I mentioned in my other thread that my mind wandered during the Zoom meeting today. This was my second observation. Note this exerpt on the rapture, from the July 15, 2015 WT and let's see what's wrong with it:
"Does this mean that there will be a “rapture” of the anointed ones? Many in Christendom believe, according to this teaching, that Christians will be bodily caught up from the earth. Then, they expect that Jesus will visibly return to rule the earth. However, the Bible clearly shows that “the sign of the Son of man” will appear in heaven and that Jesus will come “on the clouds of heaven.” (Matt. 24:30) Both of these expressions imply invisibility."
What... the... actual...?!
Here's Matthew 24:30 in its entirety:
"Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory"
Nothing in this scripture implies invisibility. It is, in fact, impossible to appear invisible or appear invisibly because appearance requires visibility. Also, a sign is something perceived, almost always something seen. Lastly, "heaven" can mean either God's spiritual dwelling place OR the physical sky. The fact that the scripture mentions clouds implies that it's referring to the physical sky.
Now, what the scripture actually means is not the point of my rant here. Go ahead and interpret this book of fantasy and fables any way you want! Just don't claim that your religion is "the truth" if you expect your followers to turn their brain off when you tell them what to believe (or else).
The article continues:
"Additionally, “flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s Kingdom.” So those who will be taken to heaven will first need to be “changed, in a moment, in the blink of an eye, during the last trumpet.” (Read 1 Corinthians 15:50-53.) Therefore, while we do not use the term “rapture” here because of its wrong connotation, the remaining faithful anointed will be gathered together in an instant of time."
So... they believe in absolutely every single aspect of the rapture doctrine, except for the absolute most minor thing you could possibly imagine- an entirely inconcequential detail- so they therefore refuse to use the word rapture.
Wow!
Well, add that one to the pile, eh?
- We don't believe in a rapture! We just believe that before Armageddon, God's chosen ones will be instantly drawn from the earth to their eternal home in heaven!
- We're not creationists, we just believe that evolution is false and that different forms of life were created directly by God!
- We're not inspired, we're just guided by God's spirit!
- We're not prophets, we're just God's channel of communication!
- We're not a cult! We just instruct our followers to be wary of outsiders, refuse to listen to any negative reports about the organization, refrain from ever disagreeing with us- even silently in their hearts, discourage them from having any endeavors of comfort, enjoyment or self-betterment that would lessen their dedication to us, command them to shun friends and family who no longer believe, expect them to follow our every word even if it seems unreasonable by human standards, order them to obey our interpretations of scriptural commands to the point of death, and endlessly warn them that any act of disobedience leaves them liable to God's wrath at Armageddon.