Melinda Mills

Jehovah's Witnesses do not call every day.  They do not harass people. 

It is in the key of F major.

Get some help with writing the headings - most of them are not making sense in English.

Kind regards

M.

@JWInsider    Shows you can learn a lot from topics highlighting things that appear simple and obvious. Like how you added the information on feasting in general. I learned something from it and I am sure Bible Speaks appreciated your contribution to the topic.

"The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). A few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th December."

It would be unlikely that Jesus and the early Christians would have had to refuse to celebrate Christmas, since Christmas was introduced about three hundred years after Jesus left the earth.  It might be correct to say they did not celebrate birthdays  or the Roman Saturnalia.  The idea of celebrating birthdays was something foreign to Jewish custom in Jesus day and would have been considered a pagan practice.   The apostasy started around the time of Roman Emperor Constantine, so those who started to celebrate Christmas were apostate Christians.

2 hours ago, TrueTomHarley said:

What about "there has been a child born to us...his name will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, prince of peace," he challenges. What about it? I reply. Does he think I should have a problem with it? Why should I?

He wants to discuss the Trinity again. But he is the one who is raising it.

Met someone yesterday who quoted the Ten Commandments,"You Must Not covet"  but then said "God coveted Mary" because He  told her she would become pregnant with His Son.  Never heard the likes of it before.  I told him God is a Spirit and he had no fleshly interest in her.  He just wanted to transfer his Son's life from a heavenly one to an earthly one. I also mentioned that Mary was not yet married and  that when the angel related to Mary what was going to happen to her,  she agreed by  saying, "Look! Jehovah's slave girl!" May it take place with me according to your declaration".  Jehovah would have known Mary's life course, her spirituality and that she would deem this very great privilege to bear his Son. Jehovah would have known the spirituality of Joseph, her  future husband as well, as Joseph would have to an active part in raising God's son as a human.  Of course I quoted Deut 32:4, and  Daniel 4:35 which  says " . .. and he is doing according to his own will among the army of the heavens and the inhabitants of the earth. And there exists no one that can check his hand or that can say to him, ‘What have you been doing?’"

It was shocking but we were still able to break down some prejudice and the brother who told me he wastes our time, came and joined us and exchange some pleasantries about school days and shook hands.  It was the first time for me speaking to him, but this brother had spoken to him several times.  I told him not to be afraid of people like that, and gave him incidences where even people who opposed Jehovah like spirit mediums became Jehovah's servants in Africa and other places.

What energy do these computers/robots work on? If they don't need food like us and they are not plugged into any energy source, then they might begin to give competition. Doesn't bother me otherwise. Nothing man makes can compete with anything God makes.  

If your job is that of receptionist/telephone operator you might have to do so on behalf of a company. That is where scriptures like this come in:  "Shrewd is the one that has seen the calamity and proceeds to conceal himself, but the inexperienced have passed along  and must suffer the penalty". Proverbs 22:3; 27:12.   Foresight and thinking ability enable one to see what one would possibly be asked to do.  Employers have requirements that they pay for and they also have rights just like the employees.

I don't live in USA but the usual greeting nowadays is "Season's Greetings!"   This is more appropriate since all customers are not Christian.  Then there is also automated answering.

Always check out the company you are interested in working for and ask for a job description. This might help you to avoid having to do work that is not in harmony with your Bible-trained conscience.

(Revelation 19:6-8) . . .And I heard what sounded like a voice of a great crowd and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of heavy thunders. They said: “Praise Jah, because Jehovah our God, the Almighty, has begun to rule as king! 7 Let us rejoice and be overjoyed and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has arrived and his wife has prepared herself. 8 Yes, it has been granted to her to be clothed with bright, clean, fine linen—for the fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the holy ones.”

(Psalm 45:11-14) 11 And the king will long for your beauty, For he is your lord, So bow down to him. 12 The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; The wealthiest of men will seek your favor. 13 Inside the palace the king’s daughter is absolutely magnificent; Her clothing is adorned with gold. 14 She will be brought to the king in richly woven garments. The virgin companions following her are brought in before you.

(Isaiah 61:10) 10 I will greatly exult in Jehovah. My whole being will rejoice in my God. For he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has wrapped me with the robe of righteousness, Just like a bridegroom who wears a turban like that of a priest, And like a bride who adorns herself with her ornaments.

(Revelation 21:2) . . .I also saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

(Jeremiah 7:34) 34 I will put an end to the sound of exultation and the sound of rejoicing, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will be reduced to ruins.’”

As we can see from the above scriptures, elegance, beauty, richness, magnificence go along with a marriage/wedding.  It is a long held tradition.

Marriage is something truly special and not ordinary, and is related to joy and richness (not necessarily opulence). This is normal; so if people have reactions to a very simple ceremony or even a drab one, do not be shocked at their reaction.   But the decision to be simple is not to be criticized.  Both to be simple and to be ornate are decisions that must be respected.

(Colossians 2:16) 16 Therefore, do not let anyone judge you about what you eat and drink or about the observance of a festival or of the new moon or of a Sabbath…

Nothing is wrong with having special food or not having special food - the glory goes to God.  (1 Corinthians 10:31) "Therefore, whether you are eating or drinking or doing anything else, do all things for God’s glory".

Some girls want a picture of them being a queen for a day; a beautiful wedding dress affords them to have something close to this. Why would we deprive them of that.  If someone dressed up like that for a play or just to have a picture, we would hardly criticize them.  It is just a fantasy but not evil.

Here in Barbados you cannot go to the courthouse even for a copy of a document, dressed in jeans, low-cut blouses, armholes, slippers, etc. You will be turned back.  Traditions and rules allow for continuation of respect for time-honoured values.

We don’t want marriage or the traditions that go along with it to go further down the slippery slope. We have to pray for those who keep the status quo also, so we may continue our work until Jehovah brings the change. (1 Tim 2:2,3).  Jesus said he did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 5:17) 17 “Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I came, not to destroy, but to fulfill.   Time-honoured traditions surrounding marriage belong there as well.

Traditions that have a basis in God’s word and societal norms should be respected. Why should we throw everything out. If we throw out all the laws requiring honesty because the majority of people are no longer honest, how would that help? Same thing with throwing out the white dress.  And who said there are no virgins?  People are free to wear what they wish but they must not  expect people not to react. “All things are lawful but not all things are advantageous.”

That too high for me, but I can understand this:

(Amos 9:1-6) 9 I saw Jehovah stationed above the altar, and he said: “Strike the head of the pillar, and the thresholds will shake. Cut them off at the head, and I will kill the last of them with the sword. No one who flees will get away, and no one trying to escape will succeed.  2 If they dig down into the Grave, From there my hand will take them; And if they go up to the heavens, From there I will bring them down.  3 And if they hide themselves on the top of Carʹmel, From there I will search them out and take them. If they conceal themselves from my eyes on the bottom of the sea, There I will command the serpent to bite them.  4 If they go into captivity before their enemies, From there I will command the sword, and it will kill them; I will fix my eyes on them for bad, and not for good.  5 For the Sovereign Lord, Jehovah of the armies, is the One who touches the land, So that it melts, and all its inhabitants will mourn; And all of it will rise like the Nile, And sink down like the Nile of Egypt.  6 ‘The one who builds his stairs in the heavens And establishes his structure over the earth; The one who summons the waters of the sea, To pour them out on the surface of the earth —Jehovah is his name.’
 

What happened just now? Still trying to find out.

Suggestion: If you make the posts a little shorter you might get more comments on them.

" It seems that all true Christians have equal access to the Bible, prayer and holy spirit. "  - Anna

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(Psalm 65:2) 2 O Hearer of prayer, to you people of all sorts will come.

(Proverbs 2:1-22) My son, if you accept my sayings And treasure up my commandments,  2 By making your ear attentive to wisdom And inclining your heart to discernment;  3 Moreover, if you call out for understanding And raise your voice for discernment;  4 If you keep seeking for it as for silver, And you keep searching for it as for hidden treasures;  5 Then you will understand the fear of Jehovah, And you will find the knowledge of God.  6 For Jehovah himself gives wisdom; From his mouth come knowledge and discernment. 

(John 3:16) “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.

(Revelation 22:17) And the spirit and the bride keep on saying, “Come!” and let anyone hearing say, “Come!” and let anyone thirsting come; let anyone who wishes take life’s water free.

(Joel 2:28,29)  28 After that I will pour out my spirit on every sort of flesh, And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, And your young men will see visions. 29 And even on my male slaves and female slaves I will pour out my spirit in those days.

Everyone has equal opportunity to come to Jehovah and receive help.

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I wanted to send this last night but it disappeared. Thanks to admin for restoring it.

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This morning I was writing a post and something miraculous happened - I was trying to remember a phrase in the Bible, but did not know where it was in the Bible.  I however continued with my writing, when I looked for the scripture for the next point I realized that I was being helped because the verse above the scripture had the phrase I was looking for to support the previous point. (I really did not know it was there I had seen it.)

This is not the first time I had experiences that show that Jehovah wants us to help others put confidence in Him and his Word.  God's Word is alive and exerts power.  Sometimes after I research things to help others I often understand them better or things become clearer to me as well.

In any case 666 or 616 both show up imperfection emphasized as against 7 which is said to represent heavenly perfection  and 10 which is representing earthly perfection. Then we have Isaiah 40:8 and 1 Peter 2:24,25  which gives the commitment of Jehovah God to preserve his "sayings" (through John). And we can see that he has done that well, with just a few minor variations being allowed. I am typing this from memory.

Ezekiel 38:8 and Isaiah 2:2  refer to pre-Armageddon situations (final part of the days). 

Rev 20 discusses post-Armageddon situations.

You need to acknowledge that Rev 21:4, 5 shows that the former things have passed away.

At the final test some persons who survived Armageddon, their children  and some of the resurrected ones - a considerable amount - will choose to go with Satan in disobedience to  God and his Kingdom. (Adam and Eve had this test also when they were made perfect.) This is why Jehovah kept Satan and did not destroy him at Armageddon. This is what the final test is meant to do - to finally sift out those who are disloyal to God. They will be eaten up by the fire that comes down from heaven - second death.  (Rev 20:9) After that there will be peace in the Universe.  Adamic death will cease. No one will be disobeying Jehovah after that. Second death is always available to Jehovah and Jesus to deal with any threats.

Granted, there may be further understanding of who exactly in Babylon the Great will be destroyed and who  will be destroyed at Armageddon. But we should not  worry unduly about these things.  We have to get ready ourselves.  2 Peter 3:15.  Have confidence that Jehovah is a Righteous Judge and his Son is like him. Armageddon is going to be a righteous war and no one will be destroyed who is who is worthy of an opportunity for everlasting life.  They will be preserved to benefit from  the priestly services of the Thousand-Year rule of the Messiah. See Revelation 22:1-3; Isaiah 11:1-9.Isaiah 29:9,10.

Agree that when we have preconceived ideas it is harder to learn more but there are fundamental truths or core values that we stick to, or else we are wasting our time.

Read Ps 37:10,11,34, 37,38 -  wicked people to be cut off

Rev 19: 17-21  - end of military nations and those who support them - small and great

Rev 21:4,5 - end of old system - former things passed away - making all things new.

2 Peter 3:7,11-12  - end of old system - destruction as if by fire.

2 Peter 3:13 - new system wherein righteousness is to dwell.

Heading needs reviewing.

"One consequence of the fact that the resurrection takes place at the end of the millennium is asking the question of what basis will be judged resurrected .

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Don’t think you understand this all together.  See below.

(Romans 6:23) For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 6:6, 7) . . .. ⁷ For the one who has died has been acquitted from his sin.

 Death acquits us of the sins we incur before death.

 (Acts 24:15) And I have hope toward God, which hope these men also look forward to, that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.

 We will not be resurrected perfect – just in suitable bodies – we will have the same attitude and tendencies but we will have a fresh start or in some cases to be fair a first chance to learn what is right.

 There will be a great crowd that will survive without dying that will also be imperfect still. (Rev 7:13-15,17)

Lamb will guide them to everlasting life.

 (Revelation 20:12-15) ¹² And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. But another scroll was opened; it is the scroll of life. The dead were judged out of those things written in the scrolls according to their deeds. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead in it, and death and the Grave gave up the dead in them, and they were judged individually according to their deeds. ¹⁴ And death and the Grave were hurled into the lake of fire. This means the second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ Furthermore, whoever was not found written in the book of life was hurled into the lake of fire.

Thousand year jubilee or Sabbath will be used to teach, heal and restore all mankind living on the Paradise earth.

 *** ka chap. 7 pp. 137-138 pars. 52-54 What to Expect of Judges for a Thousand Years ***

“The millennial “land of straightforwardness,” of straightforward dealing with the people and among the people, will be a place where great favor is shown to all mankind in their inborn human imperfection. Some members of the human family have gone down more deeply into sinful degradation than others and have been hardened in an unjust personality because of long failing to be brought to account. Their accustomed bent is toward injustice. It is easy to see how wicked ones of that kind would find it difficult to learn righteousness and uprightness even when all around them there is straightforwardness and divine favor is being shown to them through the King Jesus Christ. In spite of all the help proffered to them, they will be inclined to do unjustly. They will not want to recognize the eminence of Jehovah as the rightful Lawgiver nor the rightness of His standards for living. Respecting them the principle set forth by the apostle Peter seems fitting:

⁵³ “For it is the appointed time for the judgment to start with the house of God. Now if it starts first with us, what will the end be of those who are not obedient to the good news of God? ‘And if the righteous man is being saved with difficulty, where will the ungodly man and the sinner make a showing?’”—1 Peter 4:17, 18.

⁵⁴ Persons who, in the “land of straightforwardness,” receive the “favor” of God in vain, missing its loving purpose, and who prove unreformable, need not necessarily be preserved to the end of the thousand years before being executed as unfit for eternal life in the Paradise restored to earth. Without any injustice to such who prove to be beyond correction, they may be executed by the one whom God has appointed to judge the inhabited earth in righteousness. These do not get their names written “in the book of life” and hence they are fit for nothing but the “second death,” as symbolized by the “lake of fire” that causes a complete destruction. (Revelation 20:14, 15) How wise and prudent it is, then, to be obedient now to the “good news of God” and to cultivate a love of righteousness in view of that coming Judgment Day!”

Isa 11:9 – knowledge given about dealing with earth, animals; knowledge from the scrolls dispensed; mankind rehabilitated to perfection.

End of millennium Satan will be let out of his “pit” to test restored mankind. See Rev 20:7

 Afterward (Adamic) Death the last enemy – will be destroyed.  Adamic death will be hurled into the lake of fire. It will no longer be needed nor will it happen.  See 1 Co 15:25,26; Rev 21:3,4., Rev 20:13,14

  (1 Corinthians 15:25, 26) For he must rule as king until God has put all enemies under his feet. ²⁶ And the last enemy, death, is to be brought to nothing.

  (Revelation 20:13, 14) And the sea gave up the dead in it, and death and the Grave gave up the dead in them, and they were judged individually according to their deeds. ¹⁴ And death and the Grave were hurled into the lake of fire. This means the second death, the lake of fire.

 (Revelation 21:4) And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

 Second death will always be available to Jehovah to destroy anything that threatens the universe, though this will be unlikely.  It is the second death or lake of fire that will destroy Satan and his demons, and also Adamic death. Wicked people,people who sin against the holy spirit,  the political nations, the false prophet, etc, will already have been thrown there.

 When the Rest of the “Dead” comes to life

Does not mean the order of the resurrection.  Does not mean that this is when the righteous and unrighteous are resurrected.

*** Bible Citations ***

(Revelation 20:4, 5) And I saw thrones, and those who sat on them were given authority to judge. Yes, I saw the souls of those executed for the witness they gave about Jesus and for speaking about God, and those who had not worshipped the wild beast or its image and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand. And they came to life and ruled as kings with the Christ for 1,000 years. ⁵ (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1,000 years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.

*** it-2 p. 249 Life ***

In his command to Adam, God implied that if Adam obeyed, he would not die. (Ge 2:17) So with obedient mankind, when man’s last enemy, death, is brought to nothing, there will be no sin working in their bodies to bring death. To time indefinite they will not need to die. (1Co 15:26) This bringing of death to nothing takes place at the end of Christ’s reign, which the book of Revelation shows is 1,000 years long. Here it is said of those becoming kings and priests with Christ that they “came to life and ruled as kings with the Christ for a thousand years.” “The rest of the dead” not coming to life “until the thousand years were ended” must be those alive at the end of the thousand years, but before Satan is released from the abyss and brings the decisive test on mankind. By the end of the thousand years, people on earth will have reached human perfection, being in the condition that Adam and Eve were in before they sinned. Now they will really have life in perfection. Those who thereafter pass the test when Satan is released for a short time from the abyss will be able to enjoy that life forever.—Re 20:4-10.

 Will answer some more later.

I will add these scriptures:

(2 Peter 2:9) So, then, Jehovah knows how to rescue people of godly devotion out of trial, but to reserve unrighteous people to be destroyed on the day of judgment,

(Acts 3:22, 23) 22 In fact, Moses said: ‘Jehovah your God will raise up for you from among your brothers a prophet like me. You must listen to whatever he tells you. 23 Indeed, anyone who does not listen to that Prophet will be completely destroyed from among the people.. . .

(Matthew 17:5) 5 While he was still speaking, look! a bright cloud overshadowed them, and look! a voice out of the cloud said: “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved. Listen to him.” 

(1 Corinthians 4:6) 6 Now, brothers, these things I have applied to myself and A·polʹlos for your good, that through us you may learn the rule: “Do not go beyond the things that are written,” so that you may not be puffed up with pride, favoring one against the other. 
 

(Isaiah 55:6-8) 6 Search for Jehovah while he may be found. Call to him while he is near.  7 Let the wicked man leave his way And the evil man his thoughts; Let him return to Jehovah, who will have mercy on him, To our God, for he will forgive in a large way.  8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, And your ways are not my ways,” declares Jehovah. 
 

On 11/15/2017 at 3:34 PM, Bible Speaks said:

"It is primarily a religion, it is our faith, we identify ourselves as Christians, we hope that Jesus will establish the pattern as his form of worship," said Hemmelgarn.

Can't quite understand the second part of this sentence.

Another problem is that we seem always eager to identify with celebrities.  Don't know why.   Why should we rush these things to the site - what is the benefit to us. 

We should take to heart what Jesus  said as to the status of those who love Jehovah and his Son.  They will be persecuted. They are no part of the world and should not court the world.

(Matthew 24:9-12) 9 “Then people will hand you over to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations on account of my name. 10 Then, too, many will be stumbled and will betray one another and will hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will arise and mislead many; 12 and because of the increasing of lawlessness, the love of the greater number will grow cold. 13 But the one who has endured to the end will be saved. 

Paul said the Christians back there were not ashamed of his prison bonds.

"(Philippians 1:7) 7 It is only right for me to think this regarding all of you, since I have you in my heart, you who are sharers with me in the undeserved kindness both in my prison bonds and in the defending and legally establishing of the good news. . ".

(Colossians 4:2-4) 2 Persevere in prayer, remaining awake in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open a door for the word so that we can declare the sacred secret about the Christ, for which I am in prison bonds, 4 and that I may proclaim it as clearly as I ought to.

( Matt 25:34)34 “Then the King will say to those on his right: ‘Come, you who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. 35 For I became hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you received me hospitably; 36 naked and you clothed me. I fell sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous ones will answer him with the words: ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and receive you hospitably, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 In reply the King will say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ "
 

We should identify with those who are suffering for righteousness sake.  (Remember those brothers in Eritrea and Russia  and other places and don't forget to pray for them.)  If we understand the issues regarding universal sovereignty we will understand how we are viewed by Satan and his world.  Our motives for wanting to be in the spotlight and attracting the wrong kind of attention to ourselves should be examined.  Satan would be glad if we attract trouble for ourselves.

4 hours ago, Bible Speaks said:

We are subject to the principle that the blood is sacred that Jesus by his blood could run away from mankind

This part of the translation was incorrect.

6 hours ago, Johnny Paulick said:

We are subject to the principle that the blood is sacred that Jesus by his blood could run away from mankind.

Translation site /translator did not quite get this, I believe.

Agree with the sentiments you expressed.  But I think you wanted to say that  by Jesus shedding his blood he repurchased mankind from sin and death.

Heading should be "...refusal to take blood".   

"Never" heard of water witching so I looked it up. Note this nice, short article:

*** w63 7/1 p. 415 Water-witching and ESP ***
Water-witching and ESP
AFTER reading the article “Protection from Wicked Spirit Forces,” in The Watchtower of November 15, 1962, the president of The American Society of Dowsers, Inc., wrote a letter taking exception to the conclusion reached in the article; namely, that because of the link to extrasensory perception or spiritism Christians do well to abstain from water-witching or divining for water or minerals. Nonetheless, the president of The American Society of Dowsers, Inc., does give that society’s view as to how dowsing works. He writes: “The point of the article is, perhaps, well taken. We agree with the theory that dowsing is a form of ESP and that engaging in any form of ESP can lead to ‘possession’ or the involvement with ‘wicked spirit forces’ unless proper precautions are taken. . . . We prefer the positive approach of warning people interested in dowsing of the dangers.”
Even though the American dowsing society sincerely believes that dowsers can take precautions to avoid “possession” and that much good can be accomplished through forms of ESP, the thing that Christians must keep in mind is that any form of divination or spiritism is condemned by God because of its very nature. It is not holy angels that are behind this ESP but wicked angels or evil spirit creatures whose objective is to mislead mankind. Abstaining from ESP in all its forms is not only proper Scriptural precaution but it is also obedience to God.—Rev. 21:8.