Ron Rhodes: Christian Author Offers Views on Bible Prophecy, End Times

[Patiently waiting for Truth]

https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/ron-rhodes-christian-author-offers-views-on-bible-prophecy-end-times/2021/08/01

Pyramid theology foldout “Chart of the Ages” from the 1908 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society publication Studies in the Scriptures Vol I “The Divine Plan of the Ages.” (credit Anthony C. Hayes)

 

In his discourse on the Mount of Olives, Jesus speaks about His Second Coming and the signs of the last days and warns his disciples, “See to it that no one deceives you.” Jesus then lists a series of sobering events which would earmark the end of the age. Two thousand years later – with relentless wars, earthquakes and famines in various places, political upheaval, alarming hatred of “the other”, and a world-wide pandemic – many wonder if we are finally on this long-predicted precipice.

Author Ron Rhodes has been considering the signs of the end times since he was a teen. Rhodes has written over 85 books, which have sold in the millions and are translated into numerous languages. But unlike some sensationalists who have seized upon one “sign” or another to captivate a credulous crowd, Rhodes has always championed a reasonable approach to understanding the Word of God. We recently spoke with Rhodes about his life and conversion to Christianity; his views on cataclysmic cults, Israel, and the malevolent Antichrist; happenings he believes are clear signs of a coming apocalypse; and about his latest books, Basic Bible Prophecy and Spiritual Warfare in the End Times.

This is the first part of a three-part interview.

 

Rhodes: Well, it’s important to draw a distinction between some of the groups you just mentioned.

A seven-foot tall pyramid, at the Rosemont, Mt. Hope, & Evergreen United Cemeteries in Ross Township, PA., was erected in 1921 to honor the legacy of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society founder Charles Taze Russell. Shortly after Russell’s death, the Society changed its name to Jehovah’s Witnesses and disavowed Russell’s Great Pyramid theology. (credit Anthony C. Hayes)

It is true that the Jehovah’s Witnesses have set forth prophecies. But a lot of those later prophecies are based upon a particular version of the Bible called the New World Translation. That’s a Watchtower Society translation that supports their theology. So they don’t derive their theology from a standard Bible, rather, they took their theology and made a new version of the Bible to support their views.  (This is partly true of course )

What the Watchtower Society has done for many, many years is that they have used prophecy as a means of growth. You see, if people think that the end of the world is right around the corner, well, then you better hook up with the true group on earth. And for decades, that’s exactly what they have done.

But a great many of those “prophecies” have actually come from the governing body of the Watchtower.

The governing body is just a few men at the top, who determine the things that will be taught to Jehovah’s Witnesses. It’s mostly the governing body that has put together all those teaching books they publish, and a lot of their end times prophecies are found in those books.

 

Mormons, on the other hand, believe that the President of the Mormon church can make prophetic statements that are just as authoritative as the Bible. So for example, you had Joseph Smith saying in the 1830s that the New Jerusalem was about to be built right here in the United States.

Of course, those things never happened.

The test of a true biblical prophet is 100% accuracy. But these groups, like Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons, have prophecies that never came to pass.

That should tell you something.

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I actually had @Space Merchant in mind here.  He talks about facts and scripture and proof. And he talks about 'misinformation' 

So what about the Great Pyramid theology. ???  Because the Watchtower was Russell's 'baby'. And the lies are told that the JW Org was just a follow on from that. 

It's not that I'm interested in Ron Rhodes. But the article proves a point or two. Misinformation indeed.  Maybe even the article is of such. 

[Arauna]

As I have mentioned on this forum before - during the 18th century there was a new craze in Europe regarding pyramids and papyri from Egypt.  many Christian denominations tried to see something prophetic in the pyramids. 

The founder of the Mormon religion bought a papyri and pretended it was a letter from Abraham when it was a portion of a Book of the Dead which came with a mummy.. He pretended to translate the papyrus and the 'Book of Abraham' was born. many people were fascinated and listened to him. it has now been proven to be a fabrication and yet many people still believe it.

Why?  because the science of Egyptology only opened up when Napoleon went to Egypt - so the craze for anything Egyptian was the craze of the age. It was the new science.  The Egyptian script was translated by Champollion.

So if you know this history - you will see all of the above history in its historical context.......... but alas!  there is a short-sightedness that no-one will be able to cure! 

[Patiently waiting for Truth]

13 hours ago, Arauna said:

As I have mentioned on this forum before - during the 18th century there was a new craze in Europe regarding pyramids and papyri from Egypt.  many Christian denominations tried to see something prophetic in the pyramids. 

But by writing that you are saying that Russell was not inspired by God's Holy Spirit. Nor was he guided by it. 

You are basically saying that Russell 'jumped on the bandwagon' with the many Christian denominations. 

Being wrong as an individual is one thing, but putting it in print to 'guide' the people toward God is surely wrong.  

13 hours ago, Arauna said:

so the craze for anything Egyptian was the craze of the age. It was the new science. 

Part of the world then. A long way from serving God properly. It's quite strange as I've always thought that Russell was very much an 'individual' and that he turned his back on most teachings of other Christian denominations.  But here it seems he followed the crowd. 

[Arauna]

19 hours ago, Patiently waiting for Truth said:

Russell was not inspired by God's Holy Spirit.

What you do not seem to know is that Russel was NOT part of the slave. His group of bible students were like John the Baptist - they prepared the way. So there your argument flies out of the window even before we start to talk about the subject if he was "inspired' or not.

.

[Patiently waiting for Truth]

16 hours ago, Arauna said:

What you do not seem to know is that Russel was NOT part of the slave. His group of bible students were like John the Baptist - they prepared the way. So there your argument flies out of the window even before we start to talk about the subject if he was "inspired' or not.

.

Your GB are not part of the Faithful and Discreet Slave either, in fact by their actions and writings none of the Watchtower / JW Org leaders have been. 

And Russell's, International Bible Students Association, seems to still exist, even though Rutherford 'stole' the Watchtower and branched out to form his own religion which he named JWs.  

Russell was not preparing the way. He didn't even want an organization. And he didn't want Rutherford taking over either. So your idea of Russell preparing the way falls flat on it's face. 

[Srecko Sostar]

4 hours ago, Arauna said:

What you do not seem to know is that Russel was NOT part of the slave.

Says who?

I am not advocating for or against a thesis on the subject. But it’s always interesting to see how WTJWorg’s daily politics infiltrate where it doesn’t belong, because WTJWorg scholars have no way of knowing where Russell belongs.
WTJWorg claims that there was always a Witnesses for YHVH between the First Century and the Nineteenth Century. If there were any in any form, they may have existed as some individuals or smaller groups, for example.
But again, WTJWorg has the constant thesis that YHVH has always had an Organization on Earth. If this claim is true, then YHVH had one or more Organizations (19) 20 centuries apart (in a span of (19) 20 centuries). So what were the names of those organizations that existed before the WT? If you do not know of any such Organization, then you cannot claim that YHVH has always had an Organization on Earth. If you cannot prove any of these theses, then you cannot prove either who was and who was not a member of the YHVH recognized Organization, nor whether he belonged to a "large or small flock".

According to GB teaching, the task of the “slave” is to share spiritual food. Well, how dare you say that between the 1st and 19th century no one shared the “spiritual food” and teachings of Jesus Christ? :))

Your statement is funny :)) because Russell did exactly same thing as GB today. He shared and they share interpretations on Bible text.