by Farkel 52 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
It is no accident that although Paul refers to the "good news" around 85 times, he never once mentions the word "Kingdom" in the same sentence!
This is the Watchtower's most important and breathtaking deception!
They are liars, not "publishers of the good news" as they falsely claim!
Even if the Watchtower gave a pitch perfect Protestant or Catholic response its still all a myth- Jesus, Kingdoms, Heaven et al.
Interesting. . .
I think I see where you may be coming from designs.
From my perspective ALL religion is a snare and a racket, diametrically opposed to the "good news", and the instrument whereby the ruling religious clergy class (Pharisees) steal ordinary folk's faith, spirituality, salvation, imputed righteousnessness, and imputed holiness.
Peace to you and yours
Fernando
The Watchtower basically does assert that:
[the "good news" ABOUT Christ] = [the "good news" ABOUT the Kingdom]
Effectively this boils down to:
[Christ] = [Kingdom]
This is absurd.
Christ is a person.
The Kingdom is a government (with physical and spiritual dimensions).
The "good news" is a message.
Therefore person ≠ government ≠ a message.
Therefore Christ ≠ Kingdom ≠ the "good news".
Fernando
It is no accident that although Paul refers to the "good news" around 85 times, he never once mentions the word "Kingdom" in the same sentence!
mP
Paul does not know Jesus. You only assume that he does and is talking about the same thing because its been hammered into you. Read his message, and you will see that Pual knows nothing about Jesus the man, Bethlehem, virgn birth, Mary, Joseph, 12 disciples, miracles, ressurrection etc.
The "good news" ABOUT the Christ
This is the message ABOUT the priceless ransom price Jesus paid to secure a victory over religion, and to secure the release of God's children in the greatest legal custody battle ever (between our heavenly father and our evil step-father satan the devil the author of religion). This message has three main parts: "the message of salvation", "the message of reconciliation" (or atonement, or at-one-ment), and the "message of deliverance" (or spiritual liberation). Some further key ingredients of this victory message are the many priceless free gifts available to any that would receive them as such: IMPUTED righteousness, IMPUTED holiness, IMPUTED sinlessness, IMPUTED perfection, IMPUTED sonship (adoption back into God's family).
The "good news" ABOUT the Kingdom
This is the message ABOUT God's eternal, victorious and "redemptive rule, reign and authority over those redeemed by Christ". (Paraphrased from Greg Gilbert's definition of the Kingdom in his groundbreaking 2010 book "What is the gospel"). The Kingdom has present and future spiritual and physical dimensions which religionists are unable to discern.
It does not take much to see why this message is scandalous to religionists, how it undermines their opposing kingdom and power base, and why there is nothing they secretly fear and loathe more. Just imagine the "dumb sheeple" being given as "free gifts" that which the ruling religious clergy class demands they work hard for! Scandalous! Enough to make the "gnat straining" and "camel gulping" Pharisees choke with fear and rage. It is the reason they killed Jesus, and to this day hound any "contaminated" with this message.
The unabridged gospel of grace (unmerited favour) was at the heart of "Franzgate 1980" and the Brooklyn Bethel witch-hunt to eradicate it.
At the heart of the struggle (or legal custody battle) is a gigantic conflict of interest. Legalistic, authoritarian, bureaucratic, reductionist, inane, attrition prone rule by man, versus freedom of the sons of God who are organically, semi-autonomously and invisibly led by conscience, faith, spirituality, and Holy Spirit to much higher levels of consciousness and outcomes.
Fernando, Can you show where the Bible backs in plain english what you have just stated ?
Hey mP!
What was written above is a summary of around 1,000 hours of reading, writing and researching every year, over 7 years. It is hidden in plain sight in scripture. It is God alone who removes the veil so that the priceless and generous "good news" can shine through (2 Cor 3:16; 4:4)
Anyone who wants to confirm can do so in much less time by finding and marking all the roughly 152 occurrences of "good news" or "gospel" in their Bible.
Anyone who follows these map markers prayerfully, relentlessly, sincerely and honestly ends up at the same place...
I wish you and yours all the best on life's journey.
Peace
Fernando
PS - Acts 8:12 may be a good starting point where both the "good news" ABOUT the Christ AND the Kingdom are mentioned in one scripture.
Another good starting point might oddly enough also be the wt lib and this exact search string -
("good news"/gospel/evangel/"glad tidings"/"sacred secret") message
mP, understanding the arcane concept of "shadows" can go a very long way to uncovering and understanding the gospel map hidden in plain sight in scripture. Essentially much of what we see in the physical world are shadows of realities in higher dimensions - by deliberate design.
Here are three of the very best sources on "shadows" I have ever come across:
