[From ws15/08 p. 24 for Oct. 19 -25]
“Bad associations spoil useful habits.” – 1Co 15:33
The Last Days
“The Bible calls the era that began in 1914 ‘the last days.’” – par. 1
Since the article starts out with a categorical statement, it seems only fair that we should make one of our own.
“The Bible does not call the era that began in 1914 ‘the last days.’”
Which statement is true? Unlike the article, we will now provide scriptural support for our assertion.
The phrase “last days” occurs four times in the Christian Scriptures at Acts 2:17-21; 2 Timothy 3:1-7; James 5:3; and 2 Peter 3:3.
The paragraph refers to 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Whenever we use this passage to support the JW view of the last days, we stop at verse 5. That’s because the next two verses tend to undermine our belief that the last days only started in 1914. There, Paul is referring to conditions within the Christian congregation, conditions which succeeding generations of Christians down through the ages would face.
Likewise, both James 5:3 and 2 Peter 3:3 make no sense if we think they can only apply to our day. Nevertheless, the most convincing piece of evidence that the last days did not start in 1914 is found at Acts 2:17-21. There, Peter refers to the events that his audience was witnessing and uses them to prove they were seeing the fulfillment of Joel’s Last Days prophecy.
While Peter makes the start of the last days then, in the first century, he also shows that Joel’s words make the end. He refers to signs in the heavens—the sun turning to darkness, the moon to blood, and the arrival of the “great and illustrious day of the Lord.” Now that sounds an awful lot like what Jesus spoke of at Matthew 24:29, 30 when speaking about his return, does it not?
It would therefore seem that the last days are concurrent with the Christian Era. They began with events marking the initial calling of the Children of God which all creation had been awaiting for thousands of years, and they end with the final ones of their number being gathered. (Ro 8:16-19; Mt 24:30, 31)
Critical Times, Hard to Deal with
The first paragraph continues with another categorical falsehood.
“These ‘critical times hard to deal with’ are marked by conditions that are far worse than any experienced by mankind prior to that climactic year.”
This statement ignores the facts of history. The dark ages were far worse than anything the eight million Jehovah’s Witnesses studying this week’s article have ever experienced. Take, for instance, the time period covered by the 100 Years War and the Black Death. Imagine a century of war followed by the bubonic plague. The plague affected all of Europe, parts of Africa, and spread through the orient to Asia and China. Imagine living in Europe at a time when one out of every three people died from the Black Death, not to count those killed by the sword. Believe it or not, those are conservative estimates. Other researchers put the number of dead in Europe at 60% of the population, and claim that the world population dropped by 25% as a result.[i]
Can you picture that? Now think of your own life experience. Only by turning a blind eye to the events of history can Jehovah’s Witnesses be led to believe that our day is marked by “conditions far worse than any experienced by mankind prior to 1914”. To anyone in the know, this statement is outrageous.
It is not only ancient history we must be ignorant of. We must also turn a blind eye to our own history.
“Moreover, the world will continue to deteriorate, for Bible prophecy foretold that ‘wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse.’”— 2 Tim 3:13.
We still can’t get past the article’s first paragraph, because here is yet another false statement to deal with. First of all, the article is misquoting 2 Timothy 3:13. By rights, it should have included an ellipsis after “from bad to worse” because the full verse reads:
“But wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse, misleading and being misled.” (2Ti 3:13)
This is still part of Paul’s warning to Timothy about conditions that mark the “last days”. Therefore, he is still talking about the Christian congregation, not the world at large. Since the start of the 20th century, world conditions have worsened and then improved and then worsened again and then improved even more. However, since Paul’s day and down through to our time “wicked men and impostors” in the Christian congregation have continued to “advance from bad to worse, misleading and being misled.” The congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses is but one case in point. So Paul wasn’t giving us a sign by which we could measure how close we are to Christ’s return. He makes no mention of Christ’s return. What he is actually warning us about is being misled by wicked men. (See also 2Ti 3:6, 7)
“Bad Associations Spoil Useful Habits”
Finally we get beyond the first paragraph.
One cannot argue with a plainly stated truth like that found at 1 Corinthians 15:33. Given that, what constitutes a bad association?
“Although we want to be kind even to those who do not follow God’s laws, we should not become their intimate associates or close friends. It would therefore be wrong for one of Jehovah’s Witnesses who is a single person to date such an individual who is not dedicated and faithful to God and who does not respect His high standards. Maintaining Christian integrity is far more important than becoming popular with people who do not live by Jehovah’s laws. Our close associates should be those who do God’s will. Jesus said: ‘Whoever does the will of God, this one is my brother and sister and mother.’”— Mark 3:35.
The principle stated here is that we should not become close friends, let alone marry anyone, who does not follow God’s laws, does not respect His high standards, and does not maintain Christian integrity. It is more important to keep integrity than to be popular with people who do not live by Jehovah’s laws.
Well and good. One of Jehovah’s foremost laws is the very first of the Ten Commandments: “You must not have any other gods besides me.” A god is someone whom we obey implicitly and unquestioningly. Therefore, when commanded to stop preaching, Peter and the apostles stated, “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)
Could it be that Jehovah’s Witnesses have just qualified themselves as bad associations? After all, if someone among them points out that a teaching of the Governing Body is unscriptural and attempts to demonstrate this using the Bible, that one is cast out and cut off from family and friends.
There are many of us now who continue to associate with Jehovah’s Witnesses. However, it is not the Organization we associate with, but individuals. That is why we will refuse to fellowship with some former friends and associates who, while they may even be elders in the congregation, do not follow God’s law about obeying Him over men, and who thus do not maintain Christian integrity. Such ones appear to men as ministers of righteousness, but their unloving works often manifested by the way they have abused the “little ones” demonstrate that they are bad association. (2Co 11:15; Lu 17:1, 2; Mt 7:15-20)
There are those among Jehovah’s Witnesses who know that some of our teachings are false, but who choose to teach them anyway from the platform or in the field ministry. Why? Because of fear of man. They want to remain “popular with people who do not live by Jehovah’s laws.” On the other hand, a growing number are keeping their Christian integrity even though it means being persecuted by fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses, just as Peter and the other apostles were persecuted by fellow Jews. Sometimes the persecution takes the form of slander and character assassination. Other times, it gravitates toward being cut off from everyone we hold dear.
Disfellowshipping is now used as a weapon of darkness in much the same way at the ancient Catholic church used excommunication. (See “A Weapon of Darkness” for details.)
Marry “Only in the Lord”
The question has come up among those of us who are still single and who have awakened to this new spiritual reality, “How am I now to marry only in the Lord.” Prior to this, the answer was simple: Marry another Jehovah’s Witness. However, now what do we do?
There is no easy answer, but I would put it to you that the Watchtower has given us, albeit unwittingly, a direct answer. “Our close associates should be those who do God’s will.” One might look for a suitable mate among Jehovah’s Witnesses (or elsewhere) and then see if he or she is willing to abandon the false teachings that separate him from Christ. (John 4:23) If so, if the individual is willing to obey God as ruler over men even if it means suffering the reproach of the Christ—the disdain of the congregation—then one may well have found a suitable mate in the Lord. (He 11:26; Mt 16:24)
There are many fine individuals among Jehovah’s Witnesses. Good men and women trying to display Christian qualities of love, honesty, and virtue. There are also many individuals who have a form of godly devotion, but prove false to its power. (See 2Ti 3:5. We are still in the last days after all.) The same can be said about members of other religions. The dividing line that Jehovah’s Witnesses cling to is the belief that they alone have the truth. I once thought that way, but independent Bible study has taught me that all the core beliefs that make Witnesses unique are based on the teachings of men and have no foundation in Scripture. Thus, while different in many ways from most other Christian religions, Witnesses are the same in that key element of submission to the teachings and traditions of men over God and his Word.
Associate with Those Who Love Jehovah
The purpose of this article is to convince Jehovah’s Witnesses to remain separate from the world and the “false” religions surrounding them. The final paragraph reinforces this mindset:
“As worshippers of Jehovah, we need to imitate Noah and his family and obedient first-century Christians. We must keep separate from the wicked system of things around us and seek upbuilding associates among the millions of our faithful brothers and sisters….If we watch our associations in these last days, we may personally live right through the end of this evil system and into Jehovah’s righteous new world now so near at hand!”
The idea is that our salvation is not gained personally, but is a consequence of remaining inside the ark-like Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Oh, that it were that easy! But just as well that it isn’t.
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[i] See Wikipedia for links to outside sources.
Archived Comments
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Comment by Buster on 2015-10-19 13:42:30
This article is funny and let sure there is some good points, bit also more ( alot more stuff in here about obeying ) when you look at the Jw website they have a page setup do Jehovah witnesses ban certain movies, books, or songs?? I love the word they choose ban. Well if you read that short page, they say ( right they say) it is up to people to decide what is good and viewable to watch. Sure if you say so. Look we all can watch we want, each person own conscience is up to them, bit we all know when Assemblys, and a lot of kindomhall talks talk about TV shows just this year a brother talked about TV shows he railed off about 10 names of TV shows and saying to watch out for them. I laughed bit of course the organization does not ban, oh no sir. And we all know back in the day almost 10 years plus when there was Dateline shows talking about the organisation and the child abuse problem ( it was just starting the get media attention a while back, this with in this generation ) brothers were saying don't watch. Because it was lies, Whoops... I guess there was someone lying but not the ones who were said to be lying. Look I watch a lot of TV, I watch dateline, 20/20, 48 hours, a lot deal with cops trying to catch criminals, do I practise those.criminals do, not one bit, but hey we have to obey the Organization and wait they don't ban things right. ( look at the article main photo TV, music movies ....Right they don't ban)
And they use in the article Romans 16:17,18 of course Paul was talking about his current generation ( that word is forever changed or me) but the organization uses it in the article for outside people, rear it again it sounds like one particular Organization I know of, I will let you think about that one.
In paragraph paragraph 9 more mind control bent speech, world media (includes well we all know it includes news programs)
Well they say much of what is produced by the worlds media can be spiritual dangerous to Christians, it reflects Satan's evil world and its goals, i mentioned before our recent CO started talking about what is demonic and he used that over well over 15 times in his talk, and the first thing he said was the media, right, I wonder why, now is there dangerous things out in the media, I ain't gonna say no, but I won't ever use the word it is demonic, but the Co did, and remember GB ( one of the guardians of doctrines ) Anthony Morris said the media you know the new don't talk the witnesses, we all know who is running them, he did not say the word but really if can't read what he saying well I just don't know. And he says we will.make our own News....sure like telling us and lying about the child abuse in the July broadcast, Begging for money in the may broadcast, September broadcast talking about this Generation and the lamest Chart I have ever seen. January broadcast going on for 27 minutes how higher education is bad, oh yeah the CO also said that higher education is you know the world. But in paragraph 11 the organization will have you to believe there media , check out this line of comedy,
Through his organization, our heavenly father is providing an abdunace of up building spiritual food. How blessed we are to have magazines, brochures, books, videos, and web pages that Promote True Worship.
Yup that just happened, so if you were reading the last two articles before this article, you were filled with half truths, white washing the organization past history, lying and especially in the article before this, telling people to obey the organization and making up stuff about the Paradise, so yup True Worship, where can I get more. :)
Love to all from Buster
(PS I believe you got the article title wrong my brother)
Reply by Menrov on 2015-10-20 10:16:57
Par. 4 of the article says: The religious, political, and commercial elements of this world—including their information channels—are under the influence of “the god of this system of things,” Satan the Devil
Hmm...religious elements and their information channels .... then what is the organization? Not a religious element? If not, what are they?
Reply by Anonymous on 2015-10-21 01:29:21
Really appreciated this article the GB really are reinforcing their fear that the only way to salvation is to stay in the organization and associate with JW that are the only ones doing Gods will and are the only good associations.
The GB measure a persons spirituality by the amount of hours meeting attendance and obedience to those taking the lead even if some of those elders are not obeying the word themselves, really one has to value their relationship with God more, and obey the scriptures do not associate with anyone not obey the word.
Its is hard very hard but one gradually I believe just fades away from the org because you can't in good conscience stay where you no longer feel your part of it, nor can you preach what you don't believe, for others they stay for family but this is has to come to a choice family or God if they continue to cling to the GB then they are the bad associations within.
Comment by menrov on 2015-10-20 10:33:06
Just some observations:
Par. 4 says: The religious, political, and commercial elements of this world—including their information channels—are under the influence of “the god of this system of things,” Satan the Devil
Hmm. the religious elements and their information channels...is the organization not a religion? If they are not a religious element, then what are they?
Par 6: If we were to associate with those who do not obey God’s laws, we might have the tendency to do what they do in order to be accepted by them.
Should we associate with those who accept the counsel: Honor the Son like you honor the Father.....or should we avoid them....?
Par 7: Although we want to be kind even to those who do not follow God’s laws,...
Hmm is it not a command by Jesus to love your enemy.....if believe this command has nothing to do with WANTING TO BE KIND.....
Same par 7: Whoever does the will of God, this one is my brother and sister and mother.
Well, if one is considered by Jesus HIs brother, than he is also considered by the Father to be HIS child....
Par. 11: the material produced by Jehovah’s organization in these last days encourages conduct that leads to eternal life
Just keep calling it Jehovah's organization and the R&F will see it that way and will feel most uncomfortable to challenge or question doctrines or practices in the organization.....
Again the par. tries to make th R&F believe that eternal life can be earned.
Also in par. 11: we consider Bible-based material that builds faith in God and his promises
Well, I might suggest to consider the bible instead of the material supposedly based on the bible.
Par 19: Sticking with those who are guided by God-given wisdom will help us to “stand firm in the faith” during these very difficult times
Hmm, is this sentence trying to say that Gods wisdom is given to those who act as guides for the R&F? Or is it saying that each R&F is guided by God-given wisdom?
Comment by Father jack on 2015-10-20 11:20:28
Whats so shocking about these watchtower studies is that fact that the witnesses seem to have thier own message contained in each paragraph and the scriptures very often one verse is taken mostly completely out of context to support thier view contained in the article . Im sorry but its not the way to study the scriptures . Ive just read the article again and its just incredible how many scriptures have been applied in ways that just do not represent the the true meaning behind the verse when read in its context . The witnesses have thier own agenda just how can it be gods organisation when they use his word like that . Thanks for the review meleti it must be heart rendering to uncover these misapplications every week . And it tells me something about the witnesses real spiritual state do they even read the new testament anymore .
Comment by Skye on 2015-10-20 11:40:14
"Associate with those who love Jehovah" i.e. Jehovah's Witnesses. Since leaving the Organisation, I discovered this teaching for JWs only served to separate us from our fellow man. Once we loose that elitist attitude so prevalent among JWs, we begin to see our fellow man in a whole new different light which opens up many opportunities to preach the good news of the Kingdom more effectively. We are also more inclined to show kindness and love to those in need whether they listen to the good news of not.
Reply by Menrov on 2015-10-20 15:56:14
Absolutely agree.
Comment by miken on 2015-10-20 11:53:46
"Thus, while different in many ways from most other Christian religions, Witnesses are the same in that key element of submission to the teachings and traditions of men over God and his Word"
I disassociated from JW's and am now a member of a free evangelical church. The church beliefs are bible based and we have bible study groups where scriptures are openly examined and discussed. Sometimes during sermons comments and points of view are invited and these contributions are usually biblically based. It is true that the church conforms to a broad evangelical tradition but traditions of scriptural interpretation, understanding, belief and practice are part of all churches. The key question is whether or not these can be scripturally supported. We do not have a governing body dictating to us but a periodically elected group of elders and deacons (ministerial servants) with members of the church fully involved in church meetings discussing all church matters. In the main the elders (our pastor is an elder) and deacons are responsible for teaching but what is taught can be and is discussed in Sunday lunch and fellowship groups. The church is Christ centred with a communion service with him once every two weeks and all that are "born of the Spirit" participate in the meal of bread and wine just as our Lord Jesus commanded us. Any who may come to disagree with any of our beliefs and practices are free to leave without any sanctions being applied against them.
Comment by Anonymous on 2015-10-20 13:10:57
Meleti,
"Thus, while different in many ways from most other Christian religions, Witnesses are the same in that key element of submission to the teachings and traditions of men over God and his Word."
This is very true.
Christians attend the church that feels right to them tolerating whatever problems they may eventually see, with many believing that God knows and God allows.
There are former Witnesses who are today Roman Catholics, Bible Students, Jews, Pentecostals and so on. They found something more comfortable, something they believe is closer to truth than the JWs. Each made the decision to leave and the decision to embrace something else. They did as their heart and conscience led them.
Beroean Pickets is your site. It is a Christian site that has become a place for JWs who, seeing the sad state of affairs in their religion, can read articles which confirm what their hearts are also saying. A place to enjoy fellowship with those of like mind.
You have provided a place, a home for the homeless, shall we say.
There will be no more opposition from us, my husband and I.
Keep going, brother.
With Christian love,
Deborah
Comment by Anonymous on 2015-10-20 19:37:18
excellent article!
Comment by The Way on 2015-10-21 05:48:25
If you examine Paul's writings and thinking attentively, you will quickly see that:
IN THE LORD = IN CHRIST
Christ is the Lord here. Couldn't be simpler than that. But according to official JW doctrine, most JWs can NOT affirm that they are "in the Lord", synonymous with "in Christ."
So we have to ask, why are 99.99 % of JWs disregarding the biblical counsel to marry "only IN THE LORD"? /!\ To marry in the Lord, you first have to be in the Lord yourself. (99.8 % of JWs are not professing to be "in the Lord", and of the remaining 0.2 %, many will marry someone who is not professing to be "in the Lord.")
Most JWs want to "imitate" Christ and would want to have a partner who is very much like Christ... Yet the one thing most JWs are ignoring is to seek, first and foremost, a partner who is truly "IN THE LORD" in the sense the apostle Paul intended here. That is strange.
Comment by Anonymous on 2015-10-21 06:32:03
1914. Don't ever read "The Gentile Times Reconsidered" by Carl Olof Jonsson if you wish to hang on to this treasured year. Be prepared for some real cognitive dissonance. The research that went into his book is astounding.
Reply by The Real Anonymous on 2015-10-21 12:20:20
Even more devastating than "The Gentile Times Reconsidered" is his other book, "Sign of the Last Days - When?" This book totally demolishes the notion of 1914 being the start of the last days. Not only due to 607BC not being the year Jerusalem was destroyed, but errors in interpreting Daniel, the flaws in viewing current world conditions as "signs" (since they are not as definitive as WT would like us to believe) and most important, that Matthew doesn't say these events WERE signs. They were conditions that we should expect but that we should NOT be deceived into thinking they were signs of Christ's presence. They were signs of what NOT to look for. So even if world conditions worsened in 1914, it would be irrelevant.
IMHO, all JWs should read these:
- The two books above by Carl Olaf Johsson
- The two books by Ray Franz
And, they should listen to the YouTube video by Peter Gregerson: "Is The Watchtower God's Only Organization?" See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or72IKBkmHM
This evidence alone, to me, is enough to convince me that WT is in error, in a way that cannot be refuted. There is basically nothing more that is really needed.
Comment by Father jack on 2015-10-21 17:30:17
The watchtower misappliations 2 timothy 3 verses 1 to 5 is not a prophecy about post 1914 conditions but a description of attitudes that existed in pauls day .as you said meleti para 3 2 tim 3v 12 thevast majority of witnesses are not living in christ even by thier own admission but only the so called anointed are .1 john 2v 15 and 16 in my opinion have nothing to do with asociation including information chanels ie the internet but is a personal exhortation to avoid traits like desire of the flesh (immoral behaviour ) of the eyes (coveting ) materialism ect . 1 cor 15 v33 is warning about close association with thosewho do not believe the ressurection . Romans 16 v 16 17 should not be applied to all wrongdoers but to those false teachers who try to exploit christians for thierown profit . Thats just the first 5 paragraphs i could go on here. But im sick of it sorry
Reply by The Real Anonymous on 2015-10-21 21:46:43
You correctly speak of "the so called anointed". If we look closely at the history of the WT in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is clear that they were not in possession of biblical truth - at least not very much of it. There is no reason to believe that God and Christ would have inspected the Bible Students and found them to be providing proper spiritual food at that time, any more so than any other religion. Rutherford repudiated nearly everything that Russell and the Bible Students stood for. Today, if a JW were to espouse the doctrines of the Bible Students, they would be disfellowshipped. So, either Russell was right and Rutherford was wrong, or Russell was wrong and Rutherford was right. If Russell was wrong, then WT was built on a false foundation - one that Christ never would have approved of or selected - and if Rutherford was wrong, a right foundation was rejected. In either scenario, WT has built their organization around falsehoods, blasphemy and idolatry, in holding up themselves and now their GB as if gods to be obeyed without question.
In view of that, would God truly anoint persons for the purpose of giving their whole-souled efforts to such an organization that has failed to uphold His word, and failed to properly honor His son? IMHO, members of the WT organization that claim to be part of "the so called anointed" are only anointed in their own minds. These people are in fact not anointed at all. They are mistaken - all of them.
There is thus no reason for there to be any separation between two groups of people in the WT. There is only one group, a group that is not God's people and not God's organization. They have neither an earthly hope nor a heavenly hope, but in fact no hope at all, unless they divest themselves of this false religion.
Comment by peely on 2015-10-21 23:05:36
"Sticking with those who are guided by God-given wisdom will help us to “stand firm in the faith” during these very difficult times" paragraph 19.
Is the following the result of God-given wisdom?
“In the past, we THOUGHT that the great tribulation began in 1914 when World War I started. We THOUGHT that Jehovah “cut short” those days in 1918 when the war ended so that the remaining anointed ones on earth could preach the good news to all nations. (Matthew 24:21, 22) After that preaching work would be completed, we EXPECTED that Satan’s world would be destroyed. So we THOUGHT that there were three parts to the great tribulation. It would begin in 1914, it would be interrupted in 1918, and it would finish at Armageddon.” “Tell Us, When Will These Things Be” ws13 7/15 pp. 3-8 (caps for emphasis)
“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!“‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,” when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, they coat it with whitewash." Ezek 13:2,10
"Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ" Gal 1:11,12
These thoughts and expectations can only be from the imagination, human reasoning. Is God involved here at all? I don't think so.
The beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord,
and acknowledging the Holy One is understanding. Prov 9:10
Comment by The Real Anonymous on 2015-10-22 09:29:59
Saw a funny quote on another web site. The gist of it was, "Whenever WT changes its interpretations and doctrines, they call it 'new light'. Only, the T is silent ..."
Comment by Father jack on 2015-10-22 12:32:23
Para 11 john 17 v3 in my opinion hasnt got alot to do with the books and magazines produced by the organisation but has alot to do with gods word the bible itself see verses 6 , 8 and 17 2 corinthians 6v 14 is talking about not being involved in pagan worship of idols . And to marry only in the lord means just that we are not speaking here of just a dedicated baptised witness of jehovah . For the lord paul means is the lord jesus christ for would it not be true that if paul meant jehovah then why have the watchtower not substituted the word for soveriegn lord or the name jehovah or god . Also the fact remains that the vast majority of witnesses do not even claim to be in the lord jesus christ . As has already been said on this blog
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2015-10-22 12:41:42
Hi Father Jack. I notice you like to refer to Bible verses using the nomenclature v. Of course you are free to do so. However, if you use : the software will recognize what you reference and provide a link to a bible version for easy lookup.
Compare John 17 v3 with John 17:3. As you can see it recognizes "John 17" but misses the reference to verse 3.
Just a helpful hint.Reply by Father jack on 2015-10-22 14:49:26
Thanks . Ill do that then i didnt know that . Thanks for your hard work .
Comment by Father jack on 2015-10-24 03:12:33
And as for paragraph 7 mark 3;35 those who do the will of god are christs brothers and sisters and choosing a marraige mate from them , Again the vast majority of witnesses are told that they are not christs brothers at all . Are they or not we cant have it both ways ,and if they are not how can it be said that they are actually doing gods will . Can anyone explain that ?
Comment by Brenda Evans on 2015-10-24 10:39:13
Hello everyone
Meleti, I have to thank you again for thoughtful observations on just how dangerous a time we live in.
I would like to share with you my observations in answering the question posed at para 4 on the piece - asking readers to illustrate how they would prepare themselves for lift in the new world. To me, and like your other readers, and to those who are simply 'not in The Truth' (us lot outside must really be a scourge and unclean (!) - and I think that if you asked any Joe Bloggs on the high street who reckons that they love God, and love His Son, they might go along with the way I answered the question.
To me, it's quite simple, Learning and preparation are key. Who can teach us? Jehovah and Jesus.
In addition, I have to smile - I highlighted this text whilst reading the study as it really stood out to me and it was highlighted before I answered the question: Quote "Failure to accept God’s direction has led to suffering, misery, even tragedy. (Jer. 10:23) How we look forward to the time when all mankind will submit to Jehovah’s loving sovereignty!"
Quite apt, I thought. Although I tend to answer the questions, purposely not following the requirements of the GB, but answering from the heart, mind and in a way I really hope I might bring a little pleasure to Jehovah and that I can learn from. And being true to how I feel about the Scriptures and the questions in the studies.
One of the thoughts that also struck me are those words at 2Tim3:13: Not only do we have to deal and contend with being among wicked men and imposters, and being misled by them, but equally, they are being misled which will obviously increase the chances of being misled. Being put in a very difficult place, at the hands of someone who either should know better or are responsible for your well being, is not just difficult but increases in difficulty, and it isn't just a once-in-a-lifetime misleading - each time they speak, they mislead; and each time they are misled, they pass it on.
I have regularly thought about the people outside the 8 million in the organisation. Some of these are as God fearing as you can think, they believe, they try to live a life which is in harmony with what Jehovah and Jesus taught and would like us to lead, yet they are chastised, according to the teaching I have heard, and their hope of anything is moreorless nothing. And then you have to reconcile what Jesus said about the other sheep.
I really wonder about these others, who follow, living a natural life in harmony with the Commandments that Jehovah and Jesus taught and share with us, without grudge etc but a desire and a want to live their lives like this. And then I try to imagine a scenario with a shepherd on a hillside, and the flock are enjoying the grass, and the sun is shining, and all is well - - - and in the next field, the shepherd sees another flock, who are doing just what they should be doing but the fence between them prevents one joining the other, yet the shepherd knows and sees these others are no different than the ones in his charge. It must be frustrating.
But, these are the teachings of man. And one thing I have noticed with increasing commonity with some organisations that are being deplored, that Scriptures are being pulled out in their individualism to drive a point home - I have mentioned about this in my Bible Study (mainly about other religions I have been in), but I find it is increasing with the WT studies - and that the spirit of the Scripture is usually not embraced let alone the full and proper message the Scripture is conveying. So sad.
I come back to how I prefer to learn and try to apply - I simply ask Jehovah for His teaching when I am reading His Word.
Comment by father jack on 2015-10-26 06:58:00
As for this watchtower that alex is highlighting up top the one that i cant seem to comment . Zechariah 8;23 where it says men from the nations will take hold of the skirt of the man who is a jew to my mind anyway seems to be speaking of people answering the call to put faith in the Jesus christ . While the you may be in the plural would it not be reasonable to conclude that this began to be fullfilled by the apostles who went out to the nations urging them to put faith in the jew the man jesus christ .
Reply by Anonymous on 2015-10-26 10:14:20
There is this from the NWT:
23 “This is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘It will be in those days that ten men out of all the languages of the nations will take hold, yes, they will actually take hold of the skirt of a man who is a Jew, saying: “We will go with YOU people, for we have heard [that] God is with YOU people.”’”
There are problems with this translation. The original text does not contain "people", and only has "YOU" by implication. In contrast, the ten men are said to take hold of A man who is A Jew, yet all of a sudden these ten men are speaking to "YOU people". So, the audience for these ten men's utterance changes from singular to plural in mid-sentence.
That is very strange. A comparison of this verse at http://www.biblestudytools.com/zechariah/8-23-compare.html which shows some 37 versions (with a few duplicates) does not have a single instance where this version is translated as "you people" but only as "you".
It does seem that WT wants this verse to refer to themselves, rather than having it refer to Christ. Even the Pharisee Nicodemus knew this.
John 3:1-2: Now there was a man of the Pharisees, Nicodemus was his name, a ruler of the Jews. This one came to him in the night and said to him: “Rabbi, we know that you as a teacher have come from God; for no one can perform these signs that you perform unless God is with him.”
How is that even a Pharisee can see that Jesus was the one God was with, and every other Bible translator could see this, but WT cannot?
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2015-10-26 10:49:09
Thanks for sharing this, Anon. This is a really valuable insight. I'll keep it in mind the next time someone tries to use Zech. 8:23 to support the anointed class as a group to which the other sheep must cling for salvation.
Reply by Father jack on 2015-10-26 13:32:51
Thats right anonymous in my research i looked at quite a few different translations and did not notice the word people in any of them . I dont know for sure wether or not the word you is in the plural in the original writings . I was making the point though even if it is the man mentioned in the text still seems to apply to christ .
Reply by The Real Anonymous on 2015-10-26 15:38:18
Based on the Hebrew text, there is not even the presence of the word "you". Rather than saying, "We will go with you people" or even "We will go with you" it only says "We will go WITH". The word "with" shows as the Hebrew word "immakem", a simple preposition, and the notion of 'number' seems to go unspecified. Thus, the words "you" or "you people" are assumed and inserted. Either way, an accurate translation really should be showing brackets here. Since there is no explicit object for "go", the translator must make an assumption. Based on the sentence structure (a reference to A man who is A jew), it makes the most sense for "WITH" to mean that particular person - a single man who was a jew - and thus, a singular object. Making the assumption that "you" is implied (and, a singular 'you' at that) is consistent with what is written in the Hebrew text, whereas "you people", implying a plural, is not supported by the grammar.
Those are my observations as an amateur, not an expert in Hebrew, but I have a hard time believing that "you people" is correct.
Reply by Menrov on 2015-10-27 02:31:32
Very interesting. It is another example to show that the NWT can be very biased at times and that it is essential for good understanding to see various translations and preferably with good footnotes.
In case of this verse: _http://studybible.info/compare/Zechariah%208:23