Posts by Cold Steel

1

Prophecies And Private Interpretations

by Cold Steel in

how are the prophecy interpretations handled by the church today?.

in a recent article, much was made regarding propecies and how they are not of any "private" interpretations.

but then when you read other articles, the jw article-writers privately interpret everything!

Cold Steel

How are the prophecy interpretations handled by the church today?

In a recent article, much was made regarding propecies and how they are not of any "private" interpretations. But then when you read other articles, the JW article-writers privately interpret everything!

Case in point:

Ezekiel 38 and the huge Gentile force that will come upon Jerusalem in the last days
Zechariah 12-14 and the huge Gentile force that will come upon Jerusalem in the last days
Revelation 11 and the "two witnesses" or prophets who repel the Gentile force in the last days

The gist of the prophecies is that the Gentiles will come down upon Jerusalem and the two prophets will repel them for three years. After that, they'll be killed and their "dead bodies" will lie on the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days. Then a voice will come out of the heavens and they will stand upon their feet and ascend into heaven where they will meet the returning Messiah. A great earthquake will rend the Mount of Olives in twain, and the Jews will flee into the middle as their fathers fled through the parted waters in the days of Moses. When they see the Messiah, they will say, "What are these wounds in they hands (and feet), and He will say, "These are the wounds I received in the House of my Friends!" Then the Jews will come to the sudden realization that they killed their Messiah and there will be great lamentation following their deliverance.

None of this, of course, is in JW theology. It all has "spiritual" application, and without the least bit of authority from God!

And what of Daniel 2 and the Kingdom of God? It will be as a stone rolling until it has filled the earth and will be "without hands," meaning it will be of God and not of man. Yet the JW Kingdom was started and is ruled by nothing but men.

Can any JW kindly explain where I might be wrong?

46

Secret signal to find each other at District Convention

by RayPublisher in

last year this was brought up and it was a great idea but maybe a bit too late.

do you remember the "secret signal" that was going to be used?

it should not be mentioned in the main thread, only through email and pms.

Cold Steel

Hey, I've got an idea!

Secret

45

It CAN'T go on much longer

by jean-luc picard in

jw
friends

so thats what my mum told me today.

i've learned to hold my tongue but i was thinking,.

"why can't it?

Cold Steel

According to biblical prophecy, we still have a ways to go before the return of Christ.

Just finished reading THE ISLAMIC ANTICHRIST by Joel Richardson and I really think he's onto something. He believes that the Beast of Revelation and the Gog and Magog of Ezekiel will be radical Islam. Before the Antichrist can rise, however, the United States has to cease to be a super power. I disagree with Richardson regarding Daniel's dream interpretation of the legs of iron being a reestablished caliph. I think it's Rome, the last major power (the legs of iron), but he's right on regarding everything else.

Christ cannot come until the Gentiles (Antichrist) comes down upon Jerusalem as described in Ezekiel 38 and Zechariah 12-14. JWs have never been able to interpret prophecy. With their recent article saying the interpretation of prophecy is of no private interpretation, they turn around and privately interpret nearly every prophecy they can get their hands on.

3

Two Prophets Who Abode the Night

by Cold Steel in

i've been trying to find this in the new testament for some time.

the storyline goes like this: prophet a fulfills his mission and is told to go straightaway home.

but he abides the night with a friend, who also i think is a prophet.

Cold Steel

Thanks, sir. You are a gentleman and a scholar! I Kings 13 it is.

3

Two Prophets Who Abode the Night

by Cold Steel in

i've been trying to find this in the new testament for some time.

the storyline goes like this: prophet a fulfills his mission and is told to go straightaway home.

but he abides the night with a friend, who also i think is a prophet.

Cold Steel

I've been trying to find this in the New Testament for some time. The storyline goes like this: Prophet A fulfills his mission and is told to go straightaway home. But he abides the night with a friend, who also I think is a prophet. Anyway, the anger of the Lord is kindled and he condemns the first prophet. The next morning the first departs and is devoured by wild beasts.

Can anyone help me out?

18

Bible God in the image of old civilization

by diamondiiz in

how many descriptions of god or angels reflect on old civilization?

i mean, the angels using swords?

wouldn't almighty have something better to arm them with?

Cold Steel

Based on the scriptures, I know of nowhere where God is dipicted as having a beard. But even if he did, it makes little difference.

Why is he so bloodthirsty? He wasn't. He did order the destruction of some of the Caananites; but these were wicked, profligate peoples who practiced the most sadistic, disgusting debauchery -- and the Lord knew these peoples would surely influence and lead away the children of Israel. He knew that it was better that these people perish so he could raise his people in righteousness. He also stipulated that all but young virgins would be put to the sword. He knew both the men and women who had participated in ritual sexual practices in honor of fertility gods would be almost impossible to break. (Even Solomon in his older days was led away by heathan gods.) The Lord didn't want sexual rites and human sacrifice, some of which included infants, to become a part of Israel. The Moabites, who seduced Balaam, also had been spared and the Lord told Moses not to harm them; however, when they attacked the Israelites, Israel destroyed them. After they found Balaam in a Moabite community, he confessed to having told the Moabites to destroy the Lord's relationship with Israel by having their women entice Israel's men to these heathan practices. Once they experienced the sexual orgies, the men of Israel were impossible to win back. And many of them were killed, as was Balaam.

Keep in mind too that God created all men and that he has power to bring the wicked en mass back into the spirit world. In other words, the wicked did not cease to exist. The scriptures are clear that all men will be judged according to the law given them.

So what of Cain's sacrifices? The Lord taught Adam and Eve how to sacrifice lambs without blemish to God. These lambs represented Christ, who also was without blemish. Satan led Cain away and told him that it wasn't fair that God should accept Abel's sacrifices and reject his. But fruits and vegetables didn't, and couldn't, represent Christ, neither was it the way the Lord had taught them to worship. In Moses' day, Nadab and Abihu (Aaron's sons) offered common fire to the Lord after they had specifically been to use fire from the brazen altar. Moses tells us that immediately the Lord's fire came from the tabernacle and consumed them. In other words, both of these priests had been carefully schooled in how to offer sacrifices. There's some evidence they may have been drinking, but the Lord was so angry that he commanded Aaron and his family not to go through the ritual mourning practiced at the time. Aaron was a broken man, but the scriptures said he held his peace and accepted God's judgments.

Angels are angels and can't be harmed by swords; however, they are symbolic of the judgment of God. The angel who appeared before Balaam held a sword and he told Balaam that if the donkey had not stopped, or collapsed, by the way, he already would be dead. In the book of Revelation, Jesus/Jehovah was shown with a sword coming out of his mouth. We shouldn't confuse this as literal, but symbolic.

41

If You Were God How Would You Prove You Existed

by Pig in

i ask this because obviously everyone has different criteria, hence why we have muslims who think quran is the more than enough proof, christians who think the bible is perfect proof and atheists who believe that nothing yet has been proof enough of gods existence.. living with humans we all must have a good idea of human nature (god should certainly know) so what would you provide as proof if you were god to convince the masses of your existence?.

if you were a christian would your proof surpass that contained in the bible, would you provide less proof?.

if you are atheist would you provide a mathematical equation or a series of supernatural events that fulfill prophecies every 100 years?.

Cold Steel

First, God could prove he existed very easily. We have been placed on Earth to live by faith. God reveals himself through prophets -- special witnesses -- who have seen him and conversed with him. "For the Lord doeth nothing save he will reveal it unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7) And "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." (Deut. 17:6)

God does leave evidence, but not proof.

If you want more, I suggest maybe crop circles or pictures of shadow people.

10

I need a JW & a Christian please.

by NomadSoul in

alright, bare with me.

i searched the forum for a similar topic but i didn't find any.. if you know of such a thread please let me know.

if not i need a jw and a christian to debate the following topic:.

Cold Steel

Jesus was forordained before the world was. In the grand council he was named the "Anointed One" and when he was born into mortality he learned just like the rest of us, line upon line, precept upon precept. Even though he was perfect, his greatest temptation was to shy away from doing what he had to do, and that was taking upon himself the sins of the world. In the end, he did the will of the Father and carried out what he had been foreordained to do.

Even the Father could not have forgiven Mankind without a blood sacrifice. It was a law of justice that even he could not ignore. Had he been able to remove the "bitter cup," he surely would have done it. This means that there are laws that even God must adhere to. If he did not follow them, he would cease to be God.

Controversial as this is, the Muslims would be right if God could just wipe away the need for such a sacrifice.

20

Anyone ever fake ring the doorbell when going door to door?

by foolsparadise in

when i used to pioneer i would press to the side of the doorbell and act like i pressed it and then say "oh i think the bell must be broken".

Cold Steel

The "pig that dragged me into the cancer"???

Hmmmm.

And what did these fake rings accomplish? Was it just to avoid contact with the homeowner?

23

What a STUPID morning on the ministry!

by TimothyT in

tim here.. ok... so... let me tell you about this morning and the utter stupidity of the brothers!.

just to give you a bit of background info, for those who dont know, i am a gay, 23 year old jw and im seriously heading out of the borg!

i want this now because i dont fit in anymore!

Cold Steel

I don't see how anyone who's ever been in a men's locker room could be gay, but hey, whatever turns you on!

Seriously, the question I have is: if you weren't gay, would you be leaving the JWs? If the answer is NO, then you would have to believe they were the only true church on Earth. In that case, leaving the organization isn't going to lead to salvation. If the answer is YES, then you would be obliged to leave the organization regardless of whether you were gay or not. In other words, being gay is, or should be, irrelevant. If the organization is true, then all the other churches are false, and finding one that's gay-friendly really isn't going to do you any good. But if the organization is a manmade organization, then it doesn't matter what your sexual predilections are. It's false.

The bottom line is that if the organization is false, doing even one more hour of service is pointless and you should let the elders know. And when you do, I wouldn't mention the "gay" thing at all. The church is either true or false, and again, if it's true, you're leaving Jehovah's organization to join a gay-friendly false church.

My own view is that the organization is a manmade organization and its leaders have pretty much admitted it. Going to the elders and telling them you're gay is going to be pointless. The church is either true or it's not, and your sexuality has nothing to do with it.

Am I wrong?