xjwsforChrist

AGUEST SAID

May you all have peace!

For me, it was:

1. Learning that in order to be in union with Christ one HAD to feed off him (his "flesh and blood"... which is TRUE food and TRUE drink... the first being the "leaves" of the Tree of Life, which Tree... Vine... Root... and Spout... he is - John 15:1, 2; Isaiah 11:10; Zechariah Zechariah 3:8; Revelation 22:1, 2 - see footnote, NWT Ref. Bible and note, there is only ONE tree, NOT "trees" as shown in their smaller Bibles!)... and that such was an invitation open to ANYONE... and the second being "living water"... or "life's water"... HOLY SPIRIT... which bubbles up IN one to "impart everlasting life." (John 4:14; 7:37, 38); and that

2. For all their talk (and even a book!) about "living forever", the WTBTS literally shuts up the Way (John 14:6) and the Door/Narrow Gate (John 10:7; Matthew 13:7) TO that potential for virtually all of its members (John 6:48-58, with attention on verses 51, 54, and 56; Matthew 23:13)... by teaching that they are NOT to eat and drink!

But truly, there is NO other Way into... and thus, before the face of... the Most Holy (John 14:6(b)).

There are many other reprehensible false teachings... which I will endeavor to post here as well. But this is the worst... because they are the ONLY so-called "christian" religion that teaches against the ONE thing that Christ directed his followers to do in order to BE in union with him. True, one must STAY in union... and there's some other things that must be done (for example, love God, your brother, neighbor, strangers, enemies)... as well as LISTEN to him when he speaks to you... but one must first come INTO union (hence, communion!) WITH him.

They are those "false christs" who say, "Look! I am/we are anointed!" that our Lord is recorded to have warned about. More reprehensible than even the other [religions]... because they withhold the "leaves" of the Tree [of Life]... and precious "water" (holy spirit)... from those seeking, asking, knocking, wishing, and thirsting. Something they should GIVE... for FREE!

May those wishing be granted ears to hear the truth of these things, as well as when the Spirit and the Bride say to YOU:

"Come! Take 'life's water'... the holy spirit of God, which 'water' is poured out from the innermost parts of the Holy One of Israel, the Son of God and His Christ, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One (MischaJAH) of JAH, the MOST Holy One of Israel... which 'water' is available to ALL who are wishing and thirsting... FREE!"

Servant to the Household of God, Israel, and those who go with... and a slave of Christ,

SA

SABASTIOUS SAID

Indeed, this is the worst teaching they have and it's at the heart of the plagues that they have placed upon themselves. In Christ's final words to the 1st century group of adherents through John's Revelation he spoke of himself as the Alpha and the Omega. He is referenced as the "Lamb of God" in the book and Eden is pictured as a cube structure without the need of conventional light. To me this means that Eden is not in need of the space time continuum like we are today. This is an important point, imo, because it shows where we are right now this very minute: NOT Eden. It shows that Eden is still in a restoration process so it's paramount for each individual on earth to figure out what part they play in that process.

When the Revelation prophecy comes to full fruition we will no longer have to deal with the effects of entropy (Lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder). This is the only logical means of which God could establish a kingdom where it's citizens would not have any tears, pain or sorrow. When you really think about it time is our enemy. It puts a fire under our rear ends and is the sole motivation for all that is humanity for good and evil. Whether you are a believer or not we are all battling the effects of time. This is because Eden has not been restored yet and henceforth we have all the suffering that comes with the effects of time.

What the Watchtower has done is created a hierarchical structure that mimics the imagery in the book of Revelation, but they make a fatal mistake. They use the structure (kings and priest/everyone else) of a restored Eden as a baseline for their organization (many Christian religions make this mistake). This allows them to boast that they have the only organization on earth that would have God's favor, when in fact all they have done is created an abomination of the earth that is heading for destruction. This is exactly what the Serpent in Genesis attempted to do. To set up a kingdom OUTSIDE of Eden within the confines of the space and time continuum (you SURELY will NOT die even though that's impossible because of entropy). This was a result of pride and the reason why the Serpent has names like Satan and Lucifer in modern day. All the names denote great splendor resulting in pride and a crashing fall. Humanity are innocent by standards of the pride of a celestial power.

Within a restored Eden (as in NO TIME) all citizens are treated equally under the light of the Lamb and of God. Slicing the 144k and the Great Crowd into two groups while still outside of Eden is the vain pursuit of perfection. It puts too much pressure on the 144k to be perfect and what results is exactly what we have with the Watchtower. A once glorious empire that will be reduced to ruins for the people of the future to learn from. Just like Sodom and Egypt.

Regards,

-Sab

AGUEST SAID:

Yes, indeed, dear Sab (the greatest of love and peace to you!), particularly your comment that:





This is why our Lord said:

"I go to prepare a place for you"!!

That is the restoration; however, he is not only restoring a place, but a PEOPLE who make up that place: the "city" of "NEW Jerusalem." Remember, the Tree of Life is in the midst of the garden; yet, Christ is the Tree of Life. And HE... is in the "midst" of the "City"! It is he that Satan mislead Gog and Magog to come against the City FOR: to eat... and live forever! (Genesis 3:22; John 15:1; John 6:51-53).

Thus, in preparation/restoration of that City, he is "subduing" [those who make up New Jerusalem] while in the midst of his enemies (including Death). He is teaching us PEACE... as well as love, joy, faith, kindness, mildness, goodness, long-suffering, and self-control. It is these qualities... which reflect the spirit of God... that render us "subdued." Psalm 110:2; 1 Corinthians 15:25

Once death, Hades, etc., is no more... time must be no more. Which is why the word "eternal" plays a part! Time exists outside of the spirit realm; inside, there is no need for time, at least not as we know it.

Thank you for that and, again, peace to you!

Your servant and a slave of Christ,

SA

BURNTHESHIPS SAID

I have to say, AGuest, denying the reception of Christ, and perverting baptism, is pretty high on my list too.

WATERSPROUT SAID

For me it wasn't a particular teaching... My spirit was in turmoil ALL of the time, I had soo much ''stuff'' going through my head I couldn't put my finger on it. I knew that the org was evil but I kept putting it down to ''imperfect men'' :S

I wasn't happy but I hadn't a clue where to go as I still believed in God... Only when I experienced something out of this world that the Master could finally get through to me LOL!

Peace

MEDEWTYSENU SAID

For me it would be the whole Faithful and Discreet Slave class teaching where they set themselves up as the sole authority when the Bible clearly states it's as a body that the FDS would impart knowledge, much as they did in the 1st Century. Then they go on to say that only the FDS who are on the Governing Body should be listened to and anyone who says anything to the contrary is an apostate.

The second issue is the 1914 doctrine.

Jesus was quite clear when he said no man knew the day and the hour. Yet through the suppression of archaelogical evidence and testimony the WTS has pulled 1914 out of some magic hat and declared Christ returned invisibly, quite contrary to Jesus' statement that every eye upon the earth would see him.
Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 585/587 BCE not 607 BCE as the WTS claims. Many thousands of cuneiform tablets have been unearthed in modern day Iraq (site of ancient Babylon) which gives the year in which Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem. The WTS quotes one source for their claim of 607 BCE ignoring the thousands of other writings that contradict their source. If we were to use their calculation of 2520 years we would get 1933, the year Hitler became Chancellor of Germany.
However the term "the appointed times of the nations" is found in Revelation which was written some 20 years after the second destruction of Jerusalem and the events Jesus spoke of such as Israel as a nation (which no longer existed per se) being trampled on by the nations would indicate that he was speaking about Spiritual Israel and not the literal one.

By stating that Christ returned in 1914 and all the subsequent events after that as mentioned in Revelation have already occurred it sets the Rank and File up to be surprised when Jesus does actually return and will greatly test their faith. It seems unlikely that the different trumpets being blown would have anything to do with man made publications that are now regarded as "Old Light". Jesus spoke of the trampling of Israel as being 42 months in duration, 2520 days or 3 1/2 years (the same amount of time as his ministry). Revelation also points out that a great outpouring of Holy Spirit comparable to what happened at Pentecost in 33 CE would occur. None of this has happened. Satan has not been cast out, the Anglo-American world power has not been killed and then revived by the 8th King (UN), the sons of the Kingdom are not shining as a beacon to ALL mankind and the separation work of the sheep and goats has not been done because Revelation says "I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:14
Notice it says they have "come out of the Great Tribulation" showing quite clearly the Great Crowd have not yet been chosen since the GT has not yet occurred. So the WTS is not involved in the separating work as they so claim. It is Jesus and the angels who do this and during a certain time period.
Babylon the Great also has not yet fallen as the religions of the world still have great power over people and disrupt the preaching work whenever possible.

Over and over the WTS society attributes judgement prophecies against Christendom, all the while ignoring the fact that Yahveh always disciplined his own people first. I'm reminded of Isaiah which says "Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one committed to me, blind like the servant of Jehovah?" Isaiah 42:19

Also the prophecy of Joel could aptly be applied to the WTS.
The prophecy of Joel foretells that God’s own sacred possession is due to become the object of devastation.
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; and howl, all you wine drinkers, on account of sweet wine, for it has been cut off from your mouths. For there is a nation that has come up into my land, mighty and without number. Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the jawbones of a lion. It has set my vine as an object of astonishment, and my fig tree as a stump. It has positively stripped it bare and thrown it away. The twigs of it have become white. Wail, as a virgin girded with sackcloth does over the owner of her youth.” – Joel 1:5-8

As the verse previously quoted indicates, the alarm is to be sounded within God’s own “Holy Mountain,” which in prophecy pertains to Christ’s congregation. No spiritually sober Bible student could possibly conclude that that which Jehovah declares to be “my land…my vine…and my fig tree” is in reference to Christendom. No wonder God’s possession will become an “an object of astonishment.” The desolation of God’s earthly organization is considered to be impossibility by Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is indeed time to wake up!
We should not suppose that it is some extraordinary thing that Christ Jesus might severely reprimand or scold his own disciples – even those whom he will ultimately judge to have been faithful and discreet. After all, in the 12th chapter of Luke did not Jesus explicitly state that the ignorant but otherwise faithful slave would be beaten with a few strokes by the inspecting master of the house and held to a higher standard as one whom others have put in charge?
_________________

PAULSACRAMENTO SAID

I think that, for me, what made me question what I was being taught was that, outside of the NWT, no other bible translated the key passages of the NT in their way.
Not even one.
They deny the divinity of Christ because, according to them, it is not explicit in the Bible ( that is because they "rewrote" the GOJ 1:1 and just plain ignore the rest of it and ignore Colossians and Phillipians , etc) and yet they say Jesus was Michael because, according to them, it is IMPLICIT in the bible ( which it is not).
They perverted an levitical dietary restriction and cause the deaths of children.
They deny the commandment to be witnesses to Christ ( ACTS 1: and that it is in Christ's name that where are saved ( Acts 4:12).
They insert an earthly organization in the baptismal rites.
They try to remove the rites of all believers to partake of Christ's sacrifice.
They try to push forth an agenda of "works based salvation" so as to feed their publishing company.
I could go on and on...

SOFT+GENTLE SAID

I knew there was something big missing from the beginning (because of my catholic upbringing perhaps) but could not quite put my finger on it. afterwards I realised that it was their circular reasoning and that it was only when this type of reasoning clashed with protecting children from a pedophile that I finally was horrified enough to take the internet seriously.

other than that I have also since learned that eating and drinking with a person who had died was a common celebratory practice amongst Roman society at the time. Picnics and parties were held at the graveside of beloved people who had passed away and they felt that somehow the individual was sharing in the celebrations with them. THis may have been because Christians had popularised the practice in their celebrations of Jesus death and sacrifice(I don't know exactly how it originated. whatever the origin there is evidence from graveyards indicative of this practice). For the WTS to leave out this commemorative and celebratory aspect is indeed unfaithful to the Christ experience and impact.

WILLIAM SAID

For me it is the practice of shunning disfellowshipped people because that is what has been the most painful to me personally. They say it's to keep the congregation clean. What an effing joke that is!

My mother has taken it to the extreme. For example, she has not even met all of her grandchildren and ignors the rest she once knew. (my brother's and sister's kids, I don't have any myself).

I have not seen her in almost 13 years. I tried and tried for years to have a relationship with her after she "drew a line in the sand". But as long as "I had turned my back on Jehovah" there was no way she would accept me. I finally just gave up. I can only be kicked in the teeth so many times. She didn't even come to pay her respects when my father died. It infuriates me when I think about it.

Funny part is I was disfellowshipped in 1978 and the line wasn't drawn until 1997. So something must have happened from the platform that made her dig in. I have no idea what it is.

She has 5 children and only has a relationship with my younger Evangelical sister. Go figure. My little sister was never baptised JW so therefore never disfellowshipped.

There's probably so many other things that would bother me but the JW religion hardly resembles the religion I was raised in. So who knows?

New Light my ass.

Am I allowed to curse here?

TEC SAID

Sometimes cursing is the appropriate response.

I don't find that it is the usual things for me, because I never got baptized, and I only ever went to one meeting in the two years that I studied. So I didn't know a lot of stuff, other than what I've learned from all of you and at jwn (and on jwfacts) I never knew about df'ing, and the one comment that might have led into learning that, I set aside.

The things that made no sense to me:

- Michael being Jesus (never could see that)

- Judas not taking part in the last supper (I heard this at the one meeting - memorial - that I went to. Got my attention, since it was not scriptural at all; same as Michael/jesus)

- the name 'Jehovah' being at the top of their list, and that anyone not using that name was not praying to/asking God. I never liked using that name. It never made sense to me that they would say this in one breath, and in another state that they know it is not the real name, but that should not stop us from using it. I find that almost everything that they teach, they also teach the exact opposite. Constant contradiction.

- knowing that every person who slammed the door or refused to listen to a witness and the preaching work would die at armageddon... but those who had never heard would be given a second chance. Made more sense to keep your mouth shut... and that did not make any sense.

The biggest thing that finally forced me to stop was me misunderstanding something I had read in the revelation book. I thought everyone got a resurrection and second chance... every single person; and then they got the rules and instructions firsthand, so they would not be fooled and misled. Reading it once again, I realized that they taught that everyone who died at armageddon would not get a resurrection... AND... the jw version of armageddon could come any day... AND... we were supposed to be looking forward to it... AND... everyone NOT a witness would die at armageddon.

That covers a lot of people... including every single one of my loved ones. I was supposed to be eagerly waiting for this? I read that... and the ground dropped out from under my feet. I knew I could not live with that kind of a belief. So I left. There were other reasons, but that was the topper.

I could say that I don't understand how I missed that for two years... but I think I simply did not listen or SEE what Christ was pointing out, and had been there all along.

I think I was too busy listening to them.

Peace,
tammy