John 12.24to28
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Posts posted by John 12.24to28
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"The one who despises his neighbor sins,
But whoever shows compassion to the lowly is happy."
The Who-Really-Is-My-Neighbor "window test" be like...
...Me Crying 😭 and then @Pudgy @boyle Showing Compassion 😃
May Jehovah Bless You Forever🥰💖
"The one showing favor to the lowly is lending to Jehovah,
And He will repay him for what he does."
Hope you guys have a good day🙂
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Dear @Pudgy...
Your advice is well-intentioned and beautiful.
(I won't watch the movie, because as I've expressed to you before, I already "see" in my mind the bad things going on in the world and feel them too intensely to be able to handle watching anything like that film at present. I have a really vivid imagination. I can't hardly take the news. I make myself read it so I know what's going on in the world, and I cry and pray about it. I can't handle a bloody movie anymore. I used to watch them when I was younger. I can't anymore. I seriously wouldn't be able to function for a week.)
I go outside and enjoy the sunshine and the rain. I have had animals, still have my dog. I go on day trips with my kids and enjoy life. One thing I don't have right now is adult association to speak about intellectual things or crazy things or any things.
I was disfellowshipped less than a year ago after being in the "truth" for over twenty years. Practically every person I was close to dropped me like a maggot-infested corpse. I am married to a man I love but who won't talk about anything spiritual with me because he considers me an apostate. He is battling with alcoholism and other things and trying to just get through each day without committing suicide. I am proud of him and I carry what I can, but I can't just go "see the world". For me, fooling around on an "irrelevant forum" is a great escape and a type of therapy and entertainment. If someone learns anything from anything I say, wow, that's amazing, but even if you are the only person that ever reads it - or even if you don't - it has served a purpose in that it's keeping me alive sometimes when I am feeling very alone.
I am not a strong person. Jehovah makes me strong. He gives me strength. When I talk about Him, it helps me. I don't have to stay here, I guess I could go write in a journal or something, but this has been kind of fun. Whatever "character" or "puppet" writes back, it's just like a game in a way. It would be nice to talk to someone who doesn't have on a mask, but I am not in a position right now to be able to go out and make new friends. My life situation is not like that right now. I am limited in the freedoms I have. Even the ones I have at present can change very quickly. I am not complaining about that, but it is the reality I have right now.
Not everyone believes in Jehovah or the things in the Bible. That's their right. I know the things He says are true, so it doesn't bother me if someone else doesn't agree. Even though @boyle is ornery, he is easy association compared to a lot of the people I have been dealing with in the past couple years. I like conversing about Bible-related things, but I also enjoy sharing other things. I may not be good at it, knowing how to write on a forum in an appropriate way - whatever that is - but I can't change my personality quickly. It takes time to grow. I've had to grow a lot in the past year, so many new things. I can't believe I've survived some of the things I've been through in the past few years, and I am aware I am a little damaged from some of the experiences, I am sure it shows socially. (Again, it might not be stuff that'd be difficult for someone else, but I am a weak person.)
Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is if my presence here is annoying or inappropriate, I will graciously say "goodbye". I can look for another place to play around on the internet. I am not here to cause issues. I am not forum savvy, I'm kind of learning as I go.
I have confidence in my hope for the future, but that doesn't change that we all have to get through today. I am just trying to get through each day as it comes. Being here has helped me to do it, but Jehovah will provide something else if need be.
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58 minutes ago, boyle said:2 hours ago, AudreyAnnaNana said:
beets...
Why do you think I'm asking one? ☺️
I'm not part of the beat generation, but I've heard everybody wants to be a cat...
58 minutes ago, boyle said:evil slave among them. In particular, beware of false prophets who claim to be anointed. 😏
Thank you, I'm doing my best to avoid all those false prophecies the GB is putting forth at present. I do appreciate your concern for my spiritual welfare!💖
58 minutes ago, boyle said:Haven't true Christians learned a lesson from Eve who listened to an evil entity?
Not that I'm aware of. After Eve listened to an evil entity she died, so I don't think she's been teaching anybody any lessons for a long time now.
Here is a lesson that learned in the Bible:
"I observed this and took it to heart;
I saw it and learned this lesson:
A little sleep, a little slumbering,
A little folding of the hands to rest,
And your poverty will come like a bandit,
And your want like an armed man."
It's good not to be lazy. But that lesson has to be balanced with this one:
"Better is a handful of rest than two handfuls of hard work and chasing after the wind."
Speaking of rest, I need some (I was up too late last night) so I am going to try to go to sleep early tonight.
"Everything is going to be alright." I hope you have a pleasant evening, @boyle! Love you, my brother! 💖 Hope you can sleep well.
"You were called to freedom, brothers; only do not use this freedom as an opportunity to pursue fleshly desires, but through love slave for one another. For the entire Law has been fulfilled in one commandment, namely: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”
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1 hour ago, boyle said:
Yes! The beat goes on! 🤣
1 hour ago, boyle said:2 hours ago, AudreyAnnaNana said:How many beats?
This depends. How many does an incorrigible need? 😏
I don't know, I'm not into that kind of thing, but you could ask the unfaithful slave, I think he's used to working with beets...
"But if ever that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying,’ and he starts to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with the confirmed drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and in an hour that he does not know, and he will punish him with the greatest severity and will assign him his place with the hypocrites. There is where his weeping and the gnashing of his teeth will be."
I personally like to dance to a different beat.
"I heard a sound coming out of heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; and the sound that I heard was like singers who accompany themselves by playing on their harps. And they are singing what seems to be a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, and no one was able to master that song except the 144,000, who have been bought from the earth."
😆☺️
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"The third angel blew his trumpet. And a great star burning like a lamp fell from heaven, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. The name of the star is Wormwood. And a third of the waters turned into wormwood, and many of the people died from the waters, because these had been made bitter."
(Revelation 8:10,11)
"Moses later led Israel away from the Red Sea, and they went out to the wilderness of Shur and marched on for three days in the wilderness, but they did not find water. They came to Maʹrah, but they were not able to drink the water from Maʹrah because it was bitter. That is why he named it Maʹrah. So the people began to murmur against Moses, saying: “What are we to drink?” He cried out to Jehovah, and Jehovah directed him to a tree. When he threw it into the water, the water became sweet."
(Exodus 15:22-25)
"However, brothers, concerning the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you not to be quickly shaken from your reason nor to be alarmed either by an inspired statement or by a spoken message or by a letter appearing to be from us, to the effect that the day of Jehovah is here. Let no one lead you astray in any way, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction. He stands in opposition and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits down in the temple of God, publicly showing himself to be a god. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is acting as a restraint, so that he will be revealed in his own due time. True, the mystery of this lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who is right now acting as a restraint is out of the way. Then, indeed, the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will do away with by the spirit of his mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his presence. But the lawless one’s presence is by the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and wonders and every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth in order that they might be saved. That is why God lets a deceptive influence mislead them so that they may come to believe the lie, in order that they all may be judged because they did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness."
(2 Thessalonians 2:1-12)
Some people take delight in the teachings of the GB. They take delight in thinking that innocent people are going to be all destroyed if they don't have the label of "one of Jehovah's Witnesses in good standing."
Jesus is going to show such ones how wrong that kind of thinking is.
The "man of lawlessness" claimed "the day of Jehovah" (or Christ's enthronement) began in 1914. Their claim is a lie. Many have believed that lie because Jehovah allowed a deceptive influence to mislead them. When Satan is cast from heaven and rails up the UN to attack religion, starting with the men taking the lead at Bethel who are teaching falsehoods, then people will see the "Wormwood" or poison that is in the teachings of the organization at present. Many people will "wake up" at once.
Just as Moses was empowered by God to "make the bitter water sweet", so Jesus will cleanse the organization, removing the bitter false teachings and using Jehovah's Name People be teachers of clean truths so as to refresh others during the tribulation.
1 hour ago, boyle said:follow Christ. How does that sit with God? Should the ones in the Org listen to apostates?
Follow Jesus. He knows where he's going. (Don't follow the GB when they apostatize and tell you to do things God hates. They don't know where they're going with that poison.)
"“A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Both will fall into a pit, will they not?"
"We must obey God as ruler rather than man."
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Light. His yoke is refreshing and light. Praise Jehovah!
(He will clean up the "toxic" water in the congregations...)
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41 minutes ago, boyle said:
When will you ever learn?
I have learned to wait on Jehovah. When He says "vengeance is mine, I will repay" He always does, and in ways we would never have imagined!
It's not wrong for people to go to the authorities to report wrongdoing. That is the right thing to do. But we don't have to go beyond that if we don't see justice right away, if things don't seem to work out after we've gone that route. We don't have to get heated up or take matters into our own hands. Jehovah will take care of it...
"Commit your way to Jehovah;
Rely on him, and he will act in your behalf.
He will make your righteousness shine like daybreak,
And your justice like the midday sun
Keep silent before Jehovah
And wait expectantly for him.
Do not be upset by the man
Who succeeds in carrying out his schemes.
Let go of anger and abandon rage;
Do not become upset and turn to doing evil.
For evil men will be done away with,
But those hoping in Jehovah will possess the earth.
Just a little while longer, and the wicked will be no more;
You will look at where they were,
And they will not be there."
(Psalm 37:5-7)
Soon we will look in the congregation of Jehovah and say "where did the wicked ones go?"
And they will not be there.
(Too bad they won't learn! I wish they would turn around. Jesus is coming to remove all the naughty ones from the congregation soon, at the beginning of the great tribulation. Maybe later some of them will turn around during the tribulation, after they are removed from their abusively lording it over the flock.)
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Oh, @boyle, you make me laugh!😆 Thank you for being funny. I love you, my brother.😁
Soon enough Jehovah will Speak For Himself. Then even those deaf ones in the organization will know how Jehovah really feels about the idol worship of elders and GB going on in the organization. Jehovah will discipline His Name People, that they may be clean. If they want to worship Jehovah, they can't worship men too. Jehovah deserves exclusive devotion.
"Jehovah will go out like a mighty man.
He will awaken his zeal like a warrior.
He will shout, yes, he will let out a war cry;
He will show himself mightier than his enemies.
“I have kept quiet for a long time.
I remained silent and restrained myself.
Like a woman giving birth,
I will groan, pant, and gasp all at once.
I will devastate mountains and hills
And dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn rivers into islands
And dry up reedy pools of water.
I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know
And cause them to tread on unfamiliar paths.
I will turn the darkness before them into light
And turn the rugged terrain into level land.
This is what I will do for them, and I will not abandon them.”
They will be turned back and will be utterly put to shame,
Those who trust in carved images,
Those who say to metal statues:
“You are our gods."
Listen, you who are deaf;
Look and see, you who are blind.
Who is blind except my servant,
So deaf as the messenger I send?
Who is so blind as the one rewarded,
So blind as the servant of Jehovah?
You see many things, but you do not keep watch.
You open your ears, but you do not listen.
For the sake of his righteousness,
Jehovah has taken pleasure in magnifying the law and making it glorious.
But this is a people plundered and pillaged;
All of them are trapped in the holes and hidden in the prisons.
They have been plundered with no one to rescue them,
And pillaged with no one to say: “Bring them back!”
Who among you will hear this?
Who will pay attention and listen for the time to come?
Who has given Jacob for pillage
And Israel to the plunderers?
Is it not Jehovah, the One against whom we sinned?
In His ways they refused to walk,
And His law they would not obey.
So He kept pouring out on him wrath,
His anger and the fury of war.
It consumed everything around him, but he paid no attention. It blazed up against him, but he would not take it to heart."
(Please take it to heart, you in the organization who still worship men! The warning is from Jehovah Himself! He will Speak the word, and who can silence Him?)
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I am one of Jehovah's witnesses. Jehovah knows those who belong to Him.
Hope you have a good day, @boyle!
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I don't know what you're talking about, @boyle. I've never gone to a court case for anything to do with the congregation, except when my husband had to go for getting arrested for domestic assault. I have no plans to go to the Capitol for anything. I have never disrupted a meeting. Saying "I love you" or "Hi" to someone before or after a meeting is not disruptive. It is loving and kind and Christlike. I was not guilty of the charges those bad elders accused me of. It is not "reviling" to call a lying elder a liar. It is not "causing divisions" to warn the rest of the flock by sending an email to tell them what is going on and ask for help. Jehovah is the God of Truth, and true witnesses tell the truth.
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(In Revelation, Jesus gave instruction to the "angels of the congregations." Jehovah's angels will keep helping the faithful little sheep to endure. Jehovah's angels can make the "wolves" in the congregation look really silly. Watching Jehovah's angels take the "wheels off the chariots" at Jehovah's appointed time is a little bit like watching an episode of Hogan's Heroes!😆)
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22 minutes ago, boyle said:
The devil's influence
The "Devil's influence" in the congregation is recorded in Revelation 3:8-11:
"‘I know your deeds—look! I have set before you an opened door, which no one can shut. And I know that you have a little power, and you kept my word and did not prove false to my name. Look! I will make those from the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews yet are not, but are lying—look! I will make them come and bow before your feet and make them know that I have loved you. Because you kept the word about my endurance, I will also keep you from the hour of test, which is to come upon the entire inhabited earth, to put to the test those dwelling on the earth. I am coming quickly. Keep holding fast to what you have, so that no one may take your crown."
My kids and I got to see that "influence" when we tried to attend the KH this morning for "field service group" but we got kicked out. (I wrote about it just now in the "response" section of the "Status Update" I posted last night.)
There are "elders" in many congregations who act like Diotrephes and kick out Jehovah's faithful servants. 3 John 9,10:
"I wrote something to the congregation, but Di·otʹre·phes, who likes to have the first place among them, does not accept anything from us with respect. That is why if I come, I will call attention to the works he is doing in spreading malicious talk about us. Not being content with this, he refuses to welcome the brothers with respect; and those who want to welcome them, he tries to hinder and to throw out of the congregation."
Jehovah will take care of all it at the appointed time. Praise Jehovah.🥰
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Jehovah will judge the organization bearing His Name.
The seven bowls of Jehovah's anger, the seven trumpets heralding God's judgments, and the seven opened seals will be thunderously "loud" when they take place. It will be undeniable that Jehovah's judgments are coming true. The signs in Revelation are repeated because it is a sure thing. These are Jehovah's Words recorded in Revelation. The reason we can understand them now is because the time for their fulfillment is soon, it is hurrying up. Praise Jehovah. It is speeding to come true. As soon as Jesus takes the throne in heaven, he will take action. Everyone will know. "Thunder" is loud. The judgment of Jehovah against the hypocritical ones in the organization is sure to come true. It is the Word of Jehovah. Every word He has spoken will come true.
Jehovah's Name will be Sanctified when Jehovah executes His judgment against the organization bearing His name by means of the UN's attack on false religion. A faithful remnant from the organization will be saved to unhypocritically welcome a great crowd of those unbelievers from the nations (non-"Jehovah's Witnesses") who will hear about Jehovah's saving power during the 3 1/2 years of the tribulation, those who say "we will go with you people, for we have heard God is with you people." We must show them true neighborly love and help them, without prejudice. Great is Jehovah's mercy and undeserved kindness. Praise Jehovah for His righteous judgments.
"the things that must shortly take place"
"Happy is the one who reads aloud and those who hear the words of this prophecy and who observe the things written in it, for the appointed time is near."
"These words are faithful and true; yes, Jehovah, the God who inspired the prophets, has sent his angel to show his slaves the things that must shortly take place. Look! I am coming quickly. Happy is anyone observing the words of the prophecy of this scroll."
“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, for the appointed time is near."
"Look! I am coming quickly"
"Look! I am coming quickly"
"Amen! Come, Lord Jesus.”
"May the undeserved kindness of the Lord Jesus be with the holy ones."
(Zechariah 8:23; Exodus 12:38; Revelation 7:9; Luke 10:29,36; Revelation 1:1,3; Revelation 22:6,10,12,20)
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The Fourth Bowl of Revelation
"The fourth one poured out his bowl on the sun, and to the sun it was granted to scorch the people with fire. And the people were scorched by the great heat, but they blasphemed the name of God, who has the authority over these plagues, and they did not repent and give glory to him."
(Revelation 16:8)
Again, this is not talking about the literal sun, but rather the "lights" meaning the rulers of this world who are treated as if they are worshipped.
Deuteronomy 4:19 "And when you raise your eyes to the heavens and see the sun and the moon and the stars—all the army of the heavens—do not get seduced and bow down to them and serve them. Jehovah your God has given them to all the peoples under the whole heavens."
Deuteronomy 17:2,3 "Suppose a man or a woman is found among you, in any of your cities that Jehovah your God is giving you, who is practicing what is bad in the eyes of Jehovah your God and violating his covenant, and he goes astray and worships other gods and he bows down to them or to the sun or the moon or all the army of the heavens, a thing that I have not commanded."
The UN will figuratively "scorch" the people when it is their appointed time to rule. The UN will have so much power when it obliterates the false religious institutions. This "great heat" wielded by a beastly government does not lead to positive upbuilding growth, but rather much oppression and cruelty.
Many people will keep blaspheming God by choosing to support the UN rather than the Kingdom. It is as if they are "worshipping" the figurative "sun" of the UN instead of worshipping Jehovah.
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The Fourth Trumpet of Revelation
"The fourth angel blew his trumpet. And a third of the sun was struck and a third of the moon and a third of the stars, in order that a third of them might be darkened and the day might not have light for a third of it, and the night likewise."
(Revelation 8:12)
This is not talking about the literal sun moon and stars.
Joseph's dream is a clue: "After that he had still another dream, and he related it to his brothers: “I have had another dream. This time the sun and the moon and stars were bowing down to me.” Then he related it to his father as well as his brothers, and his father rebuked him and said to him: “What is the meaning of this dream of yours? Am I as well as your mother and your brothers really going to come and bow down to the earth to you?”"
(Genesis 37:9,10)
The sun moon and stars are people of importance in the human family, leaders and "lights" of this world. Their "light" will figuratively "go out".
Isaiah 13:9-11 "Look! The day of Jehovah is coming, Cruel both with fury and with burning anger, To make the land an object of horror, And to annihilate the land’s sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations Will not give off their light; The sun will be dark when it rises, And the moon will not shed its light. I will call the inhabited earth to account for its badness, And the wicked for their error. I will put an end to the pride of the presumptuous, And I will humble the haughtiness of tyrants."
Ephesians 4:18 "They are in darkness mentally and alienated from the life that belongs to God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the insensitivity of their hearts."
Isaiah 60:2 "For look! darkness will cover the earth And thick gloom the nations; But on you Jehovah will shine, And on you his glory will be seen."
John 8:12 "Then Jesus spoke again to them, saying: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will by no means walk in darkness, but will possess the light of life."
Acts 2:20 "The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and illustrious day of Jehovah comes."
The "lights" or religious/political leaders of the Jewish system "went out" in ancient times when Rome attacked Jerusalem. The "lights" of the religious leaders will go out when the UN attacks false religion.
Isaiah 5:20,21 "Woe to those who say that good is bad and bad is good, Those who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, Those who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those wise in their own eyes And discreet in their own sight."
The "Faithful and Discreet Slave" will be removed.
Matthew 8:11,12 "But I tell you that many from east and west will come and recline at the table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of the heavens; whereas the sons of the Kingdom will be thrown into the darkness outside. There is where their weeping and the gnashing of their teeth will be.”
Many who are outside the organization will be brought back and many who are in the organization will be cast out. (It will be refined.)
Psalm 82:5-7 "They do not know, nor do they understand; They are walking about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are being shaken. “I have said, ‘You are gods, All of you are sons of the Most High. But you will die just as men do; And like any other prince you will fall!’"
Those who are figuratively "killed" by the lights "going out" are said to be "weeping and gnashing their teeth" outside the former arrangement, thus they are still depicted as being literally alive. It is the false worship that is killed. The men may survive. It's just there will not be a GB idol anymore. All such false worship of religious leaders will be removed.
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The Fourth Seal of Revelation
"When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say: “Come!” 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."
(Revelation 6:7-8)
"Wild beasts" means the governments. (Governments in Revelation are depicted as wild beasts.)
"Death and the Grave" is referring to being "killed" as to their former way of false worship. (See Revelation 9:20)
"Deadly plague" doesn't refer to a literal pandemic. The "plague" is symbolic of God's adverse judgment, which "kills" as to that form of false worship being removed.
The plagues in ancient Egypt were because of God's judgment on Egypt's false religion. The people worshipped idols. Jehovah showed the idols were useless.
After the Israelites came out of Egypt, at times they were plagued again because in their hearts they turned back to worship idols again. (Like the golden calf, the Baal of Peor, etc.)
The scriptures at Jeremiah 15:1-6, Ezekiel 14:21,22, and Psalm 91:5,6 give clues about what the "pestilence" of Revelation is.
Jeremiah recorded...
"Then Jehovah said to me:
“Even if Moses and Samuel were standing before me,
I would show no favor toward this people.
Drive them out from before me. Let them go.
And if they say to you,
‘Where should we go?’ you must say to them,
‘This is what Jehovah says:
“Whoever is for deadly plague, to deadly plague!
Whoever is for the sword, to the sword!
Whoever is for the famine, to the famine!
And whoever is for the captivity, to the captivity!”’
“‘And I will appoint over them four calamities,’ declares Jehovah, ‘the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and to destroy.
And I will make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of Ma·nasʹseh the son of Hez·e·kiʹah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
Who will show compassion to you, O Jerusalem,
Who will sympathize with you,
And who will stop to ask about your welfare?’
‘You have deserted me,’ declares Jehovah.
‘You keep turning your back on me.
So I will stretch out my hand against you and destroy you.
I am tired of feeling pity for you."
The "four calamities" (similar to the four horsemen) represented Jehovah's judgment against His Name People because of their unfaithfulness.
Ezekiel recorded...
"“For this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘So it will be when I send my four punishments—sword, famine, vicious wild animal, and pestilence—against Jerusalem to cut off man and animal from it. However, some left in it will escape and be brought out, both sons and daughters. They are coming to you, and when you see their ways and their deeds, you will certainly be comforted over the calamity that I brought on Jerusalem, over everything that I did to it.’”
The psalmist said those who take refuge in Jehovah in truth don't need to be afraid of "the pestilence that stalks in the gloom."
"You will not fear the terrors of the night,
Nor the arrow that flies by day,
Nor the pestilence that stalks in the gloom,
Nor the destruction that ravages at midday."
Jehovah's Name People today claim to be in a covenant relationship with Jehovah, to be "a people for special possession." They're going to be figuratively "plagued" when the UN attacks false religion. The GB has become an idol and God will remove it. Faithful individuals will be okay, it's just the hypocritical ones that will be "plagued" and their manner of false worship will be "killed".
That a "remnant" survives the attack on the organization bearing God's Name is seen in Isaiah 10:22,23, Ezekiel 6:8-10, Micah 7:18, and Romans 11:2-5. (Jehovah hasn't changed.)
"For though your people, O Israel, Are as the grains of sand of the sea, Only a remnant of them will return. An extermination has been decided on, And justice will engulf them. Yes, the extermination decided on by the Sovereign Lord, Jehovah of armies, Will be carried out in the entire land."
"But I will leave a remnant, for some of you will escape the sword among the nations when you are scattered throughout the lands. And those who escape will remember me among the nations where they are taken captive. They will realize that I was brokenhearted over their unfaithful heart that turned away from me and at their eyes that are lusting after their disgusting idols. They will be ashamed of and loathe all the evil and detestable things they have done. They will have to know that I am Jehovah and that my threats to bring this calamity on them were not empty.”
"Who is a God like you, Pardoning error and passing over the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? He will not hold onto his anger forever, For he delights in loyal love."
"Do you not know what the scripture says in connection with E·liʹjah, as he pleads with God against Israel? “Jehovah, they have killed your prophets, they have dug up your altars, and I alone am left, and now they are trying to take my life.” Yet, what does the divine pronouncement say to him? “I have left for myself 7,000 men who have not bent the knee to Baʹal.” So in the same way, at the present time also, there is a remnant according to a choosing through undeserved kindness."
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(Hey, @boyle, be a pal, will ya? I have a favor to ask, even though I know you might say "no, I don't pray for apostates" or something to that effect...I have to go through a certain specific trial this evening, I already know in advance some of what is entailed and I am very nervous. It probably wouldn't be difficult for you or most people, but I am not very strong and even little trials scare me a lot. I will keep praying to Jehovah about it, but I am always grateful if anyone keeps me in mind in prayer, because I am so weak and tired. I know the "Jehovah Factor" will get me through, it always does. If you or anybody else just wants to, please would you mind saying a little prayer for me to not be so scared? I would really appreciate it. Thank you!😬🙏😌)
"Pray also for me..." (Ephesians 6:19)
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I'm not a judge right now. I'm still on "vacation".😆
"Nevertheless, I do not consider my own life of any importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear thorough witness to the good news of the undeserved kindness of God."
(Acts 20:24)
(I know you're not really obstinate, @boyle, it's just part of your "act"...but there are some people in the world who are truly obstinate and hateful. They can choose to not live forever if that's what they want. They show their hate for Jehovah by their hate towards Jehovah's friends.)
"“Obstinate men and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you are always resisting the holy spirit; as your forefathers did, so you do. Which one of the prophets did your forefathers not persecute? Yes, they killed those who announced in advance the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, you who received the Law as transmitted by angels but have not kept it.” Well, at hearing these things, they were infuriated in their hearts and began to grind their teeth at him. But he, being full of holy spirit, gazed into heaven and caught sight of God’s glory and of Jesus standing at God’s right hand, and he said: “Look! I see the heavens opened up and the Son of man standing at God’s right hand.” At this they cried out at the top of their voices and put their hands over their ears and rushed at him all together. After throwing him outside the city, they began stoning him. The witnesses laid down their outer garments at the feet of a young man called Saul. As they were stoning Stephen, he made this appeal: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then, kneeling down, he cried out with a strong voice: “Jehovah, do not charge this sin against them.” And after saying this, he fell asleep in death."
(Paul later repented of his hatred - hopefully some others do too.)
Stephen really had a vision of the heavens. Jehovah doesn't do such "visions" today, but with eyes of faith we know where we are going.
Jesus is my Friend, and I will be united with him in the kingdom arrangement.
I like this song about Dandelions. It makes me think of my Lord Christ Jesus and the way I feel about His Love for me as an individual. The only words I would change about this song are instead of "wishing" I already Know. I already "see" forever in His Eyes and I know we will be together forever. When I am aware of His Love for me, when I'm aware of His Smile of approval, it's so good, it's like being "in a field of dandelions."
"Maybe, it's the way you say my name
Maybe, it's the way you play your game
But it's so good, I've never known anybody like you
But it's so good, I've never dreamed of nobody like you
And I've heard of a love that comes once in a lifetime
And I'm pretty sure that you are that love of mine
'Cause I'm in a field of dandelions
Wishing on every one that you'll be mine, mine
And I see forever in your eyes
I feel okay when I see you smile, smile
Wishing on dandelions all of the time
Praying to God that one day you'll be mine
Wishing on dandelions all of the time, all of the time
I think that you are the one for me
'Cause it gets so hard to breathe
When you're looking at me, I've never felt so alive and free
When you're looking at me, I've never felt so happy
And I've heard of a love that comes once in a lifetime
And I'm pretty sure that you are that love of mine
'Cause I'm in a field of dandelions
Wishing on every one that you'll be mine, mine
And I see forever in your eyes
I feel okay, when I see you smile, smile
Wishing on dandelions all of the time
Praying to God that one day you'll be mine
Wishing on dandelions all of the time, all of the time
Dandelion, into the wind you go
Won't you let my darling know?
Dandelion, into the wind you go
Won't you let my darling know that?
I'm in a field of dandelions
Wishing on every one that you'll be mine, mine
And I see forever in your eyes
I feel okay when I see you smile, smile
Wishing on dandelions all of the time
Praying to God that one day you'll be mine
Wishing on dandelions all of the time, all of the time
I'm in a field of dandelions
Wishing on every one that you'll be mine, mine."
All of God's children can have a close relationship with Christ Jesus. Some as part of the "bride" and some as the "kids". God is not partial, and neither is Jesus. Being "anointed" to serve in the kingdom arrangement is not any more or less "special" than those with the earthly inheritance. Just different gifts, both awesome. Jesus will see and interact with all of the family, because He is a Real Friend to All Who Love Jehovah and he will walk on the earth again, as will the Father. Loving parents can't wait to pour out blessings on the children who are still in the womb. Loving parents want the children to have more than the parents did. Those in the kingdom will be ministers to you, because you are beloved, you are to be exalted in Jehovah's Love. May you have peace in the knowledge that you are much beloved, and the blessings to come are superabundantly beyond all you could ask or conceive!
"For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, should be torn down, we are to have a building from God, a house not made with hands, everlasting in the heavens. For in this house we do indeed groan, earnestly desiring to put on the one for us from heaven, so that when we do put it on, we will not be found naked. In fact, we who are in this tent groan, being weighed down, because we do not want to put this one off, but we want to put the other on, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life."
"Now the one who prepared us for this very thing is God, who gave us the spirit as a token of what is to come. So we are always of good courage and know that while we have our home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we are walking by faith, not by sight. But we are of good courage and would prefer to be absent from the body and to make our home with the Lord. So whether at home with him or absent from him, we make it our aim to be acceptable to him."
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of the Christ, so that each one may be repaid according to the things he has practiced while in the body, whether good or bad. Therefore, since we know the fear of the Lord, we keep persuading men, but we are well-known to God. However, I hope that we are well-known also to your consciences."
"We are not recommending ourselves to you again but giving you an incentive to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast over the outward appearance but not over what is in the heart."
"For if we were out of our mind, it was for God; if we are sound in mind, it is for you. For the love the Christ has compels us, because this is what we have concluded, that one man died for all; so, then, all had died. And he died for all so that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised up. So from now on we know no man from a fleshly viewpoint."
"Even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, we certainly no longer know him in that way. Therefore, if anyone is in union with Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; look! new things have come into existence."
"But all things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of the reconciliation, namely, that God was by means of Christ reconciling a world to himself, not counting their offenses against them, and he entrusted to us the message of the reconciliation."
"Therefore, we are ambassadors substituting for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us. As substitutes for Christ, we beg: “Become reconciled to God.” The one who did not know sin, he made to be sin for us, so that by means of him we might become God’s righteousness."
(2 Corinthians 5:1-21)
🌿🌷Praise Jehovah🥰💖
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38 minutes ago, boyle said:
True Christians
38 minutes ago, boyle said:true nature of Jesus
39 minutes ago, boyle said:true heart
That I don't hide my heart should be obvious to anyone with eyes in their head. 🙂
"When everyday (everyday) is so glorious (glorious)
Then everything (everything) is so wonderous (wonderous)
There's more to explore
When you open your door
And meet friends like this
You just can't miss
Get curious (curious) and that's marvelous (marvelous)
And that's your reward
You'll never be bored
If you ask yourself, what is this?"
When we realize that every person is a unique individual who reflects Jehovah's light in a unique way, it opens the door to a marvelous reward - seeing light everywhere you look.
Even if a person chooses to not serve Jehovah, that person still has unique gifts Jehovah gave them, and we can appreciate those gifts, marvel at the way people are made and the gifts they have. One bird can sing beautifully, another has gorgeous plumage, another flies with incredible acrobatic feats.
If you choose to serve Jehovah, then we will be good friends forever, for all eternity, and today is just another day building on that eternity.
If you choose not to serve Jehovah, then I still will not regret the time we spent talking together.
I hope you have a good afternoon, my brother.💖🥰🌷
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Parts of the lyrics of this song, when sung toward Jehovah, are accurate...Jehovah is the One who can make us smile, He is the One who keeps giving to us, the One who gives us Good Clean Love, the One who makes us happy despite the dark days we live through in this world. Jehovah is the Only One who can make us feel this way. It's His Friendship, that Higher Love, that keeps us going and able to share Light; it's His Light we reflect.
When we imitate His Friendship by extending friendship to others, we get to share the happiness that comes from knowing "it's not what you got, it's what you give."
Jehovah's friend said, "I have shown you in all things that by working hard in this way, you must assist those who are weak and must keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, when he himself said: ‘There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.’”
(Acts 20:35)
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50 minutes ago, boyle said:
I don't hide.
Okay, @boyle.🤭
50 minutes ago, boyle said:puppet
50 minutes ago, boyle said:3 hours ago, AudreyAnnaNana said:Jehovah can see everything anyway. We're all "exposed".
You got this right.
We're all made of dirt anyway. We all return to dirt. Is it a big deal to be exposed as dirt? Some people want to watch dirt, but I don't recommend it. Why not just go play with mud pies? It's not as messy.
"All things are clean to clean people; but to those who are defiled and faithless, nothing is clean, for both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They publicly declare that they know God, but they disown him by their works, because they are detestable and disobedient and not approved for good work of any sort."
(Titus 1:15,16)
And yet, Jesus can clean even the most leperous of individuals...
"There also came to him a leper, pleading with him even on bended knee, saying to him: “If you just want to, you can make me clean.” At that he was moved with pity, and he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him: “I want to! Be made clean.” Immediately the leprosy vanished from him, and he became clean."
(Mark 1:40-42)
"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove your evil deeds from my sight; Stop doing bad. Learn to do good, seek justice, ...“Come, now, and let us set matters straight between us,” says Jehovah. “Though your sins are like scarlet, They will be made as white as snow; Though they are as red as crimson cloth, They will become like wool."
(Isaiah 1:16-18)
50 minutes ago, boyle said:3 hours ago, AudreyAnnaNana said:Higher friendship-love is enough to cover the sins of the imperfect flesh, if a person is willing to repent. He made the way out for us, so we don't have to stay in the dark. Jesus is the Way and the Light and Jehovah is a True Friend.
When it is placed in the right order and category. Do you think God was friends with the Pharisees or did the Pharisees think they were friends with God?
Jesus' friendship was extended to the Pharisees - most of them refused to take advantage of it, but some of them did.
"But some of those of the sect of the Pharisees who had become believers..."
Jehovah extended His friendship while we were yet sinners. We are not higher than Jehovah. Who are we to hold back our friendship when Jehovah is extending His?
"For, indeed, while we were still weak, Christ died for ungodly men at the appointed time. For hardly would anyone die for a righteous man; though perhaps for a good man someone may dare to die. But God recommends his own love to us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
(Acts 15:5; Romans 5:6,7)
50 minutes ago, boyle said:Not all of us are prisoners
We are all imprisoned to sin at the moment, with death as the eventual outcome. We don't have to let sin rule as king, but we are all in the same prison, dear. Look around.🙂
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"Let your brotherly love continue. Do not forget hospitality, for through it some unknowingly entertained angels. Keep in mind those in prison, as though you were imprisoned with them, and those being mistreated, since you yourselves also are in the body."
"A true friend shows love at all times
And is a brother who is born for times of distress."
"There are companions ready to crush one another,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."
"And if a friend of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him.
But if there is not, it will return to you."
We're all in the same "prison hole" at the moment. Why not let the light shine?
"However, because I have experienced the help that is from God, I continue to this day bearing witness to both small and great, saying nothing except what the Prophets as well as Moses stated was going to take place— that the Christ was to suffer and that as the first to be resurrected from the dead, he was going to proclaim light both to this people and to the nations.” Now as Paul was saying these things in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice: “You are going out of your mind, Paul! Great learning is driving you out of your mind!” But Paul said: “I am not going out of my mind, Your Excellency Festus, but I am speaking words of truth and of a sound mind. For a fact, the king to whom I am speaking so freely well knows about these things; I am convinced that not one of these things escapes his notice, for none of this has been done in a corner. Do you, King A·gripʹpa, believe the Prophets? I know that you believe.” But A·gripʹpa said to Paul: “In a short time you would persuade me to become a Christian.” At this Paul said: “I wish to God that whether in a short time or in a long time, not only you but also all those who hear me today would become men such as I am, with the exception of these prison bonds."😁
(Hebrews 13:1,2; Proverbs 17:17; Proverbs 18:24; Luke 10:6; Acts 26:22-29)
😆
"Who Really Is My Neighbor?" (brought to you by the Number Seven)
in Topics
Posted
I already told you I used to be an atheist. I only did "field work" in archaeology for a couple of years. During the summers I worked under the oversight of my mentor professor first as one of the crew and then as one of the crew chiefs. I spent a lot of time either driving to remote locations or digging and lugging dirt in the hot Florida sun amongst poison ivy and biting flies. (I still loved it - I hated lab work and report writing. Being outside and doing field work was my favorite part.) There was a lot of time to think while doing those things.
One of the things I thought about a lot in those circumstances was that we were digging up dead people and their stuff. What were those people like? What did they think about? How were their family relationships? Why couldn't I ever meet them? I could look up at the same sky they saw, see the same piece of land, hear the same kinds of sounds, pick up some of their old stuff, and yet why couldn't I meet the people who are so much more than some old junk? It was messed up that the stuff outlasted the people. It wasn't right.
After I got my undergrad degree I worked for a couple archaeology companies for a little while. One of them, ACI, did contracted excavation for a wealthy person on Sanibel Island. There are a lot of Native American sites there, and the person wanted to put in a new swimming pool so they were required to get an archaeological survey done first. During excavation my boss and I uncovered a Native American bundle burial. We had to stop and call the State Archaeologist per regulations (whenever human remains are found). While we were waiting and lightly brushing off the exposed bone, my boss got a call on her cellphone that the first plane had hit the twin towers in NY. Later, while still waiting for the State Archaeologist, we heard about another plane going into the towers.
We're standing in this beautiful place, some people want a swimming pool, it's a gorgeous day, and there's a dead person's remains at my feet, and a bunch of people are getting blown up somewhere, and all the other issues both personally and in the world - what, why, what is going on, what is wrong, what is the point??? Where is hope? Why are we here? What's the point?
I never thought I'd ever get answers to those questions. I didn't think it was possible. But I did get the answers. I did.
I told you I went through a dark experience where I called and Jehovah answered. I won't go into that here right now. I don't need to. I have had my "hard evidence", and I know I can't give you the depth of that confidence I have - everyone has to develop their own faith - but I am now confident 100% that I will see those ones in the dust again, that they will breathe again and they will get answers to the questions they had and the questions they never got to ask.
(I love being in the sun and used to "tan" very easily but I have developed that "Michael Jackson" skin disorder over the past couple years - who gets that? - so I have to be more careful now or I burn in funny patches. 🤪)
Okay, back to "work/play" then!😉
There was an earlier post in this thread on the "plagues" or pestilences of Revelation.
Here is another clue identifying what that "pestilence" is:
"‘Nevertheless, I do hold this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezʹe·bel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and misleads my slaves to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. Look! I am about to throw her into a sickbed, and those committing adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with deadly plague, so that all the congregations will know that I am the one who searches the innermost thoughts and hearts, and I will give to you individually according to your deeds."
(Revelation 2:20-23)
Jesus says he will use figurative "deadly plague" to remove false worshippers from the congregation when he comes. "Unless they repent of her deeds."
The "Jezebels" are anyone in God's organization with the official role of leader who misuses their authority in order to "kill" or harass others in the congregation. Jezebel was a leader in a nation that bore God's name. Jezebel of old told the elders to bear false witness about Naboth, a true worshipper, and then kill him. Today the GB tells others to say certain ones in the congregation are irredeemable by the ransom and must be "disfellowshipped" or treated as if they are dead. The elders bear false witness by saying "it's Christ who says" such "disfellowshipped ones" are not to be shown love - the GB and those elders are lying about Christ and Jehovah - and then they lead the rest of the congregation in showing hate to the "disfellowshipped", treating them as if they were dead. It is a form of spiritual adultery.
Jesus is coming to clean out the organization bearing God's Name. The coming plague of figurative "pestilence" is going to affect all those who act like the GB when they commit such spiritual adultery and attempt to figuratively "kill" their brothers "in the name of god". Those who practice disfellowshipping will be "plagued" with pain when they find out how God really views their disfellowshipping doctrine. The proclaimed "love" of those who practice disfellowshipping will be shown to be diseased, ulcerous, unclean.
The disfellowshipping doctrine as currently practiced will be removed because it is reproaching God's Name and hurting God's sheep. The people who want to keep worshipping Jehovah will have to repent of practicing such an evil thing. Praise Jehovah.