while we had our eyes fixated on our "one-time" idol the watchtower and their false prophecies like the generation of 1914 that wouldn't pass away, 1975 etc.
; a number of real prophecies were unfolding.
we just weren't taught to look for them.
Ooops, this must have gotten caught in the Que a couple days ago and just now posted. I had tried to post this several times but the one per day limit prohibited.
This is a version of the previous post Real Prophecy vs. Watchtower Prophecy.
Moderators, please remove.
while we had our eyes fixated on our "one-time" idol the watchtower and their false prophecies like the generation of 1914 that wouldn't pass away, 1975 etc.
; a number of real prophecies were unfolding.
we just weren't taught to look for them.
Excerpts from The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain, 1867:
Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince. The hills are barren, they are dull of color, they are unpicturesque in shape. The valleys are unsightly deserts fringed with a feeble vegetation that has an expression about it of being sorrowful and despondent. ... It is a hopeless, dreary, heart-broken land.
Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies. ... Nazareth is forlorn; about that ford of Jordan where the hosts of Israel entered the Promised Land with songs of rejoicing, one finds only a squalid camp of fantastic Bedouins of the desert; Jericho the accursed, likes a moldering ruin, today, even as Joshua’s miracle left it more than three thousand years ago; Bethlehem and Bethany, in their poverty and their humiliation, have nothing about them now to remind one that they once knew the high honor of the Saviour’s presence; the hallowed spot where the shepherds watched their flocks by night, and where the angels sang Peace on earth, good will to men, is untenanted by any living creature, and unblessed by any feature that is pleasant to the eye.
Renowned Jerusalem itself, the stateliest name in history, has lost all its ancient grandeur, and is become a pauper village, the riches of Solomon are no longer there to compel the admiration of visiting Oriental queens; the wonderful temple which was the pride and glory of Israel, is gone, and the Ottoman crescent is lifted above the spot where, on that most memorable day in the annals of the world, they reared the Holy Cross.
The noted Sea of Galilee, where Roman fleets once rode at anchor and the disciples of the Saviour sailed in their ships, was long ago deserted by the devotees of war and commerce, and its borders are a silent wilderness; Capernaum is a shapeless ruin;
while we had our eyes fixated on our "one-time" idol the watchtower and their false prophecies like the generation of 1914 that wouldn't pass away, 1975 etc.
; a number of real prophecies were unfolding.
we just weren't taught to look for them.
Village Idiot,
Like I mentioned, God's promises to the nation of Israel are in no way related to their performance to a.) believe him b.) obey him c.) work for his prophecies to come true. It is an unconditional covenant.
If anything, your example is proof against the self-fulfilling prophecy explanation that you seemed to support earlier in this thread.
There are so many biblical prophecies being fulfilled about Israel it is hard to sift through them all.
Here's a couple more:
The lack of available water, including rain, is one reason why Israel had been a desolate, unproductive land during much of the past 2000 years. However the returning Jews have invented and implemented amazing irrigation and farming technology systems.
During the past century, more than 200 million trees have been planted in Israel.
Isaiah 41:18-20
I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Isaiah 27: 6 said Israel's fruit would fill the world
He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
27.02.2013
The value of Israeli fresh agricultural exports doubled in the last decade and the value of exports to Russia increased by a factor of 10, from $23 million in 2003 to $226 million in 2012
Israel's exports to the EU almost doubled from $552 million in 2003 to $961 million in 2012 and the total export of agricultural fresh produce and processed food has almost doubled from $1.2 billion in 2003 to $2.4 billion in 2012.
Bible Prophecy is exploding all around us. We just need to choose to see it.
Before:
After:
sunday 9 p.m april 3rd.
morgan freeman asks questions on faith., national geographic channel.. while posting this two sisters came to my door and encouraging me to come back things have changed.
since 1975 , and then they said "you should come back to jehovah be fore it's to late we made mistakes.
and god is the same today as he was yesterday and will be the same tomorrow.. in other words he is unchangeable.. what a bloodthirsty god he was in the old testament., at his command killing old men young men women and children by the sword , a two edged sword i might add in some cases.cutting both ways.. put yourself in that situation for a minute , either as a victim or the executioner.
can you imagine piercing some other human with a two edged sword ?
especially if they were a child ?
while we had our eyes fixated on our "one-time" idol the watchtower and their false prophecies like the generation of 1914 that wouldn't pass away, 1975 etc.
; a number of real prophecies were unfolding.
we just weren't taught to look for them.
prophecies written after an event, impressive.
Jookbeard,
Israel only became a nation again in 1948. Not sure what you are referring to.
Does anyone remember the "Pure Language" District Convention in 1990?
They applied the prophecy about Israel returning to a pure Hebrew language instead of the Yiddish that Jews spoke around the world to themselves of course.
The actual story of how modern Jews revived and then returned to a dead language is quite remarkable, exactly as predicted.
Wikipedia:
The process of Hebrew's return to regular usage is unique; there are no other examples of a national language without any native speakers subsequently acquiring several million such native speakers, and no other examples of a sacred language becoming a national language with millions of "first language" speakers.
"For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language" Zech. 3:9
and god is the same today as he was yesterday and will be the same tomorrow.. in other words he is unchangeable.. what a bloodthirsty god he was in the old testament., at his command killing old men young men women and children by the sword , a two edged sword i might add in some cases.cutting both ways.. put yourself in that situation for a minute , either as a victim or the executioner.
can you imagine piercing some other human with a two edged sword ?
especially if they were a child ?
The one you keep saying to yourself that doesn't exist right?
while we had our eyes fixated on our "one-time" idol the watchtower and their false prophecies like the generation of 1914 that wouldn't pass away, 1975 etc.
; a number of real prophecies were unfolding.
we just weren't taught to look for them.
Village Idiot,
There is no doubt that a great many of Jews today are secular, even agnostic or atheist.
However, God made an unconditional promise to Abraham. In other words, it is not dependent in any way upon the performance of Abraham or his descendants. The promises were later codified in a national contract mediated by Moses with the nation of Israel. This is largely what the Old Testament is about. The word "testament" means contract.
That contract guarantees the permanency of the nation of Israel. The New Testament contract by contrast, is a personal contract that is with God. The Watchtower has gone to great lengths to try and convince people that the NT contract is a sort of "national" one with only themselves.
In spite of the turmoil in that part of the world, and in spite on the many nations surrounding Israel that have promised to wipe Israel off the map...it is probably the safest place to be in the world; it being the only nation God himself has stated that will NEVER again be absent once it was established again.
I can't wait to visit.
Zech. 12: 3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
Today, in spite of Israel being a tiny nation in a place that was once deserted, the bible predicts that its existence would be a "burdensome stone" "for all people".
That is ceretainly what we see today. Many nations have burdened themselves with Israel.
Israel is a stone that forevermore cannot be moved, though all nations will one day gather against it.
while we had our eyes fixated on our "one-time" idol the watchtower and their false prophecies like the generation of 1914 that wouldn't pass away, 1975 etc.
; a number of real prophecies were unfolding.
we just weren't taught to look for them.
Here's some more interesting pixels:
Sign #1: The Diaspora The Bible prophesied the Jewish diaspora. The Nation of Israel would dwell for many years outside of their country and promised land. After this time had elapsed they would return to their ancient possession. The predictions were exact and complete making the nation's return a supernatural happening of our age. A modern miracle. They were dispersed for over 1,900 years. They are there again today. Hosea 3:4-5 - "For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days." Hosea 6:1 - "Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds." To see the rest of the passage fulfilled, Israel needs only to turn to God. For David to become their king once again, there will be a resurrection from the dead. |
Sign #2: The Return Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Bible passages predict the return of Israel to the land of Palestine. Here are only two. Ezekiel 20:34 - "I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered -- with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath." Isaiah 11:11-12 NIV - "In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth." |
Sign #3: Buying back the land The prophet Jeremiah prophesied about 600 years B.C. just as the nation of Judah was being destroyed and the people taken captive into the land of Babylon. He spoke of a day when Jews would once again purchase land within the ancient territory. That is precisely what returning Jews did, starting nearly a century ago - they bought back the land. Jeremiah 32:44 NIV - "Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD." |
Sign #4: Israel - Reborn in a day Israel, a nation that had not really existed as a separate nation for nearly 2,500 years, was declared a new sovereign state by an act of the United Nations on May 14, 1948. The nation was born in a day. Isaiah 66:8 NIV - "Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labour than she gives birth to her children." |
Sign #5: The order of the return The first returning Jews to Palestine came primarily from eastern Arab countries. The next major movement came from the western countries of Europe, especially Germany. Then they came in great numbers from Russia (north) during the end of the 1980's. The last great migrations of Jews returning to Israel came from Ethiopia in the south. This precise order of return was predicted by Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah 43:5-6,21 - "Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, `Give them up!' and to the south, `Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth..." "... the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise." Psalm 107:2-3 NIV - "Let the redeemed of the LORD say this -- those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. |
Sign #6: A pure language With the return of the nation, the ancient Hebrew language has been revived and become the official language of the state. Prior to this happening, the Jews spoke an impure form of the language called Yiddish. The return to a pure common language was again predicted by the prophets. Zephaniah 3:8-10 KJV - "For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, [even] the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering". |
Sign #7: The shekel After nearly 2,000 years the shekel has been reinstated as the common monetary unit in Israel, again, just as predicted. Ezekiel 45:12-16 NIV - "The shekel is to consist of twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels equal one mina.... All the people of the land will participate in this special gift for the use of the prince in Israel." |
Sign #8: Named cities of Israel There are many cities in Israel that bear the ancient names of previous Jewish cities. Some of these that bear their Biblical identification include: Cana, Nazareth, Jericho, Nain, Bethany, Bethlehem, Hebron, Gaza, etc. Again, as the ancient nation was in the process of being destroyed, Ezekiel the prophet predicted that many of the ancient cities would, in fact, be re-inhabited and settled in the exact locations. Ezekiel 36:11; 24 KJV - "And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better [unto you] than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.... For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land." |
Sign #9: Cities excepted - never to be inhabited Yeshua pronounced a curse on at least three cities within the land. These remain in ruins today. Matthew 11:21-23 NIV - "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day." |
Sign #10: From desolation to productivity The restoration of the agriculture and of the trees and forests of Israel has been another remarkable miracle. Scarcely 75 years ago, the land was a desolate waste, full of malarial swamps and deserts. Today the replanted forests are flourishing and the Israeli agricultural production is one of the great wonders of the world. This tiny country exports quality produce around the world. Should we say, "Again, just as predicted!" Isaiah 26:6 NIV - "In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit." Isaiah 35:1-2 NIV - "The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy...."
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and god is the same today as he was yesterday and will be the same tomorrow.. in other words he is unchangeable.. what a bloodthirsty god he was in the old testament., at his command killing old men young men women and children by the sword , a two edged sword i might add in some cases.cutting both ways.. put yourself in that situation for a minute , either as a victim or the executioner.
can you imagine piercing some other human with a two edged sword ?
especially if they were a child ?
Theists conveniently turn a blind eye to these.
No, many don't. The fate of the earth and man are inseparably linked since Adam was to preside over the earth. When Adam chose to be cursed, the earth was cursed as well.
Christians look to the historical facts of the resurrection as opposed to death. They look to the wonders of creation and look to the time when the curse on the earth will be lifted.
Our greatest gift from God is the ability to choose. We can look at death and fallen creation; or we can choose looking toward the resurrection life of Jesus and the curse being lifted off the earth. The choice is ours. God gives us what we want. Instead of imaging ourselves as victims, we can choose to see the victory wrought at the cross.
And there shall be no more curse: but the
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; - Rev. 22
