Posts by myelaine

4

The PROBLEM of MONO theism: the rise of puritanical fanatics!

by Terry in

the source of greatest conflict in our world today rests in two separate beliefs whose friction is unbearably incendiary.. it is a matter of priority.

which is most important?.

1. the here and now (life from cradle to grave).. or.

myelaine

dear Terry...

here are some notes on the destruction of the temple in 70 AD: The historian Josephus said that much of the exterior of the Temple was covered with gold that reflected the fiery rays of the sun. Moreover, he said that, from a distance, the Temple appeared like a mountain covered with snow. This was probably because those parts that were not covered with gold were made of white stone. luke 21:5

During Jesus' time, many of the Jews were so awe struck and impressed with the grandeur of the Temple that they replaced the worship of God with respect and reverence for the Temple complex itself. luke 21:1

The second temple treasury did benefit from a great influx of gold and silver from all lands contributed by worshippers. Cicero wrote of great influxes of gold to Jerusalem during his lifetime. Gifts other than gold or silver coins were sold and their value given to the treasury. Another large source of revenue was profit made from the sale of the meat offerings which were prepared by the Levites and sold every day to the offerers. By far the largest sum was probably derived from the half-shekel of temple tribute which was required of every male Israelite of age, including proselytes and slaves. The total sum of gold and silver contributed annually at the time of Jesus has been estimated to have been of the order of $500,000 per year. A large fraction of this wealth no doubt accumulated year after year over the lifetime of the second temple, (515 B. C. to 70 A. D.). There were numerous temple expenses but the evidence suggests that the bulk of the income was stored up year after year.

Thus, the Roman plunder could well have been worth tens of millions of dollars. The pillaging of the temple, its total destruction and the burning of Jerusalem with terrible suffering and loss of life occurred in 70 AD under the Roman General Titus (Josephus, Wars of the Jews ). Tradition has it that the intense flames of the temple fire melted the gold and silver of the temple so that it ran between the cracks of the rocks. Roman soldiers then totally dismantled the temple stone by stone to extract the gold, (see Matthew 24:1-2). No one seems to know with certainty if any of the vessels or sacred objects from Herod's temple were hidden in subterranean passageways during the long siege of Titus. Most everything of value was most likely carried off to Rome. ~THE TREASURES OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORD by Lambert Dolphin~

love michelle

34

The Mark of The Wild Beast, How Does One Receive It? 666

by Este in

the first thing that needs to be determined is who or what is the wild beast ?......

estephan.

1and it stood still upon the sand of the sea.. and i saw a wild beast ascending out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and upon its horns ten diadems, but upon its heads blasphemous names.2now the wild beast that i saw was like a leopard, but its feet were as those of a bear, and its mouth was as a lion's mouth.

myelaine

dear estephan...

Almighty God knows the end from the beginning and this scripture in revelation is a prophecy of the end times. I would suspect that the beast with the number of a man would be an entity that is held prisoner or captive.(rev 13:10) Unlike man though, he is not to be "set free" by the blood of the Lamb, as he is depicted as being thrown into the lake of fire...satan is said to be turned to ashes from within.(ezekiel 28:18) all "man" has to do to receive the number of the beast is to decline the blood of the Lamb.

gr. #616 and #666 respectively.

love michelle

39

MOSES AND THE COPPER SERPENT......mysterious!

by Terry in

jw
friends

isn't it odd; even mysterious that christians think jesus could be represented by a serpent?

numbers 21:8 and the lord said unto moses, make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

21:9 and moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

myelaine

dear Terry...

it seems the purpose of the bible was to separate God's truth from fiction. Do you think it serves this intent (ie: 2 Tim 3:16) to indulge in the "mysticism" and error that allegorical interpretation can produce?...beliefs can get way out there in a hurry and I've read that there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin once one has received knowledge of the truth (Hebrews 10:25)...don't look back to untruth to find truth...

Sure the "ingredients" tickle the ear...but now it's time to get real, so to speak: acts 17:30, acts 13:8-10

love michelle

39

MOSES AND THE COPPER SERPENT......mysterious!

by Terry in

jw
friends

isn't it odd; even mysterious that christians think jesus could be represented by a serpent?

numbers 21:8 and the lord said unto moses, make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

21:9 and moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

myelaine

dear Terry...

you said: "The ingredients of our bible stories are much richer in allegory than the literal view of real persons, places and actual events."...

what is your point? wringing hidden meaning out of the text is a more "colourful" means of interpretation compared to...?

love michelle

9

How Religion Can Ruin A Nation

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-muslim-brotherhood-is-ruining-egypt-2013-5.

i expected this when i heard their parliament declare israel their greatest enemy.. not disease.

not poverty.

myelaine

I'm not surprised by what has happened or how this happened but I was saddened by the pictures that were presented. So many children without family guidance, food or support.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/205569/1/Anyone-else-closing-watching-crisis-in-Egypt

dear moshe...

I tend to agree with the people who said that but all it takes is a tipping point and that doesn't have to be "no more free stuff"...

love michelle

25

Is the story of the Garden of Eden simply a Rabbinical puzzle of SQUARING the circle??

by Terry in

1.man's nature as homo sapien is to pursue knowledge for survival.

myelaine

dear Terry...

at some point in ancient history God spoke to people. He chose certain people out of all other people to reveal the "theologically" correct interpretaion of the world around them. Many ancient civilizations spoke about "a beginning" and "a flood"...God gave the correct meaning or interpretaion of these events to a people who incidentally haven't drifted off or been assimilated like other ancient people groups. It wasn't an accident that God revealed these things and His purpose to the very ones who would carefully preserve it. He planned on preserving them unique and for Himself!!

God also planned on preserving the church and the revelation that He gave them. I know that there are, in these times, many variations on a theme but, this also was foretold. I know you take great issue with the fact that "all we have is copies of copies of copies...there are no originals"...however, there were originals that these copies wee copied from. True we didn't see them in order to check every phrase or word against what we have now but, that is where people in our day have to get over themselves. the entire reason and purpose for the bible even as we have it, is to give more clarity to people regarding what God wants and does etc. A person has to trust what these people have said and tried to teach us...for our own good, as it is God's will for us.

Now, you don't have to trust anyone but yourself if that is what allows you to feel safe in this big world but for others that God is trying to reach out to in His love and grace with comforting words from the bible...words that will allow them to know that God IS on His throne...you are, in your unbelief, the one who appears to be the vigilante fighting toward eradicating all vestiges of "religious" thought...and I've seen that the way that you do this is not just question the validity of what is written but you twist it it suit your agenda.

one has to ignore the way that God has guided His people throughout history, one has to ignore the fact that things that are foretold in the bible are happening on the world scene, one even has to deny that there is anything "happening" toward the fulfilment of the end of the age in order to maintain that there is no there, there...that is a lot of looking away from evidence to conclude that the bible is merely some peoples opinion and that there wasn't direct inspiration from God in it's compilation, transmission and interpretation...

I wonder what makes you think it is more humble to say, "we don't know (because you don't know)"...than to say, "thank you, we have so much valuable information and thoughtful encouragement from those who have gone before us"...seriously, IS it intellectually honest to think that because you don't know, no one knows?

love michelle

13

An open CHALLENGE to active JW's

by Terry in

how can the following be proved to be scriptural?.

what possible evidence supports these teachings and policies?.

1. jesus surveyed all christian denominations and chose the "anointed" under judge rutherford for his approved church in the year 1919.. .

myelaine

On page 236of "The Harp of God" (1921) "it is figured that "Counting three and a half years from 1874, the time of his presence, brings us to 1878. During the presence of The Lord from 1874-1878 he was making preparation for the harvest of the gospel age. The Jewish harvest covered a period of forty years, ending in AD 73. We should expect, then, the general harvest of the gospel age to end in 1918." ...page 244 "His presence beginning in 1874, he has carried on his harvest work from 1878 forward, but has not interrupted the gentile domination until that domination should end. The end of the gentile rule, therefore, would mark necessarily the end of the present order; therefore, the end of the world. We should expect, then, to find 1914 as the beginning of the end of the old world or order oh government."

i can't find any place where it specifically talks about the year that Jesus is placed upon his holy hill in Zion.

xo

13

An open CHALLENGE to active JW's

by Terry in

how can the following be proved to be scriptural?.

what possible evidence supports these teachings and policies?.

1. jesus surveyed all christian denominations and chose the "anointed" under judge rutherford for his approved church in the year 1919.. .

myelaine

dear DATA-DOG...

in "The Harp of God" on page 225 we have the reason given that some would notice the signs of Jesus' presence. Namely Jesus' words in Acts 1:7,8. "Those who are begotten of the Holy Spirit have the promise that The Lord will reveal to them His great truths when due to be understood" (1 cor.2:9,10) The beginning of the time of the end is marked as 1799 (Napoleon begins his campaign in Egypt and finishes in 1799, page 229)

"the prophet then was shown that 1260 years from AD539 bearings us to 1799. This also shows that it is from the date 539AD that the other prophetic days of Daniel must be counted." ..."Blessed is he that wait etch, and comets to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty [1335] days".(Daniel 12:12) This date, therefore, when understood, would certainly fix the time when The Lord is due at his second appearing. Applying the same rule, then,of a day for a year, 1335 days after 539AD brings us to AD 1874 (pg 230)...(also it is noted that these dates are studied extensively in volumes 2 and 3 of Studies in the Scriptures.

Page 231 wants to make a clear distinction between the years mentioned. "There are two important dates here that we must not confuse, but clearly differentiate, namely, the beginning of "the time of the end" and of "the presence of The Lord". The time of the end embraces a period from 1799' as indicated, to the time of the complete overthrow of satan's empire and the establishment of the kingdom of the Messiah. The time of the Lord's second presence dates from 1874, as stated. The later period is within the first named, of course, and at the latter part of the period known as "the time of the end".

love michelle

31

Is it WHAT you believe that is important...or...is it HOW?

by Terry in

overheard:.

"is your cup half full or half empty?".

"well, depends on whether you just poured something out or poured something in.".

myelaine

dear James Thomas...

thank you for your response.

I had read what you said about the sugar cube before, the first time you wrote about it. I thought it was interesting. I tend to believe that in spite of the very small amount of "us" that the human body contains people are immeasurably more valuable than their gross weight :) someone elses "one seven billionth of one teaspoon" of ideas alone can actually cause another person to move physically, can't they?...impel them forward AND provide them momentum.

anyway, I don't think you're a fool if that's what you're saying. I was giving your (I don't know what to call it, belief, experiential philosophy?) some thought last night. I don't want to experience it because I don't think it is a healthy approach to life, if it works for you in some way I would be interested in hearing about what benefit you have found it to have for you personally.

what I was thinking last night is that if nothing can be known about this "Source" then one shouldn't be too dogmatic about calling it the "Source" first of all. also if a person has to give up time, thoughts, beliefs and energy to advance toward some kind of eventual (I don't know, connection?) with the "all" or the "Source"...but this "Source" doesn't encourage questions (you can't actually know), give any answers or provide for hope of anything in return...can it even be called a "Source" when in theory it acts like a parasite? (no offense).

so...those are just some of my thoughts. Have you ever thought about what you believe and asked yourself questions like this?

love michelle

31

Is it WHAT you believe that is important...or...is it HOW?

by Terry in

overheard:.

"is your cup half full or half empty?".

"well, depends on whether you just poured something out or poured something in.".

myelaine

dear James Thomas...

let me see if I've understood what you've said correctly...ummm...not that your words actually mean anything or something

on your "pathless-path" (through meditation etc?) you have found that:"What does matter, amounts to one thing: how we treat each-other and all life and planet." BUT that isn't truth because if we are all part of the all the exact opposite could be just as true.

evil could be generated through thought and mind generated confusion but if it is and has been essentially part of the all...should it be silenced?...are we the ones to make that call?...would be be messing with the "Source"?...how would we know?

it seems to me, if no real truth only ambiguity can be found on this pathless path...isn't that really a waste of precious time?...even as little as 1/2 an hour spent on this pathless path could have been spent enjoying this life.

love michelle