But they did get special treatment. The golden temple utensils, raided by the Babylonians, were returned to them. So I go with Josephus, until proven otherwise.
Posts by Vidqun
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20Did Isaiah even predict Cyrus' name 150 years ago?
by pokertopia indid isaiah even predict cyrus' name 150 years ago?.
there were two types of prophets: individual prophets and court prophets.
for example, before ahab went to war, 400 court prophets predicted ahab's victory, but michaya, an individual prophet, predicted his defeat.
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Did Isaiah even predict Cyrus' name 150 years ago?
by pokertopia indid isaiah even predict cyrus' name 150 years ago?.
there were two types of prophets: individual prophets and court prophets.
for example, before ahab went to war, 400 court prophets predicted ahab's victory, but michaya, an individual prophet, predicted his defeat.
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Vidqun
Yup, Jeffro, that's your opinion and that of many sceptics. However, Cyrus favoured the Jews. He actually sponsored them to build the temple. He returned the temple utensils. Why? Josephus explains the why. I set great store by his account. It explains a lot. In addition, the version according to the book of Ezra is confirmed by the Cyrus cylinder.
The main proponent of your theory is Prof. Lester L. Grabbe. He doesn't like the Bible or predictive prophecy at all. He has a serious gripe about "fundamentalism." I have his article on Daniel. You will like him. His whole purpose in life is to denigrate the Scriptures and prophecy. Although I must give him his due, he inspired me to do my research.
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Did Isaiah even predict Cyrus' name 150 years ago?
by pokertopia indid isaiah even predict cyrus' name 150 years ago?.
there were two types of prophets: individual prophets and court prophets.
for example, before ahab went to war, 400 court prophets predicted ahab's victory, but michaya, an individual prophet, predicted his defeat.
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Vidqun
Overall Josephus was a trustworthy historian. According to him Cyrus was aware of the Isaiah prophecy. This made him favor the Jews, allowing them to return to their homeland and rebuild the temple. Later Darius discovered Cyrus' edict and he allowed the Jews to carry on with their work. In the end the temple was rebuilt.
JOE Antiquities of the Jews 11:1 In the first year of the reign of Cyrus {a} which was the seventieth from the day that our people were moved out of their own land into Babylon, God pitied the captivity and calamity of these poor people, according as he had foretold to them by Jeremiah the prophet, before the destruction of the city,
2 that after they had served Nebuchadnezzar and his posterity, and after they had undergone that servitude seventy years, he would restore them again to the land of their fathers, and they should build their temple, and enjoy their ancient prosperity. And these things God did afford them;
3 for he stirred up the mind of Cyrus, and made him write this throughout all Asia:--``Thus says Cyrus the king: Since God Almighty has appointed me to be king of the habitable earth, I believe that he is that God which the nation of the Israelites worship;
4 for indeed he foretold my name by the prophets, and that I should build him a house at Jerusalem, in the country of Judea.''
5 This was known to Cyrus by his reading the book which Isaiah left behind him of his prophecies; for this prophet said that God had spoken thus to him in a secret vision:--``My will is, that Cyrus, whom I have appointed to be king over many and great nations, send back my people to their own land, and build my temple.''
6 This was foretold by Isaiah one hundred and forty years before the temple was demolished. Accordingly, when Cyrus read this, and admired the divine power, an earnest desire and ambition seized upon him to fulfil what was so written; so he called for the most eminent Jews that were in Babylon, and said to them, that he gave them permission to go back to their own country, and to rebuild their city of Jerusalem, {b} and the temple of God, (Ant 11:1-6)``King Darius to Tatnai the governor, and to Shetharboznai, sends greeting. Having found a copy of this letter among the records of Cyrus, I have sent it you; and I will that all things be done as is therein written. Farewell.''
105 So when Tatnai, and those who were with him, understood the intention of the king, they resolved to follow his directions entirely for the time to come. So they forwarded the sacred works, and assisted the elders of the Jews, and the princes of the Sanhedrin (Ant 11:104, 105 JOE)
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49
a pet peeve of mine
by enoughisenough inputting this under "friends" because i couldn't figure out where to put it.
it is very often on here and in ex jw videos, ect that people like to undermine some of those who once we would have called friends.
there seems to be a view that window washers, plumbers, cleaners, construction workers are somehow less intelligent than those who may be college educated.
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Vidqun
It matters little how you view JWs or their occupations. What matters is how they view you. In their eyes you are an apostate or worldly person, not worthy of life and about to be destroyed. They view themselves as God's chosen people, alone worthy of life. They are mentally handicapped because of years of indoctrination and we should pity them no matter who or what they are.
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The currently missing 'Titan' submarine. What do you think?
by SydBarrett inany opinions are just speculation, but my guess, being morbid, is that there was not a hull breach and implosion (although that would have been the most merciful fate for them), but instead the amateur level of building this thing meant that it lost power and communication and got itself tangled in the titanic's wreckage or is sitting on the actual seabed with no way to release ballast to resurface.
terrifying.
what's your gut feeling?
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Vidqun
It's called dominating the news cycle:
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The currently missing 'Titan' submarine. What do you think?
by SydBarrett inany opinions are just speculation, but my guess, being morbid, is that there was not a hull breach and implosion (although that would have been the most merciful fate for them), but instead the amateur level of building this thing meant that it lost power and communication and got itself tangled in the titanic's wreckage or is sitting on the actual seabed with no way to release ballast to resurface.
terrifying.
what's your gut feeling?
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Vidqun
Hope this isn't true.
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Link between relationships and health/happiness
by ExBethelitenowPIMA ineven though i’m agnostic so will not commit to either intelligent design or chance, i love being part of the congregation for the close personal relationships.. there is such a great atmosphere inside the congregation it really is like a family and you don’t get this anywhere else.. a real friend is someone you can rely on when you are in need.
if things go wrong for you and you are going through a hard time you know real friends will be there for you.
as long as you didn’t bring it on yourself by going against gods law then you have to prove you are repentant first of course.. there is a lot of research now saying that good friends is essential for healthy and happiness.
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Vidqun
The other day I stumbled on the concept of EQ in contrast to IQ. Wish I found this out earlier. EQ plays an important role in maintaining good health and stable relationships. Def. EQ or emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use and manage your own emotions in a positive way to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. So relationships and health/happiness depend a lot on one's behaviour and actions.
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Do you agree with this?
by vienne innew post to the history blog: https://truthhistory.blogspot.com/2023/05/typical-nonsense.html.
i agree that in the russell and rutherford eras there was little actual scriptural refutation.
fine!
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Vidqun
Perhaps if there are facts involved, e.g., verified in court it, it would be relevant. I'm thinking of Russel's marital difficulties, which is an indication of the role of women at the time and his philosophy in life. At one time he said he was like a butterfly, not being able to develop close human connections, etc. Certainly that would have influenced his scriptural interpretation. I agree, unverified ad hominem attacks on a person's character would not contribute anything.
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Revelation book
by Gorb indo you remember the jw.org book of revelation and how many times we had to study it?
in retrospect, all those hours turned out to be for nothing, the explanation of the prophecies is now completely outdated..
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Vidqun
Fred Franz tried to link every occurrence of Revelation to the history of the Witnesses. Somewhere along the way he lost the plot completely. Think of the evangelizers and literature as being part of the plagues.
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Scholar and Fisherman
by Jorden inscholar and fisherman, i started this thread because i didn't want to highjack the one in regard to 588/568.. i just wanted to ask if you were both current active jw's that believe the jw's beliefs?.
do y'all believe the gb are the f&ds?
if the answers are no, then why do y'all defend so passionately the date 607?
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Vidqun
Jorden, here's some basics that helped me piece things together:
Temple sanctuary = God's people (Rev. 11:1; cf. 1 Cor. 3:16, 17; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21, 22; 1 Peter 2:4-8).
Courtyard of temple = Includes dining rooms of priests (Rev. 11:2; cf. Ezek. 42:1).
Leadership of God’s people (Matt. 19:28; 1 Pet. 2:9).
Israel of God = God’s new nation (Gal. 6:15, 16).
Jerusalem = Leadership of God's people as theocracy (temple situated on Mount Moriah, king’s residence on Mount Zion)
Holy city = Jerusalem with temple: God’s people with their leaders (Rev. 11:2)
Great city = world alienated from God (Rev. 11:8; cf. 16:19)
42 months = second half of great tribulation (time, times and half a time = 1260 days = 3 1/2 years)