this is a common scripture, but i find it interesting that it is in direct conflict to jw belief.
john 2:19 says, "jesus answered them, "destroy this temple, and i will raise it again in three days.
" the jews replied, "it has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?
I am aware that there are many definitions of the "Trinity". Clearly you cannot be WITH someone if you are the very same person.
Take the "Trinity" out of the equation and the Bible becomes very straight forward. No Chaldean, Hellenic demonic doctrine to pollute it.
Back to discussion. Jesus did not resurrect himself, his/our Father did.
nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose--.
a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.. mary shelley.
Proverb quote: "Today, is the tomorrow you worried about, Yesterday"
Or as the Irish would say: "If you worry you die, if don't worry you die, so why the h*** worry?"
It doesn't help but it usually gets a wry smile!
growing up a jw, we always had family from out of town visit or we would go visit family.
it was fun to get together with my other jw cousins over christmas.
(however, it was hell going back to school in january as the only girl without a new sweater).. as a married jw though it was a different story.
We had turkey and all the trimmings... Dad is an Elder.. my mum is vehemently opposed (to this day). Dad would not put up the bunting, but let Mum do it if she so wished.
It was actually very hard receiving presents, and feeling guilty, as if we were sharing in the celebrations. I think in the vast majority of "Divided" families it is the mother who is the JW.
We had it all the other way round... there was little guidance for us in WT literature, and we kind of developed this uneasy compromise.
Mum's parents were married on Christmas day and one of her sisters was severed in half by an army truck around Christmas time in 1944. So, you can imagine, how she wept in the kitchen, shackled to a Turkey.
Christmas..... hate it.
Podo
this is a common scripture, but i find it interesting that it is in direct conflict to jw belief.
john 2:19 says, "jesus answered them, "destroy this temple, and i will raise it again in three days.
" the jews replied, "it has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?
Thank you Stephen. En fin, mon Ami. It was God that raised Jesus from the dead and the Word was WITH God.
Ipso facto, you can't be WITH someone and be that person, n'est-ce pas?
Podo
I wouldn't describe my experience as a spiritual one at all... just an incredible, never to be repeated PEACE. There wasn't another world beyond, nor people I knew. Just a day and a half on life support, that passed as if it was momentary.
If you have had this experience, it does leave you with an incredible serenity. Having been racked with agonising pain... the relief and calm was beyond anything I have ever experienced in this troubled life.
For those who retain a faith of sorts... I would recommend 1 Corinthians 15, on the order and nature of the resurrection.
Wherever we end up... there is PEACE and freedom from anguish. I've been there... if only for a little while.
Podo
this is a common scripture, but i find it interesting that it is in direct conflict to jw belief.
john 2:19 says, "jesus answered them, "destroy this temple, and i will raise it again in three days.
" the jews replied, "it has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?
Stephen.... when will you comment on the subject at hand? Did Jesus resurrect Himself?
No, he did not according to the overwhelming testimony of the Scriptures. God (His Father, and Our Father) raised him from the dead.
Would you like to comment on the Scriptures that state that emphatically?
Agape to you.
Podo
this is a common scripture, but i find it interesting that it is in direct conflict to jw belief.
john 2:19 says, "jesus answered them, "destroy this temple, and i will raise it again in three days.
" the jews replied, "it has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?
Did he Tammy?.... read the posters comments on page 4. God raised Jesus from the dead... read again.
Podo
In 1981 whilst in Bethel, my appendix ruptured whilst the surgeon was opening me up... peritonitis caused toxic shock to my system and, apparently, I died.
I had what you might describe as an Out of Body experience.... I don't recall being in any other place than peering down on the team which was trying to revive me. Whether this was the experience of coming to... out of the General Anaesthesia, temporarily, I will never know.
All I know for sure is that I woke up in intensive care one and half days later feeling as if I did not have a care in the world, and at peace.
Shortly there after I experienced something on the ward that would start my exit from the WT movement. For me, my death, brought me back to an entirely different world.
This is my true testimony.
Podo
this is a common scripture, but i find it interesting that it is in direct conflict to jw belief.
john 2:19 says, "jesus answered them, "destroy this temple, and i will raise it again in three days.
" the jews replied, "it has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?
It's not about cell net guys.. it's about understanding plain English. That's what the book says.
But, I agree with Terry... Jesus didn't pen the words himself. It is all a matter of Chinese Whispers. The accurate meaning of the original koine is lost in transLITeration in many places.
However, many of the statements of Paul and John are unequivocal. It was the Father of Jesus, God who raised him up.
We still await Stephens (Chalam's) comment on the abundance of Scriptures that make clear statement.
Did Jesus resurrect Himself... No he did not. At least that is what the Apostles have said. Good enough for me.
Podo
this is a common scripture, but i find it interesting that it is in direct conflict to jw belief.
john 2:19 says, "jesus answered them, "destroy this temple, and i will raise it again in three days.
" the jews replied, "it has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?
Think About It: I agree absolutely with you. The transLITeration of certain passages from koine Greek to English can appear ambiguous in our poor modern language. There are about one dozen scriptures that pro Trinitarians use, almost like a centrifuge.
However the overwhelming canon of Scripture is straight forward and unequivocal. Paul and John especially had no reason to be couched in their phrasiology. Jesus and his Father and God were two distinct beings.
The gift given to Jesus for his faithfulness was Immortality. If he was Almighty God incarnate, Immortality would hardly have been a reward, would it?
You and others have pointed out to Stephen many Scriptures telling him that it was God that raised Jesus.
Let's wait to see if he has the good grace to answer my request to comment on these, or see if he gives me the run around once again.
Think About It... thanks, I have
Podo
