by greendawn 45 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Did anyone stop to think for a minute. The words in Revelation are all gobble-de-gook. NONE of it is actually going to happen.
There will be no Armageddon.
There will be no thousand year rule.
There is no Satan.
There will be no resurrection.
There will be no paradise.
There will be no happy ever after.
Just enjoy life now and put that Bible down. It will drive you crazy!!
I need to read this again, and again! that is how Revelation is one can read it and read it and learn something new!
That's it! Not only the book of Revelation, but the whole Bible. It is my belief that the Bible was purposely written in such a way as to test what's really in our hearts. Are we proud, egotistical, arrogant? Do we think we have been blessed with some special knowledge?
I like the fact that the Bible is just THERE. Take it or leave it. It makes no apologies, no concessions, doesn't pander to any particular people. It tells a very HUMAN story. And as we all know, that story is anything but pretty. But it IS. And there's nothing anyone can do about it.
Yet, out of all the ugliness and shamefulness shines a ray of hope. Does it shine for only one person or one group? NO!!! It shines for ALL. We can accept it or reject it. It can be that simple - or that complicated - the choice is ours.
Sylvia
Joseph, Joseph, Joseph:
How misled you are, tsk, tsk. What "seed" has the power and authority to "bruise Satan's head", other than Christ Jesus Himself? If, then, He is the seed (which He clearly is), then who is the "woman", other than the same woman, mentioned in Revelation 12 and elsewhere, from Genesis through Revelation:
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel. To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you shall bring forth children . . ." (Genesis 3:15-16).
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. -Isaiah 7:14
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[a] because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us." -Matthew 1:20-23
Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. -Romans 5:18-19
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. -Romans 16:20
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. -1 John 3:8
And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth, he might devour her child. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she might be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days -Revelation 12:1-6.
And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. And the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, in order that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished or a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus -Revelation 12:13-17.
And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she might be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days (Revelation 12:5-6).
I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, Thou shalt shatter them like earthenware" (Psalm 2:7-9).
And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father . . . (Revelation 2:26-27).
Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth . . . He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 3:10, 12-13).
Be on guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape [be accounted worthy to escape, KJV] all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:34-36).
And I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads . . . These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless (Revelation 14:1, 4-5).
In Galatians 4:26, we read that the Jerusalem above is indeed portrayed as the mother of the Church:
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegorically speaking: for these women are two covenants, one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. For it is written, "Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in labor, for more are the children of the desolate than of the one who has a husband." And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise (Galatians 4:22-28).
Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, who seek the LORD: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain . . . (Isaiah 51:1-2).
That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. For this is a word of promise; "At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son" (Romans 9:8-9).
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel. To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you shall bring forth children . . ." (Genesis 3:15-16).
Could the identity of "the woman" and "the seed" and "the promise" be any plainer to see? "The lamp of the body is the eye. If, then, your eye is simple, your whole body will be bright; but if your eye is wicked, your whole body will be dark. If in reality the light the that is in you is darkness, how great that darkness is!" -Matthew 6:22,23
BA- Read the Scriptures without preconceived ideas of men, rather, pray for God's Holy Spirit to fill you before you read His word, and everything becomes clear.
Snowbird I like what you wrote and agree!
As far as this scripture in Ps I believe it was about David and Solomon reign
I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, Thou shalt shatter them like earthenware" (Psalm 2:7-9).
YHWH said this to either David or Solomon take and of course Jesus fullfilled it! but it started with David who probably did not realize it was going to be about Jesus.
Snowbird I like what you wrote and agree!
Thank you, Sarah Smiles. It was from the heart.
Sylvia
How misled you are, tsk, tsk. What "seed" has the power and authority to "bruise Satan's head", other than Christ Jesus Himself?
BA,
Where did I say that? Oh you made it up, like you do everything else. Nothing has changed then. And you did say Jesus has the power and authority to bruise Satan’s head. You made that up as well since the scriptures clearly say: Ro 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. So do you really know anything? No need to bother with the rest.
Joseph
