Search the Community

ACTS 2 V 16 , 17 & 18. On the contrary, this is what was said through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘“And in the last days,” God says, “I will pour out some of my spirit on every sort of flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams,l 18 and even on my male slaves and on my female slaves I will pour out some of my spirit in those days, and they will prophesy Jerusalem had the end of it's 'last days' in 70 C. E. But prior to that a 'miracle' happened. Acts 2 v 1 through 11. Now while the day of the Festival of Pentecost was in progress, they were all together at the same place. 2 Suddenly there was a noise from heaven, just like that of a rushing, stiff breeze, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And tongues as if of fire became visible to them and were distributed, and one came to rest on each one of them, 4 and they all became filled with holy spirit and started to speak in different languages, just as the spirit enabled them to speak.5 At that time devout Jews from every nation under heaven were staying in Jerusalem. 6 So when this sound occurred, a crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Indeed, they were utterly amazed and said: “See here, all these who are speaking are Gal·i·leʹans, are they not? 8 How is it, then, that each one of us is hearing his own native language? 9 Parʹthi·ans, Medes,g and Eʹlam·ites, the inhabitants of Mes·o·po·taʹmi·a, Ju·deʹa and Cap·pa·doʹci·a, Ponʹtus and the province of Asia, 10 Phrygʹi·a and Pam·phylʹi·a, Egypt and the regions of Libʹy·a near Cy·reʹne, sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,j 11 Creʹtans, and Arabians—we hear them speaking in our languages about the magnificent things of God. We are again in 'the last days', so why would you be surprised if God should pour out some of HIS SPIRIT on a true Anointed group of humans. Where is your faith ? Do you no longer believe in God's power ? Do you no longer believe that God can do 'miracles' ? Your GB have admitted to NOT BEING INSPIRED OF HOLY SPIRIT. Yet here we have in scripture, God's promise that HE WILL POUR OUT SOME OF HIS SPIRIT in the 'last days'. Are we in those LAST DAYS or not ? Do you expect God to act or not ? Or are you just physical men ? Have you lost your 'spiritual eyes' ? Did you in fact even have 'spiritual eyes' ? Are you relying on men and not on God through Christ ?

Luke 10 v 21 In that very hour he became overjoyed in the holy spirit and said: “I publicly praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have carefully hidden these things from wise and intellectual ones and have revealed them to young children. Yes, O Father, because this is the way you approved. This seems to show that 'higher education' was not needed to learn, understand and teach, the truth from God, at that time. It seems to be a well know thing within the JW Org and by people outside of same, that JW's are 'told' not to aim for higher education. I say told, although some will say strongly advised, with a possible caution of being disfellowshipped. Now I've noticed on here recently that deep conversation about many things has been and is taking place. Politics earthwide. religious beliefs earthwide and the latest thing seems to be Evolution (from a very deep standpoint ). ( These things were never taught to me at school. ) I left school at 15 years old, as soon as I was able, for reasons previously mentioned. Here in UK now teenagers have to remain in education until they are 18. The three years from 15 to 18 seem to me to be almost 'higher education', but compulsory. How much they learn at school now I've no idea. My feelings are, and yes ok i cannot put proof to these feelings, but, my feelings are, that all forms of higher education are advised against by the GB and the JW Org. Some of you may have some proof of this in writing. So, where does this leave JW's ? If a young person leaves school to go into full time 'service' ministry, they do not get a higher education. Their 'basic' education may have been just that, very basic. They are then not 'qualified' to talk to others on a higher education level, and this might even be to the point of not understanding such things as are being discussed on here lately. ( Much of what is being discussed leaves me miles behind. I'm a very simple person. Plus at 69 I forget more than i learn. Yes I do write lots of notes and have books for recording different things, but the mind boggles. ) With respect for those I knew and loved in the past, within my ex congregation, many of them were 'simple country folk'. And I think Tom said about not having the time or inclination to do research online or or otherwise. So let us go back to the scripture at the top. So many questions. Does God reveal more to those of a lesser education ? Is higher education and greater knowledge a disadvantage when wanting to serve God properly? Or is it that those of higher education are too stubborn to learn God's way ? Too proud maybe ? There are many things that the Bible doesn't tell us. is that deliberate ? Does God want to keep it simple for us ? So, should we pursue more knowledge about worldly things ? A problem may occur when talking to others about God, in that they may have more knowledge on a certain subject than we do and therefore believe something different. Should we then educate ourselves to their level on the same subject, or just pass them by ? Bearing in mind the scripture at the top of this page. There has to be a balance of course. But my feelings are that the GB would like JW's to be educated only by the Watchtower studies and by the 'workbook' evening meeting studies. And of course by personal Bible reading. But do JW's do as they are told in this respect or do a lot of them 'educate themselves', or take further education elsewhere ?

Lesson for today. (Psalms 1:1, 2) Learn the language. Some governments require that those who want to be citizens learn to speak the main language of the country. Some people have to work hard for years to speak the new language well, even after they become citizens. They may quickly learn the rules of grammar but may need much more time to become good at speaking the language. God’s Kingdom also requires that those who want tobe its citizens learn a new language. The Bible calls it the “pure language.” (Read Zephaniah 3:9.) What is that language? It is the truth that the Bible teaches about God and his purposes. To speak the pure language means to obey God’s laws and principles. As citizens of God’s Kingdom, we may learn the basic teachings of the Bible quickly and get baptized. But after our baptism, we must work hard to speak the pure language better and better. How can we do that? Each of us needs to continue to make the effort to use in our life what we learn from the Bible. Know the laws. Human governments require that their citizens learn and obey the laws of the country. So we can expect Jehovah to require that all citizens of his Kingdom learn and obey his laws and principles. Human laws are imperfect and can be unfair. But “the law of Jehovah is perfect.” Do you enjoy reading the Bible each day and learning God’s laws and principles? Each of us has to make the effort to study God’s laws. Nobody else can do this for us. Many governments work hard to educate their citizens. They build schools where people can get a basic education. Citizens of God’s Kingdom are grateful for these schools where they can learn to read and write and learn the skills they will need for work. They do all they can to benefit from this kind of education. But they are even more grateful for the education that Jehovah gives them through his organization. For example, his organization encourages us to read. It encourages parents to read totheir children. Each month, the faithful slave publishes The Watchtower and Awake! The three issues of these magazines have many pages full of information about the Bible. If you read just a few pages a day, you can finish reading them in a month. In this way, you can continue to benefit from the education that Jehovah gives us. Soon God’s Kingdom will be the only government ruling the earth. The laws of the Kingdom will be the only laws that guide humans. Will you be a good citizen of God’s Kingdom at that time? http://m.wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402012602?q=continue+to+learn&p=par#h=13

What Does the Bible Say About Christmas? ??????? The Bible’s answer The Bible does not give the date of Jesus’ birth, nor does it say that we should celebrate his birthday. As McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia states: “The observance of Christmas is not of divine appointment, nor is it of NT [New Testament] origin.” Instead, an examination of the history of Christmas exposes its roots in pagan religious rites. The Bible shows that we offend God if we try to worship him in a way that he does not approve of.—Exodus 32:5-7. History of Christmas customs Celebrating Jesus’ birthday: “The early Christians did not celebrate [Jesus’] birth because they considered the celebration of anyone’s birth to be a pagan custom.”—The World Book Encyclopedia. •December 25: There is no proof that Jesus was born on that date. Church leaders likely chose this date to coincide with pagan festivals held on or around the winter solstice. •Gift-giving, feasting, partying: The Encyclopedia Americana says: “Saturnalia, a Roman feast celebrated in mid-December, provided the model for many of the merry-making customs of Christmas. From this celebration, for example, were derived the elaborate feasting, the giving of gifts, and the burning of candles.” The Encyclopædia Britannica notes that “all work and business were suspended” during Saturnalia. •Christmas lights: According to The Encyclopedia of Religion, Europeans decorated their homes “with lights and evergreens of all kinds” to celebrate the winter solstice and to combat evil spirits. •Mistletoe, holly: “The Druids ascribed magical properties to the mistletoe in particular. The evergreen holly was worshiped as a promise of the sun’s return.”—The Encyclopedia Americana. •Christmas tree: “Tree worship, common among the pagan Europeans, survived after their conversion to Christianity.” One of the ways in which tree worship survived is in the custom of “placing a Yule tree at an entrance or inside the house in the midwinter holidays.”—Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/bible-about-christmas/

Bible Reading—Profitable and Pleasurable “You must . . . read in it day and night.”—JOSHUA 1:8. The Bible’s Author, Jehovah God has preserved it through centuries of virulent opposition from its enemies, both religious and secular. Since it is his will that “all sorts of men should be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth,” he has seen to it that his Word is made available to all humankind. (1 Timothy 2:4) It is estimated that about 80 percent of earth’s inhabitants can be reached by the use of 100 languages. The text of the entire Bible is available in 370 languages, and parts of the Scriptures can be read in a further 1,860 languages and dialects. Jehovah wants his people to read his Word. He blesses his servants who give attention to his Word, yes, who read it daily.—Psalm 1:1, 2. Notice the reasons why Jehovah required all future kings of Israel to read the book of divine law daily: (1) “in order that he may learn to fear Jehovah his God so as to keep all the words of this law and these regulations by doing them”; (2) “that his heart may not exalt itself above his brothers”; (3) “that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right or to the left.” READ GOD'S WORDS TODAY AND BECOME WISE. JW.ORG IMG_9197.mov