EndofMysteries, I forgot to mention, there are wonderful computer programs out there that can assist. I use Logos, an extensive library program, and BibleWorks, more of a technical, analytical program. Unfortunately somewhat expensive, but worth one's while to save up for them. To me, absolutely undispensable.
Posts by Vidqun
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9Has anyone learned how to read hebrew?
by EndofMysteries inif so, did you take a class, use a program, and how long or how many hours of study/learning would it realistically take to be able to read the bible in hebrew from when you begin to learn?
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i am trying to decide if it's something i want to pursue since bible translations and even interlinears seem to cloud out some key messages and phrases.
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Has anyone learned how to read hebrew?
by EndofMysteries inif so, did you take a class, use a program, and how long or how many hours of study/learning would it realistically take to be able to read the bible in hebrew from when you begin to learn?
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i am trying to decide if it's something i want to pursue since bible translations and even interlinears seem to cloud out some key messages and phrases.
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Vidqun
EndofMysteries, I have a working knowledge of Hebrew. I took a year course. This satisfied my need, being able to refer to Dictionaries, Lexicons and Theological articles. Like Witness2Witness says, it's a full time job, and hard work.
First the alphabet, then the right to left, then aspect/tense. What I found especially difficult were the derived stem formations. Seven main: Qal, piel, hiphel, hithpael, hophal, pual, niphal. These have a basic meaning, also active and reflexive. Some of them are intensive/causative. A lot of memorizing involved with the different prefixes, suffixes, etc. You've got to learn each one for sing., 1st person I, second person you, third person, he or she, then the plurals.
A Rabbi put it this way: Reading a translation from the Hebrew is like kissing your bride through a veil. It's not the real thing. I found it to be worth while. I would encourage anyone to do it. Learning (developing the brain) is good. An eye opener were the theophoric compound names. These are names that are combined with the Tetragrammaton or God. A study field on its own. Also what it tells one about the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton, e.g. Yehonatan vs. Netanyahu. Both mean "given by YHWH", but notice the different pronunciations of the Tetragrammaton: Yeho- vs. -yahu. This indicates a dual pronunciation. My hypothesis on this is called "the Albright-Reisel Hypothesis."
While you tackle the Hebrew, do the Greek, also a mine of information. Feel free to air your queries. I will do my best to answer.
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Journal of Philosophical Psychology cites JWs as an example of a self-validating belief system
by slimboyfat ina recent article in the journal of philosophical psychology titled: 'how convenient!
the epistemic rationale of self-validating belief systems' by maarten boudry says that one of the defense mechanisms of self-validating belief systems is "multiple endpoints and moving targets" and cites jws to illustrate the point.
here are the sections that discuss jws:.
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Vidqun
Self-validating belief system. Does that mean they "validate" themselves? They give themselves the right to exist (on their own terms). Dangerous? I thought the the Bible was supposed to have the last word, it being "the golden rule." If you validate yourself, anything goes, like the Nazis. Muliple endpoints and moving targets "as the light gets brighter, until the day is firmly established." Oh brother!
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How to silence family/elders, and not be labeled apostate, prove the 1,000 year reign understanding is false....
by EndofMysteries inmy reason for leaving or fading is because after actually reading the bible, i began to gain understanding and seeing everywhere what the bible teaches is not what jw's teach.
there is no need to bring up 'apostate' material, the history of jw's, etc, as that sets up a mental block (if you ever were a strong jw you may remember yourself it wouldn't work).
the foundation of the faith is that the bible is the final authority, the bible trumps everything, and that only jw's follow the bible everyone else twists it to their traditions and customs.
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Vidqun
Thanks for the compliment, Quarterback. But unfortunately I can't take the credit. I lean heavily on dictionaries and lexicons, especially those of German origin. So I must defer the credit to these brilliant German scholars. What helps, is a knowledge of the original languages of the Bible. Early on I realized that one cannot tackle Scriptural questions without at least a basic knowledge of the original Biblical languages. These I would utilize to decimate all opposers of Truth. How the wheel has turned! Now I am forced to use that knowledge to expose erroneous Watchtower teaching and interpretation. And I agree, give credit where due. My basic Bible knowledge I did get from the Witnesses, so they and what they teach are not all bad.
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152
To garyneal and Others, Evidence that the anointed remnants represented by the GB were selected in 1919.
by mankkeli in1st evidence: the release of loyal jews from exile, made possible by the fall of babylon, foreshadowed the release in 1919 of anointed christians from spiritual exile.
2nd evidence: that year marked the beginning of the period when the anointed remnants were released from a form of spiritual captivity to the ideas and practices of false religion.
although having rejected such false teachings as the trinity and the immortal soul, they were still tainted by babylonish practices.
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Vidqun
Mankkeli, here's a bone for you to chew on. The apostle Peter would establish an important principle: “For it is the appointed time for the judgment to start with the house of God” (cf. 1 Pet. 4:17a). Early in Jesus’ earthly ministry, he, as Jehovah’s representative, would cleanse the temple precinct of traders and their animals (cf. John 2:13-17). This he would repeat at the conclusion of his ministry (cf. Matt. 21:12, 13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45, 46). After Jesus’ coronation as King of the Messianic kingdom, Jehovah would inspect His spiritual temple (cf. Dan. 11:35; Mal. 3:1-3). Logically, this will be repeated before Jehovah’s final judgement against the nations takes place. What will Jehovah find when he inspects His temple?
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To garyneal and Others, Evidence that the anointed remnants represented by the GB were selected in 1919.
by mankkeli in1st evidence: the release of loyal jews from exile, made possible by the fall of babylon, foreshadowed the release in 1919 of anointed christians from spiritual exile.
2nd evidence: that year marked the beginning of the period when the anointed remnants were released from a form of spiritual captivity to the ideas and practices of false religion.
although having rejected such false teachings as the trinity and the immortal soul, they were still tainted by babylonish practices.
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Vidqun
No, Mankkeli, now your reaching. There's nothing in Revelation that talks of the beast's representative. And Rev. 21:18, 19 warns that if you add or take away from this scroll, it's plaques will be visited upon you, so beware. Just to finalize the point. If the prophecy (Rev. 11) was not fulfilled in 1919, then it must have a future fulfillment. I can see trouble looming for the Witnesses. So, it seems, the UN, who knows JWs quite well after the NGO debacle, will at some future date kill off the two witnesses, leaving JWs leaderless, thus killing off the preaching work. And that same message is spelt out in Ezek. (38, 39), Dan. (11:41, 45; 12:7), as well Zech. (13:8-14:2). The clouds are darkening. Who will sound the warning?
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152
To garyneal and Others, Evidence that the anointed remnants represented by the GB were selected in 1919.
by mankkeli in1st evidence: the release of loyal jews from exile, made possible by the fall of babylon, foreshadowed the release in 1919 of anointed christians from spiritual exile.
2nd evidence: that year marked the beginning of the period when the anointed remnants were released from a form of spiritual captivity to the ideas and practices of false religion.
although having rejected such false teachings as the trinity and the immortal soul, they were still tainted by babylonish practices.
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Vidqun
Mankkeli, thanks for that. That is what I wanted to know. Please tell me now: What killed the two witnesses? I read: "the wild beast that ascends out of the abyss will make war with them and conquer them and kill them" (cf. Rev. 11:7). So what is this "beast that ascends out of the abyss"? In the very same publication this beast is identified as the League of Nations and later the UN (cf. Rev. 17:8). See Revelation Climax, pp. 246-248. How is it that this beast killed the two witnesses, i.e., Rutherford and colleagues, when it did not exist?
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To garyneal and Others, Evidence that the anointed remnants represented by the GB were selected in 1919.
by mankkeli in1st evidence: the release of loyal jews from exile, made possible by the fall of babylon, foreshadowed the release in 1919 of anointed christians from spiritual exile.
2nd evidence: that year marked the beginning of the period when the anointed remnants were released from a form of spiritual captivity to the ideas and practices of false religion.
although having rejected such false teachings as the trinity and the immortal soul, they were still tainted by babylonish practices.
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Vidqun
No, it wasn't. But in any case, seeing that you are the expert, one question. What killed the two witnesses? Clue: Rev. 11:7
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To garyneal and Others, Evidence that the anointed remnants represented by the GB were selected in 1919.
by mankkeli in1st evidence: the release of loyal jews from exile, made possible by the fall of babylon, foreshadowed the release in 1919 of anointed christians from spiritual exile.
2nd evidence: that year marked the beginning of the period when the anointed remnants were released from a form of spiritual captivity to the ideas and practices of false religion.
although having rejected such false teachings as the trinity and the immortal soul, they were still tainted by babylonish practices.
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Vidqun
Mankkeli, I still don't have an answer to my question. Is above quote up-to-date?
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To garyneal and Others, Evidence that the anointed remnants represented by the GB were selected in 1919.
by mankkeli in1st evidence: the release of loyal jews from exile, made possible by the fall of babylon, foreshadowed the release in 1919 of anointed christians from spiritual exile.
2nd evidence: that year marked the beginning of the period when the anointed remnants were released from a form of spiritual captivity to the ideas and practices of false religion.
although having rejected such false teachings as the trinity and the immortal soul, they were still tainted by babylonish practices.
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Vidqun
T he public press joined the clergy in vilifying God’s people, one paper saying: “The finis of TheFinishedMystery has been given.” Nothing, though, could have been further from the truth! The two witnesses did not stay dead. We read: “And after the three and a half days spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon those beholding them. And they heard a loud voice out of heaven say to them: ‘Come on up here.’ And they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them.” (Revelation 11:11, 12) Thus, they had an experience similar to that of the dry bones in the valley that Ezekiel visited in vision. Jehovah breathed upon those dry bones, and they came to life, providing a picture of the rebirth of the nation of Israel after 70 years of captivity in Babylon. (Ezekiel 37:1-14) These two prophecies, in Ezekiel and in Revelation, had their striking modern-day fulfillment in 1919, when Jehovah restored his “deceased” witnesses to vibrant life.
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What a shock for those persecutors! The corpses of the two witnesses were suddenly alive and active again. It was a bitter pill for those clergymen to swallow, the more so since the Christian ministers whom they had schemed to put in prison were free again, later to be fully exonerated. The shock must have been even greater when, in September 1919, the Bible Students held a convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, U.S.A. Here J. F. Rutherford, recently released from prison, stirred conventioners with his talk “Announcing the Kingdom,” based on Revelation 15:2 and Isaiah 52:7. Those of the John class began once again to “prophesy,” or preach publicly. They advanced from strength to strength, fearlessly exposing Christendom’s hypocrisy.Mankkeli, sorry about the fonts, I'm still getting the hang of it. You might recognize the above as an excerpt from the Revelation Climax-book, pp. 169, 170. As you can see, Rev. 11 and the two witnesses are applied to these events. As far as I know, that is current understanding. That's why I asked.