The words " I come quickly" and "I will return soon" can hold different meanings. I will return soon makes it sound like Jesus would be back within a short time. This is not what was said.
Yes Jesus will come quickly, he will split the eastern sky, but none of us know when, and that is where apocalyptic religions have ran into their problem.
What happened when Jesus didn't COME BACK QUICKLY? History shows...
by Terry 39 Replies latest jw friends
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Junction-Guy
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Junction-Guy
I thought I would look that scripture up in the NWT just to see if they doctored it up, surprisingly they didn't, but really when you think about it, it definitely wouldnt be prudent in this instance.
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AGuest
The EXACT same thing that occurred with Israel at Sinai, when THEY were waiting for MOSES to return: they ran out of faith... and thus, patience.. and so built a golden calf and began calling IT "JahVeh."
Nothing new under the sun: today, most who are waiting for my Lord's return have built and/or turned their faces to worship all manner of "golden calfs" - VISIBLE "representations"... "of the Lord on earth." Forgetting that the LAST visible representation was the temple at Jerusalem, they have constructed all manner of hand-made dwellings... and the institutions that sponsor them... from the plain and ascetic... to the magnificent and glorious. Both the buildings AND the institutions. And the people FLOCK to these.
But God... does not dwell in hand-made temples... or in the institutions that create and support them. He dwells... in His people, the TRUE "temple" of God, the "house" that Christ is building... as he goes "subduing... in the MIDST of his enemies."
Why has the return taken so long? Because... GOD DOES NOT WANT ANY TO DIE. So, He is allowing time sufficient for ALL of us to seek... and find... Him, through Christ. If my Lord were to return tomorrow, who of us is TRULY ready? Yes, of course, some will say "I am ready, now." You might think that I might be among them. But don't be too sure, as I know that it is not all about me. Rather, I have to ask: are my children ready? What of my husband? His family? How about my friends? My neighbors? The folks here? Can I say that, even if I am ready, they are, too? I cannot. And so, I wouldn't necessarily acknowledge that I am ready.
Rather, it would behoove me, as someone who professes to be of those who show LOVE... to pray NOT for the Door to "close"... NOT to be "craving the day of JAH," but that He MERCIFULLY... continue holding back... until ALL of such ones are "ready." THAT is what love and mercy are about... looking out for the benefit of OTHERS... and not seeking our own selfish desire!
Yet, I know that He will not be slow... and not delay forever. He WILL allow my Lord to return, and I look forward to that day as it will mean a "releasing" for me and my brothers. Until, then, however, I will pray that He lovingly console those who are suffering now, in whatever manner, and grant them the desires of their hearts... while continuing to show mercy to the rest of us... and wait for all those that we love.
I bid you peace.
A slave of Christ,
SA
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Quentin
AGuest...your sumation is the best I have seen as to where a "follower of the Christ" is to be in their thinking ...to be otherwise is to be elitist...
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Terry
Yes Jesus will come quickly, he will split the eastern sky
This works if the world is flat.
However, those of us committed to a sphere realize the eat becomes west once you pass the midway point.
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Terry
Why has the return taken so long? Because... GOD DOES NOT WANT ANY TO DIE. So, He is allowing time sufficient for ALL of us to seek... and find... Him, through Christ.
One itty bitty problem with this.
"ALL of us"......continues to increase by childbirth!
As long as humans successfully copulate to the point of producing offspring, ALL of us......won't end!
Logically, this permanently postpones God's putting an end to anything.
Your premise is flawed.
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heathen
The WTBTS has at as , I am coming quickly to mean ,when it's time to take action there will be no more delay ,since that's what it says , there is a period of delay from executing judgment that has been preached about by the prophets and ministers . So far world conditions have not reached the point of distress to where God feels the need to intervene and save his people from complete annihilation .IMO
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Terry
The WTBTS has at as , I am coming quickly to mean ,when it's time to take action there will be no more delay ,since that's what it says , there is a period of delay from executing judgment that has been preached about by the prophets and ministers . So far world conditions have not reached the point of distress to where God feels the need to intervene and save his people from complete annihilation
And yet...this is not what the SCRIPTURE itself says, is it?
Jesus never seems to say what he means. Jesus says what the Watchtower says he MEANT TO SAY.
Why is this?
ROMANS 13, according to the Watchtower, once meant Jehovah and Jesus were the Superior Authorities. Christendom said the Superior Authorities were the governments and world leaders.
The Watchtower changed! New Light caused them to AGREE with Christendom (bringing them up to speed with "false religion"!)
The upshot of this change means that World Leaders and Governments are given PERMISSION to do what they do by the one granting authority to them.
How can Jehovah be said to be waiting for things to get out of hand because of Governments and World Leaders when Jehovah is the very one allowing them to exercise authority of Christians in the first place?
Hello? Hello?
Can you say: CONFLICT OF INTEREST?
No, I'm afraid the Watchtower is all over the map and this (and always has been.)
Why are they?
Because they always start off contrarian and have to be dragged kicking and screaming back to mainstream. That's why.
The Bible either says what it means or it means nothing. Otherwise, everything is deuces wild. (Like the Watchtower parsing).
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trevor
If Jesus did return in 1914, why did no one see him? Even the Witnesses, then known as “Bible Students,” were still waiting for him to come in 1918. Not until years later in1929, did the Society “realize” that Jesus had returned in 1914 and that they had failed to notice! Despite expecting Jesus, they missed him.
Did the Bible say that Jesus would not be noticed even by his chosen nation of Jehovah's Witnesses when he returned? “Behold, he is coming with the clouds! Every eye will see him…(Revelation 1:7 NE) Whether this reference is meant to refer to the literal eye or not, there is no doubt that according to the Bible, Jesus will make himself known. The Watchtower Society overcame this discrepancy by saying that Jesus returned in a sense in 1914 to take up his presence invisibly.
He then came again in 1919, also invisibly, to take the deceased members of the Society to heaven. They had originally taught that Jesus had returned in 1873. They are still waiting for his third return, which is said to be any day now and noticed by the whole world.
This convenient way of using Bible prophecy is a pattern that occurs many times. Invisible or symbolic so far, literal and seen by everyone - always a day away. Did the Bible really predict that Jesus would return this many times, and why did the Witnesses miss him the first time, only realising with hindsight that he had visited?
Taken from the book,'Opening the Door to Jehovah's witnesses., by Trevor Willis
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AGuest
"ALL of us"......continues to increase by childbirth!
Ummmm... not exactly. "Us" may not have the connotation you believe it has.
As long as humans successfully copulate to the point of producing offspring, ALL of us......won't end!
All of mankind, perhaps not. All of "us"... that, perhaps, is another thing entirely.
Logically, this permanently postpones God's putting an end to anything.
No, there is a end. Just as when Noah entered the Ark. Do you think Noah, a "preacher" of righteousness... went around doing what the Borg falsely accuses him of: telling folks "you better get on the ark or you're gonna die?" He couldn't have. Why? Because... he was a preacher... of RIGHTEOUSNESS. Not of unrighteous condemnation. Noah... did the same as Abraham... and Moses... and David... and Christ: he pleaded for God to be patient with the people of his time. That such people... those of Sodom/Gomorrah, Israel, the Philistines... and Israel, again... lost their fleshly lives is only because they judged... and condemned... themselves.
I have a personal practice... which may help you understand better: I do not terminate (an employee), evict (a tenant), or divorce (a spouse)... until he/she gives me NO choice. I will look for EVERY way to save someone's job, someone's home... and I looked for every way to save my previous marriage. "Seventy-seven" times puts it mildly, for me. I do not rest at that limit. Thus, I have risked my own job... and even my own life. It was/is only when there was/is NO way left... that I act(ed).
I learned this practice... from the Most Holy One of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whose name is JAH of Armies, by means of His Son and Christ, my Lord, JAHESHUA MISCHAJAH... who taught me this manner of love. The foundation is that so long as it remains with ME... I am to be "peaceable" with ALL men. When such peace vanishes, then, it is because THEY wished it so.
What does this mean? That the Most Holy One of Israel... will NOT act... until He has NO other choice. Unfortunately, that day WILL come. But it will be man who chooses it, not God.
Your premise is flawed.
You did not know my premise, nor its basis. Now, you do. Hopefully, you also have ears to hear... and get the SENSE of it.
I bid you peace!
Your servant and a slave of Christ,
SA