by Doug Mason 25 Replies latest watchtower bible
I know that you are all very familiar with the early verses of Matthew 24/ Mark 13/ Luke 21.
I have prepared a Study on these verses and am seeking constructive criticisms and advice.
The address is: http://au.geocities.com/doug_mason1940/Beware_Deceivers.pdf
Thanks,
Doug
Can't get at it Doug - it says your file has exceeded the permitted data transfer (or summat like that!)
Click the link below and when the next page appears scroll down to the bottom of the page where a small (red arrow) will point to the download link.http://www.sendspace.com/file/cwkxqk Cheers! Atlantis-
Thanks Atlantis
Doug - can you give a bit of background please - who is the study intended for? Believers, non-believers, ex-JW, anyone? Do you have any questions or further comments to go with the presentation or are the slides intended merely as discussion starters?
My initial reaction is that if it's for believers, it may be a bit over-simplified. I'll take a longer look when I get home from work.
I preached on Mark 13 a couple of weeks ago - the author of the first commentary I picked up when preparing my notes described it as 'an exegetical minefield' - boy, was he right lol!!
Doug,
The presentation is nice. It pretty much depicts the verses as written. There is not much need for a presentation however if we can simply read them for ourselves. Now the real trick is to explain what they mean. For example is the Gospel age depicted in here and if so where? When do the verses apply historically? For example do any apply to 70CE and the destruction of the literal temple? What part of the presentation applies to the sign we are supposed to look for that makes up this generation? When does the end come in relation to this sign or this generation? Does Jerusalem refer to the literal city or something else? Since Daniel is involved here then what verses in Daniel are we talking about and what do they mean? You know the things everyone wants to know. But perhaps that is beyond what you had in mind.
Joseph
P.S. I took another look and saw your application to 70CE and the destruction of Jerusalem. Everyone does that you know. But the parousia did not take place then. Why? Was the prophecy flawed? And those that fled to the mountains died. Why? Did they get bad advice? This is a problem and such contradictions should be examined.
JM
"And those that fled to the mountains died"
Would you provide a source for this statement?
Thanks,
Zarco
Plenty out there. Anyone watch Christiane Amonpour's "GOD WARRIORS." JEWS,MUSLIMS, and CHRISTIANS. Seems to me, the Muslims have it closest to Biblical Law.
Zarco,
Masada 73CE You can Google it.
Joseph
Hi Doug. You're a brilliant presenter. Do you set up these presentations professionally?
Just a note of content for you though, only Luke mentions the destruction of Jerusalem and does not mention Daniel at all. The "great tribulation" is a one-time event that "never happened before nor will again" and is supposed to occur just before the second coming during the end-times. Thus the fall of Jerusalem is excluded from that one-time event. The importance of CHRONOLOGY comes into play here, though, because contrary to what you claim in your presentation, the Jews and Jesus' followers know from Daniel that the messiah would arrive 2520 years after the fall of Jerusalem. So when they asked about what his "parousia" would be like, they were not asking about the date of the second coming, they were only wondering what would be going on in the world "leading up to" his second coming and return to the earth in human form.
The "end" they were concerned about was the "end" of the gentile times, the current "system of things" under which the gentiles were in control. Once the Jews regained control again and they saw the rebudding of their nation, represented by the leaves of the fig tree growing tender again, then they knew that his appearance was near. The "end" occurred in 1947. That's when the Jews had their own country again. Thus the second coming could not have occurred prior to 1947. That leaves out 1914, a false teaching by JWs. The "great tribulation" spoken of at Matthew and Mark was in reference to the Holocaust. That's why women with small children were at a disadvantage if they wanted to flee to the mountains, where some during WWII indeed fled and hid. Hiding in the wilderness was no place for a woman and small children. So she had to either abandon her children to death in the gas chambers and save herself only or die along with her children. A very hard choice. This "great tribulation" is not Armageddon, however, the "great tribulation" referred to in Revelation which comes just before the millennium. Obviously, fleeding to the mountains, with or without children would not have any significance at Armageddon. The WTS is completely lost and puzzled about all this though, and they completely ignore that it is not until "immediately after the great tribulation" that the sign of the son of man appears.
JC
Plenty out there. Anyone watch Christiane Amonpour's "GOD WARRIORS." JEWS,MUSLIMS, and CHRISTIANS. Seems to me, the Muslims have it closest to Biblical Law.
I did! Great documentary. But it says to me, with religion getting so political, that when Babylon the Great is shut down by the UN, it is reasonable they will crack down on organized religion and likely ban all public assembly including that of any religion, many of which are just a front for terrorists organizations, including the WTS which has long ago been connected with Satanism and Freemasonry from the beginning with Russell. The political and religious climate is RIPE for a crackdown! Things are getting shaky! JC
