Patiently waiting for Truth

OK I can see I need to be more humble. In future I will try.  But I promise nothing. 

Yes, of course.
(Matthew 11:11-15) . . .Truly I say to you, among those born of women, there has not been raised up anyone greater than John the Baptist, but a lesser person in the Kingdom of the heavens is greater than he is. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of the heavens is the goal toward which men press, and those pressing forward are seizing it. 13 For all, the Prophets and the Law, prophesied until John; 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is ‘E·liʹjah who is to come.’ 15 Let the one who has ears listen.
(Hebrews 1:1-8) 1 Long ago God spoke to our forefathers by means of the prophets on many occasions and in many ways. 2 Now [in the last days] he has spoken to us by means of a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the systems of things. 3 He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact representation of his very being, and he sustains all things by the word of his power. And after he had made a purification for our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4 ... 8 But about the Son, he says: “God is your throne forever and ever, and the scepter of your Kingdom is the scepter of uprightness.
(Galatians 4:4) . . .But when the full limit of the time arrived, God sent his Son. . .
So do I.
(Hebrews 2:14) . . .through his death he might bring to nothing the one having the means to cause death, that is, the Devil,
(Luke 10:18) 18 At that he said to them: “I see Satan already fallen like lightning from heaven.
(1 John 3:8) . . .For this purpose the Son of God was made manifest, to break up the works of the Devil.
(John 16:33) . . .In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage! I have conquered the world.”
(1 John 5:4) . . .because everyone who has been born from God conquers the world. And this is the conquest that has conquered the world, our faith.
Having been cleared from heaven, Satan's focus is on his struggle against Christians:
(Ephesians 6:11, 12) 11 Put on the complete suit of armor from God so that you may be able to stand firm against the crafty acts of the Devil; 12 because we have a struggle, not against blood and flesh, but against the governments, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.
(1 Timothy 3:6, 7) . . .and fall into the judgment passed on the Devil. 7 Moreover, he should also have a fine testimony from outsiders so that he does not fall into reproach and a snare of the Devil.
(1 Peter 5:8, 9) . . .Your adversary, the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone. 9 But take your stand against him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by the entire association of your brothers in the world.
(Revelation 12:12) . . .Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing that he has a short period of time.”

I'll give the simple answers, but I will also add the scriptures below:
The WTS teaches that the apostles and other anointed ones are most likely in heaven, but not yet reigning. I believe they are most likely still waiting in the grave. The WTS teaches that Jesus became king over a kingdom made up of the "congregation" in 33 CE, and King of God's Kingdom in 1914. I believe it was 33 CE on both counts. The WTS teaches that the horses began riding in 1914. I believe it was 33 CE.
Yes and No. And not absolutely. The GB/CCJW do not teach that they are now reigning with Christ, even if they are already in heaven. Originally, they were considered to have been resurrected ("first resurrection") in 1878, and this was moved to 1918. Then, around the year 2000, the WTS began dropping 1918 from almost all Biblical fulfillments.
The current thinking is that the "first resurrection" was most likely prior to 1935, but COULD potentially be as late as the "Great Tribulation," just before Armageddon. 1918 is now only considered "an interesting possibility."
*** w07 1/1 p. 28 par. 12 “The First Resurrection”—Now Under Way! ***
Could it, then, be reasoned that since Jesus was enthroned in the fall of 1914, the resurrection of his faithful anointed followers began three and a half years later, in the spring of 1918? That is an interesting possibility. Although this cannot be directly confirmed in the Bible
The WTS, in the same article, has indicated that it could happen as late as Armageddon:
*** w07 1/1 p. 27 par. 9 “The First Resurrection”—Now Under Way! ***
As this journal has often shown, that battle began in 1914. Notice, though, that none of Christ’s anointed followers are said to be with Jesus in that heavenly war. Now look at chapter 17 of Revelation. We read there that after the destruction of “Babylon the Great,” the Lamb will conquer the nations. Then it adds: “Also, those called and chosen and faithful with him will do so.” (Revelation 17:5, 14) “Called and chosen and faithful” ones must already have been resurrected if they are to be with Jesus for the final defeat of Satan’s world. Reasonably, then, anointed ones who die before Armageddon are resurrected sometime between 1914 and Armageddon.
Yes. Paul made a few statements about how others would not already start ruling without them all ruling together. He also made statements about how those resurrected would be called at the last trumpet to be taken to heaven at the same time as those who would survive to the end. Also, note that Paul spoke out against those who were claiming that the resurrection had already occurred. You probably know the scriptures.
They teach that Jesus became king of a "kingdom" with a small "k" in 33, but King of a "Kingdom" with a capital "K" in 1914. The only time God's Kingdom by Christ is ever spelled with a small "k" is in Colossians:
(Colossians 1:13) . . .He rescued us from the authority of the darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. . .
That's the only exception. All other mentions of God's Kingdom by Christ Jesus are spelled with a capital "K" in the NWT.
Yes. The book of Hebrews is very clear that we already have a priest who is of the order of Melchizedek, who was both King and Priest simultaneously. Besides the fact that the Bible calls Jesus "King of Kings," Lord, Messiah, king, and the fact that Paul says that sitting at God's right hand (the right hand of the throne of Majesty) is the equivalent of "ruling as king."
They were definitely still running at full pace in 1914, but Jesus said that they would be running in the first century, too. Starting in the generation prior to Jerusalem being surrounded by encamped armies:
(Luke 21:9-20) . . .Furthermore, when you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified. For these things must take place first, but the end will not occur immediately.” 10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another food shortages and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and from heaven great signs. ...19 By your endurance you will preserve your lives. 20 “However, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies, then know that the desolating of her has drawn near.
 
 

I don't really know. My youngest son speaks and writes Chinese fairly well and has been writing to some friends in China. They are working under the assumption that some persons CAN get it again, but that it was extremely rare and probably based on getting a variant the second time. South Korea has also reported second infections. 
Japanese "experts" have been reporting on NHK (like a Japanese "BBC") that the United States already had 4 or 5 variants of the virus, during the time that China did not yet have a second variant. Of course, even though Japan "hates" China, and is politically allied with the US, many Japanese have accepted as a "given" that this is evidence that the United States was already carrying the "first" and up to four branches of the virus, while China started out with only 1 of the branches in Wuhan, Hubei. Therefore, their "experts" are saying it must have come from the United States.
At any rate, if the United States is carrying more variants, then it's more likely to suffer second infections (on the variant theory). [I assume, but don't know enough about it, that if an infected "variant 2" coughs on an infected "variant 4" that this is one way that a "variant 5" might be produced.] It's not known how well the antibodies built up from one (survived) infection might help fight a second. Also, it's possible that before testing was widely available, that some who were counted among the infected, were actually coincidentally suffering from another type of flu during the "first" infection.
Tentatively, these Chinese friends of his say that they have all been through weeks of self-quarantine, and several provinces are finally going back to work. But they know that the outbreaks could happen anytime, anywhere. Even if second infections were NOT possible, there are still over a billion Chinese people who never got it in the first place, and are just as susceptible as those who already got it earlier.

Kosonen:
Time of the end?
I could just as easily speculate ...ALSO ... without any basis, that those who survive the coronavirus, will lose the "ability" to age.
Both ideas have no basis in reality.

I too, see the corona virus as a sign of the begining of the end time. But it is little hard to define when exactly the end time begins? The four horse men of the Revelation begins with the white horse, and its Rider Jesus Christ, then comes the red horse that symbolizes much war on earth. After that comes the black horse, that symbolizes a lot of famine. And then lastly comes the pale horse, that includes deadly plague.
Well looks these 4 horses and their riders have just now begun to ride. 
So easily it could take 5 years before the end.

The first amendment ONLY applies to the actions of the Federal, State, and Local Governments, etc. restricting the speech of individules or legal entities.
IT DOES NOT APPLY TO  NON-GOVERNMENT CENSURE OF INDIVIDUALS
Your Boss may fire you for saying something he does not like, or I may throw you out of my house for speech I do not approve of.
... the same with the "owner" of this blog.
You cannot legally discriminate against someone on the basis of race, creed color, or national origin, etc. .... there is a list .... ... but you CAN discriminate against anyone for being too tall, too short, ugly, or stupid.
.... or snarky, and mean spirited, etc.
 
 
 

@Kosonen ,
There are at least two additional scriptural ways to reach this same conclusion. Here is one:
(Revelation 6:7-11) 7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say: “Come!” 8 And I saw, and look! a pale horse, and the one seated on it had the name Death. And the Grave was closely following him. And authority was given them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with a long sword and with food shortage and with deadly plague and by the wild beasts of the earth. 9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those slaughtered because of the word of God and because of the witness they had given. 10 They shouted with a loud voice, saying: “Until when, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, are you refraining from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 And a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the number was filled of their fellow slaves and their brothers who were about to be killed as they had been.
Note that everyone who has died must waits until after the four horseman have had their ride of death, war, food shortage, pestilence, wild beasts, etc. They must wait until the full number of their fellow slaves have been killed.
(Revelation 19:1, 2) 19 After this I heard what seemed to be a loud voice of a great crowd in heaven. They said: “Praise Jah! The salvation and the glory and the power belong to our God, 2 because his judgments are true and righteous. For he has executed judgment on the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his slaves that is on her hands.”
(Revelation 19:7-11) . . .Let us rejoice and be overjoyed and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has arrived and his wife has prepared herself. 8 Yes, it has been granted to her to be clothed with bright, clean, fine linen—for the fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the holy ones.” 9 And he tells me, “Write: Happy are those invited to the evening meal of the Lamb’s marriage.” ... 11 I saw heaven opened, and look! a white horse. And the one seated on it is called Faithful and True, and he judges and carries on war in righteousness.
(Revelation 20:3-6) 3 And he hurled him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not mislead the nations anymore until the 1,000 years were ended. After this he must be released for a little while. 4 And I saw thrones, and those who sat on them were given authority to judge. Yes, I saw the souls of those executed for the witness they gave about Jesus and for speaking about God, and those who had not worshipped the wild beast or its image and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand. And they came to life and ruled as kings with the Christ for 1,000 years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1,000 years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Happy and holy is anyone having part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of the Christ, and they will rule as kings with him for the 1,000 years.
A little more direct and to the point is the scripture you already pointed out from 1 Thess
(1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17) . . .because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first. 17 Afterward we the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air. . .
Verse 17 can be just as correctly translated as "Then, we the living who are surviving will, at the same time with them, be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air..."
(Matthew 24:29-31) . . .“Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a great trumpet sound, and they will gather his chosen ones together from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to their other extremity.
(1 Corinthians 15:51, 52) . . .We will not all fall asleep in death, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the blink of an eye, during the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised up incorruptible, and we will be changed.
And, of course, we also know that since 33 CE Jesus has been ruling as king in the midst of his enemies, riding alongside these death-related horses, until they are finally subdued.
(1 Corinthians 15:25-26)  25 For he must rule as king until God has put all enemies under his feet. 26 And the last enemy, death, is to be brought to nothing.
(Psalm 110:1, 2) . . .“Sit at my right hand Until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.”  2 Jehovah will extend the scepter of your power out of Zion, saying: “Go subduing in the midst of your enemies.”

Yes, based on Revelation 14:8 and 13 I can not understand it otherwise. 
Also this is in harmony with Revelation 11:18  "But the nations became wrathful, and your own wrath came, and the appointed time came for the dead to be judged and to reward your slaves the prophets and the holy ones and those fearing your name, the small and the great, and to bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”
 
Daniel 12:1  “During that time Miʹcha·el will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of your people. And there will occur a time of distress such as has not occurred since there came to be a nation until that time. And during that time your people will escape, everyone who is found written down in the book. 2  And many of those asleep in the dust of the earth will wake up, some to everlasting life and others to reproach and to everlasting contempt.

No idea about the 'first amendment' as I'm not American I'm English. As for the 'rules' of JW open or closed forums I've no idea.
I've always thought this forum was open to anyone JW or not. @Witness is not a JW and a few others aren't either. Maybe there are some that never were JWs on here. It matters not to me who I'm sharing comments with, I do not discriminate. 
Jesus said to 'love your enemies' and the Org always used to say 'continue putting up with one another', so that's how i see it. 
But in honesty I don't think I've been excessively rude or offensive, unless I'm just getting less sensitive. And as you say its just 'banter', whether ex-witness or JW. 
I think there is a closed JW 'inner chamber' here for JWs only, if you would prefer to be in that. Though I would think it would be very boring.  Even @TrueTomHarley comes out to play here sometimes as he gets bored in there. 
Christian love to you Tom Henry, I mean you no harm. 

... little confusing for me too.

To be honest until a few days ago I had no idea I was also moderating THIS club. I have been a moderator in the JW Only club, but recently I noticed THIS club, that used to be OPEN, has now also become closed. So it has become a little confusing. While the JW Only club had much stricter rules, (one of them being no ex- JW and only baptized practicing JWs), this club (the Jehovahs Witnesses) allowed anyone to become a member and comment. I guess the @The Librarian automatically made me moderator here also....?
I don't know what the rules are here, but I would say common courtesy should apply across the board of course, so @4Jah2me please control yourself. Thank you.

I hope they r washing their hands when they write those letters.
JWs must be thinking Satan must be working extra hard to disrupt the meetings and witnessing 😷😆😷

Our meetings have been cancelled also, so have the circuit assembly up coming the week of March 22nd. The Memorial will have other means to be observed but it will be. We have not missed a meeting even with all the cancellations, having sat in with other congregations via streaming. This virus has had the cart work cancelled and other informal witnessing cancelled. So what I have had to do since my disability, telephone and letter writing has become much more prevalent now and those not use these forms will now be forced to use them during this period of quarantine.

Lord, that fellow is a moron! Post a comment about the Corona virus and the worldwide financial collapse and he attaches a laughing emoji to it!
Does it not remind anyone with a shred of decency of Jesus words? 
“How long must I continue with you? How long must I put up with you?”
He really is losing it.

Who wants to see a brother get sick and possibly die just because non-witnesses are advocating social disobedience?
Oh dear you people do make me laugh. Is this how you frighten your children ? 
non-witnesses are advocating social disobedience..  Give it a rest.
You really are making the CCJW seem like a cult, and I've never used that expression before. But you make yourself look and sound so stupid. You lump all non JWs together and pretend they are at war with the CCJW and with the world.  
And as for Keeping observing in safeguarding the faithful. Um, sounds like Matthew 5 
46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 

@Srecko Sostar It means as always that they are looking for a sign. 
The GB and Writing department are physical men not spiritual men.
They need physical signs as they have no true Faith in God or Christ. 
They grab hold of anything to use it as a sign.
 

@Tom Henry  " Are we to tell God he has made a "poor" choice of those that decided to pick up the mantle from dead Christianity, that was only awakened by the reformers? "
What makes you think God had anything to do with it ?  If it had been God's choice then those men would not have 'run ahead' and chose to use their own understanding, thereby making so many mistakes.
Quote " Were we supposed to STOP all bible knowledge in the 16th century even though we have a more powerful understanding of scripture today? "
The GB and CCJW do NOT have a 'more powerful understanding of scripture today' 
They are fumbling in the dark with 8 million people lives hanging in the balance.  
Quote "Are we uplifting other peoples spirituality or is it simpler to sway them to condemnation?"
JWs and Bible students are not being lifted spiritually. They are being weighed down with burdens from the GB down to the Elders. They are not being taught truth because the GB and the Writing department do not have truth. NO One in the CCJW is inspired of God's Holy spirit. They are the 'blind leading the blind'.
The Anointed are not doing the job they were anointed to do. There is no spiritual guidance right now. 
You have your own understanding, but others have their own understanding. I am wise enough to know that i do not have spiritual guidance or understanding. 
 

How do you know, The Org is NOT God's choice.
One simple answer.
 
Matthew 7:15-20 New King James Version (NKJV)
You Will Know Them by Their Fruits
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

As signs go, a worldwide plague that crashes public health systems, along with decimated markets that will throw endless people into poverty, if not death, is hardly a yawner.

You need to meditate on what I just finished saying.
You are smart enough to derive correct answers from what I have already said ...... if you work at it.
Those determined to remain clueless will almost always succeed.

from JWorg: 
UPDATE | Latest Information Regarding the Coronavirus Outbreak
The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has provided direction to all branches regarding our spiritual activities during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. On Thursday, March 12, 2020, the Governing Body directed the United States branch to cancel all large spiritual events until May 1, 2020. This direction was shared with all branches so that they can make wise decisions about our activities in harmony with local circumstances. We are fully cooperating with health officials in all nations in an effort to contain the spread of the virus. We recognize that this pandemic is yet another evidence that we are living deep in the last days.—Luke 21:7-13; Revelation 6:8
...we are living deep in the last days
What does this have to mean?? :))

..... especially if you have a large life insurance policy.

So, GB calling themselves the F&DS, not inspired of God, but placing themselves above all other Anointed ones. Supposedly guiding an organisation from scripture, but unable to, or not willing to, answer questions from a loyal servant of 50 years standing.  That sounds like a worldly government to me. 
But of course they will grab your donations willingly. 
Don't you honestly think there is something seriously wrong there ?
Don't you think that if it was God's true organisation God would sort it out ? 
Don't you think Christ would just give it a kick up the rump ? 
The question i would like to ask I cannot, for fear of  being d/fed from here, and that's how wrong the GB of CCJW are, they even have overpowering influence here.

I don't expect much from ANY humans, so although what you say is true, I see no real alternative ... that is why I stay with Jehovah's Witnesses.
It is a deeply flawed organization ... but all the others are so much worse.
..and that's the fact, Jack.
I CAN write the Society about this, but I would not, because of who I am, be able to do it anonymously ... but I have done so many times in the past about other issues, over the past 50 years, and they have either not replied, or replied with a computer generated form letter vaguely reminiscent of the topic I asked about. ... so the short answer, is no.