Posted by Bibleman [Bibleman] on October 24, 1999 at 07:21:57 {f8eW6hUOe2MRXA6xmpscslyACFuF8c}:
In Reply to: Question to GB Member posted by Rick on October 23, 1999 at 23:14:40:
Just a persistent interjection here about JWs being "God's organization."
There is a degree of over-simplication about this in that it is thought the organization has to be all good or all bad. In addition, there is the overly simplistic idea that there is no timing involved. That is, that the organization may once have been a chief means of spiritual food in the beinning, but that later it would be dimissed from that capacity.
So please note, again, the Bible talks of the master planting seed in a field and before that seed grew up Satan planted in weeds and thus the weeds and wheat grew up together at the very early stages of this organization. This organization was the "International Bible Students" who became corrupted in particular when Rutherford started creature worship of Russell as the "faithful servant" now transformed into the "Governing Body God" known as the "Faithful and Discreet Slave."
But was that organization abandoned by God in the beginning? No! It was allowed to remain since there were already sheep/wheat associated with this organization and it was said to continue until the "harvest" time, which would be when the organization had grown up and it was time to harvest what had been gathered. It would be THEN that the "weed" elements in the organization would be exposed and the weeds in the organization cast off.
So in this scenario, applied to any "temple organization" whether you believe it would be the witnesses or not, you cannot just look at false teachings and decide that this organization isn't being used by God or once was. There is timing involved. The false teachings thus document the reason why in the end the Governing Body would be cast out, but it doesn't mean the organization did not still serve as the "temple organization" or "god's chosen people."
In addition, just because the weeds would be cast out, it would not mean the "wheat" within the organization, those gathered within it, would be cast out. There would be some separation among them, but many within the organization would be saved. So in that sense they still could be considered "god's organization."
And one final important point to be made is that if this organization ends up being the one headed up by the "slave" who becomes not the "faithful slave" but the "sluggish" or "evil slave" then you have several parables which establish that there are other slaves that were sent out besides this one. That is, other organizations that would be approved by God. So even though this organization has a special purpose as the "temple organization" and is the primary focus of many prophecies, it is not the only organizational arrangement of Jehovah for persons who would survive Armageddon. In fact, at least two other "slave" organizations were successful at increasing tenfold and five fold and thus the idea that those associated with the witness organization, as the "little flock" are indeed a little flock compared to the "other sheep" who are being gathered in various ways by the angels.
So again, two important things:
1) While being "god's chosen people" it was always prophesied to be a complexed mixture of wheat and weeds and thus you cannot just look at the false prophesies and judge this a false religion and not the "temple organization". It can be both; and
2) Very important. It is just one of several other "slave" organizations which will provide survivors of Armageddon. Being within this organization is not a practice of false religion, but being in it is not a requirement for life either.
We all need to be a little more sophisticated in our comparisons and a little more attentive to the Bible's own description of this "wheat-weed" organization and how long it would be used and what would happen near the end of that generation when the separation work takes place. For all intents and purposes the "true" witnesses will be saved out of this organization, whereas the false (weeds) would be destroyed along with its god-leader Governing Body, who is depicted in scripture as the Lamb-Beast who is destroyed in the lake of fire at the same time as the 666-Beast representing Trinity-Euro-centric Christendom.
Let's wake up folks! It's time to get past the sandbox mentality and graduate to second grade, spiritually speaking.
:>
God bless all.
Cheers,
Bibleman