"Who Really Is My Neighbor?" (brought to you by the Number Seven)

[John 12.24to28]

"Above all the things that you guard, safeguard your heart, 

For out of it are the sources of life."

 

The heart can be like a radio telescope. When our hearts detect love, we are "seeing" Jehovah with the eyes of our heart. Figurative "Infrared" technology.

 

"I continue mentioning you in my prayers,  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the accurate knowledge of him.  He has enlightened the eyes of your heart, so that you may know to what hope he called you, what glorious riches he holds as an inheritance for the holy ones,  and how surpassing the greatness of his power is toward us believers."

 

The Bible is an accurate roadmap for guiding the heart, because it was written using figurative "Infrared waves" - Holy Spirit. 

 

"Your word is a lamp to my foot, 

And a light for my path."

 

"Nevertheless, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshippers will worship the Father with spirit and truth, for indeed, the Father is looking for ones like these to worship him.  God is a Spirit, and those worshipping him must worship with spirit and truth.”

 

When the heart responds, it is not an accident. It is because of what Jesus said:

 

"No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him."

 

"No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

 

"Happy you are...because flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but my Father in the heavens did."

 

"For the Father himself has affection for you, because you have had affection for me and have believed that I came as God’s representative."

 

Praise Jehovah📡💖🙂

[John 12.24to28]

Jehovah's Love is like Gravity, in a way. You can't "see" it but it draws us to Him. It lets us know He's there.

 

Jehovah himself says: 

 

"With the ropes of men I kept drawing them, with the cords of love; 

And I was to them like one lifting a yoke from their jaws, 

And I gently brought food to each one."

[John 12.24to28]

It's always good to keep a radio telescope clean and in good working order, so that it can figuratively "see" clearly and get an accurate reading. Otherwise a complicated instrument is just a useless hunk of junk.

 

How much more so all of our hearts can use some "maintenance" now and then.

 

"circumcision . . . of the heart:...To “circumcise [the] heart” means to “cleanse” it by getting rid of anything in one’s thinking, affections, or motives that is displeasing and unclean in Jehovah’s eyes and that makes the heart unresponsive." (study note, NWT)

 

"Circumcising" the heart might sound scary, but we don't have to be afraid of the pain. We have a helper, the holy spirit force from Jehovah himself, to help us bear the pain. Jesus promises to give it to us to help us bear the pain, if we just ask Jehovah for the help.

 

"For all things I have the strength through the one who gives me power."

 

Remember what it was like to have the heart of a child?

 

"Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a young child will by no means enter into it."

 

"At that time Jesus said in response: “I publicly praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intellectual ones and have revealed them to young children.  Yes, O Father, because this is the way you approved.  All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one fully knows the Son except the Father; neither does anyone fully know the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son is willing to reveal him.  Come to me, all you who are toiling and loaded down, and I will refresh you.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am mild-tempered and lowly in heart, and you will find refreshment for yourselves.  For my yoke is kindly, and my load is light.”

 

He will help us bear the pain.

 

(Speaking of "bear"...)

 

 

 

[John 12.24to28]

1 Chronicles 21 shows us that Jehovah never puts to death the righteous along with the wicked.

 

The punishments brought upon the people after the census sin were not because of what David did. The punishments were because of what the people did.

 

Notice the choices for punishment came from Leviticus chapter 26, the beginning of which says "You must not make worthless gods for yourselves, and you must not set up a carved image or a sacred pillar for yourselves, and you must not put a stone figure in your land in order to bow down toward it; for I am Jehovah your God.  You should keep my sabbaths and show reverence for my sanctuary. I am Jehovah."

 

The reason the people were punished was because they had been setting up false gods for themselves. This false worship included cult prostitution and child sacrifice. 

 

Jehovah had been holding back from disciplining the people out of regard for David, but when David disobeyed Jehovah by means of the census sin, Jehovah used the opportunity to cleanse the land of people who were actively hurting others by means of their disgusting false worship rituals.

 

Archaeologists who excavate the area often wonder why God didn't destroy the baby killers among the Israelites sooner. The ones who Jehovah executed were not faithful loyal worshippers of Jehovah. They were disgusting people who hurt children.

 

Jehovah has not changed. It will be the same when Jehovah allows the organization to be cleansed during the great tribulation. Some people who know the details of what has been going on in the organization think Jehovah has left the land, that He doesn't exist or He doesn't care. Those people will realize that Jehovah has heard their cries when He allows the nations to execute judgment on all false religion, starting with those among Jehovah's Witnesses who have misused their authority in order to hurt others.

 

"The third one poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water. And they became blood. I heard the angel over the waters say: “You, the One who is and who was, the loyal One, are righteous, for you have issued these judgments, because they poured out the blood of holy ones and of prophets, and you have given them blood to drink; they deserve it.” And I heard the altar say: “Yes, Jehovah God, the Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.”

 

Jehovah turned the Nile River into blood during the plagues of Egypt. Why? The Egyptians had killed the Hebrew children by throwing them into the Nile. The Nile reminded Jehovah of blood, the blood of His children. Jehovah's plague on the Nile was fitting.

 

It will be the same today. The "third bowl of God's anger" will be showing that the supposed "life-sources" of religious "water" are bloodguilty. When Jehovah strikes the religious phonies of this world, everyone will know that Jehovah saw what they did and He is taking vengeance for the blood of His children.

 

The UN attack on false religion will begin at the Bethels. Jehovah knows what has gone on. He sees everything.

 

Praise Jehovah.

[Pudgy]

I envision Armageddon to be the Nations being led, as if with hooks in their jaws to Global Thermonuclear War …. Where the elements being intensely hot will melt.

But hey! You say “ … that would kill Jehovah’s people tOoooo!”.

Not necessarily …. did not Jehovah protect the three Hebrew men in the blast furnace with personal “force fields”?

They came out not even smelling of smoke!

Otherwise …. What else could common sense tell you about what that scripture about “… the elements being intensely hot will melt” actually mean?

uh….. in context.

[John 12.24to28]

Hi, @boyle! How was your day today? Did you have a nice day?

 

14 hours ago, AudreyAnnaNana said:

19 hours ago, boyle said:

Unfortunately, I have daunting tasks all week long. I rest when I can. Enjoy your evening as well. 😊

 

Thank you. 🙂 I pray that you have strength for your daunting tasks. There is a lot of work to do.😁 Thank you for working so hard. May Jehovah bless your heart with courage and strength as you keep working in love.💞

 

How did your daunting tasks go? I hope they went well. I prayed for you that Jehovah would bless you with a nice day and that you would know Jesus carried out those nice things for you.

[John 12.24to28]

1 hour ago, boyle said:

The governing body speaks in behalf of god's inspiration.

 

Interesting. Which god?

 

1 hour ago, boyle said:

This would also be a lie for the public.

 

Just because you were determined not to be worthy under the laws of God doesn't mean servants of God are after their own glory.

 

Thank you for clarifying that for me. 😉

 

1 hour ago, boyle said:

When we oppose that standard, then we oppose Jesus, and god. 

 

Some people "oppose the standard" because they were stumbled by those who seem to be "leaders" in the organization. "But wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse, misleading and being misled." Jehovah understands when a person has been stumbled. Jehovah's really, really mad at those men taking the lead who have stumbled so many little ones. Very soon everybody will know how mad, when the first religion attacked by the UN is the one that bears Jehovah's name.

 

1 hour ago, boyle said:

heavy heart

 

Jehovah can raise up the heavy hearts - if only they would humble themselves just for a moment to ask Him! 😬🙏💔❤️‍🩹💪

[John 12.24to28]

1 hour ago, Pudgy said:

the elements being intensely hot will melt

 

Here's some context from Second Peter to show that "the elements" and "the heavens" is talking about the organization being refined during the great tribulation...

 

"They consider it pleasurable to indulge in luxurious living, even in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes who revel in their deceptive teachings while feasting together with you.  Their eyes are full of adultery and are unable to desist from sin, and they entice unstable ones. They have a heart trained in greed. They are accursed children.  Abandoning the straight path, they have been led astray. They have followed the path of Baʹlaam the son of Beʹor, who loved the reward of wrongdoing,  but was reproved for his own violation of what was right. A voiceless beast of burden speaking with a human voice hindered the prophet’s mad course. These are waterless springs and mists driven by a violent storm, and the blackest darkness has been reserved for them.  They make high-sounding statements that are empty. By appealing to the desires of the flesh and with acts of brazen conduct, they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error.  While they are promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for if anyone is overcome by someone, he is his slave."

 

The context of the book of 2 Peter shows it's talking about in the congregation.

 

"...the heavens will pass away with a roar, but the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works in it will be exposed...the day of Jehovah, through which the heavens will be destroyed in flames and the elements will melt in the intense heat!  But there are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell."

 

It's talking about removing the "high" authorities in the organization, the governing body. When Jesus takes the throne in heaven, he's going to clean the organization.

 

"They revel in their deceptive teachings while feasting together with you." The leaders in the organization teach false doctrines. Scriptures in Jude harmonize with Peter's words to show it's the wolves in the congregation being talked about here.

 

"They have followed the path of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the reward of wrongdoing." Balaam claimed to be a prophet of Jehovah, but he was just in it for the money and prominence.

 

"They make high-sounding statements that are empty." Like "we love you very much" and fancy prophetic 1914 predictions that are bogus and not based on what the scriptures really say.

 

The "last days" Peter talks about is similar to where Paul talked about the "last days" IN THE CONGREGATION. 2 Timothy 2 and 3 was talking about bad things going on in the organization.

 

Peter's words about the heavens intensely hot is related to the Revelation scene here:

 

"The second angel blew his trumpet. And something like a great mountain burning with fire was hurled into the sea. And a third of the sea became blood; and a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were wrecked."

 

The ruling authorities in the organization will be removed. They are bloodguilty in Jehovah's eyes. They will be figuratively "burned up" just like Jesus said. He said he would send his angels to remove the weeds and burn them up in the figurative furnace. "Outside is where the weeping and gnashing of their teeth will be." No longer ruling over people like worldly kings with slaves.

 

 Jesus said it would come like a thief in the night.

[Pudgy]

I think they were talking about two parallel ideas, not one explaining the other.

I will stick with my interpretation as it makes the most common sense to me, however soon enough we, possibly, will all know.

[John 12.24to28]

15 minutes ago, boyle said:

Do you want the Elders to take your burden

 

Some elders aren't going to be able to take anyone's burden shortly. They are going to have their hands full with their own burdens.

 

"The fifth angel blew his trumpet. And I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to the earth, and the key to the shaft of the abyss was given to him.  He opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke ascended out of the shaft like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun was darkened, also the air, by the smoke of the shaft.  And locusts came out of the smoke onto the earth, and authority was given to them, the same authority that the scorpions of the earth have.  They were told not to harm the vegetation of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads."

 

The locusts in Joel were the Babylonians who came to destroy Jerusalem because Jehovah's Name People were naughty. A faithful remnant survived.

 

The locusts in Revelation are the UN who will come to destroy the parts of Jehovah's Witnesses that reproach Jehovah's name. Faithful individuals will be okay. The locusts will harm "only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads..." in other words, the fakers, the wolves in sheep's clothing.

 

Revelation shows that the "star that had fallen from heaven to earth" is Satan. Jesus will soon kick Satan out of heaven.

 

The locusts "have over them a king, the angel of the abyss. In Hebrew his name is A·badʹdon, but in Greek he has the name A·polʹlyon."

 

(Abaddon and Apollyon mean Destruction. Judas Iscariot and Achan were also called "sons of destruction". The king of the abyss is the Devil. He will soon cause destruction to all religious institutions.)

 

The elders don't know what is coming because the governing body is asleep and hasn't warned anybody. Jesus has allowed the governing body to be asleep since they wouldn't listen to Jesus' counsel about not lording it over others. 

[John 12.24to28]

47 minutes ago, boyle said:

indignation of God and Christ

 

Because of God's indignation against some in His organization, He is sending the "hail".

 

Regarding hail, Isaiah 28 says...

 

"And I will make justice the measuring line 

And righteousness the leveling tool.  

The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, 

And the waters will flood out the hiding place.  

Your covenant with Death will be dissolved, 

And your agreement with the Grave will not stand.  

When the raging flash flood passes through, 

You will be crushed by it.  

As often as it passes through, 

It will sweep you away; 

For it will pass through morning after morning, 

During the day and during the night.  

Only terror will make them understand what was heard.” 

For the bed is too short to stretch out on, 

And the woven sheet is too narrow to wrap up in.  

For Jehovah will rise up as at Mount Pe·raʹzim; 

He will rouse himself as in the valley near Gibʹe·on, 

That he may do his deed—his strange deed— 

And that he may carry out his work—his unusual work."

 

Jehovah was talking to His Name People.

 

"So hear the word of Jehovah, you boasters, 

You rulers of this people in Jerusalem, 

For you men say:  “We have made a covenant with Death, 

And with the Grave we have made an agreement.  

When the raging flash flood passes through, 

It will not reach us, 

For we have made a lie our refuge 

And we have hidden ourselves in falsehood.”

 

The hail in Revelation is talking about hail also on Jehovah's Name People.

 

"The first one blew his trumpet. And there was hail and fire mingled with blood, and it was hurled to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green vegetation was burned up."

 

The "blood" shows there are bloodguilty ones in the organization, and the "hail" will be at the beginning of the great tribulation when the figurative hail sweeps away the lies. The UN will attack false religion, starting at the Bethels, because they are the physical headquarters just like Jerusalem was a physical headquarters for Jehovah's name people in the past. The faithful ones in the organization will be okay, that's why it says only "a third" are figuratively burned up.

[John 12.24to28]

1 hour ago, boyle said:

Biblical standards of righteous correcting should not be an excuse for anyone to be a cause for stumbling.

 

I agree with you there. I read somewhere that some people stumbled when they read the words of Leviticus 21:18 "If there is any man who has a defect, he may not approach" as a priest. I think maybe the people who stumbled over this verse didn't realize Jehovah was aware the ancient Israelites were overly attached to physical things. They couldn't handle Moses being gone for a few weeks before they made that golden calf. They were not as a group super "spiritually" minded. If they saw a priest with any physical deformity, who knows if they'd start thinking that's how Jehovah looked and then trying to deform each other to fit in...similar to what the other nations round about did. The people were prone to bad conduct and the rules Jehovah put in the Mosaic Law were mostly to protect kids.

 

The fact that Jehovah is not prejudiced against deformed or odd people shows in that He chose all kinds of nutcases to be anointed priests in the Kingdom arrangement.

 

🤪