1 Thess 5:3 - What do you think.... (page 2)

R.F.

A sister I ran into out in public tried to use this scripture to instill enough fear in me to make a comeback to JW land. She said one elder said that it was the only prophecy yet to be fulfilled. They're so misguided.

WTWizard

What kind of "loving" God would destroy the world just as they are finally solving their problems anyways? They are on the cusp of proving wrong that man cannot rule himself when they do finally achieve peace and security. And, just so they won't get that chance, Jehovah is going to step in and destroy them and disrupt their progress. I suppose that's because the stagnant, non-fulfilling new world that Jehovah is proposing to create can in no way compete with the world that man can make.

Technology and the free market can solve all of man's problems, given a chance. The problem lies solely with a few corrupt leaders and businesses that refuse to innovate. They do not want things to change, because then they would actually have to work. So they make all kinds of laws that fix the status quo and make it very difficult to see new innovation coming into the marketplace. Take away the funding for these regulations, and quickly the free market will move in and displace the crap we see now. Work becomes fulfilling. The economy booms. Other world leaders try to impose the same structure, and it works for them. Wars are unnecessary and stop. And crime drops as people can now gain more, legally, than through crime and the kick crimes are no longer needed. We have peace and security.

Then Jehovah is supposedly going to step in and ruin it all. Using initiatory force, He is going to wipe out anyone that contributes to human happiness. And for what? Just to prove a point, preventing His point about man's inability to rule himself from being proven a myth and busted. The new world He is supposedly going to create is based on initiatory threat of force (death) to keep people from becoming fulfilled, from exploring, and from creating value. That being the case, there is no reason in the world why anyone would ever want to survive into that stagnant world.

Sad emo

Hi The Scotsman

In context, as already noted, it's not referring to any specific time, rather it is a general warning to be ready at all times - things tend to happen when you least expect them (thief in the night etc, etc). Think of this - when do people as a whole tend to cool off in their belief in God (praying, going to church etc)? Usually when they're content with life in general and they don't need him around - when they think they have peace. Yet it could be at that very time 'their life will be demanded of them' and they'll be caught off-guard. I think that's what the warning was about.

Taking the verse out of context, if you really think about it, the JW's are shooting themselves in the foot - because according to them, we're seeing an increase in war and trouble - nobody's crying 'Peace' at the moment! Could that mean that the end is not near after all?!

Mary

1 Thessalonians 5:3 says this - "Whenever it is that they are saying: “Peace and security!” then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them just as the pang of distress upon a pregnant woman; and they will by no means escape." NWT..

This is a great example of the WTS speaking out both sides of their mouth. On one hand, They use Matthew 24, Luke 21 and 1 Timothy 3 to summarize how bad the world would be in the Last Days: war, crime, persecution of followers, children being disobedient to parents, famine, disease. In other words, things are supposed to be so bad that "unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved." Yet at the same time they claim that the "leaders" of the world would be declaring "peace and security" which means that things would have to be relatively stable for them to make this claim.

In one sense I can understand why expectation for The End was so high at the end of WWI & WWII. All the signs were there and suddenly, "peace" was declared. So why didn't The End come then? If it was going to come at all, it would have come in the 20th century.

TwentyYearsOut

This is not just a problem with JWs. One of the reasons for so many Christian denominations, is that you can pick and choose your own preferences from the bible [and ignore the ones you don't like].

If you focus on just one scripture and try to micro-analyze it to death, then you'll always be frustrated by unfullfilled prophecies/promises.

triplestrength

Its what finally did it for me about 8 yrs ago.

During a public talk an elder painted the picture of a post armageddon world and it made me think. Those that were left were rushing about like god permitted looters, going around all these dead bodies men, women, children and babies all executed for not loving god and the survivors picking through the best of what was left.

I knew of brothers who had already decided which house they were going to have afterwards and what they were going to have in them (swiming pools mainly).

Sitting in a congregation waiting for the end all these people to die in most cases violently at the hand of a "loving god" hoping it would be soon so they (the congregation) could pick up the pieces.

I asked what about those who are innocent, the little ones? the answer is that of course its the parents fault so don't worry.

Any one out there thinking of leaving it takes alot of guts, but it's worth it.
I only wish I'd done it sooner but at least I did it!

lesterd

Mary, I always love your comments, lets work one other angle into Matt, " But on account of the chosen ones whom he has chosen he has cut short the days." IF Christ came in 1914 some of those chosen ones that witness his coming HAVE to still be alive....not.

We are only in another cycle of history, he has not taken power. If the GB has to hang fullfillment of prophesy on a date, they havent figured it out yet, and to say they know the day and hour is presumptuous, "

"Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father. For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. For as people were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark;" Noah was building the ark, and he did not know when the flood would come.

Thess also says;

2

For YOU yourselves know quite well that Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. 3 Whenever it is that they are saying: "Peace and security!" then sudden destruction.

1 Thess 5:3 - What do you think....

R.F.

WTWizard

Sad emo

Mary

TwentyYearsOut

triplestrength

lesterd

yknot

Clam

triplestrength

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