Posts by EverAStudent

48

Disfellowshipped and Armageddon

by IMHO in

will a disfellowshipped person survive armageddon?.

will a disassociated person......?.

will an inactive person.....?.

EverAStudent

I was "studying" with a team of local JWs for almost a year before it became clear why they wanted to survive the Great Tribulation in the most desperate way. One of the guys who was born into the witnesses, a young married guy who was not well rehearsed in his doctrines, stated that it was necessary that he and his wife survive that time because they wanted to have "relations" and children for eternity. It was then that I learned that all the JWs who die and have died before the tribulation will be resurrected celibate.

I don't think they usually tell that to their recruits.

77

How do you know the Bible is from God?

by cognac in

jw
friends

i really want to believe it, but, sometimes it is very difficult to figure out how it can be from god.

i mean, in the old testament, he seems horrible in some instances.

the adam and eve thing doesn't make to much sense to me.

EverAStudent

Inkling wrote: "I have not found even a single convincing case of true prophecy
in the bible that can stand up to reasonable critical thinking.

Of all the claimed prophecies in the bible, I have found that they
all fall into either the category of vague enough to be stretched
to fit, or without any good evidence that they are written BEFORE
the events they purport to predict.

So yeah, if there was even ONE prophecy in the Bible that was proven
to be ONLY possibly via supernatural intervention, I would be convinced
that SOMETHING supernatural interacted at least once with Bible writers."

Wow! So not even the fact that no prophets wrote Scripture in Israel for 400 years before Jesus was born is evidence that all the prophecies about His birth were written centuries before they happened?

How about the well documented event where the Jews, having read the book of Daniel, went out of Jerusalem with a copy of the book of Daniel and met Alexander the Great on his way to destroy Jerusalem, and showed him the prophecies with his name in them which caused him not only to spare Jerusalem but to decree that Jews in his empire would have favored status?

None of these things prove the veracity of the biblical prophecies, but they sure are interesting evidence.

63

Armagedden Suitcase

by Magwitch in

my mother let it slip the other day that all the families in their hall are putting together a small suitcase.

inside this suitcase are to be things that you will take with you if given a 5 minute warning that the great tribulation is starting and you need to leave your home.

my father seemed quite embarrassed that this slipped.

EverAStudent

Yes, the Mormons do have a doomsday scenario. They believe that a great apostacy is coming and a war between gentiles (that's all of us) and the believers (that's the Mormons) will erupt worldwide. So they quietly stockpile provisions, including guns and ammo since they are not pacifists.

By way of contrast, most evangelical Christians (Trinitarians) believe they will be taken off the planet (raptured, first resurrection, swept up, whatever you wish to call it) before the Great Tribulation begins, so they neither prepare for it or worry much about it.

63

Armagedden Suitcase

by Magwitch in

my mother let it slip the other day that all the families in their hall are putting together a small suitcase.

inside this suitcase are to be things that you will take with you if given a 5 minute warning that the great tribulation is starting and you need to leave your home.

my father seemed quite embarrassed that this slipped.

EverAStudent

With all due respect, the Mormons are so much further ahead in this matter. Every Mormon home has a survival shelter in the basement stocked with one year of food and water and plenty of ammo. In Utah there are caves that house the genealogical records of the planet that are said to be able to survive the coming nuclear holocaust (they never want to forget!). And all you got is a suitcase?

36

What do most ex-JWs "believe" after leaving?

by EverAStudent in

has anyone done a survey to determine what faith system, religion, or set of religious beliefs ex-jws tend to settle into after leaving the organization?

if not, would you care to post what you presently consider to be your own personal religion (e.g.

protestant, catholic, baptist, jw but not in the organization, agnostic, atheist, ...) and especially what you presently believe about jesus (was he a real historical human, is he god, is he an angel, ...).. thank you!.

EverAStudent

Has anyone done a survey to determine what faith system, religion, or set of religious beliefs ex-JWs tend to settle into after leaving the organization? If not, would you care to post what you presently consider to be your own personal religion (e.g. Protestant, Catholic, Baptist, JW but not in the organization, agnostic, atheist, ...) and especially what you presently believe about Jesus (was He a real historical human, is He God, is He an angel, ...).

Thank you!

37

How do you explain...

by AwSnap in

1 samuel 19:9?

i thought god didn't commit evil...and this also appears to be predestination, no?

that was the new world translation.. the new international bible says:.

EverAStudent

Words have a large range of meaning. Evil, which in this passage is "raraah" in the Hebrew, does NOT have one simple meaning. It can mean unhappy, tormented, distressed, grieved, sinful, bad, sorrow, displeasing, etc.

In this passage, it would probably be best to apply the meaning "distressing," as in God sent to Saul a distressing spirit to grieve and torment him.

21

Luke 9:27. How does The Watchtower explain it?

by VM44 in

luke 9:27 says:.

"...but i tell you truthfully, there are some of those standing here that will not taste death at all until first they see the kingdom of god.".

how does the watchtower explain this?.

EverAStudent

It is a common misunderstanding to assume that the phrase "kingdom of God" always and only means the future heaven/paradise. Jesus often used the phrase to mean "everythinig that God rules over, starting right now."

"But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."

(Matthew 12:28) Notice that the kingdom had already come upon them. In Matthew 21:43 He told the Jews they presently were in the kingdom of God,, though they would soon lose that. Mark 1:15 states the kingdom was then just beginning. Mark 10:15 states that we who are alive must receive the kingdom with the faith of little children, right now, or we cannot enter it later.

When Jesus said that those standing there would see the beginning of the kingdom, He may well have meant that they would see Him crucified, resurrected, and His gospel go into all the world--literally the beginning of the His kingdom rule. In other words, the kingdom started with Christ, continues on now, and will be fully realized in glory when eternity begins.

30

I went to the meeting today

by doublelife in

so my husband dragged me to the meeting this morning.

i brought my new bible that i bought instead of the nwt and he didn't say anything about it.

in the public talk, the speaker opened to matt.

EverAStudent

I am sorry for jumping in, but thought I would attempt to answer the original question: what do non-JW Christians believe about the second coming of Jesus?

There is not a consistant answer across all Christianity, but a popular view is:

sometime in the future believers in Christ will be taken off the planet to meet Christ in the air, this is alternately called the First Resurrection or the Rapture
the Great Tribulation will begin after that and run for 7 years
after the Great Tribulation Jesus will return visibly and bodily to the Earth and bring all those who were in the First Resurrection so that they can be His administrative staff
Jesus will rule for 1000 years and finish all the promises of land and blessings that have ever been made to the nation of Israel over the years--much of the curse will be suspended and people will live long lives, it is said that those who only live to be 100 years old are the unlucky ones during this time (Isaiah 65:20)
After the 1000 years the second resurrection of the unbelievers will be completed so they may be judged, the universe (and planet Earth) will be consumed in fire, the unbelievers will be put into Hell along with death, and Christ will create a new universe and a new Earth that houses New Jerusalem, and all believers will live with the Father and the Lamb there for eternity.

Salvation, living with Christ and the Father on new Earth for eternity, depends only on whether one has believed on Jesus as Savior, not on the works they have done.

9

Celebrated my first Halloween

by LoriJis in

as you know i recently started my fade while my husband has been doing it for years.

well last weekend i decided we should celebrate halloween and bought tickets to this halloween cruise.

we dressed up and went.

EverAStudent

Read Colossians chapter 2. You are "allowed" to celebrate or not celebrate any holiday you want and not be outside God's will. Give the celebration and the thanks to God and enjoy.

Also, laugh a little--read this: http://thefaithfulword.org/cookturkey.html

77

How do you know the Bible is from God?

by cognac in

jw
friends

i really want to believe it, but, sometimes it is very difficult to figure out how it can be from god.

i mean, in the old testament, he seems horrible in some instances.

the adam and eve thing doesn't make to much sense to me.

EverAStudent

garyneal wrote: "In the end, though, it would still make more sense for me to believe rather than not believe. I guess, in the end, I find myself quoting another poster who said this, 'It is better for me to have questions I cannot answer, rather than answers I cannot question.'"

That's a pretty good philosophy with regard to this matter. There are passages of the Bible I still cannot figure out and one that nags at me because it has the appearance of a prophecy that failed. Yet, I am constantly reminded that just because I cannot understand something does not mean it is wrong, it just means I cannot understand it. If every mysterious thing was immediately assumed to be error, then study, exploration, and inquiry would be squashed.

Over all, I look at the evidences of the majority of prophecies in Scripture (e.g. Isaiah and Daniel) and am utterly convinced that God has revealed Himself and the future to certain persons. It is kind of funny. The world says, "Show me just one valid supernatural event and I will gladly believe in spirits, demons, and magic, however, for me to believe in the God of the Bible you must first prove to me that every comment and event in the Bible is true." When it comes to belief in the true God the world changes their standard of evidence and proof.