Quote:
Originally Posted by UntoHim
I must admit, at the start of this thread, I was more on the side of those who say there are (should be) apostles today. On the surface it appears that Ephesians 4:11 ("And He gave some apostles..") is strong evidence for this view. The statement a few verses earlier ("..And He gave gifts to men") helps to bolster this view as well. But I must bow to the realities that we are faced with in the here and now. This is to say nothing of the fact that just about everybody (in our lifetimes) who has ever said they were an apostle, or were called an apostle by others, has completely and utterly failed the test - they have been tried and found to be false. Sorry to say my dear Local Church brothers and sisters (current and former), but Witness Lee definitely falls into the "tried and found to be false" category.
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WL wanted us to believe (
as JND before him) that all of Christianity has miserably failed, has become incurably divided, and has become hopelessly degraded, hence both God and man ought to abandon her completely.
Was that not his continual message of the last half century?
Hence, God had to raise up another apostle, like unto Paul, who would bring about local testimonies of golden lampstands all one, and all pleasing to the Lord, thus preparing His return. In this way WL wanted us to believe that the same apostolic authority given to Paul, was now given to him. Many of us believed this to varying degrees.
If ..... and I say if ..... the Head of the body were as disgruntled with divisions
as we were taught to believe, giving up on Christianity
as we were taught to believe, and starting from scratch in the LC's
as we were taught to believe, then I do believe the Lord
would have to establish a modern day apostle, like He did with Paul. All the signs and wonders of the 1st century must also accompany this "apostle." His life must also be as exemplary as Paul's was.
To me this exactly defines the WL/Blended dilemma. They fiercely believe all of the above. Therefore, they must "doctor up" their image of WL to match that of Paul and the early apostles.
Any positive thing must be attributed to WL, and every negative thing must be blamed on others. If you swallow this "Hollywood imagery" of the Recovery, asking no questions nor accepting any facts to the contrary, then you are
"living in the land of make believe," as the old Moody Blues song so aptly describes:
Take a look --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5R44dN-L0Q
Quote:
We're living in the land of make-believe
And trying not to let it show
Maybe in that land of make-believe
Heartaches can turn into joy.
We're breathing in the smoke of high and low
We're taking up a lot of room
Somewhere in the dark and silent night
Our prayer will be heard, make it soon.So fly little bird
Up into the clear blue sky
And carry the word
Love's the only reason why, why.
Open all the shutters on your windows
Unlock all the locks upon your doors
Brush away the cobwebs from your day-dreams
No secrets come between us any more
Oh say it's true
Only love will see you through
You know what love can do to you.
We're living in a land of make-believe
And trying not to let it show
Maybe in that land of make-believe
Heartaches can turn into joy.
We're breathing in the smoke of high and low
We're taking up a lot of room
Somewhere in the dark and lonely night
Our prayer will be heard, make it soon.
So fly little bird
Up into the clear blue sky
And carry the word
Love's the only reason why, why.
Open all the shutters on your windows
Unlock all the locks upon your doors
Brush away the cobwebs from your day-dreams
No secrets come between us any more
Oh say it's true
Only love will see you through
You know what love can do to you.
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