Let me ask you a question....what is "the good news of the kingdom" that Jesus told his disciples to preach?
The “good news” is the entirety of the gospel message.
Is that what you received today?
I receive some form through witnessing. My dad witnessed. My mom witnessed. My neighbors witnessed. Sometimes this witnessing included preaching , sometimes it did not.
Is the subject of our witnessing the same as' love of neighbor' which Jesus said was to be expressed for our brothers and neighbors at every available opportunity? Was it the sacrifices made to show love and care for one's family members? What you are saying here, if I understand you correctly, is that they are one and the same thing?
The sacrifices we make for our family are the same sacrifices Christians are asked to make for their neighbors because it’s the same sacrifice Christ made for us.
But the truth is, those things are family responsibilities...they are really nothing to do with the subject of the actual preaching work that Jesus commissioned.
So when Jehovah Witnesses preach about family responsibility, they make it clear it has nothing to do with the preaching work Jesus commissioned?
Are you sure about this Deeje??
Again we have love of neighbor....a Christian requirement and yes indeed, taught by Christ.
Yes it was, and since the “good news” is the
entire gospel message, “family responsibility” is part and parcel of preaching work.
No doubt about it, our conduct reflects on the God we worship, but the preaching of the "good news of the kingdom" is a specific message.....we don't take it to fellow believers but to unbelievers.
Are your Assemblies full of unbelievers? If you don’t preach to believers I see little need for meetings. What would there be to discuss?
Christians generally believe that the gospel message, which includes the gospel in its entirety, is beneficial not only for the spiritually ill but uplifting for the healthy as well.
It is the only "witness" that they will get before the "end" comes. (Matthew 24:14) It involves visiting people in their homes and imparting that message (Matthew 10:11-15) because they have to be warned that the good news also has a sting in the tail. It isn't "good news" for those who ignore it.
I believe we see the word “witness” totally different. What my dad and neighbors did was “witness”. I consider this different from publicizing or distributing literature. (Acts 1:8)
However you bring up something interesting. You state the good news is a
specific message and you point to
Matthew 10:11-15.
This "specific message" was
not what Jesus commanded be preached to the Gentiles. If you read Matthew 10:5, you’ll see Jesus
forbade this message to be carried to the Gentiles or even the Samaritans.
“The Kingdom is near” is not what Jesus commanded be preached. It is the “good news”. It is the entirety of the gospel and not simply a
specific message.
IMO, if your Organization preaches this specific message (and apparently it does, judging by your comments and the thumbs up given by another JW member), your members should preach without a wallet, purse, or money bag in hand (Mat 10:9), and it should be preached to the Jews only.
What two classifications of people meriting "eternal destruction" did Paul mention in 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10?
“He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” (2 Thessalonians 1:8)
This is a good thing for you to point out Deeje. If we preach “the Kingdom is near” rather than “the good news of the Kingdom” to the Gentiles, we are not obeying our Lord Jesus Christ’s command at Matthew 10:9.
What? Only Catholics and Methodists? Going back many decades I realized at a young age that the whole of Christendom was the same poison simply served up on different plates. I could not see the point in them being separate churches when they all taught the same lies. That plate was also filled with the money we pledged that was more important to the minister than we were.
If the money was more important, then you may have been at the wrong church. I’ve attended Catholic services before and I am not a Catholic. I’ve also worked with them as they collected food in their pantries and distributed it to the poor. This was done regardless of the recipient’s religious preference.
I see your dismissal of Christian churches as “poison” as more fruit of the Watchtower. I just wish the rank in file were more up front about their message. For instance, do you freely advise Muslims in Syria their religion is “poison” when going “door to door”, or is this solely reserved for those living in the relative safety of “Christendom”?
I left that poor excuse for Christianity long before I met the Witnesses. It wasn't the people...most of whom were very nice.....it was the church system and what it taught...not to mention that it never had answers for the hard questions.....none of that ever rang true for me.
We had different experiences. I didn’t know a JW from a Mormon when a friend came up to me and offered a “bible” study. At first, the answers rang true, and I enjoyed the easy read bible. But it was their teachings…which could change on a dime (I believe that was the suggested donation for the Watchtower at the time)…that began to ring as untrue to me. I found their reasoning logically inconsistent, and while they said they would get back to me with answers, they rarely did. The only questions they were really interested in answering were the ones found at the bottom of the page.
Studying the Bible with JW's just confirmed to me what I already suspected. Christendom is far removed from the true Christianity that Jesus taught...but its all most people have ever known, so they never question it.
Of course they questioned it. Heretics have popped up over the centuries questioning the teaching or beliefs of the church. Do you think the Watchtower was the first?
LOL...there was a lot of stuff that people thought back then, but we have grown up some since then with over 50 years of increased knowledge and understanding. The "light on the path" just kept getting brighter and brighter. (Proverbs 4:18)
I see no “light” dragging dead neighbors out of their church or home. This was never a light from God, and as such, if it is getting brighter, it only means you are moving farther away (2Cor 11:14)
Those who have died will awaken in the new world as if they closed their eyes only a moment ago.
So we have 500 people brought back to life from 3,000 years ago, and the last thing they remember is that they were in a pitched battle with orders to kill everyone, and destroy their homes and livestock?
And then you will ask them, Watchtower in hand, if they’re ready to start their 1000 year bible study?
Has the Governing Board really thought this through???
I have no idea what your last sentence there is supposed to be saying? Perhaps you can explain?
You’ve been in the Watchtower for decades Deeje. Have you forgotten already?
I was referring to the billions of bodies Jehovah Witnesses will have to remove. Back in the 60’s and 70’s it was hoped that Jehovah would spare a few nice homes in each neighborhood so that Witnesses could simply drag a few bodies from a neighbor’s home and move in. I believe the Watchtower has “progressed” on this now. The "latest thinking" I heard on this was the birds still get to eat their full, but now Jehovah steps in and uses anti-matter on the rest.
What makes you think we are unaware of that fact.
I’m not saying you’re unaware. I’m saying it’s not emphasized.
One’s “personal Armageddon” is rarely emphasized in your publications. Instead the WT repeatedly hammers home the idea that you will be alive, not already deceased, when Armageddon arrives.
What does get emphasized is “global Armageddon”. Your children are not repeatedly taught they could die in a car crash because their parents fell asleep at the wheel, but they are repeatedly taught falling asleep during a meeting could lead to death at global Armageddon.
No one is promised tomorrow...
Well at least not if you’re in the Watchtower Organization. The closest I believe you can come to a promised tomorrow is to be a member of the “elect”. Even then there's no guarantee of salvation.
that is why we try to live each day as if it were our last...no regrets then and no excuses. God does not accept them.
Christianity’s response is a bit different. There is no “last’ day because we continue to live in Christ rather than “cease to exist” when we die in the flesh.
Internet forums are places where information is exchanged. Since you can't hear a voice or read body language like you can face to face, opinions are formed by reading the posts. The end result is the same. People are forming opinions and I hope we are supplying the knowledge to help them to do that. Their opinions are expressed about what we write, both positive and negative, and the scriptures we base our beliefs on are supplied for their appraisal.....then we have done our job. At the end of the day, decisions are being made......that is none of our business. We just 'plant and water'....'God is the one that makes the seed grow'. (1 Corinthians 3:6)
Wow! Even when we disagree we still manage to find areas of agreement Deeje. Another sign of the end times?
What Jesus did was show the "lost sheep" why following the teachings of the Pharisees was not what they needed to do to please God. The heavy burden placed on them by negligent shepherds wasn't what God required of them at all. He invited them to become his sheep and he, as the Fine Shepherd, would direct them into the right fold. His "yoke was kindly and his load was light" compared to what the religious leaders taught and expected.
What I don’t understand is how Jesus’ “light yolk” was translated from things like the care of widows and orphans into time cards.
He wasn't asking Jews to become "Christians" at all....he was asking Jews to recognize that the Pharisees were not teaching them from God's word, but with their own ideas and embellishments from their oral traditions. He was asking the Jews to become real Jews, not the fake kind that the Pharisees had become.
Are you sure about this?
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people”. (Mat 4:19)
In any event, I appreciate the time you take to respond to questions and points I've raised. You argue from WT publications which I believe puts you at a distinct disadvantage, but that's just me. I also appreciate you're taking time to elaborate on the latest WT position.