All Things Seen & Unseen

Well, yes it is! And there is a particular reason why that is so difficult. Moreover, orthodox Christians often don't realise or don't have a clear picture of this gigantic obstacle between them and Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) when talking  with them .  Actually, the JWs hold a false but determinate assumption; for them it is a bedrock truth but is a lie. Hence,  to lay the groundwork for a successful *   meeting with them  we need to know the nature of this fantastic illusion JWs accept, sometimes, without fully knowing it . The JWs' Fantasy   JWs are held in thrall to an oppressive fabrication of their second leader's fertile imagination. They  seriously imagine the Watch Tower Tract and Bible Society (WTS) to be Jehovah God's only legitimate and trustworthy organisation on earth. All orthodox Christian groups are viewed as corrupted, unreliable and not to be trusted. Furthermore, the WTS is held to be the only means by which God speaks Tru...

The first important date for the Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) was 1799. Charles 'Taze' Russell (1852-1916), the first leader of what later became the JWs promoted 1799 as the 'beginning of the time of the end'.  The organisation kept teaching the date until 1928 ( http://bit.ly/1PjtDEc ) which included time under the JWs second leader Joseph Franklin 'Judge' Rutherford (1969-1942) . 1874 was the next important date and, according to Russell, was to be the year of Christ's coming or 'invisible presence'; the year in which Jesus Christ began to reign on His throne in heaven. 1914 was first prophesied by Russell as the end of the battle of Armageddon (Rev 16.14-16) . So, although you may have heard 1914 published as the year in which Christ's secret presence in the heavens took place, initially, for the first leader of the JWs, it was not so. His presence would mean that in 1914 all the kingdoms of the earth would be struck down and abolis...

If you ask Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) today do they wor ship Jesus Christ , they will say 'no'. Christians are amaze d at th e news of this missing dimension in the J ehovah's Witness (JW) pr acti ce . BUT, it is perfectly consistent with JW basic beliefs about Jesus Christ Himself. L et us then investigate their basic beliefs about Him . Firstly , they say, 'Jesus was/i s a creation of Jehovah God [Yahweh]', the first 'direct' and only creation of J ehovah . Hence, Jesus did not always exist but, f or JWs, came into existence as a 'spirit- being' exist ing as Michael, the Archangel before his Fath er sent him to earth !     Orthodox Christians find this type of notion strange to say the least. F or them the Son of God is co-eternal with the Father and was in the words of the Nicene Creed , ' begotten not made'. Historically considered, their teaching is known as Arianism. Secondly , JWs say, that Jesus while on earth...

In reading through the Acts of the Apostles following the stand ard lectionary readings after E aster used in Roman, Anglican and Eastern Orthodox churches we have been amazed at how references to the holy judgement of God are avoided in the guide. For example, Ananias and Sapphira who both lied to God, to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5) and were killed at Peter's word for their sin: no portion is set for reading. This case becomes a model for exclusion of those passages which the church, appar ently, does not want to hear (the so-called, 'terror pas sages' of the scriptures) . Of course this process fits with today's lost sense of sin and its almost exclusive emphasis on the 'love' of God. A s if love need mean that God cannot also judge mankind (Acts 17.31) in this life and in the next. The world clamours for justice when people do bad things and blame God -often the very God they refuse to believe exists- for those bad things. It never considers that God...

The hope-filled words above come from Isaiah 40.1 with the immediate context being Isaiah 40.1-11 and the larger backdrop, the first 39 chapters of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter one speaks of the spiritual degradation into which Judah (the Southern Kingdom of the former Kingdom United under Saul, David and Solomon) has fallen (e.g., Isa 1.2-9).  It is now a rebellious people (Isa 1.2), contaminated by gross iniquity (Isa 1.10-31) ripe for judgement which was about to break upon it in the Babylonian Captivity (Isa 39.6). It was first attacked in 606BC, then again in 597 and finally 586BC saw its final demise (see here ).

The 31st October is the day that some celebrate as Reformation Day! What is Reformation Day? It's the day that Protestants celebrate Martin Luther's (1483-1546) sending 95 Theses complaining about the selling of 'indulgences' in his parish to the  Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeberg.   Some believe that he nailed the Theses (in Latin) to the door of the church at Wittenberg , October the 31st, at 2 pm 1517 . This action signalled the beginning of a mighty 'protest' across nations against the Papal church's teachings on indulgences and the spiritual supremacy of the Pope as the (Western) Church's leader. What were Indulgences? The Roman clergy were authorised to absolve the guilt of contrite sinners (based on Jn 20.23). But according to Romanist theology, absolution did not mean that the threat of punishment was removed. Therefore, indulgences would be bought as penances for the punishments of sins committed. In Luther's time Johan...

The Character of the Messiah (Christ) In the second part of Matthew 22.34-46 Jesus asks them a question. It's an important question because it relates directly to the matters raised in the first question-and-answer section found in an earlier post which indirectly brings up the issue of what can be done about our failure to keep the Law. Jesus takes his turn to ask them a question in line with the rules of formal debate of that time between disputants. He asks questions about the Messiah (Christ).  Is the Messiah just a man or more than a man? This issue is the one on which Jesus is concerned to concentrate with them. Whose son is He? Jesus asks.  To which they reply, 'the son of David'. Jesus draws their attention to Psalm 110.1 in which David says: The Lord (Jehovah) said to my Lord (the Messiah), 'Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.' Jesus presses his point, 'If David calls the Messiah 'Lord' how can the ...