Posts by Doug Mason

7

The Hebrew Aleph at the behinning of creation and the bet meaning

by artcritic in

lets look at their meanings.

the hebrew aleph is the same as our a but our a dose not have a symbol attached to it.

interestingly the aleph is silent.

Doug Mason

I simply pointed out that the essence of your post reflected the well-known practice of Gematria in which mystical Jews located hidden meanings through assigning a numerical value to each of the 22 letters of their alphabet. The values are listed at various places on the web, such as at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gematria.

Personally, I see this process to lie within the area of mysticism, such as practiced by Kabbalists. If you find mysticism interests you, that is your right. I thought it only proper to point out the nature of your position.

From a quick look at the www for Kabbalah, I found this to provide an objective account: http://pamela2051.tripod.com/kabbalism.htm

Doug

7

The Hebrew Aleph at the behinning of creation and the bet meaning

by artcritic in

lets look at their meanings.

the hebrew aleph is the same as our a but our a dose not have a symbol attached to it.

interestingly the aleph is silent.

Doug Mason

I therefore assume you are familiar with Jewish mysticism, including Kabbalah.

Another related aspect is Gematria. The Jews assigned a number to each of the 22 Hebrew letters, which means that every word has a numerical value. A number is thus a series of letters, regardless of their sequence. The Revelator makes reference to this when he speaks of the number of the name being 666 (or 616 according to some sources). The word G_d has a number but this sacred number is never mentioned.

Their is nothing new in the speculative mysticism you speak of, but it does hint at mysticism in Hebrew writings that is missed by the 21st century Western mind. I thus feel that your cartoon shows lack of respect.

Doug

8

JOSEPH Why a coat of many colors?

by artcritic in

joseph why a coat of many colors?this coat is to do with light for joseph.

it would be a reminder of a covenant given to mankind in the form of a rainbow and it would represent all the other covenants.

joseph was to bring gods light into the world and reveal many hidden secrets and become great in the kingdom.

Doug Mason

There are different views about the Hebrew and its meaning. While "many colors" is a possible translation, it might also mean that the coat had sleeves. or that it had shading in one color.

Coats were typically a sheet of material with a hole; special coats had sleeves.

Possibly the point of the story is about the special relationship between Joseph and his dad, the nature of the coat being irrelevant.

Doug

Summary added to "The Tower of sand"

by Doug Mason in

i have quite rightly been asked to provide a summary for my study "the tower of sand".

at the same time i fixed a few typos.

adding the summary means that the study is now "version 2.0", available at:.

Doug Mason

I have quite rightly been asked to provide a Summary for my Study "The Tower of sand". At the same time I fixed a few typos. Adding the Summary means that the Study is now "Version 2.0", available at:

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

The Summary is available as a separate document at:

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

Doug

14

"The Tower of sand"

by Doug Mason in

my study on the pillars that create and support the existence of the governing body: "144,000", little flock, great crowd, and other sheep.. http://www.jwstudies.com/the_tower_of_sand.pdf.

doug.

Doug Mason

Thank you for your kind comments.

I learned a lot while preparing it.

Doug

14

"The Tower of sand"

by Doug Mason in

my study on the pillars that create and support the existence of the governing body: "144,000", little flock, great crowd, and other sheep.. http://www.jwstudies.com/the_tower_of_sand.pdf.

doug.

Doug Mason

My Study on the pillars that create and support the existence of the Governing Body: "144,000", “Little Flock”, “Great Crowd”, and “Other Sheep”.

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

Doug

4

Emblems

by Harold Mourning in

food for thought: .

why didn't jesus (as the sacrificial lamb) choose bread and wine to signify his life instead of the (if it was actually on the passover) lamb that would have been there per jewish practice?

also using a lamb would have been consistent with the law...the symbolic ideas would have been linear instead we have lamb represents "passover lamb"/messiah represented by bread and wine?

Doug Mason

In the Scriptures, "blood" always symbolises Death. It does not symbolise Life.

The presence of blood, such as on the door posts or before the altar, indicated that the lamb had been slain.

The Jews were told to ensure the beast was dead before they could eat it, indicating this by draining the blood from the meat. They were thus rejecting heathen practice of ripping flesh from a living animal and eating the quivering flesh in the belief that the blood would pass on the animal's qualities.

Doug

26

Source material: "144,000" and "anointed" in The Watchtower, 2000-2015

by Doug Mason in

a collation of statements made in the watchtower from 2000 to 2015 of "144,000" and "anointed".

http://www.jwstudies.com/wt_magazines_from_2000_to_2015_on_144000_and_the_anointed.pdf .

doug.

Doug Mason

opusdei,

I agree with the path you are walking along. But please remind me where Paul wrote that he saw a light of the resurrected Jesus. Are you thinking of Gal 1:12?

Have you studied how the Bible came to be assembled? Have you looked at the different lists of books that make up the Bible ? Why is it that Paul's writings and philosophies dominate the NT?

A lot of what we read in the NT was written decades after the Jesus event, likely none of whom saw or heard him.

Doug

26

Source material: "144,000" and "anointed" in The Watchtower, 2000-2015

by Doug Mason in

a collation of statements made in the watchtower from 2000 to 2015 of "144,000" and "anointed".

http://www.jwstudies.com/wt_magazines_from_2000_to_2015_on_144000_and_the_anointed.pdf .

doug.

Doug Mason

Charlie,

Do I know you from previous discussion as Lars/Larry/etc.? He told me that he was the Jesus Christ who had returned in 1992 and that he had met the resurrected Daniel.

Doug

26

Source material: "144,000" and "anointed" in The Watchtower, 2000-2015

by Doug Mason in

a collation of statements made in the watchtower from 2000 to 2015 of "144,000" and "anointed".

http://www.jwstudies.com/wt_magazines_from_2000_to_2015_on_144000_and_the_anointed.pdf .

doug.

Doug Mason

Those NT writers (and editors/redactors) thought they were living at the very last of the Last Days, with the imminent divine intervention in prospect - in their own time, during "this generation". An example is at Revelation 22:7, 12, 20: "I am coming soon."

They were wrong. This idea of an imminent divine intervention has been repeated throughout history, yet people never learn the lesson that history teaches. So we see people today saying the same thing - all with a score of zero.

You are correct that at 1 Thessalonians, Paul expected the Coming to take place while "we who are still alive". When that failed to eventuate, someone - well after Paul's death - tried to calm down their heightened fervor and wrote 2 Thessalonians.

Doug