Noah, a preacher of righteousness?

by easyreader1970 9 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  easyreader1970

  If you are familiar with the WBTS literature, you are familiar with their version of the story of Noah. It's mostly the same as other Christian versions except for one detail.

  In only one scripture in the Bible (2 Peter 2:5), Noah is called a preacher of righteousness. This is the only scripture in the entire 66 books that mentions him in this way. Furthermore, there is no evidence that he actually went "door to door" as the Witnesses suggest and portray him as doing. They say that he "preached to his neighbors". Where is this information coming from? I suspect that most people never actually look in the Bible to see this.

  Also, in Genesis 6:3, the NWT says:

  . 3 After that Jehovah said: "My spirit shall not act toward man indefinitely in that he is also flesh. Accordingly his days shall amount to a hundred and twenty years."

  The WBTS interprets that to mean that this is the time that was left before he flooded the earth (which seems unnecessary if humankind had not spread that far--and if they had, how could Noah preach to them and fairly warn them?). Most Christian religions and plain Bible readers take this scripture to be the indicator of when he stopped the life spans of humans from being in the hundreds and limited them to 120.

  I don't really have a point to this, I guess. I am just curious. From two words written by a man that was thousands of years separated from Noah they make out Noah to be a special missionary pioneer.
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  undercover

  I don't have my research handy on this, but I also learned something interesting about the scripture that the Society translates, "...they took no note..." when speaking of the people of Noah's day who died in the flood. When reading the NWT it gives the impression to JWs (who are taught that Noah preached to the world of that time) that the people decided to ignore the warnings. But if you look at other Bible translations, it says, "...they did not know..." or something similar.

  In these two instances we have examples of how the Society translated the Bible to meet it's own doctrine. Not really all that scholarly of them, is it?
• 

  easyreader1970

  In these two instances we have examples of how the Society translated the Bible to meet it's own doctrine. Not really all that scholarly of them, is it?

  Wow. I just investigated that and you are right. No other Bible translates that scripture that way. They have altered it to fit into their "preach the good news" doctrine completely. Other translations say "they did not know" or "they had no care". "Took no note" suggests that they had some way to be aware of the events, thus linking in the Noah scripture in 2 Peter.

  Amazing.

  er
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  Leolaia

  Good discussion here:

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/145801/1.ashx
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  neverendingjourney

  Another interesting question that arises is: If JWs are right in thinking that Noah preached for 40 years to provide a warning to the pre-Deluvian people, and his preaching work serves as a parallel to the preaching work JWs carry out today, why has God allowed JWs to preach for over 150 years without bringing judgment? In other words, what was the point of having JWs warn people in the late 19th and early 20th century of God's upcoming day of judgment if they were to die before that day came? Noah preached for 40 years, according to JW doctirne, so the vast majority of the people he preached to were to be around when the flood came, especially since the Bible says people lived for hundreds of years back then. The people JWs preached to 100 years ago are all dead now.

  I posted a discussion topic about this a while back.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/147452/1.ashx
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  JCanon

  If JWs are right in thinking that Noah preached for 40 years to provide a warning to the pre-Deluvian people, and his preaching work serves as a parallel to the preaching work JWs carry out today, why has God allowed JWs to preach for over 150 years without bringing judgment?

  Everything is happening as prophesied. You have to consider the chronology involved with the work of JWs:

  1. They were to go from a few people to a worldwide organization just prior to the "end of the system of things", which occurred in 1947. The "end of the system of things" of Matthew was the end of the gentile times, the appointed times of the nations. So they did reach worldwide status by 1947 and then the "end" did arrive.

  2. A second chronology regarding their work would only last for 77 years. That is, the vineyard workers who work for 11 hours. A half hour is 3.5 years so an hour is 7 years. 11 hours is 77 years. So 77 years from 1914 ends in 1991. So that would be the climax of their specific preaching work. The end focus of that work would be the second coming, which occurred in 1992. Prior to the second coming, however, the "man of lawlessness" was to be exposed during the "last hour" or the 12th hour which occurs from 1991-1998 but before the actual second coming. On November 10, 1992 the WTS thus became the official "evil slave" organization and were abandoned. So technically their preaching after 1991 is not recognized as an official "warning" anymore.

  Their general message was pertinent though. That is, that we are living in the last days, particularly since 1914. That is still absolutely true and relevant. But their "official" work ended in 1991 per the Bible, that is, the 11 hours of working in the vineyard.

  JC
• 

  Switch

  very interesting. Thanks Leolaia for the link too. I had just read Matt. in the New Revised Standard Version and took no note (ha, ha!) that it says "...they knew nothing until the flood came.." It's pretty sad that I didn't notice the difference. It made me realize that I'm still strongly indoctrinated and this website is so helpful in uncluttering my mind.
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  Aleman

  But the question should be why did the people not be interested in what Noah preached? Was it because of the gods that exsisted in that time of year. gods such as the angels that came from heaven and got together with women to bear the giant children the bible explains in Gen. 6? Were they to focused on these gods for salvation that they lost their faith on the real Almighty God, Jehovah?

  -Aleman
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  civicsi00

  I'm truly shocked! I checked other translations off of biblegateway.com and then I check the purple interlinear and sure enough, the WT translated it to fit their doctrine!!

  I know it says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness, but it doesn't say he was a preacher of "impending doom"!!
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  winnower

  Why Noah and his immediate family were the only ones immune from this great judgment is significant. Genesis 6:9 says, "Noah was a just man." He stood out as an example of righteousness and godliness in a perverse age. Like Enoch before him, Noah also "walked with God." But there was another reason why Noah was spared, one that seems to have escaped most commentators. Genesis 6:9 says that Noah was "perfect in his generation." Does this mean moral and spiritual perfection? Hardly. Genesis 9:20-23 disproves any such perfection. What, then, does the Bible mean by calling him "perfect"? The Hebrew word is "tamiym" and comes from the root word "taman." This means "without blemish" as in Exodus 12:5, 29:1, Leviticus 1:3. Just as the sacrificial lamb had to be without any physical blemish, so Noah's perfection. In its primary meaning, it refers not to any moral or spiritual quality, but to physical purity. Noah's genetic line was uncontaminated by the Nephilim. He alone had preserved their pedigree and kept it pure, in spite of prevailing corruption brought about by the fallen angels. (15) And again: Noah's bloodline had remained free of genetic contamination. This implies, of course, that all the other families on Earth had been contaminated by the Nephilim. It also proves that the assault of Satan on the human race had been far more extensive than realized. It is no wonder that God pronounced such a universal fiat of judgment. As for the fallen angels who participated in the abomination, God put them in custody "in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day" (Jude 6). This is sometimes interpreted as Tartarus or the "nether realms" (2 Peter 2:4). This would also explain why some fallen angels are in custody and why others are free to roam the heavens and torment mankind.