hey guys,.
so, it seems the hall i used to attend before my latest one got to hearing that i "disappeared".
so today, i went to the post office to pick up a package.... i decided to try to face reality and open it... what i found were multiple letters and wrapped gifts.
You are in control of your future. You are not a victim.
I used to notice how a lot of JW's treat people like victims who really aren't. This is just a control technique. Healthy people treat others with respect, even if they disagree with them; recognizing that everyone has a God-given free will to choose.
here is the segment on the conti abuse case in california and jehovah's witness's response as reported on by the abcnews nightline broadcast which was shown early this morning.
it really displays some absolutely shocking behavior from not only her abuser and his (supportive) wife, but also the jw attorneys and elders via video.
i am just blown away by the audacity displayed by these monsters.. we can now understand why governing body member stephen lett slipped in his comments a couple of weeks ago about "untrue reports of child abuse" in one of his talks which can viewed on the cult's website.
It's kinda like the Watchtower wants their own version of Sharia Law and would like nothing better than for everyone else to butt out.
JW's are not Christian because they virtually deny their members the opportunity to be born again with a new spirit because of their unscriptural teaching on the "great crowd" being outside the New Covenant. Hence, members are stuck with will power alone to deal with sin. They never experience the victory you read about in Acts and in other NT books.
It is interesting that this has opened a floodgate of others who are now coming forward.
what's the problem with prophecy?prophecy primarily requires a pattern recognition or insightful strategy not an analytical strategy.
prophecy rarely gives names whether of empires or their rulers.
even the name of the messiah - yeshua -wasn't foretold.
what's the problem with prophecy?prophecy primarily requires a pattern recognition or insightful strategy not an analytical strategy.
prophecy rarely gives names whether of empires or their rulers.
even the name of the messiah - yeshua -wasn't foretold.
I think the below fairly represents mainstream Christian thought on Russia:
Others see “Magog” as a general term used in Ezekiel’s day to identify barbarians living near the Black and Caspian Seas. Regardless of the exact locations of Magog, Tubal, and Meshek, there is no doubt that the general area includes portions of Russia and the former Soviet Union, and possibly some Arab countries.
So, yes, the Bible does mention Russia, although not by that name, in connection with the end times. Ezekiel 38—39 definitely refer to a nation coming from northern Asia to attack Israel. After the Cold War, Russia lost its super power status, making the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy seem unlikely in some people’s eyes. However, recent events have shown that Russia is gaining strength, and many believe that the invasion of Crimea is just a first step in Russia’s plan to restore its dominance in that hemisphere. It is also interesting to note that, in the Soviet era, Moscow was solidly aligned with several Muslim countries in opposition to Israel. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia has continued to make overtures to the Muslim world.
According to the Bible, there will come a time when Russia, in alliance with several other countries, will amass a huge army against Israel, with a view to plunder the Jews’ land. The nations aligned with Russia for this military endeavor are Persia (modern-day Iran), Put (modern-day Sudan), Cush (modern-day Libya), Gomer (part of modern-day Turkey), and Beth Togarmah (another portion of modern-day Turkey or possibly Syria). Most of these nations are currently militant Islamic states with an express hatred of Israel. Ezekiel says that, when the aggressors move against Israel, a few other nations (“Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish”) will remonstrate, as will “all her villages”—possibly colonies (Ezekiel 38:13). Sheba and Dedan are associated with areas of northern Africa. Tarshish could be a reference to Spain (which colonized much of South America), Britain (which colonized the United States), or somewhere in eastern Africa. The objections to Magog’s aggression will fall on deaf ears, however, and the invasion will continue.
Some commentators believe this war is one of the events leading up to beginning of thetribulation. Others believe it will occur close to the midpoint of the tribulation, since Israel will be “dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates” (Ezekiel 38:11)—in other words, Israel will feel secure at that time, possibly because of the covenant they have signed with the Antichrist (Daniel 9:27). Either way, this battle is distinct from the Battle of Armageddon, which occurs at the end of the tribulation.
Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/Russia-end-times.html#ixzz3U8WBqYQ0
right now, at this point in my life, i feel like i should be angry, sad, upset, annoyed, whatever emotion that most of you guys here feel or have felt.. but the overwhelming feeling i get, and i have got since waking up, is indifference.. i think that this might be my subconscious coping mechanism.
when i go to the meetings or take part in any other wt related activity, i don't care.
i just really couldn't care less.. i mean, i do care, but i think it's more a fascination now about the whole thing.
Is this normal? I've been thinking maybe it's depression?
Sounds like "Emotional Shutdown". I experienced this when I determined that the WT system could not create victory in my life. I worked it hard for 8 years and just ended up emotionally shutdown, just turning the treadmill.
I think most ex JW's will concur that the organization as a whole has a mechanical, even robotic characteristic to it. Mechanical, robotic behavior is a characteristic common with those in prison. Find the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll find freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:1 (KJV)
17 ...where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [Freedom].
Are they deliberately lying or do really believe what they are saying ?
They do lie, but reason that it is for your own good I suspect. It is kinda like when Satan told Eve that she would not die, even though God said she would if she ate the fruit. He probably reasoned that it was for her own good so she could escape the horrible evils of the garden of eden and experience the beauty of slavery to sin and death.
Similarly, when Jesus offers his covenant for the removal of sin and it's penalty death in Mt. 26:27,28 the Governing Body explains to everyone that Jesus's wasn't talking to you , just them. They get to be declared righteous and have immortality, but everyone else has to work for it the rest of their natural life and 1000 years in the Millennium to get it.
God says:
"And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
they simply belong to a religion.
they cannot explain why they follow all the dictates of the organization.
they live in blind faith.
This is the part JW's don't get:
"Jesus didn't come to make bad people good, he came to make dead people live."
- C. S. Lewis
i think we've all noticed a ton of newbe's these past months.
one part of escaping or thinking about escaping the jw's is coming to terms with what you believe now and/or what direction you are leaning towards.. here is a site that has a quick quiz that may be of some worth or just for fun.
i took it when i first signed on here and the results surprised me because it was pretty accurate.. you don't have to sign up for anything and when you finish you will get a percentage answer on 20 major belief systems.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31718336.
so this jaw bone of early man has been dated at 2.8 million years old.
that means that given a margin for error and allowing an unknown but short period of time for adam naming the animals the 1000 years starts in ummm, eerrr.
One scientific publication makes this statement:
Monkeys live all over the world and come in various shapes, sizes and colors.....Monkeys are as varied in shape and size as humans.
I suspect that Peking Man will one day go the way of the other "men" snake oil salesmen paraded before us. Piltdown man had over 500 scholarly papers written about it by "smart" men before it was trashed as a hoax. - (Nature vol. 274, #4419 (10 July 1954) pp. 61-62)
This little fellow might one day be named "Pinocchio Man".
...the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness” and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” - 1 Cor. 3: 18
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31718336.
so this jaw bone of early man has been dated at 2.8 million years old.
that means that given a margin for error and allowing an unknown but short period of time for adam naming the animals the 1000 years starts in ummm, eerrr.
"Knowing that scientists are highly motivated by status and rewards, that they are no more objective than professionals in other fields, that they can dogmatically defend an idea no less vehemently than ideologues and that they can fall sway to the pull of authority allows us to understand that, in Goodstein’s assessment, “injecting falsehoods into the body of science is rarely, if ever, the purpose of those who perpetrate fraud. They almost always believe that they are injecting a truth into the scientific record.” - Scientific American
