Corona Virus: Not the End-19

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by SingleCell, Mar 13, 2020.

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    SingleCell

    SingleCell Experienced Member

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    "See that you are not alarmed, for these things must take place, but the end is not yet" Matthew 24

    We need a steady hand, Satan is crafty and knows that fear is a powerful weapon of war.

    The concluding period is a dichotomy between the ease of life and an impending sense of doom.
    (edit: I'm chuckling at how absurd this is re-reading/writing ^ sentence, but its true)

    "“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"

    "People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world"

    [​IMG]
     
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    Tsaphah

    Tsaphah Experienced Member

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    Many generations have been fooled into thinking they were living in the "End Times". How about 1975? How about a friend whose home was destroyed by a wildfire. When asked what we could do to help, we were told to give to the Headquarters, because the end was near. The other statement was that the "End Times" were upon us.

    I have to assume that people thought that the fall of Jerusalem was the beginning of the end. Or possibly when Rome was destroyed. Or, every generation after Christ died. Then for modern day, we can add just about every change in governments. There was 1914, 1940, 1950, 1975, etc., etc., etc. YES! And mankind is fulfilling Revelation 11:18. Their time will come.
     
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    SingleCell

    SingleCell Experienced Member

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    Absolutely true!

    "Verse 18. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth."
     
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    thinking

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    I think what was always missing in the past ....amongst the terror of world wars and Spanish flu, Great Depression...massive famines and tempests.....is ..BTG..was always strong,,,(yes ... she was starting to lose her power ) but she still stood tall and powerful ..thru out all those horrid events.
    Yet now..she is falling...religion is being killed off...she is dying....that was always the missing key...
    Her power and riches are drying up..her respect and powerful positions have been raped from her....she is bowed and breaking and in her death throes......
    Soon the only way religion or any form of religion will be tolerated.....is if they sell out...( trade truths ) and take the Mark of the Beast to keep operating....
    This is already happening in many lands...at this very moment.

    I remember a brother recently saying to expect the unexpected...and perhaps we will find ourselves in a position where no one would ever know if we took the mark of the beast or not.....(a thought provoking statement..)


    here’s something encouraging.....taken from Russell’s expanded commentaries...because we are all so tired and weary....
    When these things begin Look up and LIFT UP YOUR HEADS.....
    Luke 21:28.....lift up your heads

    ( a) realising that the darks clouds are the harbingers of coming millennial blessings....
    (B) Christ’s judgements encircling all the earth are the signs and groanings promised to precede a second birth
    (C) when this trouble comes there will be such a blessing from the Lord that’s those who go through it will be able to rejoice in tribulation.
    (D) those who discern in the shaking the outwork of the divine plan rejoice in the assurance that this terrible shaking will be the last that this earth will ever have or need, for as the Apostle Paul assures is it signifies the removing of those things that are shaken...
     
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    Tsaphah

    Tsaphah Experienced Member

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    However, let this one fact not be escaping YOUR notice, beloved ones, that one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. Jehovah is not slow respecting his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with YOU because he does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.” ( 1 Pet 3:8-9 NWT )

    I have covered this subject before, but it is worth repeating. Let’s go back to Gen 2:17 where Jehovah told Adam about the tree of good and bad; “...but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” ( Gen 2:17 NKJV ) God must have lied to Adam, because Adam did not die after eating the fruit. He lived to 930 years. ( Gen 5:5 ) Of course it is necessary to understand that the “day” mentioned to Adam was 1,000 years. So, he did die in the day he ate the fruit. The Hebrew word used is yom. It has different meanings depending on what period of time is being spoken of, or the context of which it is referring.

    There is a reference in Genesis which has been misunderstood and wrongly referenced by many Bible Scholars. It is a period of time mentioned in relation to the time of Noah. “And the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’” ( Gen 6:3 MKJV ) But wait! It says: “Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.” ( Gen 7:6 NKJV )

    How can we prove that this “one hundred and twenty years.” is not referring to the maximum lifetime of mankind? “After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.” ( Gen 11:11 NKJV ) Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years. ( Gen 11:13 NKJV )
    How about Terah? “ andSo the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, Terah died in Haran.” ( Gen 11:32 NKJV )

    So, how does all this disprove the “one hundred and twenty years.”? Let’s take a look at some other Bible writers.
    By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” ( Heb 11:7 NKJV )

    “. . .when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.” ( 1 Pet 3:20 NKJV )

    and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;” ( 2 Pet 2:5 NKJV )

    What do we have to look for in the near future? These scriptures can give us the understanding of Jehovah God’s patience. I know that I need it! I will wait on Jehovah.

    In these recent times, with this worldwide virus affecting all people, many believe we are at the beginning of the end times. Jesus said, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,” ( Mt 24:37-38 NKJV )

    In other words, they were living life as they always did, not taking notice of what was going on in the world until it was too late. So “carry on my wayward son, . . .” But, there will be no peace when you are done.

    We may want to think about some one, who we can say, got us started in our study of the Bible.
    His name is Charles Taze Russell. He believed that 1914 was the beginning of the reign of Christ Jesus.
    There are those who disregard any of his teachings. Something we may want to ponder is, the time in which he lived. Today we are experiencing something that has not occurred before. Pastor Russell lived during a great upheaval in world powers. The year 1914 saw the beginning of World War One. What made it like no other war is the use of weapons of mass destruction. A main weapon that didn’t exist prior to World War One, was the airplane.

    The other new (I’ll call it weapon) was titled: Spanish Flu, which was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic. “It lasted from January 1918 to December 1920. It infected 500 million people—about a quarter of the world's population at the time.” And, wouldn’t you know it; “To maintain morale, World War I censors minimized early reports of illness and mortality in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States.”Well, how about that??

    How long is a thousand years? 1914 + 1000 = 2914, that's a long way off, as most people consider time.
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2020
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    SingleCell

    SingleCell Experienced Member

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    Your post is great, and you're right when looking back. But let's look forward for a moment.

    There are inescapable collisions brewing on the world scene, and can only occur once:

    - the end of the Christian empires (maybe I should put that in quotes)
    - weapon systems that can kill all life on earth
    - we're approaching long time cycles of empire life spans, which *usually* (always?) transition with calamity
    - global population 7+ billion
    - Israel in the middle east as a focal point [not as prophecy, but shouldn't be ignored, and this won't last much longer]
    - a global unified, according to "popular" thought, rejection of the Christian God. (Psalm 2 can only happen once!)

    I could go on, but we're in a unique time, which is un-repeatable, and Charles Russell saw it coming. He "divined" the implications, but jumped the gun on interpretation, and died too early to modify his understanding.

    We're close. Close could mean decades. But another 100 years without a nuclear war and a single Christian left on earth? Doubtful. Maybe I'm just falling into Charles' trap.
     
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2020
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    thinking

    thinking Member

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    That’s a great Post Single Cell......
    You are not falling into any trap...anymore than if you had continued to be subject to King David after his premeditated murder and adultery....
    Jehovah dealt with him in his own way and he still expected his people to fall in line under his rulership because it was Part of His..the Great Almighty Gods plan for mankind.

    You would still follow Moses after he had piously and self righteously declared himself the one who bought the water from the rock...who took the Glory for himself and refused to acknowledge Jehovah’s action and who blatantly leant on his own understanding in not following his instructions from Jehovah and hitting the rock twice.
    Jehovah also dealt with him in his own way and he still expected the people to work under Moses...because that was at that time part of His Great plan.

    You would still follow the apostles even tho they fled and abandoned Jesus in his hour of need..and you would still follow Peters directions even tho he himself disowned his Christ.....because the apostolic period was all Part of Jehovahs plan....
    Jehovah will not allow anyone or anything to interrupt his plan..no matter who or what may try.

    Russel was part of his Plan at a time that Jehovah was bringing people out of BTG....Even Russell himself admitted Jehovah could have used any of his contemporaries amongst the reformation movement,,,,,he was flawed as all the previous men Jehovah had used to be part of his plan....Jehovah gave him enough for the the period he lived in

    Had Russell lived I do believe things may have been different to a very great degree....But that was not part of Jehovah’s plan...he had to die to allow the weeds to infiltrate...the weeds had to grow alongside the wheat...and thus the threshing and winnowing could begin.

    NWT Mathew 13:41.
    The Son of man will send his angels and they will collect OUT FROM HIS KINGDOM All things that cause stumbling and people who practise lawlessness...

    MESSAGE BIBLE Mathew 13:41
    The picture of thistles pulled up and burned is a scene from the final act. The Son of man will send his angels and weed out the thistles FROM HIS KINGDOM pitch them in the trash and be done with them. They are going to complain to high heaven, but nobody is going to listen
    At the same time ripe holy lives will adorn the Kingdom of their Father.

    Russell would have been able to discern the weeds...and probably did Discern some before his death.
    Sometimes I see some on line mock or disrespect Charles Russell...and I just shake my head at their arrogance and ignorance....Their lack of respect for one who was used by Jehovah...

    Your Post was very encouraging and deep...so much to it and I wish you had elaborated more on it...
    Very Dark days ahead I think,,,,,

    Below are a few of Russell’s comments on the Tares...

    Since the death of the apostles any number of hypocrites have come into the church, indeed have been dragged and coaxed in To swell The numbers.
    There are many fine and noble people among the tares who have neither part or lot with the wheat because they are not of the same nature not begotten of the truth.
    Doubtless the same manner of the wheat The wheat growing with seeds of truth and the tares are off spring of errors.
    False doctrines false teachings
    A certain amount of tares spring up with the wheat anyway and these the servants gather out as soon as discerned. But our Lord wished to show an abnormal condition
    The Greek implies over sown intentionally, maliciously sown in the midst of the wheat for the very purpose of damaging or totally spoiling the whole crop
    More liberally than the wheat was sown.
    Bearded Darnel which cannot be discerned from wheat until the harvest. The wheat weighted with golden grains, humbly bows its head while the tares stand straight the head having little weight and the seed being black.

    Hang in there Single Cell....the end of this age seems to be in sight,,,even if decades...or one decade...Or less??..you may still live to experience going into the new age ...the start of Jehovah’s great day ( 1,000 year day ) :)
     
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    SingleCell

    SingleCell Experienced Member

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    Wonderful post sister, and this is an extremely important point!
     
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    SingleCell

    SingleCell Experienced Member

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    I believe we're about to go through a period of years where "paradise on earth" looks possible to those unfamiliar with the reality of the world system.

    "New Technology"

    "A global world"

    "Peace and security"

    The manipulation is strong and those controlling the narrative are WELL LEARNED in psychology.

    They're playing the rubber-band counter-reaction in our minds, and out of Covid will be a new era.

    Digital. Connected. Peaceful. Deeply sinful.
     
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    thinking Member

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    yes it’s very scary....it’s exciting..one wants it but doesn’t want it...to get the relief one must pass
    thru the fire ....or the eye of the storm....
     
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    RR144

    RR144 New Member

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    I was doing a search of the forum, and being somewhat of a history buff of the Society, let me just say that Br. Russell did NOT believe "1914 was the beginning of the reign of Christ Jesus". He always believed that Jesus' parousia began 40 years earlier in 1874. In fact the 1874 date was promoted by Rutherford through the 1930s. The Society believed that there would be 40 years harvest starting in 1874 and finishing in 1914. Ushering in the Kingdom. Up until the late 1930s the 1874 date still played a pivotal role in the Watchtower’s teachings. Here are some examples:

    And then we have this quote:


    It should be noted that while the Society today continues to use certain terminology that was coined by Russell, they don't mean the same thing. For instance, while the Society still teaches a "parousia", What Russell believed it to be and what the Society teaches today are apples and oranges, the same can be true of "Armageddon", "Ransom" and the "Gentile Times". Through the years the Society has determined to make Russell into a Jehovah's Witness, then in recent years he was demoted. Think about it, if the Lord chose the Society as his instrument in 1918, well Russell couldn't have been part of the FDS class since he died in 1916. Of course they still held onto the 1874 date as was already stated until at least 1943.


    After my exodus from the Witnesses in 1992, I began to meet with a group of Bible Students, in fact they were the oldest Bible Students ecclesias (congregation) in existence from the days of Russell, they were formed in the 1880s. One of the elders in the class who had passed away just before I got there personally knew Russell, I inherited his library. I served as an elder with the class for over 10 years, travelling, speaking at conventions, I was a member of the DAWN and of the Pastoral Bible Institute. Writing and researching for them. A few years after I left the class, they folded their doors. It was a wonderful time of growth for me. But I moved on, not so much from my views, as they have pretty much stayed the same (I lean more on Russell's interpretation) but as is always the case when imperfect humans gather together, "politics" get in the way, and since I abhor politics, I stepped down and walked away. I moved out here to Indiana a few years ago and began meeting with a small group, and while I love them dearly, politics followed, AND of course Covid added to it. And so my wife and I gather together on Sundays at our home and study on our own together, reading from here and there. Discussing the Scriptures and seeing where we are in God's stream of time.

    Lord bless!

    RR
     
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    SingleCell

    SingleCell Experienced Member

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    Welcome brother! Good to see a new face.

    This is a salient point, which came up recently in my circle of JWs.

    "what if we talked about politics?"

    Everyone agreed that political views have no place in a Christian congretation. Division over temporary human nonsense!

    The only government we should be concerned with is Christ's

    Imagine Paul debating the merits of Nero's reign ....
     
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    SingleCell

    SingleCell Experienced Member

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    2 years later, all things being held to account.

    Where are we now? With a deeper sense of humility we move forward.
     
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    Joshuastone7

    Joshuastone7 Administrator Staff Member

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    Hey brother: Birth pains come in waves, no? We'll see...
     

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