bruceq

You may find these two sources helpful.
Sacha Stern, Calendars in Antiquity: Empires, States, and Societies, p. 193 f.
Jonathan Ben-Dov, The 364-day Year in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Jewish Pseudepigrapha
The earliest manuscripts of Daniel date to the 2nd century BCE, btw, as you probably already know.
The tl;dr version is that, when using the 360-day schematic year in calculating anything, you have to always remember to add on the 4 epagomenal days - i.e. the 2 solstices and 2 equinoxes - thereby making the year 364 days, which was the calendar the Jews used at the time.
So with 42 months (of 30 days each), you'd have to add on 3 x 4 epagomenal days = 12 days + another 2 epagomenal days for the 6 months left over which in total = 14 days to add to that schematic 1,260-day period, which comes to 1,274 days in those 42 months or 3.5 years.
Daniel certainly spoke of 7 periods. He did not, however, apply the fall and regrowth of the tree to the throne of Judah. He applied it solely to King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:22, 24, 28, 33).

Now who's going back to Russell?
The Bible might be consistent, but we aren't. We don't believe the 1,260 days means exactly 1,260 days in the fulfillment of any prophecy about the 1,260 days. (in either Daniel or Revelation). Also we don't teach that 1,260 days means 1,260 years in either of of those prophecies.
Also, a Biblical Jewish month was not thirty days. A Biblical Jewish month was always based on the "new moon." So that it was really 29.5 days long. This means that in practice there were six 30-day months, and six 29-day months every year. A 30-day month was only used as a way to give a close approximation to a range of months, a calculation from a starting point to an ending point. For example, the distance from the 17th of the 2nd month to the 17th of the 7th month was sometimes 146, sometimes 147, and sometimes 148 days. But because it is a multi-month span, the Bible rounds it off to 150 days. The distance from the 17th of the ninth month to the 17th of the 2nd month (of the following year) was sometimes 146, sometimes 147, sometimes 148, and sometimes 176, sometimes 177, and sometimes 178 days. The longer time periods over came up every 3 years or so, so if they are averaged in, then the average for a 4-year period using the ideal number of months in 4 years (48) would give often give you a 30.15 day month. So you can see why the 30 day month was useful for a quick approximate calculation of date ranges. 
That 30.15 day month average over 4 years, was still actually made up of months, where half of them were 29 days and half were 30 days. Here's a specific example that often happened. Each year was typically 354 days and every 2 to 3 years it could be 384 days, when an entire month was added for a leap year. So:
354+384+354+354 equals 1,446 days Assuming 12 months a year, that's 48 months Divide 1446 by 48 = 30.15 But it was really 49 months because there was one leap year in the mix: 1446 divided by 49 = 29.51, which is the distance from one new moon to the next new moon. So it should be clear why the Bible would use an average of 30 days to approximate a time span of 42 months as 42 x 30 = 1,260. In real life a real 42 month period was always  1,239 or 1,240 days. It was NEVER 1,260 days. But a 3.5 year period that was called 42 months, was actually a 43-month period (very rarely it was 44 months). Which means that the 3.5 year period was 1,269 days.
If you have worked in banking or finance, you probably know that we still use the 30 day month, and therefore the 360 day year in some financial calculations. It's one of the built in functions in Microsoft Excel. There is evidence, I'm told, that the Babylonians used it, too.
The DAYS360 function in Microsoft® Excel is used to calculate the number of days between two dates based on a 360-day year ...

JWI teachings about 1914 and eschatology are identical  to the teachings of the churches of Christendom. Instead of "getting out of her my people" he and his followers have "gone back to her my people". Rev 18. Some of them say they do not want to have the authority of the Governing Body telling them interpretations of the Bible and therefore have to "share with them in their sins [or mistakes}. But I would rather share in the mistakes of Jehovah's people [mistakes Jehovah allows for a reason] than "share in the sins of Babylon the Great. That is my choice.
He even stated haughtily [with a name like "insider" do you expect him to be humble?} on Saturday the 19th that he has "special interpretation". That his interpretation is correct compared to the Governing Body!!! Obviously there is no reasoning with someone who has strayed that far away from Jehovah's Organization and believes as apostate Christendom does about 1914 and many other doctrines as indicated in his voluminous writings. {which also indicates how he feels superior to others].

Until Satan was put out of heaven there were doubtful ideas spread all the time in heaven and angels (even if perfect) were vulnerable to this as they could use their free choice to turn against Jehovah and disobey him. They also had to prove their loyalty to Jehovah.  Book of revelation indicates that one third of the myriads of angels followed in Satans footsteps.... (it hurt the heavenly family) and angels on their way to earthly missions were intercepted by Satans rulers.... One angel told Daniel that the archangel came to help him!  The heavens was also subject to Satans influence!   So this clears up the flawed thinking above about the heavenly woman!  The book of Jude indicates that Jesus had to rebuke an angel who wanted to take Moses's body to (no doubt) create more false worship and destroy the plans of Jehovah to bring forth the Messiah from the nation of Jews!
Since Satan was a heavenly creature the issue of obedience and loyalty to Jehovah became an UNIVERSAL issue.  This is why the firstborn son came to earth because he was directly created by God - a heavenly creature who became less than the other angels and therefore settled the obedience of heavenly creatures (until death) in addition to the earthly issue to be settled.
The heavens rejoiced greatly when satan was thrown out! For sure.  This 'woman' gave birth to a new nation when a new spiritual land was created!  The 144,000 who were in death received the First resurrection and a new nation (of priests and kings) was born!  These would be part of this new Kingdom!       The logic of the writings I have seen thus far in these 12 pages defies logic and since Jehovah is absolute logic I expect things to fit in perfectly and make absolute sense. As I said before - people become so captured by the minute detail that they lose the larger picture and literally throw out the new born baby (the sacred secret of the kingdom) with the bath water!
I expect to see an unbelievable intensifying of the power of satan on the earth - to the extent that there is no more good people to hold his total influence back!  So far - wickedness has been held back by the decency of societies.... this is a figment of the past.
Whether we will see a third world war - we do not know - but it will just be more of the same on a much larger scale.  However, civil society is becoming so hard to live in with wickedness, love of violence and spiritism everywhere!  The longer the world situation is building the bigger the effect when it cracks open!
Everything is escalating because many issues are coming to a conclusion - such as the destruction of the earth - soon we will reach a point of no return with so many issues regarding the earth on the table.  I can go on and on about the issues we are facing with the earth (climate change is the smallest one!)....
So - this is the time to unitedly preach, preach, preach!

You have one disciple! 

Yes @JW Insider please refrain from spreading your light in public.
Keep it hidden from us simple folks like @TiagoBelager and me.....
Let our clergy class in New York do all the bible research for us..... preferably only speaking in Latin from a pulpit.
Please stop preaching about your truths.....
I personally am heading over to a non-latin bible burning now so I'll check in later.

So, JWI,
Why don't you take your theories, very heavily tinged with preterism as they are, and communicate them to the Governing Body? Well, if we are to believe you, all you need to add in your submissions of your theories is that some of them are somewhat like Ray Franz' theories, and like other responsible, not-disfellowshipped Bethelite brothers' theories, but who were not disfellowshipped because they did not promulgate them. Oh, but here your situation is not quite like those other brothers' situation, because you do promulgate what you feel are theories that have greater merit than what are currently identified as the doctrines that are preached by Jehovah's Witnesses, preached with Jehovah's blessings! 
Tiago

42 months is 3 and half years..... and it is 1260 days.  This is the equivalent of 30 days per month.  A biblical Jewish month was 30 days (so the  bible is consistent regarding this).
Daniel spoke of seven periods - regarding the fall of the tree and the new growth of the king on the throne of Juda....
  30 days X 84 months (7 years) is 2,520 years.       607BCE  to 1913 is 2,520 years.   There is no year zero - so you add a year= 1914 AD
 
 

Unfortunately  - to quote magazines from the distant past - Russel etc. is like trying to wear a Victorian hat in our times - it does not fit in today.  It has its place in the 'development' of  the more modern hats worn in the 20th century-  which lead to us only wearing hats for specific or practical reasons today in the 21st.  (Similarly we have the core teachings today with an emphasis on the personality traits and principles which are preparing us to live in better harmony together under a future government).
I remember the words of Jesus  when he asked Peter if he loved him three times!  The reply to Peter's answer was "feed my sheep."
This is what the "slave" is doing...... feeding the sheep.  We would not understand the Kingdom if it was not for them: it is a government with rulers and subjects; how it will function and what it will do. How it will function on the new earth...and how we should be in serious expectation of it.
Today the buildup of hate and spiritism in all spheres of the earth is tremendous.  Far-left to far-right fascist groups;  black and white racism in Africa and America; tribal divisions; Shia and Sunni divisions; leftist and alt right governments (calling peace when there is no peace- controlling media and free speech); and hateful religions (look what the Talmud and Qur'an teach - you are in for a shock!).  Unfortunately it is not just Islam who wants to rule the entire earth by fighting with literal weapons and killing all in their path  - it is also subtle secret organizations which are also religiously and ideologically inspired; and political involvement by most religions on earth - some are riding the beast....even controlling the UN; and millions of people who are 'awakened' or "illuminated" today - having a façade of spirituality which is controlled by secret agendas...... Spiritism is rife and escalating in many countries with druids, witches, spells, magic and 'muti '(medicines made from children or animals).  
So the slave is teaching us to keep "neutral"; clean, safe and in expectation while in the love of Jehovah".  This they understand 100%. In the eyes of the world we are nuts - like when Moses lead the Israelites into what seemed to be a trap! But this neutrality is very important so that we do not take sides... to keep in love and peace during the conclusion of the end. This neutrality stand tells me I have the truth!.......in the face of all people ready to take sides! It is natural to want to rectify something which is wrong - to become and activist... for a cause one thinks to be righteous!  Some are falling for this trap and helping certain organizations and paying the penalty for it!
Most people will be in support of some sort of killing of others when the time of the end comes... taking matters in fierceness into their own hands. It is the propaganda of demons (using media no doubt) which are going out to the earth - blinding all -  and gathering them together for Armageddon.... when brother will kill brother.  (note: What made very nice German people kill innocent people or stand back and do nothing or support the killing?  It was an ideology/a philosophical way of thinking which gave the 'justification' for it.  Mankind has not learnt its lessons from the past ... we are going the same way again .....just on a much grander scale!
The new age groups sound all "spiritual" - but what secret organizations are lying behind their teachings?  The new post-modernist philosophies which are touted by the far left - who say that all religions are good and there is no right or wrong and who have rejected the Bible and want to destroy it - who is behind this? The alt-right are openly a bunch of killers. One gets a shock once one discovers who have the purse strings to the world and who have control of the media.... Yes satan is blinding the eyes of many. The Bible is now a book ( and soon will) carry the scorn of most worldly people.  
Yet - we have time to waste to shift the meanings of words and dates.  It is not going to change the responsibility of the commission given to us to preach the kingdom and teach the qualities necessary to maintain neutrality and stay innocent /uninvolved of the wickedness of the earth. There is a time for everything - and now is the time to obey - and preach. Buy out the opportune time!  Leave the OCD.... behind and use the time to preach!  Preaching will save you as Rom 10 says.
To me - I see the birth pains are getting more intense.  Jehovah does nothing without giving us some indication of where we stand in the space of  time.  He is a loving father .  We have seen the wars and the RUMORS (media) of wars BUT this is not the end yet.  So these signs should get us ready for what is waiting ahead of us. We have rumors of wars, more earth quakes, potentially more serious diseases than the 1918 influenza - (although this was a killer-illness on a massive scale. ) 
'Security' is an issue as far-left and far-right take matters into their own hands (and do not forget that the far left is supporting islam, and cultural marxism.  There are many forms of supremacism (check out islam and Zionism).  So which are going to prevail and fill the void when problems erupt?  We will find out when it happens.  At moment China is posturing; Russia is posturing,  USA and Turkey are posturing (showing their iron) while many other countries are placating the humanists and humanitarians (clay). 
All this is a cooking pot which possibly could suddenly explode - the longer it cooks the bigger the explosion - all at once! It will be a sudden decision to turn against religion and call for peace and security!  They will use the weapon arsenals they have and whatever means they have during this time.   There will be a period of the eye of the storm (similar to what happened in Jerusalem in 70AD -  a respite) - this is when we bring the message of wrath with the possibility of losing our lives!
This will be a sign from Jehovah and maybe other signs which will make the nations turn on us in hate. The end will happen as fast as a vase is falling!  
The buildup is happening as we speak! So -the major signs have been!  It is now the time of propaganda of Satan Rev 16:14-16
 

I recall that 1914 was the first major war fought with airplane bombing, flame throwers, chemical and gas weapons, many submarines (improved on the tiny ones used in the civil war in USA)... it was also after the development of the telegraph - used extensively;  tank warfare and individual soldiers were issued with machine guns.... battle of the Somme rates on most lists of worst battles ever fought.
Second world war is an improvement on this with aircraft carriers; radar; radio used extensively during war; and atomic bomb; 
What do we have now: improvement on previous weapons: satellites, drones, intercontinental ballistic missiles; nuclear submarines; supersonic jets; electro magnetic pulse; more varieties of nuclear weapons; information warfare, 
Most weapons are all improvements on the communications or weapons used in the 1914 WW1....
The proof is still on the ground.  

Whether these weapons were developed earlier - the tank was never used on the scale it was used in the war from 1914 onwards and now is a standard feature of war - or variations on it.  Airplanes were also in the development stage earlier - but they were not used on a scale ever before specifically for war until 1914.  Zeppelins were used much more before this.  So the composite use of so many different technologies makes it the first time that it was not man against man (or man on horse against man) even though horses were still used..... so this became warfare with mass machine killing.   

Which test did you do? Did you put in the same search criteria as you said you did in your p. 8 post? Yes
Did you log into your Chrome or Google account on the Library computer? No
 
Why are you here? Haters will hate so i've read compare Muslims to Jehovah's Witnesses !!! How do people in general feel?  http://www.religioustolerance.org/aboutus.htm
Don't want to go to jail? Change your faith
 
Say shibboleth.  
 

Yes about the web browser thingy I did this test at the Public Library {therefore hopefully a neutral ground browsers not tainted by apostates or Witnesses browsing} and unless most of the people using that particular computer were JW well...you get the idea. And of course that dosen't negate the facts about the most important fact I mentioned about JW being now the most read website of all religious websites AND being the most translated.  BTW it is now up to 904 languages.  Of course apostates are not going to like these facts but...oh well deal with it. 
The fact you mentioned about the apostates reveals who we are as the true religion. Just look at religioustolerance website and compare the JW with ANY other and you will see we are the MOST hated religion in the world by far. Who is banned in Russia? Muslims? lol

 

Yes the point I was making if one reads the post was about God's Kingdom and the other facts on Translation and so forth it was not about the "targeted questions". I could care less about those I just added those in originally for other types of search options one can do. Make sure you erase all search caches before doing the search however as I stated in the post which some others apparently did not read. and use a neutral computer like at the library which I also stated in the original post.  With my Bible study I only typed in "God's Kingdom" {what true Christians are SUPPOSE to be preaching about}  to show him and the top was JW and that convinced him. As for the ratings well that was just icing on the cake making that fact concrete and helping that family see that JW have the truth after all.
I just think it is remarkable [not the questions people search for but] that JW are #1 religious website in the world as being most visited when we just got started a few yeas ago. Even in "Catholic" countires like Italy!!!  And being most translated is a given for the True Religion as many Scriptures indicate.

The upside is that his Adam to Armageddon sermon is shorter.

Possibly they are overstating matters a bit

JWI,
I would not want you at my side in field service. You do not preach the same message of the Kingdom that Jehovah's Witnesses teach. Your last post shows me that you are a preterist. Your message that you preach here does not cohere with the Scriptures. You say that you are one of Jehovah's Witnesses? No, you are not; in your heart you are not one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Tiago.
 

JWI,
There were "several people" at Bethel and elsewhere who were aligned with Ray Franz, but when they were exposed . . . well, you know or should know their history.
You preach on this forum that Revelation does not show us that it would be sometime future to the apostle John's writing of Revelation that Jesus would became enthroned over mankind. Since that event, he has power by holy spirit for building up and protecting true Christians for their continued existence in these last days as an international brotherhood, despite Satan's increased activities for bringing about great woe for the earth, and bringing about persecutions designed to crush the international brotherhood of Jehovah's Witnesses. Existence of the only international brotherhood is a miracle of holy spirit, and only in these last days has it become of sufficient strength and organization for giving a worldwide witness to Jehovah's satisfaction. But all of that is owing to the Lord's last-days enthronement. One of his first acts following 1914 when he was made the specially empowered King over mankind was the casting of the Devil and his angels out of Heaven. You cannot preach such things in good conscience, can you? Then you do not belong among us Jehovah's Witnesses. Just bring the preachments you have posted on this forum and lay all of them before the eyes of the elders in your congregation, and see if they agree with you that you deserve recognition as one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

The term "governing body" is a legal term, defining within the Christian system a body of men who are charged with responsibility for making sure that the Christian congregation is protected from sectarianism, from those who would create dissension through private interpretation. In the first century, such oversight was per force carried out in a time-costly manner because a congregation in a distant region might have to wait months for the arrival of envoy(s) dispatched with a letter from the governing body, or a letter from its duly commissioned deputy, the apostle Paul, who was approved by the governing body for his work (see Galatians 2:9, 10). The letter might detail corrections that should be implemented, decrees that must be observed to protect the unity of God's people (e.g., 1 Cor. 11:10, 16). 
So, Yes! A decree is a judicial/juridical term, and implies that a governing body had approved it and had dispatched men to deliver it to the congregations (see Acts 16:4). Surely we will not say that the pillars in the Jerusalem congregation, which included more men than just the group of the twelve, were in violation of Jesus' exhortation so that by that violation the men of the governing body issuing decrees had their position in that body because they had gone against the spirit of Jesus' words that "all of you are brothers!" And neither has the Congregation's present-day governing body violated the spirit of Jesus' words. 

WHAT DOES TRUMP THINK ABOUT PUTIN’S WAR ON RELIGION?
BY ROMAN LUNKIN ON 8/12/17 AT 12:20 AM This article first appeared on the Wilson Center site.
Just ten years ago, it would have been hard to imagine that the crackdown on civic activism in Russia would target religious communities, not just NGOs. And yet it is happening.
The Russian state persecutes Baptists, Pentecostals, and Adventists and closes down Orthodox parishes that are not part of the Moscow Patriarchate.
For the first time since the Soviet Union collapsed, preachers are now being fined for proclaiming GodÂ’s word outside church buildings.
And a recent Supreme Court decision has opened the door to liquidating JehovahÂ’s Witnesses communities in Russia.
“Traditional” versus “Nontraditional” Religions
Russia divides all faiths into “traditional” and “nontraditional.” This concept, while absent from the Russian Law on Religious Freedom (although mentioned in the law’s preamble), has been introduced under pressure from the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and Patriarch Kirill personally.
Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism are deemed “traditional,” while Old Believers, Catholics, various Protestant denominations, and many others are not.
A member of the 'Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers' takes part in a demonstration against the movie 'Matilda' in front of the Church of the Resurrection in Moscow on August 1, 2017. 'Matilda', a Russian movie about a love story between the last Russian Tsar Nikolay II and the ballerina Mathilda-Marie Feliksovna Kschessinskaya set for theater release in October, is believed by many Russians to insult the monarchy and offend religious sentiment.MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/GETTY
The concept of traditional religions not only pits worshippers against each other, it also ignores the religious diversity of Russia. Today there are some 15 million practicing Orthodox believers in Russia, 10 million Muslims, 3 million Protestants, 500,000 Buddhists, 200,000 Jews, 175,000 JehovahÂ’s Witnesses, 100,000 Hindus, and 100,000 followers of other religious faiths (e.g., there are an estimated 10,000 Mormons in Russia).
The ROC has usurped the right to a close relationship with the government and accuses Catholics and Protestants of proselytizing in the territory that it considers its own. As for Muslims, the ROC accepts as “traditional” only those who are loyal to the government.
The ROC’s concern is understandable. According to the Russian Ministry of Justice, ROC organizations are the most numerous in the country (around 16,000 communities), while Protestants and Muslims are second and third (5,000–6,000 communities each).
However, polls show that Protestants and Muslims may be twice as numerous as official figures suggest. For example, evangelicals are now the second largest Christian denomination in Russia after Orthodox Christians in terms of numbers and presence throughout the country.
In fact, in many regions of Siberia and the Far East, the number of Protestant communities and active parishioners is higher than the number of practicing Orthodox believers. In light of this, Patriarch Kirill has repeatedly urged the authorities in the Far East to “fight against sects” and support the Orthodox projects.
Tightening the Screws
The path toward tightening the screws on various non-traditional religions began in 2012, with the “foreign agent” law limiting the activity of foreign-funded noncommercial organizations. Furthermore, the law on meetings and demonstrations was also tightened. And in 2015 a new directive was introduced specifying that all religious groups must inform authorities of their existence.
Then, in June 2016, the State Duma adopted a series of laws known collectively as the Yarovaya Law. Named after Duma Deputy Irina Yarovaya, who initiated it, the law amends Russian public safety and anti-extremism legislation.
The part of the law that has already come into force and has received the broadest coverage consists of the statutes regulating liability for failure to report “extremist activity”—a very broadly defined set of activities under Russian law, ranging from calls for violence to the vague “incitement of racial, nationalist and religious hatred” and “propaganda of exceptionalism” based on religion or nationality.
The part of the Yarovaya Law that has received much less attention is the provision imposing new restrictions on missionary work. The law now imposes a fine of 50,000 rubles on a private citizen for illegal preaching and up to 1 million rubles on a religious organization.
Illegal preaching may mean preaching in a building that is not designated for such purposes and lacks proper signage. As a result, the police and the prosecutor’s office now consider the activity of religious groups lacking official registration as illegal—a change from the recent past.
Targeting JehovahÂ’s Witnesses
The recent court proceedings against JehovahÂ’s Witnesses are a case in point. The campaign against JehovahÂ’s Witnesses began in 2009, during the still relatively liberal Dmitry MedvedevÂ’s premiership.
In a number of cases the courts, relying on poorly and unprofessionally conducted evaluations, concluded that Jehovah’s Witnesses’ literature could be defined as “extremist,” referring as it did to the faith as the only true faith.
The adoption of the Yarovaya Law, therefore, opened the door to liquidating Jehovah’s Witnesses communities on the basis of their possessing “extremist” literature.
On April 20, 2017, on the basis of the totality of these cases, the Russian Supreme Court ruled to liquidate the JehovahÂ’s Witnesses Management Center and all of the regional organizations. On July 17, 2017, a Supreme Court panel declined the JehovahÂ’s WitnessesÂ’ appeal, and the decision entered into force.
The decision means prohibition of activity for over 400 JehovahÂ’s Witnesses organizations all over Russia and criminal prosecutions of more than 170,000 believers if they continue to gather and read faith publications and the Bible in their specific translation. (There are more than 2,000 groups engaged in this activity in Russia.)
On top of that, because Jehovah’s Witnesses organizations are now judged “extremist,” the state is confiscating the profession’s assets: 118 buildings in fifty-seven regions whose total value is 1.9 billion rubles.
For the West, it was specifically the prohibition against JehovahÂ’s Witnesses that came to symbolize pointless religious discrimination in Russia and a drastic reduction of religious freedoms in the country. The EUÂ’s Office of Foreign Policy, the U.S. State Department, and the U.S. Helsinki Committee have all broadly criticized the move and called on Russia to rescind it.
On top of that, JehovahÂ’s Witnesses has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. It is clear in advance that the judgment wonÂ’t be in RussiaÂ’s favor. Taking into account the losses sustained by the faithful, the fine that the Strasbourg court will impose on Russia for the benefit of JehovahÂ’s Witnesses may reach astronomical heights.
The fact is, authoritiesÂ’ fight against nontraditional religions and religious denominations, which they peg as weird and scary sects, takes ugly, almost caricature forms.
Journalists, politicians, and Orthodox activists accuse those of other faiths of activities that constitute the core religious activities of all faiths, including the ROC itself: collecting donations, engaging in prayers with emotional overtones, and instructing followers, including children, in the tenets of the faith. In the context of the massive anti-West hysteria, xenophobia, and search for spies, all of these generally normal activities become a crime.
Most politicians and public figures, both conservative and liberal, readily jump on the bandwagon, portraying unfamiliar “sects” as threatening to the secular state and even citizens’ psychological health. And the media ignore the persecution of those targeted under the Yarovaya Law.
There are now more than 100 court cases challenging the imposition of fines against religious communities and individual faithful, yet they are proceeding unnoticed by the general public.
Who Benefits?
Many assume that the suppression of religious dissent automatically benefits the ROC. But that is not necessarily the case. Representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate are torn by irreconcilable contradictions.
On the one hand, there are those who would like to prohibit all sects legislatively and in that way eliminate all competitors. (They are particularly troubled by the evangelicals in the Far East, who at this point exceed the number of the Orthodox.)
On the other hand, many experts note that as soon as the word “sect” is introduced into the law, half the Orthodox communities could be prohibited. Rank-and-file priests and believers have stated that the anti-missionary statutes of the Yarovaya Law could also be used to prevent Orthodox sermons and missions among youth.
In Russia, the gap is growing between the discriminated-against non-Orthodox Christians and the Orthodox, between the ROC bureaucracy and Orthodox activists of different persuasions, between the ROCÂ’s leadership and the pro-democracy-minded part of society, between the desires of law enforcement organs and the aims of the missionaries of different churches, including the ROC.
These conflicts are getting sharper because Russian society betrays more civility than the Russian state. Ordinary Russians are much more tolerant of those professing different beliefs than are the police and the prosecutorÂ’s office.
And the trend toward aligning the governmentÂ’s policy with the interests of the ROC produces a boomerang effect: civil society criticizes priests and bishops from the Orthodox standpoint, not from an atheistic one.
This is why the state has decided to safeguard itself against independent religious authority by heavily regulating it.
Roman Lunkin is Senior Researcher at Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences, head of the Center for Religious Studies in the Institute of Europe (Russian Academy of Sciences), a member of Russian team of Keston Institute (Oxford, UK) project “Encyclopedia of religious life in Russia Today”, editor-in-chief of the web-portal “Religion and Law” (www.sclj.ru), a public policy scholar in the Woodrow Wilson Center and the Kennan Institute (2011) and The Galina Starovoitova Fellowship scholar of the Kennan Institute (2017).

Even if what is being taught will, in Jehovah's timing of matters, become a thing abandoned, yet He can allow it until He corrects it. The saying went out in the brotherhood that the Lord prophesied that the apostle John would not die but would remain until the Lord's return. That was a wrong interpretation that Jehovah let go out among the brothers, but was not corrected until very near John's death. It did not make any of those brothers false prophets, though maybe they had let themselves become unduly excited in what they were saying now that John had become so very aged, relatively speaking. Maybe some of those excitable brothers in a short while even let themselves become embittered against John: 'Why had he waited so long to disabuse our minds?' Another and last-days example: the organization had pyramidology in the subjects taught.  It was something that should not have been preached/taught, but it takes time to see the error in some doctrines. I knew that history before I was baptized, but it never colored my stance towards Jehovah's Witnesses who were teaching me. I have never felt any embarrassment about our history from 1874 right on up until today. I am proud of the selfless devotion of C.T. Russell, J.F. Rutherford, Nathan Knorr, Fred Franz, and so many others I cannot take the time to name here. If there is no idolatry, nothing that encourages or excuses sexual immorality, nothing that attacks the holiness of our God Jehovah, nothing that would make us bloodguilty or overlook how it can be incurred, nothing that preaches abandonment of the Kingdom hope, etc., then Jehovah may for a time overlook errors in certain doctrines.
Having said all that, I do not think at this time that the Parousia did not begin in 1914, but I think that there is a part of its duration in this wicked system of things that will be capped at Armageddon, but also that it will extend for another 1000 years thereafter. Yes, I see nothing that means that there were not 7 symbolic times that began in 607 BCE and ended in 1914 CE. (Discussions of Babylonian cuneiform tablets do not shape my judgment that 70 years of desolation ended in 537 BCE in the 7th month of the Jewish calendar; I see that a focus for the 70 years desolation on Judah is aligned with a period of time from when that land was not a scene for sacrifices to Jehovah until when such were restored, i.e., from 607 BCE to 537 BCE.)
Tiago
 

To use the illustration of the woman who is pregnant. There is no doubt she is pregnant because the signs are there. One can see she is pregnant long before the birth pains start. ( conclusion of system).  Later the birth pains start to intensify severely (problems intensify - great tribulation) and then the birth/end.
We know the signs are here on earth that Jesus has been ruling amidst his enemies since 1914.   We expect the conditions to severely intensify before the end.

I didn't expect this topic to wind up with so much discussion of the 70 years, but I'd like to bring it back to specific topics brought up in Matthew 24. One major topic, not really discussed yet, is the "SIGN." But even before we discuss the sign, we should notice that it's the SIGN OF THE PAROUSIA and the SIGN of the SYNTELEIA, that they asked about. For that reason, it would probably be useful to review whether or not it is proper to understand this as a SIGN of a PRESENCE and a SIGN of a CONCLUSION. If it should mean that, then perhaps a generation full of signs is an accurate meaning. But if it refers to a "signal event" that gives them advance warning of the time of the "Judgment Day" then this cannot very likely refer to a generation full of signs.
THE LIKELY MEANING or DISTINCTION between PAROUSIA, SYNTELEIA, EPIPHANEIA, APOKALYPSIS
The point of this part of the topic is to see whether it is possible, or even more likely that the terms Parousia and Synteleia, in context, refer, respectively, to the ROYAL VISITATION & MANIFESTATION (i.e., JUDGMENT DAY) and the FINAL END & DESTRUCTION (i.e., JUDGMENT DAY) rather than merely a "presence" and "conclusion." When that evidence is included in the question about the sign, we have another way of looking at the question. This other way of looking at the question sheds a lot more light on why Jesus answered in the way he did. In fact, it removes what would otherwise appear to be some awkward wording or even a contradiction on the part of Jesus. We know Jesus did not contradict himself, so we should be interested in a meaning that makes more sense with the total context of Jesus' words.
We have already discussed evidence that many contemporary Jews would have understood the meaning of the terms as the signal events referring to the timing of the Judgment Day. If we were to insert those meanings into the verse in Matthew, we would have the following, in context:
(Matthew 24:1-4 -- [with the question in vs 3, paraphrased]) 1 Now as Jesus was departing from the temple, his disciples approached to show him the buildings of the temple. 2 In response he said to them: “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, by no means will a stone be left here upon a stone and not be thrown down.” 3 While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately, saying: “Can you tell us WHEN this will happen? Can you tell us what will be THE WARNING SIGN OF YOUR JUDGMENT VISITATION and the FINAL END OF THE AGE?" [NWT: "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?”] 4 In answer Jesus said to them: “Look out that nobody misleads you, . . .
The NWT is translated in such a way that you would never get this idea from the question, and yet we have already shown that this is what the actual words Matthew used would have meant to many Jews in Matthew's audience. And we also know that this is the basic idea that the disciples themselves had about the Kingdom of God. They wanted to know when it would MANIFEST itself.
(Luke 19:11) 11 While they were listening to these things he spoke in addition an illustration, because he was near Jerusalem and they were imagining that the kingdom of God was going to display itself instantly.
(Acts 1:6, 7) 6 So when they had assembled, they asked him: “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” 7 He said to them: “It does not belong to you to know the times or seasons that the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction.
Of course, if the disciples had known that Jesus would be ruling invisibly from heaven they would not have had this idea that a time would come for it to "display itself instantly" upon the physical nation of Israel. Therefore, they must have been looking for an advance warning sign so that they could know when to be away from the disaster.
This is consistent with the idea that the "parousia" of a powerful godlike person could be considered to be a "theophany," or an "appearance" like some kind of bright and shining manifestation. To make this clearer we will use the original word PAROUSIA or SYNTELEIA in the following verses, to make it easier to understand the original meaning.
(2 Thessalonians 2:8, NWT, KIT) . . .the Lord Jesus will do away with by the spirit of his mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his [PAROUSIA].
But even this does not fully match the likely meaning of the word that the NWT uses here. Note the KJV and NIV, for example:
(2 Thess. 2:8, KJV) the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
(2 Thess 2:8, NIV) the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
That's because the word in Greek is ἐπιφάνεια (epipháneia) which according to Thayer's Greek Lexicon:
epipháneia -- an appearing, appearance; often used by the Greeks of a glorious manifestation of the gods, and especially of their advent to help; in 2 Maccabees of signal deeds and events betokening the presence and power of God as helper."
It's the same word used in 2 Timothy and Titus:
(1 Timothy 6:14) 14 to observe the commandment in a spotless and irreprehensible way until the manifestation [EPIPHANEIA]  of our Lord Jesus Christ,
(2 Timothy 4:1) I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his manifestation and his Kingdom:
Note that the NWT in 2 Tim 4:1 uses the word "AND" here, although most translations follow a Greek text which has the word "AT" in this place, so that the verse reads more smoothly as:
(2 Tim 4:1, NLT) I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom:
In fact, the sense of the "AND" in some Greek texts is very likely intended to offer the meaning that shows up in the NLT, because the point is that Jesus will judge the living and the dead AND he will do this through his glorious manifestation AND through his kingdom. This fits the illustration in Matthew:
(Matthew 13:39-43) The harvest is a [SYNTELEIA: Destruction/Final End] conclusion of a system of things, and the reapers are angels. 40 Therefore, just as the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be in the [SYNTELEIA: Destruction/Final End] conclusion of the system of things. 41 The Son of man will send his angels, and they will collect out from his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling and people who practice lawlessness, 42 and they will pitch them into the fiery furnace. There is where their weeping and the gnashing of their teeth will be. 43 At that time [the harvest] the righteous ones will shine as brightly as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.. . .
This is the same scenario that Paul mentions when he includes the resurrected ones into the same picture about the time when righteous ones will shine at the SYNTELEIA. The only difference is that Paul refers to it as the PAROUSIA.
(1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) 15 For this is what we tell you by Jehovah’s word, that we the living who survive to the [PAROUSIA: ROYAL VISITATION AND GLORIOUS MANIFESTATION] presence of the Lord will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep in death; 16 because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first. 17 Afterward we the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord.
According to our current Watchtower doctrine, Paul can never be completely correct. If, as the Watchtower claims, the resurrection has already occurred (back between the years surrounding 1918 and up through as late as 1935, per the current teaching), then those who survived until the presence (1914 and on)  may easily precede those who fall asleep in death during the "presence."  Russell, for example, survived until the "presence," in 1914 and he died in 1916 and therefore easily preceded, let's say, Rutherford, Knorr, and Fred Franz, and probably at last 44,000 others, according to our current teaching.
But also note that the expression translated "together" has a word in front of it that is not translated in the NWT's 1 Thess 4:17,  creating an expression that means not just "together," but, "at the same time together." This is why Thayer's, Vine's and Strong's all offer this definition, especially in the adverbial sense which is obvious here: 
Strong's ἅμα (háma) adv   a primary particle; properly, at the "same" time, but freely used as a preposition or adverb denoting close association:—also, and, together, with(-al).
Thayer's ἅμα (háma) 1. adverb, at the same time, at once, together. . . .  In 1 Thess 4:17 and v.10 where ἅμα (háma) is followed by syn, ἅμα is an adverb (at the same time) and must be joined to the verb.
Vine's ἅμα (háma) "at once" . . . in Romans 3:12; 1 Thess 4:17
This is obvious even in the way the NWT translates this in other places where ἅμα (háma) is used.
(Acts 24:26, NWT) 26 At the same time he was hoping that Paul would give him money.. . .
If the PAROUSIA is the time when those who survive until then are taken at the same time as the resurrected ones, then clearly the Parousia could not have really been ongoing in 1918 to 1935:
*** w07 1/1 pp. 27-28 pars. 10-12 “The First Resurrection”—Now Under Way! ***
10 Can we say more precisely when the first resurrection begins? An interesting clue is found at Revelation 7:9-15, where the apostle John describes his vision of “a great crowd, which no man was able to number.” The identity of that great crowd is revealed to John by one of the 24 elders, and these elders represent the 144,000 joint heirs with Christ in their heavenly glory. (Luke 22:28-30; Revelation 4:4) John himself had a heavenly hope; but since he was still a man on earth when the elder spoke to him, in the vision John must represent anointed ones on earth who have not yet received their heavenly reward.
11 What, then, can we deduce from the fact that one of the 24 elders identifies the great crowd to John? It seems that resurrected ones of the 24-elders group may be involved in the communicating of divine truths today. Why is that important? Because the correct identity of the great crowd was revealed to God’s anointed servants on earth in 1935. If one of the 24 elders was used to convey that important truth, he would have had to be resurrected to heaven by 1935 at the latest. That would indicate that the first resurrection began sometime between 1914 and 1935. Can we be more precise?
12 At this point, it may be helpful to consider what might be viewed as a Bible parallel. Jesus Christ was anointed as the future King of God’s Kingdom in the fall of 29 C.E. Three and a half years later, in the spring of 33 C.E., he was resurrected as a mighty spirit person. Could it, then, be reasoned that since Jesus was enthroned in the fall of 1914, the resurrection of his faithful anointed followers began three and a half years later, in the spring of 1918? That is an interesting possibility. Although this cannot be directly confirmed in the Bible, it is not out of harmony with other scriptures that indicate that the first resurrection got under way soon after Christ’s presence began.
That was an odd mix of speculation, along with both dogmatic and very undogmatic statements. Still, while it's true that the first resurrection gets underway as soon as or soon after Christ's PAROUSIA begins, none who survived until the PAROUSIA were taken to heaven along with (together at the same time with) those who were resurrected somewhere between about 1918 to 1935. Yet, it is recognized that the first resurrection got under way "soon" after Christ's PAROUSIA would begin. What was that "harmony with other scriptures"? The example is given in the next paragraph, but with an interesting bit of bracketed information that is in the original Watchtower article -- not something added here as an explanation:
For example, Paul wrote: “We the living who survive to the presence of the Lord [not, to the end of his presence] shall in no way precede those who have fallen asleep in death; because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first. Afterward we the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) Therefore, anointed Christians who died before Christ’s presence were raised to heavenly life ahead of those who were still alive during Christ’s presence. This means that the first resurrection must have begun early in Christ’s presence, and it continues “during his presence.” (1 Corinthians 15:23) Rather than occurring all at once, the first resurrection takes place over a period of time.
But the writer who recognized the point that he put in brackets did not recognize that the Greek of 1 Cor 15:23 never says DURING his presence. It actually harmonizes with 1 Thess 4, by saying "AT HIS PAROIUSIA" as if PAROUSIA were an event rather than a duration:
(1 Corinthians 15:23) 23 But each one in his own proper order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who belong to the Christ during his presence.
The Greek word here would usually mean "AT" in a case like this. It is only translated "DURING" because our traditional doctrine tells us to believe that it is a DURATION of time.
Strong's Definition:
ἐν (en) --a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively), i.e. a relation of rest (intermediate between G1519 and G1537); "in," at, (up-)on, by, etc.:
The NWT agrees that this is true in the way the following verse is translated along with the NWT footnote:
(1 Corinthians 15:51, 52) . . .We shall not all fall asleep [in death], but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, during* [fn. "at"] the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised up incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
(The updated NWT removed this footnote so that the word "at" is no longer shown and instead now footnotes the word "blink" with "twinkling.")
It's for the exact same reason that the NWT almost always chooses to say "in the conclusion" (IN the SYNTELEIA), even though it is just as proper to say "at the conclusion" (AT the SYNTELEIA).
There are times, however, when the NWT has chosen to translate the exact same word as "AT"
(1 Thessalonians 2:19) 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of exultation before our Lord Jesus at his presence [PAROUSIA]?
(1 Thessalonians 3:13) 13 so that he may make your hearts firm, blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the presence [PAROUSIA] of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones.
(1 Thessalonians 5:23) . . .And may the spirit and soul and body of you brothers, sound in every respect, be preserved blameless at the presence [PAROUSIA] of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The reason that the word is translated above as "at" instead of "during" is because it is too clear that the parousia refers to a judgment event in these places. We think of it as the "END" of the parousia when this judgment event happens. But we should remember that Paul always recognized that the relief given to all those of faith would include resurrected ones, and that this resurrection was to be at the same time as Jesus brings judgment on the disobedient. All this obviously happens at the PAROUSIA, not during the PAROUSIA, as shown in the quotes above.
(2 Thessalonians 1:7-10) 7 But you who suffer tribulation will be given relief along with us at the revelation [APOKALYPSIS] of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels 8 in a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance on those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus. 9 These very ones will undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction from before the Lord and from the glory of his strength, 10 at the time when he comes to be glorified in connection with his holy ones and to be regarded in that day with wonder. . .
It's the exact same word that could have been translated as "during" except that the NWT chose "at" when the reference seems to be to a specific time of judgment. But notice that this "specific time of judgment" is called PAROUSIA and APOKALYPSIS (which means revealing).
In fact, every reference to the parousia of Jesus appears to be more appropriately associated with his revelation (apokalypis) and manifestation (epiphaneia). Both the language structure AND content of these phrases about the PAROUSIA are also used with reference to the APOKALYPSIS, even though our current doctrine claims that only one of the two words refers to a judgment event.
(1 Peter 1:7) 7 in order that the tested quality of your faith, of much greater value than gold that perishes despite its being tested by fire, may be found a cause for praise and glory and honor at the revelation [APOKALYPSIS] of Jesus Christ.
(1 Peter 1:13) . . .keep your senses completely; set your hope on the undeserved kindness that will be brought to you at the revelation [APOKALYPSIS] of Jesus Christ.
(1 John 2:28) 28 So now, little children, remain in union with him, so that when he is made manifest we may have freeness of speech and not shrink away from him in shame at his presence [PAROUSIA].
Similar phrases show that the primary point was the judgment event even when other words and phrases were used. But these ones, also, give us a good sense of the meaning of the terms Parousia, Synteleia, Apokalypsis, Epiphaneia, etc:
(Jude 24) 24 Now to the one who is able to guard you from stumbling and to make you stand unblemished in the sight of his glory with great joy. . .
(1 Corinthians 1:7, 8) . . .while you are eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also make you firm to the end so that you may be open to no accusation in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 1:8, just quoted, could have translated the same word for "AT" above as "DURING" instead of "IN" as was done here (i.e., "during the day of our Lord Jesus Christ"). The point was emphasized here so that no one thinks that the word "during" is what implies a long period of time. It's the belief about whether the reference is to a long period of time that determines how the NWT has translated the word in every case.
The overall point is that it appears likely that the words Parousia and Synteleia refer to judgment events rather than long durations of time such as a generation during which to watch for signs. That would explain why Jesus could liken the parousia to the judgment event of Noah's day, or the judgment event of Sodom, or the judgment event of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., and lastly the judgment event at the revelation and manifestation of Jesus Christ in judgment of the entire world.

Yes it is obvious that Jesus is the head of the Congregation and we should never question what he does either in the First Century or today.
     As regards all the arguments by the poster about the parousia it is obvious that the truth is "simple" for Jesus himself defines the meaning of parousia not as a moment in time such as a judgement day but rather as the "DAYS of Noah" a period of time where people would do normal things but ignore the "signs" around them. Mt. 24
Luke 17:26 "presence...DAYS of the SON OF MAN"
   That Jesus’ pa·rou·siʹa is not simply a momentary coming followed by a rapid departure but is, rather, a presence covering a period of time is also indicated by his words recorded at Matthew 24:37-39 and Luke 17:26-30. Here “the days of Noah” are compared to “the presence of the Son of man” (“the days of the Son of man,” in Luke’s account). Jesus, therefore, does not limit the comparison just to the coming of the Deluge as a final climax during Noah’s days, though he shows that his own “presence” or “days” will see a similar climax. Since “the days of Noah” actually covered a period of years, there is basis for believing that the foretold “presence [or “days”] of the Son of man” would likewise cover a period of some years, being climaxed by the destruction of those not giving heed to the opportunity afforded them to seek deliverance.
 
In regards to all your other questions you posted about Jehovah's Witnesses please hear the talk below.
  

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