witnesses

today?’ It is not that many Christians

in the congregations are walking

in badness or becoming “bad figs,” as

were many Jews back then. On the contrary,

God’s servants today are a devoted,

clean people. Still, reflect on the plea

that David made to Jehovah: “Search

through me, O God, and know my heart.

Examine me, and know my disquieting

thoughts, and see whether there is in me

any painful way.”—Ps. 17:3; 139:23, 24.

COMMENTS

“offers us” – only selected anointed jws at headquarters, all or some of the GB.

Christians = only jws

God’s servants = only jws

Did David ask to be searched prior to his adultery with Bathsheba and having her husband killed? Did he listen…or disobey?

11, 12. (a) Why should each of us examine his

own heart? (b) What will God not do?

11 Jehovah wants each of us to come

into and remain in a condition acceptable

to him. Concerning the righteous

one, Jeremiah acknowledged: “You, O Jehovah

of armies, are examining the righteous

one; you are seeing the kidneys

and the heart.” (Jer. 20:12) If the Almighty

is examining the heart of even

the righteous one, should not we ourselves

do some honest self-inspection?

(Read Psalm 11:5.) As we do so, we

might discern an attitude, a goal, or a

deep feeling that needs attention. We

could recognize something that is making

our heart less sensitive, some ‘foreskin

of our heart,’ as it were, which we

realize ought to be removed. That would

be figurative heart surgery. If you agree

that it would be good to examine your

figurative heart, what might you look

for? And how might you make any needed

adjustments?—Jer. 4:4.

COMMENTS

Acceptable to God = not men pleasers

Do others make the examination or are we personally responsible to do so?

(1 John 4:1) 4 Beloved ones, do not believe every inspired expression, but test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God, because many false prophets have gone forth into the world.

Self-inspection does not mean running to the elders or letting the elders impose their judgments on us. We would be no different than the Jews in Jesus day that made the word of God invalid by letting the religious leaders impose their personal beliefs on the common people.

(John 12:42, 43) 42 All the same, many even of the rulers actually put faith in him, but because of the Pharisees they would not confess [him], in order not to be expelled from the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory of men more than even the glory of God.

(1 Corinthians 7:23) 23 YOU were bought with a price; stop becoming slaves of men.

(Galatians 1:10) 10 Is it, in fact, men I am now trying to persuade or God? Or am I seeking to please men? If I were yet pleasing men, I would not be Christ’s slave.

12 One thing is certain: We should not

expect Jehovah to force us to change.

He said of “the good figs” that he would

“give them a heart to know” him. He did

not say that he would force a change of

heart on them. They needed to desire a

sensitive heart that reflected their knowing

God. Would we not need the same?

COMMENTS

Change or live; don’t change die; but who decides what are the changes? The Israelites had 600 written laws and they failed. The WTS says there are only 2 laws per Jesus, but they have to explain it to others, how many “laws” and “rules” are there now, are they consistent from congregation to congregation?

*** w96 9/1 p. 20 par. 3 Living by the Law of the Christ ***

Indeed, Christians are obligated to observe all commands in the Bible that are directed to followers of Christ. And there is more. Jehovah’s organization, as well as individual congregations, has to establish necessary rules and procedures in order to preserve good order. (1 Corinthians 14:33, 40) Why, Christians could not even meet together if they had no rules as to when, where, and how to hold such meetings! (Hebrews 10:24, 25) Cooperating with reasonable guidelines laid down by those given authority in the organization is also a part of fulfilling the law of the Christ.—Hebrews 13:17.

13, 14. In what sense might a Christian’s heart

be harming him?

13 Jesus stated: “Out of the heart come

wicked reasonings, murders, adulteries,

fornications, thieveries, false testimonies,

blasphemies.” (Matt. 15:19) Clearly,

if a brother’s insensitive heart moved

him to commit adultery or fornication

and he remained unrepentant, he could

lose God’s favor permanently. Yet, even

a person who has not committed such

a wrong might be allowing an improper

desire to grow in his heart. (Read Matthew

5:27, 28.) This is where making a

personal examination of the heart may

help. If you scrutinized your heart,

would you find an improper feeling toward

someone of the opposite sex, secret

longings that God would not condone

and that need to be removed?

COMMENTS

Brother’s (not sister’s?)

Lose God’s favor permanently = eternal death?

Where does pornography fit it since the WTS paints it as a male problem?

Here is where David would be a good example to use of someone who allowed “an improper desire to grow in his heart” which lead to adultery (normally a capital crime—death except for the special exceptions that were forgiven due to “repentance.” Can you believe that David and later Manasseh were the only 2 Jews that side-stepped executive because God personally stepped in and pardoned them?

14 Or a brother who has not actually

committed “murders” might let rancor

fester in his heart to the point of hating

a fellow Christian. (Lev. 19:17) Will

he put forth effort to rid himself of such

emotions that could make his heart unresponsive?—

Matt. 5:21, 22.

COMMENTS

Are jws allowed to hate non-jws?

Why does a Jewish law apply in the case of a Christian? Didn’t Christ fulfill the law and it no longer applies to Christians, that’s why Gentile Christians did not have to be circumcised????

What DOES the NT say about hating fellow believers?

(1 John 3:15) 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a manslayer, and YOU know that no manslayer has everlasting life remaining in him.

(1 John 3:10) 10 The children of God and the children of the Devil are evident by this fact: Everyone who does not carry on righteousness does not originate with God, neither does he who does not love his brother.

(1 John 4:20) 20 If anyone makes the statement: “I love God,” and yet is hating his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot be loving God, whom he has not seen.

15, 16. (a) Give an example of how a Christian

might be “uncircumcised in heart.”

(b) Why do you think an ‘uncircumcised heart’

would be displeasing to Jehovah?

15 Happily, most Christians do not

have such a ‘heart problem.’ Yet, Jesus

also spoke of “wicked reasonings.”

These are views or attitudes that can

taint many aspects of life. For example, a

person could have a distorted sense of

loyalty to his relatives. Of course, Chris-

Christians want to have “natural affection”

for relatives, not being like many who

lack such affection in these “last days.”

(2 Tim. 3:1, 3) It is possible, though, to

go to extremes in showing that affection.

Many feel that “blood is thicker than

water.” Thus, they might defend or side

with relatives at all costs, taking it personally

if a relative is offended. Think

of what strong feelings of that kind led

Dinah’s brothers to do. (Gen. 34:13, 25-

30) And imagine what was in Absalom’s

heart, leading him to murder his half

brother Amnon. (2 Sam. 13:1-30) Were

not “wicked reasonings” behind those

cases?

COMMENTS

Most Christians = 51%, higher? = only jws (non-jws are only professed or so-called Christians)

Note that the WTS does not pick a lack of love first.

Distorted loyalty to relatives – non-jw, jw?

Defend or side with relatives – non-jw or jw?

So how many “Christians” are siding with offended relatives (jw?) that it takes a paragraph in a study article?

Would they kill a whole city of people to avenge their sister’s rape? Was it her honor or their family honor (or God’s) they were worried about?

Remember that Amnon had raped Tamar, his half-sister and Absalom’s full sister, and although David knew about, David did nothing. This was incest and punishable by death anyway. Was David protecting Amnon because he was the firstborn?

16 Understandably, true Christians do

not murder. However, might they harbor

strong negative feelings toward a brother

or a sister who slighted one of their

relatives or who they think did so? They

may turn down hospitality from the fellow

believer who they feel mistreated

one of their relatives, or they may never

show hospitality to him or her. (Heb. 13:

1, 2) Such strong negative feelings and

lack of hospitality reflect a lack of love

and are not to be excused casually. Yes,

the Examiner of hearts might diagnose it

as ‘uncircumcision of the heart.’ (Jer. 9:

25, 26) Remember those whom Jehovah

urged: “Take away the foreskins of your

hearts.”—Jer. 4:4.

COMMENTS

True Christians = only jws; all others, false, non-jws

Slighted = give an example of this, eh?

Never show hospitality = I had jws that did this, not too proud or slighted to eat food at my house though.

Shunning behavior? How about ones that won’t sit in the same row at the KH or the same side or where they have a visual of that person, won’t go in the same car group, wouldn’t be assigned to certain homes for the book study, would not call on people at the meetings, and never talk to them again eventually changing congregations and/or circuits, etc.

And what if you get the courage up to ask if there was something you did to offend them, and they said there was nothing and continued to shun you?

PICTURE: Examining the heart and correcting improper desires will lead to blessings

Did David correct his improper desires…did they lead to blessings but adultery, the murder of the husband, the death of the child of that adultery, the rape of David’s wives in public, the death of his other sons….

Remember Amnon did not correct his improper desires and he raped his half-sister Tamar and escaped punishment. Was he deserving of death under the Law? Since Tamar was a virgin, what was the Law’s solution?

(Deuteronomy 22:28, 29) 28 “In case a man finds a girl, a virgin who has not been engaged, and he actually seizes her and lies down with her, and they have been found out, 29 the man who lay down with her must also give the girl’s father fifty silver shekels, and she will become his wife due to the fact that he humiliated her. He will not be allowed to divorce her all his days.

Could Tamar marry her half-brother under the Law? What action could have been taken, Amnon could have been “cut off” for raping his half-sister, the daughter of his father. David knew…but pursued nothing instead letting an incestuous rapist continue as the heir to his throne since Amnon was his firstborn son. Is it any surprise that Absalom, Tamar’s full brother, felt David was not a good man.

(Leviticus 20:17) 17 “‘And where a man takes his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother, and he does see her nakedness, and she herself sees his nakedness, it is shame. So they must be cut off before the eyes of the sons of their people. It is the nakedness of his sister that he has laid bare. He should answer for his error.

*** it-1 pp. 32-33 Absalom ***

Hearing of his daughter’s humiliation, David reacted with great anger but, perhaps due to the fact that no direct or formal accusation was made with the support of evidence or witnesses, took no judicial action against the offender. (De 19:15) Absalom may have preferred not to have an issue made of Amnon’s violation of the Levitical law (Le 18:9; 20:17), to avoid unsavory publicity for his family and name,

GAINING AND MAINTAINING

“A HEART TO KNOW” GOD

17. How can fearing Jehovah help us to have a

more sensitive heart?

17 What if you examined your figurative

heart and found that it was not as

sensitive to Jehovah’s counsel as it could

be and that it was to some extent “uncircumcised”?

Maybe you detected a fear

of man, a longing for prominence or luxury,

or even an inclination toward stubbornness

or independence. You would

not be the first to experience such. (Jer.

7:24; 11:8) Jeremiah wrote that unfaithful

Jews in his day had “a stubborn and

rebellious heart.” He added: “They have

not said in their heart: ‘Let us, now, fear

Jehovah our God, the One who is giving

the downpour and the autumn rain.’ ”

(Jer. 5:23, 24) Does that not suggest that

an aid in taking away ‘the foreskin of

the heart’ is that of developing a greater

fear of and appreciation for Jehovah?

Such healthy fear can help each of us to

have a heart more sensitive to what God

desires us to be.

COMMENTS

You examined your heart = not others

Independence = is it wrong to do your own examination, is that independence?

Suggest…greater fear of and appreciation for Jehovah---not Jesus?

18. Jehovah made what promise to those in the

new covenant?

18 And we can work with Jehovah as

he gives us “a heart to know” him. In

fact, that is what he promised to do for

anointed ones in the new covenant: “I

will put my law within them, and in

their heart I shall write it. And I will

become their God, and they themselves

will become my people.” What about

truly knowing him? He added: “They

will no more teach each one his companion

and each one his brother, saying,

‘Know Jehovah!’ for they will all of them

know me, from the least one of them

even to the greatest one of them. . . For

I shall forgive their error, and their sin

I shall remember no more.”—Jer. 31:31-

34.*

*The new covenant is discussed in chapter 14 of

the book God’s Word for Us Through Jeremiah. (see www.jw.org )

COMMENTS

Remember that the WTS teaches that the new covenant applies only to anointed jws and that is why Jesus is not the mediator for the other sheep.

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

Will they know Jesus (another problem of using a OT scripture theme)

19. True Christians have what wonderful prospect?

19 Whether you look forward to benefiting

forever from that new covenant

in heaven or on earth, you should want

to know Jehovah and to be part of his

people. A prerequisite to receiving such

benefits is having your sins forgiven on

the basis of Christ’s ransom. The very

fact that you can be forgiven should

move you to be forgiving toward others,

even those who might be the object of

hard feelings. Your being willing to rid

your heart of any ill will that you may

have will be good for your heart. You

will thus show not only that you want to

serve Jehovah but also that you are coming

to know him better. You will be like

those of whom Jehovah said through Jeremiah:

“You will actually seek me and

find me, for you will search for me with

all your heart. And I will let myself be

found by you.”—Jer. 29:13, 14.

COMMENTS

How do the other sheep benefit – only indirectly and only after the end of the 1,000 year reign of Christ and they have passed the final test by Satan.

Note sins can only be forgiven on the basis of Christ’s ransom, not the judgment of men.

Forgiving to others = perhaps the “slighted” ones mentioned above?

Jeremiah will have to be resurrected to be able to search for Christ…because he never knew Christ.

CONCLUDING COMMENTS

Next week, HAVING “COME TO KNOW GOD”—WHAT NOW? Does the WTS reject the teachings of the Judaizers or are they Judaizers using the OT and OT examples 80% of the time as a basis of their teachings? Where is Jesus, where are the writers of the NT and the Christians of the first century?

*** w12 8/15 p. 4 par. 3 “I Am With You” ***

Following the death of the apostles, foretold apostasy from genuine Christianity developed and spread like fire. (Acts 20:28-30; 2 Thess. 2:1-3) For centuries thereafter, “the true knowledge” was far from abundant not only among those who knew nothing of the Bible but also among professed Christians. Though claiming to believe in the Scriptures, the leaders of Christendom taught religious lies—“teachings of demons” that dishonored God. (1 Tim. 4:1)

*** w06 12/1 p. 6 The Antichrist Exposed ***

Besides rejecting Bible truth, many so-called Christians have renounced Bible standards of conduct in favor of popular morality.

*** w97 3/15 p. 27 Should Your Child Go to a Boarding School? ***

In some boarding schools, Witness students manage to study the Bible together, but even this is often difficult. A youth named Blessing, who is 16, says this about the boarding school she attends: “Every day the so-called Christians come out to pray. We Witnesses try pleading with them so that we can have our study, but the seniors tell us that our organization is not recognized. Then they try to force us to pray with them. If we refuse, they punish us. Appealing to teachers makes matters worse. They call us all sorts of names and tell the senior students to punish us.”

Love, Blondie

Oubliette

This was one of the absolute dumbest study articles in recent times. Seriously: figs!

Even the coupla' paragaraphs about "distorted sense of loyalty"--meant to crackdown (yet again) on anyone that disagrees with the elders authority and side with relatives--seemed like whoever wrote them was not really into it at the time. It was just so weak and convoluted.

So God doesn't want you to have a foreskin on your heart because he's a jealous God.

This stuff is just so weird. How did I ever accept any of it!

Brokeback Watchtower

The writter for this magazine must be running out of material and so they write this trash filled with nonsense, I swear writting this type of stuff got to shrink the brain and cause all kinds of problems when it comes to leaps in logic. I think a lot of these writers must be on the verge of a nervous break down.

While some may veiw it an honor to write articles for this magazine, I would hate it, its gotta destroy brain cells.

Resistance is Futile

Great comments Blondie.

Surely one of the Bethel writers was playing a joke with this article. "Hey let's see how many times we can reference circumcision and foreskins in this article".

FadeToBlack

I agree with the 2 posts above about how utterly trite and boring the material was. Looking ahead at next three in this study edition also doesn't look promising. Absolutely not planning to go again until the July studies to observe the reaction to the new-lite series and then that will be it. I will use that for my exit.

LoisLane looking for Superman

Blondie - Blondie - Blondie...(FacePalm) Thank you so much for doing this for us. I can't...it makes my head mush.

Oubliette...

Just Lois

LoisLane looking for Superman

Brokeback Watchtower...Welcome!

Resistance is Futile.

Fade To Black.

Just Lois

FadeToBlack

ResistanceIsFutile said: Surely one of the Bethel writers was playing a joke with this article. "Hey let's see how many times we can reference circumcision and foreskins in this article"

I think that is why they had a 'serious' elder do the reading today instead of lively junior MS guy.

Brokeback Watchtower

“Take away the foreskins of your hearts, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; that my rage may not go forth . . . on account of the badness of your dealings.”

To ‘take away the foreskin of their heart’ meant getting rid of what made their heart unresponsive—their thinking, affections, or motives that were in conflict with God’s.

Does that not suggest that an aid in taking away ‘the foreskin of the heart’ is that of developing a greater fear of and appreciation for Jehovah?

Such healthy fear can help each of us to have a heart more sensitive to what God desires us to be.

The writer has a fetish for heart foreskins? Do females have heart foreskins or just males?

blondie

You know, it never occurred to me how the word "foreskin" would play out in a large group. The WTS tries to pride themselves publicly as not being prudes about sex and using the proper terms.

I wonder if they use the proper terms privately when discussing with a child where they were touched by an adult jw seeing sexual satisfaction.

*** fl chap. 9 p. 123 par. 17 Training Children from Infancy ***

Really, the explaining of sex need not be as difficult as many parents imagine. Children become aware of their bodies very early, discovering the various parts. You name them for the child: hands, feet, nose, stomach, buttocks, penis, vulva. The little child is not embarrassed, unless you suddenly change and become “hush-hush” about the genital parts.

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 05-12-2013 WT Study (HEART)

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