Wonderful comments everyone. My computer has been down and when up acting up and has been extremely slow and even the Geek Squad hasn’t improved it much.
Dear Stilla,
Yes - exactly with everlasting life in a paradise earth - the biggest carrott for the vast majority of witnesses
Reading CTR’s books and the early Rutherford books, you can seen that because everyone was anointed with the hope of going to heaven, there was less concern about dying. They knew they had to die to go to heaven
JWs today have been promised that they will see the new system without dying. Many of those are in their 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s and they are wondering when this WTS promise will be fulfilled.
Hi Scully
,
Such ones often live their lives recklessly, making financial and other decisions on the assumption that God will save them. If their imprudent actions result in some disaster, economic or otherwise, they blame the Devil.
You mean, like people in the early 70s who sold their homes and quit their jobs and opted not to get a college education to spend "the last months" of This Old System™ doing more in the preaching work? Was that "the Devil's fault" too?
You mean like the JWs who are quitting college after the last District Convention talk that demonized a college or university education? Is that "the Devil's fault"?
Oh I get it now. It's talking about Worldly People™ who make dumb decisions that have a negative effect on their economic well-being. When JWs do it in keeping with WTS instructions and direction, they are following the leading of the Spirit Appointed™ Faithful and Discreet Slave Class™.
Actually, this is one of those cases where they WTS can use this information to speak out of both sides of their mouth.
I’m sure years later the WTS told the ones who sold their homes and quit their jobs that it was their fault because of "making financial and other decisions on the assumption that God will save them."
Wise BC
Interesting how this article talks about our feelings of worthlessness and how Jehovah really cares for us. However, the Oct. 15 WT harps on our need to be humble and not be haughty and think too much of ourselves.
This is again an example of talking out of both sides of their mouth. I don't have the 10/15 yet but I will keep my eye open.
IthinkIsee
With these words, Jehovah clothed his people with dignity and splendor. He has done the same with his nation of spiritual Israel today. It is as though he held them up high for all to admire.
Does anyone else find this statement (from Par. 20) really disturbing? How the governing body demands to be held up and admired?
That really should have been a VOMIT ALERT. I was out vomiting and forgot to come back and comment on that. Thanks for catching that.
They forget that they are supposed to rule in heaven as kings not on earth.
Thanks, willyloman.
It is now 30 years since the WTS actively promoted the date 1975 as the end of 6,000 years of human history and the threshold of the 1,000 year reign of Christ.
39 by my count. I think this "new light" emerged in 1966.
That’s what happens when I’m rushing the review on a Saturday due to computer failure.
Zug,
Although I must say that reading your comments about the article required me to read the article. I hadn't read a WT article in years. Sure seems different when I read it with my eyes open. Zugz
I hope you didn’t get sick. I wonder every time why I didn’t see some of these things sooner. That is what blind trust will do. Blind people following blind guides falling into the ditch.
Merry,
Sorry, I left off this previous lame explanation of that quote.
***
w94 10/1 p. 8 The Bible—A Book Meant to Be Understood ***JESUS assured us that after his death and resurrection, he would raise up a "faith-ful and discreet slave" that would serve as his channel of communication. (Matthew 24:45-47)
The apostle Paul identified this channel to the Ephesian Christians when he wrote that "there might be made known through the congregation the greatly diversified wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose that he formed in connection with the Christ, Jesus our Lord." (Ephesians 3:10, 11) It was the congregation of anointed Christians, born at Pentecost 33 C.E., that was entrusted with the "things revealed." (Deuteronomy 29:29) As a group, anointed Christians serve as the faithful and discreet slave. (Luke 12:42-44) Their appointed assignment from God is to provide spiritual understanding of the "things revealed."
Good quotes, Ithinkisee, they tie into MerryM’s comment above.
*** w67 10/1 p. 587 Finding Freedom with Jehovah’s Visible Organization ***
Thus the Bible is an organizational book and belongs to the Christian congregation as an organization, not to individuals, regardless of how sincerely they may believe that they can interpret the Bible. For this reason the Bible cannot be properly understood without Jehovah’s visible organization in mind.
*** w81 2/15 p. 19 Do We Need Help to Understand the Bible? ***
Rather, the record that the "faithful and discreet slave" organization has made for the past more than 100 years forces us to the conclusion that Peter expressed when Jesus asked if his apostles also wanted to leave him, namely, "Whom shall we go away to?" (John 6:66-69) No question about it. We all need help to understand the Bible, and we cannot find the Scriptural guidance we need outside the "faithful and discreet slave" organization.
And thanks for looking this up. My brain made a bookmark but I forgot.
As usual, they use this article to use their years of training co-dependant JWs to blame themselves and rely on the Org. Interestingly this is one of the hallmark traits of cults:
(From Hassan's book (in red) - I added the watchtower references that parallel it.)
- Group members cannot see the control by guilt
and like other abuse victims are conditioned to blame themselves when things are wrong, even grateful when a leader points out their transgressions.
Dear SallySue,
And to allow a misguided person to think they mean "all" JW's when they "really" only mean the 144,000 is horrible.
The WTS has been struggling with this since 1935 when the GC was announced. All the NT scriptures are aimed only at Christians with the hope of going to heaven. "By extension" the WTS has tried to make it fit the GC. They can’t though when it comes to Jesus being the mediator for Christians. Even the WTS won’t stretch that to the GC.
Great comments, I learned a lot this Sunday from your comments.
Love, Blondie
