the bible,truth,God's kingdom,Jehovah God,New World,Jehovah's Witnesses,God's church,Christianity,apologetics,spirituality.
Saturday 13 April 2024
Perfect solar eclipses and the case for design.
Darwinism's God?
Was God a Bacterium?
Synergies did it?
Synergies All the Way Down
Friday 12 April 2024
Wednesday 10 April 2024
Micah Ch.5 v.2 demystified.
Micah 5:2
Some trinitarians tell us Micah 5:2 (or 5:1 in some versions) teaches that Jesus has always existed ("from everlasting" - KJV). And since only God has existed for all eternity, Jesus must be God!
But look at other trinitarian translations of Micah 5:2. (E.g., "O Bethlehem ..., from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days" - RSV, cf. JB, NEB, REB, NAB, NIV, AT, Mo, NRSV, NJB, CEB, CJB, ERV, ESV, God's Word, LEB, MEV, NCV, NET, NLT, WEB, Byington, and Young's.) Not only does this verse not teach that Jesus has always existed, it even speaks of his origin in very ancient times. (Origin: "a coming into existence" - Webster's New World Dictionary, 1973.)
Why would these trinitarian translations admit such a thing? Perhaps because it is difficult to honestly translate the Hebrew motsaah with a word that does not include this understanding. (Even when "goings forth" is the rendering, it appears it should also be with the understanding of "originating." For example, if we said "the command went forth from the King," we obviously mean the command originated with - or sprang from - the king! And when Micah 5:2 says of the Messiah: "O Bethlehem ..., from you shall come forth [the Messiah]," it can only mean that, in his earthly existence, he originated in Bethlehem!)
Obviously for so many respected trinitarian translators to choose this meaning ("origin") they must feel there is no other honest choice! The only meanings given by Gesenius for this word in his highly-respected Lexicon are "origin, springing" - #4163, Gesenius - cf. Micah 5:1 in The Jewish Publication Society's Bible translation, Tanakh.
And A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament gives the only meaning for this word as used in Micah 5 as "origin." - p. 187, Eerdmans.
It would make no sense to interpret this as meaning the Messiah's human origin springs from ancient times. We have just been told that in Micah's time the Messiah's human origin was to be a future event and would take place in Bethlehem. Also there are no humans who haven't sprung from the very first pair in ancient Eden. It would be ridiculous to make the point that the human Messiah came from ancient stock since every human has done so. It must mean that his pre-existence as a spirit person in heaven originated in very ancient times (as the very beginning of God's creation - Rev. 3:14; Prov. 8:22). The Bible Greek of the ancient Septuagint, in fact, at Micah 5:2 says: "and his goings forth were from the beginning [arkhe], from ancient days [aionos]."
The NIV Study Bible, in a footnote for Micah 5:2 explains: "origins...from of old. His beginnings were much earlier than his human birth."
BUT THE TRUE, ETERNAL GOD HAD NO BEGINNING!
As for the Hebrew word olam, it can often be understood as “ancient times” or “of old” and does not necessarily refer to “eternity.” Here is how olam is used in the following scriptures in the NASB:
of old (Gen 6:4)
days of old (Deuteronomy 32:7)
From ancient times (Joshua 24:2)
from ancient times. (1 Samuel 27:8)
the ancient path (Job 22:15)
the ancient boundary (Proverbs 22:28)
the ancient boundary (Proverbs 23:10)
the ancient nation (Isaiah 44:7)
ancient ruins (Isaiah 58:12)
ancient ruins (Isaiah 61:4)
the days of old. (Isaiah 63:9)
the days of old (Isaiah 63:11)
an ancient nation, (Jeremiah 5:15)
the ancient paths (Jeremiah 6:16)
the ancient paths (Jeremiah 18:15)
the ancient waste places (Ezekiel 26:20)
the days of old (Malachi 3:4)
Micah 5:2 literally says "days of olam." This same wording is found again in Micah at Micah 7:14:
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old [‘days of olam’] (Micah 7:14).
Try substituting “eternity” in the above scriptures. It’s clear that the NASB has rendered olam correctly in those scriptures.
So, adding the fact that the Messiah had a beginning in this verse to the possibility of olam meaning “ancient” as translated here in numerous Trinitarian Bibles and and in many other scriptures, it seems evident that the RSV has correctly rendered Micah 5:2 -
(RSV) Micah 5:2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
It's also very important to examine Micah 5:4 where Jehovah is recognized as being the God of the Messiah! (The NIVSB tells us in a footnote for this verse that the LORD [`Jehovah'] here - the God of the Messiah - refers to "God the Father.")
Posted by Elijah Daniels
The wisdom of the original philosopher king.
Roman's Ch.2:4NKJV"Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?"
Firstly the Lord JEHOVAH is trying to teach mankind that we cannot become truly better off until we become truly better people. There is no shortcut ,not better laws,not better technology nor better organization.
First there must be a better man only then would a better world be possible Jesus Christ is the prototype of that new man.
Roman's Ch.13:14NKJV"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts."
Secondly there is NO Political or legislative pathway to this new man.
1Timothy Ch.1:8,9NKJV"But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,"
The fact that one needs to be deterred or restrained by the threat of force/actual force from wrongdoing proves that one is not suited for a place in the coming better world of JEHOVAH'S Making. The New World is not going to be a police state or prison camp.
Here is what will guarantee the enduring liberty and security of JEHOVAH'S New World.
Jeremiah Ch.31:33,34NKJV"But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their [i]hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”"
New people(Mental and moral clones of Christ) are what will make JEHOVAH'S New World truly New and not merely the old world 2.0.
Tuesday 9 April 2024
Revelation14:14-20 demystified.
Son of Man Reaps - Rev. 14:14-20
"I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
"Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth and the earth was harvested.
"Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe." The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the winepress of God's wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia [about 200 miles]." - Revelation 14:14-20, NIV.
Noted trinitarian scholar William Barclay writes in his The Revelation of John, Vol. 2 (Revised Ed.), "The Daily Study Bible Series" that there are "difficult things" in this passage.
"... there is the fact that the one like a son of man reaps and also an angel reaps. We may regard the one like the son of man, the risen and victorious Lord [Jesus], reaping the harvest of his own people, while the angel with the sharp sickle reaps the harvest of those destined for judgment."
Dr. Barclay didn't go on to explain another difficulty: Why the scripture about the son of man reaping is so difficult for many trinitarians. So the purpose of this paper is to explain why this scripture is so difficult for trinitarians.
Notice these statements by respected trinitarian authorities which also confirm that it is Christ being spoken of in the passage in question:
Rev. 14:14: "Christ is come for reaping this time (Heb. 9:28) for the harvesting of earth (verses 15-17). - p. 414, Vol. 6, Word Pictures in the New Testament, A. T. Robertson (extreme trinitarian).
`Crown': "Hence in the Apoc. [Revelation] a crown is represented on the conquering Christ (Rev 6:2, 14:14)" - p. 530, Vol. 1, A Dictionary of the Bible (trinitarian), James Hastings, Hendrickson Publ., 1988 printing.
`Crown' (Stephanos in NT Greek) - "Stephanos is the crown of exaltation bestowed upon Christ (Rev 6:2; 14:14; He:2 9)." - p. 763, Vol. 2, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (very trinitarian), Eerdmans Publ., 1984 printing.
"The linguistic usage of Revelation 1:13 and 14:14 reveals affinities to Dan. 7:13. Both passages speak of `one like a son of man' as walking (`amidst the lampstands') or `sitting' on the clouds of heaven. Note too how Rev. differs from the Gospels in leaving out the article; this is apparently an imitation of the text of Dan. 7:13: the apocalyptic `Son of man' is the figure found already in Dan. 7:13, but now as a glorified ruler and judge." - The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (trinitarian), p. 633, Vol. 3, Zondervan Publ. (trinitarian), 1986.
Also examine Acts 1:9; Daniel 7:13,14; Acts 1:11; Mark 13:26, 27; and Rev. 1:7:
"[the resurrected Jesus] was lifted up, and a cloud removed him from their sight [`a cloud hid him from their sight' - GNB; `he disappeared into a cloud' - LB]" - NEB, Acts 1:9.
"[Daniel saw in a vision:] behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, and he came up to the Ancient of Days [God] and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom." - NASB, Daniel 7:13, 14.
"`This Jesus, who has been taken away from you up to heaven [hidden in a cloud], will come in the same way as you have seen him go.'" - NEB, Acts 1:11.
"At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather [reap] his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens." - NIV, Mark 13:26, 27.
"Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him" - NASB, Rev. 1:7.
Notice how one scripture tells us that Jesus' followers will be `gathered by the sickle' (harvested) from the earth by Jesus the king who is still seated on the cloud (Rev. 14):
"So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth and the earth was harvested."
Does it say Jesus will actually physically return to earth? No. It clearly says he will still be seated in the clouds when he harvests his people from the earth. In the same way that the clouds hid him when he left (Acts 1:9), they could well be hiding him on his harvesting return ("in the same way as you have seen him go.")
Furthermore, Jesus doesn't even do it firsthand, but, instead, while "in clouds," actually sends his angels to earth to do it! (Mark 13:26, 27.) So, when it also speaks of Jesus being `seen,' we may decide that it really means we `see' in vision, or even `see' by means of our own understanding of what is happening. - see Insight, Vol. 2, p. 678, `Presence.'
After all, other righteous people described in the Bible as having `seen' God, did not physically see him, but, instead, actually saw a vision or even a representative (usually an angel) of God - See SF study paper. Job, for example merely heard Jehovah's voice coming from a windstorm (`whirlwind' - NRSV), but later he said ... "now my eyes have seen you." Job 38:1; 42:5, NIV. And the footnote for Job 42:5 in the New International Version Study Bible tells us:
"... now Job has seen God with the eyes of faith and spiritual understanding" - NIVSB, 1985 ed.
In line with this understanding is the rendering by many translators of Heb. 9:26. Here the inspired Bible writer tells us that Jesus has already "appeared once and for all" [hapax - see the NWT study paper]. - NEB, JB, NJB, GNB, Phillips; cf. RSV, NRSV, REB, NAB (1970 & 1991 revision). This would certainly seem to indicate that Jesus would not again physically appear to men.
But whether men actually, physically see him or not is not an important issue. Surely an honest misunderstanding of this would in no way threaten your standing with God.
An error in your understanding of who God is and, therefore, your worshiping God in truth (John 4:24), however, is a crucial issue which means everlasting life (John 17:3) or eternal destruction (2 Thess. 1:8, 9, NRSV).
- - - - - -
It is strange that so many respected trinitarian scholars admit that Christ is the `son of man' in Rev. 14:14. Of course the evidence overwhelms any other theory, but that doesn't stop many trinitarian "scholars" from constructing other poorly supported context-defying statements in other areas of the Bible.
Of course, they usually just ignore the great trinitarian difficulty of Rev. 14:14. And what is this great difficulty concerning Christ on the clouds in Rev. 14:14?
He is in all respects like an angel (Dan. 10:5; cf. Rev. 1:13; 14:15 - `another angel' besides that of 14:14 [Christ])." - The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (trinitarian), p. 633, Vol. 3, Zondervan Publ. (trinitarian), 1986.
Notice that the "son of man" on the clouds is given a command by "another angel" and he obeys that command. The command, of course, comes from God (the Father alone) through the angel. Both the "son of man" and the other angel are servants of God (the Father alone).
The wording " another angel" (although not certain, because of the description of other angels before the appearance of the "son of man") at least strongly indicates that the "son of man" here is an angel of God.
But we find absolutely no indication whatsoever in this account that the angel who orders Christ to harvest the earth is giving orders to God Himself! Can anyone believe that an angelic servant of God would speak this way to the Most High God Himself? Or that he would have to tell the omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing) Most High "God the Son" when and how to do anything?
Isn't it obvious that Jesus here is in the role of a reaping angel of the last days and performing a task similar to the other reaping angel? Would the Most High Only True God actually wait subserviently for a command from the Most High Only True God to be brought to him by an angelic servant of God and then obey like any other servant?
Isn't the great "difficulty" for trinitarians here the fact that this scripture is actually strong evidence that the resurrected Son (and installed heavenly King) is still not really God ?
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Although Watchtower Society (WTS) research and scholarship is usually at least the equal of (and often superior to) that of other sources, I have tried to rely most heavily on other sources in Christendom itself (preferably trinitarian) or my own independent research to provide evidence disproving the trinitarian `proof' being examined in this paper. The reason is, of course, that this paper is meant to provide evidence needed by non-Witnesses, and many of them will not accept anything written by the WTS. They truly believe it is false, even dishonest. Therefore some of the following information may be in disagreement with current WTS teachings in some specifics. Jehovah's Witnesses should research the most recent WTS literature on the subject or scripture in question before using this information with others.
Posted by Elijah Daniels
Sunday 7 April 2024
The fossil record sides with devolution?
Fossil Friday: New Study Confirms “Feathered Dinosaurs” Were Secondarily Flightless Birds
References
- Feduccia A 1980. The Age of Birds. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (MA), ix+196 pp.
- Feduccia A 1996. The Origin and Evolution of Birds. Yale University Press, New Haven (CT), 420 pp.
- Feduccia A 2012. Riddle of the Feathered Dragons: Hidden Birds of China. Yale University Press, New Haven (CT), x+358 pp.
- Feduccia A 2020. Romancing the Birds and Dinosaurs: Forays in Postmodern Paleontology. Brown Walker Press, Irvine (CA), 336 pp.
- Field Museum 2024. The hidden rule for flight feathers and how it could reveal which dinosaurs could fly. Phys.org February 12, 2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-hidden-flight-feathers-reveal-dinosaurs.html
- Geist N 2022. Romancing the Birds and Dinosaurs: Forays in Postmodern Paleontology. Ornithology 139(3), 1–2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukac013
- James FC 2021. How Many Dinosaurs Are Birds? Bioscience 71(9), 991–994. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biab060
- Kiat Y & O’Connor JK 2024. Functional constraints on the number and shape of flight feathers. PNAS 121(8): e2306639121. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2306639121
- Koumoundouros T 2024. Scientists Discover an Ancient Pattern Hidden in The Feathers of Birds. ScienceAlert February 25, 2024. https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-discover-an-ancient-pattern-hidden-in-the-feathers-of-birds
- Leigh EG 2014. Alan Feduccia’s Riddle of the Feathered Dragons: what reptiles gave rise to birds? Evolution: Education and Outreach 7: 9, 1–3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-014-0009-0
- Ostrom JH 1994. On the origin of birds and of avian flight. pp. 160–177 in: Prothero DP & Schoch RS (eds). Major Features of Vertebrate Evolution. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville (TN), 270 pp.
- Ruben J 1997. The fuss over feathers. BioScience 47(6), 392–395. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1313154
- University of Tokyo 2023. How birds got their wings. Phys.org February 24, 2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-02-birds-wings.html
- Uno Y & Hirasawa T 2023. Origin of the propatagium in non-avian dinosaurs. Zoological Letters 9: 4, 1–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40851-023-00204-x
Saturday 6 April 2024
Friday 5 April 2024
There is no man called Jesus Christ?
Luke ch.2:11NIV"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord."