How Would you Interpret the Sign of the Last Days?

by Mr. Falcon 99 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  PSacramento

  Thank you for that explanation. That is a very insightful point you make. I guess you can also view as a warning to the Christians living during the impending destruction of actual Jerusalem. Since it's pretty accepted that Peter died around 67 CE, would this be reasonable to conclude that his message at 2 Peter chapter 3 was directed to his living contemporaries and not some distant Apocaplypse 2000 years later?

  Perhaps, but it seems more like the issue the writer of 2Peter is addressing, again, is that the end will come and no one will know and how must one behave about that?

  Must one make notes and try to guess it? Nope.

  Here is the conclusion:

  14 Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; 15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. e

  No, we are to wait for it with peace, patience and without blemish.

  Notice also the mention of Paul and how even then, because of how he wrote at times, people were taking what he wrote,

  just like other scriptures, and twisting it.
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  Mr. Falcon

  There is no question that much is bad in the world these days, but I don't think those are proof of anything but mankind's terrible collective stupidity. As in poisoning the waters, nuclear reactors, et cetera. Those are real threats, and they are not the result of a God who will inflict such pain on his creatures.

  dgp, I can see the logic of this statement. It would seem that we are more of a danger to ourselves and the planet than some vengeful deity. And considering that a very large chunk of the world's population follow faiths that DON'T believe in the Bible, again we come back to the whole arguement about how your faith/circumstances/values are more of a result of what part of the earth you were born at, thereby calling into question the credibility of religion at all.

  Great comments, everyone. Thank you!
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  Mr. Falcon

  PSacramento, it's strange how the Bible says to "be found at peace, without blemish" while the WTBS tacks on 5,000,000,000 further regulations, procedures and tasks that you are supposed to be found with. Talk about the fine print getting ya.
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  No Room For George

  Verses like those found in Matt 24, 28, 2 Tim 3, and 2 Pet 3 have allowed so many unscrupulous religious people to make a living off of other people based upon fear and uncertainity. To me what's important to remember is, there has not ever been a recorded time in history where there wasn't uncertainty. The events that Jesus prophesied about, and Paul followed up on in his second letter to Timothy relate occurences and events which have been problematic for as long as we can ever recall. As far as we're concerned, earthquakes, wars, and other problems have always been a feature of human existance. When you look at Matthew 24, Jesus stated that there would be wars, earthquakes, and famines in various places. He did NOT say there would be an increase or a noticeable shift in these events. Rather he said that his followers SHOULD NOT be alarmed. Jesus knew in advance that there would be individuals(Campings) and even organizations(Watchtower) playing off of the fear and uncertainty and that's why Jesus warned his followers to not be decieved because many would be as a result of the false prophets saying, "he's out in the wilderness!", or "he's in the inner rooms!" Matter fact it wouldn't be a difficult thing to replace "out in the wilderness" with "ruling invisibly in the spirit world since 1914", or replace "he's in the inner rooms" with "he's stepped into the inner sanctuary."

  The events that are taking place have been going on for thousands of years, so much so that its commonplace for us to hear of earthquakes and wars. We're being tempered, we've become accustomed to bad news, our children are accustomed to bad news. The problem is if we forget our obligation and duties as Christians, not to mention our hopes, and as a result we start behaving not as Christians but as unbelievers. Or our outlook is that of unbelievers. Otherwise we may be like the rich man who couldn't sell all of his posessions in order to follow Jesus, not making sure of the more important things. Life would be typical to us, normal, as things have always been in the days of our forefathers-2 Pet 3. If events were to noticeably climax to the point that it became obvious that there's a problem in the world, then what purpose would faith have? Would people worship out of love and faith, or out of fear? One man could have faith and keep on the watch for 80 years only to die with unfulfilled expectations, although because of his faith, he won't see it that way even when he dies. Another man could live a life of debauchery his whole life and then out of fear try to make it appear that he really wanted to do what was right all along at the last moment because he witnessed clues that the end was nigh. What kind of test would that be then? If that were true, there would be no meaning behind the word, faith, which is the assurance in things hoped for, proof of things not seen.-Heb 11:1

  To me, all these events should motivate us to reevaluate ourselves, our lives, our outlook, our conduct, our treatment of other people, etc.. To do the opposite would be to fulfill Jesus' prophecy of false profits spreading fear and anxiety trying to scare people into loving God, rather than loving God out of a heartfelt desire based upon love and honor.
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  PSacramento

  PSacramento, it's strange how the Bible says to "be found at peace, without blemish" while the WTBS tacks on 5,000,000,000 further regulations, procedures and tasks that you are supposed to be found with. Talk about the fine print getting ya.

  Yeah well, for bible students JW's don't know much about the bible, do they?
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  Mr. Falcon

  Yeah well, for bible students JW's don't know much about the bible, do they?

  Check-mate.
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  Mr. Falcon

  When you look at Matthew 24, Jesus stated that there would be wars, earthquakes, and famines in various places. He did NOT say there would be an increase or a noticeable shift in these events. Rather he said that his followers SHOULD NOT be alarmed. Jesus knew in advance that there would be individuals(Campings) and even organizations(Watchtower) playing off of the fear and uncertainty and that's why Jesus warned his followers to not be decieved because many would be as a result of the false prophets saying, "he's out in the wilderness!", or "he's in the inner rooms!" Matter fact it wouldn't be a difficult thing to replace "out in the wilderness" with "ruling invisibly in the spirit world since 1914", or replace "he's in the inner rooms" with "he's stepped into the inner sanctuary."

  I'll never read those scriptures the same way again. Great logic.

  To me, all these events should motivate us to reevaluate ourselves, our lives, our outlook, our conduct, our treatment of other people, etc.. To do the opposite would be to fulfill Jesus' prophecy of false profits spreading fear and anxiety trying to scare people into loving God, rather than loving God out of a heartfelt desire based upon love and honor.

  100% agree. "Us or Them" mentality at it's most blatant. Which leads me to my next question in this thread.....

  What are your thoughts on this Matthew 24:14? As much as I disagree with many of the WTBS's doctrine, there is a pretty large preaching campaign carried out by them. How do you guys interpret this "sign"?

  "This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
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  unshackled

  My 2¢...there's nothing to interpret because it is simply a work of fiction. Our continued survival on this planet is solely up to us. But that's just me. Carry on, gents.
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  Mr. Falcon

  My 2¢...there's nothing to interpret because it is simply a work of fiction. Our continued survival on this planet is solely up to us. But that's just me. Carry on, gents.

  haha, duly noted, unshackled.
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  unshackled

  Sorry Falcon...hope I didn't derail your thread. Gotta keep my mouth shut.

  What are your thoughts on this Matthew 24:14? As much as I disagree with many of the WTBS's doctrine, there is a pretty large preaching campaign carried out by them. How do you guys interpret this "sign"? "This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

  My days of dissecting scriptures are behind me BUT your Matt 24:14 reference is an interesting question though. I'm really not sure how I'd apply that outside of my JW indoctrinated understanding of it. PSac or Miz will be back...I'm curious of their insightful answers to this.