Bible Reading Assignment This Week is About THE LEVIATHAN

by xjwsrock 17 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  xjwsrock

  I wouldn't believe it unless I saw it myself. A brother went on stage and read

  Job 41:1-26

  Jehovah is straight up talking to Job about a fire-breathing dragon in this passage. It was surreal to hear this read without as much as a raised eyebrow in the audience.

  Here it is: (Mind you this is almighty God talking one-on-one with Job)

  “Can you catch Le·viʹa·than with a fishhookOr hold down its tongue with a rope?

  2-Can you put a rope through its nostrils Or pierce its jaws with a hook? 

  3-Will it make many pleas to you,Or will it speak gently to you?

  4-Will it make a covenant with you,So that you may make it your slave for life?

  5-Will you play with it as with a birdOr tie it on a leash for your little girls?

  6-Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among merchants?

  7-Will you fill its hide with harpoons Or its head with fishing spears?

  8-Lay your hand on it;You will remember the battle and never do it again!

  9-Any hope of subduing it is futile.The mere sight of it would overwhelm you. 

  10-No one dares to stir it up.So who is it who can stand up to me? 

  11-Who has given me anything first that I should repay him? Whatever is under the heavens is mine. 

  12-I will not be silent about its limbs,About its mightiness and its well-formed body.

  13-Who has removed its outer covering?Who will enter its open jaws?

  14-Who can pry open the doors of its mouth? Its teeth all around are fearsome.

  15-Its back has rows of scales Tightly sealed together.

  16-Each one fits so closely to the other That no air can come between them.

  17-They are stuck to one another;They cling together and cannot be separated.

  18-Its snorting flashes out light,And its eyes are like the rays of dawn.

  19-Flashes of lightning go out of its mouth;Fiery sparks escape.

  20-Smoke pours out of its nostrils,Like a furnace fueled with rushes.

  21-Its breath sets coals ablaze,And a flame shoots from its mouth.

  22-There is great strength in its neck,And dismay runs before it.

  23-The folds of its flesh are tightly joined together;They are firm, as though cast upon it and immovable.

  24-Its heart is hard as stone,Yes, hard as a lower millstone.

  25-When it rises up, even the mighty are frightened;Its thrashing causes bewilderment.

  26-No sword that reaches it will prevail;Nor will spear, dart, or arrowhead.

  
  

  
  
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  xjwsrock

  This is the ASSIGNED READING!

  Are they stupid or just brazen?
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  prologos

  levity about the leviathan. Too bad brothers are not allowed to comment on the bible reading anymore, then it really would be funny!.
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  cantleave

  Don't they say this lightning emitting, fire-breathing monster is just a crocodile? Oh the mental gymnastics are astounding!
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  xjwsrock

  Here is quote from Insight Book

  This Hebrew word occurs six times in the Bible. It is believed to come from a root word meaning “wreath”; hence the name indicates something that is “wreathed,” or “gathered into folds.” The word is transliterated in most Bible translations.

  Since, with the exception of Job 3:8, the references mention water in connection with it,Leviathan appears to signify some form of aquatic creature of great proportions and strength, although not necessarily of one specific kind. Psalm 104:25, 26 describes it as cavorting in the sea where ships travel, and for this reason many suggest that the term here applies to some type of whale. Though whales are rare in the Mediterranean, they are not unknown there, and parts of two whale skeletons can be found in a museum at Beirut in Lebanon. An American Translation here says “crocodile” instead of Leviathan. Additionally, the word “sea” (yam) by itself is not determinative inasmuch as in Hebrew it can refer to a large inland body of water such as the Sea of Galilee (Sea of Chinnereth) (Nu 34:11; Jos 12:3), or even to the river Nile (Isa 19:5) or the Euphrates.—Jer 51:36.

  The description of “Leviathan” at Job 41:1-34 aptly fits the crocodile, and the “sea” ofverse 31 may refer to a river such as the Nile or another body of fresh water. It should be noted, however, that some crocodiles, as the Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus), are found along the seacoast and at times go out into the sea some distance from land.
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  Slidin Fast

  How did I spend all these years in the false and not have come across this little gem? I am so looking forward to the fire breathing leviathan tomorrow. Maybe if we do some investigation we will find that creation got there first. Nuclear fission under our noses all these years. Sounds like a good one for an Awake article. Could this really have happened by evolution or was it created? What do you think?
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  bennyk

  Re: Leviathan as Locomotive and /or Marine Steam Engine (from the Watch Tower Society):

  "The following is a corrected translation of Job 40:15 to 41:34, with comments thereon from the pen of one of Pastor Russell's followers: [...]

  "Thou wilt lengthen out leviathan [the locomotive] with a hook [automatic coupler] or with a snare [coupling-pin] which thou wilt cause his tongue [coupling-link] to drop down.Wilt thou not place a ring [piston] in his nostrils [cylinders] or pierce through his cheeks [pistonends] with a staff [piston-rod]? Will be make repeated supplication unto thee [to get off the track]? Or will he utter soft tones unto thee [when he screeches with the whistle]? Will he make a covenant with thee, that thou mayest take him for a servant forever [without repairs]? Wilt thou play with him as with a bird [make him whistle at will]? Or wilt thou bind [enslave] him for thy maidens [so that you can take them to a picnic or convention]? Companies [of stockholders] will feast upon him [his earnings]; they will share him among speculators. [Psa.74:14.] Thou wilt fill his skin with pointed irons [bolts], and his head with a cabin of fishermen [a cab similar to the cabins on fishing vessels]. Place thy hand upon him, be mindful of the conflict [raging within the boiler] and thou wilt add no further questions. Behold, his confidence [boiler] being deceived [not properly supplied with water], shall not at once his mighty form be spread asunder [by an explosion]? There is none so bold that he will stir him up [to run at his very highest possible speed], and none who will then place himself before him [to be run over]. Who will compete with this one and endure [pass him on the track]? Under the whole heaven, none, unless [one like] himself.

  "I will not pass in silence his members, nor the cause of his mighty forces, nor the beauty of his equipment. Who can strip off the facings of his jacket? Who can penetrate between the double lap of his shield [the overlapping sections of the boiler plates]? Who can force open the doors of his shield [the boiler ends]? The circuits of his teeth [rows or rivets] are formidable. His strength depends on courses of shields [sections of plates] closed up tightly with a seal [calked]. They shall join one upon another so that a hiss of air [steam] shall not escape from between them. One to the other shall adhere. They will be welded together that they cannot be sundered. In his sneezing [when he puffs from the cylinders] light will shine, a flood of light prevading the mass of vapors: and his eyes [headlights] will be as the eyelashes of the morning [as rays of light from the rising sun]. Out of his mouth [fire-door] will leap forth flaming torches, and [from the smoke stack] glowing sparks will slip themselves away. From his nostrils [cylinders] will issue forth vapor as from a boiling pot or caldron. His inhaling [forced draft] will vivify burning coals, and a flame will leap forth from his mouth. Within his neck abideth strength, and a desolation will dance with joy [become a prosperous community] at his presence. The separable parts of his body are connected together; all will be made fast upon him; nothing will be shaky. His heart will be indurated similar to a stone, and will be firm as a piece of the lower [rocks]. When at his full speed the most courageous will fear [lest]. from accidents. they lose themselves. When dryness exalteth him [or renders him furious], he will not have power to withhold; the curved vault [fire box] being caused to tear away, and also the armor. He will esteem iron as straw, and brass as rotted wood. The archer cannot make him flee; missiles [of war] will be turned unto him as chaff. The [strokes of a] hammer will be esteemed as chaff; he will rejoice at the poking of the fireman. Hewed [or notched] timbers of the craftsman [ties] are under him; he will spread an embankment [or trench] upon the mire. He will [as a marine engine] cause deep [places] to become as a boiling pot [about his propellers]; he will make the sea to appear like boiling ointment. He will make a path to shine after him; one will think the deep to be growing gray. [Psa. 104:26; Isa. 27:1.] Upon the earth there is not his like— he that is [so]constructed that he can fear nothing. He can oversee [control by his work] all that which is great; he is indeed king over all conceptions of power."

  (The Finished Mystery, pp. 84-86 [brackets in original])
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  stuckinarut2

  Thanks for posting that bennyk!

  Yes, gods "mouthpiece", the "anointed" Charles Russel claimed leviathan referred to a steam engine...

  When he made that claim, was he wrong, or did the guidance of Holy Spirit get it wrong?
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  sowhatnow

  yep, apparently, there really were fire breathing creatures at one time, might be in cave drawings too. i believe it.
  

  lots of interesting things we dont see at first, until we sit and without blinders on and really read the book.
  
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  blondie

  w06 1/15 pp. 13-16

  Animal Creation Magnifies Jehovah

  Leviathan Brings God Praise

  Job next heard about Leviathan. (Job 41:1-34) The Hebrew word denotes “a wreathed animal”—apparently the crocodile. Could Job make Leviathan a plaything for children? Definitely not! Encounters with this creature have repeatedly proved that it is dangerous. Indeed, if a man were to lay a hand on Leviathan, the struggle would likely be so great that he would never do that again!

  As Leviathan lifts its head above water at sunrise, its eyes flash “like the beams of dawn.” Leviathan’s scales are tightly closed, and embedded in its hide are bony plates hard to pierce with bullets, much less with swords and spears. Sharp scales on a crocodile’s belly leave the impression of “a threshing instrument” on mud banks. Its fury in water stirs up a froth like foaming ointment. And because of its size, armor, and weapons—a threatening mouth and powerful tail—Leviathan knows no fear.