Since questions have been asked...may I provide some answers? They may not satisfy, but here they are anyway.....
Simply put "speaking in agreement" does not mean every doctrine. It means God The Father, His Son, approved by God for the throne, They are Spirit, the Kingdom is in the midst of us and it is forever superior in every way to man's rule under the power of Satan.
'Speaking in agreement'
does mean
every doctrine, otherwise there could be no 'agreement' in the first place. If Jesus is doing the feeding of his 'slaves', then he would not be instructing different men in different ways, with different "food".
Christ is leading his disciples in the preaching and disciple making work as he promised (Matt 28:19, 20) He does not lead different groups in different directions based on how 'they' wish to practice their own particular brand of 'Christianity'.
It means order and an organized way of doing things...just as God demonstrated with Israel and as Christ demonstrated with his apostles. He wrote the prescription for the acceptable worship of his Father, and expected it to be filled as he prescribed. You can't alter the prescription without his authorization, and still expect the desired result. Christians were not free to do their own thing any more than Israel was. (1 Cor 14:33)
God's rule has always been administered through men. Perfect men? I haven't found any. Men who made mistakes...even very serious ones?...yes! But to leave God's only arrangement for salvation because of the perceived mistakes of imperfect men is to commit spiritual suicide because someone stamped on your foot and it hurt. What sense does that make? That is simply cutting off your nose to spite your face!
If a person wants to leave, God won't stop them. If people become bitter in spirit, then there is no room for love anyway.
The Lord's prayer and the admonition to love 'Jehovah' Yahweh with one's WHOLE heart and neighbor as the self are the practical ways we show the congregation we are in agreement. Do you really think doctrine is what it means we should agree on? Every doctrine? Even though some doctrine changes?
Revealed truth is progressive. The "sacred secret" of Christ's role in the kingdom began to be revealed in Eden but was not fully understood until after Christ came and went. The holy spirit filled in the blanks for Christ's apostles. They then taught the rest of the 'sheep' what it was all about.
Truth is still being revealed progressively.....by those appointed to dispense that truth "at the proper time".....God's proper time, not ours.
Love is not optional but it has to be loyal. Real love is demonstrated by obedience to God's commands, even when we do not fully understand them.
There were witnesses who died because of a lack of an organ transplant. Now it is acceptable.
There are still many who are undecided about organ transplantation, which is essentially a conscience issue. There is no hard and fast Biblical rule on this, only on the consumption of blood. Early transplants were not always successful for a number of reasons and physical death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person. Those who have full faith in the resurrection do not fear it at all. (1 Thess 4:13)
There were witnesses who died because they would not accept any blood products. Now they are acceptable. See how it can not be doctrine that we must all agree on?
There are Witnesses who die every day from a number of causes. Blood fractions were not around until relatively recent times. This is again a conscience issue. Much research and prayer has gone into the use of fractions. Components of blood are found in other products. These components of themselves are not a violation of the 'eating' of blood. JW's are well educated as to the recent introduction of many components and each must decide what their conscience will allow.
Again, who among JW's fears death? It is spiritual death that will result in no recovery of life. That is the one we should fear, not the one where we merely go to sleep and wake up in paradise.
When I discerned the appointed brothers in the congregation were not making decisions according to The Holy Spirit like the Watchtower says they do I gave my congregation the benefit of the doubt. For many years I did. Then I was in session with them about my doubts and they made it very clear to me they obey the men of the Governing Body.
People can have a bee in their bonnet for many years because of a 'perceived' injustice. Being made in God's image, we have a finely tuned sense of justice and if it is not satisfied, it can eat us up.
What though, if the injustice was only 'perceived' as real? What if factors were known to 'appointed brothers' that facilitated a decision that simply disagreed with the way a the person concerned
thinks the decision should have been made?
If the decision did not sit well with the individual and they left in a huff because their own personal view was not upheld...what then? Will God chase after them?
If there was prayer and the operation of holy spirit, then humility would be demonstrated by obedience to their direction. Regardless of whether they were perceived to be "right" or not.
"Be obedient to those who are taking the lead among you and be submissive, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will render an account; that they may do this with joy and not with sighing, for this would be damaging to you." (Heb 13:17)
If there was injustice, God would see to it that it would be rectified in his own time and in his own way. It is the 'appointed brothers' who bear the responsibility for getting it right. Where is the faith if we take exception to their direction and then do the wrong thing ourselves? Who then become responsible for our actions? WE do.
Our trust has to be, not in men but in Jehovah.
How is obeying men instead of God wise? It is because you believe Matthew 24:45 describes them. But who put that thought in your head? They did. It is perfect irony.
I guess the irony is in not realizing that the 'men' are not being obeyed 'instead' of God, since God is working through them by holy spirit, as he always has.
One thing is for sure....there is a 'faithful and discreet slave' and he is 'feeding Jesus household' just as he instructed them to do. I am not confident that people will ever find them anywhere else. The search thus far seems to have been in vain.
This close to the end of the system of things, I would imagine that the distinction between the 'wheat' and the 'weeds' would be quite obvious by now. One does not resemble the other at all.
The good news HAS been preached "in all the inhabited earth" by the one united body of Christ's disciples who will carry it out as their main activity right to the end.....but who is listening? (Matt 24:37-39)
One more thing. The "gathering together" described at Hebrews 10:25 means gathering together in love, not in proximity. It says some people have the custom that prevents them from gathering together. Customs never got in the way of people gathering together physically. But they sure do get in the way of gathering together in love, don't they?
The 'gathering together' was the same in Israel as it was with the first Christians....it was loving...but physical. The congregation was exactly what the word means.....a "congregation' or gathering of Christ's followers for worship and instruction. They met in people's homes when the Jews wouldn't let them use the porticoes in the synagogue anymore. (Rom 16:5; 1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15; Phm 2)
Twisting things to suit one's own view of events is dangerous, (it can be the result of a strong desire to be proved 'right'.) It is nothing more than justification for a heart that seems 'hell-bent' on proving themselves righteous, whilst not humbly admitting that they could well have been wrong to begin with. (Jer 17:9, 10) Who ever
wants to admit that they may have been mistaken?
In any case, not leaving things in Jehovah's hands always results in unhappiness and a spiritual emptiness that is never filled. His blessing is with the obedient ones. (1 Cor 6:7)
Let the injustice go...if it is killing you, where is the benefit?
