PJ54
Well-known member
Thursday, February 2 2023The one who is from God listens to the sayings of God.—John 8:47.
Many are stumbled because our Bible-based teachings expose false religious ideas. Clergymen teach their flocks that God punishes the wicked in hell. They use that false teaching to maintain control over the people. As Jehovah’s servants, who worship a God of love, we expose that false teaching. The clergy also teach that the soul is immortal. We expose the pagan origin of that doctrine, which—if true—would make the resurrection irrelevant. And contrary to the belief in predestination that many religions embrace, we teach that man has free will and can choose to serve God. How do religious leaders respond? Often, they are furious! If we love the truth, we must accept the sayings of God. (John 8:45, 46) Unlike Satan the Devil, we stand fast in the truth. We never compromise our beliefs. (John 8:44) God requires that his people “abhor what is wicked” and “cling to what is good,” just as Jesus did.—Rom. 12:9; Heb. 1:9. w21.05 10 ¶10-11
Examining the Scriptures Daily—2023
Are Jehovah's Witnesses going to be stumbled?
Was Jesus talking specifically about his own followers at Matthew 24:9-14? ...
questions-4jehovahs-witnesses.blogspot.com
Are Jehovah's Witnesses going to be stumbled? Part 1
Was Jesus talking specifically about his own followers at Matthew 24:9-14? |
The span of verses in question reads: “Then people will deliver you up to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be objects of hatred by all the nations on account of my name. Then, also, many will be stumbled and will betray one another and will hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and mislead many; and because of the increasing of lawlessness the love of the greater number will cool off. But he that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved. And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.” Jesus’ prophecy originally forecasted events that were fulfilled in a general way in the first century — but only in a general way. However, it does establish a pattern of how events will ultimately unfold in the finale. As you likely are aware, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that all the essential elements of Jesus’ prophecy have already been realized over the course of the past century. Has there been an increasing of criminal lawlessness in recent decades? Without a doubt. How about persecution? Certainly Jehovah’s Witnesses have been objects of hatred in the world too. Untold numbers of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been imprisoned and even put to death by the Nazis and Soviet communists; and we continue to be persecuted by officials in various lands — particularly the Islamic nations of the former USSR. Also, it is easy to point to clerics and cultists in Christendom as the false prophets who have arisen to mislead the masses. As far as the good news of the kingdom being preached throughout the earth, Jehovah’s Witnesses have also undeniably spearheaded a remarkable world-wide kingdom witnessing campaign in hundreds of languages. Certainly these developments, beginning with the critical turning point in 1914, have thoroughly convinced Jehovah’s Witnesses that — except for the outbreak of the great tribulation — the words of Christ have already come to pass. However, upon closer examination, there are compelling reasons to believe that these events have not fulfilled the prophecy as the Watchtower Society presently imagines. Take the matter of the foretold increasing of lawlessness and the cooling off of the love of the greater number. "Lawlessness," as it is used in the Scriptures, does not necessarily relate to criminal activity; but, rather, to apostasy and hypocrisy. For example, Jesus said that he would tell all religious hypocrites who spoke falsely in his name to “get away from me you workers of lawlessness.” Then there is the “man of lawlessness,” whom Paul wrote about, who promotes apostasy among Christians and even sits down in Jehovah’s temple, pretending to be God. As for the cooling off, that must pertain to Jehovah’s people as well. Consider the fact that Jesus rebuked some of the anointed Ephesian Christians in his letter to them in Revelation for leaving the love they had at first. As all of Jehovah’s Witnesses know, Jesus’ letters to the seven congregations really apply to Christ’s anointed followers in the Lord’s day. It shows that some anointed Christian allow their love for God to grow cold. So, it is evident that the increasing of lawlessness and hypocrisy, along with a cooling off of love for God, takes place among Jehovah’s Witnesses and not Christendom, as we presently imagine. In order to better understand Jesus’ prophecy it is well that we consider the same prophecy as it was recorded by Mark and Luke. Although the essentials are the same, there a few unique details in each Gospel account that differ from each other. Let’s consider an aspect of both accounts in Mark and Luke that is omitted by Matthew, which foretell that Christ’s witnesses will be persecuted in their synagogues and hauled before judges and even kings and that brothers and family members will have Christ’s chosen ones put to death. Here is where it is important to take note of the first century pattern and the fact that Jesus did not originally set his disciples strictly apart from the Jews. Even after his anointing as the Messiah Jesus went to the temple and even attended services in local synagogues and no doubt his apostles and male disciples did so too. In fact, Jesus even announced his anointing in front of a congregation in his local synagogue — for which he was immediately persecuted. However, after Jesus was resurrected all of that changed. Prior to Jesus’ death the disciples had been instructed to go out preaching saying “the kingdom of God has drawn near.” But after Jesus' ascension to heaven and the outpouring of the holy spirit ten days later, the apostles and disciples began preaching a slightly different message. They no longer announced that the kingdom was near, but instead they bore witness to Christ’s resurrection and that the kingdom was here — “here” as the newly formed congregation of God with Christ as the King of a spiritual kingdom. The Jewish institution that Jehovah had used and that Christ recognized and supported had suddenly become irrelevant. |