[From ws6/17 p. 4 – July 31-August 6]
“The God of all comfort . . . comforts us in all our trials.”—2Co 1:3, 4
(Occurrences: Jehovah=23; Jesus=2)
Here we go again, marginalizing Jesus. The title and theme text make the reader think that all comfort comes from Jehovah, but if they dutifully quoted the full thought from Paul expressed in the opening verses of the second letter to the Corinthians—perhaps even making it the “Read Scripture” for paragraph 1—the flock would get a better picture of Jesus' role in providing comfort.
“May you have undeserved kindness and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of tender mercies and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our trials so that we may be able to comfort others in any sort of trial with the comfort that we receive from God. 5 For just as the sufferings for the Christ abound in us, so the comfort we receive through the Christ also abounds.” (2Co 1:2-5)
In other words, take Jesus out of the picture and we get no comfort from God at all. No Jesus, no comfort. It’s that simple. Despite this reality, no reference to our Lord’s vital role in providing comfort to the oppressed is made in this article.
Jesus said: “. . .Come to me, all YOU who are toiling and loaded down, and I will refresh YOU. 29 Take my yoke upon YOU and learn from me, for I am mild-tempered and lowly in heart, and YOU will find refreshment for YOUR souls. 30 For my yoke is kindly and my load is light.”” (Mt 11:28-30)
This was a "new truth" if you will, or better said, a new reality that transcended the comfort provided to God's servants in pre-Christian Israelite times. Does this article make use of the abundant examples from the life of Jesus to show his followers—for that is what Witnesses still claim to be, n'est-ce pas—that he is now the means by which we can gain comfort and refreshment for our souls? Not a bit of it! No, all the examples harken back to the times before Christ came to earth to free us from sin. They go way back to before the flood for one example of God's comfort. Fair enough. Nothing wrong with drawing from the times before Jesus for examples of God comforting his servants, but a little balance please! Let us give the man his due. (Romans 5:15; 1 Timothy 2:5)
Unfortunately, they do not. In this article, Jehovah is referred to 23 times, while Jesus garners only two adjectival mentions: “Jesus’ promise” (par. 9) and “Jesus’ day” (par. 12). An exceedingly poor showing, even for The Watchtower.
The rest of the issue deals with the difficulties facing married couples. Of course, some of those difficulties are the result of failed expectations born of the false teachings and “end mongering” of the Organization. How many couples would have had children had they not been primed to believe the end was “just around the corner”? How many elderly couples today have no children to care for them in their old age because of their misguided trust in the prophetic interpretations of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses? How many families made poor financial decisions, even to spending all their savings, during the euphoria of the 1975 fiasco? How many children from that era were deprived because their parents, thinking the end was only a few years away, uprooted them before completing school, going off to serve where the "need was greater", squandering the money that could have been used to provide their offspring with an education resulting in gainful employment. All of this was done in a vain attempt to curry favor with God before Armageddon struck?
Does the Governing Body acknowledge any role whatsoever in the “tribulations of the flesh” that they have caused? Their repeated "adjustments" (really, misapplications) to the interpretation of “this generation” (Matthew 24:34) have caused many a couple to put off having children until it was too late, or make other life-altering ill-informed decisions.
Has the Governing Body learned from their past mistakes. Oh yes, they have learned from their mistakes. They have learned from their mistakes and are repeating them exactly. After dropping (in the mid-1990s) the whole idea of calculating the length of the last days by using a generation as the measuring stick, they resurrected it once again in 2010, stretching credulity to the breaking point for many JWs. The latest “adjustment” to their application of Matthew 24:34 has them creating a super-generation consisting of two disparate but overlapping generations. By their calculations, this new super-generation means the end will come before the current members of the Governing Body are old and decrepit. (See They’re Doing It Again.) Given their ages, we're talking in the 8 to 10 year range—15 tops.
Of course, this isn't the only way they've contributed to the "tribulation in the flesh" for married couples and their children. Their ongoing denunciation of higher education has deprived many of gainful employment and ensured them of a life of economic hardship working in demeaning and tedious jobs.
Some would argue that Jehovah has always provided, and yes He does provide. But does he provide because he supports the ban on higher education, or in spite of it. We are all free to choose our own course. If you want to study to be a lawyer or a doctor, that's fine. If you want to live out your life as a window washer or a night janitor, more power to you. But no one should try to impose their rules and standards upon you. No one should guilt you into making a decision you would have not made of your own free will. That would decidedly be "going beyond what is written." (1Co 4:6)
Any thoughtful Witness would do well to ponder the following words of our Lord Jesus to see if maybe, just maybe, they continue to apply to this day.
“They bind up heavy loads and put them on the shoulders of men, but they themselves are not willing to budge them with their finger.” (Mt 23:4)
Archived Comments
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Comment by John S on 2017-07-30 20:29:23
Once one catches on to what the writers up there have been doing since the 1950's; that is diminishing Jesus' role as leader, and wiping out his holy spirit/heaven bound gospel....it becomes easy to see in almost every thing they write.
Once you get it?....you get it.
Again well done, pointing out poor Jesus getting thrown under the bus.
The problem WT writers can't see, is who's gonna be driving the bus when it gets here.Reply by John S on 2017-07-30 20:34:53
One more time.
In the 'Return to Jehovah' booklet?
I counted God's name Jehovah 147 times I believe...Jesus? less than 5.
What is this really all about? Who is behind all this , especially since 1931, and the Great Crowd gospel really started up? Since then Jesus and his message exited WT.Reply by Jerome on 2017-07-31 09:00:08
I can't wait until we finish this God's Kingdom Rules book. Next up,
"Jesus The Way, The Truth, The Life"
Jesus: 2,779
Jehovah: 87Reply by katrina on 2017-08-03 08:45:21
typical of the GB Christ has been deliberately bypassed, never taking the context into consideration where Christ is concerned. It its not just Jehovah its the organization and the GB/FDS that gets mentioned way more than the one God has given all authority to Christ.
Reply by wild olive on 2017-08-02 04:43:21
Hi John S
I like the irony of the "great crowd gospel", for years I would meet people in field service and they would say " you people don't believe in Jesus" I used to think how could they say such a thing,of course I believe in Jesus,now I realise what those folk meant,JWs don't give Jesus the honour that the scriptures require us to give him,so effectively they have confused things as other false teachings like the trinity, it's just a different set of falsehoods,unique to JWs.
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2017-07-30 22:03:32
Good point, John S.
Reply by vinman on 2017-07-30 22:42:43
So true. As a born-in, I never seen this undermining of Christ. But wow! It hits you like a brick! Like you said, in EVERYTHING they write. The Greatest Man book is a veneer to hide behind. Just keep updating the book and use it as a tool to "prove" they honor Christ.
Reply by eve04 on 2017-07-30 23:40:57
You are absolutely correct John S, once you get it you get it. I know this pertains to the WT on Do You Love Me More than These, but I have to relate this because it shows the attitude toward Christ. A sister made the comment that when Jesus asked Peter do you love me.....she twisted it and said, so we can see how Peter really loved Jehovah and wanted to feed his sheep, and the conductor said very good. I was flabbergasted. So the bro and sisters really don't see it.
To them Jehovah will be driving the bus and Jesus will still be under it. They don't get it.
Comment by huang on 2017-07-30 22:14:59
Hi Meleti, great analysis. One important technique I learnt from you - read the context.
An elder I thought would be open-minded enough to share "alternative viewpoints" turned out to be very resistant and suspicious. When he found that I read your forum, he accused me of not being "original" and using material from your site. I explained that we are all not "original" in some ways as we learn from each other and are influenced by others and that for decades he and I have both NOT been "original" in that we both have plagiarised watchtower articles.
I actually told him (sincerely not sarcastically) I am glad he reads your forum but he didn't like it and wants to know your real name. He may still read this forum if only to discover what material I have plagiarized. Situation a standoff - kinda avoid each other at KH.
So now I use the context technique to avoid accusation of plagiarizing
your material. Last meeting when I did that, I think the bottom fell out.
Keep up your good work!Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2017-07-30 23:06:29
Nice comeback, Juan.
Reply by Yehorakam on 2017-07-31 17:27:03
Juan, just so you know, he'll also be reading the comment you just made. ?
Reply by huang on 2017-08-04 23:44:07
..which is good. But he may report me ...which is bad. I cannot understand how two persons that read the same material can come up with 2 totally different views. The elder's objection is that it comes from Meleti not Watchtower. I think he is blind-sided by his ad hominem mindset. The truth is the truth whoever it comes from. C T Russell said," A truth presented by Satan himself is just as true as a truth stated by God...Accept truth wherever you find it, no matter what it contradicts"- w Jul 1879 pp 8-9
Comment by Ifionlyhadabrain on 2017-07-31 10:06:59
Why is it that they keep on stretching the meaning of Scripture , for example who are the "US" mentioned in the theme scripture of 2 corinthians 1 V 3 and 4 , the context seems to suggest Paul speaks of himself and his companions who were on the missionary tour , and are distinguished from the "you" the corinthians in later verses , also did Paul really have in mind marriage when he spoke of the tribulation he endured , hardly he was speaking of the serious tribulation which resulted in injury and near death , but then again who am I to question "God's chosen channel of communication " ?
Comment by eve04 on 2017-07-31 14:56:21
First, I think some articles should be studied as a family on Family Worship night, this is one of them. This is the meeting we really invite the public too. I look around at some of the new ones and they look bored to death. This subject is not the deep things of God many want to know about.
Second l’m not sure the WT really fit the title, it seems a little odd. As you stated Meleti, No Jesus No comfort. I like this taken from Barnes Notes on Bible Hub. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ - God is mentioned here in the relation of the "Father of the Lord Jesus," doubtless because it was through the Lord Jesus, and him alone, that He had imparted the consolation which he had experienced, 2 Corinthians 1:5. Paul knew no other God than the "Father of the Lord Jesus;" he knew no other source of ; he knew of no way in which God imparted comfort except through his Son. That is genuine Christian consolation which acknowledges the Lord Jesus as the medium by whom it is imparted;
And as Ifionlyhadabrain wrote-stretching the meaning Gills commentary says The apostle in this verse gives a reason of the former thanksgiving, and at the same time confirms the above character of God, as "the God of all comfort", by his own experience, and that of his fellow ministers; who, though they had been in great tribulation and affliction for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel.
Could it be damage control in disguise, because of the decisions they strongly encouraged people to make? Not given the freedom to marry whom they wanted. No you must marry a witness even if you don’t like them, just make sure they are baptized. A lot of unhappiness there. Also all the reasons you mentioned Meleti.
I have to say it is somewhat of a stretch to say Hannah’s circumstances compare to those who want children today. There is a huge difference in being barren and having someone tell or strongly suggest not to have children because we are close to the end, which for some, meant there whole life because the end never came.
In paragraph 16 they are back to saying its ok to have someone study with your children. Just a couple of years ago it was the parents responsibility so if you were studying with a child that had Witness parents you had to stop.
The Scripture used in paragraph 17 (Gen 5:29, 8:21) was odd for the content of the paragraph.
Meleti, I like how you put the occurrences of Jehovah v. Jesus. I have started doing that on everything I study now.
Comment by Lone Survivor on 2017-08-01 12:26:22
Dear Brothers and Sisters Hello Hope everyone is well,
As always I appreciate all the comments, Meleti I'm also glad that you used the word credulity because for me I felt like for years I was being forced to believe what ever was shoved in front of me and that if I had a sincere question then there was a flaw in me. Many times I was told that my faith was weak that I didn't study enough or that I was trying to run ahead of Jehovah's arrangement His organization that I was prideful and could fall into the trap of the bird catcher ( Satan ). But now Brothers we are free like Meleti brought out in his article ADOPTED yes we are sons and daughters and our Father was always there and continues to be like a parent looking for a missing child and we must move forward. Isaiah 41:10 Ephesians 4:1-7 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, appeal to you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all humility and mildness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, 3 earnestly endeavoring to maintain the oneness of the spirit in the uniting bond of peace. 4 One body there is, and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 Now undeserved kindness was given to each one of us according to how the Christ measured out the free gift Best wishes to all
Comment by Ifionlyhadabrain on 2017-08-02 05:39:09
You say no none should impose thier rules and standards upon you , that's correct , I was thinking if we are not making our own decisions how are we to develop the new christian personality , it's not until we are free , that we find out who we really are , when we learn by our mistakes , then we can move on , and see the benefits of Christ in our lives ,
Comment by Ifionlyhadabrain on 2017-08-02 05:55:59
Good points about about , the tribulation facing married couples sometimes results from the rules enforced by the religion , meleti , certainly in a so called divided home it can be even worse , I know a few , whose partners have given up on them , worst reason is because of the stance on disfellowshipped relatives
Comment by Dawn Ann on 2017-08-05 19:30:05
Great article. I remember when I was studying I always had an uncomfortable feeling about the organization's stance on higher education. I felt like it was a way to "dumb down" it's members so that one's critical thinking skills will not be at work to challenge their doctrines. It's difficult being in a marriage when your spouse is not awakened.