Arauna

The world powers are like posturing cocks who are sizing one another up!

According to Sharia Law only 4 wives are allowed...apart from the slaves of your right hand. In Shiite islam one can have " additional pleasure marriages" too! .... Provided you have a contract....otherwise it is adultery. Only the original prophet of islam was allowed much more wives that other men. But this just proves the power that the leaders in Islam have.... they remain in power with so many wives and the other men approve. The women have no say in this. I recently read that in Germany there was a refugee who was getting 135,000 Euro a month from the government because he had 4 wives and between 6 and 8 children with each wife! I am so grateful I know the just laws of Jehovah! Hopefully soon this system and all its injustice and control will be gone. To control others and wield power is a satanic quality. One of the main identifying marks of false religion is the control of others.

I sometimes watch translations of the Friday services in Iran and they shout death to America every week. They only preach politics and hate for the "immoral' west in their Mosques. They are hoping to bring about the next caliphate which they believe will come in the "time of the end". They follow the Shiite brand of Islam and hate the Sunnis. Erdogan in Turkey is removing the separation of state and religion which was brought in by Atatürk after the fall of the Turkish empire WW1. Erdogan sees himself as the next Sunni caliph and is trying to expand his territory (hence him going into Syria). He is now forcing all children to have Islamic classes in school and his country has become a place where all opposition is persecuted and tortured. They are reverting back to tight control of women and Erdogan was caught giving support to the Islamic State. It seems to me that the more modern Muslims were involved in the failed coo-de-tat effort last year and since then most magistrates have been dismissed and about 70,000 people were immediately incarcerated. Many civil servants that seemed too modern, or had any affiliation to the cleric in America, Gulen, lost their jobs. I recently read that Erdogan also has spies in Germany (Germany has many Turks) who follow up on any person saying anything bad about him! Dissidents are not safe when they leave Turkey and go to a different sovereign state like Germany. So Europe is building up for something BIG.... whatever it is... it is coming. The propaganda (inspired expressions like frogs mentioned in Rev 16 14- 16) comes to mind.... and it leads to Armageddon. It seems as though false information and propaganda is everywhere and it is making people angry at each other - polarizing people so vehemently that they may be prepared to take up weapons against each other.

We know the end is close - so we should always be ready. It is interesting to see how Bible prophecy is being fulfilled to the letter! When it is all over we will say to ourselves - why did we not see it sooner..... but of course.... Jehovah is the revealer of all his sacred secrets... so we must wait for him.

Catholic Church has a large stake of money to loose. They received 85 million dollars (total Revenue $85,506,950) in 2014 from the government to resettle mostly Muslim refugees. I worked with many refugees that were supposed to receive help from the catholic organization who brought them here. I then discovered that the Lutherans are also receiving lucrative sums of money to handle the refugees. They were bringing them in and dumping them on the social security system without much help to intigrate. They were not giving them all the services they were supposed according to the agreement with government. These impoverished refugees have to repay their plane tickets from the monthly Social Security they receive. One refugee received a bill from them which charged them more than a thousand dollars for 4 second hand mattresses which were filled with bed lice. I wrote a letter to the organization (the refugees could not speak a word of English) to complain about this as the refugees had to pay high prices for something they could not use. These Church organizations are complaining because they are going to loose a major source of income..... not because they really care about refugees. https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/in-2014-your-tax-dollars-paid-97-of-the-us-conference-of-catholic-bishops-migration-fund-budget/

This world has gone crazy with unpredictability and volatility the order of the day (as predicted in Bible prophecy). Common sense has left the board room! While there is a definite threat from political Islam (part of the harlot in Revelation 17) we also see an overreaction on the part of politicized Christendom (who voted Trump in) and also a component of the harlot (world empire of false religion). Religion is bedfellows with politics and are forwarding their own agendas into legislation (riding the beast) and causing more division in the world. What is NOT strange about this ban is the role once again that money and big business is playing in the list of countries chosen for the ban. Saudi Arabia is the biggest exporter of Salafist ideas (extreme political islam to rule the world) and has funded most of the mosques in America and Europe through front organizations. They have also sent their trained imams to mosques throughout the world in the last 30 years with their billions of dollars gained from oil. Most of the terrorists involved in the twin towers collapse came from Egypt and Saudi Arabia. They are NOT on the list - so this extreme, fear inspiring safety and security measures is not going to fulfill the purpose of the ban. The originators of Salafist islam is not on the list.....because big business with them is flourishing! Satan is truly blinding the eyes of the world - keep separate and keep neutral as things are getting crazier every day!

Most of the exiles remained scattered all over the territory of Babylon and the previous Assyrian empire (ten tribe kingdom was scattered by Assyria; and Juda, the two-tribe kingdom, was scattered by the Babylonian empire). Only a remnant of Israel returned exactly on time as predicted by Isaiah - after 70 years.

My story is similar. I trained with the best opera singers and had a world-class voice singing Rossini, Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini Could sing the highest opera arias with ease and elegance (bel canto). I left singing but later had to work to support my children after the sudden death of my husband. Worked as a reporter and then later became the head publicist for a national orchestra. I saw the egotism and competition between artists and realized that I have the best future ever! Nothing can compare with the promises of Jehovah! Sometimes I still feel the draw of the lights but pioneering keeps me humble and now I am working in the Muslim refugee field in Sweden - improving my Arabic language skills. I sometimes think that singing would bring me much needed 'easy money' but I dare not get tempted into the entertainment world because it would only be downhill from there! It is really immoral and egotistical out there and easy money is not worth the spiritual price! Jehovah always compensates spiritually for the worldly things we sacrifice - remember that! I sang at a family wedding in Sicily four years ago at age of 60. It was captured on mobile (not a good mobile recording but I attached it for you). I sang much higher when I was younger and had more power but I am proof that old people can still do interesting things! Put your sound on high DSCF5186.mp4

My heart soared when I saw this article. I lived in a neighbor country for 48 years and kept abreast of the suffering of the Zimbabwe people - one of the poorest countries in the world and exploited by the ruling class. Jehovah the god of justice and love has given these people a wonderful hope. How wonderful to see the warm love and appreciation for Jehovah and his promises!

People are naive if they think the news we get is not controlled ... and the noose is tightening. While keeping the masses happy with their day to day posts on social media about mundane things our speech freedoms have been eroded. What we post on social media is becoming more and more controlled. Soon our preaching work will also become an issue because there is no tolerance for the ugly truth about this system and its institutions any more. While government (USA) pretends to be a sheep it is a dragon. There is a trend all over the globe to control certains aspects of the news we receive... the unpleasant truths are suppressed ... to keep us all in la-la land. But the nasty realities will soon surface ... and then they will be suddenly upon us...

Interesting word "decolonizing" which I have heard in my field service and when I read articles regarding Islam and Africa. Victimization of Africa by 'colonist' nations is part of well-documented old history...of the past 400 years. So to counteract this we now have the major fashion trend to de-colonize everything - even ideas.... at all our universities. So I presume they want modern philosphy (because I cannot think that previously colonized nations go back as far as Aristotle and Socrates). But- these nations have been in political and financial turmoil since the colonizers left.... so what major contribution regarding philosophy could they bring to the table? They definitely cannot bring any good ideas to promote equality, justice or peace in the world because we have seen the most atrocious genocides and poverty and class inequality coming from Africa in the last 60 years. So I conclude that these students are demanding change to the curriculum out of ignorance and are bowing to the new propaganda trend that is present on all university campuses in Europe and USA. Islam also has a major issue with "crusaders and colonists" since the Turkish empire was destroyed by colinist nations during the First World War and parts of the middle east came under Brtish and French control. There is only one major philosophy they can offer the world and to which everyone must bow- Islam. So the derogatory term "colonists" is used in a lot of their literature. Since most of the Middle East departments and universities have been hi-jacked by proponents of Islam, and the political activists for Islam are on all campuses, I am not surprised to see this new wave of politisized curricula being democratically demanded by the ignorant masses. My take on this: the world is really going crazy as all kinds of extremist political. propaganda is being spread throughout the world (like never in history before because of social media) and all kinds of evil organizations are infiltrating and spreading their polarizing agendas especially amongst the youth. It is therefore wise to follow the directive of Jesus to be no part of this world and not participate in its political battles... be careful as serpents. Be discreet and wise like the slave. I see a political trend in the world which was predicted in Rev 16: 14..." it is expressions of demons (propaganda) that is going out into the world to gather the nations together for Armageddon. " This is only the beginning of a world-wide trend which is already in progress and escalating fast. One is not allowed to publicly and logically expose or refute bad or immoral ideas as 'morally wrong' because then you are promoting "hate". It will eventually affect our preaching work as well. How bad this will get in future- no one knows. We are aware that it will lead to Aramageddon, so we can only watch and wait on Jehovah in silence as the bible advises us to do.

Arrogance, self-righteousness also has adverse effects on others and sometimes more devastating. IT leaves othes with feeling worthlessness and pain for being rejected. YEsterday we learnt that we should rather let ourselves be wronged- this is not just regarding money - it is about the way we live. WE need to cultivate a self-sacrificing spirit like Jesus - who gave everything he had for us. When we comfort others we are comforted by the Holy Spirit... when we give we receive so much more back from others together with Jehovah's blessing. I speak of experience. I have given attention to those whom others avoid and have found that these people need kind attention to be healed - not avoidance. Self-righteousness is at war not with the person within themselves but is at war with Jehovah's Spirit. Job fell into the sin of self-righteousness. SAtan displayed pride - that was his sin. YEs we can fight the war in ourselves- to keep ourselves pure from this world and resist eveything it offers- even resist negative attitudes displYed by others in a kind way- not by being superior but by being humble and comforting to all... not judgmental but give acceptance And love. how can we say we love God if we cannot overcome the evil by means of the love for our neighbour?

I do not agree with this statement offered above - it is words of a man. I have not seen a statement in the bible which sAys that we should avoid those at war with themselves. HOw does one define the outward symptoms of being at war with yourself? WE are all at war with the fleshly part of our existence as apposed to being perfectly in line with JehovAh and his spirit - as duly noted by one of the replies. WE must be cAreful not to judge those who have emotional issues because the bible says we must deal tenderly with those who are experiencing distress. I can imagine the stress a person must feel when they are at war with themselves - whatever the personAl baggage that has brought this about. Being deceitful, indecisive about serving Jehovah whole-souled, being stupid (according to the bible this means that one acts outside the "knowledge of Jehovah" and NOT the definition of being at war with yourself) now this is a different matter. I do however agree that we must be cAreful that associations do not influence us negatively. Be careful of self-righteousness - this can cause even greater dAmage in a congregation. I knew a sister who was always avoiding people becAuse they were doing things that she deemed unworthy of association. It caused tremendous uneasiness when people were Around her and she hurt many feelings- tHis is the otherr side of the coin. I did not write this to start a debate but merely do make my fellow worshipers think about their words And actions - imperfection and injustice can make us condemn where condemnation is not needed. AN anointed sister once gave me the best advice EVER! SHe said: when in doubt About what to do - show love. WE can assist the weak and help strenghen those around us who are suffering and having issues. WIth patience And love we can win And support them And help them adjust their attitude. LOve nevr fails! IT hopes all things. USually the elders will guide us to mark those who need adjustment. WE should not be going around indiscriminately marking people inside the congregation. THose outside the congregation is of course are not our associates.

Russia has a terrifying arsanal. Many renegade counries have nuclear power... This is not the only problem which is reaching a point of no return... climate change, deforestation, extinction of many animals, poisoning of our top soil and polluting of all fresh water resources... and much more. Mankind is facing extinction if Jehovah does not step in at the right time to save his planet and prove that he can fix everything mankind has destroyed by ruling independent of him. He has allowed time for mankind to rule the earth to prove that we cannot rule the earth...

The UN will turn against Christendom first... what happens if they refuse to obey the objectives of UN?

Just want to mention that jews read the Hebrew scriptures and know the name JHWH very well. Due to ancient traditions they do not read the name loudly but substitute it with lord. A jew once told me that we are stealing the name of his God. They do not believe that the messiah has come... Messiah in hebrew and arabic means "anointed one" . Anointed by whom? By JHWH as the chief agent and perfector if our faith Hebr 12.

I am not going to quote scriptures - just reason with you: There is a difference between willful sin and unpardonable sin. When one commits adultery one 'knows' that it is wrong - so one can equate it with willful sin which is committed out of weakness. However, can one equate this sin with someone who has tasted the love of Jehovah's spirit and then turned against Jehovah and his organization in full hate and try to stumble as many people as possible? .... this is equal to the sin of Satan - an unpardonable sin. Although many apostates have returned it does not mean that all apostates have committed the unpardonable sin. Jehovah is the one who knows if someone has sinned against his Spirit so that they will not return to his organization. The sin they have been 'practicing' has hardened their heart to the extent that they become like pharaoh - self-willed / self-righteous to the extent where they will never subject themselves to Jehovah or his organization ever again. I am not hateful and neither do I try to make you feel bad. Maybe you call our thoughts drivel because you feel that your understanding of the scriptures is correct.. Although Jehovah is 'exacting' he is not as harsh as some people assume he is - he has forgiven huge sins.... but it depends on the person; and if they are truly repentant and willing to work with his people. If they have a problem with this - then it demonstrates a personality that needs adjustment. And here I am talking personality again... do you know why? Because the Christian personality is our identifying mark for survival when Armageddon arrives. This personality is what we all should be working on at present - to comply willingly and fully to Jehovah's standards and cooperate with his people. If we sow discord, show willfulness, egotism, self-righteousness or any other qualities that can bring divisions (or separates us from his congregation) - we are out of sync with what Jehovah expects from us. We may be corrected by the congregation (Jehovah) because these are qualities that need to be worked on.. Those who separate themselves are searching for their own interest. The wicked willfully separate themselves from Jehovah and his organization. If one reads the scriptures daily one will find that most of the Greek scriptures (writings of Paul, James etc.) is admonishment to develop the qualities Jehovah expects from us.

Some people feel that they have already repented and still they are not accepted quickly.... Could it be that they have resentment because they are not being accepted as fast as they think they should be? Could they feel that the elders are not reading their repentance correctly? Do they complain that they do not feel that elders are fit to read their condition correctly?... Only God? I mentioned the building of character and the attitudes we display because this is important in the way we deal with others - every day life and especially when we are talking about repentance. We need to show the humility befitting repentance and a cooperative and good attitude to authority... If people still have a problem with this it could hamper their reinstatement.... This is the reason I replied as above. I am not an elder but if I were in their place and I saw a bad attitude in a person who said that they have repented - I would think twice about it and possible feel the person is not completely ready yet.

MY dear brother - we are all imperfect humans. I have stepped on so many peoples toes in my time as a Witness and many have hurt me. Example: if your neighbor does something terrible to you - do you blame God? Similarly in someone in the congregation - be it an elder or elders- treat you badly one does not blame Jehovah and leave the brotherhood. I am so outspoken and I do not hide my feelings (I am also a smarty-pants for a woman it is a no-no) - this is why I recognize the symptoms so fast in other people who have the same flaws!!) - So, I do get into trouble too from those who do not understand me. But you know what I discovered - a good attitude regarding authority and a humble spirit opens up doors for you. If one has a problem with any form of authority and you are slightly prideful - you are going to feel tremendous resentment and it will show while you are talking to them... and this is a dangerous place to be in. Some witnesses come into the truth and they already have a problem with authority - even in the work place - and then they just expect unconditional love and acceptance from brothers - without having to change themselves. We must always look to ourselves first because the rafter is in our own eyes. We seem to think the problems are always with others. Yes - some brothers can be arbitrary - and you can point this out to them - but the attitude with which you do this is very important. I have found that one can say what you think to others - even unpleasant things - but the spirit in which you approach the matter and the attitude with which it is done is most important! This change of attitude does not just help in the congregation it even helps one in the secular world! Also - try to comply - this shows a cooperative spirit. I would say that you need to look at your own attitudes: I am willing to be hurt by others to save the peace and still be part of Jehovah's organization because there is really nowhere else to go.... If brothers anger you - I have learnt to laugh and forgive quickly - without keeping resentment. If one holds onto anger you are actually hurting yourself and your relationship with Jehovah.... Keep this in mind. I have grown tremendously as a human being since I have adopted this way of thinking. It is not easy to quickly forget the hurts others have inflicted but I try to make a practice of this. Jehovah too - He sees everything and he sees your sincerity. If you show a kind spirit to all and forgive quickly - do you not think that others will notice? If you have no problems with authority - it will show... but if you show any form of resentment and think you know better ..... this will show in your handling of the situation.... So think of the requirements as discipline from Jehovah - for us to work on our personalities and get it in line with his qualities. Anyone can fall out anytime - so elders sometimes forget this - they may become self-confident and not trusting Jehovah enough to help them ... this may even be contributing to your stress..... but hang in there and go through the fire to come out a better individual. Suffering ALWAYS makes us better human beings because we can now put ourselves in someone else's shoes who may be facing the same problems. If you later become an elder you will understand this kind of pain and not inflict it on others in the way you handle them. Some elders have always had everything go very well with them. But each person has to fight the fight until the end and keep their sincerity with Jehovah.... So fight the fight and improve you personality so Jehovah can use you later in a large capacity.... Do not look to the short-term pain... look to the long-term goal of serving Jehovah with an improved personality and one who is happy to quickly conform and contribute positively to other's wellbeing... even if one has to make sacrifices of the self. After all Jesus showed us the example of self-sacrificing love - and this is the love that all of us are supposed to be following... to be quick to obey and slow to be hurt because of hurt feelings and our own importance. I have found that ego - and independent spirit - is at the root of all problems - even Satan's - go think about that All my love to you and may your future be one with restored confidence in the love of Jehovah!

100 years ago... I keep track of what is happening now. I study history to understand the context of times but I never look back with the knowledge of today and expect people back then to have the insight we have today. One must see everything within its historical context....

As a matter of fact the Witnesses were the only ones who were incarcerated who were there by their own free will. This is why there has been numerous studies done on their mental health. They found that the witnesses weathered the circumstances very well because they could have walked out any time by signing a repudiation of their faith. They CHOSE to be there. Many of the other groups could not choose to be there. The conditions were terrible as we all know. I read an article about a sister who repudiated her faith to get out and she said that she had extreme feelings of guilt for many years.... but she was serving Jehovah again with joy.... I thought it was a very good article because it showed that not all were faithful but - like Peter - denied their neutral stance. Like Peter - Jehovah forgave her. Our decisions always have consequences .... and she had to face hers. After the holocaust there were Jews and SS who joined Jehovah's people because they were so impressed how the majority of Witnesses conducted themselves.... JWs and their neutral stance truly brought honor to Jehovah.

This morning I read Revelation 6 again where it talks about Jesus Riding his white horse AFTER he has been 'crowned' in heaven. The second seal reveals the fiery horse which takes away the peace from the earth - great slaughter....on the earth The next seal reveals a black horse with the scales in the riders hands - widespread food shortages... The pale horse - untimely death - by many things such as plague and people being killed by the wild beasts of the earth - people who act more savagely than animals... they are called wild beasts. I have read some terrible things about what is currently going on ..... and it is worse than we can imagine what these beastlike savage people are doing...... cutting peoples lives off prematurely in horrific ways....going on in many parts of the world. All these things happen AFTER Jesus has already been crowned. - the scripture is clear about that. So these things are also a part of the sign. Jesus' followers have discernment and discretion.... they can see the signs. The 10 virgins with the lamps - some were unprepared and the other 5 were.... because they watched out of the signs of the arrival of the bridegroom to go in to the marriage ceremony. They did not fall asleep. Your explanations do not corroborate the above scripture because the next verses shows that there is time that passes and they ask "until when" .... and they rest a little while longer " until the full 144, 000 has been filled .... in the meantime people are getting tired to wait. "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.+ AFTER this: 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll that is being rolled up,+ and every mountain and every island was removed from its place.+ 15 Then the kings of the earth, the high officials, the military commanders, the rich, the strong, every slave, and every free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.+ 16 And they keep saying to the mountains and to the rocks: “Fall over us+ and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne+ and from the wrath of the Lamb,+ 17 because the great day of their wrath has come,+ and who is able to stand? Armageddon arrives. I just read what is there.... no intellectual smarty-pants exercises needed......

Goodness! One has to have a magnifying glass to add a positive comment to a picture put in good faith on this forum? My comment still stands - I am happy to be associated with those who preferred to be incarcerated than fight in war - whatever the smaller details of the triangle in the picture!

I think you are leaving Jehovah out of this equation. Jehovah has a keen interest in the congregation and watches those who practice sin such as lying or slander....which are just as serious as adultery or fornication. When a sin becomes a habit/practice - then Jehovah can remove his spirit from the person and he becomes like one from the world.... The person will not be able to go on "in all honesty" in the Truth and foster a close relationship with Jehovah. Judas is a good example. He was secretly stealing from the purse and maybe did it accidentally or out of need the first time...maybe he was going to put the money back later... we do not know.... . but it became a 'practice' and a love of money. He who 'practices' sin....without repentance. He had more than enough time to tell his fellows what he was doing and repent from it. He hid his sin and kept on doing it. When Jesus indicated that he knew about it, it was as though the hatred of Satan flared into Judas and he instantaneously became an opposer (like Satan) and went on his determined way to destroy Jesus. He had already lost Jehovah's spirit for quite some time. Similarly many apostates today have this kind of spirit that Judas had. They want to destroy any unsuspecting one who associates with the truth because of their tremendous hatred for the entire association of brothers. They hate others but have not been sincere themselves. We should all repent quickly if we made a mistake and not hide our sins because we lose our freedom of speech before Jehovah to ask for forgiveness and stay in the circle of his love. Some people have infiltrated the congregation and do not have good intentions. They keep all the required principles and look like good people but they wait for the opportunity to turn against the congregation - such as some examples in Russia. No-one will know that they do not have a close bond with Jehovah .... but the punishment in the end will come from Jehovah.... Better to be chastised by the congregation/Jehova and show humility and work on the mistakes/ faults. This is why Jehovah says he chastises his "sons". This means they are his children if they do not 'give out' when they are corrected. Sometimes it may be severe .... but in the end we are like gold who is put in the fire and being refined. All of us should watch our sincerity with Jehovah because the heart is treacherous and we can fall. Our heart is treacherous because it wants to follow its own way - independent from Jehovah. This is why we should be on guard all the time and pray for Jehovah's protection. So those who want to come back in a sincere way - Jehovah knows - and he will support them. And they themselves will know if they are truly seriously repentant - whatever their trespass. Manasseh burn his sons to false gods - he was an apostate - and came back.....

One cannot deny the triangle whatever color you may personally think it is..... the same myopia! Deny history.... this denial reminds me of the renegade Iranians.... deny, deny, deny....Death to all Jews... and Americans! they shout everyday in their mosques!