CantLeave: Your brand of cults is as dispicable as the witnesses - why don't you just give it a rest with your shitty little religion?
Just what is my “brand of cults”? And how are they as despicable as the Witnesses? I’ve noticed that you and your little atheist friends seem to be easily provoked when anyone stands up to you or defends what you think are mind numbing, controlling cults like Judaism, Christianity and, more recently, Mormonism.
So what do you do? You spit out your insults and resort to name calling! Chances are you’ve been burned by the Society and have now turned against all religion, and you think that by spewing vociferous contempt at it will make people see religion for what it is, all delusional tripe.
No one’s forcing to you or anyone else to read my posts and you can just ignore them if you wish. It would really be a shame if you actually learned something instead of just posting pot shots without form or substance.
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Now, getting back to Armageddon, I wonder how many Jehovah's Witnesses realize that their understanding of this last great battle is entirely different than the understanding of the vast majority of Christian religions. There’s a reason many of the ancient prophets, apostles and Jesus himself were so preoccupied with the Middle East in the last days, and those who decide to put aside their Watchtowers and study what the scriptures say about what Armageddon is and how it’s supposed to come to a head, will quickly see that there’s a real problem with JW exegeses.
It’s 2013 now, and Judah began gathering back to the lands of its inheritance beginning in the late 1800s and became a nation in 1947, less than a hundred years ago. Unfortunately, the Bible Students didn't anticipate it. Now plans for the building of the third temple are in the works and for the first time in history, Jerusalem, as foretold, is surrounded by its enemies.
The Jehovah's Witness concept of Armageddon is similar to the Norse concept of Ragnarök, only the outcome is different. The fateful day dreaded by all Vikings is a day that would pit all the forces of good against all the forces of evil. But instead of good vanquishing evil, both good and evil would be destroyed. It wasn’t so much the conclusion that’s significant, but the anticipation. It was something that was always in the back of Norse minds—a day if imminent judgment and destruction. Author Edith Hamilton suggested Ragnarök was a reflection of the doom and gloom the Norse lived by. Their very existence rested on the food and goods procured by raids. Unlike the Greek gods, the Norse gods weren’t entirely immortal and could be killed. And instead of controlling the earth universe, their job was to hold it all together for as long as possible. And while Thor and the others held their feasts and made the best of things while they could, it was Odin that stood aloof and contemplated the last day.
While most other Christian denominations see Armageddon similar to how the Jews see their climatic battle (Ezek. 38-39; Zech. 12-14), as a local war culminating in the return of Christ, the Jehovah's Witnesses see it as a great battle between good and evil. And since Yahweh will slay many in his coming, the Society sees itself as the last chance of humanity and, in essence, tells its membership to hurry up and wait!
I just wonder if people us the phrase “just around the corner” any more at Kingdom Hall or whether they’ve learned anything from the past. It also would help if the leadership stopped working the people up into a frenzy, only to have their hopes dashed.
