by nakedmvistar 36 Replies latest jw friends
hi all,
I was not a JW or neither did I attend the meetings. so here's my question. How did one of the "ANOINTED" class know they that they were? Did an angel appear to them or was it just a feeling? And if you are of this class, can you ever lose this special calling?
Thanks all!
They say God's spirit bears witness with their spirit.
A JW once told me that one of his anointed friends told him (kinda complicated...) that yes, it is a particular feeling. Now, any kind of "feeling" that is supposed to mean that you have a future in the heavens along with the company of other men with no women for 1000 years is akin, to me, to a certain hell. Well, that or it means I have to rush to the bathroom. Meaning it's all a lump of bullsh*t. Take your pick.
God's spirit bears witness with their spirit
Except that dubs don't believe that they posess such a thing as a spirit. So, they redefine this 'divinely inspired' verse as referring to a part of their mind/brain/intellect. They think their brain is just a bio-electronic protienous mass humming along at from near zero to perhaps 50 hertz. Dubs think they are just biological, life force driven machines. Kinda like what athieistic evolutionists believe.
They believe that god's spirit cannot remain in one place on or w a person. It is like the wind that keeps moving. What happens then, is that it temporarily fills a person, charging him up w power, whatever that means. Then the spirit passes on. That is why dubs are supposed to keep on getting filled w spirit, not beer. (Sorry, overbeer, you aren't anointed, yet.)
Here is a brief wt quote about god's spirit. The second quote is a wt answer to your question.
*** w96 6/15 31 Questions From Readers ***
Questions From ReadersCan we say that God's servants today who have the earthly hope have as much of God's spirit as do spirit-anointed Christians?
This question is not a new one. This same matter was addressed in "Questions From Readers" in The Watchtower of April 15, 1952. Many have become Witnesses since then, so we can consider the question and in the process review what that earlier material said.
Fundamentally, the answer is, yes, faithful brothers and sisters of the other sheep class can share equally with anointed ones in receiving God's holy spirit.-John 10:16.
This, of course, does not mean that the spirit operates in the same way on all individuals. Think back to faithful servants in pre-Christian times, who certainly received God's spirit. With power from the spirit, some of them slew ferocious beasts, cured the sick, even raised the dead. And they needed the spirit to write inspired books of the Bible. (Judges 13:24, 25; 14:5, 6; 1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:17-37; 5:1-14) The Watchtower said: "Though not of the anointed class, they were filled with holy spirit."
From another angle, consider men and women in the first century who were anointed with holy spirit, becoming spiritual sons of God with the heavenly hope. All had been anointed, but that does not mean that the spirit thereafter operated in the same way on all of them. That is clear from 1 Corinthians chapter 12. There the apostle Paul discussed gifts of the spirit. We read in <G<>G>1Co 12 <G<>G>verses 8, 9, and 11: "To one there is given through the spirit speech of wisdom, to another speech of knowledge according to the same spirit, to another faith by the same spirit, to another gifts of healings by that one spirit. . . . But all these operations the one and the same spirit performs, making a distribution to each one respectively just as it wills."
Significantly, not all anointed ones back then had miraculous gifts of the spirit. In 1 Corinthians chapter 14, Paul mentioned a congregation meeting in which one had the gift of tongues, but no one present had the gift of translation. Nonetheless, at some earlier point, each one of them had experienced anointing with spirit. Would it be reasonable to say that the brother having the gift of tongues had more of the spirit than others present? No. Those other anointed ones were not disadvantaged, as if unable to understand the Bible as well as that one or unable to face trials as well. The spirit operated in a special way on the brother who could speak in tongues. Still, he and they needed to stay close to Jehovah and to "keep getting filled with spirit," as Paul wrote.-Ephesians 5:18.
Regarding those of the remnant today, they certainly have received God's spirit. At one point it operated on them in a special way-at the time when they were anointed and adopted as spiritual sons. Thereafter they "keep getting filled with spirit," having its help when they seek to understand the Bible more clearly, take the lead in the preaching work, or face tests-personal or organizational.
Members of the "other sheep," though not having had the experience of being anointed, in other respects do receive holy spirit. The Watchtower of April 15, 1952, observed:
"The 'other sheep' today perform the same preaching work as the remnant, under the same trying conditions, and manifest the same faithfulness and integrity. They feed at the same spiritual table, eating the same food, absorbing the same truths. Being of the earthly class, with earthly hopes and a keen interest in earthly things, they might interest themselves more in scriptures relating to earthly conditions in the new world; whereas the anointed remnant, with heavenly hopes and strong personal interest in the things of the spirit, might study more diligently those things in God's Word. . . . Yet the fact remains that the same truths and the same understanding are available to both classes, and it is just how the individuals apply themselves in study that determines the comprehension of heavenly and earthly things they acquire. The Lord's spirit is available in equal portions to both classes, and knowledge and understanding are offered equally to both, with equal opportunities for absorbing it."
*** w52 1/15 63-4 Questions from Readers ***
<G<>G> How can one determine whether he is of the anointed class, and hence should partake of the Memorial emblems?-E. B., California.After Pentecost in the first century any who had the spirit of God, as evidenced by his having one or more gifts of the spirit, would have no difficulty deciding whether he was of the anointed class, for that was a time set aside exclusively for begetting heavenly heirs. On this firm foundation he would entertain heavenly hopes. Today the circumstances are altered. One may have dedicated himself to doing God's will, symbolized that dedication, and demonstrated that he has the spirit of God by doing Jehovah's will, doing it in the love of God and trying to imitate him and his dear Son; but how would he know that his having the spirit of God was assurance that he was going to heaven? The spirit of God is also on the "other sheep", and not just on the anointed remnant. So how can we determine the matter today?
It seems from the Scriptures that God was specially taking out the spiritual class up until 1931, in a general way, and this does have some bearing on the matter. However, it is not conclusive. Since 1931 there are those who have entered the service and who give evidence of being begotten by the spirit and who have their hopes set upon being of the heavenly heirs. So there is evidence of some coming into the heavenly class since 1931; though not on a general scale, but only individuals here and there who are taken in to fill up the places of some who may turn unfaithful.
You would have to examine yourself on this basis: "Have I dedicated my life to God through Jesus Christ to do his will forevermore? Do I have the spirit of God? Is God dealing with me? Yes, I have the evidence that God is dealing with me; he is using me in his service. He is providing for me. He is giving me a place in connection with his organization, and I am realizing many blessings, and am growing in the understanding of his Word. I have all of these indications that I have his spirit, and I am trying to act as a real Christian and follower of Christ Jesus would in displaying the spirit of the Lord in that way." This examination with the above-outlined results would indicate one had the spirit of the Lord, whether of the anointed class or of the "other sheep".
Then, what is the thing that draws the line of demarcation between the two classes and puts you either on the side of the "great crowd" or on the side of the anointed remnant? As you examine yourself you have to determine what your hope is, because God is dealing with you and is cultivating in you some sort of a hope. In Romans chapter 8 Paul discusses how "the spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are God's children" called to be joint heirs with Christ in the heavenly kingdom, and adds: "For we were saved in this hope; but hope that is seen is not hope, for when a man sees a thing, does he hope for it?"-Rom. 8:16, 24, NW.
So, you see that you have to be saved in a certain hope. Now God deals with you and he must by his dealings with you and his revelations of truth to you cultivate in you some hope. If he cultivates in you the hope of going to heaven, that becomes a firm confidence of yours, and you are just swallowed up in that hope, so that you are talking as one who has the hope of going to heaven, you are counting on that, you are thinking that, you offer prayers to God in expression of that hope. You are setting that as your goal. It permeates your whole being. You cannot get it out of your system. It is the hope that engrosses you. Then it must be that God has aroused that hope and caused it to come to life in you, for it is not a natural hope for earthly man to entertain.
If you are one of the Jonadabs or one of the "great crowd" of good-will persons you will not be consumed by this heavenly hope. Some of the Jonadabs are very prominent in the Lord's work and have an important part in it, but they do not have that hope when you talk to them. Their desires and hopes gravitate to the earthly things. They talk about the beautiful forests, how they would love to be a forester at the present time and have that as their continual surroundings, and they like to mingle with the animals and have dominion over them, and also the birds of the air and fish of the sea and everything that creeps over the face of the earth. That is what they love, and they are looking forward to enjoying those things. Oh, they understand their Bible. They have a very advanced comprehension of the doctrines and truths of the Bible. But when you talk to them, that is the way they express themselves. They have no desire for the heavenly things at all. They do not want to be like an angel, or even see God face to face, beholding him in his supernal glory. That would be wonderful, they admit, more so than any possible earthly blessings; but they just do not have such desires or hopes in them.
So, it seems that after you have inspected the matter of time, the possession of God's spirit, his dealings with you, then you have to take into consideration, "What are my real, sincere, heartfelt hopes in this matter?" Then you decide your position; no one else can decide for you. Decide whether you have the consuming spiritual aspirations. If so, then follow through with those. That is in your system and you cannot get it out, so act accordingly. Participate in the Memorial emblems. Whereas, if you do not have that hope, if you are divided and uncertain, then it appears that you are of the earthly class, and hence should not partake of the emblems at Memorial time.
SS
Edited by - saintsatan on 20 September 2002 1:38:16
can you ever lose this special calling?
According to wt, yes. When on anointed is unfaithful, god pulls the anointing and passes to another dub. There seem to be continously new anointings going on, as the number of anointed has stayed the same or gone up at times during the past decade, or so. The wt doesn't believe that most who claim recent anointment really are.
SS
Got it, thanks!
May you have peace... and may this help you get a start:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=36009&site=3
Please know, however, that there is One you can go to to have your questions answered, if you indeed have faith to 'hear':
John 5:39, 40
Also, please know that contrary to the false teachings of the WTBTS, one cannot 'lose' one's choosing and anointing: God and Christ cannot separate from such one. One CAN, however, CHOSE TO REJECT that calling, by one's actions (think Adam, Judas, King Saul...)... and thus separate ONESELF... from God. But it is by one's own choice; God does not 'leave' us... we must leave Him.
Again, peace to you!
A slave of Christ,
SJ
Edited by - AGuest on 20 September 2002 1:14:53
Hi nakedmvistar,
(By the way, I like the Tengu. Is there a story that goes with that?)
The best answers to your questions can come from people who felt they had the calling. On this discussion board, Amazing and AGuest are two who fill the bill.
One thing that is interesting about the WTS teaching in this regard is that although the WTS claims to abide by the scriptural description of the selection process, some individual non-anointed JWs havetaken it on themselves to devise a "test" for the people who claimed to be annointed. If you look at threads started by Amazing, you'll find what I think is a fascinating description of his experience with one such "tester."
You should also know that the WTS routinely discounts a significant percentage of the partakers at the annual Memorial celebration (partaking of the emblems in the WTS is restricted to the anointed). For example, partakers in Africa are routinely disregarded from the count because the WTS feels they're too emotional and don't really understand what anointing is about. I wonder what idiots taught thenm so badly?
In the early days of the organization there were more than 20,000 partakers each year, and the partaking declined through the years at a rate slower than should be expected and in the past few years has remained nearly constant. This defies statistical probability.
How did one of the "ANOINTED" class know they that they were? Did an angel appear to them or was it just a feeling? And if you are of this class, can you ever lose this special calling?
To become an anointed requires the deepest commitment and most serious mind. It is not a venture to be undertaken lightly. As such, anointed instruction is rigidly structured and codified to enforce discipline and hinder transgression. Only 20 anointed have ever voluntarily renounced their commissions. It is with great regret that the anointed order recognize the so-called "Lost Twenty." An anointed who fails in his training can be a very serious threat. The dark side of the Holy Spirit beckons to the impatient, and students in the past have been lured to its call with devastating consequences.
Anointed candidates are detected, identified and taken into the order as infants. One method of detection is through blood sampling -- those with great Holy Spirit potential often have high midi-chlorian counts in their bloodstream. A prospective anointed begins training in infancy. All connection to previous family life is lost. In this early stage of training, a single master instructs groups, or clans, of anointed hopefuls.
As the anointed mature, the apprentice is paired with a master to continue the next phase of the training. According to the Anointed Code, an Anointed Master may only have one Padawan at a time. Near the end of the Padawan's training, he must undergo trials before ascending to the rank of Bethelite.
The next level of rank in the anointed order is the Anointed Master, reserved for those who have shown exceptional devotion and skill in the Holy Spirit. It is from the ranks of the anointed Masters that the Governing Body is chosen, which is the main interface between the anointed and the government of the heavens.
The anointed dress in simple robes and carry specialized field gear for their missions. Their signature weapon, the bookbag, is both elegant and deadly when in the hands of a trained master.
I hope this helps answer your questions.
Tammy
Swan is pulling your leg.
Substitue "jedi" for "anointed" and you'll see that she based her answer on StarWars.
