Posts by Doug Mason

4

The End 2000 Years Ago Part 2

by maccauk11 in

sign 2. the beginning of birth pangs will be; false messiahs, wars famine,earthquakes, terrors and signs from heaven.

ad 40-46 a scorceror in samaria called the great power of god acts8:9-11. ad 46-48 false prophet and magician bar jesus acts 13: 6-10. ad 50 false brothers among them.

ad57 many disguised themselves as apostles of christ.

When Jesus warned his disciples about "wars" he said nothing about the size, frequency, number of casualties, many nations or few. Neither did he say whether there would be many earthquakes or few, if there would be large earthquakes or small, if there would be many casualties or none.

But he did warn them: he said "beware of deceivers". These would say that Jesus had already returned secretly or that he was in the desert. He told them that these people would say that they were The Anointed (the "Christ").

Doug

6

The Predicated End Was 2000 Years Ago Part 1

by maccauk11 in

1st in a series describing how all things were fulfilled in the 1st century.

messiah told his 1st century faithful ones what was to occur in their generation, christians today mistakingly replace the "you" inthe new testamant with "us".

meaning they mistakenly presume and have been pre conditioned to think it is some future event.

Doug Mason

Endofmysteries,

While you research eschatology, one book I recommend is:

"A History of the End of the World: How the Most Controversial Book in the Bible Changed the Course of Western Civilisation", by Jonathan Kirsch.

I suggest that in your research, you include the impact of Emperor Constantine: his acceptance of one form of Christianity as his religion affected Western civilisation even more than has the book of Revelation. Naturally, Emperor Athanasius' action in 381 CE is almost as important. If these guys had not acted in the way they did, you would not have this Christian eschatology to research.

Doug

12

Bible Reading Rev 7--umm hello?

by DS211 in

i got bored at the meeting and read the bible reading and could not believe some of the false prophetic garbage being commented....anyways heres what i fiund interesting ;-).

7 after this i saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding tight the four winds of the earth, so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.

2 and i saw another angel ascending from the sunrise, having a seal of the living god; and he called with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying: do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until after we have sealed the slaves of our god in their foreheads.

Doug Mason

Read the history of the early Church's attitude towards the Revelation of John. Who accepted it? Who rejected it? It took several centuries before it was (almost) universally accepted. And I mean centuries after Athanasius produced his list in 367 (which was almost 300 years after Revelation was written). And there is no indication that his Egyptian church accepted Athanasius' list.

Several Apocalypses ("Revelations") were in circulation; some Churches accepted one of the others. We know of the: Apocalypse of Peter; Coptic Apocalypse of Paul; Apocalypse of Paul; First Apocalypse of James; Second Apocalypse of James; Apocryphon of John; Sophia of Jesus; Letter of Peter to Philip; Apocalypse of Mary.

In this context, I will mention another book that includes visions, was considered by some churches as Scripture and is included in the Codex Siniaticus: and that book is "The Shepherd of Hermas".

Therefore, before relying on anything that Revelation might say, or be interpreted to say, first recognise that it was written to, for and about the period it was written in (end of the 1st century) and secondly ask: Who decided it should be included in the Canon of Scripture -- should it be in the Bible? How did it happen? When?

Doug

16

The 1914 war in heaven was first announced in 1925

by Doug Mason in

in its issue of march 1, 1925, the watch tower published the leading article entitled the birth of the nation which was the first announcement that there had been war in heaven after the gentile times ended in 1914 and that the devil and his angels had been cast down to our earth.

but this was further called attention to later in the article the king in action in the issue of september 15, 1925. this ousting of the devil and his angels from heaven had its effect upon the wild beast and its kingdom here on earth.

all this was forcefully presented in the book entitled deliverance, which was released on friday, may 28, 1926, at the international convention in london, england, after the conventioners adopted a resolution entitled a testimony to the rulers of the world.

Doug Mason

The writer of Revelation says: "there was war in heaven".

My understanding of grammar is that as far as the 1st century writer was concerned, this had already happened in the past. He does not write: "I saw that there is going to be a war in heaven". For him, it had already taken place - Satan was already on earth.

Who was the "woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet"? Someone who gave birth to a son who was snatched up to God and his throne. Did he possibly mean that the woman was the nation of Israel? Certainly he was not speaking of a literal person.

Where was the desert she went to for 1260 days, after she obtained eagle's wings?

And Satan has seven heads as well as horns and crowns? If he was around, he certainly would make the TV news bulletins in Australia, I am sure.

Let's be real about this fanciful imagery and never build a belief based on it!

Doug

12

Eph 1:1 - An example of eisegesis

by leaving_quietly in

eisegesis (formed from the greek preposition ?

"into" and the ending from the english word exegesis, which in turn is derived from ??

"to lead out") is the process of interpreting a text or portion of text in such a way that it introduces one's own presuppositions, agendas, or biases into and onto the text.

Doug Mason

Hi Bobcat,

Broadly speaking, scholars accept 7 letters as genuinely by Paul. Since they are placed in order of their length, this is one argument agaiinst Hebrews.

Other writings incorrectly attributed to Paul includes the Pastorals (Timothy, Titus, and 2 Thessalonians), while Peter did not write either letter attributed to him, with 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Hebrews and Revelation having great difficulty being included in the NT canon.

There were any number of Gospels, Acts, and Apocalypses circulating during those early centuries, and the decisions on which to accept was made by those having allegiance to Paul. Not that there has been universal acceptance of the 27 books.

In my view, the Judaizers would have been aligned with the Jerusalem Church, which was headed by James. Paul was at odds with the Jerusalem Church, to put it mildly.

Regards,

Doug

1

A personal letter

by Doug Mason in

in 1977, the wts published a 64-page booklet, "jehovah's witnesses and the question of blood".

i examined the references given in that booklet and i found that the citations were less than precise.

my study, which i completed in 1988, is still available.. at the time, i wrote to ray franz on the subject.

Doug Mason

In 1977, the WTS published a 64-page booklet, "Jehovah's Witnesses and the Question of Blood". I examined the references given in that booklet and I found that the citations were less than precise. My study, which I completed in 1988, is still available.

At the time, I wrote to Ray Franz on the subject. His response to me is available at:

http://www.jwstudies.com/Letter_from_Ray_Franz.jpg

Doug

16

The 1914 war in heaven was first announced in 1925

by Doug Mason in

in its issue of march 1, 1925, the watch tower published the leading article entitled the birth of the nation which was the first announcement that there had been war in heaven after the gentile times ended in 1914 and that the devil and his angels had been cast down to our earth.

but this was further called attention to later in the article the king in action in the issue of september 15, 1925. this ousting of the devil and his angels from heaven had its effect upon the wild beast and its kingdom here on earth.

all this was forcefully presented in the book entitled deliverance, which was released on friday, may 28, 1926, at the international convention in london, england, after the conventioners adopted a resolution entitled a testimony to the rulers of the world.

Doug Mason

smiddy,

Rutherford was still teaching the 1874 Parousia in 1930.

Doug

3

"Questions" written by JWs in 1976

by Doug Mason in

i seem to recall that two sets of "questions" were put out in 1976, following the failure of the 1975 prediction.. anyway, here is the scan of one that i have; hopefully others can tell me the background.. i have made it available at:.

http://www.jwstudies.com/_questions__by_jws__abt_1976_.pdf .

doug.

Doug Mason

I seem to recall that two sets of "Questions" were put out in 1976, following the failure of the 1975 prediction.

Anyway, here is the scan of one that I have; hopefully others can tell me the background.

I have made it available at:

http://www.jwstudies.com/_Questions__by_JWs__abt_1976_.pdf

Doug

16

The 1914 war in heaven was first announced in 1925

by Doug Mason in

in its issue of march 1, 1925, the watch tower published the leading article entitled the birth of the nation which was the first announcement that there had been war in heaven after the gentile times ended in 1914 and that the devil and his angels had been cast down to our earth.

but this was further called attention to later in the article the king in action in the issue of september 15, 1925. this ousting of the devil and his angels from heaven had its effect upon the wild beast and its kingdom here on earth.

all this was forcefully presented in the book entitled deliverance, which was released on friday, may 28, 1926, at the international convention in london, england, after the conventioners adopted a resolution entitled a testimony to the rulers of the world.

Doug Mason

In its issue of March 1, 1925, The Watch Tower published the leading article entitled “The Birth of The Nation” which was the first announcement that there had been war in heaven after the Gentile Times ended in 1914 and that the Devil and his angels had been cast down to our earth. But this was further called attention to later in the article “The King in Action” in the issue of September 15, 1925. This ousting of the Devil and his angels from heaven had its effect upon the “wild beast” and its kingdom here on earth. All this was forcefully presented in the book entitled “Deliverance,” which was released on Friday, May 28, 1926, at the international convention in London, England, after the conventioners adopted a resolution entitled “A Testimony to the Rulers of the World.” The sixth proposition of this resolution stated that “by reason of the blinding influence of Satan the minds of the rulers and the ruled are turned away from the true God.” – “ ‘Babylon The Great Has Fallen’ – God’s Kingdom Rules!” (1963), page 554

12

Eph 1:1 - An example of eisegesis

by leaving_quietly in

eisegesis (formed from the greek preposition ?

"into" and the ending from the english word exegesis, which in turn is derived from ??

"to lead out") is the process of interpreting a text or portion of text in such a way that it introduces one's own presuppositions, agendas, or biases into and onto the text.

Doug Mason

Bobcat,

I suggest one reason that the reference in Ephesians to "two groups ... is without precedent in Paul's letters" happened because Paul did not write that letter.

To address this expression, one would need to consider the context at the time when it was written - what was the contemporary situation within the Pauline and other Christian communities? How far had it moved in its anti-Semiticism? Did this influence the writer(s)?

Doug