Bible Speaks

Pray to a Star or to the Creator Who Will Hear You? ?? ?? ?? The vastness of the stellar creation adds infinite force and meaning to the Creator’s statement at Isaiah 40:26: “Raise your eyes high up and see. Who has created these things? It is the One who is bringing forth the army of them even by number, all of whom he calls even by name. Due to the abundance of dynamic energy, he also being vigorous in power, not one of them is missing.” (Compare Ps 147:4.) The reverent psalmist was led to say: “When I see your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have prepared, what is mortal man that you keep him in mind, and the son of earthling man that you take care of him?”—Ps 8:3, 4. The tremendous forces that determine the relative positions of certain stars according to physical laws are indicated by God’s questions to Job: “Can you tie fast the bonds of the Kimah constellation, or can you loosen the very cords of the Kesil constellation? Can you bring forth the Mazzaroth constellation in its appointed time? And as for the Ash constellation alongside its sons, can you conduct them? Have you come to know the statutes of the heavens, or could you put its authority in the earth?” (Job 38:31-33; 4 "He counts the number of the stars; He calls all of them by name." ( Psalms 147:4) The reverent psalmist was led to say: “When I see your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have prepared, what is mortal man that you keep him in mind, and the son of earthling man that you take care of him?”—Ps 8:3, 4. jw.org IMG_7029.MP4

Congratulations! ???? Agape ???

https://tv.jw.org/#en/video/VODMusicVideos/pub-jwb_201702_8_VIDEO

Praying for our faithful Brothers and Sisters! Jehovah will step in when the time is perfect! ?????? Agape, Bible Speaks

Life in New England - Winter Wonderland! ❄️?❄️☃️ 10 "For just as the rain and the snow pour down from heaven And do not return there until they saturate the earth, making it produce and sprout," Giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 "So my word that goes out of my mouth will be. It will not return to me without results, But it will certainly accomplish whatever is my delight, And it will have sure success in what I send it to do." (Isaiah 55:10,11) I do Wonder!! ❄️?☃️ ┏╮╭┓√,•*´✿ ╭╰ტ ტ ╯╮/¸✿ ╰╭╰╯╮╯/✿ ...┗╯╰┛√•* .✿•*´)//*´¯`✿* ...✿´)//¯`*(¸✿.• ♥❤ !!!♥•ƸӜƷ•♥!!! ❤♥

"This is what Jehovah says, Who gives the sun for light by day,The laws of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea and makes its waves boisterous, Whose name is Jehovah of armies." (Jer.31:35.) NWT jw.org

ARchiv@L: So Happy they are moving out of the Big City ? Who knows how the cities will fare soon? Jehovah knows! He has "perfect timing" for His people! Thank you for sharing, Bible Speaks ???

Who Made the Laws That Govern Our Universe? “HAVE you grasped the celestial laws?” (Job 38:33, The New Jerusalem Bible) About a century after the writing of the Old Testament—the Hebrew portion of the Bible—was completed. At that time, the Greek philosopher Aristotle was teaching the leading scholars of his day about the physical heavens. Today, he is still ranked among the most influential scientists who ever lived. Aristotle carefully worked out a model for the cosmos. He proposed a system in which the earth was at the center of a universe made of over 50 crystalline spheres, one nestled inside the other. The stars were affixed to the outermost sphere, the planets to spheres nearer the earth. Everything beyond earth was eternal, changeless. Those ideas may sound fanciful to us today, but they influenced men of science for some 2,000 years. 1. Is the Universe Rigid? Aristotle reasoned that the celestial spheres were rigid. The one holding the stars in place, like the others, could neither shrink nor expand. Does the Bible offer a similar conjecture? No; it states nothing dogmatically on this point. However, note the interesting word picture that it presents: “There is One who is dwelling above the circle of the earth, the dwellers in which are as grasshoppers, the One who is stretching out the heavens just as a fine gauze, who spreads them out like a tent in which to dwell.”—Isaiah 40:22.* 2. What Holds the Heavenly Bodies in Place? To Aristotle, the universe was packed full. He saw the earth and its atmosphere as composed of four elements—earth, water, air, and fire. The universe beyond was filled with crystalline spheres, all composed of an eternal substance he called ether. The heavenly bodies were attached to the invisible spheres. Aristotle’s idea long appealed to most men of science, for it seemed to fit a basic assumption: An object must rest on or be attached to something, or else it will fall. What about the Bible? It contains a record of the words of a faithful man named Job, who said about Jehovah: “He is . . . hanging the earth upon nothing.” (Job 26:7) Such a notion would surely have struck Aristotle as preposterous. 3. Eternal or Subject to Decay? Aristotle believed that there was an enormous distinction between the heavens and the earth. The earth, he said, is subject to change, decay, and deterioration, whereas the ether of which the starry heavens are made is utterly changeless, eternal. Aristotle’s crystalline spheres and the heavenly bodies attached to them could never change, wear out, or die. Is that what the Bible teaches? Psalm 102:25-27 reads: “Long ago you laid the foundations of the earth itself, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They themselves will perish, but you yourself will keep standing; and just like a garment they will all of them wear out. Just like clothing you will replace them, and they will finish their turn. But you are the same, and your own years will not be completed.” Does the Bible teach that the earth or the starry heavens as a whole will one day come to an end or need replacing?’ No, the Bible promises that they will last forever. (Psalm 104:5; 119:90) But that is not because such creations are eternal in themselves; rather, the God who created them promises to sustain them. (Psalm 148:4-6) Who Should Get the Glory and the Honor? Without question, then, we have all the reasons in the universe to give Jehovah “the glory and the honor.”—Revelation 4:11. jw.org IMG_6962.MP4

Doomsday Clock Inches Closer to Midnight – Now 2.5 Minutes Thu, 01/26/2017 - 10:29am34 Commentsby Seth Augenstein - Senior Science Writer - @SethAugenstein Photo: Bulletin of Atomic Scientists The world has inched closer to global disaster, according to the latest update to the Doomsday Clock. The Clock was advanced 30 seconds forward this morning, to “two and a half minutes to midnight,” during the annual Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announcement at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The reason was continued nuclear proliferation and climate change, after it had remained at three minutes to midnight for two consecutive years. But one major factor is additional international political upheaval. “The political situation in the United States is of particular concern,” the Bulletin board said, at the press conference and in an op-ed. “Making matters worse, the United States now has a president who has promised to impede progress on both of those fronts (nuclear and climate).” They cited the ascendancy of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States of America just last week. Ever since last Friday, Trump has been constantly followed by an aide carrying the nuclear “football,” to launch global thermonuclear war within minutes. Trump, like past presidents, has not ruled out first use by the U.S.A. “I’d be the last one to use the nuclear weapons, because that’s sort of like the end of the ballgame,” Trump said at a town hall on the campaign trail last March. Russia, which interceded on behalf of Trump in the November election, has 1,800 missiles active capable of striking North America. Some 1,400 U.S. warheads are pointed in the opposite direction. The Doomsday Clock was founded by a group of scientists at the height of the Cold War, in 1947. At that time, the Soviet Union was still two years away from testing its own atomic bomb, and the Clock was set at seven minutes to midnight. The clock has reflected the belief of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists whether humanity and the Earth are advancing toward global disaster. Two minutes to midnight was as close as the world has ever come to global catastrophe. The last time it was set there was 1953 – and it was a response to the first thermonuclear weapons, H-bombs tested by the United States in October 1952, and by the Soviet Union just nine months later. Even during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1963, the nuclear standoff in the Caribbean that nearly resulted in global war, the clock was still seven minutes away from the ultimate reckoning. The icy relations between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. reached another peak in 1984, amid breakdown in arms-reduction treaties. The farthest it drifted away from midnight – the metaphorical nuclear Armageddon – was 17 minutes, as the Soviet Union collapsed under its own weight in 1991. But the Doomsday Clock has gradually advanced over the last quarter-century. Continued tensions between the U.S. and Russia never really led to the dismantling of the huge WMD stockpiles – and nations like North Korea have gradually joined the nuclear club. In 1998 alone the clock jumped from 14 minutes to 9 minutes, based on the nuclear tests of both India and Pakistan months before. Terrorism and climate change have also contributed to the step-by-step advance of the Clock. The last advance was from 2014 to 2015, from four minutes to three minutes, as the Bulletin cited the dangers of unchecked climate change and aging nuclear arsenals that had not been reduced in years. The Clock was only updated at times of massive changes in the international scene for decades. But the announcement of its position has since become an annual January event. IMG_6816.mov

Why Did Jesus Speak of Death As A Sleep? 28 "Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice." (John 5:28) NWT 5 "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing at all, nor do they have any more reward, because all memory of them is forgotten." (Ecclesiastes 9:5) NWT

http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/sysl/r1/lp-e?url=/en/wol/sydp/r1/lp-e/{rsconf}/{library}/r1/lp-e/1102014249/null

The Librarian: Jehovah has control! Soon they will pay for their part of making His people reproached for showing love and helping others learn about our wonderful Creator, Jehovah God.

THE TIME LINE OF CREATION THE BEGINNING The material heavens and earth are created.—Genesis 1:1. DARKNESS The earth is formless, desolate, and dark.—Genesis 1:2. FIRST DAY Diffused light evidently penetrates the earth’s atmosphere. If there had been any observer on the surface of the earth, the sources of light would have been imperceptible to him. Yet, the difference between night and day became discernible.—Genesis 1:3-5. SECOND DAY The earth is covered with water and a dense mantle of vapor. These two elements are separated, creating a gap between the watery surface and the canopy of vapor. The Bible describes this space as “an expanse between the waters,” and calls it “Heaven.”—Genesis 1:6-8. THIRD DAY Surface water subsides and dry ground appears. The atmosphere clears up to allow more sunlight to reach the ground. Some vegetation appears, with new species sprouting through the third and subsequent creative days.—Genesis 1:9-13. FOURTH DAY The sun and moon become discernible from the earth’s surface.—Genesis 1:14-19. FIFTH DAY God creates underwater creatures and flying creatures in great numbers with the ability to procreate within their kinds.—Genesis 1:20-23. SIXTH DAY Land animals are created, both large and small. The sixth day culminates with a masterpiece of God’s physical creation: the first human couple.—Genesis 1:24-31. IMG_6775.mov

Queen Esther: Ok how do I move it? ???

King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba - Amazed at His Wisdom. Knowledge and Wisdom! - A Gift from Jehovah! ~ (Sol′o·mon) [from a root meaning “peace”] (1 Kings 10:1-25) . . .Now the queen of She′ba was hearing the report about Sol′o·mon in connection with the name of Jehovah. So she came to test him with perplexing questions. 2 Finally she arrived at Jerusalem with a very impressive train, camels carrying balsam oil and very much gold and precious stones; and she came on in to Sol′o·mon and began to speak to him all that happened to be close to her heart. 3 Sol′o·mon, in turn, went on to tell her all her matters. There proved to be no matter hidden from the king that he did not tell her. 4 When the queen of She′ba got to see all the wisdom of Sol′o·mon and the house that he had built, 5 and the food of his table and the sitting of his servants and the table service of his waiters and their attire and his drinks and his burnt sacrifices that he regularly offered up at the house of Jehovah, then there proved to be no more spirit in her. 6 So she said to the king: “True has the word proved to be that I heard in my own land about your matters and about your wisdom. 7 And I did not put faith in the words until I had come that my own eyes might see; and, look! I had not been told the half. You have surpassed in wisdom and prosperity the things heard to which I listened. 8 Happy are your men; happy are these servants of yours who are standing before you constantly, listening to your wisdom! 9 May Jehovah your God come to be blessed, who has taken delight in you by putting you upon the throne of Israel; because Jehovah loves Israel to time indefinite, so that he appointed you as king to render judicial decision and righteousness.” 10 Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great deal of balsam oil and precious stones. There never came anymore the like of that balsam oil for quantity such as the queen of She′ba gave to King Sol′o·mon. 11 And Hi′ram’s fleet of ships that carried gold from O′phir also brought from O′phir timbers of algum trees in very great amount and precious stones. 12 And the king proceeded to make out of the timbers of the algum trees supports for the house of Jehovah and for the house of the king, and also harps and stringed instruments for the singers. Timbers of algum trees like this have not come in nor have they been seen down to this day. 13 And King Sol′o·mon himself gave the queen of She′ba all her delight for which she asked, apart from what he gave her according to the openhandedness of King Sol′o·mon. After that she turned about and went to her own land, she together with her servants. 14 And the weight of the gold that came to Sol′o·mon in one year amounted up to six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 15 apart from the men of travel and the profit from the traders and all the kings of the Arabs and the governors of the land. 16 And King Sol′o·mon went on to make two hundred large shields of alloyed gold (six hundred [shekels] of gold he proceeded to lay upon each large shield), 17 and three hundred bucklers of alloyed gold (three mi′nas of gold he proceeded to lay upon each buckler). Then the king put them in the House of the Forest of Leb′a·non. 18 Further, the king made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with refined gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne, and the throne had a round canopy behind it, and there were armrests on this side and on that side by the place of sitting, and two lions were standing beside the armrests. 20 And there were twelve lions standing there upon the six steps, on this side and on that side. No other kingdom had any made just like it. 21 And all the drinking vessels of King Sol′o·mon were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Leb′a·non were of pure gold. There was nothing of silver; it was considered in the days of Sol′o·mon as nothing at all. 22 For the king had a fleet of ships of Tar′shish on the sea along with Hi′ram’s fleet of ships. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tar′shish would come carrying gold and silver, ivory, and apes and peacocks. 23 So King Sol′o·mon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 24 And all the people of the earth were seeking the face of Sol′o·mon to hear his wisdom that God had put in his heart. 25 And they were bringing each his gift, articles of silver and articles of gold and garments and armor and balsam oil, horses and mules, as a yearly matter of course." wol.jw.org

When YOU Look Up What Do You See? - We Have Much to Learn! ~ ????????? “The heavens are declaring the glory of God; and of the work of his hands the expanse is telling.”—PSALM 19:1 Tulip Nebula Tulip Nebula(Sh2-101) Image Courtesy Hunter Wilson Observation data: J2000.0 epoch Type Emission Right ascension 20h 00m 29.37s Declination 35°19'13.9" Distance 6,000 ly (1,800 pc) Apparent magnitude (V) 9.0 Apparent dimensions (V) 16' x 9' Constellation Cygnus Physical characteristics Radius - Absolute magnitude (V) - Notable features - Other designations Sharpless 101 See also: Diffuse nebula, Lists of nebulae v t e The Tulip Nebula, or Sharpless 101 (Sh2-101) or the Cygnus Star Cloud is an emission nebula located in the constellation Cygnus. It is so named because it appears to resemble the outline of a tulip when imaged photographically. It was catalogued by astronomer Stewart Sharpless in his 1959 catalog of nebulae. It lies at a distance of about 6,000 light-years (5.7×1016 km; 3.5×1016 mi) from Earth. The Tulip nebula, at least in the field seen from earth, is in close proximity to microquasar Cygnus X-1, site of one of the first suspected black holes. Cygnus X-1 is the brighter of the two stars (lower star) in close vertical proximity just to the right of the Tulip nebula in the image presented here.

What Does Jehovah See in Your Heart? - We Must Hate What is Bad and Love What is Good! ~ "Jehovah, he sees what the heart is.” (1 Sam 16:7) Jehovah’s purpose does not depend on the wavering loyalties of imperfect humans. In the Scriptures, the heart is often used figuratively to represent what a person is inside—his desires, his thoughts, his emotions, and his affections. So when the Bible says that God sees the heart, it means that he looks beyond outward appearances and focuses on what a person really is. To all who yearn to worship Jehovah in an acceptable way, he says: “Hate what is bad, and love what is good.” (Amos 5:15) Love and hate are strong emotions that emanate from the figurative heart. Since the heart is treacherous, we must do everything in our power to safeguard it. (Proverbs 4:23; Jeremiah 17:9) If we allow our heart to nurture wrong desires, we may find ourselves loving what is bad and hating what is good. And if we act on such desires by practicing sin, all the zeal in the world will not bring us back into God’s favor. Let us therefore pray for God’s help to “hate what is bad, and love what is good.” All glory, then, goes to God, who provides all things richly for our benefit. May we, therefore, be determined to give him our heartfelt praise forever. That will be our joyous privilege if we search for Jehovah, the Examiner of hearts. (Proverbs 10:22) "The blessing of Jehovah—that is what makes rich, and he adds no pain with it." wol.jw.org

Our Creator will Save Us! "Every breathing thing—let it praise Jah. Praise Jah!" (Psalms 150:6) NWT What Some Predict Many believe that human activities are a major cause of global warming, which may have catastrophic consequences for the climate and the environment. For example, large-scale melting of land-based ice and the expansion of the oceans as water warms could cause sea levels to rise drastically. At the same time, rising temperatures could intensify storms, floods, and droughts. In the Himalayas, disappearing glaciers—from areas that feed seven river systems—could cause shortages of freshwater for 40 percent of the world’s population. Also at risk are thousands of species of animals, including polar bears, whose hunting grounds are largely on the ice. Indeed, reports already indicate that many bears are losing weight and some are even starving. Rising temperatures may also foster the spread of disease by enabling mosquitoes, ticks, and other disease-carrying organisms, including fungi, to spread farther afield. “The dangers posed by climate change are nearly as dire as those posed by nuclear weapons,” says the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. “The effects may be less dramatic in the short term . . . , but over the next three to four decades climate change could cause irremediable harm to the habitats upon which human societies depend for survival.” Adding an even more ominous note, some scientists believe that changes attributed to global warming are occurring faster than they had expected. What are we to make of these predictions? Is life on earth really at a crossroads? Skeptics of global warming say that such dire predictions are groundless. Others are not sure. So, what is the truth? Is earth’s future—and ours—in peril? Polar Bears on ‘Thin Ice’ “The polar bear’s existence is seriously endangered by climatic warming,” says Germany’s Nassauische Neue Presse, reporting on a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) study. According to the WWF, the amount of Arctic sea ice, or pack ice—the main habitat and hunting ground of polar bears—is shrinking as a result of warmer weather. Experts say that the average air temperature over the Arctic has “increased by 5 degrees [Celsius] [9 degrees Fahrenheit] over the past 100 years.” What is more, “pack ice has decreased by 6 percent over the past 20 years,” and “a 60-percent reduction in summer sea ice could be expected by the year 2050.” Less sea ice and longer ice-free periods restrict the polar bear’s opportunities to hunt and thus accumulate needed fat reserves. Hardest hit are pregnant females and cubs. In some areas “not even half of the cubs survive the ever-extending ice-free period,” reports the newspaper. Other problems the bears face are “hunting, toxic chemicals, and oil pollution.” Earth’s Future—In Good Hands! There is only one Leader who can successfully address the problems confronting the world. Concerning him, the Bible foretold: “Upon him the spirit of Jehovah [God] must settle down, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of mightiness, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah . . . With righteousness he must judge the lowly ones, . . . and with the spirit of his lips he will put the wicked one to death.”—Isaiah 11:2-5 Yes, our planet may appear to be in peril, but its continued existence as a home for mankind is not in doubt. Rather, peril awaits those who continue to show disrespect for God’s creation and who refuse to obey Jesus Christ. Hence, Jehovah’s Witnesses encourage you to take in the knowledge that leads to everlasting life. jw.org

"Jehovah himself has borne witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you yourself have dealt treacherously."(Mal. 2:14) wol.jw.org