I'm not from Berlin, though I've visited it a few times. But I live 450 km away.
THE ALTERNATIVE DAILY TEXT by The Witchtower editor
by processor 176 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Alternative Daily Text for Monday, July 7, 2014
“I have hated the congregation … and with the wicked ones I do not sit.” (Psalm 26:4, 5)
Many Jehovah’s Witnesses feel bored during their meetings, but they are afraid of talking about it. The same applies to many young people who must be present only because of their parents. Like to Jehovah, “the calling of conventions” is detestable to them, and just like him they “cannot put up with the … assembly.” – Isaiah 1:13.
But only hating the congregation is not enough. At some point David decided not to ‘sit with the wicked ones’ any longer. Anyone who is still attending Jehovah’s Witnesses’ meetings in our time must follow David’s example and take action. As soon as he stops exposing himself to the weekly brainwashing, he will notice how much he has been misled. Only so he can free himself from “the burden of Jehovah” and really “become free.” – Jeremiah 23:33; John 8:33.
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
That's a steaming, fresh pile of truth, right there!
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http://dailytext2.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/o-god-knock-the-teeth-out-of-their-mouth/
Alternative Daily Text for Tuesday, July 8, 2014
“O God, knock the teeth out of their mouth!” (Psalm 58:6)
These words were uttered by David, ‘a man agreeable to Jehovah’s heart.’ (1 Samuel 13:14) On another occasion he prayed: “Break my enemies’ jaws and shatter their teeth.” (Psalm 3:7, CEV) The Messagerenders this verse: “Up, God! My God, help me! Slap their faces, first this cheek, then the other, your fist hard in their teeth!” Interestingly, David did not ask for the punishment of God’s enemies. It was his own enemies whose teeth he wanted God to break.
This is of great significance to us because “Christ Jesus is the Greater David.” (“All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial”, page 105) Thus Jesus has the same attitude towards his enemies as David had. In a parable, he had a king picturing himself say: “These enemies of mine … bring here and slaughter them before me.” (Luke 19:27, NWT 1984) In the end “God will smash the heads of his enemies” for him. (Psalm 68:21) Indeed, “Jesus was the personification of love.” (Awake!, December 8, 1998, page 10) Do we not long for “a compassionate Ruler” like him? – The Watchtower, April 15, 2007, page 6.
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Alternative Daily Text for Saturday, July 12, 2014
“Abraham had two sons … the man who had gladly received the promises attempted to offer up his only-begotten son.” (Galatians 4:22; Hebrews 11:17)
Abraham was a puzzling man. Once he “took his wife … and they set out for the land of Canaan,” and “he went out, although not knowing where he was going.” (Genesis 12:5; Hebrews 11:8) And though his wife Keturah alone bore him six sons and therefore he had “two sons” in total, he tried to offer up his “only son” as a sacrifice. (Genesis 22:2; 25:1, 2; Galatians 4:22) Finally he purchased a piece of land from the sons of Hamor which was later purchased by his grandson Jacob from the sons of Hamor.
God gave to Abraham and to his offspring “the entire land of Canaan for a lasting possession” so that it is theirs “until time indefinite,” and “he did not give him any inheritance in it, no, not even enough to put his foot on.” (Genesis 13:15, NWT 1984; Genesis 17:8; Acts 7:5) Not for nothing, the apostle Paul called Abraham “the father of all those having faith.” (Romans 4:11) “In faith … [Abraham and his sons] died, although they did not receive the fulfillment of the promises,” and the same will happen to everyone who puts his faith in the god of the Bible. – Hebrews 11:13.
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http://dailytext2.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/jehovah-is-a-killer/
Alternative Daily Text for Wednesday, July 16, 2014
“Jehovah is a Killer.” (1 Samuel 2:6, NWT 1984)
At all times “Jehovah killed” people. (Exodus 13:16) When the Israelites were dwelling in Egypt “Jehovah let Pharaoh’s heart become obstinate” so that he had reason to send a “destroyer” through the country. (Exodus 10:27, NWT 1984; Hebrews 11:28) Shortly afterwards he was fed up with his own people, “and Jehovah began striking the people with a very great slaughter.” – Numbers 11:33.
Sometimes, though, “Jehovah kills” indirectly. (1 Samuel 2:6) Admittedly, we usually blame humans for earthquakes, floods, plane crashes, terror attacks, and other calamities. However, the Bible says clearly and unequivocally: “If a calamity occurs in the city, is it not Jehovah who has acted?” (Amos 3:6) The book of Revelation also states that God instructed a horseman “to kill with a long sword and with food shortage and with deadly plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.” – Revelation 6:8.
Without doubt, “Jehovah is a killer,” even if at times he makes it look like a natural disaster or lets assistants do the actual slaughtering. He announced to kill even more people in the future, so that “those slain by Jehovah in that day will be from one end of the earth clear to the other end of the earth.” (Jeremiah 25:33) Certainly “the slain of Jehovah will be many.” – Isaiah 66:16.
No wonder that the apostle Paul wrote: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31) Let us, therefore, avoid Jehovah and his witnesses!
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Alternative Daily Text for Tuesday, July 22, 2014
“It is in vain that you rise up early.” (Psalm 127:2)
“In many congregations [of Jehovah’s Witnesses], there are publishers who rise early to speak with people at bus stops and train stations.” (God’s Word for Us Through Jeremiah, page 37) “Housewife pioneers and others have to arise early to take care of household chores so that they can devote a full morning to Jehovah’s service.” (The Watchtower, July 1, 1984, page 17) In the past 15 years, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany alone spent more than 400 million hours in the preaching work. This amounts to more than 45,000 years; at an average income they could have earned around ten billion dollars during that time. This money would have been enough to save roughly 300 million starving children.
Was it worth the effort? Did rising early and neglecting the own family and oneself and everything else pay off? Over the period considered, the number of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany decreased from 166,818 to 162,705. Indeed, you Jehovah’s Witnesses, “it is in vain that you rise up early!”
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Alternative Daily Text for Sunday, July 27, 2014
“She will return to her hire and prostitute herself … Her profit and her hire will become something holy to Jehovah … Her hire will be for those dwelling before Jehovah.” (Isaiah 23:17, 18)
Some imitation Christians who are influenced by teachings of false religion may be surprised, but the Biblical statement is clear: The “profit” or “hire” of prostitutes is “something holy to Jehovah.” That is why James asked: “Was not Rahab the prostitute also declared righteous?” (James 2:25) Indeed, Rahab had loved the Israelite spies ‘with her whole soul.’ – Matthew 22:37.
Jehovah is especially pleased when a prostitute uses a part of her profit “for those dwelling before Jehovah,” that is, when she donates it to the worldwide preaching work. Still in the 10th century, Pope John XII operated an own brothel at St. Peter’s Basilica. But then apostasy became rampant, so that gradually all churchly brothels have been closed. Finally, the apostate clergy banned prostitution completely. So they resembled the Pharisees whom Jesus told: “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going ahead of you into the Kingdom of God.” (Matthew 21:31) Contrary to religious leaders, prostitutes have a guaranteed place in God’s kingdom.
That is why faithful servants of God, like Judah or Samson, did not abstain from calling on prostitutes’ services. (Genesis 38:16; Judges 16:1) The prophet Hosea was even instructed by Jehovah himself: “’Go, take to thee a woman of whoredoms.” (Hosea 1:2, YLT) True, in some verses the Bible speaks negatively of prostitution. But all these cases relate to married women accused of adultery. (Isaiah 57:3; Ezekiel 23:43) Neither Moses nor Jesus banned prostitution, but both condemned adultery. (Leviticus 20:10; Luke 16:18) So if you want a married woman, do not commit adultery but rather liquidate her husband. – 1 Samuel 25:3, 13.
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Alternative Daily Text for Tuesday, July 29, 2014
“Jael the wife of Heber took a tent pin and a hammer in her hand. Then while he was fast asleep and exhausted, she stealthily approached him and drove the pin through his temples and beat it into the ground, and he died.” (Judges 4:21)
What can we learn from Jael today? To find that out, we need to examine her action in detail. Sisera was “army chief under Canaanite King Jabin.” (Insight on the Scriptures, volume II, page 975) The Canaanites dwelt in the country that God had promised to the Israelites. Hence they foreshadowed the worldlings of today, who also live on the earth that Jehovah has promised to his witnesses. So Jabin and Sisera depict people who are hostile towards Jehovah’s Witnesses – apostates, sect advisers, scientists, or intellectuals. Our task today is to kill these people in a transferred sense, while we are waiting on Jehovah to arrange for their literal death before long.
When Sisera approached Jael’s tent, she readily asked him in though her husband was not at home (Judges 4:18) If a Jehovah’s Witness of our time would do the same, the elders would assume that there is fornication, and in fact, the Babylonian Talmud says that Jael committed adultery with Sisera. (Horavoth 10b) Besides, “there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite [to which Jael belonged].” (Judges 4:17) She must have known “that, according to the Oriental code, it was a host’s responsibility to protect guests in his home, defending them even to the point of death if necessary.” (The Watchtower, December 1, 1979, page 31) But “Jael acted courageously, seizing the opportunity” to kill her guest insidiously. – The Watchtower, September 15, 1978, page 23.
What do we learn from this? Adultery has always been a serious sin, and murdering a guest was something utterly unthinkable in Jael’s culture. Still, she knew that she was not to miss any opportunity to kill the enemies of Jehovah and his witnesses. Sisera’s death was by far more important that any worldly or religious laws. We too “must obey God as ruler rather than men” whenever we run across an apostate. – Acts 5:29.
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Alternative Daily Text for Tuesday, August 12, 2014
“They will waste their time. They will go from house to house carrying stories. They will find fault with people and say things they should not talk about.” (1 Timothy 5:13, NLV)
It is obvious which group Paul had in mind when he wrote these warning words. Only Jehovah’s Witnesses “call from house to house, approach people on the street, and speak to them over the phone. Whether riding on a bus, walking in a park, or taking a break at their place of secular work, they eagerly look for every opportunity” to “find fault with people.” – “Bearing Thorough Witness” About God’s Kingdom, page 7.
But this ‘finding fault with people’ or “meddling in other people’s business” [NLT] is not limited to outsiders; rather it is very common within the congregation. If someone is not to be disfellowshipped, the currently valid Watchtower doctrines, “not any other pursuit, must become the focal point, or target, toward which his whole life is directed.” (The Watchtower, June 15, 1982, page 5) Jehovah’s Witnesses even meddle with the private life and, for example, dictate what a married couple is allowed to do and what not. – The Watchtower, September 15, 1977, page 558.
In his letter to Titus, Paul wrote that the same group would be “turning whole families away from the truth by their false teaching.” (Titus 1:11, NLT) This surely applies to Jehovah’s Witnesses, too, since “frequently they referred to their … beliefs as ‘present truth.’” (Jehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom, page 121) Hence their teachings were always true when they expressed them, but the former teachings are now false, and the current teachings had been false previously.
What should we do if we are Jehovah’s Witnesses? Paul reminds us of former brothers who gave a fine example: “Some of them have already left “ (1 Timothy 5:15, MSG) Leave Jehovah’s Witnesses before it is too late!