by Vanderhoven7 27 Replies latest watchtower bible
@ Minimus
Exactly what I want Witnesses to admit. To the one being recruited however, all these statements are mythology at best. If they have any Bible knowledge or appreciation at all they can just ask where these "facts" are found in scripture I.e., 1918, 1919, Bible students, Brooklyn etc. found in scripture?
LV101:
You can say that again! They didn’t lay their cards on the table when I was ‘studying’ with the JWs.. I NEVER would have joined the religion if I knew.
TRUTH B KNOWN:
I also agree about point ‘E’. I was always disturbed that there was no accountability on their part about people damaged over the decades by faulty or changed teachings. I’m sure the cemeteries are filled with these people! Too bad we will never hear their stories.
If they had laid that out for me in my living room on their first visit the way you have done it here, my total "study" with them would have lasted less than 15 minutes.
What I Know now ,I wish I knew sooner. But I was born in this crap. After being away from it and seeing it for what it is( a waste of time) money maker for a Corp Real estate business hidden as group that serves god(it's self).
Here is the thing, each of the items listed are things that were taught in WT/JW literature that was offered to the public in the 1970s and/or 1980s (and later years), so why would a JW be ashamed to admit those teachings? Back when I was a JW I would not have been ashamed to tell them, for I was offering Watchtowers to the people which contained study articles saying those things I was offering various books which taught such things. Not all of those things were in every issue of the WT, but some WT issues would teach some of the things and others would teach some of the other things; a collection of WT literature taught all of those things. For example, The Babylon The Great book and the Then is Finished the Mystery of God book were offered door to the public for a period of time, and studied in congregation Book Studies in JW homes, for a period of time, and those who studied the Bible with the JWs were invited to attend those meetings.
Wow, fantastic job! We should put a billboard in front of every Kingdom Hall of this information.
I know Witnesses believe everything on the list but probably would not want to reveal these unique exclusivitic beliefs to the uninitiated at the start. Eg. All you Catholics are in Satan's organization or we will break up your family and shun you to the day that you die if you leave Jehovah's organization...etc.
Hi LHG - I KNOW! I'd hear drivel about so and so studying with them previously and they didn't love the truth nor stay with it -- I wonder why although at the time it was hard to believe they could walk away from God. I heard/experienced more JW reality within 3 mos yet the brainwashing was deep from the mags. Crazy. I was half asleep when I'd read at night to fall asleep.
Vanderhoven7 - "..Witnesses believe everything on the list but probably would not want to reveal these unique exclusivitic beliefs to the uninitiated at the start..."
Once again, for the newbies, lurkers, and trolls...
...if you have to cheat to defend your beliefs, your beliefs don't deserve to be defended.
For the record - just corrected a few minor points in the list
UNIQUE BELIEFS OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
Witnesses believe that:
a. the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is the one true religion
b. all other religions are part of Satan's organization, Babylon the Great, defined by the Watchtower Society as “the world empire of false religion”.
c. God is soon going to destroy the Whore of Revelation 18 at Armageddon, which includes all churches of Christendom, Catholic and Protestant, as well as all their followers and supporters.
d. with rare exceptions, only faithful Jehovah's Witnesses will survive Armageddon. The billions who perish at Armageddon will be forever destroyed without any hope of a resurrection.
e. they are to accept every official teaching that comes down from Watchtower headquarters and if they, as adults, vocalize any disagreement and persist in it, will be disfellowshipped and shunned by friends and family. Unity at all costs
f. proper disfellowshipping offenses include ongoing unrepentant celebration of birthdays including Christ's birthday, unrepentant acceptance of blood transfusions, refusal to quit smoking and willing ongoing association with a known disfellowshipped or disassociated person or persons.
g. the 8 member Governing Body serving at Warwick New York headquarters represent the channel of truth for mankind. Together they are the Faithful and Wise Servant spoken of in Matthew 24:45-47.
h. that in October 1914 Jesus second coming occurred invisibly; he then became king and from 1914 on has been ruling in the heavens giving his attention to the earth which initially involved the examination of the churches of Christendom. The last generation that Jesus said surely would not pass away...began in 1914. (note: the youngest of the 1914 generation i.e.,babies born in 1914, are 107 years old today)
i. in the spring of 1918 the apostle Peter and all anointed ones who died (less than 144,000) were raised to heavenly life. The rest of mankind good and bad remain in the grave until the second resurrection which will take place soon.
j. in the fall of 1918, Jesus finished examining the churches and rejected all of them.
k. early in 1919, Jesus found a group of faithful Bible Student leaders serving at Brooklyn New York and appointed them to exclusively channel his truth to the nations via the publishing company they were using (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania). This group of men was the original Faithful Slave of Matthew 24, whose office, mandate and ability to interpret the scriptures accurately was passed down to all subsequent Watchtower leaders. These leaders are not perfect and they can err in doctrine or organizational instruction, but they must be believed and obeyed nonetheless.
l. that prior to the 20th century (from AD 33 to 1900) there were less than 145,000 faithful Christians that ever existed. (Note: this means that the millions who perished as martyrs before the twentieth century were not real Christians in the Watchtower Society's eyes).
m. a new group of Christians began being called early in the 20th century; today there are 8.5 million of these Christians in the world. These are not born-again; they do not have a heavenly hope; they are not in the New Covenant and therefore are not entitled to partake of the bread and the wine symbolizing Jesus' death; they do not have eternal life, the indwelling Holy Spirit or the imputation of Christ's righteousness. They will only have a chance to earn eternal life if they survive Armageddon and serve God during the 1000 year millennium and prove themselves faithful to the end.
