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Hello dear friends,
Could you please shed a light on this specific eve, what are the rituals/traditions?
Who attends?
Who drinks wine?
Why others are prohibited from drinking?
who anoint those?
Thanks in advance
Hi Marco, thanks for your question.
We are a little different to most christians because we dont believe every christian has a heavenly calling...ie not all christians will be going to heaven when they die. Some, we believe, will be resurrected back to life on earth. And this is why we dont all partake of the wine and bread. But we still observe the memorial because Jesus is still our Lord...but the partaking of the emblems is reserved for those who will be joined with Christ in heaven to rule as kings and priests in the heavenly kingdom.
The only way to become anointed is if God chooses you. both men and women can become anointed, and Gods spirit reveals the anointing to them personally. If they know they are of the anointed, they will partake of the wine and bread...and the rest of us will observe the occasion in remembrance of Jesus great sacrifice and in appreciation for what it means to us.
Hi Pegg
Do you mean when your are at church only certain people stand and go forward to take the bread and others stay sat because they know they have not been chosen? I am wondering if it is a personal conviction? If so is that conviction through the Holy Spirit?
- Then i assume that many cups with breads are served (since it's a large gathering), is that correct?The cup of wine and unleavened bread is passed around all those in attendance.
i guess you mean the majority not some?Some, we believe, will be resurrected back to life on earth. And this is why we dont all partake of the wine and bread.
if i'm not wrong, the number is limited to 144000:but the partaking of the emblems is reserved for those who will be joined with Christ in heaven to rule as kings and priests in the heavenly kingdom.
- Do they have to make a testimony, or it's something private and non will ask them before/after the meal? or even may be to congratulate if you see one of your family members ate/drank in that eve?and Gods spirit reveals the anointing to them personally.
- Then i assume that many cups with breads are served (since it's a large gathering), is that correct?
- How it starts? is there a beginning and ending points/persons?
my understanding to the event in Jesus time, He did that meeting in a close room, not publicly, so it wasn't the case that His followers could observe it.
therefore i wonder, since you are practicing the same ritual, why do you allow all the believers to attend and observe?
Jesus said "the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment. (John 5:21, 25, 28, 29) So, yes. The majority of mankind who have died in the past will be resurrected to life on earth.i guess you mean the majority not some?
The number going to heaven have been revealed to number 144,000. Revelation 7:4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israelif i'm not wrong, the number is limited to 144000:
- Is this number includes all believers who lived before Christ first advent?
- The period between Christ first advent and establishment of JW, Are there any believers, which you believe, will take part (or have the chance) in this heavenly government?
- After JW, are there any chances for non JW to be a part of it?
- Do they have to make a testimony, or it's something private and non will ask them before/after the meal? or even may be to congratulate if you see one of your family members ate/drank in that eve?
i guess even your way of talk with them will change after the eve?
Thank You again
Hi PeggHi Onkara,
Yes, it is a personal conviction that is given by the holy spirit itself. Paul explained it this way:
Romans 8:14 For all who are led by Gods spirit, these are Gods sons.15 ...YOU received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which spirit we cry out: Abba, Father! 16 The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are Gods children. 17 If, then, we are children, we are also heirs: heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ, provided we suffer together that we may also be glorified together
The difference in the 'spirit' of an anointed one is that they have the unmistakable yearning to live with Christ in heaven...they have no desire for earthly life or physical things.
Those of us who have a desire for the earth and living forever here, do not partake of the wine and bread because it is not for us. That wine and bread are symbols of the 'new covenant' between Christ and those who are to become the 'joint heirs' in the heavens.
Last year, 18 million people attended & observed the memorial of Christs death, but less then 11,000 partook of the emblems. And each year the number of the partakers decrease.
Hi Pegg
Thanks, that is fascinating and fairly logical. I assume the majority are led by God's spirit but a minority of those have come to the point where they are no longer bond by earthly craving? Is that correct, I wonder if most have the Holy Spirit but a few are ready?
Hi Peggi've known a few anointed ones and the common denominator between them was their detachment from earthly desires. They didnt loose a desire for 'life', but rather for material things and a material life...the very things we need for a satisfying life.
I also had one explain to me that one day she just felt different about things, it wasn't a gradual change in attitude, it was a sudden change and she knew she had been chosen and her focus and concerns moved from physical things to heavenly things.
Im not sure if its unique to us... its not really a teaching as such. It was just a way it was explained to me. Some people have a desire to own their own home, and others dont, they are happy to rent a house belonging to someone else. That is what it is like for the annointed, they dont have a desire to accumulate material things because they have no love for such things.Hi Pegg
Is this experience or teaching regarding "the detachment from earthly desires" unique to JW? I ask as it is a new idea for me in respect to Christianity and wonder if it differs between denominations; should you know?
Hello dear friends,
Could you please shed a light on this specific eve, what are the rituals/traditions?
Who attends?
Who drinks wine?
Why others are prohibited from drinking?
who anoint those?
Thanks in advance
So, there is no such a thing like dreaming, or revelations, or talking to Jehovah or Jesus or Angels ... etcit was a sudden change and she knew she had been chosen and her focus and concerns moved from physical things to heavenly things.
As JW, how do you define it (Holy Spirit)?The holy spirit is an interesting gift because even those who are not assigned to heaven can have holy spirit
Thank you Pegg, that was really helpful, i still have a few questions regarding the same theme.
- Are the same people allowed to eat/drink evry year? or each person should do it once?
because Jesus did that once (as far as i remember)
- Since Jesus sat on the right side, and the heavenly government started the mission of spreading the word of Jehovah,
i still can't understand, how comes it started without accomplishing the number of 144000?
because there are people anointed and will till Messianic ere starts.
-
So, there is no such a thing like dreaming, or revelations, or talking to Jehovah or Jesus or Angels ... etc
-
As JW, how do you define it (Holy Spirit)?
Sorry for my endless questions
It is the most powerful force in the universe and we should never underestimate how much we need it.
Hello Pegg,
And the Spirit is a wind, life force, life power ...
My question is: what is the difference(s) between Spirit and Holy Spirit?
Thanks in advance
well 'spirit' can mean many things.
Humans have 'spirit'...in hebrew the word for spirit is Ruach and it means 'breath'
So all living creatures have 'breath' or 'spirit'. That same word can also mean 'wind'...so we could say the wind is 'like' spirit in that its not something you can see, but it can be felt. It can animate the things it touches much like Gods spirit can animate a human soul/body.
And we can apply 'spirit' to a persons demeanor too...the 'spirit' they show might be bright and happy, or it might be down and depressed...in that context the spirit is the motivating force in the individual.
The difference between 'holy spirit' and 'spirit' in general is simply that the 'holy spirit' emanates from God himself. Its what he uses to accomplish his will. It is his invisible power or energy... as it comes from him, it is 'holy' because he is holy.
Well, the reason why i'm asking this, because it says that Spirit is the breath.
if it's a breath, then the question is: breath of whom?
everything comes from the creator should be holy, shouldn't it?
Another thing: in the book of reasoning it says that spirit is:
1- wind, 2- active life force, 3- impelling force, 4-inspired utterances originating with an invisible source, 5- spirit persons, 6- God's active force, or holy spirit.
the first four need a source, so what/who is the cause?
number five i didn't get, could you please elaborate more?
number six you explained in your previous message as "his invisible power or energy", i can't see any difference between this and number four.
Thanks you
Why it's not holy, i can't see any reason that our spirit becomes unholy, because at the end it's just a wind or life force, and again despite to our attitude whether we sin or not, our spirit will go back to the creator, therefore i assume it is holy and should remain holy so it can go backWe cannot say that the spirit in us (the lifeforce given us by the holy spirit) is holy because what we choose to do with our lives may not be holy at all.
Is this means that our spirits are independent unique? or it's part of one spirit so when we die it rejoin?it simply transfers back to the one who provided it in the first place. And this is why all lives can be restored...if we die, our 'lifeforce' was never ours, it was always Gods and he can give it back to us at any time.
Why they didn't get mortal flesh like us? and why we didn't be like angels since the beginning?Like us, they have intelligence and freewill.
Why it's not holy, i can't see any reason that our spirit becomes unholy, because at the end it's just a wind or life force, and again despite to our attitude whether we sin or not, our spirit will go back to the creator, therefore i assume it is holy and should remain holy so it can go back
what do you think?
Is this means that our spirits are independent unique? or it's part of one spirit so when we die it rejoin?
and again when the creator decided to give it back, is it the same spirit or any since it's a wind and has no specific/uniqueness/belonging id?
Why they didn't get mortal flesh like us? and why we didn't be like angels since the beginning?