Posts by Vidqun

50

WT May 2022: The Seven Headed Beast

by raymond frantz in

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https://youtu.be/wg9-pvxsoqm.

this is my take on may 2022 watchtower on the seven headed beast and its connection to the 4 beasts of daniel 7. what do you think?.

Vidqun

Polycarp was tortured and burnt at the stake. I can respect a person that takes a stand for what he believes and willing to pay with his life for the privilege. Of course those that came after him, for different reasons, might have added their own tail/tale to the story. There is enough evidence there for me to believe the kernel. For the rest, I have to allow for the "benefit of the doubt," because I was not there to verify such statements.

May I remind you, that is exactly the type of accusations that the Jews and now modern scholarship sling against Jesus and Christianity as a whole. Jesus was a prophet. His followers concocted the stories of the NT in order to deify him and rally the troops. If you follow that type of reasoning, then not much will remain of your faith.

I read through the Bible multiple times and can vouch for its veracity. Through study and prophecy I could confirm my findings. As a scientist, I had a problem with the theory of evolution. This forum helped me to work it out. I now know where I stand and what I believe. A appreciate reasonable and constructive criticism. What others say or do beyond that does not concern me in the least.

50

WT May 2022: The Seven Headed Beast

by raymond frantz in

.

https://youtu.be/wg9-pvxsoqm.

this is my take on may 2022 watchtower on the seven headed beast and its connection to the 4 beasts of daniel 7. what do you think?.

Vidqun

No, in my view MS and factual evidence would be wholly unrelated to interpretation. What I read today and my interpretation would be far removed from the interpretation of, for example, the Church Fathers. Each interprets the Bible in his/her own way, depending on personality, background, schooling and internal/external influences. Polycarp was killed for his faith, one of many. I would never dishonor a martyr by questioning his existence. This according to one of my sources:

The martyrdom of Polycarp, in 155 or 156, was an example of mob violence, to which Hadrian had been opposed. The occasion was the festival of the Commune Asiae, a notable anniversary of Caesar - worship of which Smyrna was a chief centre. There is good reason to suppose that the crowd, stirred by the ceremonies turned against the Christians as known opponents of the imperial cult, and the Asiarch, Philip, having tried in vain to induce the bishop to acknowledge Caesar as Lord, condoned the action of the mob by ordering Polycarp's execution.

The account according to Eusebius, a solid and reliable Church historian: The Early Christian Church by J. G. Davies. A lot of information there to write off as mere legend. In a court of law that would have gone down as a "reliable witness," with time, place and an accurate description of events.

50

WT May 2022: The Seven Headed Beast

by raymond frantz in

.

https://youtu.be/wg9-pvxsoqm.

this is my take on may 2022 watchtower on the seven headed beast and its connection to the 4 beasts of daniel 7. what do you think?.

Vidqun

As I said, I go with the first set of witness, closest to the discussed event. The further away from the event, the more embellishment of the facts. Same goes for the MSS. Oldest MSS usually the most reliable.

25

Vid obsession

by punkofnice in

i'm interested in your thoughts.. the media tells us a lot of agenda driven propaganda.

you're hard pressed to spot truth these days.. however, i'm told that the rona is now just a rotten flu and not the plague we were originally terrified in to believing.

last time i heard it was down in the hit parade to 16th nasty health thing.. all the people and family i know that have had the rona, have been complaining it's a very crappy flu.

Vidqun

Punkofnice, what you now see is herd immunity. That's how nature works. All come in contact with the virus and build up antibodies. And, unfortunately, like any epidemic, the old, frail and immuno-compromised die. As normal person, you have a 99.98 chance of not dying from the COVID virus. Even Bill Gates admitted that the new Omicron variant did a much better job at immunizing the people than their vaccines ever could. This miracle is known as "natural immunity," something that we and the animals are born with.

50

WT May 2022: The Seven Headed Beast

by raymond frantz in

.

https://youtu.be/wg9-pvxsoqm.

this is my take on may 2022 watchtower on the seven headed beast and its connection to the 4 beasts of daniel 7. what do you think?.

Vidqun

Peacefulpete, Polycarp knew John personally. This he shared with Irenaeus. Why would they lie? I am happy with the account of an eyewitness. The rest is pure speculation by commentators and scholars alike. I believe the book of Revelation comes from God who gave the information to Jesus. In turn Jesus imparted the vision to an angel, who revealed it to John. So, the stylistic considerations I do not view as important. John wrote down what he was told and what he was shown. Four persons could have influenced the style and grammar of the book, God, Jesus, the angel and John under inspiration (cf. Rev. 1:1, 2).

Truth_b_known, this does not refer the Jesus' Second Coming. The transfiguration is a futuristic vision and has to do with the time when Jesus comes in kingdom glory, i.e., after he has been crowned as king. "For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." (2 Pet. 1:16 ESV). This will take place after the seventh trumpet blast (Rev. 11:14, 15). Note, they were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Jesus' Second Coming takes place after the tribulation (Matt. 24:29-31).

50

WT May 2022: The Seven Headed Beast

by raymond frantz in

.

https://youtu.be/wg9-pvxsoqm.

this is my take on may 2022 watchtower on the seven headed beast and its connection to the 4 beasts of daniel 7. what do you think?.

Vidqun

Jeffro, if you followed the given scriptures you would see my interpretation is 100% consistent with the Bible. Did you follow the scriptures? Did you read the scriptures? Be specific. If you feel my interpretation is not consistent with the Bible, point out the flaws. I welcome and appreciate constructive criticism, not nonsensical generalizations.

The following is John's definition of "antichrist," not superstitious at all. Lots of people fall in this category:

The following Biblical definitions describe the characteristics of an “antichrist”:
Who is the liar if it is not the one that denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one that denies the Father and the Son (1 John 2:22).
but every inspired expression that does not confess Jesus does not originate with God. Furthermore, this is the antichrist's [inspired expression] which YOU have heard was coming, and now it is already in the world (1 John 4:3).
For many deceivers have gone forth into the world, persons not confessing Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist (2 John 1:7). [Cursive script added.]

50

WT May 2022: The Seven Headed Beast

by raymond frantz in

.

https://youtu.be/wg9-pvxsoqm.

this is my take on may 2022 watchtower on the seven headed beast and its connection to the 4 beasts of daniel 7. what do you think?.

Vidqun

This is why I put my money on John the Apostle:

The external evidence from Church Fathers is significant. Justin Martyr’s famous debate with Trypho occurred in Ephesus around A.D. 135. In his work Dialogue with Trypho (81.4), he writes, “There was a certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ, who prophesied, by a revelation that was made to him, that those who believed in our Christ would dwell a thousand years in Jerusalem.” Justin is undoubtedly referring here to the book of Revelation and associating it with John the apostle. Irenaeus introduces a series of quotations from Revelation with an introductory formula. In this formula, he claims that “John, the Lord’s disciple” wrote the following words in “the Apocalypse” ( Against Heresies 4.20.11). Irenaeus spent time as a young man in Smyrna with Polycarp, whom he claims knew John the apostle (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 5.20.6; Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.3.4). The agreement between Justin Martyr and Irenaeus on the authorship of Revelation is significant. It finds additional support from the Muratorian Canon, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, and Origen (Maier, Offenbarung 1-11, 25; Beckwith, Apocalypse, 338-9). Beckwith concludes, “So much external testimony to the personality of the author, traceable back to almost contemporaneous sources, is found in the case of almost no other book of the New Testament” (Apocalypse, 351).

50

WT May 2022: The Seven Headed Beast

by raymond frantz in

.

https://youtu.be/wg9-pvxsoqm.

this is my take on may 2022 watchtower on the seven headed beast and its connection to the 4 beasts of daniel 7. what do you think?.

Vidqun

Peacefulpete, John is the last of the apostles, held prisoner by the Romans on the Isle of Patmos. John says so himself (Rev. 1:9). There's no reason why I should question him or his existence. We've got his books (John, 1-3 John and Revelation) and witness borne to that effect by the Church Fathers. That the images of Revelation could be known to the author only, or only to be explained by the apocalyptic literature corpus, is another fallacy. The book of Revelation is unique. Every page shows how immersed its speech and imagery are in the OT. Every page shows also how free the author is from the letter of the OT and from any attested apocalyptic tradition. That is why its theological and prophetic contribution is of immense value to understanding the Bible message.

Jeffro, I don't understand you. You believe all of it is "convoluted nonsense." Why do you participate in these conversations at all? It seems to me you are so intent at disproving the theological argument that it has become an obsession. You can be an atheist, agnostic, believer or antichrist. Which one are you? If I knew that I might be able to supply you with a proper answer. Two options here, either the prophecy failed or we are looking at a future fulfillment. If you read the reference in Peter, that would have explained to you the significance of the transfiguration. It's not that complicated. The possibility exists that the "Moses" and "Elijah" the disciples saw foreshadow Revelation's two witnesses (Rev. 11:3-6). So, it's a future occurrence. Jesus, after he has become king, will guide these as to their work:

16 No, it was not by following artfully contrived false stories that we acquainted YOU with the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but it was by having become eyewitnesses of his magnificence.

17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when words such as these were borne to him by the magnificent glory, This is my son, my beloved, whom I myself have approved.

18 Yes, these words we heard borne from heaven while we were with him in the holy mountain. (2 Pet. 1:16-18 NW) [Cursive script added.]

50

WT May 2022: The Seven Headed Beast

by raymond frantz in

.

https://youtu.be/wg9-pvxsoqm.

this is my take on may 2022 watchtower on the seven headed beast and its connection to the 4 beasts of daniel 7. what do you think?.

Vidqun

Truth_b_known, those around him did see him in kingdom glory. It's called the transfiguration. Its importance is suggested by the fact that it appears at length in each of the Synoptics:

Matthew 16:27–17:13; Mark 9:1–13; Luke 9:27–36. The entire picture can be seen only as all three accounts are diligently compared. In all, thirty-eight verses of the Sacred Text are assigned to the description of this event; added to these are the three verses of 2 Peter 1:16–18, in which portion the divine interpretation is revealed.

Lenski is correct that “all these things” (Matt. 24:33) refers to the preceding context beginning in Matthew 24:3.1) More specifically, it points to the Great Tribulation, and the appearance of the two prophets, as a specific sign of the end of the present system. Therefore the “generation” referred to in Matthew 24:34 is the generation who will see the Great Tribulation, and not the generation living during Jesus’ first advent. 2)

So in Matt.24:34 one must establish to whom is he referring, to those of his generation or to those that will witness the great tribulation (Matt. 24:20-22, 32). Jesus is here using the fig tree as a natural illustration and not as a typical one. In other words, just as a budding fig tree is a sign that summer is near, so the Great Tribulation itself is a sign of the end of the age.

1) R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Matthew’s Gospel (Minneapolis, 1943), p. 951.

2) J. F. Walvoord (1972). “Christ’s Olivet Discourse on the Time of the End.” Bibliotheca Sacra, 129, pp. 20–23.

Peacefulpete, I believe John of Patmos was the writer. I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of the book.

50

WT May 2022: The Seven Headed Beast

by raymond frantz in

.

https://youtu.be/wg9-pvxsoqm.

this is my take on may 2022 watchtower on the seven headed beast and its connection to the 4 beasts of daniel 7. what do you think?.

Vidqun

Jeffro, this is how I see it. Note there will be celestial phenomena twice, at the beginning and at the end of the Tribulation. Jesus' Olivet discourse, especially Matthew and Luke, serves as a confirmation of the Revelation chronology (Matt. 24 & 25; Mark 13; Luke 21).

A. Pre-tribulation period. Jesus said: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another pestilences and food shortages; and there will be fearful sights and from heaven great signs” (Luke 21:10, 11; cf. Matt. 24:6, 7; Rev. 6:1-8). This is a fitting summary of the first phase of Jesus’ composite sign.

B. Prelude to the tribulation. Above prepares the way for the breaking of the sixth seal. Jesus continues: “Also, there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and [its] agitation, while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:25, 26; cf. Rev. 6:12-17). This introduces the second phase of his prophetic sign.

C. Great tribulation. As seen, successive cosmic disasters and deadly plagues lie in wait. This is to be the tribulation proper. Jesus warned: “Keep praying that YOUR flight may not occur in wintertime, nor on the sabbath day; for then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again. In fact, unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short” (Matt. 24:15, 20-22; Mark 13:14, 19, 20; cf. Dan. 12:1; Rev. 8, 9, 11, 15, 16). This describes conditions during the tribulation, the third phase of Jesus’ warning sign.

D. Post-tribulation period. After the Tribulation, during Jesus’ Second Coming, celestial phenomena will again be the order of the day. This is the beginning of the LORD’s Day (Mark 13:24, 25, 28-32; Luke 21:27-33 NIV; cf. Is. 13:9-13; Joel 2:1, 2a; 3:14-16; Rev. 16:14, 16; 17:12-14). This is the fourth phase of his prophecy.

E. Judgment. Jesus will be filling the dual role of judge and executioner during the period of his Second Coming (Matt. 25:31-46; Acts 17:31; cf. Rev. 11:18; 14:14-20; 19:11-21). This is the fifth and final phase of Jesus’ composite sign.