on page 13 of the december 15, 2014 watchtower (study edition), the first 2 sentences of paragraph 10 say:.
"the symbolic separating of fish does not refer to the final judgment during the great tribulation.
rather, it highlights what would happen during the last days of this wicked system.".
Island Man:
I posted some research on this parable here. You are seeing it correctly. The WT article is nothing but assertions. I get the feeling that they have abandoned any attempt at providing any reasons for the conclusions they hand out.
I posted about the 'growing seed' parable (Mk 4:26-29) here.
Bobcat
let me see if i have this straight.
we are to believe noah preached over a 100 years with 0 effect.. the bible records that lamech, noah's father had sons and daughter's but the number is not included.
to have a plural number of brothers and sisters, there would be at least four siblings, two brothers and two sisters.. my folks had 6 kids and 90 years later there are over 100 family members.. some say based on what's written in gen.6:3, noah preached anywhere between 100-120 years.
Much of the idea of Noah being a "preacher of rightousness" comes from Jewish tradition: See ; Ant 1.3.1; Jub. 7:20-29; Sib. Or. 1:128-29; 150-98; cf. 1 Clem 7:6; 9:4
The idea of him carrying out a systematic preaching campaign is solely the WTs.
Bobcat
lot's of people believe that china will soon be a super-power.
while its true that roughly 400 million chinese have attained a living standard approximating the usa, there is still another 700 million who have not.. every year, some 100 million chinese take overseas holidays.
and, many millions of chinese live overseas, either as students or as representatives of chinese companies.. but of the 700 million who have not achieved something like western prosperity, some 90 million still live in poverty, leaving 610 million struggling between poverty and a low level of prosperity.. until they can live more comfortably, the chinese government must focus on building a more prosperous nation.. .
I think China would be more than happy if the US would be reduced to being an equal . Not that the US is superior in everything, but China sees the US acting and thinking that way.
One thing that I think China has to face and deal with is a looming ecological nightmare from their rapid economic expansion. I believe this is maybe their greatest looming problem.
Another problem China would face if they wanted to be a global hegemon like the US is their location on the map. The US is geographically located in such a way that enhances its global position in the world.
Bobcat
i've been trying to figure out the purpose of the new (bland, commercial style) building that the gb is pushing.
it is not a design that attracts attention, nor does it offer a lot in future resale value.
it will be more difficult to build than the wood residential style buildings, meaning they can't use their cheap unskilled labor force for a lot of the work.
The way the Org used to be this would be out of the question. The thought of using a "dedicated" building for some secular use would be tantamount to blasphemy. (And as far as I know, they still have 'dedication' ceremonies after they build these things. Which raises the question; if the building has been dedicated to God, how could they turn around and sell it? But I digress . . .)
I think Searcher has a good point also. When you open something up for the public, especially in Western land, you become liable to the various civil rights laws, some of which are anathema to the WT.
Bobcat
i was deleted as the cobe after i let my adult child move back home and he admitted that he fornicated under my roof while my wife and i where away on a rbc project.
of course the elder mode in me kicked him out of the house.. the elders moved quickly to remove me because i was too involved in "theocractic activities", i had neglected my adult son.. i accepted this primarily because i didn't want to serve with a boe that did not want me.
i was devastated however because it was the only life i knew.
James:
Welcome! Like others here, I've had a similar experience to yours. You begin to learn that the Society demands total loyalty. But their only loyalty to you depends on whatever you are currently doing. Past efforts mean nothing.
Learn to brush off attempts to guilt trip you. And don't offer any explanations why you don't do whatever they want, such as occasional pioneering. My suggestion for a next step: Kick the TMS to the curb; 'retire' from it. And give no reason. They don't deserve any.
Bobcat
rev 17:9 describes something about the "woman", the harlot, babylon the great:.
here is where the intelligence that has wisdom comes in: the seven heads mean seven mountains, where the woman sits on top.
and there are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet arrived, but when he does arrive he must remain a short while.. i was dreaming about this verse last night, so i thought i'd look it up.
leaving_quietly said:
At the beginning of the book, at Revelation 1:10, John says that by the spirit, he came to be in the day of the Lord. Does this change the view of who these seven kings are?
See the links in my post here (on another board) that bring out some research I did on Rev 1:10.
Take care,
Bobcat
for any interested, there is a good analysis of the wt study for 1/18/2015 here.
paragraph 18 makes a curious flip-flop from w04 12/1 p. 21 par.
15.. bobcat.
For any interested, there is a good analysis of the WT study for 1/18/2015 here. Paragraph 18 makes a curious flip-flop from w04 12/1 p. 21 par. 15.
Bobcat
antony morris iii told the audience of a meeting last week that's the society's stance about wearing glasses has changed.
from now on the gb does not approve wearing glasses because it gives others the wrong idea of being educated.
parents have to ignore their children's wish of learning to read.
The khmer rouge (see the 5th paragraph under the subtitle "Life Under the Khmer Rouge") would be smiling approvingly.
Bobcat
i wanted to share an experience i had and see if anyone else had encountered this same matter.
we always tried to make an extra effort to ensure we stood on the approved hotel lists when going to our special day conventions or district conventions or what they now call regional.
we use to stay many nights a year and i would save up my hotel points to use at a later time.. i remember checking in at popular chain hotel and asked the hotel clerk how many points would i earn for the 3 night stay?
I've heard similar from the grapevine. For some years we started to stay at a hotel on the list but used a different discount ( such as ChoiceHotels) rather than the Watchtower discount - and usually got a better rate. At one place it was $12.00 USD a night better.
The last few years I just make reservations where I want. Watching the friends gather around the list on the board looked more and more like cattle gathering together around a lump of straw thrown from a pickup truck.
Bobcat
I made a couple of posts on this thread in reference to the "Christ Jesus" vs "Jesus Christ" difference in the and and new NWT that may be of some use to you.
Bobcat
