today putin accused the united states of making the world a more dangerous place by pursuing policies aimed at making it "one single master".
attacking the concept of a "unipolar" world in which the united states was the sole superpower, he said: "what is a unipolar world?
no matter how we beautify this term it means one single centre of power, one single centre of force and one single master.".
Jeremiah:
My approach avoids the all or none problem that many have with the Bible. I believe you have to descriminate between what is plausible and what is ridiculous. Yes, it is normal senisbile behavior to pick & choose - especially if you give a lot of thought to your criteria and methods.
Otherwise, you have to give a free pass to anything designated as a "holy book". Koran, Vedas etc.
the courtship from hell.......i started driving up to rhode island in september of 1972. i would go about every other week.
i needed to "step down" as a book study servant, because at the time daryl christianson had come up with this brillant idea that all the book study conductors should visit everyone in their own book studies and everyone in someone else's book studies every 2 months.........so between, bethel, and a part time "g" job, going up to rhode island and shepparding everyone in the book studies, it was just to much.
so for the first time in my life, i declined a "privilege of service"........it didn't feel that bad......and in fact felt damn good.......little did i know i was leaving one hell for another one.. what i 'm about to tell you...........is the absolute truth!..........we had 2 dates in a year and a half........that is two dates in 18 months.........."2" dates...........the only time they would let us be together with out a chaperone was in the field service...........the whole courtship was spent on her parents couch in the living room......with one of them in the other room!
Ditto Ditto Ditto I'm about the same age.
All of this WOULD have been worth it. But at 61 I can safely say I hope I get altzheimers sooner than later. Nothing like sitting in a old peoples home with no memories in your groin.
today putin accused the united states of making the world a more dangerous place by pursuing policies aimed at making it "one single master".
attacking the concept of a "unipolar" world in which the united states was the sole superpower, he said: "what is a unipolar world?
no matter how we beautify this term it means one single centre of power, one single centre of force and one single master.".
Jeremiah:
You do understand that I don't believe in God and that I don't look at the Bible as the product of a omnicsient being. So my approach is different. But I'm glad to see you are flexible in your approach.
I see the Bible as a "minimal intervention" in human evolution. Its purpose is to assure that there will be a model for humans as they face their ultimate test - the transition from competition based culture to a cooperative culture.
It all comes down to the need to form a borderless nation (group) that can sustain themselves through the transition and serve as an example and as a model for the new direction the world needs to head. In Matthew 24 there is the command to get out of Jerusalem when her destruction seems near. In Revelation God's People are told to flee Babylon the Great before she is burned with fire. Everything depends on their being a special group that will be responsive to the command to flee.
The command is made to "stay awake" "Luke 21:34-36 "But pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon you as a snare. For it will come in upon all those dwelling upon the face of all the earth. Keep awake then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that are destined to occur and in standing before the Son of Man."
The purpose of the Prophetic books is to hold human attention over a long period of time. The prophetic books needed to be embedded in a collection of religious-historical writings so that they would be copied and preserved. Every generation is going to see some things that match. But the match will not be perfect until it has to. And the most important or signal event is the one that requires action - to flee.
So I start out with the assumption that because we are living in a period of time when we can destroy ouselves that this IS the time of the end. Next I look for the "real" events and "actors" that match the Biblical pattern at its final stage. So, I think it is an error to think that you can proceed forward from past history and get it right. I believe all that history was just to keep people interested enough to preserve those writings.
This is how I arrive at my interpretation. Revelation, Matthew, Daniel all speak about the final tribulation. Revelation speaks about the destruction of Babylon the Great by means of the Wild Beast - followed by divine intervention at armageddon. Daniel describes the destruction of the King of the South by the King of the North. Now lets fill in some details. Daniel 11:40 describes the King of the South as pushing, aggravating the King of the North. The King of the South appears to be the instigator just short of actual attack. The King of the North attacks the King of the South and from that point on appears to be the dominant power when Michael stands up.
Today we do have a Great Northern Empire that has been in conflict with The Greatest Richest Empire - Ever. Russia vs. the USA. This is right now - today.
Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in Vol. 1 of Democracy in America (published in 1835):
There are, at the present time, two great nations in the world which seem to tend towards the same end, although they started from different points: I allude to the Russians and the Americans. Both of them have grown up unnoticed; and whilst the attention of mankind was directed elsewhere, they have suddenly assumed a most prominent place amongst the nations; and the world learned their existence and their greatness at almost the same time...Their starting-point is different, and their courses are not the same; yet each of them seems to be marked out by the will of Heaven to sway the destinies of half the globe.
Now who is pushing who? Clearly the USA has been pushing Russia. It remains for Russia to attack the USA.
Revelation describes Babylon the Great as having a Kingdom over the Kings of the Earth. It is "filthy rich" and it sits on or attempts to ride the wild beast. The USA is the richest nation on earth. All those with ships at sea have become rich due to her shameless luxury. Go to Davos and see the Americans strut. "her traveling merchants were the top-ranking men of the earth".
Further identifying the Wild Beast. Seven heads and ten horns. Five have fallen - likely Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece. One is - Rome. Another which after it arrives remains a short time. The inheritor of power on the Eurasian World Island was Russia. Moscow brags that it is the "third Rome". The seventh head appears slaughtered. Although it doesn't specifiy the seventh head - but since its revival is considered an eighth head it is the best candidate. The USSR died in Dec 1991. This can't be said of any other modern empire. There is no longer a space on the earth occupied by the USSR. A close view is given in Rev 13:11 of the resurrected beast. It appears lamb-like but then begins speaking like the dragon.
Russia under Yeltsin was docile as a lamb. It looked like it was on its way to being a nice democracy. It even got accepted into the Sacred circle of the G-7 nations making it the G-8. It is now once again showing its iron teeth and claws. It is expressing its resentment toward the interference of the OSCE, NATO and the USA in its old territories that formed the CIS. These Nations are often called the newly formed nations. They are rich in natural resourses - Oil and Gas. Some of these (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia) are flirting with the Great Prostitute but others are very cautious. Those newly formed nations with strong dictators realize that their best chances lie with Russia and not the Democratic West that would install their own patsies to power.
The 10 kings that cast their lots with the Wild Beast and express hatred toward the harlot are described as having "not yet received a kingdom".
1. Armenia 2. Azerbaijan 3. Belarus 4. Georgia 5. Kazakhstan 6. Kyrgystan 7. Moldova 8. Tajikistan 9. Ukraine 10.Uzbekistan 11. Turkmenistan
Ooops there are eleven. More than likely Belarus will become part of Russia. They have signed a lot of documents preliminary to forming a union.
Russia also fits the description of the final empire on the dream image in Daniel Chapter 2... Russia's long standing problem is that it is such a conglomerate of National Groups. It isn't a melting pot. It is made up of 89 nationalities each with their own language. It is always in some stage of falling apart. It remains together because it is willing to use its Iron grip like it has in Chechnya.
There is a lot more to this. It requires some knowledge of Geo-Politics. Too many show their ignorance by worrying about Moslems, Chinese etc. Moslems are practically pharisees with their concern for ethics and are more likely to kill each other than outsiders. The Chinese are an advanced civilization with a full plate- no one else could manage such a large population. The Russians remain a serious problem because they are extremely aggressive, opportunistic and exploitative.
"how is your heart?
the heart, nevertheless, is intricately connected with the brain by the nervous system and is well supplied with sensory nerve endings.
the sensations of the heart are recorded on the brain.
I remember they quoted some heart specialist as saying "the heart is not just a pump" and then they went into all this stuff about the heart having its own mind. I looked up the book by that specialist and the context was "the heart in not just a pump... like a reciprocating pump..." . I don't have the quote exactly but it was clear that he was being completely misquoted.
For me that was one of the first cracks in the Watchtower egg. It was at that same assmebly where they came out with the New Elder Arrangement. Another poorly formed concept.
today putin accused the united states of making the world a more dangerous place by pursuing policies aimed at making it "one single master".
attacking the concept of a "unipolar" world in which the united states was the sole superpower, he said: "what is a unipolar world?
no matter how we beautify this term it means one single centre of power, one single centre of force and one single master.".
Jeremiah:
So, you are saying that absolutely in NO WAY was Jesus referring to Daniel 11:31?
today putin accused the united states of making the world a more dangerous place by pursuing policies aimed at making it "one single master".
attacking the concept of a "unipolar" world in which the united states was the sole superpower, he said: "what is a unipolar world?
no matter how we beautify this term it means one single centre of power, one single centre of force and one single master.".
Mary:
Putin is NOT a nice guy. There are very strong suspicions that he was in on the bombing of the apartment complexes in Moscow that were blamed on Chechens and used as a justification for invading Chechnya. The point is that if he bombed his own people to get power who will he be willing to bomb in order to stay in power.
Do a google search on "Ryazan" "hexagen" "FSB"
today putin accused the united states of making the world a more dangerous place by pursuing policies aimed at making it "one single master".
attacking the concept of a "unipolar" world in which the united states was the sole superpower, he said: "what is a unipolar world?
no matter how we beautify this term it means one single centre of power, one single centre of force and one single master.".
How do you integrate that with Revelation. How does Babylon the Great fit into your scheme? If you read the thread I suggested I don't see how you can cling to the idea that Babylon the Great is a religious entity. What happens to the USA?
In what sense does the head of the beast appear slaughtered to death. Does the king from the Sunrising have to be China? Does China have to cross the literal Euphrates? Does the literal Euprhates dry up?
Why did Jesus quote the disgusting thing in Daniel as something that had not occurred.
what happened to the versatile jewish girl with braces from nyc.. .
I have a feeling the American Idol contract would have been too restrictive. She probably decided she can do better on her own.
There is quite a buzz about her on the Internet. A lot of people felt she was the key to breaking up the cowgirl, blues, southern influence in American Idol.
Now that she isn't in the final group I can finally cast aside the wasted time on that program.
It should be called American POP Idol.
I hate to say I (like millions of other Americans) watched a little bit too much of that show.
how many times are they going to study that book.
i left the year that it was published 1988 so i never had a chance to study it at bookstudy.
but i do have a copy(my mom sent me a copy in 1989 hoping i would return to jw's) and i just can't believe they say the whole book of revelation was fulfilled by actions of the wt society and russell and rutherford.
The new oracle? Why it's heavenly Fred Franz the Glorious. He is still pulling strings from his throne right next to Russell, Rutheford & Knorr. (According to the Revelation book)
this is quite awkward for me to give!
our elder gave me that assignment last week and should be delivered next week on the theocratic ministry school.
considering i have very unconventional views for the wts about blood, evolution, bible, and the gb, delivering this talk seemd quite maladroit.
I agree with Narkissos - Unconfused has a good approach.
Take it to the level of absurdity.
Point out the need to report apostacy to the Elders. If you hear someone speculate about something report them because you wouldn't want to share in their apostacy.
If someone is reluctant to get their blood documents certified are they leaning toward apostacy.
Read off a bunch of URLs for web sites that we have been told not to go to.
