JW Bible studies 1974 - 1979
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Two women from Jehovah's Witnesses rang the door bell of my mother's and stepfather's apartment in Oslo a Saturday evening in 1974. They asked if I am reading the Bible. I said that I did before, but stopped - it was too hard to understand. There are many different Christian churches, some separating themselves from others - and even saying about some: Don't go there, they are children of Satan!
(That statement was used by an elder in my local pentecostal parish about JW, when I told him I had attended a meeting in a JW congregation.
His utterance had made me confused, because JW also read and teach from the Bible. I did not tell these JW women what he had said.)
I just continued, saying: I don't think I will be that fortunate to just choose the right church to attend, if only one is God's true church.
They agreed it is not easy to understand the Bible. They offered me a Bible study, I accepted. The chosen JW teacher came to visit some days later. From the next meeting with him - and onwards - I came to his home to study. The book we examined was the Norwegian version of their book
- The Truth That Leeds to Eternal Life https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/The-Truth-That-Leads-to-Eternal-Life/
My JW teacher was 100 % sure that the world would be cleansed of unbelievers in 1975, and that believers that had died would be resurrected.
He also said that God had prepared many fine houses for His People, built by the ungodly. Those houses would be available for millions
of JW members that would survive Armageddon, plus people that would be resurrected. All of them would inherit eternal life on earth.
I remember I asked my JW teacher: What will happen to JW, if the things you expect to take place in 1975 do not come to pass?
- He said something like: That is just hypothetical, I know it will happen.
Then I said: But it may still be that bad, that it does not happen. And if so, what will happen to Jehovah's Witnesses?
- His face then got a sad expression, and he said: Then I think many will loose their faith.
I said: But it will only mean that JW have had a wrong understanding of the scriptures. The Bible is still true!
We completed the study before Christmas 1974, and I was asked if I wanted to join JW. I said that I can not join, mainly for three reasons:
1. I did not find it possible that the short form of God's name - Jah - is referring to Jehova(h) as the full name. (Hallelujah = Praise God Jah)
2. I was not able to tell people that Jehovah's Witnesses is the only church/organization that is acknowledged by God.
See Matthew 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
3. I did not believe that Jesus returned invisibly in 1914, and that He would remove unbelievers from the earth in a Pro-JW Armageddon 1975.
I did not agree about 1975 because I already believed that Jesus will return approximately 2000 years after he was crucified.
Source: Hosea 6:2, which can be written like this - if we understand it by 2 Peter 3:8:
- After 2000 years will he revive us: within the next 1000 years he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
In 1974 I believed Jesus was crucified AD 31, and I knew The Catholic Church said the crucifixion took place in AD 33.
Therefore I said that Jesus would return 2031 +/- 2 years = 2029 - 2033.
Since the earth was not cleansed of unbelievers in 1975, several JW members left the organization. The leaders gave an explanation, based on Psalm 90:10 The span of our life is 70 years, Or 80+ if one is especially strong.*
But they are filled with trouble and sorrow; They quickly pass by, and away we fly.+
JW leaders therefore concluded that normal lifetime for a person is 75 years. They still believed Jesus returned invisibly in 1914, and that he will return visibly within one generation. So from 1976 they claimed that Armageddon will happen before the end of 1989 (= 1914 + 75 years).
I studied with JW 4 more times: 1976, 77, 78, 79. For the 79-study I wanted us to read only from the Bible - from Revelation. That was accepted.
When we studied <))Revelation 8, I said that I think the seventh seal was opened in 1918. Surprisingly my JW teacher agreed, so I asked:
- How long do you think the silence in heaven lasted? He said: About 2-3 years, because some JW leaders in USA were in prison for 2-3 years.
I said that we may probably calculate how long half an hour is, based on info from the Bible:
Revelation 8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour
2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Here 24 hours in prophecy = 1000 years on earth. To find half an hour, we calculate: (1000 years : 24) : 2 = 20 years + 10 months.
Before and after the half hour of silence, terrible things happened on earth, so I thought that the silence in heaven lasted from the end of WW1 until the beginning of WW2:
WW1 ended 11th November 1918. Thus an exact half prophetic hour with silence would take us to 11th September 1939.
WW2:
- 1st September 1939 Hitler/Germany attacked Poland
Stalin/Soviet Union started occupying parts of Poland 17th September 1939,
and participated in the war against Hitler/Germany.
The events happened amazingly close to 11th September 1939!
My JW teacher still believed the JW view and rejected my understanding.
When we studied <))Revelation 9, I asked: What is meant in the passage telling about the locusts coming out of the bottomless pit?
The shocking answer was: That is us! We go from house to house and torment people with our questions concerning the Bible.
I protested, reading Revelation 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit,
whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
I said: This angel does not represent God, Abaddon / Apollyon is a pagan god!
He tried to calm me down, saying Jesus was in possession of the key, referring to these scriptures:
- Revelation 9:1
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
- Revelation 20:1
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
He also referred to Revelation 9:3 The locusts hurt only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
This last passage told both of us that God's people were not hurt by the locusts. But it did not prove to me that JW were God's people.
I pondered much over these verses:
Revelation 9:1-12 Scriptures:
1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace;
and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree;
but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. (A good explanation: http://biblelight.net/seal.htm)
5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months:
and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold,
and their faces were as the faces of men.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses
running to battle.
10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon,
but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
Most difficult for me to understand was verse no 6. It was not logical, because everyone that really wants to kill himself may manage to do so.
But after 9/11-2001 - and the following years, I may have understood verse no 6 too. What if "death" is the rider on the pale horse?
Maybe the verse shall be written like this?
6 And in those days shall men seek Death, and shall not find him; and shall desire to (find) Death, and Death shall flee from them.
Remember, they blamed Osama bin Laden for 9/11. US presidents tried to find him and kill him. Obama claimed he finally succeeded.
But did he? Many claimed bin Laden had died some years earlier. And Obama claimed bin Laden's body was dumped into the sea ... gone.
Picture of bin Laden's face, shown after he was "killed", is said to be photoshoped. To me Obama was a President practicing deception.
The Bible warns us that strong delusion is coming, and says that people would believe a lie:
>)) 2 Thessalonians 2
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Back to the JW-study of 1979:
I asked another question: Do you agree that JW was started in 1879 from The International Bible Students? He agreed.
So I said: Maybe JW are the locusts then. If so, I think JW will end their work in 2029.
My JW teacher had already said that he expected Armageddon to start no later than 1989.
He also meant that pollution all around the earth is so serious that the end must come much sooner than 2029.
And he repeated that Armageddon will come within one generation from 1914.
During the last study with JW in 1979 one issue still troubled me. JW have to respect one strange rule:
- We shall not participate in elections, because we are not of this world.
This document describes in full why JW say so:
* Flag Salute, Voting, and Sivilian Service.
I argued that God for all ages have let people and nations have leaders. In Norway (and many other countries) we have democracy.
If JW had 40-50 % support in the population, they could rule democratic nations. But by saying we shall not participate in elections,
the Power instead will be given to non-Christians - like mafia - that will exploit common people, and build a non-Christian society.
I said that God probably considers that to be a greater sin, because we have become useless:
JW Bible Matthew 5:13
You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its strength, how will its saltiness be restored?
It is no longer usable for anything except to be thrown outside+ to be trampled on by men.
I often prayed to God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to answer me:
- Is it acceptable to engage in politics?
- If so - what shall our Guidelines be?
One night in 1979, when my wife and our children were visiting her parents, I finally got the answer.
I had been focusing on the prayer, praying to God in the name of Jesus Christ since I went to bed 11 PM.
At 3 AM I prayed one last time, and then I added:
- My God, it seems You will not answer me this time either, but now I have really tried to endure in prayer to get an answer.
- Please, in the name of Jesus Christ: Answer my prayer. Amen.
I was so tired, and fell asleep as soon as the prayer finished - knowing I needed to get up around 6 AM to prepare to go to work.
Shortly after I fell asleep, I sensed a Message:
- Love people like yourself!
I was bright awake in a moment, and asked with my mind: God, is this Your answer? What do You really mean?
God answered:
- If you shall make a decision for a group of people, find out about their conditions.
- If necessary - live among them as one of them for a while, then go back and make a righteous decision.
This answer made me conclude that God accepts that Christians engage in politics, if we try our best to love other people like ourselves.
Shortly afterwards I made a final decision not to join JW, and in the autumn of 1979 I was baptized in a pentecostal parish.
Info I have found later:
In 1990 JW added more time again, by saying that there will still be JW people on earth - born in 1914 or before - when Armageddon starts.
They may be right this time, in 2019 the oldest JW person that was alive 1914 must be at least 105 years old.
Now it seems the Russia/Syria/Iran - Israel conflict can explode any moment; the 1914 generation may still see the real Armageddon start:
- GOD Says RUSSIA + Israel + IRAN = ARMAGEDDON - 25th July 2019
But if the last JW of the 1914 generation dies before the JW Armageddon comes, will they admit JW was not God's chosen people - and repent?
I remember I told my 1979 JW teacher that I think the last JW of the 1914 generation will die in 2029 - 150 years after their movement started.
Documentation about false JW teaching and failed prophecies:
- Is Jesus Michael the Archangel? - 12th February 2009
- Dr. Walter Martin - Part 1 of 2 - Jehovah of the Watchtower 1987 - 26th February 2009
- Dr. Walter Martin - Part 2 of 2 - Jehovah of the Watchtower 1987 - 4th April 2009
- False Prophecies of Jehovah Witness Watchtower Organization- WARNING - 5th January 2012
Many JW members had serious personal problems because the Armgeddon prophesy did not come to pass in 1975, see these videos:
- Jehovah's Witness 1975 testimonies - 14th July 2008
- 1975 -What the Watchtower doesn't want you to know - 13th June 2009
JW consider themselves to be the only true church of God:
Don't they find it strange to be wrong about their predictions again and again?
Watch this in-depth video about the JW belief system:
- The true face of jehovah's witnesses (Dr. James R White) - 26th July 2017
Here is a video indicating JW should have repented in 2018:
- Jehovah's Witnesses have an expiry date on TRUTH
I can agree to that it seems tribulation will start soon, but it still seems that the devil's rule over the earth may last until 2030 or so.
Also see some other videos I have found on Internet from 2014 and onwards about JW:
- Ex-Jehovah Witness Learns the Witnesses lie about our Spirit Bodies http://www.bibleprobe.com/haydeecortes.htm
- If you are a Jehovah Witness then you NEED to watch this video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms7BiQf-SkA
- Into Darkness - Jehovah's witnesses history - Scans provided http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5JnngqQYvc
- Jehovah's witnesses and Jesus' return 1914 - 1919 / Reads the Finished Mystery. jw.org http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeSPKydgIzU
- Jehovah's Witnesses Commit The Unforgivable Sin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jRQqVygD0k
- Jehovah's Witnesses History Exposed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE3008IjUew
- JW False Prophecies DOCUMENTED - 26th August 2016
- THE OCCULT ROOTS OF THE JEHOVA`S WITNESSES http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDMc367ZoRs
- The Watchtower does NOT want you to see this - The name Jehovah is false! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWzetMUXPGo
- Top Ten Shocking Beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXdhB9kxwnA
- Are Jehovah's Witnesses Right? | TRUELIFE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk49bNah9Gw
Was Jesus crucified, or nailed to a stake?
Jehovah's Witnesses are condemning the way many Christians show their faith - putting a cross in a chain around their neck.
They say: Do you think it is good to wear a symbol of a murder weapon?
Furthermore they say that Jesus was not crucified, they teach that he was nailed to a stake. They refer to
- Galathians 3:13 in The JW Bible: Christ purchased us, releasing us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us,
because it is written: “Accursed is every man hung upon a stake.
- Compare to Galathians 3:13 of The KJV: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:
for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Read about the crucifixion of Jesus in The KJV, and compare to what JW write in their Bible:
- Matthew 27:31 in The KJV:
And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.
- Compare to Matthew 27:31 of The JW Bible: https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/b/r1/lp-e/nwt/E/2013/40/27#study=discover
Finally, after they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak and put his outer garments on him and led him off to be nailed to the stake.
I have found a good video describing how the crucifixion probably was carried out - which indicates that JW are wrong:
- CSI Jerusalem: A Physician Looks at the Crucifixion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H25zDG4wvz4
My conclusion regarding Jehovah's Witnesses is that they are doing much good, and they do their best to serve God and Jesus Christ:
- They honor God by the name they teach is God's correct name.
- They go from house to house to teach from their Bible - two and two - until a Bible study is agreed. Then one person only may follow up later.
- They refuse military service, and I can say - if all Nations reach same understanding, there might be true Peace on Earth.
Then the prophesy in Isaiah 2:4 will be fulfilled:
* They will beat their swords into plow shears and their spears into pruning shears.
* Nation will not lift up sword against nation, nor will they learn war anymore.
But what must be proven by now, after JW's many failed announcements regarding fulfillment of prophesies:
- JW is not the only church/parish acknowledged by God. See their own Bible:
Deuteronomy 18:21-22
When the prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah and the word is not fulfilled or does not come true, then Jehovah did not speak that word.
The prophet spoke it presumptuously. You should not fear him.’
My understanding is that Christians should be humble and do what Jesus expects of us. And we shall not think that we are better than others:
- All who believe that Jesus Christ is The Way (to God) and The Truth and The Life, must be considered brothers and sisters in Faith.
- All churches need to be humble servants of God, and not exalt themselves - which leads to pride - which again may lead to downfall.
Furthermore, we must stop involving in false religion. This document may give you some clues:
- Ishtar and Easter - published by Renee M on 25th February 2013 http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/feb2013/reneem225-3.htm
See these videos about another Church facing trouble now:
- The Joseph Smith Papyri [Book of Abraham] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmk_CYjow0A
- Secrets of Mormon Cult : Breaking Polygamy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBL1AmdkO2k
- A Former Mormon Professor Takes Us Inside Mormonism http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCP8lCQ8yQA
- Mormonism and Christianity: Are they Compatible? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNjfmKx866Y&list=PL_IMXrktpqvwptCOP9d6taJf5HaFr9gxW
One answer to prayer that I got and believe in, is that Paul was a true servant of God and Jesus Christ. So we should believe what he tells.
- Paul the Apostle Full Movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l87kLSZQDjE
And to Christians saying that the JW Bible serves the devil, I say - You can get a good understanding of right and wrong also from the JW Bible:
Romans 1:1-7
Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus and called to be an apostle, set apart for God’s good news,
which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
concerning his Son, who came to be from the offspring of David according to the flesh,
but who with power was declared God’s Son according to the spirit of holiness by means of resurrection from the dead
- yes, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him we received undeserved kindness and an apostleship with a view to obedience by faith among all the nations respecting his name,
among which nations you also have been called to belong to Jesus Christ -
to all those who are in Rome as God’s beloved ones, called to be holy ones:
May you have undeserved kindness and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:18-25
For God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who are suppressing the truth in an unrighteous way,
because what may be known about God is clearly evident among them, for God made it clear to them.
For his invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made,
even his eternal power and Godship, so that they are inexcusable.
For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God nor did they thank him, but they became empty-headed in their reasonings and their senseless hearts became darkened.
Although claiming they were wise, they became foolish
and turned the glory of the incorruptible God into something like the image of corruptible man and birds and four-footed creatures and reptiles.
Therefore, God, in keeping with the desires of their hearts, gave them up to uncleanness, so that their bodies might be dishonored among them.
They exchanged the truth of God for the lie and venerated and rendered sacred service to the creation rather than the Creator,
who is praised forever. Amen.
Romans 1:26-32
That is why God gave them over to uncontrolled sexual passion, for their females changed the natural use of themselves into one contrary to nature;
likewise also the males left the natural use of the female and became violently inflamed in their lust toward one another, males with males, working what is obscene and receiving in themselves the full penalty, which was due for their error.
Just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a disapproved mental state, to do the things not fitting.
And they were filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and badness, being full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice, being whisperers,
backbiters, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, schemers of what is harmful, disobedient to parents,
without understanding,+ false to agreements, having no natural affection, and merciless.
Although these know full well the righteous decree of God—that those practicing such things are deserving of Death
- they not only keep on doing them but also approve of those practicing them.
Romans 2:1-2
Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are, if you judge; for when you judge another, you condemn yourself,
because you who judge practice the same things.
Now we know that God’s judgment is in harmony with truth, against those who practice such things.
Romans 10:6-12
But the righteousness resulting from faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ that is, to bring Christ down,
or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.”
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your own mouth and in your own heart”; that is, “the word” of faith, which we are preaching.
For if you publicly declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and exercise faith in your heart that God raised him up from the dead,
you will be saved.
For with the heart one exercises faith for righteousness, but with the mouth one makes public declaration for salvation.
For the scripture says: “No one who rests his faith on him will be disappointed.”
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. There is the same Lord over all, who is rich toward all those calling on him.
Romans 12:17-21
Return evil for evil to no one. Take into consideration what is fine from the viewpoint of all men.
If possible, as far as it depends on you, be peaceable with all men.
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield place to the wrath; for it is written: “‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay,’ says Jehovah.”
But “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing this you will heap fiery coals on his head.”
Do not let yourself be conquered by the evil, but keep conquering the evil with the good.
1 Corinthians 5:1-13 - To JW I say: It is these people you shall not have any fellowship with
Actually sexual immorality is reported among you, and such immorality as is not even found among the nations
- of a man living with his father’s wife.
And are you proud of it? Should you not rather mourn, so that the man who committed this deed should be taken away from your midst?
Although absent in body, I am present in spirit, and I have already judged the man who has done this, as if I were actually with you.
When you are gathered together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and knowing that I am with you in spirit along with the power of our Lord Jesus,
you must hand such a man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven ferments the whole batch of dough?
Clear away the old leaven so that you may be a new batch, inasmuch as you are free from ferment.
For, indeed, Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.
So, then, let us keep the festival, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of badness and wickedness,
but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
In my letter I wrote you to stop keeping company with sexually immoral people,
not meaning entirely with the sexually immoral people of this world or the greedy people or extortioners or idolaters. Otherwise, you would actually have to get out of the world.
But now I am writing you to stop keeping company with anyone called a brother who is sexually immoral or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man.
For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Do you not judge those inside,
while God judges those outside? “Remove the wicked person from among yourselves.”
1 Corinthians 6:7-11
Really, it is already a defeat for you when you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather let yourselves be wronged?
Why do you not rather let yourselves be defrauded?
Instead, you wrong and defraud, and your brothers at that!
Or do you not know that unrighteous people will not inherit God’s Kingdom?
Do not be misled. Those who are sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who submit to homosexual acts, men who practice homosexuality,
thieves, greedy people, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners will not inherit God’s Kingdom.
And yet that is what some of you were. But you have been washed clean; you have been sanctified;
you have been declared righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and with the spirit of our God.
Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying: “All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit,
teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.”
Matthew 5:43-48
“You heard that it was said: ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
However, I say to you: Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those who persecute you,
so that you may prove yourselves sons of your Father who is in the heavens, since he makes his sun rise on both the wicked and the good
and makes it rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous.
For if you love those loving you, what reward do you have? Are not also the tax collectors doing the same thing?
And if you greet your brothers only, what extraordinary thing are you doing? Are not also the people of the nations doing the same thing?
You must accordingly be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
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From the above scripture JW should see that they are supposed to greet also their former JW members, and not treat them like non-existent.
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JW should also accept that people who believe in The Divine Trinity must be considered to be brothers and sisters in faith, if they believe in
John 3:16-17
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed
but have everlasting life.
For God did not send his Son into the world for him to judge the world, but for the world to be saved through him."
The Holy Spirit - A third person within a Trinity God?
- PROOF Female HOLY SPIRIT, a SHE in Bible - Hebrew feminine more than grammatical gender https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zmH8Hl83-k
* 2:40 Ruach HaKadosh
I do not know if The Holy Spirit is a female entity within God, but surely The Holy Spirit can cause us to be born again.
The Holy Spirit may just be called so because God is Holy, therefore His spirit logically is Holy.
However, here is another video stating that The Holy Spirit is of female nature, published 9th January 2018:
* Who is the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKadosh? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxA9-24N8bU
- Autistic Boy Explains the Trinity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDcGGqRQqQk
- Jesus Testifies Against the Trinity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WIOuU5DCQE
Personally I do not find much support for the Trinity Doctrine in The Bible.
8th April 2015 I thought maybe I was about to unlock the secret about The Trinity, searching KJV for these two specific terms:
- The Holy Ghost
- The Holy Spirit
It seemed that The Holy Spirit is The Spirit of God, and that The Holy Ghost might be a third person within God,
where the two others are The Father plus The Word = His Son Jesus Christ.
It made me search Google: Are The Holy Ghost and The Holy Spirit different spirits?
But the first document concludes:
* At the time of the first printing of the KJV of the Bible (1611; over 1,400 years after the New Testament was first written in Greek),
the English words “spirit” and “ghost” had the same meaning.
This made it natural for the translators to render the one Greek word as both English words.
Though their inconsistency was not intentional or founded on corrupt motives,
it resulted in the false concept that a “Holy Ghost” and “Holy Spirit” are two separate spirits.
* To clarify the matter, the term “Holy Spirit” should be used in all instances in which the Spirit of God or Spirit of Christ is referenced.
This problem is rectified in the New KJV, in which the Greek expression hagion pneuma is consistently translated “Holy Spirit.”
- Here are the scriptures matching Holy Spirit in New King James Version (NKJV) of The Bible.
- Compare those scriptures with the ones you get when searching for spirit of. Among these I show you this one especially:
* KJV Bible 1 Corinthians 2:11
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?
even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
* JW Bible:
For who among men knows the things of a man except the man’s spirit within him?
So, too, no one has come to know the things of God except the spirit of God.
This shows that:
* The spirit of a man first of all is the man's memory of experiences, his moral values, his temper and his known and secret affections.
* Therefore The Spirit of God must be God's memory of experiences, His moral values, His temper and His known and secret affections.
* Likewise The Spirit of Jesus Christ must be His memory of experiences, His moral values, His temper and His known and secret affections.
The Spirit of God is Holy, because God is Holy. God can let His Holy Spirit be with whoever He wants:
<<)John 17: 20-26
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:
that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one;
and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory,
which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Counterfeit Church http://rcg.org/books/ttigtio.html About 60% down in this document, you find:
- Counterfeit church
You will learn that the teaching of the triune, “three-in-one” god comes from the great false universal religious system,
described in Revelation 17:5 as “Mystery Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.”
Read Exodus 4:14-16 - where God makes Moses to be as God to Aron - and Aron shall be the spokesman of Moses.
- God fills Moses with His Holy Spirit, and Moses tells Aron what to say. They became United in The Holy Spirit.
- God's Holy Spirit speaks through Moses to Aron, and gives Aron knowledge regarding what to say to the people.
Now read whole Exodus 4, and also in the JW Bible.
- The Spirit of The Word - Jesus Christ - is like The Spirit of God, because they have been together since creation.
- Jesus Christ has almost the same experiences as God has, and He is of same nature, has the same moral values, temper and affections.
- Therefore they have the same Holy Spirit, and are filled with the same Love for humans.
Since Jesus as The Word of God is the creator of all things, Jesus Christ can make anything happen, just as God our Father in heaven can.
- When the Holy Spirit fills a human, the person is born again. Moral values, temper and affections will be as they are for God and Jesus Christ.
* Jesus is our Mediator between ourselves (all born again Christians) and the one God - our Father in heaven.
See Galatians 3:19-20, also in the JW Bible:
Why, then, the Law? It was added to make transgressions manifest,+ until the offspring* should arrive+ to whom the promise had been made;
and it was transmitted through angels+ by the hand of a mediator.+
Now there is no mediator when just one person is involved, but God is only one.
---
We have not seen any support for the idea of a Trinity God yet. The impression that stands so far is that:
- There is one God - The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - The God of Israel.
- Jesus Christ is Son of God, who lived a life without sin - full of love and mercy for troubled people - showing us the true nature of our Father.
But John 1:1 says: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
This may indicate a Trinity God - if it is true that also The Holy Spirit is a separate, God-like being - just as Jesus Christ is.
To understand The Holy Spirit better, it is very useful to have a look at the 24 scriptures matching the search: his spirit.
After Reading the scriptures, it seems that the Holy Spirit simply is the awareness, capacity and Power of God.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 seems to support this idea, and also gives good guidelines for Christian conduct:
1 So then, brothers and sisters, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to keep living the way you already are
and even do better in how you live and please God—just as you learned from us.
2 You know the instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
3 God’s will is that your lives are dedicated to him. This means that you stay away from sexual immorality
4 and learn how to control your own body in a pure and respectable way.
5 Don’t be controlled by your sexual urges like the Gentiles who don’t know God.
6 No one should mistreat or take advantage of their brother or sister in this issue.
The Lord punishes people for all these things, as we told you before and sternly warned you.
7 God didn’t call us to be immoral but to be dedicated to him.
8 Therefore, whoever rejects these instructions isn’t rejecting a human authority. They are rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Since my first study with Jehovah's Witnesses in 1974 I have had the feeling that John 1:1 is not correctly translated in common Bibles.
But I never found any support for my view - until I in 2014 found what The Orthodox Jewish Bible says:
Yochanan 1:1
Bereshis (in the in the Beginning) was the Dvar Hashem (The Word) [YESHAYAH 55:11; BERESHIS 1:3],
and the Dvar Hashem (The Word) was agav (along with, etzel, Mishle 8:30;30:4) Hashem (God),
and the Dvar Hashem (The Word) was nothing less, by nature, than Elohim (Gods)!
So John 1:1 is apparently not translated correctly, when it is states that the Word was God. It should be: the Word was like God.
Furthermore, God says to Jesus Christ in Luke 20:42-43 - here quoted from the JW Bible:
- For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘Jehovah said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.”’
So my point of view is: God our Father is one. Jesus Christ is like God. Both can fill born again Christians with The(ir) Holy Spirit.
Consider these scriptures too, if you are not convinced yet:
- John 17:20-26 - JW Bible:
20 “I make request, not concerning these only, but also concerning those putting faith in me through their word,
21 so that they may all be one,+ just as you, Father, are in union with me and I am in union with you,+
that they also may be in union with us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.
22 I have given them the glory that you have given me, in order that they may be one just as we are one.+
23 I in union with them and you in union with me, in order that they may be perfected into one,*
so that the world may know that you sent me and that you loved them just as you loved me.
24 Father, I want those whom you have given me to be with me where I am,+
in order that they may look upon my glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the founding of the world.+
25 Righteous Father, the world has, indeed, not come to know you,+ but I know you,+ and these have come to know that you sent me.
26 I have made your name known to them and will make it known,+ so that the love with which you loved me may be in them
and I in union with them.”+
- James 2:19 Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder.
* JW Bible: You believe that there is one God, do you? You are doing quite well. And yet the demons believe and shudder.
17th January 2015 I found two interesting documents:
- TORAH INSTITUTE - TRINITY http://www.fossilizedcustoms.com/trinity.html
The NICENE CREED of 325-326 CE espoused the “Creed of Faith” for the new Roman religion: Catholicism (Latin for Universalism).
This new Catholic faith was defined by this creed as being the belief in: ---“one God, three Persons”---
not redemption through the blood of Yahusha.
Purpose: To conceal the true identity of Yahusha, through a Gnostic allegorical interpretation concerning the "incarnation".
- Newton's Arian beliefs http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Extras/Newton_Arian.html
Newton came to believe that the Roman Catholic Church was misguided in its interpretation of Christianity, and had returned to idolatry.
Although he partly approved of the Protestant Reformation, he felt it had not gone nearly far enough to return Christianity to its original state.
Now if Newton did not believe in the Trinity, he had to consider the First Epistle of John Chapter 2, verse 7, which reads (in the KJV):
* For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
Now Newton, who felt that his mission was more to study religion than science, certainly did not stop at reading the King James version
of the Bible, but rather read all original versions he could, learning the necessary ancient languages.
He discovered that the final phrase 'and these three are one' was not present in any Greek version that he studied.
Newton came to the conclusion that it was a deliberate addition to the text to provide justification for the doctrine of the Trinity.
Here is a video telling that there is no evidence of a triune God in the Bible:
- Is Jesus the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCV1O5P0K-k
(That statement was used by an elder in my local pentecostal parish about JW, when I told him I had attended a meeting in a JW congregation.
His utterance had made me confused, because JW also read and teach from the Bible. I did not tell these JW women what he had said.)
I just continued, saying: I don't think I will be that fortunate to just choose the right church to attend, if only one is God's true church.
They agreed it is not easy to understand the Bible. They offered me a Bible study, I accepted. The chosen JW teacher came to visit some days later. From the next meeting with him - and onwards - I came to his home to study. The book we examined was the Norwegian version of their book
- The Truth That Leeds to Eternal Life https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/The-Truth-That-Leads-to-Eternal-Life/
My JW teacher was 100 % sure that the world would be cleansed of unbelievers in 1975, and that believers that had died would be resurrected.
He also said that God had prepared many fine houses for His People, built by the ungodly. Those houses would be available for millions
of JW members that would survive Armageddon, plus people that would be resurrected. All of them would inherit eternal life on earth.
I remember I asked my JW teacher: What will happen to JW, if the things you expect to take place in 1975 do not come to pass?
- He said something like: That is just hypothetical, I know it will happen.
Then I said: But it may still be that bad, that it does not happen. And if so, what will happen to Jehovah's Witnesses?
- His face then got a sad expression, and he said: Then I think many will loose their faith.
I said: But it will only mean that JW have had a wrong understanding of the scriptures. The Bible is still true!
We completed the study before Christmas 1974, and I was asked if I wanted to join JW. I said that I can not join, mainly for three reasons:
1. I did not find it possible that the short form of God's name - Jah - is referring to Jehova(h) as the full name. (Hallelujah = Praise God Jah)
2. I was not able to tell people that Jehovah's Witnesses is the only church/organization that is acknowledged by God.
See Matthew 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
3. I did not believe that Jesus returned invisibly in 1914, and that He would remove unbelievers from the earth in a Pro-JW Armageddon 1975.
I did not agree about 1975 because I already believed that Jesus will return approximately 2000 years after he was crucified.
Source: Hosea 6:2, which can be written like this - if we understand it by 2 Peter 3:8:
- After 2000 years will he revive us: within the next 1000 years he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
In 1974 I believed Jesus was crucified AD 31, and I knew The Catholic Church said the crucifixion took place in AD 33.
Therefore I said that Jesus would return 2031 +/- 2 years = 2029 - 2033.
Since the earth was not cleansed of unbelievers in 1975, several JW members left the organization. The leaders gave an explanation, based on Psalm 90:10 The span of our life is 70 years, Or 80+ if one is especially strong.*
But they are filled with trouble and sorrow; They quickly pass by, and away we fly.+
JW leaders therefore concluded that normal lifetime for a person is 75 years. They still believed Jesus returned invisibly in 1914, and that he will return visibly within one generation. So from 1976 they claimed that Armageddon will happen before the end of 1989 (= 1914 + 75 years).
I studied with JW 4 more times: 1976, 77, 78, 79. For the 79-study I wanted us to read only from the Bible - from Revelation. That was accepted.
When we studied <))Revelation 8, I said that I think the seventh seal was opened in 1918. Surprisingly my JW teacher agreed, so I asked:
- How long do you think the silence in heaven lasted? He said: About 2-3 years, because some JW leaders in USA were in prison for 2-3 years.
I said that we may probably calculate how long half an hour is, based on info from the Bible:
Revelation 8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour
2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Here 24 hours in prophecy = 1000 years on earth. To find half an hour, we calculate: (1000 years : 24) : 2 = 20 years + 10 months.
Before and after the half hour of silence, terrible things happened on earth, so I thought that the silence in heaven lasted from the end of WW1 until the beginning of WW2:
WW1 ended 11th November 1918. Thus an exact half prophetic hour with silence would take us to 11th September 1939.
WW2:
- 1st September 1939 Hitler/Germany attacked Poland
Stalin/Soviet Union started occupying parts of Poland 17th September 1939,
and participated in the war against Hitler/Germany.
The events happened amazingly close to 11th September 1939!
My JW teacher still believed the JW view and rejected my understanding.
When we studied <))Revelation 9, I asked: What is meant in the passage telling about the locusts coming out of the bottomless pit?
The shocking answer was: That is us! We go from house to house and torment people with our questions concerning the Bible.
I protested, reading Revelation 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit,
whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
I said: This angel does not represent God, Abaddon / Apollyon is a pagan god!
He tried to calm me down, saying Jesus was in possession of the key, referring to these scriptures:
- Revelation 9:1
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
- Revelation 20:1
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
He also referred to Revelation 9:3 The locusts hurt only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
This last passage told both of us that God's people were not hurt by the locusts. But it did not prove to me that JW were God's people.
I pondered much over these verses:
Revelation 9:1-12 Scriptures:
1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace;
and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree;
but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. (A good explanation: http://biblelight.net/seal.htm)
5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months:
and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold,
and their faces were as the faces of men.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses
running to battle.
10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon,
but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
Most difficult for me to understand was verse no 6. It was not logical, because everyone that really wants to kill himself may manage to do so.
But after 9/11-2001 - and the following years, I may have understood verse no 6 too. What if "death" is the rider on the pale horse?
Maybe the verse shall be written like this?
6 And in those days shall men seek Death, and shall not find him; and shall desire to (find) Death, and Death shall flee from them.
Remember, they blamed Osama bin Laden for 9/11. US presidents tried to find him and kill him. Obama claimed he finally succeeded.
But did he? Many claimed bin Laden had died some years earlier. And Obama claimed bin Laden's body was dumped into the sea ... gone.
Picture of bin Laden's face, shown after he was "killed", is said to be photoshoped. To me Obama was a President practicing deception.
The Bible warns us that strong delusion is coming, and says that people would believe a lie:
>)) 2 Thessalonians 2
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Back to the JW-study of 1979:
I asked another question: Do you agree that JW was started in 1879 from The International Bible Students? He agreed.
So I said: Maybe JW are the locusts then. If so, I think JW will end their work in 2029.
My JW teacher had already said that he expected Armageddon to start no later than 1989.
He also meant that pollution all around the earth is so serious that the end must come much sooner than 2029.
And he repeated that Armageddon will come within one generation from 1914.
During the last study with JW in 1979 one issue still troubled me. JW have to respect one strange rule:
- We shall not participate in elections, because we are not of this world.
This document describes in full why JW say so:
* Flag Salute, Voting, and Sivilian Service.
I argued that God for all ages have let people and nations have leaders. In Norway (and many other countries) we have democracy.
If JW had 40-50 % support in the population, they could rule democratic nations. But by saying we shall not participate in elections,
the Power instead will be given to non-Christians - like mafia - that will exploit common people, and build a non-Christian society.
I said that God probably considers that to be a greater sin, because we have become useless:
JW Bible Matthew 5:13
You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its strength, how will its saltiness be restored?
It is no longer usable for anything except to be thrown outside+ to be trampled on by men.
I often prayed to God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to answer me:
- Is it acceptable to engage in politics?
- If so - what shall our Guidelines be?
One night in 1979, when my wife and our children were visiting her parents, I finally got the answer.
I had been focusing on the prayer, praying to God in the name of Jesus Christ since I went to bed 11 PM.
At 3 AM I prayed one last time, and then I added:
- My God, it seems You will not answer me this time either, but now I have really tried to endure in prayer to get an answer.
- Please, in the name of Jesus Christ: Answer my prayer. Amen.
I was so tired, and fell asleep as soon as the prayer finished - knowing I needed to get up around 6 AM to prepare to go to work.
Shortly after I fell asleep, I sensed a Message:
- Love people like yourself!
I was bright awake in a moment, and asked with my mind: God, is this Your answer? What do You really mean?
God answered:
- If you shall make a decision for a group of people, find out about their conditions.
- If necessary - live among them as one of them for a while, then go back and make a righteous decision.
This answer made me conclude that God accepts that Christians engage in politics, if we try our best to love other people like ourselves.
Shortly afterwards I made a final decision not to join JW, and in the autumn of 1979 I was baptized in a pentecostal parish.
Info I have found later:
In 1990 JW added more time again, by saying that there will still be JW people on earth - born in 1914 or before - when Armageddon starts.
They may be right this time, in 2019 the oldest JW person that was alive 1914 must be at least 105 years old.
Now it seems the Russia/Syria/Iran - Israel conflict can explode any moment; the 1914 generation may still see the real Armageddon start:
- GOD Says RUSSIA + Israel + IRAN = ARMAGEDDON - 25th July 2019
But if the last JW of the 1914 generation dies before the JW Armageddon comes, will they admit JW was not God's chosen people - and repent?
I remember I told my 1979 JW teacher that I think the last JW of the 1914 generation will die in 2029 - 150 years after their movement started.
Documentation about false JW teaching and failed prophecies:
- Is Jesus Michael the Archangel? - 12th February 2009
- Dr. Walter Martin - Part 1 of 2 - Jehovah of the Watchtower 1987 - 26th February 2009
- Dr. Walter Martin - Part 2 of 2 - Jehovah of the Watchtower 1987 - 4th April 2009
- False Prophecies of Jehovah Witness Watchtower Organization- WARNING - 5th January 2012
Many JW members had serious personal problems because the Armgeddon prophesy did not come to pass in 1975, see these videos:
- Jehovah's Witness 1975 testimonies - 14th July 2008
- 1975 -What the Watchtower doesn't want you to know - 13th June 2009
JW consider themselves to be the only true church of God:
Don't they find it strange to be wrong about their predictions again and again?
Watch this in-depth video about the JW belief system:
- The true face of jehovah's witnesses (Dr. James R White) - 26th July 2017
Here is a video indicating JW should have repented in 2018:
- Jehovah's Witnesses have an expiry date on TRUTH
I can agree to that it seems tribulation will start soon, but it still seems that the devil's rule over the earth may last until 2030 or so.
Also see some other videos I have found on Internet from 2014 and onwards about JW:
- Ex-Jehovah Witness Learns the Witnesses lie about our Spirit Bodies http://www.bibleprobe.com/haydeecortes.htm
- If you are a Jehovah Witness then you NEED to watch this video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms7BiQf-SkA
- Into Darkness - Jehovah's witnesses history - Scans provided http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5JnngqQYvc
- Jehovah's witnesses and Jesus' return 1914 - 1919 / Reads the Finished Mystery. jw.org http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeSPKydgIzU
- Jehovah's Witnesses Commit The Unforgivable Sin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jRQqVygD0k
- Jehovah's Witnesses History Exposed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE3008IjUew
- JW False Prophecies DOCUMENTED - 26th August 2016
- THE OCCULT ROOTS OF THE JEHOVA`S WITNESSES http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDMc367ZoRs
- The Watchtower does NOT want you to see this - The name Jehovah is false! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWzetMUXPGo
- Top Ten Shocking Beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXdhB9kxwnA
- Are Jehovah's Witnesses Right? | TRUELIFE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk49bNah9Gw
Was Jesus crucified, or nailed to a stake?
Jehovah's Witnesses are condemning the way many Christians show their faith - putting a cross in a chain around their neck.
They say: Do you think it is good to wear a symbol of a murder weapon?
Furthermore they say that Jesus was not crucified, they teach that he was nailed to a stake. They refer to
- Galathians 3:13 in The JW Bible: Christ purchased us, releasing us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us,
because it is written: “Accursed is every man hung upon a stake.
- Compare to Galathians 3:13 of The KJV: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:
for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Read about the crucifixion of Jesus in The KJV, and compare to what JW write in their Bible:
- Matthew 27:31 in The KJV:
And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.
- Compare to Matthew 27:31 of The JW Bible: https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/b/r1/lp-e/nwt/E/2013/40/27#study=discover
Finally, after they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak and put his outer garments on him and led him off to be nailed to the stake.
I have found a good video describing how the crucifixion probably was carried out - which indicates that JW are wrong:
- CSI Jerusalem: A Physician Looks at the Crucifixion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H25zDG4wvz4
My conclusion regarding Jehovah's Witnesses is that they are doing much good, and they do their best to serve God and Jesus Christ:
- They honor God by the name they teach is God's correct name.
- They go from house to house to teach from their Bible - two and two - until a Bible study is agreed. Then one person only may follow up later.
- They refuse military service, and I can say - if all Nations reach same understanding, there might be true Peace on Earth.
Then the prophesy in Isaiah 2:4 will be fulfilled:
* They will beat their swords into plow shears and their spears into pruning shears.
* Nation will not lift up sword against nation, nor will they learn war anymore.
But what must be proven by now, after JW's many failed announcements regarding fulfillment of prophesies:
- JW is not the only church/parish acknowledged by God. See their own Bible:
Deuteronomy 18:21-22
When the prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah and the word is not fulfilled or does not come true, then Jehovah did not speak that word.
The prophet spoke it presumptuously. You should not fear him.’
My understanding is that Christians should be humble and do what Jesus expects of us. And we shall not think that we are better than others:
- All who believe that Jesus Christ is The Way (to God) and The Truth and The Life, must be considered brothers and sisters in Faith.
- All churches need to be humble servants of God, and not exalt themselves - which leads to pride - which again may lead to downfall.
Furthermore, we must stop involving in false religion. This document may give you some clues:
- Ishtar and Easter - published by Renee M on 25th February 2013 http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/feb2013/reneem225-3.htm
See these videos about another Church facing trouble now:
- The Joseph Smith Papyri [Book of Abraham] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmk_CYjow0A
- Secrets of Mormon Cult : Breaking Polygamy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBL1AmdkO2k
- A Former Mormon Professor Takes Us Inside Mormonism http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCP8lCQ8yQA
- Mormonism and Christianity: Are they Compatible? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNjfmKx866Y&list=PL_IMXrktpqvwptCOP9d6taJf5HaFr9gxW
One answer to prayer that I got and believe in, is that Paul was a true servant of God and Jesus Christ. So we should believe what he tells.
- Paul the Apostle Full Movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l87kLSZQDjE
And to Christians saying that the JW Bible serves the devil, I say - You can get a good understanding of right and wrong also from the JW Bible:
Romans 1:1-7
Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus and called to be an apostle, set apart for God’s good news,
which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
concerning his Son, who came to be from the offspring of David according to the flesh,
but who with power was declared God’s Son according to the spirit of holiness by means of resurrection from the dead
- yes, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him we received undeserved kindness and an apostleship with a view to obedience by faith among all the nations respecting his name,
among which nations you also have been called to belong to Jesus Christ -
to all those who are in Rome as God’s beloved ones, called to be holy ones:
May you have undeserved kindness and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:18-25
For God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who are suppressing the truth in an unrighteous way,
because what may be known about God is clearly evident among them, for God made it clear to them.
For his invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made,
even his eternal power and Godship, so that they are inexcusable.
For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God nor did they thank him, but they became empty-headed in their reasonings and their senseless hearts became darkened.
Although claiming they were wise, they became foolish
and turned the glory of the incorruptible God into something like the image of corruptible man and birds and four-footed creatures and reptiles.
Therefore, God, in keeping with the desires of their hearts, gave them up to uncleanness, so that their bodies might be dishonored among them.
They exchanged the truth of God for the lie and venerated and rendered sacred service to the creation rather than the Creator,
who is praised forever. Amen.
Romans 1:26-32
That is why God gave them over to uncontrolled sexual passion, for their females changed the natural use of themselves into one contrary to nature;
likewise also the males left the natural use of the female and became violently inflamed in their lust toward one another, males with males, working what is obscene and receiving in themselves the full penalty, which was due for their error.
Just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a disapproved mental state, to do the things not fitting.
And they were filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and badness, being full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice, being whisperers,
backbiters, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, schemers of what is harmful, disobedient to parents,
without understanding,+ false to agreements, having no natural affection, and merciless.
Although these know full well the righteous decree of God—that those practicing such things are deserving of Death
- they not only keep on doing them but also approve of those practicing them.
Romans 2:1-2
Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are, if you judge; for when you judge another, you condemn yourself,
because you who judge practice the same things.
Now we know that God’s judgment is in harmony with truth, against those who practice such things.
Romans 10:6-12
But the righteousness resulting from faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ that is, to bring Christ down,
or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.”
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your own mouth and in your own heart”; that is, “the word” of faith, which we are preaching.
For if you publicly declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and exercise faith in your heart that God raised him up from the dead,
you will be saved.
For with the heart one exercises faith for righteousness, but with the mouth one makes public declaration for salvation.
For the scripture says: “No one who rests his faith on him will be disappointed.”
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. There is the same Lord over all, who is rich toward all those calling on him.
Romans 12:17-21
Return evil for evil to no one. Take into consideration what is fine from the viewpoint of all men.
If possible, as far as it depends on you, be peaceable with all men.
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield place to the wrath; for it is written: “‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay,’ says Jehovah.”
But “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing this you will heap fiery coals on his head.”
Do not let yourself be conquered by the evil, but keep conquering the evil with the good.
1 Corinthians 5:1-13 - To JW I say: It is these people you shall not have any fellowship with
Actually sexual immorality is reported among you, and such immorality as is not even found among the nations
- of a man living with his father’s wife.
And are you proud of it? Should you not rather mourn, so that the man who committed this deed should be taken away from your midst?
Although absent in body, I am present in spirit, and I have already judged the man who has done this, as if I were actually with you.
When you are gathered together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and knowing that I am with you in spirit along with the power of our Lord Jesus,
you must hand such a man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven ferments the whole batch of dough?
Clear away the old leaven so that you may be a new batch, inasmuch as you are free from ferment.
For, indeed, Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.
So, then, let us keep the festival, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of badness and wickedness,
but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
In my letter I wrote you to stop keeping company with sexually immoral people,
not meaning entirely with the sexually immoral people of this world or the greedy people or extortioners or idolaters. Otherwise, you would actually have to get out of the world.
But now I am writing you to stop keeping company with anyone called a brother who is sexually immoral or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man.
For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Do you not judge those inside,
while God judges those outside? “Remove the wicked person from among yourselves.”
1 Corinthians 6:7-11
Really, it is already a defeat for you when you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather let yourselves be wronged?
Why do you not rather let yourselves be defrauded?
Instead, you wrong and defraud, and your brothers at that!
Or do you not know that unrighteous people will not inherit God’s Kingdom?
Do not be misled. Those who are sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who submit to homosexual acts, men who practice homosexuality,
thieves, greedy people, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners will not inherit God’s Kingdom.
And yet that is what some of you were. But you have been washed clean; you have been sanctified;
you have been declared righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and with the spirit of our God.
Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying: “All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit,
teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.”
Matthew 5:43-48
“You heard that it was said: ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
However, I say to you: Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those who persecute you,
so that you may prove yourselves sons of your Father who is in the heavens, since he makes his sun rise on both the wicked and the good
and makes it rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous.
For if you love those loving you, what reward do you have? Are not also the tax collectors doing the same thing?
And if you greet your brothers only, what extraordinary thing are you doing? Are not also the people of the nations doing the same thing?
You must accordingly be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
---
From the above scripture JW should see that they are supposed to greet also their former JW members, and not treat them like non-existent.
---
JW should also accept that people who believe in The Divine Trinity must be considered to be brothers and sisters in faith, if they believe in
John 3:16-17
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed
but have everlasting life.
For God did not send his Son into the world for him to judge the world, but for the world to be saved through him."
The Holy Spirit - A third person within a Trinity God?
- PROOF Female HOLY SPIRIT, a SHE in Bible - Hebrew feminine more than grammatical gender https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zmH8Hl83-k
* 2:40 Ruach HaKadosh
I do not know if The Holy Spirit is a female entity within God, but surely The Holy Spirit can cause us to be born again.
The Holy Spirit may just be called so because God is Holy, therefore His spirit logically is Holy.
However, here is another video stating that The Holy Spirit is of female nature, published 9th January 2018:
* Who is the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKadosh? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxA9-24N8bU
- Autistic Boy Explains the Trinity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDcGGqRQqQk
- Jesus Testifies Against the Trinity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WIOuU5DCQE
Personally I do not find much support for the Trinity Doctrine in The Bible.
8th April 2015 I thought maybe I was about to unlock the secret about The Trinity, searching KJV for these two specific terms:
- The Holy Ghost
- The Holy Spirit
It seemed that The Holy Spirit is The Spirit of God, and that The Holy Ghost might be a third person within God,
where the two others are The Father plus The Word = His Son Jesus Christ.
It made me search Google: Are The Holy Ghost and The Holy Spirit different spirits?
But the first document concludes:
* At the time of the first printing of the KJV of the Bible (1611; over 1,400 years after the New Testament was first written in Greek),
the English words “spirit” and “ghost” had the same meaning.
This made it natural for the translators to render the one Greek word as both English words.
Though their inconsistency was not intentional or founded on corrupt motives,
it resulted in the false concept that a “Holy Ghost” and “Holy Spirit” are two separate spirits.
* To clarify the matter, the term “Holy Spirit” should be used in all instances in which the Spirit of God or Spirit of Christ is referenced.
This problem is rectified in the New KJV, in which the Greek expression hagion pneuma is consistently translated “Holy Spirit.”
- Here are the scriptures matching Holy Spirit in New King James Version (NKJV) of The Bible.
- Compare those scriptures with the ones you get when searching for spirit of. Among these I show you this one especially:
* KJV Bible 1 Corinthians 2:11
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?
even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
* JW Bible:
For who among men knows the things of a man except the man’s spirit within him?
So, too, no one has come to know the things of God except the spirit of God.
This shows that:
* The spirit of a man first of all is the man's memory of experiences, his moral values, his temper and his known and secret affections.
* Therefore The Spirit of God must be God's memory of experiences, His moral values, His temper and His known and secret affections.
* Likewise The Spirit of Jesus Christ must be His memory of experiences, His moral values, His temper and His known and secret affections.
The Spirit of God is Holy, because God is Holy. God can let His Holy Spirit be with whoever He wants:
<<)John 17: 20-26
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:
that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one;
and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory,
which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Counterfeit Church http://rcg.org/books/ttigtio.html About 60% down in this document, you find:
- Counterfeit church
You will learn that the teaching of the triune, “three-in-one” god comes from the great false universal religious system,
described in Revelation 17:5 as “Mystery Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.”
Read Exodus 4:14-16 - where God makes Moses to be as God to Aron - and Aron shall be the spokesman of Moses.
- God fills Moses with His Holy Spirit, and Moses tells Aron what to say. They became United in The Holy Spirit.
- God's Holy Spirit speaks through Moses to Aron, and gives Aron knowledge regarding what to say to the people.
Now read whole Exodus 4, and also in the JW Bible.
- The Spirit of The Word - Jesus Christ - is like The Spirit of God, because they have been together since creation.
- Jesus Christ has almost the same experiences as God has, and He is of same nature, has the same moral values, temper and affections.
- Therefore they have the same Holy Spirit, and are filled with the same Love for humans.
Since Jesus as The Word of God is the creator of all things, Jesus Christ can make anything happen, just as God our Father in heaven can.
- When the Holy Spirit fills a human, the person is born again. Moral values, temper and affections will be as they are for God and Jesus Christ.
* Jesus is our Mediator between ourselves (all born again Christians) and the one God - our Father in heaven.
See Galatians 3:19-20, also in the JW Bible:
Why, then, the Law? It was added to make transgressions manifest,+ until the offspring* should arrive+ to whom the promise had been made;
and it was transmitted through angels+ by the hand of a mediator.+
Now there is no mediator when just one person is involved, but God is only one.
---
We have not seen any support for the idea of a Trinity God yet. The impression that stands so far is that:
- There is one God - The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - The God of Israel.
- Jesus Christ is Son of God, who lived a life without sin - full of love and mercy for troubled people - showing us the true nature of our Father.
But John 1:1 says: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
This may indicate a Trinity God - if it is true that also The Holy Spirit is a separate, God-like being - just as Jesus Christ is.
To understand The Holy Spirit better, it is very useful to have a look at the 24 scriptures matching the search: his spirit.
After Reading the scriptures, it seems that the Holy Spirit simply is the awareness, capacity and Power of God.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 seems to support this idea, and also gives good guidelines for Christian conduct:
1 So then, brothers and sisters, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to keep living the way you already are
and even do better in how you live and please God—just as you learned from us.
2 You know the instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
3 God’s will is that your lives are dedicated to him. This means that you stay away from sexual immorality
4 and learn how to control your own body in a pure and respectable way.
5 Don’t be controlled by your sexual urges like the Gentiles who don’t know God.
6 No one should mistreat or take advantage of their brother or sister in this issue.
The Lord punishes people for all these things, as we told you before and sternly warned you.
7 God didn’t call us to be immoral but to be dedicated to him.
8 Therefore, whoever rejects these instructions isn’t rejecting a human authority. They are rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Since my first study with Jehovah's Witnesses in 1974 I have had the feeling that John 1:1 is not correctly translated in common Bibles.
But I never found any support for my view - until I in 2014 found what The Orthodox Jewish Bible says:
Yochanan 1:1
Bereshis (in the in the Beginning) was the Dvar Hashem (The Word) [YESHAYAH 55:11; BERESHIS 1:3],
and the Dvar Hashem (The Word) was agav (along with, etzel, Mishle 8:30;30:4) Hashem (God),
and the Dvar Hashem (The Word) was nothing less, by nature, than Elohim (Gods)!
So John 1:1 is apparently not translated correctly, when it is states that the Word was God. It should be: the Word was like God.
Furthermore, God says to Jesus Christ in Luke 20:42-43 - here quoted from the JW Bible:
- For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘Jehovah said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.”’
So my point of view is: God our Father is one. Jesus Christ is like God. Both can fill born again Christians with The(ir) Holy Spirit.
Consider these scriptures too, if you are not convinced yet:
- John 17:20-26 - JW Bible:
20 “I make request, not concerning these only, but also concerning those putting faith in me through their word,
21 so that they may all be one,+ just as you, Father, are in union with me and I am in union with you,+
that they also may be in union with us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.
22 I have given them the glory that you have given me, in order that they may be one just as we are one.+
23 I in union with them and you in union with me, in order that they may be perfected into one,*
so that the world may know that you sent me and that you loved them just as you loved me.
24 Father, I want those whom you have given me to be with me where I am,+
in order that they may look upon my glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the founding of the world.+
25 Righteous Father, the world has, indeed, not come to know you,+ but I know you,+ and these have come to know that you sent me.
26 I have made your name known to them and will make it known,+ so that the love with which you loved me may be in them
and I in union with them.”+
- James 2:19 Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder.
* JW Bible: You believe that there is one God, do you? You are doing quite well. And yet the demons believe and shudder.
17th January 2015 I found two interesting documents:
- TORAH INSTITUTE - TRINITY http://www.fossilizedcustoms.com/trinity.html
The NICENE CREED of 325-326 CE espoused the “Creed of Faith” for the new Roman religion: Catholicism (Latin for Universalism).
This new Catholic faith was defined by this creed as being the belief in: ---“one God, three Persons”---
not redemption through the blood of Yahusha.
Purpose: To conceal the true identity of Yahusha, through a Gnostic allegorical interpretation concerning the "incarnation".
- Newton's Arian beliefs http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Extras/Newton_Arian.html
Newton came to believe that the Roman Catholic Church was misguided in its interpretation of Christianity, and had returned to idolatry.
Although he partly approved of the Protestant Reformation, he felt it had not gone nearly far enough to return Christianity to its original state.
Now if Newton did not believe in the Trinity, he had to consider the First Epistle of John Chapter 2, verse 7, which reads (in the KJV):
* For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
Now Newton, who felt that his mission was more to study religion than science, certainly did not stop at reading the King James version
of the Bible, but rather read all original versions he could, learning the necessary ancient languages.
He discovered that the final phrase 'and these three are one' was not present in any Greek version that he studied.
Newton came to the conclusion that it was a deliberate addition to the text to provide justification for the doctrine of the Trinity.
Here is a video telling that there is no evidence of a triune God in the Bible:
- Is Jesus the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCV1O5P0K-k