Faithful Witness

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Posts by Faithful Witness

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  20

  Wheat/weeds parable defeats "organization' teaching

  by Zoos in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in his illustration at mathew 13: 24-30, jesus made it clear that the wheat and weeds were to grow together until the harvest.

  this parable runs contrary to the concept put forward by the wt about getting out of the world and running to their organization for salvation.. first of all, the parable says that the weeds will be gathered, bundled and burned first then the wheat will be gathered into the storehouse.. wt teaches that we need to gather up the wheat first.

  not only are they doing it backward, they are teaching that true christians must isolate themselves inside a special wheat organization, separate from the weeds.

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  Faithful Witness

  I really thought that timeline was going to show up in my post above. I wish I could figure out how to insert an image!
• 
  20

  Wheat/weeds parable defeats "organization' teaching

  by Zoos in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in his illustration at mathew 13: 24-30, jesus made it clear that the wheat and weeds were to grow together until the harvest.

  this parable runs contrary to the concept put forward by the wt about getting out of the world and running to their organization for salvation.. first of all, the parable says that the weeds will be gathered, bundled and burned first then the wheat will be gathered into the storehouse.. wt teaches that we need to gather up the wheat first.

  not only are they doing it backward, they are teaching that true christians must isolate themselves inside a special wheat organization, separate from the weeds.

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  Faithful Witness

  Ablebodiedman:

  The wheat IS BEING SEPERATED right under the noses of all those weeds!

  Can you clarify what you mean by this statement?

  Who is doing the harvesting or separating work? From an outsider's viewpoint, it looks like this separation is being orchestrated by the rules of the men in charge of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, not by Christ. Who is in charge of doing the work of separating or harvesting? Is it the WTBTS or is it Christ?

  Who are you identifying as the "weeds" here? JWs? Or are the JWs the wheat? Or are they neither one, since this parable does not actually have any prophetic meaning for them? I'm confused.

  Has harvest time begun? The weeds should already be burning (in a fire that can not be put out).

  What evidence do we have that the weeds have been destroyed? The JWs are still here and active, and so are the members of "Christendom." Non-believers are also still walking around, alive and well.

  Is Luke 12 referring to the wheat and weeds parable?
• 
  20

  Wheat/weeds parable defeats "organization' teaching

  by Zoos in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in his illustration at mathew 13: 24-30, jesus made it clear that the wheat and weeds were to grow together until the harvest.

  this parable runs contrary to the concept put forward by the wt about getting out of the world and running to their organization for salvation.. first of all, the parable says that the weeds will be gathered, bundled and burned first then the wheat will be gathered into the storehouse.. wt teaches that we need to gather up the wheat first.

  not only are they doing it backward, they are teaching that true christians must isolate themselves inside a special wheat organization, separate from the weeds.

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  Faithful Witness

  Here is the timeline that appears in the article of WT July 15, 2013, "Look! I am with you ALL the days."

  http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/w20130715/jesus-parable-wheat-and-weeds/

  My husband and I visited for this WT study on September 8. We are bible students gone bad (decided not to join, but they don't shun us).

  The man at the podium kept referring back to this timeline... again and again... clearly it was scripted, along with a few of his strange remarks.

  He helped interpret the images. There are 2 figures depicted. Jesus is the Sower ("notice he is WHITE and STANDING UPRIGHT"). The Devil is the Enemy ("Notice this other SNEAKY GUY... he is BLACK and STOOPED OVER")

  Comments from the audience (elder's wife, who claimed to have knowledge of wheat farming in particular) were enlightening. Apparently, there is a particular type of weed that grows among wheat. "When you look out over a wheat field, the weeds are very easy to see. The wheat bends with the wind, but the weeds stand stiff and upright."

  Another comment from the audience (another woman): "We can see evidence of this in our modern day society. "Imitation Christians" stand upright and do not bend, but JW's are flexible and able to bend when things change." (convenient, since the wind was shifting dramatically that day!)

  These comments were made in response to the question:

  13. What does Revelation 18:7 reveal about the present attitude of the harlot, or Babylon the Great, including Christendom?

  13 Third, weeping and gnashing. After the angels bundle the weeds, what happens? Speaking about the condition of the weed class, Jesus states: “There is where their weeping and the gnashing of their teeth will be.” ( Matt. 13:42 ) Is that happening right now? No. Today, Christendom, as part of the harlot, still says about herself: “I sit a queen, and I am no widow, and I shall never see mourning.” ( Rev. 18:7 ) Indeed, Christendom feels very much in charge, even presuming to ‘sit as a queen’ atop the class of political leaders. Presently, those represented by the weeds are boasting, not weeping. But that is about to change.

  Revelation 18:7

  7 To the extent that she glorified herself and lived in shameless luxury, to that extent give her torment and mourning. For she keeps saying in her heart: ‘I sit as queen, and I am not a widow, and I will never see mourning.’

  (Just my 2 cents, but I've observed a lot of modern day JW's glorifying themselves and making claims about eternity for themselves)

  To summarize... "DID YOU GET THE POINT??"

  Interpretation from the podium ("Please refer back to the timeline"):

  • Jesus = standing tall and upright
  • The Devil = stooped over

  Additional interpretation from the audience (comments that were congratulated by the man at podium):

  • Weeds = stooped over
  • Wheat = standing tall and upright

  THE POINT: "Bend over! You are Wheat!" (which could mean:)

  • The wind is shifting, be ready to adjust yourself again.
  • Be ready to bend yourself in new ways. Instructions to follow. (grooming them)
  • If you are a faithful JW, congratulate yourself every time you bend with the breeze. Your abilitiy to adapt proves that you are Wheat.

  Many of the comments and remarks that were inserted by the conductor of the WT study, seemed scripted and sometimes awkward. He made a few strange hand gestures that didn't really fit, and the timing of some of his remarks was odd. I grew more and more suspicious as we kept listening to the comments being made, both from the podium and the same few people who kept raising their hands.

  I have come to believe that there is a lot more to these comments and remarks, than meets the eye. I think this explains why so many JW's seem to be confused about what they actually believe. They often can't find the answers in their literature, because the ideas and "understanding" was planted verbally. This is why meeting attendance and theocratic work are so vital to your spiritual health.

  Not only are you unable to understand the Bible without the aid of the Watchtower commentary, you are unable to understand the Watchtower, without the aid of instructions administered to you at the meetings.
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  20

  Wheat/weeds parable defeats "organization' teaching

  by Zoos in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in his illustration at mathew 13: 24-30, jesus made it clear that the wheat and weeds were to grow together until the harvest.

  this parable runs contrary to the concept put forward by the wt about getting out of the world and running to their organization for salvation.. first of all, the parable says that the weeds will be gathered, bundled and burned first then the wheat will be gathered into the storehouse.. wt teaches that we need to gather up the wheat first.

  not only are they doing it backward, they are teaching that true christians must isolate themselves inside a special wheat organization, separate from the weeds.

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  Faithful Witness
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  31

  Right! So the meeting last night, a few interesting things

  by Jon Preston in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so i havent been to a meeting in some time and my wife decided we should go.

  we showed up late, i was love bombed by an elder with a man-hug where i felt i was made a spectacle of.

  moving on.

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  Faithful Witness

  Excuse my ignorance, but do all the KH's have the same "talks" at their ministry school each week?
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  10

  NEW BOE LETTERS

  by WatchTower87 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  instruction: press the 'skip ad' button top right, you should then see the download screen more easily no virus ;-).

  1 -theocratic ministry school review answer sheet to give to the school overseer.

  theocratic ministry school review answer sheet covering assignments for weeks of march 3 through april 28, 2014. pdf : http://adf.ly/egjx8.

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  Faithful Witness

  Maybe they should send someone back to school...
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  22

  The Untold Story of Creation

  by mynameislame in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  posted on behalf of jon p. .

  http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/g201403/untold-story-of-creation/.

  i don't find the article itself very compelling but it seems to be opening up the possibility that a creative day is not a specific time period.

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  Faithful Witness

  The infinity symbol is a well-recognized symbol of the occult, frequently used in Tarot decks. Perhaps you have seen the image of a snake eating its own tale. There is some significance to the 13 stars also. I'm not into it, but recently saw a commentary on their use of this image:

  http://youtu.be/eN4djmk6jKA
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  34

  Atlanta International Convention Hotels Not Being Filled Up!

  by James Jackson in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this week our kh devoted the whole service meeting to the upcoming international convention in atlanta.

  they read a 5 page letter from the branch which stated basically that we should feel priviledged to be invited to this convention.. however, many are not using the "recomended lodging list", "many hotels still have plenty of rooms available", "we must be loyal to this arrangement", (or the organization will not get their comp rooms)..

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  Faithful Witness

  Is there already a discussion about the international convention in Detroit? I seem to have missed that, and would love to hear any information people have heard. My family will be attending the Detroit convention, and my mom told me there will be 25,000 people. She is very excited about it. :/
• 
  31

  Right! So the meeting last night, a few interesting things

  by Jon Preston in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so i havent been to a meeting in some time and my wife decided we should go.

  we showed up late, i was love bombed by an elder with a man-hug where i felt i was made a spectacle of.

  moving on.

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  Faithful Witness

  I agree with AlphaMan. I love hearing reports from the inside. I can't stomach another meeting anytime soon.

  JW's are human, and people say the strangest things! Thanks for sharing, and avoid too much exposure to their attempts to re-indoctrinate you.
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  8

  Hilarious: Overzealous JW scares Crap out of Woman. Police Blotter Stow, MA

  by kneehighmiah in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  9:45am suspicious activity.

  a caller from whitman street reported that a car pulled into her driveway; a man went to the door and knocked very hard.

  the caller was scared.

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  Faithful Witness

  "Call 911! Someone's knocking on the door... really hard!"

  In the same town on the following day, a dog crossed the road! What is this world coming to??

  8:44pm ANIMAL
  A caller from Taylor Road reported that a medium-sized white dog with yellow spots ran across the street in front of his car. The caller was concerned. The Animal Control Officer was notified.