by truthseeker 154 Replies latest jw friends
I too understood that some of the 144,000 would still be alive at Armageddon. Supported by 1 Cor 15 v 50-52.
''We shall not all fall asleep in death, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye......''
Another Scripture (which I cannot recall) suggests that the Great Tribulation will be cut short when God's enemies touch 'the Apple of His Eye' (When the remaining 144,000 are 'attacked', God will bring the 'End').
That's why they are trying to desperately keep up the numbers of the "anointed", for all we know they may well be a lot less than 8000 and if the end is coming soon then there should be some still around, preferably thousands rather than hundreds, as hundreds doesn't really sound good.
It's an awkward issue for them.
GREENDAWN - Absolutely agree. By MY maths, the number of Anointed left should be a fraction of what is claimed. Think about it. 144,000 over 2000 years - even with population increase. Is there a Mathematician in the House? Lol
Within inner Watchtower circles, the 8,000 number is not taken seriously. For many years, the Governing Body and its Bethel minions, "anointed" or not, have privately viewed most of the claimed 8,000 "anointed" as nutjobs. Only a few hundred "anointed", mostly living in the New York area, are viewed as legitimate. These facts, of course, can only be relayed to the most "loyal" (read "morally compromised") of JWs, such as some elders who are trusted by the Brooklyn masters not to spill the beans. Stating the unvarnished opinions of the Jaracz-camp to the JW rank-&file would be organizational suicide -- as if these morons really need any help.
AlanF
Ahh! 'Shocking Announcements', 'Special Announcements', after all these years why do they just bring a glazed look and silly smile to my face.
Armageddon in JW land, is just like looking for Saddams Weapons of Mass Destruction. They never existed and they never will.
Somebody, or somebodies are just after a little action, or in the case of the WTBTS, influence, power and money, from another bunch of losers, their blind followers, the Jehovah's Witnesses.
I have no intention of pooing my pants with excitement or fear at the latest rumours that circulate JW land, and I have a feeling, that those who have been JWs for a Looooooonnng, loooooooong time, will also be yawning with boredom at any possible 'special' announcements. Been to one 'special announcement' been to them all!
With all due respect to my US friends, and my European ones, why should an armageddon or any other prophecy of an abrahamic god have anything to do with them?
If things were to end where they started, surely the Middle East would be the place (Tigres/Euphrates and all that)? If in population concentrations, why not China or India? The stalwarts of the OT, and Jesus and his followers (however you interpret them) were not really english-speaking WASPs, you know!
The answer to your question Joe is the power of the super-crypto-decoder-Christian ring.
With this powerful device they can tell what (in the Bible) is meant to be taken literally and how literal.
When it says lambs laying down with lions, some people's super-crypto-decoder-Christian ring translates this as 'metaphor'. Others get the result 'literal', and have to believe that lions will go veggy in the Paradise (like Dubbies do).
When it says 'Armagedon' and talks about 'all the nations', some get the result 'literal', as in ALL the nations at Harmagedon in Israel. Others get the result 'contextually literal' as in all nations THEN KNOWN at the literal place. Others get 'metaphorical' and see it as an ultimate battle involving all nations globaly, spoken of in metaphorical terms.
To 'understand', simply order the super-crypto-decoder-Christian ring from the church of you choice...
Abaddon:
Thanks for this.
Can I get a 'Super-Crypto-Decoder-Christian-Ring' bulb from my local supemarket, or do i need to check that I have a 'New Light' fiting installed?
I don't know really, I mean for the end to come I was always of the impression the great tribulation would have to occur first. I don't know what is so hard about the current time, I mean other than the fact it's hard to live with such a minimal wage from untrained workers. But really, for those witnesses who are trained this isn't exactly a hard, pressing time. I would suppose the scripture would be true about the "A loaf of bread for a denarius, a quart of barley for a denarius" because if you go to some specialty shops it is pretty expensive. But still not a days wage, well unless you're in another country or something.
I suppose if you work hard enough you could make this a trying time, but it's not very hard to be a witness in this country. Though you could make a point possibly to attribute this to America being either Laodicea or Philidelphia right? I think the great tribulation would have to be identified first before the end would come. Just my thoughts though.
MAGAZINE DAY
Poztate, that's one thing many JWs have said, no d2d in the new system...only people will be the faithful and when people are resurrected, no need to search them out. So no more Magazine days and no more memorials since all the anointed will be in heaven (though the WTS has quibbled about that...what are they going to do rule on earth?) Perhaps they will celebrate Armageddon Day.....October 1 perhaps, or call it The Day of the Dead?
Blondie
