Srecko Sostar

In the OT, there is a direct command, “Thou shalt not kill (murder)!” This command should contain God's view of human life, which emphasizes that life is holy, sacred before God, but also that people must have the same feeling about the lives of other people around them.
By reading the Bible, which describes the events before and after the occurrence of this commandment, we can see that this commandment has no absolute power. Within the same set of legal provisions, there are other commandments that were binding on the Israelites, too. For example, commands like; "Don't steal, don't lie, don't commit fornication ...". These commandments should never have been ignored or mitigated by some extraordinary circumstances.
The specificity of this commandment, "You shall not kill," is evident in the fact that it was not of valid, obligation for all men and for all circumstances. Powerful individuals in Israel sometimes making their own decisions to go on military campaigns against others (Israelis and non-Israelis) The law also justified killing for revenge.
In some other places, God commands the death penalty against an individual. Also, the Bible describes that God instituted great actions that justified killing of other people. These were most often military actions aimed at killing soldiers of the enemy army, but also their families. The killings of these other tribes and people were justified on the basis of several facts: 1) they were not Israelis  2) they lived in territory that the Israel nation were to conquer for themselves, 3) they belonged to other religions.
The execution of the death penalty for a crime still exists today in some societies and legal systems. Obviously, the death penalty decision is based on balance. The one who killed must be killed. But from some other biblical examples we have seen that murder is not the only crime punishable by death. The disobedient child was also sentenced to death. Different religious affiliations or different religious beliefs also led to the death penalty. Adultery was punished by death.
From what we have described so far, we can see how the command, "shall not kill," had a stretched meaning. It is therefore necessary to look at religious practices that are not new but may draw some parallels in symbolism and meaning. As you may already guessed, it is about an act of symbolic "killing" that is carried out in such a way to exclude (disfellowship) another person from a particular social (religious) group in a specific way - by ignoring aka shunning. Shunning (this is about JW organization in particular) can be made because of two conclusions.
The first conclusion is reached by an individual JW member who believes that another member of the congregation has wronged/sinned against the Bible and its principles to the extent that he / she personally presents a spiritual anomaly (in the form of a spiritual illness or threat) and decides to "label" particular person as inappropriate for him to have socializing contacts. He seeks to avoid contact and minimize any literal and spiritual communion.
In second conclusion, the conviction of the inappropriateness of a member is made by the body of the elders. The judgment may be based on the morally inappropriate behavior of an individual member, or it may be that an individual no longer agrees with the ideological and organizational structure or with the theological solutions of the organization what made him/her as "hostile element".
This is when a person is removed from congregational members aka "spiritually killed" in such a way to excommunicate (dfd) them (he,she) from the community and impose a ban on almost every contact with the dfd person. The ban has few variations and interpretations of how the shunning should be carried out. But the very core of such a demand not to contact the excluded person is evident from the widespread practice that JW members have consistently implemented - the excluded (dfd) is not even greeted with the simplest “Good afternoon” greeting (hallo) on the street.
JW's want to be peaceful people who go to jail in some countries because not want even to carry weapon in mandatory military service. They don't want take self-defense courses even for protect themselves when attacked. But they are motivated to be active in using spiritual weapons and warfare against ex members who are in a disagreement with doctrinal issues. And "killing" them with shunning.  
What are your thoughts? 
 
 
 

Thanks! If you go to listen and watch some other videos, you will also notice how she, Lara, going  complètement  with emotions through song while singing.   

Thanks! If you go to listen and watch some other videos, you will also notice how she, Lara, going  complètement  with emotions through song while singing.   

ma nouvelle chanteuse française préférée

Absolutament incroyable!

Just as the WT knows how to work the global market by investing their money in hedge funds, they know how to manipulate a developing mind with persuasion techniques.  I perceive the downplay of higher education as a safeguard from losing members.  While the organization warns these young ones of Satan’s worldly traps when pursuing higher education, in reality it appears to me that it’s all about keeping JWs captive to the organization’s “empty philosophy”.  Col 2:8  Knowing how the young mind develops sheds light on the org's use of persistent warnings not to pursue higher education. 
“Developmental Tasks and Attributes of Late Adolescence/Young Adulthood (Ages 18-24 years)
http://www.amchp.org/programsandtopics/AdolescentHealth/projects/Documents/SAHRC AYADevelopment LateAdolescentYoungAdulthood.pdf
This is a time of life when very little is normative. It is a period of frequent change
and exploration that covers many aspects of their life: home, family, work, school,
resources, and role.
Develop and apply abstract thinking skills
Adolescents experience significant changes in
their capacity to think. In changing from
concrete to abstract thought they are
increasingly able to understand and grapple
with abstract ideas, think about possibilities,
think ahead, think about thinking, and “put
themselves in another person’s shoes.”
In general, this changes their ability to think
about themselves, others and the world
around them.
This is a gradual process that spans
adolescence and young adulthood. For
example, early in the process youth are
limited in their ability to hold more than one
point of view – understanding something
from one perspective but not another.
·        Capacity for abstract thought becomes
established; can think abstractly and
hypothetically; can discern the underlying
principles and apply them to new
situations; and can think about the future,
considering many possibilities and logical
outcomes of possible events.
·       Able to hold and manipulate clusters of
abstract ideas and create systems for
organizing abstract thoughts.
·       Greater ability to consider different points
of view at the same time can result in
increased empathy and concern for others,
and new interest in societal issues for many.
It also allows youth to better value the
diversity of people (and their perspectives)
and appreciate that there may be many
right answers to a problem.
Adopt A Personal Value System
Adolescents develop a more complex
understanding of moral behavior and
underlying principles of justice. They question
and assess beliefs from childhood and
restructure these beliefs into a personal
ideology (e.g. more personally meaningful
values, religious views, and belief systems to
guide decisions and behavior).
·        Decisions and values are less influenced by
peers.
·       Able to see multiple viewpoints, value the
diversity of people and perspectives and
appreciate that there can be many right
answers to a problem.
·        Identify values and viewpoints that work for
oneself while respecting viewpoints/values
of others
I would imagine there is a high risk of young JWs entering a college or university after high school, with the same age group, and going through the same mental development stages ...leaving the Watchtower altogether.  

Thanks for respond and for your understanding. 
I would like to add also this about WT Society "warnings" and strong recommendations through publications and public talks about "higher education".
We have young people who going to High school of some sort. WT Society not giving explicit "warnings" about this level of education. Perhaps because WT think how young "worldly" people of that age are not big "risk" for young JW members. :))
Also, we have young people who going to Universities and similar educational level. But WT consider how young "worldly" people of that age is very "dangerous" and are big "risk" for young JW members. :))
But, have in mind also this. Many of this young "worldly" people from both level of educations ended....where?? At some working place, on some job. And now we have big surprise. Where young and not young JW members working, on what working place, on what job? At same place with all those "worldly" people who JW members try to avoid when were younger, when were in similar/same age. And now they are all together ....despite all efforts JW members done in previous years. Some JW member working at place as janitor and his school colleague (known or unknown)  is Principal or Manager or Boss who giving him orders what and how to do something. JW members avoid to be with him at University but spend with him cca 8 hours a day in same Firm. Well, what is so special to be benefit of that?   
To be in Line, to be Consistent  in "warnings and advice" about issue how to avoid this sorts of "risk" to be near "worldly" people,  WT Society should have to warn JW people not to looking for "secular" job because it is big "risk" to put yourself in such a godless society/environment. 
Bible shows how old and young can be caught in same sort of "trap".
:))

Perhaps it can be as you said. And perhaps this can be true with many other similar "stories".  
What I see as important in this "story", is fine moral message and inspirational, motivating injection that in this materialistic and superficial everyday life offers a spiritual upgrade.... said with different order of words. 

The story has also been told that it was a "black boy" who offered him the newspaper for free:
https://mylife-chapter.blogspot.com/2017/08/who-is-richer-than-bill-gates.html
When my wife was a school principal, teachers were always putting up posters about, for example, the "Ten Things Bill Gates Says about School" or "What Bill Gates Said Were the Most Important Things in Life" etc.
He may have told a story like this, but usually people create such stories so that their own moral lesson comes across with more authority.
 

Fair enough and I agree with you on that. There is always a risk - even when we try to do the right thing, pray, follow scriptural principles, avoid bad areas... I'm sure you would also agree though, that some actions are riskier than others. i.e. jumping off a cliff is riskier than jumping off a curb - (unless you are jumping off the curb into traffic)  For instance, if you know an area of your city is known to have a high crime rate - especially at night, you might feel it prudent to avoid that area when you have a choice. True you may not be attacked, but the chances of that happening to you are significantly greater if you expose yourself to that environment. Not to flog this... (OK yes, I am flogging it ) One more example. You might not get cancer from smoking cigarettes, but the evidence shows your chances are greater of getting it. And in fact, even if you felt you were willing to take the chance yourself, would you be willing to set that example for your kids by smoking at home? They would see your example and possibly feel it's fine to follow your example, in turn putting them at greater risk of both addiction and cancer. That's the point I was clumsily trying to make. Personally, per se, I am not a dogmatic "opposer" of higher learning such that I would take it upon myself to punish others for choosing that option. But I would also candidly admit from real-life examples I have seen, that it poses a higher risk to spiritual objectives than other grades of schooling (which of course, as I recognize, can come with their own risks.) 

I just want to point out how, life is a sort of risk. Events that took place in Eden Garden (and in Heaven Realm with angels) show us how many things can go wrong when you are alive.
People who do not live (do not exist), or are dead, are not at risk and not causing any risk, (only health risk if they are not properly buried or burnt).  Perhaps corps are not risk for vultures. (black humor)
But want to show how facing "risks" is "normal" thing. You are at risk even in your congregation meetings. You can fall in love with person you should not to fall. Or somebody can be in "crush" with you. You are at risk to follow human interpretations of God's words!!! Children are at risk to be victims too. We have literal and spiritual risk that took place in congregation. And you have to deal with them. In that way, you are at risk where ever you go. Bible verses can give you good advice or warning, but they will not save you from every risk. If you are in a place, you believed is the safest place on Earth, than you are at risk ..... Bible shows this too :)) 
 

You do not have to be poor to be happy.
You can be rich and be happy ... and it's a LOT easier!
There is no disgrace to being poor ...
.... but it has absolutely NOTHING to recommend it.
... and being undeducated is not a crime.
.... neither is being functionally stupid.

??? I'm not sure I understand your reasoning, but my response would be: "When under trial, let no one say: "I am being tried by God." For with evil things God cannot be tried, nor does he himself try anyone." James 1:13.  Other than that, I would suggest you look up "non sequitur" in the dictionary. 
Romans 5:10 "For if when we were "enemies" we became reconciled to God..." So God views individuals alienated from him as "enemies" but with the same hope and attitude we have, that they become reconciled to God. We view non-JW people as potential brothers - don't hate them. As Jesus taught us, we love even our enemies - yes, even in times of war. But more than that, MUCH more than that. Worshippers of Jehovah have always had "enemies." The faithful patriarchs, the nation of Israel and faithful men therein, Jesus Christ, early Christians, faithful men who were burned at the stake for producing Bibles, modern-day worshippers of Jehovah... As the recent broadcast mentioned, JWs are experiencing persecution on an unprecedented scale. Matthew 24:9 "Then people will hand you over to tribulation and will kill you and you will be hated by all nations on account of my name." John 17:14 "I have given your word to them, but the world has hated them, because they are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world." John 15:18-20 "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it has hated you...for this reason the world hates you...A slave is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you..." Mark 13:13 "And you will be hated by all people on account of my name. But the one who has endured to the end will be saved." Frankly I could go on, but you get the idea. Do yourself a favour and do a word search on all the times "enemy" is used in the Bible and in what context. The historical, firsthand experience of JW's in countries around the world makes it clear that many non-JW people have acted as enemies, whether it be totalitarian governments, different religions, tribalism, and just plain "haters." And why should that surprise us? What would you expect from a world whose God is Satan the Devil? 1 John 5:19 "We know we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one." Luke 4:6 "Then the Devil said to him: 'I will give you all this authority and their glory, because it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish." Revelation 12 - all of it but vs 17 should suffice: "so the dragon became enraged at the woman and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her offspring, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness concerning Jesus." In a nutshell: if you, while living in Satan's system don't find you have any "enemies," you may want to seriously consider whose side you're on.
I will accept responsibility for your misunderstanding of the point I was making. I wasn't very clear I guess. Sorry about that. It was my mistake. I was NOT making the point that you have to be poor to be happy. in fact, a poor person can be more materialistic than a wealthy person. But if you look to material prosperity as the ultimate gauge of happiness, you will be on a never-ending quest. Wealthy people are rarely satisfied even when they have an abundance. I was making the point that even poor people can be happy. Wealth does not in of itself equal happiness - which is the false hope some have. Psalm 37:16 "Better is the little of the righteous one than the abundance of many wicked ones." Luke 12:16 ""keep your eyes open and guard against every sort of greed, because even when a person has an abundance, his life does not result from the things he possesses." 
I believe the word he used in describing your scenario, was "vanity" or "futile." But that's another discussion...

I know, I wrote poetry when I was younger and I wrote a few classical music pieces (art songs).  Hard work. Now I just use the art of other people.  Writing songs (with good words) is not as easy as it seems.  Structure to everything.

@Arauna - “So, aside from all the human imperfections we have to deal with - just like David, moses, Elijah and the nation of Israel....... God used them as a nation despite their infedility, immorality, idolatry and maybe even child sexual abuse...... unfortunately all forms of irregularities is part of life until jehovah removes the wicked forever.”
When God’s nation sinned, He abandoned them to the consequences of their sins. He didn’t tolerate idolatry, immorality, greed, victimization, etc., The number of evil kings far surpassed the number of good kings among Judah and Israel.   How many good “kings” have there been in the WT? This forum has brought out the ugliness of every head leader since Russel.  (Lam 2:14; Jer 14:14; Isa 56:10; Rev 17:9,10)
Today’s “Israel” who are to be spiritually “organized” as a body under their Head, Jesus Christ, has now succumbed to men’s “unique” idea (a1940’s revelation) of an earthly organization as the only path to salvation.  After 2,000 years, it appears God’s holy people believe Christ’s power to individually lead one to salvation through God’s approved way of worship, is now not possible. (1 Cor 12:27; 2 Cor 5:20; 1 Cor 4:1; 1 Pet 2:5,9; Mal 2:7; John 7:18,38; Rev 21:6; 22:17) A sin-laden brainstorm of men leads millions on a twisted path, which JWs view as the road to everlasting life.
“Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where You’re going. How can we know the way?”6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.  John 14:5,6
As I recall the cry the organization makes to inactive ones: “Return to Jehovah!”, myself and many others are able to read between the lines, and detect the idol that the inactive, disfellowshipped and shunned ones are to return to - “Jehovah’s organization”.  Can God be placed in the same context to anything men build? 
 “Who will you compare me or make me equal to? Who will you measure me with, so that we should be like each other?    Isa 46:5
In light of this idolatry, the organization’s leaders carefully use due diligence to maintain their false haven of “peace and security”, since its many sins over the years are perpetually uncovered, and people are taking notice. (Luke 8:17)  It is one of several reasons why the “mountainlike organization” will not survive. (Ps 127:1; 1 John 2:17; Zech 4:7; Rev 8:8)
I was thinking of Arauna’s avatar when formulating this comment.  It reminds me of the situation David faced when he stubbornly counted all Israel – a practice the leaders of the WT repetitiously accomplish year after year. (1 Chron 21:1) I have noticed that the organization readily compares itself to historical Israel, usually applied to the time Moses led Israel; yet, the account in 1 Chron chapter 21 is treated with an apparent flippant attitude. Although it is taught that God similarly leads His people today by comparing the GB’s lead to that of Moses, God’s decrees seem to apply only when advantageous for the life and breath of the organization. They are heeded when convenient, to keep the members “moving ahead” with the organization.  (Exod 32:1,4; Judges 10:13,14)   Taking a census seems like such an innocent thing to do, a practicality necessary as all of today’s organizations in the world deem it to be. (Ezek 20:32-38) (Luke 4:5-7)
 “Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to count the people of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan and bring a report to me so I can know their number.” 1 Chron 21:1,2
Each time God’s anger is said to “burn against Israel”, as is stated in 2 Sam 24:1 regarding this event, it was because of rebellion and idolatry.  He rejected them by removing His protective spirit and allowed the adversary to step in.  (Psalm 78)
In Exod 30:11-16, God gave specific directions about taking a census which in this case, David took no notice of.  Would JWs think of the routine census taken worldwide as evil? Well, perhaps they should, since the source of persuasion in David’s case, was Satan. Satan exhibits pride and greed. One of these Satanic attributes may have spurred David’s decision to count the number of Israelites.  What is the reason today’s leaders of “Israel” do so? To fuel pride in ‘Jehovah’s growing organization’?  To project graphs and statistics of future incoming donations and what they could possibly achieve with it?  (Phil 3:19)
But Joab said, “May YHVH add to the people a hundred times what they are! Are they not, O my lord the king, all of them the king’s servants? Why does my lord seek this? Why would he bring guilt to Israel?”     1 Chron 21:3
David was considered as one of the few good kings to rule God’s people, shepherding Israel “with integrity of heart” (Ps 78:72),but he still suffered the consequences of his failings, and so did all of Israel.
(This chart may be of interest:  https://adventbirmingham.org/wp-content/uploads/Chart-of-the-Kings-of-Israel-and-Judah.pdf)
 “Yet the king’s order prevailed over Joab. So Joab left and traveled throughout Israel and then returned to Jerusalem. 5 Joab gave the total troop registration to David. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 swordsmen and in Judah itself 470,000 swordsmen. 6 But he did not include Levi and Benjamin in the count because the king’s command was detestable to him. 7 This command was also evil in God’s sight, so He afflicted Israel.”  1 Chron 21:4-7
When David’s conscience came alive, he admitted his foolishness. (1 Chron 21:8) Still, he was given three choices to atone for his sin -
 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: 12 three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes with the sword of your enemy overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord—a plague on the land, the angel of the Lord bringing destruction to the whole territory of Israel.’ Now decide what answer I should take back to the One who sent me.”  Vs 11,12
His decision not to fall into the hands of men, resulted in 70,000 Israelites killed by a plague. If the Bible examples are for our direction, why hasn’t the organization heeded this one -  a plague of destruction far surpassing that of Korah’s rebellion of 14,000 (Num 16:49) and the plague of Baal-Peor of 24,000 (Num 25:9; 1 Cor 10:8)?  (1 Cor 10:6)
God relented at the last moment and saved the entirety of Jerusalem from destruction by the Destroyer. All of this occurred not only because of a brazen act committed before God, but the apparent sinful practices of Israel which led to this destructive plague. (2 Sam 24:1) 
Yet, David focused on his own sin:
When David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem, David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell down with their faces to the ground. 17 David said to God, “Wasn’t I the one who gave the order to count the people? I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? My Lord God, please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s family, but don’t let the plague be against Your people.” 1 Chron 21:16,17 
I really can’t imagine any JW leader, past or present, putting himself ahead of the sheep, by placing his neck on the chopping block for his wrongful actions. (Rom 5:6-8) But David saw the shocking literal effects of his sin. He witnessed the sword held in the angel’s hand, prepared to add victims to an already horrendous slaughter.   As JWs suffer among the nations of the world (which every JW should meditate on why this is so) they are told to keep their faith strong and continue in their loyalty to “Jehovah’s organization”; the work of man’s hands. (Lev 26:1; Exod 20:23; Jonah 2:8; Rom 1:25; Rev 13:4; 9:20)  It doesn’t appear that there is enough suffering in the organization worldwide, for its leaders to acknowledge their own guilt, of leading “Israel” and those with them, into sin, continual false teachings, and idolatry. 
The plague was detained by David’s obedience to God’s direction –
 ‘Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.’ 
It was on that threshing floor on the mountain of Moriah, that Solomon built the temple for God. 2 Chron 3:1
Araunah, or Ornan used in 1 Chron 21:15, referred to himself as a king in 2 Sam 24:23
Both names have several meanings:
 Ornan --  " strong, that rejoices, light was perpetuated: their fir trees"
Araunah -  “ark, song, joyful cry, a large tree, Yah is Firm”
22 Araunah said to David, “My lord the king may take whatever he want and offer it. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. 23 Your Majesty, Araunah gives everything here to the king.” Then he said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.” 2 Sam 24:22-23
24 The king answered Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for twenty ounce of silver. 25 He built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord was receptive to prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel ended.
At the coming of Jesus, John the Baptist compared God’s people to wheat and chaff on a threshing floor:
 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Luke 3:17
Through the sacrifice of his life, Jesus willingly “bought” a people – a “land” of wheat to be threshed as faithful “living stones” of the Temple of God. (1 Pet 2:5,9)  And who also, in the footsteps of Christ, sacrifice their lives to do God’s will.  (Luke 8:15; Matt 13:38; Mark 4:20;1 Cor 3:9) (Rom 12:1; 1 Pet 2:5)
As the tree of light and life, he has refined a people of strong “trees” on a spiritual “threshing floor” since the first century, to serve with him in God’s Kingdom. (Gen 2:9; John 6:57;8:12; Rev 2:7; 22:14; Matt 12:33; Ezek 47:12; Rev 22:2)   Without this atonement, none of God’s people would have been saved from total destruction. (Luke 21:5,6; Matt 23:38,39;; Acts 3:22,23; John 2:18-21; Acts 3:25; Rom 9:6,7)
Rev 5:9,10 -  9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
    and with your blood you purchased for God
    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
    and they will reign on the earth.”
1 Pet 2:5,9,10 - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house (“a temple of the Spirit”) to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ,  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
This new Temple is reaching completion, as the remaining anointed are being “sifted as wheat” on that symbolic, spiritual “threshing floor”. Today, the Great Tribulation is the time of threshing the remnant of God’s people “Israel”. (Luke 22:31; Rev 12:1-4,15-17; 16:13,14)  Entering the organization does not lead to a salvaged condition of the heart, as I believe many JWs think so.  Its existence is for one reason only, to incite God’s people to transgress His decrees, primarily by committing idolatry.
Never did Moses teach that an organization was the source of salvation.
I, I am YHVH,
and there is no other Savior but Me.
I alone declared, saved, and proclaimed—
and not some foreign god among you.  Isa 43:11,12a
God’s “Israel” today blindly permit men to lead them in this spiritual adultery, forgetting who “bought” them with his atoning sacrifice. They allow a “foreign god” and “thief” (John 10:10) to persuade their heart in exchanging the truth about salvation, for a lie.  (Ezek 32:8,4; Rom 1:20-22,25; 2 Thess 2:9; Rev 13:11,14,15,8)
You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 1 Cor 7:23
“ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Cor 6:19-20 
@Arauna also commented -  “I wait for ideal conditions when Jesus has restored the original purpose of God and given rulership back to Jehovah.”
Restoration happens now, amidst a plague of “locust/scorpions” (2 Thess 2:9,10; Joel 2:1-5; Rev 9:3,4,7) and famine, resulting from a wicked house steward restricting spiritual provisions to be received from all servants of the House. (2 Chron 15:3; Amos 8:11; Rev 6:5,6,8; 18; 13:17; Isa 55:2) (Luke 12:42-46)
Not only are God’s holy people committing idolatry, they are valuing the word of men over God’s decrees concerning His Temple, of which they as “living stones” under Christ, have submitted to the rule and judgment of a “Gentile” counterfeit priesthood, as dictated by false “christs”. (2 Thess 2:3,4; Rev 13:5-7,11,12; Matt 24:24) They are scattered among all JWs and readily accept their anonymous identity. (Jer 23:2; Lam 4:1,2) Because of all of this, the appearance of an “Elijah”, a role that also John the Baptist fulfilled, is again seen in the “two witnesses” preaching in “sackcloth”.  (Rev 11:3)
10 And the disciples asked him, saying, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 And he answered and said, “Elijah indeed is coming, and will restore all things.” Matt 17:10
This servant of Christ reveals the sins of God’s people and the need to escape the coming destruction, at the hands of the Destroyer. (Rev 11:3,4) (John 10:10)  John preached to the nation of Israel, as do the “two witnesses” of Revelation – to spiritual “Israel”, and those with them. (Matt 10:23; Rev 11:3; 18:4-8)
The "two witnesses" are “killed” for their witness to Christ’s truth concerning the “abominations standing in God’s “holy place” (Dan 11:31,32,36; Matt 24:15; 2 Thess 2:4; Eccl 10:5-7)
“When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.”  Rev 11:7
“For you will be excommunicated from the synagogues, and indeed the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing God a service.” John 16:2
“It was granted to him (by a false prophet/Beast, Rev 13:11) to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. Rev 13:7
“He (that false prophet) was granted power to give breath (direct spirit/”spirit-directed”) to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”  Rev 13:15
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.”  Matt 9:24
 “They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”  Luke 21:24
“Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. ]And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.”  Rev 11:1,2 
JWs are taught that the two Beasts of Revelation are found in the world of “Christendom” and politics.  Not so. “Babylon” is the spiritual condition where God’s wayward people exist now, in a haven of confused teachings, resulting in spiritual famine, and idolatry to an organization. (Isa 28:7-15)  The anointed Temple of God is “trampled” by this Beast, the “man of lawlessness”/elder body/counterfeit priesthood that rules over them. (Dan 7:23 2 Thess 2:3,4; Rev 9:3,4;11:1-3)  These two Beasts, a false prophet and an organization, have been successful in applying pressure and persecution through the use of lying accusations against them, enough to extinguish any light of truth they may hold in their hearts. (Matt 5:14-16; Rev 13:5-7)
Why do God’s anointed priests tolerate men who dictate how they are to serve God?   It is because these men offer them the captivating false promise that eternal life is achieved through the organization, a promise God and His Son have never made.   (Isa 44:20; Col 2:8; Rev 13:10)
The Lord, the holy God of Israel,
    the one who shapes the future, says:
“You have no right to question me about my children
    or to tell me what I ought to do!
12 I am the one who made the earth
    and created human beings to live there.
By my power I stretched out the heavens;
    I control the sun, the moon, and the stars.
13 I myself have stirred Cyrus to action
    to fulfill my purpose and put things right.
I will straighten out every road that he travels.
    He will rebuild my city, Jerusalem,
    and set my captive people free.
No one has hired him or bribed him to do this.”
The Lord Almighty has spoken.  Isa 45:11-13
Pearl Doxsey
I have learned from my own experience with Holy Spirit, that Satan has demanded to test all those elected by God (Luke 22:31; 1 Pet 4:12,13). As was the case with Job, God allows this (Job 1:8,9,12,22), that we might prove worthy of the calling (Luke 16:10; Matt 25:14,19,23,29,30;8:12) in the face of Satan's accusations (Job 1:11; 2:5; Zech 3:1; Rev 12:10).
I was clearly shown in vision, that our time in the WT is a test....
a great tribulation. The Greek word there, refers to the beating, threshing, crushing, and sifting of wheat by constraint, restraint, and opposition. This time is also referred to as a period of "labor pains", or "pangs of distress".
2347 thlípsis – properly, pressure (what constricts or rubs together), used of a narrow place that "hems someone in"; tribulation, especially internal pressure that causes someone to feel confined (restricted, "without options") and carries the challenge of coping with the internal pressure of a tribulation, especially when feeling there is "no way of escape" ("hemmed in"). (Rev 13:10; Ezek 22:29,28; Isa 5:7; Rev 14:19)

 [By contrast, 4730 (stenoxōría) focuses on the external pressure exerted by external circumstances.]
Therefore, we are not without explanation as to why we were drawn into the WT. Satan has baited our test with the only thing that draws the chosen.....Bible Truth (Ps 119:103,72;19:9,10).
The best way to get someone to swallow 1/3 poison, is to put it inside something attractive (Rev 8:10,11; Jer 23:15).
The decades we spent inside the abyss of the WT was not without purpose (Isa 59:10,19-21; Ezek 14:21-23; Rev 6:8; Prov 17:3). When our loyalty (exclusive devotion) to the God of Truth is finally fully tested…
…we "wake up" and realize something is wrong, and we must act.
Despite the anticipated losses, those of faithful heart loyally cling to the God of Truth. Like Christ their exemplar, truth is more precious than our own lives (Mark 8:35). Like Christ, truth is more precious than conformity to those who rule over God's Chosen Nation under test (Matt 23:13).
(Luke 19:41-46; Rev 13:17,7)

Only those who make it all the way through the gamut/refining pot/crucible, are sealed as sons/heirs of God's Kingdom (Acts 14:22; Luke 13:23,24;Matt 7:14; 24:13)  
From Pearl Doxsey, "The Anointed Teaches Truth--How?
 “Threshing is the process of loosening the edible part of grain (or other crop) from the chaff to which it is attached. It is the step in grain preparation after reaping. Threshing may be done by beating the grain using a flail on a threshing floor. Another traditional method of threshing is to make donkeys or oxen (beasts) walk in circles on the grain on a hard surface.” Wikipedia
Matt 24:48-51 – “ But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Revelation's Beasts are experts at circular reasoning, shaping scripture to fit their doctrines and calling it "truth". Babylon from long ago was destroyed because of idolatry, and foreigners who “entered the holy places of the Lord’s temple”. Jer 51:51-53  Today’s temple “living stones” under the covenant /promise of “Babylon” have apathetically allowed “Gentiles” to walk all over them, which has desecrated God’s Temple in Christ.  (Ezek 44:6-9; Isa 51:23; 1 Pet 2:5; 1 Cor 3:16,17)  As Pearl brought out, they have fully conformed to the rule of men. Gal 1:10
Rev 18:4-8 tells God's "saints" and companions to leave this confusion, ("babal") - to leave "Babylon" (the gate of gods).  Many have obeyed this call, desiring to follow the word of God over the word of man.  Matt 13:24-30
The cry to “come out of her my people” happened then…and is happening now.  Jer 51:45,46; Rev 18:4-8  
  Ephraim herds the wind
    and is pursuing the east wind all day long;
he multiplies deception and violence
    and he makes a treaty with Assyria,
    and oil is brought to Egypt. Hos 12:1
 A merchant loves to extort
with dishonest scales in his hands.
8 But Ephraim thinks,
“How rich I have become;
I made it all myself.
In all my earnings,
no one can find any iniquity in me
that I can be punished for!”  7,8
Ephraim has caused bitter provocation,
    and his Lord will hold him responsible for his crimes
    and pay back to him his insults. Hos 12:14
 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel.
But he incurred guilt through Baal and died. Hos 13:1
2 Now they continue to sin
and make themselves a cast image,
idols skillfully made from their silver,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
People say about them,
“Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves.”
3 Therefore, they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that vanishes,
like chaff blown from a threshing floor,
or like smoke from a window.  Hos 13:1-3
Israel, return to the Lord your God,
for you have stumbled in your iniquity.
2 Take words of repentance with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to him: “Forgive all our iniquity
and accept what is good,
so that we may repay you
with praise from our lips.
3 Assyria will not save us,
we will not ride on horses,
and we will no longer proclaim, ‘Our gods!’
to the work of our hands.
For the fatherless receives compassion in you.”
4 I will heal their apostasy;
I will freely love them,
for my anger will have turned from him.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like the lily
and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
6 His new branches will spread,
and his splendor will be like the olive tree,
his fragrance, like the forest of Lebanon.
7 The people will return and live beneath his shade.
They will grow grain
and blossom like the vine.
His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, why should I have anything more
to do with idols?
It is I who answer and watch over him.
I am like a flourishing pine tree;
your fruit comes from me.
9 Let whoever is wise understand these things,
and whoever is insightful recognize them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
and the righteous walk in them,
but the rebellious stumble in them.  Hos 14:1-9
 
 
 
 

This guy over here did at https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=197629
To me, they sound a bit corny in English, but that's always fixable by translating to another language.
 

But I am a singer..... I like words.... can you write some? 
 

It had words? In what language? Who wrote them? Shostakovich?
I saw that someone had recently added their own words, when I googled lyrics for it. (Sometime after Stanley Kubrick used it, I assumed from a very quick scan.) But I never saw words in the original context of the work.

I am looking for lyrics for this waltz. I would like to sing. If you see it , let me know.

Pity the gypsies are hated all over Europe. Their music is exquisite. Many classical composers used their folk themes in their music. Brahms, liszt etc.
I have also sang a few gypsy arias which are almost Wagnerian in scope.  The operetta Guidita is beautiful and Grafin Maritza is quite difficult. Very high and low as well as in speed. 
I had a more dramatic and higher soprano voice. I can still sing it except the very high powerful notes.  I sang the dance passages faster than this singer who has more lyrical qualities.  I do not like her punctuated phrasing but there are not many examples of this aria on internet.  The dancing bits are very gypsy -like. 
 
 

JW people often emphasize how old Israelite's were all educated and could read and write and nations around them are less educated. Question. What levels of education have existed at that time in the nation of Israel. Just to know read and write? Or, what was equivalent for education, in their time, we called today high school and university? 
Did elders of Israel congregation teaching young people /male and female/  not to educate self more in various knowledge's, that is not only spiritual aka religious? Did they talking to people; Israel Nation and State and Country is just temporary here on Earth, God will destroy all on Earth, so why to loosing your time in seeking for "worldly" knowledge, even inside Israel Land Boarders?  :)) 
For a contrary, they believed  how they will stay there Forever and have Kingdom Forever.

It can't get any clearer: "LIsten to Jehovah's voice!" is a direct claim to inspiration by the Governing Body.

:))))
I like this description. Can we make agreement how Truth is not Dogmatic. Because Dogmatism of any sort has no chance to be Truthful at all. 
If we have religious men (GB in this conversation) who giving direction to members we learned this from them: 
They decide to say how they are not inspired. They explained how because that particular reason (not been inspired) they err in doctrines and teachings and instructions. 
How sounds this to you? It sounds very nice. These are definitions that no one would named as Dogmatic. You agree? I also agree. But what is reality? GB have mechanisms to implement all uninspired, err and wrong doctrines, teachings and instructions in life of congregants and to successfully hold them (members) in obedience, not to Truth, but to Dogma. Because many GB doctrines, teachings and instructions based on False Ideas are Dogmas not Truth. That means how Dogmas in form of Religious beliefs are dogmatic itself (Dogmas are not Doctrines or Teachings, because we aspect this last two to be truth), and people who pushing Dogmas on other are Dogmatists. 
As we see, when GB talking about self as people who can err, sounds as very reasonable people. But still, despite that, they want you to obey their dogmatic ideas.
No, i would not go to such level of comparison. Many of us here agreed with statement how Jesus taught Truth only. Because of that he didn't need to be dogmatic. He left to people choice to choose will they accept or reject his teachings. Authority from God, you mentioned, not give him right nor he want to used such authority to demand from people, not even from those who followed him, to blindly follow and obey him. And because of this reason we don't consider him to be dogmatic. He didn't spread dogmas. But his followers did and doing that today.
All areas in Jesus' teachings i don't put on two or more levels. As we would need to see some of teachings to be more and other as less important. Do we have some examples from which we can conclude how he considered meetings as more important than preaching or vice versa? Or, to give money in temple box to be more important than helping needing one (brother or not brother) with that same money? If you know Bible text who give more light on this it will be good to read. 
What is more important for Christian to do today? Going to Betel service or to preach? If preaching Kingdom is of ultimate importance for JW members you don't need Betel buildings. So redirect all money to preaching and if you need building for some reasons, make it smaller and less expensive and employ 10 people not 400. Just illustration. :)))  
In what areas Jesus give you freedom and in what he is demanding?
In what areas GB give you freedom and in what they are demanding? 
Try to make comparative list! :))  
I am interested to see result you or any other will have.
I guess how this is not sin against HS, but just opinion ..... about fact how people's spirit are stronger ... sometimes.