Nana Fofana

LOL! Exactly, that was so weird...you would have thought post- production would have caught that!

Yep, I thought what the heck....?
Well I for one would never be the one to argue with his math, hehehe
 
Yep, noticed that too...
That's the point at which I went a little brain dead for a few seconds...
 
That I didn't know
Interesting
I caught that immediately and cringed too....very dishonest and banking on the fact that many will not know who Furuli is, like I didn't know, until you told me...
Yes, I was surprised any assumptions were made when we as JWs ourselves have admitted we just can't know....
Interesting
Ahem..
-----------------------
All in all a terrible, haphazard, and unconvincing documentary in my opinion. A waste of time and money.
In any case, I always find the argument about the “correct” pronunciation of God’s name in English useless anyway. Would you say it was pronounced more correctly in Italian? Or German? Or  Chinese? (I mean come on, who speaks ancient Hebrew) It’s even spelled differently in many languages, but we all know we are talking about God's name Jehovah or Yahweh in its Anglicized form, and however else it's pronounced or spelled in other languages you use. It made me wonder what even was the point of the film? At least Knocking was more purposeful.....
 

Most (perhaps all?) of the known people associated with the sponsor of the video (Reibling Foundation) are Witnesses, too. If they are trying to hide this fact they have not done a good job. Obviously, the language and expressions in the video also indicates that it is from Witnesses.
There are some huge logical gaffes in the video.
Furuli says that "as far back as we have evidence we can find the four letters of the divine name" immediately after showing that the 14th C BCE example is only a trigrammaton (YHW) and it is the "Moabite stone "Mesha stele" (from the 9th C BCE) that is the oldest known use of the tetragrammaton example we have in writing. (The Moabite stone, the first tetragrammaton, is nearly 500 years younger than the older trigrammaton.)The narrator tries to drive the point home by saying that this evidence AGAINST his premise indisputably proves the premise.
On "Yah" (Jah), the narrator says that "Yah is indeed God's name...the short version", after which Furuli argues that Yah is "absolutely not an alternative name for Jehovah." (And Gertoux argues that it is not a shortened form based on the pronunciation of the first syllable, but at 21:40 says that Yah/Yahu is God's name when it attached to the end of a personal name.). This is argued from its supposed rarity as a standalone name. But Furuli says it's found 20 times in hallelujah, and 19 times as a standalone name, which totals 49 times (20+19=49). His math is never corrected (either here or in his chronology books), probably because he speaks so authoritatively that no one notices. Of course, the name "Yah" is also embedded in many proper names of individuals in the same way that this video had already shown that others like Nebuchadnezzar, Ramses, etc, included the name of their god(s) in their names. This gets discussed starting at minute 21 of the video.
Then they show Furuli and Gertoux disagreeing about the importance of the final H, where Gertoux says it means the pronunciation was like the a in "ah" but Furuli correctly points out that it was only "very often" and could also stand for either "A" or an "AE." He indicates through his pronunciation that "AE" means either a short "eh" sound or the vowel sometimes represented by the term "schwa").  Then the narrator ignores this contradiction, pretends it's not one at all, and strangely uses it to leap to the conclusion that Jehovah is therefore correct and Yahweh is isn't. See also http://creationcalendar.com/NameYHWH/6-ah-eh.pdf for a different point on the vowel to be included with the ending "H".
On the point that the vowels for ADONAI (Lord) were attached to the Tetragrammaton the video goes through a confused "proof" that this can't be true because the slight difference in the actual vowels of Adonai are different from the Masoretic INITIAL vowel pointing of YHWH. (YaHoWaH vs. YeHoWaH). But instead of showing the evidence, an interview with Nehemia Gordon shifts the subject to the middle vowel "O" as if this was not already known in the Masoretic text and he appears to pretend that he has discovered this "missing" vowel himself. He didn't "discover" anything except for himself; it was already known. This is the place in the video where Gertoux tries to apply the age-old conspiracy theory that scholars know something but don't want to upset their fellow colleagues. This happens under centralized power structures all the time, but this of course is in direct contradiction to the parallel claim that scholars are always in competition for something new and will sacrifice their own mother for gaining a bit of attention in the academic world. In truth, the reason it's difficult to get a hearing on some new theory is that you have to show good evidence that disproves the earlier theory which should mean that you deal with all the evidence already put forth for the previous theory. These types of videos are rarely ever based on ALL the prior evidence, but usually just some small piece of the evidence that can be made to appear weak. And the audience is often limited to those who are hoping for something, anything, that they can hang onto in support of their own pet theories.
6 of the 60 Masoretic manuscripts are known to have the full vowels corresponding to Yehowah. (Note minute 46 of this interview with Nehemia Gordon, the same person interviewed in the Reibling video in your original post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLMPZrFom3Q  )
 
"Even the scholar Rolf Furuli speaks out against the form Yahweh" is so disingenuous as to be cringeworthy. (18:52)
What they have left out here which is very important is that the vowels roughly corresponding to Adonai were NOT the only vowels that the Masoretic texts applied to YHWH.
In the portion of the video about embedding the divine name as part of an individual's name assumptions are made about the vowel pronunciation that completely forget the prior admission that we don't know the pronunciation of the vowels as they were pronounced in ancient Hebrew. (Gordon sells books based on the premise that Hebrew was a resurrected language, not spoken for 2000 years, which allows him some extra freedom for "discovery.") There are also known differences in initial vowels that were long and become short based on the pronunciation of the second vowel in a word. Contractions based on syllable emphasis are common and are even seen in the various verb forms. An initial vowel that we might think would be unpronounced in some words could also develop into a well-pronounced longer vowel if the middle consonant/vowel combination was contracted. The ah and oh vowels were sometimes interchangeable in words so that even the Masoretic pointing for the "ah" is still pronounced "oh" in some words. The long O and U are also commonly interchanged so that even when WAW/VAV is used as a vowel, it can swap between the O "oh" sound and the U "oooh" sound. (Also in Arabic as in the difference between Osama and Usama, Koran/Quran.) In the Bible itself we see alternative names that give evidence of contractions where Yahu or Yeho at the beginning of a word becomes Yo, (Jonathan from Yehonathan, Joshuah/Jesus from Yehoshuah) but the ending Yah could include "YahU" as is admitted in the video by Gertoux at location 21:34. In the mention of Jehoshaphat, Joel is quoted.  It's not mentioned that Joel himself is a name that means Jehovah (Yo) is God (El) but without a Yehoel form known. Similarly, Elijah means God (El) is Jehovah (Yah). It's odd that the video says there are no exceptions when Jonathan himself is a name mentioned with one of the exceptions.
(Ezra 10:15) 15 However, Jonʹa·than the son of Asʹa·hel and Jah·zeiʹah the son of Tikʹvah objected to this, and the Levites Me·shulʹlam and Shabʹbe·thai supported them. This only covers some problems from the first half of the video, which appears intended to convince people who have not done a full study. I'm sure we shouldn't discount the possibility that "Jehovah" (from "Yehowah") is one of the possible alternatives. If however, the entire point of the Masoretic text was to produce vowel-pointed pronunciations that helped readers avoid the true pronunciation, then they did a terrible job by supposedly giving away the true vowels in some places but not others. I believe I wrote a note to the Librarian here once that had some evidence about this in the Masoretic texts. I'll see if it's still here and post it.
 

-----Found it (from a private conversation)...
No. It's a common vowel pointing. It showed up this way sometimes in the Masoretic texts about 1,000 years ago. I know you already know that there were no vowel points in the older Hebrew texts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls. Usually it did not include the "o" (holam) point after the first "H".
Here's an example at https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/departinghoreb/masoretic-hebrew-vs-septuagint-part-1/
It doesn't say, but it's the Aleppo Codex of Joshua 1:1 . . . . It includes the "e" and the "a[h]" but not the "o".
Here's an example at http://danielbenyaacovysrael.blogspot.com/2013/02/parsha-tetzaveh-youshall-command-shmot.html
It doesn't say, but it's also from the Aleppo Codex of Ezekiel 28:2 and it includes the "o". I included the picture, because it highlights the tetragrammaton.
So, yes, it's one of the possible vowel pointings, which may have been used to remind readers to pronounce with the word ADONAI, ELOHIM, or HA-SHEM, etc. 
Notice the evidence that this Adonai vowel pointing was NOT supposed to be the actual pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton, but a replacement pronunciation of the entire word "ADONAI" (Lord). What would happen (sometimes) if the term used in the original Heberw was already ADONAI YHWH? The reader would end up saying ADONAI ADONAI. This happens in Judges 6:22 for example.
Judges 6:22 in the same Aleppo Codex, uses different vowel points shown in the smaller picture, attached. These are the vowel points for ELOHIM. It's evidently because it follows the word ADONAI. (Notice that the "o" is left off Adonai here, too.) It's not consistent, as the Ezekel 28:2 passage showed, but the fact that the name has inconsistent vowel pointing is evidence that whatever vowel points are used were NOT intended for pronunciation. That fact alone is evidence that these two vowel pointings become evidence of two ways in which the name must NOT have been pronounced. (Although someone could argue that an exceptional vowel pointing could have been an accidental slip that revealed the actual way it was pronounced at the time of the Masorete scribes.)
 
 

Just had to comment on the point at 23:55 in the video: "In a well-known Bible translation we can read, 'I shall prove to be what I shall prove to be.' " The video won't say, of course, what translation this is, but we already know it's the old NWT:
(Exodus 3:14) At this God said to Moses: “I SHALL PROVE TO BE WHAT I SHALL PROVE TO BE.” And he added: “This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, ‘I SHALL PROVE TO BE has sent me to YOU.’” Of course, this was changed in the 2013 revision:
(Exodus 3:14) 14 So God said to Moses: “I Will Become (AHYH) What I Choose to Become (AHYH).” And he added: “This is what you are to say to the Israelites, ‘I Will Become (AHYH)has sent me to you.’” Oddly, the new 2013 translation got rid of the verb form "prove to be [this or that]" in about 300 places, leaving only a few exceptions which seem now as if they are just accidental, vestigial remnants of the old translation. But it's also odd that in the new translation Jehovah CHANGES his name in the middle of this verse, leaving out the idea of "CHOOSING" even though it was never in the Hebrew to begin with. In the Hebrew there is a different "tetragrammaton" here "AHYH" and it never changes between the first two uses and the third use. (Using "A" for the consonant "ayin") It's actually just a form of the word "to be." It's the same word found here:
(Genesis 3:1) 3 Now the serpent was the most cautious of all the wild animals. . . (NWT) (Judges 20:12) 12 Then the tribes of Israel sent men to all the tribesmen of Benjamin, saying: “What is this terrible thing that has happened among you?  (NWT)
 
Hebrew, like some other Semitic languages, does not always need the verb "to be" (or "am") especially in the present tense, because it is easily understood in most contexts without spelling it out. It's used more often when it's useful in producing a non-standard "tense" of a verb. It's definitely given special significance in Exodus 3:14, but not so much that it requires various ideas to be added to the translation.
 

This is the first time I've seen this video. (About 3 AM this morning.) I watched it because I think it's something I should have seen before. Someone mentioned it a couple years ago, but I never went looking for it. Actually I think you still had to pay for it back when I first heard about it, so I figured I'd wait until it came out on cable or Netflix.
Sorry if I biased anyone about the Reibling Foundation or their projects. I think most of their projects have been good, high-quality projects. But I'm concerned about the kind of money that has been transferred in their direction. I'll post a couple of items below  that appear to be based on some evidence.  I've also heard that Gene Smalley (Writing Department, Bethel) had evidently shown great interest in the Watchtower getting in on the ground floor investments in a device that hospitals could use in support of JW blood policy on autologous transfusions. The Reibling Foundation was paid 4 million for promoting support of this device (not from WTBTS, however). The WTBTS gave them the deal on one of their Brooklyn Heights hotels, where the Reiblings made about 10 million in profit reselling the building, and were able to take advantage of some volunteer labor under Bethel's control.
Not even sure that JW apologist is appropriate. Don't think he has much of a relationship with JWs. He was hired for his voice and the ability to "independently" represent a point of view, even if it was completely scripted for him. With enough money, I suppose you could even hire Morgan Freeman to give the "independent" voice to a crazy conspiracy theory about UFO's abducting Hillary Clinton. (Look at the kind of stuff they call "discovery, history, or science" on cable's Discovery Channel, History Channel, etc.)  I know that Poppenberg helped with other JW related projects, but I'd guess it's only because they already know he will. The production end of this video need not have been done by people with any JW interests. Nehemia Gordon gives several interviews to Christian "Jewish" Messianic outreach organizations, even though he also makes fun of some of these same groups on the side.
The following is not completely checked out, but I've found info so far that confirms some of it, and nothing that disconfirms any of it.
----------------WARNING: some parts picked up from ex-JW sites-----------------
A Common Bond's Response to the Documentary Knocking - part 2
Where the Money Came From
On May 22, 2007, a documentary program entitled Knocking was shown on some Public Broadcasting System (PBS) stations throughout the United States as a part of their "Independent Lens" series of programs. Because PBS does not accept commercial advertisements, programming on this network is paid for through grants from various corporate sources, public and private foundations, and individual funding. Programming on PBS always discloses the sources of funding for it's shows at the time of the
program's airing, as well as on the PBS website. An examination of the PBS website lists the following as providing major funding for Knocking:
Walter Zaremba
Gunther Reibling
New York Community Trust
A further examination of the Knocking website shows the following list of supporters at the bottom of each page:
Independent Television Service
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Reibling Foundation
Note the name "Reibling" on both sites as a major contributor for the production of this program. A quick search on the internet found a
connection between Gunther Reibling, the Reibling Foundation, and the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society on the Boston College website. Further research reveals the establishment of the Laura and Lorenz Reibling Family Foundation of Boston, Massachusetts as a charitable organization some time after Knocking had been funded. According to the website of Taurus Investment Holdings, Lorenz Reibling is the brother of Gunther Reibling. Unconfirmed sources we consider trusted and reliable believe both Reibling brothers to be practicing Jehovah's Witnesses. Whether or not this is true, the Reibling family does associate with people who have close ties to the Watchtower. An online bio of Lorenz Reibling states the following:
Lorenz Reibling, Chairman, Taurus Investment Holdings
Lorenz is Chairman and a principal of Taurus Investment Holdings, LLC. As cofounder of Taurus, Lorenz has been responsible for the acquisition and/or development of over 100 commercial real estate projects throughout the United States since 1976. He regularly participates as co-investor in Taurus-sponsored real estate transactions. In 1966, Lorenz completed an apprenticeship as Industriekaufmann at Obpacher AG, a Weyerhauser-affiliated, Munich-based printing and publishing plant. Lorenz subsequently graduated from Munchen-Kolleg and attended Technische Universitat and Ludwigs-Maximilians Universitat, earning degrees in Cybernetics and Psychology. His early research on personality changes in heart transplant patients was conducted at
University Hospital Munich Grosshadern. After immigration to America he received a MS from Boston College in Organizational Management with focus on maximizing intellectual capital. He has attended and completed specialized courses at MIT and Harvard on real estate related subjects. Mr. Reibling's early career included employment with multinational corporations such as Hoechst (Cassella Riedl), American Hospital Supply Corporation, and CPI Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc. specializing in sophisticated cardiac stimulation appliances. Mr. Reibling is a full member of the AHI Angel Healthcare Investor Group, The Massachusetts Historical Society, Friends of the Kunstakademie Munchen, and supporter of numerous philantropic organizations. He was appointed to the advisory board of MIT/CRE (Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Center for Real Estate). As a collector of 15th-16th century Bibles and Reformation literature, Mr. Reibling has initiated and co-sponsored significant research and exhibition projects, such as "The Art of the Book: A journey through a Thousand Years" and "Confront: Resistance against Nazi Terror." He is fluent in German, English, Spanish and Italian. His residency is in the United States with homes in Massachusetts and Florida. He is married for 26 years with three adult children.
It is startling to note that Lorenz Reibling conducted research on "personality transplants" at around the same time that the Watchtower was teaching that organ transplantation was a disfellowshippable offense due to it's being considered cannibalism and a risk for the patient taking on the personality of the donor. Some time later, the Watchtower lifted the restriction against organ transplants, but failed to invite back the disfellowshipped members who had "sinned" by having life-saving surgery, but "went ahead of Jehovah" by doing so before the ban was lifted. Another way to trace the Reiblings' association with the Watchtower is by doing an internet search on the other name that appears on the PBS website as a provider of major funding: Walter Zaremba.
A search on the internet revealed the docket of a federal court case:
BIELERT v. NORTHERN OHIO PROPERTIES [No. 87-4031, 1988 WL 125357, at *5 (6th Cir. 1988)] was a 1988 federal lawsuit in which David Bielert alleged that he suffered employment discrimination, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, because he was not a Jehovah's Witness. Northern Ohio Properties was a subsidiary of Zaremba Corporation, owned by Tim Zaremba, Walter Zaremba, and other members of the Zaremba family. The Zaremba family are Jehovah's Witnesses, and many of the investors and employees of the related corporations are believed to be Jehovah's Witnesses.
Zaremba is linked to Reibling by a man named Aaron Gibitz who has worked for both Taurus (Reibling) and Zaremba:
From March 2002 to the present, Mr. Gibitz has been a consultant to Taurus Investment Group,Inc., based in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Taurus invest in real estate and has other business interest including health and wellness consumer products and media/technology. From March 1997 through March 2002, Mr. Gibitz was an executive with Zaremba Management, based in Independence, Ohio..
----------------
Westbrook declined to comment, but public records show the company paid $60 million for the 12-story building overlooking the Brooklyn Heights Promenade with views of the city. The Watchtower Society of The Jehovah’s Witnesses sold the building at 169 Columbia Heights for $50 million in 2007 to the Boston-based Taurus Investment Holdings, which converted it into 94 luxury apartment rentals shortly thereafter. [Taurus Investments is a Reibling company] ------------------
Then again, these amounts are only a small percentage of the real estate deals the Reiblings have been involved with. I found this in the New York Times:
NYT: But building is not without risks, according to Lorenz Reibling, who came here from Germany a decade ago, and whose company, Taurus Investments Group of Boca Raton, Fla., typically averages one $5 million deal a month, bringing German and Swiss equity partners into American real estate. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/15/realestate/in-the-nation-foreign-investors-step-into-more-active-roles.html?pagewanted=all Don't know if you can still do this, but after Knocking came out, I looked up names on LinkedIn for the companies involved and was able to confirm a network of JWs involved.
 

That's funny, both me and my husband found it hard to sleep last night, was there a full moon or something?
Yep, I read this too, maybe from the same website you later quote from, although there are probably a few...
You are probably right, I was too hasty to assume. Just because someone is willing to work with the Witnesses doesn't automatically make them sympathisers. Yes, money definitely talks.
That is crazy and I've heard this before, didn't know he was part of the Reibling family. I knew about their involvement in a medical company that produces blood substitutes, but I didn't know their ties to Knocking as well. The great thing is that now anyone can be a successful detective without leaving their desk, thanks to google. And unfortunately, ex- witnesses make this job even easier because they've already done the work, all you have to do is confirm it. I just checked LinkedIn and wow, Lorenzo is a bigwig (I sent him a request, lol). My gut feelings tell me he is a Witness. Of course I can't confirm this because it doesn't say in his profile, but then it doesn't say in my profile either, but there are far too many Witness connections and leads and also what you spoke about. One can send him an email, so maybe one should just ask . I feel such a small fish in a big pond, but there is a congregation out there somewhere and all in those circles will know who he is and what he does. I know a few billionaire brother who were in the same cong. as me in Europe, and I am sure there are many, many like him, you just need to be where he is. The sad thing is I was sent this film in good faith, that it is a non denominational documentary, and had it not been for Furuli right at the onset, I might not have become suspicious (although the ending was kind of suspicious).  I told my step father who sent it to me and he then began to look into it a bit more and found that indeed it is a "Witness" film. I love how informed we can be if we want, nothing is a mystery anymore. Does it make a difference in this particular case? I don't know...one thing I won't be doing for sure is recommending it to anyone as proof that "even secular experts" recognize, what we as JWs already "know", and I think this will have been the intention of the many who assumed it is not from us. They would have found it faith strengthening, but then when you know the real story.....lol...So then would it be ok to have one's faith strengthened by something that is not what it seems? By something that is actually a false premise?  It's weird really isn't it?
Anyway, what I really want to do now is look at your analysis, which I merely skimmed through up to now, and look at the references you made to the movie. I can already tell a lot of it is pretty much what struck me as well!

I was about to explode over this but then I calmed down. I began to think it was not intended the way I, at first, took it. No matter. It lays groundwork for a good post:
After correctly assessing @Arauna's gifts, Srecko suggests she "could be very effective in a career or in volunteer work where you are handling people and serving in a humanitarian way." Oh yeah! Go for it Arauna! Why do you waste your time here? Ycu could amount to something. Your gifts could be useful. You could help fix the world! It's almost there; your talents might tip the balance. [okay, okay, so maybe Srecko was not recommending a career in the world but merely acknowledging she would be valuable anywhere, including right where she is.]
She could be one more talented person fed into the ever-open maw of a world that consumes them all without response.
Srecko is another strange bird to me - a lot of them are. It must be me. They are all normal and I am the weirdo! But he alternately says things very perceptive and very obtuse - confusing true tyranny with the traffic cop's direction to walk in the crosswalk. I can't figure it out.
If you leave God's congregation, you leave it. We all have free will. But it seems that if you do so you should take ownership of the world you have chosen. When you see mayhem on the TV - the fruitage of man's independence from God - embrace it! It's yours.  Witnesses will take ownership of Jehovah's organization, imperfect though it is. The only significant way I can picture a human organization doing much better is to banish the humans. You should take ownership of what you have chosen.
There is only one significant advantage from casting off the Christian congregation that I can picture - the delirious freedom of going where no one can tell you what to do! You can be frreeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It is intoxicating - like a drug. All other considerations - material and spiritual - go out the window!
And yet even that is not true - that you go where no one can tell you what to do. It may be true in the human sense, but that is the petty sense. By giving up on the sure resurrection hope, old age and death will surely tell you what to do. By giving up on the 'wisdom from above,' the 'schemes and trickery of men will surely tell you what to do,' for the air has authority. By giving up on the Bible's complete explanation of suffering, the 'shit happens' outlook of the world will surely tell you what to do.
By the time you pay your new master his dues, God's congregation and the GB will look positively like doddering indulgent grandparents in comparison. Witnesses sacrifice some petty freedoms for the sake of the large ones - no Witness would ever say otherwise. If you lose all faith in God's promises, however, those sacrifices seem for naught and people start complaining. It is no more complicated than that. 
 

Imagine a system where all one must do to enjoy the status of 'teacher' is to partake! Instantly, they are recognized as an authority! Genuine annointed Christians will follow this route, of course. But any Tom, Dick or Harry can do it, too. Afterwards, by talking a good game, they will convince many of their special credentials. It won't affect the running of things, because elder/servant bodies are formed on other considerations - but some of the local friends will be wowed.
I've known six locally. Only one was generally accepted. Witnesses don't judge such things, but one can become aware of a grapevine consensus. The one 'unchallenged' was a tireless pioneer who had been around forever and was always in harmony with theocratic organization - in no way did she 'compete.' (and even her acknowledgment was not universal)
Others were all unusual in one way or another, and one of them got to be so critical of things that another ceased association with her. Still another began partaking only after (not immediately after) being appointed an elder. The circuit overseer approving his appointment, said that he qualified - because he did - he met the scriptural qualifications to an acceptable degree. But he added as an aside: 'He's not the most humble person in the world.' He and the hyper-critical one became best of friends; he got to be critical himself, and they eventually departed together. He is still alive and is generally thought to be an 'off the wall' apostate. I think he has authored a book or two. For whatever it's worth, his family, before becoming Witnesses, included some who claimed psychic status and did water witching. 
I can't imagine a better arrangement than that of the current 'slave.' They must be of the annointed AND they must have been refined, with decades of full-time humble service. No harm done, then, if someone partakes through unbalance or self-deception. The path they take is only between themselves and God, which is how a truly annointed one would want it anyway.
 
 
 

So the organization must create a "special" place just for those who claim to be of the "righteous anointed" so the 'power' can work through them in a collective way? Or give them a prominent place in each congregation and allow some "deceivers" who claim to be anointed in amongst them?  How do you separate the deceivers who internally have a love of prominence and secret power.  ........ but wait ........... the anointed  already have an opportunity to serve as ministerial servants or elders on a 'body of elders ' in each congregation and can "contribute" their wisdom and humility by 'washing the feet of the others' and not taking prominent places! 
We already have a central organization in which these super-anointed with special insight  could be part and work together on the "committees" to send out the food at proper time and not just 'edify themselves'.  (oh yes - I remember now that ALL members on the committee must agree with all the points being published - otherwise they cannot be published - and they are NOT all anointed..... (too  bad the organization uses some of the non-anointed and do not use the ideas of one person only). But those who manage to stay humble and serve on the committees already contribute their lives to the washing of the 'feet of others' .... and not run ahead with their own information. (Direct order from bible)  
Jesus had all the information of his previous life...... I know only of a few places where he gave us glimpses of this in what he said but never to draw attention to himself!  I have known a few people who say they are anointed and I have also seen those who take their anointing so seriously as a "personal responsibility"....... I am a bit skeptical of those. The reason....... Jehovah will never choose people who have a good chance of breaking their integrity.  They will be tried and tested (suffer) before they are chosen...... and after this they also have to be proven before he seals them.  I think that Satan or self-delusion can make people think they are anointed and then take emblems unworthily . If they do not repent of their error they can find themselves outside the organization and working "against the other anointed". I am not saying you are - but the possibility exists. 
However, the impracticalities coming forward from your "complaints" against their use of the term "Zion" does not sound logical..... mostly self-centric......The GB is 'under' heavenly Zion (Hebr. 12:22)  - so as an extension of Zion they represent Zion on earth.... they recognize the direction they receive from Jesus and oversee the congregations and ensure they remain clean. When the elders work together properly (collectively) the spirit of Jehovah can operate freely in the elder body and direct matters - they do not need an anointed one to function.
All practical matters - organizational, legal and other directions (practical matters) come from GB for uniformity and also to keep us collectively informed..  In elder groups where one finds individuals with super-egos (unfortunately they do exist) - this body does not function as it should....... on this I agree with you. This is why we have so much material now which cautions elders that they are merely shepherds.  Jehovah eventually removes those who remain hardened in their ways.... I have seen this happen often..... they come off the self-made pedestal.  
Jehovah is love and is also at same time logical. In fact the logic of the bible is the reason I believe it is the only reality..... and the timeline etc. has convinced me of this. But the most important is the fulfillment of the warning work to the world - the preaching work.
The anointed cannot do this themselves - so we (lesser mortals) are organized and are citizens of the new "land" in which we receive the spirit as Jehovah measures out to our asking and our work. The way you are talking -  it seems you do not accept the fact that the preaching work is done by large armies of non-anointed people who are also following Christ.  The kingdom is going to benefit US after all!  We are the subjects!  (I do not see another organization of earth with future rulers and subjects now on earth? Do you?)  This is it..... the GB may be imperfect to you and not teaching everything the way you see fit..... but the warning work is being done!
Any case - Paul about -" You want to rule now do You?"  The rulers will rule only in heaven and they receive the "new name " which no-one knows... their job... their office.  Now is the time of extreme humility for men and women - must just know their place - not overstep the boundaries put there by Christ!    It was at the end of his life that Jesus suffered...... so we should not have the idea that we will be suffering all the time....The end is going to be terrible!  I do no think people have a clue what we will be facing..... but we will be thoroughly tested !  ... especially the GB and current anointed.
So we need to trust Jehovah to direct his work and angels - some congregations may have problems like the ones we read about in Revelation.... . If you do not trust Jehovah to oversee the knowledge he wants us to have now and to direct his angels in preaching work - you will find yourself outside this organization....... and it is the only organization with future kings and subjects.....  Do you think that some of the anointed in bethel are not going to suffer - you ain't seen nothing yet!  I think many witnesses will be shocked when they find the organization attacked by the political system - just as they did Jesus as a political seditionist!. 
All of us are asked not to spread out own ideas as if it was "doctrine" which can lead to much valse information being spread out there. We obey now because we view ourselves as being under the heavenly government and our cooperation is important. We have a channel and we should respect this channel - just as israel had to.   This is the reason they ask all of us not to form intellectual groups of study on our own...(not just the anointed).  One can study on your own as much as you like but do not be a dissenting voice and hinder the work we are doing - that is ego-centric. ... and we know who is the originator of that quality!

I think we can be sure. You mentioned that I shouldn’t refer to God’s organization of the Jews, you said that was old, so then you referred to Jesus, as that being the new way. Well didn’t Jesus become the founder of Christianity?  Wasn’t it by divine providence his disciples became known as Christians, weren’t his disciples organized into congregations? I am sure you know the scriptures that talk along this theme, of not forsaking gathering together,....where two or three are gathered in Christ’s name.....to build one another up, you know about Paul’s letters being addressed to congregations, Jesus’ admonishing  the congregations (in Revelation), Jesus being the chief cornerstone of the congregation, etc. etc........
As for our day, well how else would you organize the global preaching work but by organization. Organization for many people has become a dirty word when it comes to religion. Why? Could it be because of organized religion’s bad reputation on the whole?
Of course, just because someone calls themselves a JW does not guarantee salvation, as the verse says: "but only the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will" so God's choice is based on those doing his will, as Jesus further says: " Therefore, everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does them...
You come with ONE report, one that you would call “old”, as it pre- dates Christ, and with an ambiguous end, to support your view that God doesn’t care what you do as long as you “believe”.  In verse 18 Naaaman explains that as a servant of his lord he will go with him to the temple of Rimmon, and because his lord hangs onto his arm (maybe he is old?) when he bows down, Naaman will have to go down as well, but he will not be doing this in worship, but only because his lord is using his arm for support.  He definitely did NOT “make worship to idols”. We know how “jealous” Jehovah is of anyone worshipping someone else other than him. Paul, when writing to the Corinthians showed the seriousness of it: “ No; but I say that what the nations sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers with the demons. You cannot be drinking the cup of Jehovah and the cup of demons; you cannot be partaking of “the table of Jehovah” and the table of demons. (1Corinth 10:20-21) So I think it most definitely would have been a problem to JHVH!
You definitely cannot have it both ways. "Doing" and "obedience" play a major role even if God "picked" you for salvation, the ultimate result of whether he saves you or not is dependent on YOU, on your obedience:  Romans 6:  15 – 17: What follows? Are we to commit a sin because we are not under law but under undeserved kindness? Certainly not!  Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey,  either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? But thanks to God that although you were once the slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that pattern of teaching to which you were handed over.
“ For this is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome”

Jehovah has NEVER changed ... although he has changed his mind many times when entreated to do so, and he DOES "learn as he goes along".
He was genuinely surprised when children were offered to the fires of the god Moloch as human sacrifices, and before that there was of course ... the dinosaurs ... which did not end well, for them.
And the name "Jehovah" is in ENGLISH, a standard convention since about AD 1600 when the letter "J" was invented, and the name is different in different languages, the same as Jesus' name is different in different languages.
I under understand in Spanish my name James is pronounced HIGH-ME, or Santiago ....
Who knew?
 

Watched your video - first of all - they have not built and sold and built and sold buildings.  Those buildings in Brooklyn were the  head-offices since they acquired them until now. They needed to get out of that area. I read and article which explained this. Technology has changed and so has logistics.  Many of the films are outsourced to different branches.  We have much less magazines being printed now. Every branch gets a video to produce - and why is he politicizing this?  It is easier for the GB to delegate.   We are not an American company.  Our branches are registered all over the world - it is law. The GB only oversee the most important function - the food at proper time - and delegate this!  So we are an international organization. I smell a nationalistic USA-rat in these comments and you fell for it hook line and sinker!
When one serves Jehovah one chooses a life-long career and serves 'where ever' you can.  If one goes to serve in the building area you get skills you did not have before and can go and open a small business of your own afterward. Most pioneers (outside Bethel) do not have that! They get by on part-time work wherever they can find it to do the preaching work.  I do not see them whining!
BUT the other side of the coin is: some opportunistic individuals want to get into Bethel so they can have a long and "secure" career while getting a roof over their head and a plate of food every day.   I am sorry, my heart does not cry for someone who professes to have had all the right motives and then after he is let go, shows that he did not have all the right motives after all - and then lets a brother go and smear his brothers as if they have done him a grave injustice!  It reminds me of Cain..... Jehovah told him to not let the evil control him.... and he did not get control of it.    Now this poor soul has to work for a living like everyone else!   After being in a cozy institutionalized position he is angry because it is not perpetuated!  
When you let people go it is usually the ones who are not bringing their full share or do jobs that are no longer needed - am I right?  Any company in the world works this way.   Why should they tolerate hangers-on who is more of a burden than an asset?  His attitude may have got him fired...  so whiney and this brother gave him all the wrong advice - he is not a helpless individual..... he must stand up and be a man.
Most pioneers clean buildings to pioneer!  I know several of them - and they do it cheerfully! You do not need skills for that. He can do that. .... but no .... he is whining because he now has a "reality" hitting him and he has to take responsibility for his own life! 
We are living in the 21 century - technology changing all the time.  When there was a lot of printing to do (in 20th century) it was the case that they looked after you until after retirement! He wants the world-wide brothers pay for his keep until he dies because he willingly donated some of his time to them?  My advice to him.... grow up and be a man!
And your deviant personality is showing by posting this video!  You have no wisdom- only some knowledge!
 
Revelation is misapplied.... like many of your other scriptures quoted.  You think because you intimate that you are anointed that you have special skills or "insight" that no-one else has. You forget - there is a final sealing before the end. Now you find yourself without a congregation - and there is an instruction from Jehovah to meet with brothers in Hebrews 10. You are not keeping this command - be aware of that! There are many other commands you are breaking by "beating your brothers" publically.
If I put myself in your shoes- say if you were right on many things - you are still running ahead...... We have instruction from Jesus not to do this. You are stuck on you own ego and having to be "right" and be praised for having the organization change to your special insights!  You reject their correction and willfully go ahead with your own ideas.  Soft-spoken and willful.  (I had some ideas of my own...... but I have held them back.....  I have not run ahead of the organization...... just like Jesus did.)  He had no ego because he only spoke what his father had given him and he served perfectly until death.  Satan wanted undue attention and his desires got him in the position he is in today. It was not about "truth" to him was about being the one with the special light!
You have the same attitude I see with many apostates.  You ignore the bits you do not want to see and just answer the bits you can and then you go around and around on the same track and mislead those who fall for your ideas.  I call it the one mind track - the nihilistic and destructive track.  I believe that wisdom is knowledge which is applied - not just knowledge!  
I agree with the brothers - there is time to look at yourself or go ahead on your destructive path! And admit it - by posting this video your hate is showing.  John said: without love for brothers it is impossible to please Jehovah!

Again the scriptures are used out of its context!   You apply the scriptures to your own way of thinking!   Israel had a literal building where they used to go and worship - it was part of the system - the pathway Jehovah chose for them to worship as a nation.  The  building would be destroyed in future to indicate that acceptance of worship at this place was not longer acceptable to God.  Jesus fulfilled every aspect of the temple so it was redundant. Now we worship in spirit and truth - and we do not regard the kingdom halls as buildings needing veneration.  They are put separate (holy) for worship of Jehovah through his son.  
I have never seen a JW put their face towards the USA and make the 'organization a place of worship.  To speak of accomplishment is not worship.  Most organizations in the world that are so very large are run by peopleCEOs who earn MILLIONS of dollars a year.  The GB are doing it as a 'group' of simple men without worldly degrees and they get their plate of food and a roof over their head for that....  We were cautioned recently that we should not even ask to have a photo taken with one of the governing body. So they do not get worship but do a function - of organizing the preaching world-wide and feeding the flock.  Yes, there are silly people who put them on a pedestal - but those are people who do not have the correct perspective on what the bible teaches..... they still have to grow spiritually. 
I bet you are not preaching every day - Jesus said 3 times to Peter - feed my sheep!  If you are not doing this to the best of your ability you are only benefitting yourself and do not have a basic understanding of your Christian duties.  You are also supposed to meet regularly.  Where do you meet regularly?   I have often thought about the fact that Satan can make it appear to people that they are anointed....... but when you watch these people ...... they are very self-centered..... and usually are a cause for division in the congregation.....In the end Jehovah is the judge.  Satan has always used those whom he can manipulate and usually they feel they are more special than anyone else.  Saul was humble - Jehovah chose him - but his office made him lose his humility. Since the most soft-spoken people can also be haughty - I reserve judgment...... but I believe that these are the ones who can do the most damage to the true Kingdom heirs.  
There are many indications of a 'governing body' when the congregation started in Jerusalem and spread throughout the Hellenistic world - which you deny in your words... because you do not acknowledge the GB.  Paul went to testify in front of James and the brothers in Jerusalem and they made the final decision about the circumcision. This is an indication of humility on Paul's part because he did not make the decision himself but went up to the men who were appointed with the task.  He did however, chastise Peter for his hypocrisy in front of others.
How do you think the world-wide work should be organized at present to get uniformity? The prophecy in Matt 24:14 has to be fulfilled - do you not think so? One needs to have a branch registered in every country - by law.  To say they are secular because they are legally registered is to throw the baby out with the bathwater. This is short-sighted thinking and putting yourself on high.  These worldly rulers can and will (in future) destroy those registered offices very quickly if they want to - proof is in Russia!  Does this mean that the brothers cannot go on without the GB?  No they have been given the nourishment and knowledge by the GB to go on as a group of Jehovah's people - truly identified by their neutrality regarding world events. But I bet they long to hear encouragement from the world-wide brotherhood! 
You are quoting scriptures which indicate that these people in the time of the apostles were anointed and sealed.  That is correct. A seal is a stamp of authenticity......which is obtained after the anointing and Jehovah will not seal anyone if they have not proved absolutely faithful.  Jesus was speaking to those future anointed when he said: The ax is already lying at the root of the trees. Every tree, then, that does not produce fine fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire.
 
The hate speech against the governing body on this forum is showing the fruits clearly.  I do not fall for the deceitful "holiness" or "righteousness" I see here.  
 
Mr Rook: Your hope can be dashed to get the transcripts. You are setting yourself up for disappointment and then you will have a new rod to beat the GB with.  As I said before - they do not have time for petty requests from every Tom Dick and Harry. They cannot follow through on every deviant request. Their responsibility is the spiritual food.
Any case if you understand the structure of the Russian government you will know that the justice department is subject to the government.  Not like in USA where it is independent..... and supposed to be unbiased.  But what I have seen lately makes me think that the checks and balances are not as strong as they looked before in USA - the supreme court is highly politicized and prone to make 'party' decisions. 
Most Americans do not understand how other countries function.  Russia is a totalitarian (oligarchy) government which controls everything.  To think that a vestige of justice will be found there is ludicrous.  They have killed off all their human rights lawyers and anyone talking against the regime in the past 13 years.  Remember the Russian who was killed with plutonium - in London? Journalist who write about injustices are assassinated.  It is a powerful thugocracy. Putin has filled his own coffers and those of his friends who are all rallying around him.  Those who do not play the game are put in prison on trumped up charges and their wealth divided to friends.
Again: The GB is not there to fulfill every personal request UNrelated to the preaching work with satisfactory  'service'. 
 
 
 
 

@USASister A wonderful experience sister with Carmella - we pray she will cope with the pain & not give up her studies 

Pray for my dear Carmella, please my friends.  She is in severe pain!   Love to all, Kristy 

"in Emmanuel name, amen" :)))))))))

IT WAS COMMON PRACTICE IN JEWISH SOCIETY TO HAVE NAME CHANGES WHEN A PERSON'S  LIFE HAD DRAMATIC CHANGES.
and plenty of examples of that in the Bible, too.
Sometimes they were interchangeable, sometimes not.
In our cultural background , Superman is REALLY Superman, but his birth name was Kal-El, and he also goes by Clark Kent.
Bruce Wayne is...uh ... Bruce Wayne and he goes by the name Batman, but is also called The Dark Knight.
If you had two cows named, and  described in great detail ... as Michael the Archangel, and Jesus both were ... BY WHAT THEY WERE ABLE TO DO ...and it was the same description ... AND the farm could only have one cow ... the most reasonable explanation would be it was the same cow.
Problems arise when you try to milk a squirrel to make butter.
 

I think the angel whose job it was to teach Adam and Ever correct theology was originally named "Lucifer" which I understand means "Bearer of Light" ... but when he committed treason and rebelled against God, and lied to them ... his name changed to "Satan" which I understand means "Slanderer" ... but I am going from 50 year old memory.
So... angelic creatures can change names also ... and be reclassified WITH that name change ...from angels of God, to demons.
The principle of "job change --> name change"  has plenty of examples.
 

REFLECTION
WORLD HARASSMENT OF FAITHFUL AND PRUDENT SLAVERY ;-(
My numerous contacts with over 200,000 witnesses from around the world and the varied press information I receive, keep me up to date on something that I do not want to go unnoticed by my friends in this private group.
The cases of child abuse that as a satanic plague, runs all over the planet, has also touched us. Our organization has for years guided the elders of congregations in how to handle these bleeding cases. AND IF THE norms of the faithful and prudent slave have been followed, the victims have been comforted, spiritually restored, and sexual predators expelled and reported to the authorities. I repeat, if the instructions of the slave have been followed. Those who are currently claiming a social complaint on the internet and courts, presenting our entire community as a religion that protects pedophiles, demonstrate with their lies their hypocrisy and moral corruption.
The defense and care of children in our congregations has a single protagonist: THE PARENTS. In no way do we leave our children alone with any adult, no matter how many witnesses it claims to be. Our children are protected in our homes, in our kingdom halls, and in preaching. Only if a father is unconcerned of his obligation, is when problems arise, but not provoked by the organization.
The true "truth"  can no longer be silenced with claims of those who work to slander with propagation of the apostates-driven lies in social networks.

I was outraged when I read this! My blood pressure shot to the moon! They had to call NASA! @Shiwiii is right to warn us about this disgusting book - the Bible. How dare Paul TELL the Corinthian congregation AND the Galatian one and probably every other one - what a racket he had going - to set some money aside every day of the week!!! What a greedy self-serving scoundrel!
What? Is he trying to pretend God needs it? Why does God need our money. It's ours!! Tell him to keep his grubby hands off it!!
Yeah! Sure! You expect me to believe that? He's going to take their kind 'gift'  (extorted, if you ask me!) to the Riviera or Las Vegas for some high living - and fly business class to get there!!! Thank you, Shiwiii, for alerted me to this blatant greed and Bible money-loving. You make a fine investigative reporter.

One man was there who had been sick for 38 years.—John 5:5.
Just north of the temple at Jerusalem was a pool known as Bethzatha. Large crowds of sick and infirm people would gather there, hoping that they would be miraculously cured. Moved with pity, Jesus approached a man who had been sick longer than Jesus had been alive on earth. (John 5:6-9) Jesus inquired if he wanted to get well. The response was immediate. The man wanted to be healed but he could not see how, for he had no one to help him into the pool. Jesus then commanded the man to do the impossible—to pick up his mat and walk. Taking Jesus at his word, the man picked up his mat and began to walk. What a heartwarming foregleam of what Jesus will do in the new world! In this miracle, we also see Jesus’ compassion. He sought out the needy. Jesus’ example should motivate us to continue to seek out people in our territory who are depressed about the terrible things happening in this world. w15 6/15 2:8-10
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2017/10/11

Hi, as i see you have good intention. But in JW org there is/are no alternative nor suggestions. Only "obey" WT. :)  

I know you have a question on this, but for some, the comparison with Ex.1:6 is quite sufficient to satisfy the possibilty of the "generation" extending to two groups. The use of the word generation there is quite applicable to all of "Israel" that spent time in Egypt while Joseph was still alive, including his father. But there are some who may restrict the generation mentioned there there to just Joseph's brothers.
So, for some, the definition harmonises with Scripture, for some, it does not. This is what I said.