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71. Can Jehovah's Witnesses hold and discuss openly with other Witnesses opinions that differ from orthodox WTS teachings? If no, why not? Does the WTS encourage people who are not Witnesses to examine their own religion? If yes, then why does it discourage Witnesses to honestly examine the teachings of the WTS? If the WTS really teaches “the Truth”, then what do they have to fear from an honest examination?

No. But, Jehovah's Witnesses are hardly unique in that respect. Most religions do not allow much latitude for dissent. Neither did the apostles for that matter. Paul wrote Timothy to "command certain ones not to teach different doctrine, nor to pay attention to false stories and to genealogies, which end up in nothing, but which furnish questions for research rather than a dispensing of anything by God in connection with faith."

Paul was even more pointed in writing to Titus, saying: "It is necessary to shut the mouths of these, as these very men keep on subverting entire households by teaching things they ought not for the sake of dishonest gain."

72. In Rev 22:12-13, Jesus Christ, the one who is "coming quickly", says of himself," I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end". In Rev 1:17-18, Jesus, the one who "became dead, but, look! I am living forever and ever", refers to himself as the first and the last. Rev 21:6, in speaking of God, says, "...I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end .,.". God is also referred to as the "first" and the "last" in Isa 44:6 and Isa 48:12. How can Jesus and Jehovah both be the “alpha and omega” and “the first and the last” since by definition of these words there can only be one Alpha and Omega and only one first and one last?

As pointed out in previous answers, Jehovah and Jesus share titles, although there are subtle differences. Alpha and Omega, the Greek equivalent to saying A-to-Z in English, is a descriptive title that Jehovah and Jesus may share, but for different reasons. Jehovah is the ultimate First and Last, in that he is the only person in existence that had no beginning. And, he alone innately possesses immortality and life in himself. No one gave Jehovah life, but he gives life to all others, including his firstborn and only-begotten Son.

As the firstborn Son of all Creation, Jesus is unique among all of God's sons, in that he was the first and only creature directly created by Jehovah. All [others] were created through the Son. That is why, in fact, that Jesus is called the only-begotten Son of God. Jesus is also the first creature raised from the dead to immortality. That's why the Bible calls him the "firstborn from the dead." At Colossians 1:18, Paul said of Christ: "He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that he might become the one who is first in all things." The next verse goes on to show that it pleased God to make his son first in all things.

Jesus is "last" in the sense that he will never be surpassed in glory by any fellow creature. He will always be the closest to Jehovah.  

73. If the WTS claims they are not "inspired" but does refer to themselves as "God's spirit-directed Prophet", what is the difference? Is there such a thing as an "uninspired true prophet"? Why would anyone be part of a religious organization which claimed that their teachings were NOT inspired?

We must assume that the questioner does not understand the nuances of what it means to be led by God's spirit—as opposed to being inspired by the spirit to prophesy. To illustrate: 1^st Peter 3:18 says that Jesus died in order "that he might lead you to God." Does following Christ's lead, though, mean that his followers are inspired to unerringly speak God's message, as were the Bible's penmen? No reasonable person would come to that conclusion.

At Revelation 19:10 we are told by an angel that "bearing witness to Jesus is what inspires prophesying." But, does that mean that Christian evangelizers are inspired in the sense of being able to make prophetic declarations like Jeremiah or Isaiah, or one of the other prophets? No, that's not what that means at all. It means that when we speak about Christ we naturally bring the Bible's many prophecies to the fore concerning Christ. Jehovah's Witnesses bear witness to Christ by announcing Jehovah's kingdom. And our Christian testimony is inextricably bound up in Bible prophecy. Because we fulfill the Bible's patterns and prophecies and follow in the steps of the original Christians, in that respect we serve as prophets. But, we are not inspired to make pronouncements other than those that are already recorded in the inspired Scriptures.

74. If the great crowd is to have everlasting life on paradise EARTH, why does 1Thess 4:17 say, "...we the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR; and thus we shall always BE WITH the Lord"? If Armageddon were to start next week, as a Jehovah’s Witness in good standing with the WTS, wouldn’t you be one of “the living who are surviving”? Would you expect to “meet the Lord in the air”? If not, then how do you explain this verse?

75. In Mt 1:23, who is Matthew referring to here that has been given the name which means "With Us Is God"?

Matthew is referring to Jesus. And should we suppose that that means that Jesus was God? Again, how then do we account for the fact that the Bible says very simply that no man has ever seen God? King James says: "No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."

The expression "with us is God" should not mystify us. It is actually a very common thing to wish God's blessing upon others by saying something like 'May God be with you.' In Spanish, the word for goodbye, "adios," literally means 'go with God.' No one in their right mind, though, confuses the person for God himself. Jehovah could be said to be with the Jews in the person of Jesus because everything Jesus did was representative of his Father. In fact Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus was the "exact representation" of the Father. A representation is not the same as the original, but an exact representation is as good as the real thing. That is why Jesus said that "if you have seen me you have seen the Father," because he was just like Jehovah in every respect—'a chip off the old block'—as the expression goes.

76. Referring to Isa 14:9-17, if there is no conscious awareness after death, how could Sheol "... become agitated at you in order to meet you on coming in..." (v.9), how could the souls in Sheol "... speak up and say to you..." (v.10-11), how could the souls in Sheol when "...seeing you will gaze even at you; they will give close examination even to you, [saying,] ‘Is this the man...’" (v. 16-17), and how would you be aware that this was happening?

77. Heb 3:1 refers to "holy brothers, partakers of the heavenly calling". In Mk 3:35, Jesus says, "Whoever does the will of God, this one is my brother..." Therefore, according to the Bible, whoever does the will of God is a brother of Jesus and a partaker of the heavenly calling. How can this be if the Watchtower Society teaches that only 144,000 people go to heaven?

78. Heb 11:16, in speaking about some of the faithful people of the Old Testament (Abel, Noah, Abraham, etc.) says, "But now they are reaching out for a better [place], that is, one belonging to heaven..." and,"... their God for he has made a city ready for them." The footnote on the word "city" refers to HEAVENLY Jerusalem of Heb 12:22 and Rev 21:2. How can this be since according to the teachings of the Watchtower Society, the only people who will go to heaven are the 144,000 spirit anointed who have been chosen from people who lived after Christ died?

79. In Lk 24:36-39 and in Jn 20:26-27, Jesus showed his disciples the wounds in his body as proof of his resurrection. If Jesus' body had been destroyed by God after he died, how could Jesus show the disciples his very own body which had the wounds in his hands, feet, and side? In Lk 24:39, Jesus says, “See MY hands and MY feet, that it is I MYSELF; feel me and see me, because a SPIRIT DOES NOT HAVE FLESH AND BONES just as you behold that I have.” If Jesus was really raised as a spirit without a body, as the WTS teaches, then why would he have tried to deceive his disciples into thinking he was resurrected in his real body with “flesh and bones”? Does “being made alive IN the spirit” (1Pet 3:18) really mean the same thing as “being raised AS a spirit”? See Rom 8:11.

The Bible plainly says that Jesus was put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. Some translations unfortunately mistranslate that verse by saying that Jesus was made alive "by the spirit" instead of "in the spirit." It should be evident by the context that Peter was contrasting Jesus' fleshly existence with his spirit existence after his resurrection. The verse goes on to say that in that state (in the spirit) Jesus "went his way and preached to the spirits in prison." Regardless of what you might think the spirits in prison represents, it should be obvious that Jesus had to have been a spirit in order to deliver a message to those spirits.

However, the apostles could not at first comprehend the heavenly, spiritual nature of God's kingdom. They thought in physical terms—as do many would-be Bible interpreters today.

The apostles never would have grasped that Jesus had gone to heaven unless he first materialized before them, cloaking himself in flesh to first convince them he was alive, and then, afterwards, ascending to heaven in their view. However, long after Jesus had returned to heaven he appeared to Paul. In that encounter, Jesus was definitely not human. He was a spirit more glorious in appearance than the sun. In fact, Paul was blinded for three days by the close encounter he had with Christ on the road to Damascus.

Jesus appeared to his disciples on many occasions after his resurrection. In each instance he appeared in a different body that his disciples did not recognize. In each instance, the disciples were called upon to recognize Christ for what he said rather than by his appearance. Jehovah forced them to think in terms of the spirit rather than by fleshly sight. The only exception was when Jesus appeared on one occasion bearing the marks of his impalement, which was done specifically to confront Thomas, who had previously announced that he would never accept the evidence of Christ's resurrection unless he could personally feel his wounds.

80. In Lk 20:37-38, how could Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be "all living to him (God)", since they all died hundreds of years before Jesus said this? If the WTS’s teaching that an immortal soul does not continue to live on after death of the body and that there is no conscious awareness after death is correct, then how could Moses and Elijah not only appear to Peter, James, and John but actually converse with Jesus (Mt 17:3)? Similarly, in Jn 8:56, Jesus says, "Abraham your father rejoiced greatly in the prospect of seeing my day, and he SAW IT AND REJOICED". Since Abraham died hundreds of years before Jesus said this, how could Jesus say that Abraham "saw it and rejoiced", if there is no conscious awareness after death?

Luke 20:37-38 does not say that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive. Jesus said that the dead "are all living to him." Jesus said that to indicate the sureness of the resurrection, that to Jehovah those men are as good as alive because they are alive in God's memory even though in reality they are dead. But when the time comes for Christ to perform the resurrection it will be as though they never died. In that way they "are living to him."

As for your mistaken notion that Moses and Elijah were real when they appeared with Christ in the transfiguration, they were not. It was a vision. How do we know it was a vision? Jesus said so. Matthew 17:9 reads: "And as they were descending from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying: "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of man is raised up from the dead."

What does the word "vision" mean to you?

As for how Abraham "saw" Christ's day: Abraham "saw" Christ's day, in that he experienced the fulfillment of God's promise to produce a son. If you recall, Jehovah promised Abraham that Sarah would give birth even though she was long past child-bearing age. But, God kept his word and miraculously gave him Isaac. Jesus' birth was also a miracle of God. So, it was the very same miracle-working God who produced Jesus that earlier caused the birth to Isaac. In that sense, Abraham saw Christ's day in that he rejoiced in the miraculous birth of the heir of Christ.

Not only that, but Abraham "saw" Christ's day by attempting to offer up his only begotten son of Sarah. In that respect, Paul said that Abraham acted out a prophetic drama, which obviously foreshadows Jehovah sacrificing his only-begotten Son.