Jesus' language was extravagant? Really?

by BoogerMan 3 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  BoogerMan

  w80 10/1 p. 25 After These “Last Days” God’s Messianic Kingdom! - "When speaking of those final days of the Jewish system of things, Jesus said: “Then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.” Reportedly, there were 97,000 Jews inside Jerusalem that survived the siege and desolation of their holy city and its temple built by King Herod. However, these were not the “chosen ones” on whose account that “great tribulation” was shortened. Rather, these were the Christians, who, after the lifting of the first siege in 66 C.E., promptly obeyed Jesus’ advice as given in Matthew 24:16-20 and fled from the doomed city to outside the province of Judea. All of that back there was bad enough. But if Jesus’ words about it in Matthew 24:20 ("no, nor will occur again) and Mark 13:19 ("...and will not occur again") are restricted to just the end of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., then his language regarding this becomes extravagant. It certainly was not the greatest tribulation ever to occur in all recorded human history." (JW's: which part of "not occur again" is hard to understand? 🤣🤣)

  Scripturally speaking, if the flood in Noah's day wiped out at least 99.99% of the world's population, that would easily qualify as the greatest tribulation "in all recorded human history." But Jesus wasn't talking about that; he was describing the greatest tribulation to ever occur in the Jewish nation - not "the world."
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  EasyPrompt

  Matthew 24:29-31

  
  

  "Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

  
  

  Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

  
  

  And he will send out his angels with a great trumpet sound, and they will gather his chosen ones together from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to their other extremity."

  
  

  Mark 13:24-27

  
  

  "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling out of heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.

  
  

  And then they will see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

  
  

  And then he will send out the angels and will gather his chosen ones together from the four winds, from earth’s extremity to heaven’s extremity."

  
  

  After the attack on Jerusalem, the Christians weren't gathered together - they were scattered. Nobody saw angels and nobody saw Jesus coming on the clouds with power and great glory.

  
  

  The time of "great distress" hasn't happened yet. Everybody will know when it happens. No one will have to guess. It'll be so bad, people will think no Christians will survive. That's why Jesus said this in Matthew 24:

  
  

  "Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things happen. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away."

  
  

  ...and this in Mark 13...

  
  

  "Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things happen. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away."

  
  

  The leaders of the religious institutions (like the "heavens") will pass-away/be-removed and the organizations/bodies of the religious institutions (like the "earth" of those organizations) will be dissolved, but the "generation" of Christians who see the tribulation begin will survive to the end of the tribulation, because the appointed times of the nations to attack/rule-as-UN-world-power during the tribulation is only 3 1/2 years, and Jesus will help us get through that "wilderness" time.

  
  

  He wasn't saying the "this generation" thing as some kind of way to calculate a timeframe. He was saying it so people wouldn't be scared that they wouldn't survive the tribulation.

  
  

  The trialsome time period will have a definite ending and a definite end.

  
  

  "But as these things start to occur, stand up straight and lift up your heads, because your deliverance is getting near."
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  BoogerMan

  Revelation 7:14 - "And I said to him, My lord, you have knowledge. And he said to me, These are they who came through the great testing, * and their robes have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb." (Bible in Basic English)

  *a pressing, pressing together, pressure, metaph. oppression, affliction, tribulation, distress, straits

  Perhaps the JW's view of the G.T. isn't as bad as they make it out to be/want it to be.
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  EasyPrompt

  The Flood of Noah's day touched every corner of the earth.

  
  

  The visions of Revelation included prophecies that talk about every nation, language, etc, also about how the "great city" has sway over all kings of the earth.

  
  

  Revelation was written after the tribulation in Jerusalem.

  
  

  The future tribulation will be just as extensive as the Flood of Noah's day.

  
  

  "Perhaps the JW's view of the G.T. isn't as bad as they make it out to be/want it to be."
  

  
  

  It isn't the "JW's view" that matters. It's what the Christ tells us that counts.

  
  

  The disciples fell asleep before.

  
  

  "He returned to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter: “Could you not so much as keep on the watch for one hour with me? Keep on the watch and pray continually, so that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit, of course, is eager, but the flesh is weak.""

  
  

  Now is not the time to be sleeping.

  
  

  "But know one thing: If the householder had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have kept awake and not allowed his house to be broken into. On this account, you too prove yourselves ready, because the Son of man is coming at an hour that you do not think to be it."