Queen Esther

Praslin, Seychelles,  where  in  1881  *General  Gordon*  found  his  garden  of  Eden.....

Paradise  on  Earth — Fantasy or Reality?

Paradise...  Colorful travel brochures make tempting offers for us to fly away to some distant “paradise” to relax and forget all our worries and troubles. But as we know all too well, when we return home, the realities of life remain much the same as they were when we left them.

Nonetheless, the fascination with paradise is powerful. We cannot help but wonder: ‘Is “paradise” nothing more than a pleasant fantasy? If so, why the fascination? And can it ever be a reality?’
PARADISE TRADITION

Over the centuries, people have been intrigued by the idea of paradise. For many, their interest was prompted by the mention in the Bible of “a garden in Eden, toward the east.” What made that garden so attractive? The account tells us: “Jehovah God made to grow out of the ground every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food.” That garden was a pleasing and good place. Most captivating of all, there was “also the tree of life in the middle of the garden.”—Genesis 2:8, 9.

In addition, the Genesis account mentions four rivers flowing out of the garden. Two of those rivers are still known to us today—the Tigris (or, Hiddekel) and the Euphrates. (Genesis 2:10-14; footnote) These two rivers flow into the Persian Gulf through what is now Iraq, formerly part of ancient Persia.

Understandably, earthly paradise is very much a part of Persia’s cultural heritage. A 16th-century Persian carpet, in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in Pennsylvania, U.S.A., shows a walled garden with trees and flowers woven into its design. The Persian word for “walled garden” also means “paradise,” and the scene on the carpet mirrors the Bible’s description of the beautiful and luxuriant garden of Eden.

In fact, stories of paradise are retold in many languages and cultures around the world. As the human family migrated to different parts of the earth, they carried with them versions of the original account, which, over centuries of time, became blended with beliefs and legends that developed locally. Even today, people almost instinctively describe places of great natural beauty as paradise.
THE SEARCH FOR PARADISE

Some explorers claimed to have located the lost paradise. For example, Charles Gordon, a British army general, on visiting the Seychelles in 1881, was so impressed by the luxuriant beauty of the Vallée de Mai—now a World Heritage site—that he declared it to be the garden of Eden. In the 15th century, Italian navigator Christopher Columbus wondered if he was close to rediscovering the Edenic garden when he landed on the island of Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Mapping Paradise, a modern history book, contains details of more than 190 ancient maps, many showing Adam and Eve in Eden. Among them is an unusual map from a 13th-century copy of the Beatus of Liébana manuscript. At its top is a small rectangle with paradise in the center. From there flow four rivers, labeled “Tigris,” “Eufrates,” “Pison,” and “Geon,” each to one of its four corners, supposedly representing the spread of Christianity to the four corners of the earth. Such depictions show that although the location of the original Paradise was unknown, memories of it evidently remained as attractive as ever.

 John Milton, a 17th-century English poet, is known for his poem Paradise Lost, based on the Genesis account of Adam’s sin and expulsion from Eden. In it he highlighted the promised restoration of everlasting life on earth for humans, declaring: “For then the earth shall all be paradise.” Subsequently, Milton wrote a sequel entitled Paradise Regained.
A CHANGE OF FOCUS

Clearly, the concept of a lost earthly paradise is a golden thread running through human history. So why is it now ignored? Basically because, as Mapping Paradise observes, “theologians have . . . turned their back firmly on the issue of the location of paradise.”

Most churchgoers are taught that their ultimate destiny is heaven, not life in an earthly paradise. Yet the Bible says at Psalm 37:29: “The righteous will possess the earth, and they will live forever on it.” Since our world today is hardly a paradise, what hope is there that this promise will ever be fulfilled? *
THE REALITY OF AN EARTH-WIDE PARADISE

Jehovah God, who created the original Paradise, has promised to restore what was lost. How? Recall that Jesus taught us to pray: “Let your Kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also on earth.” (Matthew 6:10) That Kingdom is a world government in the hands of Jesus Christ that will replace all human rule. (Daniel 2:44) Under the rule of that Kingdom, God’s will regarding a paradise earth will “take place.”

Earlier, the prophet Isaiah was inspired to describe conditions in the promised Paradise, where all the tension and conflict plaguing mankind today will be gone. (Isaiah 11:6-9; 35:5-7; 65:21-23) We urge you to take a few minutes and read those scriptures in your own Bible. Doing so will reassure you of what God has in store for obedient mankind. Those then living will enjoy a paradise as well as God’s favor, both of which Adam lost.—Revelation 21:3.

Why can we be sure that the hope of Paradise on earth is not fantasy but reality? Because the Bible tells us: “As for the heavens, they belong to Jehovah, but the earth he has given to the sons of men.” The hope of Paradise on earth is one that “God, who cannot lie, promised long ago.” (Psalm 115:16; Titus 1:2)   What a wonderful prospect the Bible offers—Paradise forever ❤

SEE  US  IN  PARADISE....

THANK  YOU  JEHOVAH ❤

A  Powerful  Reassurance  From  Hebrew’s  Smallest  Letter... ❤

Can we really be confident that all of God’s promises will come true? Jesus was convinced of it, and his teaching built faith in his listeners. Consider the illustration he gave in his Sermon on the Mount, as recorded at Matthew 5:18: “Truly I say to you that sooner would heaven and earth pass away than for one smallest letter or one stroke of a letter to pass away from the Law until all things take place.”

The smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet is י (yod), which is the first letter of the Tetragrammaton, the sacred name of God, Jehovah. * In addition to the actual words and letters of God’s Law, the scribes and Pharisees viewed each “stroke of a letter” as highly significant.

Jesus was saying that it was more likely that heaven and earth would pass away than that the smallest detail of the Law would go unfulfilled. Yet the Scriptures assure us that the literal heavens and earth will remain forever. (Psalm 78:69) So this striking statement indicated that not even the smallest detail of the Law would go unfulfilled.

Does Jehovah God care about small details? Yes, indeed. Consider this: The ancient Israelites were told that they must not break any bone of the Passover lamb. (Exodus 12:46) A small detail, perhaps. Did they understand why they should not break any of the bones? Probably not. Jehovah God knew, though, that this detail was prophetic of the fact that the Messiah would not have any of his bones broken when put to death on the torture stake.—Psalm 34:20; John 19:31-33, 36.

What do Jesus’ words teach us? We too can be totally confident that all of Jehovah God’s promises will come true, down to every last detail. What a powerful reassurance from Hebrew’s smallest letter !

18 For this is what Jehovah says,
The Creator of the heavens, the true God,
The One who formed the earth, its Maker who firmly established it,
Who did not create it simply for nothing, but formed it to be inhabited:
“I am Jehovah, and there is no one else.

It will never be destroyed which means humans were meant to live on it. Only the wickedness in it will be destroyed and it will be restored back to Paradise. So with deep meditation and reasoning from the scriptures it helps ones to appreciate that the majority will live on earth and not everyone will be going to heaven. Is that something bad ?  NO !  The scriptures mention all the blessings to be enjoyed on earth which was the original purpose in the first place for humans before Adam and Eve sinned !

Learn more on this topic at JW.ORG

” 10 Then Jesus said to him: “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’”

Keep Your Dream....

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.

The last time I was there he introduced me by saying:

“I want to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.”

“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.”

“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, `See me after class.'”

“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, `Why did I receive an F?'”

“The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, `If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.'”

“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, `Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’ Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all.

He stated, ‘You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.'”

Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.”

He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week. When the teacher was leaving, the teacher said, ‘Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.'”

“Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.”

– Author Unknown

The  important  things  in  our  life.... 

( I  remember  a  similar  story  by  a  talk  in  my  cong.)

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up the remaining open areas of the jar.

He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party, or fix the disposal.”

“Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter.   Set your priorities.   The rest is just sand.”

Author Unknown

Animated  DAILY TEXT,  Sunday,  July  9,  2017   -   Enjoy !

Animated  DAILY TEXT,  Sunday,  July  9,  2017   -   Enjoy !

REGIONAL  ASSEMBLY  IN  NOVA  SERRANA,  BRAZIL

More  simple  to  our  BIG  CONVENTIONS....    but  learning  the  same,  also  love  and  peace

under  ALL  Brothers  and  Sisters !

TALLIN,  ESTONIA....
More  than  400  Russian  brothers  attended.  All  assemblies  where  Russian  is  spoken,  are saturated  with  Russian  brothers  seeking  spiritual  food

May  Jehovah  bless  them  ALL ❤

DAILY TEXT,  Sunday,  July 9,  2017   -   Enjoy !

ORF Orientierung  - Warten auf das Paradies...  Großtreffen der Zeugen Jehovas in Wien,  Internationaler  Kongress  2009 !   Ein  positiver  u. interessanter  TV - Bericht....

TEXTO DIARIO ANIMADO/ 9 de julio de 2017

Las cosas que oíste de mí, encárgalas a hombres fieles (2 Tim. 2:2).

Los siervos de Dios siempre han sabido que es muy importante estar bien capacitados. Por ejemplo, el patriarca Abrán fue a rescatar a Lot de sus secuestradores, y la Biblia dice que llevó a “sus hombres adiestrados” para la batalla (Gén. 14:14-16). En los días del rey David había cantores que alababan a Jehová en el templo, y todos estaban “entrenados en el canto” (1 Crón. 25:7). Hoy día estamos peleando una guerra espiritual contra Satanás y sus seguidores, y nos estamos esforzando de toda alma por alabar a Jehová (Efes. 6:11-13; Heb. 13:15, 16). Si queremos triunfar en nuestra lucha, debemos estar bien preparados, tal como lo estuvieron los siervos de Dios del pasado. Jehová ha encargado esta labor de capacitación a los ancianos de congregación. Antes de comenzar, tal vez necesiten nutrir el corazón del hermano con pasajes de la Biblia (1 Tim. 4:6). Así, el hermano “absorberá” mejor la instrucción que va a recibir. w15 15/4 2:1, 2

https://wol.jw.org/es/wol/dt/r4/lp-s/2017/7/9

The things you heard from me . . . , entrust to faithful men.—2 Tim. 2:2.

God’s servants have long understood that training contributes to success. The patriarch Abram “mobilized his trained men” to rescue Lot—and the men succeeded. (Gen. 14:14-16) In King David’s day, the singers for God’s house “were trained in song to Jehovah” and brought praise to God. (1 Chron. 25:7) Today, we are fighting a spiritual war against Satan and his followers. (Eph. 6:11-13) Also, we are exerting ourselves in our effort to bring praise to Jehovah. (Heb. 13:15, 16) Hence, like God’s servants in the past, to be successful we need to be trained. In the congregation, Jehovah entrusts the elders with the responsibility of training others. Before teaching a less experienced brother a set of skills, an elder may discern the need to share some nourishing Scriptural thoughts with him so as to make his heart more responsive to the training he will receive.—1 Tim. 4:6. w15 4/15 2:1, 2

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2017/7/9

TEXTO DIARIO ANIMADO/ 9 de julio de 2017

TEXTO DIARIO ANIMADO /8 de julio de 2017

TEXTO DIARIO ANIMADO/ 9 de julio de 2017

Cuando dices: "Me siento solo"
Jehová dice: No temas, porque yo estoy contigo.
Isaías 41:10 NWT

Όταν λες: «Αισθάνομαι μόνος μου ».
Ο Ιεχωβά απαντάει: «Μην φοβάσαι, γιατί εγώ είμαι μαζί σου!»
Ησα. 41:10 MNK

Oh....  I'm  glad  NOT  missing  such  of  joint  in  my  nearness !   I've  also  NO  reminders  to  my  childhood,  bec.  "Mac  Donald's"  coming  little  later  to  Germany.  I  would  like  on  and  of  a  nice  Burger   but  its  not  so  nice  to  eat   Pizza  or  Döner  is  more  clean  to  eat   But  I  can  understand  you,  its  a  special  feeling  to  these  food ❤    My  idea,  selfmaking  at  home,  yes !   Its  pretty  simple  and  the  most  little  things  we  all  have  at  home...  rolls  and  the  meat - pads  you  can  buy  ready.   I'm  sure,  soon  you  will  love  your  own  Burgers,  bec. more  yummy  for  your  gusto    TRY  IT  and  tell  me  please....   Look  by  youtube  for  help !

We  are  learning  about  our  mistakes....    I  hope  so !

I  WISH  ALL  BROTHERS  AND  SISTERS  A  WONDERFUL  REG. CONVENTION     WE  HAVE  OUR  CONGRESS  IN  HAMBURG,  21. - 23. July  2017     -   and  I  hope,  its  like  every  year,   with  love  &  peace  and   NO  vandalism,   like  by  the   "G20  MEETING"    last  days...  horrible !

When you say:  “I feel lonely”....

Jehovah says: Do not be afraid, for I am with you
Isaiah 41:10 NWT

The things you heard from me . . . ,   entrust to faithful men.—2 Tim. 2:2.

God’s servants have long understood that training contributes to success. The patriarch Abram “mobilized his trained men” to rescue Lot—and the men succeeded. (Gen. 14:14-16) In King David’s day, the singers for God’s house “were trained in song to Jehovah” and brought praise to God. (1 Chron. 25:7) Today, we are fighting a spiritual war against Satan and his followers. (Eph. 6:11-13) Also, we are exerting ourselves in our effort to bring praise to Jehovah. (Heb. 13:15, 16) Hence, like God’s servants in the past, to be successful we need to be trained. In the congregation, Jehovah entrusts the elders with the responsibility of training others. Before teaching a less experienced brother a set of skills, an elder may discern the need to share some nourishing Scriptural thoughts with him so as to make his heart more responsive to the training he will receive.—1 Tim. 4:6. w15 4/15 2:1, 2

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2017/7/9

Danke liebe @Heidi berger für Deinen Kommentar   Wenn Du möchtest, kannst Du auch ein  *like symbol*  für diese story unter dem MARLEE - Foto, rechts anklicken. Nur NICHT den roten Pfeil,  denn der ist negativ....   Danke dafür !  Bis bald  -Liebe Grüße ???

PS. Haben Dir die 2 anderen ❤️stories auch gut gefallen ?  Schreib doch mal, wenn Du sie gelesen hast, danke.