we know that the serpent in the garden can’t be secretly satan, because the first time satan is mentioned by name is in a story chronologically after this one, and in that, he is said to be walking.
remember that the serpent was cursed to crawl on his belly all the rest of his days, but in the book of job, satan is still walking around and chatting with god as if they’d never had a falling out.
this is when god had to ask satan where he’s been, because his infallible omniscience obviously didn’t know.. so if he had to ask that of satan, who is later described as the lord of lies, then why would god believe him?
In the original stories from Mesopotamia Enki was the god of wisdom and cunning he was also the god of the earth and water. He was also described as being a serpent. Some scholars and archeologists believe he was the serpent in the garden of eden story. Other believe he may have been the god testing Adam and another lesser god also described as a serpent is who talked to Eve.
In stories about Enki he did have a garden and he also had a man named Adamu which was the care taker of the garden.
just wondering hate to give the devil his due.
Personally I think he pretty much stole everything. He wanted to be different and so I think he went for different fringe Christian ideas and then took the ones he liked and rolled with it.
a couple of months ago, i reported on my congregation being disolved and merged with another.. on sept 1, cong b merged with cong a using the same hall, thereafter using cong a's meeting times.
also nearby cong c moved into the hall using cong b's meeting times and cong c's kh is being put up for sale.. i've since been to both sunday meetings and both midweek meetings.
at all, the parking lot is totally full, cars have to park around the corner and on the street.
Their falling on hard times as they merge back into the very tiny cult that they once were. A hall near where I grew up has been sold. Used to be two congregations meeting there and now who knows where their going. 30 plus minutes away to the nearest hall. They truly are closing down slowly but they are.
last night they announced that this summers district convention will be held at an assembly hall.. this is the first time i've seen this happen.
there are a couple of congregations in the same hall here and they aren't going to the same ones.
they are having multiple dates.. the hall they are going to use can only hold 1500 people max.. just wondering if maybe they just couldnt get anything bigger this year or if the falling numbers are playing a part in this decision.
Save money , probably make more in the future because they will probably start telling everyone there’s a deficit like they do at the circuit assemblies and like what was mentioned above more and more venues will not allow the jws to just show up and get it all for free or next to nothing like they have in the past.
in its use of the prophecy contained in nebuchadnezzar's dream (daniel 4), the wts applies a "greater fulfilment" beyond its initial application.. while they complain about the wts's action, at the same time these people make their own secondary applications to prophecies, such as with micah 5:2. these people also find "greater" meaning to historical statements, such as at isaiah 9:6 and at isaiah 53.. such passages had their local meaning yet people are prepared to find their "greater application" which suits their ends, just as the wts does.
it is not an excuse to say that the nt writers indulged themselves in the practice.. i am not saying that i agree with the practice; i am simply seeking consistency and integrity.. doug.
Often times scriptures sites as having a greater fulfillment or is a prophecy about something to occur in the future is actual not that at all. Here is a couple of example I think it Isaiah 53 that’s sited to be about a coming messiah Jesus yet when one reads the surrounding scriptures and chapters it’s really taking about Cyrus.
Mathew chapter 1:22 is also said the be a prophecy about the one to be called Emanuel and born of a virgin and again is to be Jesus Yet that’s not so. If you turn back to chapter 7:14 of Isaiah you’ll see the prophecy but again read the whole chapter and it’s not talking about a coming Jesus at all.
the montana case enters the home stretch.
the state supreme court will hear oral arguments tomorrow, 13 september, at the northern hotel in billings during the state bar of montana’s annual meeting (announcement 1, announcement 2).
an introduction to the argument will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the argument starting at 10 a.m. (4 p.m. utc, 9 a.m. sf time, 12 a.m. ny time, 5 p.m. london time, 2 a.m. saturday sydney time).
Kc323 it’s not about protecting a third party it about reporting. The fact is if someone knows a person is abusing a child and does not report that person is a scum bag and should be held accountable period, clergy or not!
jehovah's witnesses ask court to reverse $35m abuse verdict.
by the associated press.
posted sep 13, 2019 12:34 pm pdt.
It would seem as though the high court wants to hear the whole case all over again.
unexplained features: the covenant was with all of "gods people" not just the priests or kings.
the new covenant wt style be made only with the 144 000 king priests and not all members of the "israel of god" ?.
if the new covenant is for the "forgiveness of sin" why is only .01 % of wt members covered by it?
This teaching was just put into place so they could create a laity class for themselves.
there is a large kh in my area, a nice neighbourhood, that has been up for sale for well over a year now.
the old cong that used to go there travels miles to go to their reassigned hall.
i swing by the old one now and then to see if anyone has bought it.
Kingdom Halls are not easy to sell. If a church wants to buy it there’s special financing involved if they want a loan, these loans are not easy to get. Of course the building could always be used for something else but again how many businesses want a building with this kind of lay out? Not many. It’s not uncommon for a church for sale or a building like this to be for sale more then a year.
page 13, par.
18 - "yes, we have good reason to rejoice over the good work and spiritual activity that we can expect when believing mankind enjoys life during christ’s millennial reign.".
hey "faithful slave," aren't you forgetting something?
Actually the Bible says the evil ones and everyone else who isn’t the judges will not be resected until the end of the thousand years
