I am glad we went to the meeting this morning. It was about how Jehovah's Witnesses have always taught the paradise earth for most of obedient mankind. It mentioned how early Christian leaders such as Origen and Augustine introduced Neo-platonic thought into early Christianity and allowed ideas about an immortal soul to crowd out what the Bible says about the earth. It even mentioned John Milton and Isaac Newton as early supporters of the Witnesses' idea about God's plan for restoring the earth to a paradise. It then went on to describe how Russell and other early Bible Students realised that the time had come to start preaching this message about God's purpose for the earth. I even answered up a couple of times. Did anyone else go this morning and find it interesting?
Good Watchtower Study today
by slimboyfat 39 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Mickey mouse
I didn't go but it was my understanding that until the 1930's the Bible Students taught that the only resurrections were heavenly ones, the "great crowd" would survice Armageddon but no one from the 1st century onwards would be resurrected to earth?
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nelly136
milton must have been a very early supporter, he was dead a couple of centuries before the jws became a twinkle in anyones eye.
and issac newton was long dead before its conception too.
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stillajwexelder
I went. Commented twice. Read one scripture in italics. Yes , on balance, a balanced study.
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quietlyleaving
I didn't go to the meeting today and haven't studied the Watchtower. But I think I'll go have a look
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Simon Morley
Just getting ready for my meeting. Just finished studying the article and yes, a very balanced study as some commented. Dunn, Storrs and others had a view long before Russell (Russel wrote for Storrs till 1879). Also, same for Heath who wriote "Future Human Kingdom of Christ" (1852). I would like to see more studies like these than stupid rule-making articles that are unsupported scriptually. It is as if some studies are written by some who are 108deg from other article writers. Do any others get that feeling when reading the study articles?
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hamilcarr
These are the WT studies that make the genuinely intelligent JW feel proud about his unique religion.
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jonathan dough
Balanced? The earth shall be destroyed and reconstituted at a later time. One of the biggest deceptions is this idea that humans will somehow restore it.
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jonathan dough
Granted, the Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe the earth will be destroyed and base this teaching in large part on Psalm 37:29 where the psalmist wrote that "The just will possess the land (earth) and live in it forever." However, the earth "wears out like a garment (Isa. 51:6), so the word "forever" is hyperbole, and nothing here indicates that there won't be a hiatus, or break, in the earth's habitation. Psalm 37:29 does not say man will inherit the earth continuously without interruptionn, and Revelation 21:10 suggests that reconstituted, glorified man, without the warts, will come back down out of heaven sometime in the future.
Actually, the earth has experienced significant disruptions evidenced by the meteoric annihilation of the dinosaurs and great flood of Noah's time. Remember, we are dealing with geologic time, and cycling through another ice age that would wipe off the post-apocalyptic mess left in the wake of Armageddon is entirely within reason. It is more reasonable than handing the Great Crowd brooms and haz-mat suits and telling them to turn the earth back into a paradise. Not my idea of a good time.
More to the point is Peter's comparison of the earth's pending fiery destruction to the great flood which is a real, not metaphorical, example of earth's fate (2 Pet. 3:5-13). Jesus likewise made it known that ultimate destruction will be modeled after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. That man's governments are changed in the process goes without saying. Remember, "...he was seated on the throne and said, "Behold, I am making all things new. (Rev. 21:5). -
AnnOMaly
I liked the way the article gave credit to other people who, in past centuries, had similar ideas to JWs about the earth's future.
I didn't like the way they slated the Platonic ideas about the soul and the spiritualization of the kingdom and Millennium by Augustine and Origen as 'apostate,' as examples of the prophesied 'false teachers,' twisted and Satanic, etc. Neither did I like the way the whole agenda was to suggest Russell and the later JWs were solely responsible for the truth of the earthly hope gaining ground in the 20th century when it has been a common view in evangelical circles.