Hi
The following story was emailed to me this morning, It typifies the mentallty of the typical gung ho JW i.e you are going to die were not.
It make me very sick.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Could This Be It?
As I parked my truck and started to get out, I saw my sweet lady burst out the front door and come running to greet me. "Did you hear the news?" Tammy said. It had been a long, hard day at work and I hadn’t heard any news. "What news?" I asked. She grabbed me by my shoulders as if to shake me. "An atomic bomb!" she shouted, "Some Christian military group set off an atom bomb in Baghdad and leveled the whole city. They took over the Vatican and said they have hidden bombs in major cities all over the world. It’s on the news, nonstop. Come in and see."
As we walked in the door the phone was ringing. My old friend, Norm, was on the other end and when I said hello, he just said, "This is it!" "I haven’t heard the details yet," I replied, "But it does sound as if this is really it. Do you think it is for sure?" "Oh yeah, this is it," he answered, "It just has to be. They said they took over the Vatican by force, but they are calling for the solidarity of Christians all over the world. So far, the Pope has made no comment." "Oh wow," I said, "I think you’re right, Norm. This is it. I’ve got to go listen to the news. I’ll call you back." "OK," he answered, "but you’ll see, this is it!"
As I watched the news, the excitement continued to grow. This Christian military group (now that’s an oxymoron) was calling for world peace and security. They said they would detonate a bomb in any country that tried to make war and this would ensure world peace. They had several demands, including one that called for all Christian churches to be tax exempt again. In fact, they eventually asked for financial support from government money to all churches that joined their coalition. Later, they added to their list of wants an official membership in the UN for the Vatican as a voting world power. They invited the heads of all the churches in Christendom to come to the Vatican to discuss the situation. We later found out they offered to all who came opportunities for power and, of course, wealth.
In the weeks that followed, the world was near total chaos. The world, more or less, split up into three factions: Christendom, non-Christian religions, and the political/military supporters. There was a huge protest, breathing threats and riots from the non-Christian factions. They were screaming for revenge, threatening a reign of terror. The words of "peace and security" were never on their lips. On the other hand, the UN was outraged at the insult that they could not bring about world peace and loudly charged that it was only because of religion that they had not. They began a campaign to gain support, showing how religion was behind war after war throughout history. They asserted that they had a plan for world peace and security of their own. They said they would have no trouble initiating it without religion in their way. They put forth considerable effort to gain support and whipped up a furious attitude towards religion, blaming them for all the world’s trouble and painted a rosy picture of peace and security without religion.
In the Bethel homes around the world there was a cry that had never before been heard. "Stop the press!" That’s what they told us. They stopped the printing of their current issue of the Watchtower and published a special issue denouncing the actions of the coalition and announcing it’s destruction.
Of course, this made service a whole different experience. The "favorable season" was absolutely over. We were verbally attacked at almost every door. The UN supporters attacked us because we were Christians and those in Christendom attacked us because we were denouncing them, supposing that we were backing the UN. Even though, now and then we would find a sheep-like one who would embrace the truth with great enthusiasm (and they did embrace it like that or not at all), our public ministry was quite difficult. For those who had not been witnessing regularly it was exceedingly difficult. Indeed, many could not endure it and wished they had been more diligent when the season was "favorable".
The stock market crashed. Riots broke out. Marshal law was declared in many countries. Times were tough. All of Jehovah’s people drew close together as never before. Interestingly, many organizations of the earth also drew close together as never before, including the member nations of the UN. They, with their pride bruised, their wealth disappearing before them, and most significantly, their power seriously challenged, passed an edict, that all religions of the world would be liquidated. This was proposed and propelled by the nations that were formally of the communist bloc, as they were most incensed at the Christian coalition. However, the proposal was augmented by the western nations who included a plan for a world economy that stabilized their wealth. They also saw this as an opportunity to get rid of the fanatical mid-eastern religions that controlled so much of the world’s oil.
The Pope tried to come off as a mediator at first, but eventually joined the coalition and saw this as an opportunity to regain power in the world as head of a "Universal Coalition Christian Religion". Any religions who had not joined, did so after the UN passed the edict that meant their destruction. It truly became a "great tribulation" from that moment on. It started with demonstrations and these broke into riots. The clergy called for all Christians to stand up and fight for God. At first the authorities tried to just close the churches but the resistance was so violent that they began completely destroying them. Often the fierce rioters were shot and/or arrested. Nobody could back down without losing face. In fact, backing down meant losing everything for them. So, it continued to escalate into a great slaughter.
Some of our Kingdom Halls were officially closed. Of course they met with no resistance. Wherever that happened, the meetings just continued in private homes. However, our bold denunciation of the coalition did not go unnoticed by the governments Therefore, for the most part, we were not their target even though their laws included us. All during this difficult time we experienced Jehovah’s protection again and again but not in a miraculous way, not yet.
In those days we were getting quite weary. The stress was intense. Anxiety was constant. But still, we were happy. We knew that what Jehovah had prophesied was taking place. We had been keeping up with our preaching work, but we tried hard to keep a low profile. During this time it took great courage for one to become an unbaptized publisher, or even for an inactive one to become active again. Those that did respond to the preaching were far and few between and usually were ones who had some background with the truth.
By the time all of Babylon the Great was completely destroyed, the world was in a constant state of upheaval day after day. Riots were common. A world wide depression had set in. Unemployment was at an all time high. On the news some of the world leaders were starting to make comments (in so many words) like, "What did we do?" or "How did all this happen, anyway?." Some countries were in a state of anarchy and the rest were close to it. The political leaders were trying to pull together, using the UN, but at times some really sounded as if they missed the old "harlot" to control the people. Of course they also missed the affluent easy life style that had existed before all this started.
We were feeling very conspicuous. We were the only religion left in the world and strange as it seems, we were just ignored. The media never did like to mention us, and now during this time it worked out well for us. But, one day that came to an end too. All of a sudden, it was like the lights went out and here we were, the only ones wearing glow-in-the-dark outfits. We were being mentioned on the news every day, and so was the name of Jehovah, but very soon the tone began growing more and more negative.
Then it started. Brothers and sisters were being arrested, Kingdom Halls were ransacked, and many were really starting to show their hatred for Jehovah’s people. Some who had been members of the clergy or supporters of Babylon the Great especially resented our existence and began clamoring for our demise. It was a scary time and, sad to say, a few faint hearted brothers left and we never saw them again. Then, although things were bad for us, it stopped regressing from bad to worse. There was a news item that overshadowed us for a time.
A strange red cloud from out in space had entered our galaxy and was heading straight for earth at a high rate of speed. It was full of particles and scientists were predicting all kinds of things that would happen when it got here. The panic of the world became intense. Many were building underground shelters and were shooting any who came near. Some were committing suicide. And, some were just using the chaos as a chance to loot or attack those of another race that they hated.
Then, just when we felt like going into our interior rooms and covering our heads, we got a letter from the governing body that shocked us almost to the point of disbelief. They said that there still might be a few sheep-like ones here and there left in the world. With another Kingdom News tract, they asked us to launch one final week of bold witnessing as never before. We were to try to reach every last person in our territory. We were to give one to every person we saw.
One thing was stressed with extreme emphasis. Whether we could make it all week or not, we were especially asked to begin on the first day. Every last one of us were to begin early in the morning on the same day throughout the whole earth. We fervently begged Jehovah to give us the courage to do this, and he did. Three days before our special tract day the peculiar red cloud reached and surrounded our atmosphere. The sun looked dark and very strange. You couldn’t see any stars at night at all and the moon looked like blood. We recalled the scripture to mind that told us to lift our heads up and stand erect because our deliverance was getting near.
That first morning came and there we were at our special meeting for service. We were all tense and excited because we knew it was going to be an eventful day. However, we had no idea that what was going to happen to us that day would be something we would remember for as long as we live, be it forever! It happened to everyone that engaged in the preaching work that day, including those in hospitals, prisons, or wherever, as long as they tried to preach.
We started at 5 o’clock in the morning, leaving tracts at every door. By 9 o’clock we were ringing door bells and handing them to the hostile people if they answered quickly. At noon we hit the shopping centers and it seemed by then the whole world knew what we were up to. The brothers had given the tract to the news media and they jumped on the story.
The public places were active. They were noisy with people. Some were engaging in political rallies, some were protesting, others were trying to sell things to all the people who were trying to stock up on provisions. And we started handing out tracts to all of them. That was when it happened to the group I was with. I handed the tract to one man and he snarled, "I’ve had enough of you people and I’m sick of hearing the name Jehovah". With that, he pulled back his fist and proceeded to punch me in the face with all his might. I blinked, but with astonishment I heard the bones in his hand break and saw him recoil in severe pain. He may as well have hit a brick wall. Others gathered around quickly as they thought we, who were standing there with our hands full of tracts, had assaulted this man who was screaming obscenities at us while he was doubled up with great suffering.
The crowd rushed us with one accord but they, too fell to the ground as they hit us. It was as if they had hit concrete piling. Their anger grew hot. One man grabbed a bat out of his car and approached one brother, Jeff, who was standing next to me and swung it as if to knock his head off. But the bat broke in his hands and Jeff, as well as the rest of us, just stood there in awe. The crowd went crazy, they started throwing things, but they bounced off. Finally one man pulled a gun and shot a sister, Cindy, point blank in the chest. That too, had no effect whatsoever. We looked at each other in amazement. We couldn’t help smiling. I said to the crowd, "Listen, all of you. Jehovah does not want his creation hurting one another. He wants us to have love for our neighbors". The name of Jehovah seemed to just make them more upset. Then one of them hit somebody that was not one of us. Of course, he hit back and soon it was a free-for-all brawl, and we calmly walked away.
From that day on, till the end of Armageddon everyone who had engaged in the preaching activity on that day experienced that phenomenon, they could not be touched violently. We thought about the three young Hebrew men that were thrown into the fiery furnace. Many have stories to tell about being hit with an ax, stabbed with a knife, ran over with trucks, and other things. Handcuffs would not go on our wrists. I heard one brother was even forced on a railroad track and a whole train was derailed. News cameras captured some of these stories and it was shown to everyone. Then they knew … then they knew it was Jehovah behind it all.
The rest of the week we went into the most dangerous places, where the worst criminals hung out, or on military bases, or wherever we wanted to go, wherever we thought someone might be that had been not been reached. Nobody could stop us. It was astounding, we would speak of Jehovah in a soft calm voice and usually the people would go crazy, trying to kill us. However, there were even a few cases where Jehovah extended his mercy on someone new during that week who showed faith. Then the preaching work was over.
The particles from the red cloud started to fall to earth here and there like burning meteorites, slowly at first. Whenever one would hit water it would contaminate it, turning it a brownish red. If anyone drank it, they would get a horrible affliction whereupon their flesh would start decomposing and drop off. When the word got out that the water supply was becoming insufficient, everyone started hoarding it and fighting for it. When it was learned that some group had water (perhaps a certain ethnic group) they were attacked and a blood bath ensued. As water became more scarce throughout the world, people began to slaughter one another in great numbers in every land and in every neighborhood. Indeed, at that time a man would be killed for a glass of water.
We didn’t need any water. Somehow, our bodies functioned as if we were drinking plenty of water, in fact, it seemed, better than ever. We gathered together in small groups to support each other and praise Jehovah and look after each one’s needs. Truly on that day we did take our position, stand still and see the salvation of Jehovah in our behalf.
The relatively few that remained after they finished destroying each other were hit with the burning missiles raining down from the sky until there was not one left. Oh yes, the water? It turned out that after those red particles had time to disseminate, they filled the earth with nutrients that made food grow as never before.
As soon as it was all over, my old friend, Norm said to me, "Do you think Satan has been thrown into the abyss yet?" I thought for a moment. "I don’t know", I replied, "But if I had to pick the perfect time, I would say, this is it!"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cheers
Jem