Lurkers, beware. Another thread with ridicule as its objective.
JW's are certainly not the only ones who struggle with interpreting Bible prophecy.
Jesus made anticipation of the "end" an important aspect of faith.
In fact, read the following quotes and see that the Early Christians were quite vocal about the importance of the time of the end. Of course you don't have to read all of these quotes. Most here don't have much of an appetite for this sort of stuff. But this is just a fraction of the stuff available. But it shows that JW's are behaving in the tradition of the Early Christians. What? Is it a surprise that JW's are an Apocalyptic religion? That has always been part of the contract. That's what got many of you interested in the first place - the promise of relief from suffering - soon. They are simply following the tradition. Ridicule the whole tradition, then, from Jesus Christ and his apostles on forward to the present. These people declared THEIR hope. It's not THEIR fault that their faith and hope has not been fullfilled --- YET!
You boast that you have given up that old "worthless" hope. So in fact you have NO HOPE. Such expectations are easy to fill!
Epistle of Barnabas: (AD. 100)
"The final stumbling-block (or source of danger) approaches, concerning which it is written, as
Enoch says, "For for this end the Lord has cut short the times and the days, that His Beloved may
hasten; and He will come to the inheritance." And the prophet also speaks thus: "Ten kingdoms
shall reign upon the earth, and a little king shall rise up after them, who shall subdue under one
three of the kings." In the like manner Daniel says concerning the same, "And I beheld the fourth
beast, wicked and powerful, and the more savage than all the beasts of the earth and how from it
sprang up ten horns, and out of them a little budding horn, and how it subdued under one three of
the ten horns. ... We take earnest heed in these last days; for the whole (past) time of your faith
will profit you nothing, unless now in this wicked time we also withstand coming sources of
danger, as becometh sons of God. That the Black One may find no means of entrance, let us flee
from every vanity, let us utterly hate the works of the way of wickedness." [Epistle of Barnabas,
IV]
Irenaeus: (AD. 120-202)
"In a still clearer light has John, in the Apocalypse, indicated to the Lord's disciples what shall
happen in the last times, and concerning the ten kings who shall then arise, ... These have one
mind, and give their strength and power to the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and
the Lamb shall overcome them, because He is the Lord of lords, and King of kings. ... And they
shall lay Babylon waste, and burn her with fire, and shall give their kingdom to the beast, and put
the church to flight. After that they shall be destroyed by the coming of our Lord." [Against
Heresies V, XXVI, 1]
"But he indicates the number of the name now, that when this man comes we may avoid him,
being aware of who he is:... But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world,
he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple in Jerusalem; and then the Lord
will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who
follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that is,
the rest, the hallowed seventh day; and restoring to Abraham the promised inheritance, in which
kingdom the Lord declared, that "many coming from the east and from the west should sit down
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." [Against Heresies V, XXX, 2,4]
"For all these and other words were unquestionably spoken in reference to the resurrection of the
just, which takes place after the coming of Antichrist, and the destruction of all nations under his
rule; in [the times of] which [resurrection] the righteous shall reign on the earth, waxing stronger
by the sight of the Lord: and through Him they shall become accustomed to partake in the glory
of God the Father, and shall enjoy in the kingdom intercourse and communion with the holy
angels, and union with spiritual beings; and those whom the Lord shall find in the flesh, awaiting
Him from heaven, and who have suffered tribulation, as well as escaped the hands of the Wicked
one." [Against Heresies V, XXXV, 1]
The Shepherd of Hermas: (2nd Century)
"You will tell, therefore, those who preside over the Church, to direct their ways in righteousness,
that they may receive in full the promises with great glory. Stand steadfast, therefore, ye who
work righteousness, and doubt not, that your passage may be with the holy angels. Happy ye who
endure the great tribulation that is coming on, and happy they who shall not deny their own life.
For the Lord hath sworn by His Son, that those who denied their Lord have abandoned their life
in despair, for even now these are to deny Him in the days that are coming." [Third Vision]
"Twenty days after the former vision I saw another vision, brethren a representation of the
tribulation that is to come. I was going to a country house along the Campanian road. Now the
house lay about ten furlongs from the public road. The district is one rarely traversed. And as I
walked alone, I prayed the Lord to complete the revelations which He had made to me through
His holy Church, that He might strengthen me, and give repentance to all His servants who were
going astray, that His great and glorious name might be glorified because He vouchsafed to show
me His marvels. And while I was glorifying Him and giving Him thanks, a voice, as it were,
answered me, Doubt not, Hermas; and I began to think with myself, and to say, What reason have
I to doubt I who have been established by the Lord, and who have seen such glorious sights? I
advanced a little, brethren, and, lo! I see dust rising even to the heavens. I began to say to myself,
Are cattle approaching and raising the dust? It was about a furlong's distance from me. And, lo! I
see the dust rising more and more, so that I imagined that it was something sent from God. But
the sun now shone out a little, and, lo! I see a mighty beast like a whale, and out of its mouth fiery
locusts proceeded. But the size of that beast was about a hundred feet, and it had a head like an
urn. I began to weep, and to call on the Lord to rescue me from it. Then I remembered the word
which I had heard, Doubt not, O Hermas. Clothed, therefore, my brethren, with faith in the Lord,
and remembering the great things which He had taught me, I boldly faced the beast. Now that
beast came on with such noise and force, that it could itself have destroyed a city. I came near it,
and the monstrous beast stretched itself out on the ground, and showed nothing but its tongue,
and did not stir at all until I had passed by it. Now the beast had four colors on its head-black,
then fiery and bloody, then golden, and lastly white. Now after I had passed by the wild beast, and
had moved forward about thirty feet, lo! a virgin meets me, adorned as if she were proceeding
from the bridal chamber, clothed entirely in white, and with white sandals, and veiled up to her
forehead, and her head was covered by a hood. And she had white hair. I knew from my former
visions that this was the Church, and I became more joyful. She saluted me, and said, Hail, O
man! And I returned her salutation, and said, Lady, hail! And she answered. and said to me, Has
nothing crossed your path? I say, I was met by a beast of such a size that it could destroy peoples,
but through the power of the Lord and His great mercy I escaped from it. Well did you escape
from it, says she, because you cast your care on God, and opened your heart to the Lord,
believing that you can be saved by no other than by His great and glorious name. On this account
the Lord has sent His angel, who has rule over the beasts, and whose name is Thegri, and has shut
up its mouth, so that it cannot tear you. You have escaped from great tribulation on account of
your faith, and because you did not doubt in the presence of such a beast. Go, therefore, and tell
the elect of the Lord His mighty deeds, and say to them that this beast is a type of the great
tribulation that is coming. If then ye prepare yourselves, and repent with all your heart, and turn
to the Lord, it will be possible for you to escape it, if your heart be pure and spotless, and ye
spend the rest of the days of your life in serving the Lord blamelessly. Cast your cares upon the
Lord, and He will direct them. Trust the Lord, ye who doubt, for He is all-powerful, and can turn
His anger away from you, and send scourges on the doubters. Woe to those who hear these
words, and despise them: better were it for them not to have been born. I asked her about the four
colors which the beast had on his head. And she answered, and said to me, Again you are
inquisitive in regard to such matters. Yea, Lady, said I, make known to me what they are. Listen,
said she: the black is the world in which we dwell: but the fiery and bloody points out that the
world must perish through blood and fire: but the golden part are you who have escaped from this
world. For as gold is tested by fire, and thus becomes useful, so are you tested who dwell in it.
Those, therefore, who continue steadfast, and are put through the fire, will be purified by means
of it. For as gold casts away its dross, so also will ye cast away all sadness and straitness, and will
be made pure so as to fit into the building of the tower. But the white part is the age that is to
come, in which the elect of God will dwell, since those elected by God to eternal life will be
spotless and pure. Wherefore cease not speaking these things into the ears of the saints. This then
is the type of the great tribulation that is to come. If ye wish it, it will be nothing. Remember those
things which were written down before. And saying this, she departed. But I saw not into what
place she retired. There was a noise, however, and I turned round in alarm, thinking that that
beast was coming. [The Shepherd of Hermas, Fourth Vision]
Tertullian: (AD. 145-220)
"In the Revelation of John, again, the order of these times is spread out to view, which "the souls
of the martyrs" are taught to wait for beneath the altar, whilst they earnestly pray to be avenged
and judged: (taught, I say, to wait), in order that the world may first drink to the dregs the
plagues that await it out of the vials of the angels, and that the city of fornication may receive
from the ten kings its deserved doom, and that the beast Antichrist, with his false prophet may
wage war on the Church of God; and that, after the casting of the devil into the bottomless pit for
a while, the blessed prerogative of the first resurrection may be obtained from the thrones; and
then again, after the consignment of him to the fire, that the judgment of the final and universal
resurrection may be determined out of the books. Since, then, the Scriptures both indicate the
stages of the last times, and concentrate the harvest of the Christian hope in the very end of the
world." [On the Resurrection of the Flesh, XXV]
"Now the privilege of this favor [the resurrection] awaits those who shall at the coming of the
Lord be found in the flesh, and who shall, owing to the oppressions of the time of Antichrist,
deserve by an instantaneous death, which is accomplished by a sudden change, to become
qualified to join the rising saints; as he writes to the Thessalonians: "For this we say unto you by
the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not
prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then
we too shall ourselves be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord." [On the Resurrection of the Flesh, XLI]
Hippolytus: (AD. 170-236)
"It is proper that we take the Holy Scriptures themselves in hand, and find out from them what,
and of what manner, the coming of Antichrist is; on what occasion and at what time that impious
one shall be revealed; and whence and from what tribe (he shall come); and what his name is,
which is indicated by the number in Scripture; and how he shall work error among the people,
gathering them from the ends of the earth; and (how) he shall stir up tribulation and persecution
against the saints; and how he shall glorify himself as God; and what his end shall be; and how the
sudden appearing of the Lord shall be revealed from heaven; and what the conflagration of the
whole world shall be; and what the glorious and heavenly kingdom of the saints is to be, when
they reign together with Christ; and what the punishment of the wicked by fire." [Treatise on
Christ and Antichrist, 5]
"With respect to his name, it is not in our power to explain it exactly, as the blessed John
understood it and was instructed about it, but only to give a conjectural account of it; for when he
appears, the blessed one will show us what we seek to know. ... Wherefore we ought neither to
give it out as if this were certainly his name, nor again ignore the fact that he may not otherwise
be designated. But having the mystery of God in our heart, we ought in fear to keep faithfully
what has been told us by blessed prophets, in order that when those things come to pass, we may
be prepared for them, and not be deceived. For when the times advance, he too, of whom these
things are said, will be manifest." [Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, 50]
"Now concerning the tribulation of the persecution which is to fall upon the Church from the
adversary, John also speaks thus, "And I saw a great and wondrous sign in heaven; a woman
clothed with the sun, ... And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might
fly into the wilderness, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face
of the serpent." That refers to the one thousand two hundred and threescore days (the half of the
week) during which the tyrant is to reign and persecute the Church.... These things then, being
come to pass, beloved, and the one week being divided into two parts, and the abomination of
desolation being manifested then, and the two prophets and forerunners of the Lord having
finished their course, and the whole world finally approaching the consummation, what remains
but the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ from heaven, for whom we have looked in
hope." [Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, 60, 61, 64]
Cyprian: (AD. 200-258)
"[T]he Lord hath foretold that these things would come. With the exhortation of His forseeing
word, instructing, and teaching, and preparing, and strengthening the people of His Church for all
endurance of things to come. He predicted and said that wars, and famines, and earthquakes, and
pestilences would arise in each place; and lest an unexpected and new dread of mischiefs should
shake us, He previously warned us that the adversary would increase more and more in the last
times." [Treatise VII, 2]
"For you ought to know and to believe, and hold it for certain, that the day of affliction has begun
to hang over our heads, and the end of the world and the time of Antichrist to draw near, so that
we must all stand prepared for the battle; nor consider anything but the glory of life eternal, and
the crown of the confession of the Lord; and not regard those things which are coming as being
such as were those which have passed away. A severer and a fiercer fight is now threatening, for
which the soldiers of Christ ought to prepare themselves with uncorrupted faith and robust
courage, considering that they drink the cup of Christ's blood daily, for the reason that they
themselves also may be able to shed their blood for Christ. For this is to wish to be found with
Christ, to imitate that which Christ both taught and did, according to the Apostle John, who said,
"He that saith he abideth in Christ, ought himself also so to walk even as He walked." Moreover,
the blessed Apostle Paul exhorts and teaches, saying, "We are God's children; but if children, then
heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may also be
glorified together." ... For there comes the time, beloved brethren, which our Lord long ago
foretold and taught us was approaching, saying, "The time cometh, that whosoever killeth you
will think that he doeth God service. And these things they will do unto you, because they have
not known the Father nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye
may remember that I told you of them." Nor let any one wonder that we are harassed with
increasing afflictions, when the Lord before predicted that these things would happen in the last
times, and has instructed us for the warfare by the teaching and exhortation of His words. Peter
also, His apostle, has taught that persecutions occur for the sake of our being proved, and that we
also should, by the example of righteous men who have gone before us, be joined to the love of
God by death and sufferings. For he wrote in his epistle, and said, "Beloved, think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, nor do ye fall away, as if some new thing happened
unto you; but as often as ye partake in Christ's sufferings, rejoice in all things, that when His glory
shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." [Epistles of Cyprian, LV, 1,2]
"Nor let any one of you, beloved brethren, be so terrified by the fear of future persecution, or the
coming of the threatening Antichrist, as not to be found armed for all things by the evangelical
exhortations and precepts, and by the heavenly warnings. Antichrist is coming, but above him
comes Christ also. The enemy goeth about and rageth, but immediately the Lord follows to
avenge our sufferings and our wounds. The adversary is enraged and threatens, but there is One
who can deliver us from his hands. He is to be feared whose anger no one can escape, as He
Himself forewarns, and says: "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul;
but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell." And again: "He that
loveth his life, shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal."
And in the Apocalypse He instructs and forewarns, saying, "If any man worship the beast and his
image, and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same also shall drink of the wine of
the wrath of God, mixed in the cup of His indignation, and he shall be tormented with fire and
brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of
their torments shall ascend up for ever and ever; and they shall have no rest day nor night, who
worship the beast and his image."
"For the secular contest men are trained and prepared, and reckon it a great glory of their honor if
it should happen to them to be crowned in the sight of the people, and in the presence of the
emperor. Behold a lofty and great contest, glorious also with the reward of a heavenly crown,
inasmuch as God looks upon us as we struggle, and, extending His view over those whom He has
condescended to make His sons, He enjoys the spectacle of our contest. God looks upon us in the
warfare, and fighting in the encounter of faith; His angels look on us, and Christ looks on us. How
great is the dignity, and how great the happiness of the glory, to engage in the presence of God,
and to be crowned, with Christ for a judge! Let us be armed, beloved brethren, with our whole
strength, and let us be prepared for the struggle with an uncorrupted mind, with a sound faith,
with a devoted courage. Let the camp of God go forth to the battle-field which is appointed to us.
Let the sound ones be armed, lest he that is sound should lose the advantage of having lately
stood; let the lapsed also be armed, that even the lapsed may regain what he has lost: let honor
provoke the whole; let sorrow provoke the lapsed to the battle. The Apostle Paul teaches us to be
armed and prepared, saying, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers, and the
princes of this world and of this darkness, against spirits of wickedness in high places. Wherefore
put on the whole armor, that ye may be able to withstand in the most evil day, that when ye have
done all ye may stand; having your loins girt about with truth, and having put on the breastplate of
righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; taking the shield of
faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one; and the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." [Epistles of Cyprian, LV, 7,8]
Victorinus: (AD. ?-304)
"He speaks of Elias the prophet, who is the precursor of the times of Antichrist, for the
restoration and establishment of the churches from the great and intolerable persecution."
[Commentary on the Apocalypse, 7:2]
"The woman clothed with the sun, and having the moon under her feet, and wearing the crown of
twelve stars upon her head, and travailing in her pains, is the ancient Church of fathers, and
prophets, and saints, and apostles,..." [Commentary on the Apocalypse, 12:1]
"He shall cause also that a golden image of Antichrist shall be placed in the temple at Jerusalem,
and that the apostate angel should enter, and thence utter voices and oracles. ... [T]he Lord,
admonishing His churches concerning the last times and their dangers, says: "But when ye shall
see the contempt which is spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, let him who
readeth understand." [Commentary on the Apocalypse, 13:13]
"[T]he thousand years should be completed, that is, what is left of the sixth day, to wit, of the
sixth age, which subsists of a thousand years; after this he must be loosed for a little season. The
little season signifies three years and six months, in which with all his power the devil will avenge
himself under Antichrist against the Church." [Commentary on the Apocalypse, 20:1-3]
Constitutions of the Holy Apostles: (2nd or 3rd Century) [Anonymous]
"Be watchful for your life. "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning, and ye like
unto men who wait for their Lord, and when He will come, at even, or in the morning, or at
cock-crowing, or at midnight. For at what hour they think not, the Lord will come; and if they
open to Him, blessed are those servants, because they were found watching. For He will gird
Himself, and will make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them." Watch
therefore, and pray, that ye do not sleep unto death. For your former good deeds will not profit
you, if at the last part of your life you go astray from the true faith. For in the last days false
prophets shall be multiplied, and such as corrupt the Word; and the sheep shall be changed into
wolves, and love into hatred: for through the abounding of iniquity the love of many shall wax
cold. For men shall hate, and persecute, and betray one another. And then shall appear the
deceiver of the world, the enemy of the truth, the prince of lies, whom the Lord Jesus "shall
destroy with the Spirit of His mouth, who takes away the wicked with His lips; and many shall be
offended at Him. But they that endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And then shall appear
the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and afterwards shall be the voice of a trumpet by the
archangel; and in that interval shall be the revival of those that were asleep. And then shall the
Lord come, and all the saints with Him, with a great concussion above the clouds, with the angels
of His power, in the throne of His kingdom, to condemn the devil, the deceiver of the world, and
to render to every one according to his deeds. "Then shall the wicked go away into everlasting
punishment, but the righteous shall go into life eternal," to inherit those things "which eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, such things as God hath prepared for
them that love Him." [Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, Book VII, XXXI, XXXII]
