reading idly through this magazine , i read the study article "rejoicing in our hope" which discusses the two "hopes" according to the wtbts ie heaven & earth.. a couple of points were of interest:.
(1) absolutely no mention at all of the 144,000 or rev 14. usually an article like this would be filled with references , but it isn't even mentioned.
it does discuss the "limited number" , but only in contrast with the "no man can number" great crowd.. (2) a much more laid back attitude towards the two hopes.
I once asked an ancient, "annointed" brother (he was born in 1906, if I remember correctly), about the 144,000. "How can there only be 144,000, when so many Christians were killed in the first century and?" His answer was, "Many of them weren't really annointed, they were APOSTATES somehow, therefore, they didn't go to heaven".
I thought about that, just imagine you were thrown into an arena in some Roman place, to be that day's entertainment for the masses, torn apart by lions or wild dogs or perhaps you were to be a human torch, all for your faith in Jehovah and Jesus, and somehow you weren't good enough to be one of the 144,000. What a crying shame and waste.
i was at the congregation bible study recently (aka "book study") which has been expounding in depth regarding the 1st century's unbelievable resemblance, in organizational terms, to our modern-day governing body and how big decisions are made now.
surprise!
it's exactly like it is supposed to be, according to the bible!.
Morbidzbaby-I too researched circumsion, and we chose NOT to do it for the same reasons. That was just fine with our hospital, because they were embroiled in a law suit where the pediatrician had lopped off too much of the poor baby's penis, and of course his parents sued.
I could never figure out how the Jewish Christians knew the other Christians were not circumcised. Did they greet each other with 'Hello, can I please see your penis, before I get to know you further?' Did they have competitive pee-ing, where all the guys lined up to see who pee farthest and sneak looks at the neighboring contestants?
earthquakes continued unrelentingly in christchurch on saturday, including one measuring 5.l at 6.37am (0437 aedt), as residents of the city prepared for a christmas overshadowed by an ongoing natural disaster.. quakes measuring 5.8 and 6.0 on friday left dozens of people with minor injuries, while damage echoed previous quakes that had rattled the city since september last year.. saturday's morning quake was located 10km east of akaroa at a depth of 9km, gns science said.. there were also two magnitude 4.2 quakes and two magnitude 4.3 quakes overnight and many other smaller shakes.. there are still about 400 residents without power on the eastern side of the city and aftershocks have cut water supply to the suburbs of sumner, redcliffs, moncks bay, balmoral hill, richmond hill, clifton and scarborough, parts of st andrews hill and mt pleasant.. the palms shopping mall, which serves the eastern suburbs, is not opening on saturday.. however, public transport is operating and a carols by candlelight concert is going ahead at hagley park north on saturday night.. "liquefaction, rockfalls and water supply are the main areas of concern following yesterday's cluster of aftershocks in christchurch," the ministry of civil defence and emergency management said on saturday.. on friday belongings fell from shelves in homes, others were swamped by liquefaction, windows smashed and once again stock was destroyed in stores where business as usual had only just resumed for the pre-christmas rush.. malls were evacuated, as was christchurch airport, disrupting travel for holidaymakers and those heading home for the festive season.. power was knocked out to 26,000 customers and phone lines became jammed, but key infrastructure, including water and sewerage, were largely unaffected.. some quake-weary residents once again left their homes.. denise and max ferris, who live in the eastern hill suburb of mt pleasant, packed up their young daughter, her new kitten and their car and headed to leeston, 40 minutes drive southwest of christchurch, for a reprieve.. their home was too damaged again to stay in overnight.. "we would be lucky if there are six people left in our street," mrs ferris said.. the family plan to return home for christmas day but expect to have a picnic outdoors, not trusting it will be safe indoors.. "like most people, we have to try and make it as normal as possible under very trying conditions," she told nz newswire.. deputy mayor ngaire button was adamant the quakes would not set back the city's recovery.. "we believe that this event will pass quickly and that we'll all be able to enjoy christmas on sunday.".
geonet project director ken gledhill told aap the quakes are part of a pattern that has been seen repeatedly since september 2010, with aftershocks petering off ahead of quakes last boxing day, and in february and june.. .
i can't type worth a damn and have had operations on my main (left) hand, so i sometimes send a pre-recorded response to emails and messages from people who are down and out about getting out of the witnesses, and some are near suicidal.
does my god have the same name as your god...and do you know his name?december 21, 2011 08:58 pm estviews: 150 | 2 people recommend this | comments: 7this was asked of me today, but a fellow worker...a jehovah witness that i have worked with for some time now, 6 years to be exact.. you may ask why this came about, or even came a part of our conversation.
but her children come to the restaurant where we work every day when they get out of school.
My family always accepted the turkey given by Dad's employer at Thanksgiving and the ham at X-mas. They also accepted any cash bonus issued at that time. We all pick and choose what we are willing to accept. We needed the food, because my parents were uneducated and had crappy jobs, but we always had enough money to go in the' ministry'.
new babtism statement in an effort to go more "main stream.".
i pledge allegiance to the governing body of the watchtower bible & tract society and to the religion for which it stands, one congregation, under god, indivisible with uniformity and the right to a judicial committee for all.. "i pledge allegiance to the governing body of the watchtower bible & tract society and to the religion for which it stands, one congregation, under god, indivisible, with uniformity and the right to a judicial committee for all.
Dearest Mouthy, Granny,Grace-What a sweetie you are-to invite them in from the cold and also have hugged them. You did yourself proud! (sending you a little warm sunshine)
so, a female relative of mine who is 60 but inactive in the truth had their mate dying in the hospital.
the older sister + husband and old brother (of dying man) (active witnesses) come to visit and stay at their home.
the old sister is staying at the hospital around the clock for the duration of the visit but tells her sister-in-law that she must have a chaperon at the house if she is going to be there with her husband and her dying husbands older brother?
It is all about appearances isn't it? How sad. It is as if the 60 year old sister with the ailing hubby, is so disloyal to him, she can't wait to jump the other guy's bones once she is home. Everyone thinks the worst of everyone else in this crazy religion. If I were the sister with the ailing hubby, I think I would be furious and ask her to go stay at a hotel.
