Posts by Jeffro

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Did Isaiah even predict Cyrus' name 150 years ago?

by pokertopia in

did isaiah even predict cyrus' name 150 years ago?.

there were two types of prophets: individual prophets and court prophets.

for example, before ahab went to war, 400 court prophets predicted ahab's victory, but michaya, an individual prophet, predicted his defeat.

Jeffro

he cl

Vidqun:

Overall Josephus was a trustworthy historian. According to him Cyrus was aware of the Isaiah prophecy. This made him favor the Jews, allowing them to return to their homeland and rebuild the temple. Later Darius discovered Cyrus' edict and he allowed the Jews to carry on with their work. In the end the temple was rebuilt.

Josephus repeating a Jewish tradition that existed by his time is not evidence that Cyrus or Darius actually said something or why. For a start, Cyrus did not make any special edict just for the Jews, but had a broader policy of allowing captives in Babylonia to return to their homelands and practice their own religious beliefs. This was in order to quell social unrest, for the same reason that Cyrus dedicated a temple to Marduk in Babylon.

3 for he stirred up the mind of Cyrus, and made him write this throughout all Asia:--``Thus says Cyrus the king: Since God Almighty has appointed me to be king of the habitable earth, I believe that he is that God which the nation of the Israelites worship;
4 for indeed he foretold my name by the prophets, and that I should build him a house at Jerusalem, in the country of Judea.''

Antiquities here interpolates part of Isaiah 44:28-45:1 (not written by Isaiah) into Ezra 1:2 rather than actually quoting Cyrus. The fact that Josephus interpolated the claim about Cyrus knowing of the supposed 'prophecy' (or quoted a Jewish tradition that had developed after the writing of Ezra) into the statement in Ezra is evident from the fact that the 'quote' in Antiquities isn't even consistent with what Ezra 1:1 says Cyrus proclaimed, and neither is consistent with Cyrus' broader policy rather than special treatment of just the Jews.

42

God and Unicorns

by Sea Breeze in

atheist scientists now agree that "elasmotherium sibiricu" lived with humans.

all they had to do was read their bible to know that.

job 39:9 “will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?”.

Jeffro

Anony Mous:

This is what makes natural diamonds so rare and expensive.

No, that would be the DeBeers corporation. 😂

42

God and Unicorns

by Sea Breeze in

atheist scientists now agree that "elasmotherium sibiricu" lived with humans.

all they had to do was read their bible to know that.

job 39:9 “will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?”.

Jeffro

Sea Breeze:

DNA only has a half-life of 521 years

🤦‍♂️ This appears to be a hasty generalisation lifted from pop-science reporting. DNA doesn't have a prescribed 'half-life', such as in the manner of radioactive decay. The viability of a DNA sample depends on the conditions in which it were preserved. A sample of DNA could be destroyed instantly or be preserved for millions of years depending on the conditions.

42

God and Unicorns

by Sea Breeze in

atheist scientists now agree that "elasmotherium sibiricu" lived with humans.

all they had to do was read their bible to know that.

job 39:9 “will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?”.

Jeffro

The word rendered as 'unicorn' in some translations refers to the rhinoceros (and rendered as such in the Vulgate). (Also, the scientific name of the Indian rhinoceros is Rhinoceros unicornis, but there is no requirement that the term used in the Bible refers only to that species). The picture in the initial post also refers to an extinct species of rhinoceros. And it doesn't look anything like unicorns as rendered in popular culture.

20

Did Isaiah even predict Cyrus' name 150 years ago?

by pokertopia in

did isaiah even predict cyrus' name 150 years ago?.

there were two types of prophets: individual prophets and court prophets.

for example, before ahab went to war, 400 court prophets predicted ahab's victory, but michaya, an individual prophet, predicted his defeat.

Jeffro

pokertopia:

This article was forced by A.I. to be seen only by me and the moderators, are you a moderator?
It makes me feel that this social system is a violent evil structure that takes away human freedom and individual rights.
This system is bound to be put right. I believe that a transparent system is God's Kingdom.

Good grief. 🤦‍♂️🤣

20

Did Isaiah even predict Cyrus' name 150 years ago?

by pokertopia in

did isaiah even predict cyrus' name 150 years ago?.

there were two types of prophets: individual prophets and court prophets.

for example, before ahab went to war, 400 court prophets predicted ahab's victory, but michaya, an individual prophet, predicted his defeat.

Jeffro

The Book of Isaiah is composed of three sections.

Chapters 1-39 - written by Isaiah (late 8th century BCE), though passages about the downfall of Babylon actually relate to Assyrian dominance over Babylon during the Neo-Assyrian period which began in the 8th century BCE during the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III. These are frequently retroactively ascribed by believers to the Persian defeat of Babylon (where the fact that Babylon is still inhabited is either ignored or glossed over with various trite excuses).

Chapters 40-55 - written near the end of the Babylonian exile or shortly after the initial return in 538 BCE. This section includes reference to Cyrus and the Persian defeat of Babylon.

Chapters 56-66 - a post-exilic work.

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Need help - the Revelation Climax book

by ozziepost in

is it an original from the graphics department?.

anyone know?.

Jeffro

TheOldHippie:

Second, the WT did not steal the picture from Stern, but they both bought it from a stock or whatever it is called, where thousands of photos are available for magazines, newspapers etc. I remember a few years back, when the WT had a picture of Santa Claus on the front page, and a big newspaper in my country had the same picture. Neither had stolen it from the other, but both had bought it from such a stock.

Citation needed. 😂 The fact that stock photos exist is not evidence that the photo in Stern is a stock photo.

17

Highlights of Sept 2023 Watchtower

by was a new boy in

geoffrey jackson seems so much happier than back in 2015.. .

geoffrey jackson "not my field" australian royal commission 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dki6j-ydc7e.

Jeffro

Bath Sarim:

What is that mark on her right leg?

It is a support frame. The one on the right has a support strut at the base of the right leg too. The women are looking at a shop display window containing mannequins, evidently remarking about which dress is suitable.

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