Revelation: Its Grand Climax at Hand!

[Jagella]

The Christian prophecies of "the end of the age" have been with us at least as long as Christianity has haunted our dreams with visions of strange beasts and the destruction or damnation of the majority of humankind. The faithful have eagerly looked to the sky hoping to see Jesus riding in on "the clouds of heaven" to take them away while the rest of us suffer horrible punishments. But to their chagrin, it was just one disappointment after another when Jesus failed to show, and they returned to their boring little homes living out the rest of their lives like we all do.

One of the greatest disappointments the faithful have endured waiting for their grand apocalypse occurred on October 22, 1844. William Miller, a Baptist preacher, led a large group of followers to believe that Daniel's cleansing of the sanctuary was to occur on that date.

I hope I don't need to explain it didn't happen.

Undaunted, Christians continued to look for the return of Jesus. An entire sect, the Seventh-Day Adventists, grew up over this failed prophecy. They revised Miller's prediction saying that October 22 was not yet Jesus' return but the beginning of the final atonement and the "cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary." This event leads up to the second coming of Christ.

So Jesus is still coming if never arriving. Other groups have been caught up in this expectation, and they just never give up believing that someday soon Jesus will come bursting through the clouds. No number of failed prophecies of the end seems to stop them in their expectation.

One of these other groups are the Jehovah's Witnesses led by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. I was recently reading their book, Revelation: Its Grand Climax at Hand! As the title suggests, the return of Christ is at the very doorstep. I believe this book is no longer in print. Perhaps one of the reasons it is no longer published by the Watchtower is that it was copyrighted in 1988. As I write this post, it has been about thirty years since that time. Apparently thirty years is way too long to qualify as "at hand." To save face, the Watchtower no doubt pulled the book.

In any case, what I find odd about this book in particular is that the Watchtower bothered to copyright it. If Jesus and the apocalypse were nigh, then it seems to me that trivialities like reserving rights to a printed work would be a rather low priority. Did the Jehovah's Witnesses think that they might end up suing a plagiarizer in court as the "great tribulation" raged the four horsemen meting out plagues to punish the earth?

You just can't be too sure, I suppose.

There's nothing new about these failed prophecies. Other failed predictions by Jehovah's Witnesses involved dates of the second coming in the years 1878, 1881, 1914, 1918 and 1925. When Jesus failed to show, the "prophecies" were always reinterpreted to mean something different.

Observe that the knowledge of these failures won't sway many Jehovah's Witnesses from continuing to believe the end is nigh. Sure, some of them wise up and leave only to be branded as "apostates" and shunned by those who remain faithful to the Watchtower.

But don't get me wrong. I'm not just picking on Jehovah's Witnesses. We've had many prophecies from many Christians throughout their history. "They end is near!" The fact that they keep getting these predictions wrong doesn't stop them from continuing to believe what they do.

Will this apocalyptic delusion ever end?

[Jagella]

[Replying to post 20 by JehovahsWitness]

So was there anything else in the book Revelation it's Grand Climax at hand! You wanted to discuss?

How can you believe it, and why would you want to believe it?

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 17 by Jagella]

So was there anything else in the book Revelation it's Grand Climax at hand! You wanted to discuss?


https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/lv/r1/lp-e/0/56388



FURTHER READING:

The book of revelation - what does it mean?
https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/q ... revelation

What is the battle of Harmageddon?
https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/q ... rmageddon/

[Replying to post 20 by JehovahsWitness]

So was there anything else in the book Revelation it's Grand Climax at hand! You wanted to discuss?

How can you believe it, and why would you want to believe it?

Believe what specifically?

[Jagella]

[Replying to post 22 by JehovahsWitness]

Believe what specifically?

How can you believe what the book is telling you? Do you want to believe that your "paradise earth" will come at the cost of the lives of billions of people and global destruction of cities and towns?

[JehovahsWitness]

How can you believe what the book is telling you?

I believe that the book offers a logical bible based interpretation of the visions in Revelation. Jehovah's Witnesses take a wholistic approach to prophecy, harmonizing it with the rest of the bible; this is for me the most convincing approach.

Do you want to believe that your "paradise earth" will come at the cost of the lives of billions of people and global destruction of cities and towns?

I don't believe that. Paradise doesn't come "at the cost" of lives (plural) it comes at the cost or thanks to ONE life, that of the Son of God, Jesus who gave his life as a ransom for mankind. Paradise is thus guaranteed whether 7 billion people die or zero people die.

Indeed, as the bible book of Revelation closes God's very clear offer is made; no one need die if they don't WANT to; all they have to do is conform to God's requirements to continue to live.

REVELATIN 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.

[Jagella]

[Replying to post 24 by JehovahsWitness]

I believe that the book offers a logical bible based interpretation of the visions in Revelation. Jehovah's Witnesses take a wholistic approach to prophecy, harmonizing it with the rest of the bible; this is for me the most convincing approach.

So your "wholistic Bible approach" has you believing that angels in the sky will hurl fire upon the earth killing billions of people--except you and other Jehovah's Witnesses.

Do you want to believe that your "paradise earth" will come at the cost of the lives of billions of people and global destruction of cities and towns?

I don't believe that. Paradise doesn't come "at the cost" of lives (plural) it comes at the cost or thanks to ONE life, that of the Son of God, Jesus who gave his life as a ransom for mankind. Paradise is thus guaranteed whether 7 billion people die or zero people die.

Whatever you believe, the Book of Revelation was written by a hate-filled person whose vision of paradise was built on the death and destruction of most of the world's people.

[JehovahsWitness]

Whatever you believe, the Book of Revelation was written by a hate-filled person ...

Interesting opinion. How do you know he was "hate filled"? Have you met him? Or are you relying on your mind reading capacity?

[Replying to post 24 by JehovahsWitness]

I believe that the book offers a logical bible based interpretation of the visions in Revelation. Jehovah's Witnesses take a wholistic approach to prophecy, harmonizing it with the rest of the bible; this is for me the most convincing approach.

So your "wholistic Bible approach" has you believing that angels in the sky will hurl fire upon the earth killing billions of people--except you and other Jehovah's Witnesses.

No, that's not what I believe. Did you read my post on Harmageddon?

HARMAGEDDON What where when and why?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 178#917178

[Tcg]

[p=917344#917344]Replying to post 24 by JehovahsWitness[/url]]


No, that's not what I believe. Did you read my post on Harmageddon?

So, you believe that Armageddon will result in no death or destruction? Or is it that you believe all the death and destruction that will take place is great given that god directs it and it won't be directed at you?

[Jagella]

[Replying to post 26 by JehovahsWitness]

Whatever you believe, the Book of Revelation was written by a hate-filled person ...

Interesting opinion. How do you know he was "hate filled"? Have you met him? Or are you relying on your mind reading capacity?

Well, anybody who writes material that glorifies death and destruction hoping that it really happens seems a bit spiteful to me. I don't need to have met John of Patmos or read his mind to kind of get that impression of him.

By the way, Revelation makes Mein Kampf look like Little Bo Peep. Have you met Hitler or read his mind to realize he was a hateful guy?

So your "wholistic Bible approach" has you believing that angels in the sky will hurl fire upon the earth killing billions of people--except you and other Jehovah's Witnesses.

No, that's not what I believe.

Really? So for you no angels will ever hurl fire onto the earth to kill people.

Did you read my post on Harmageddon?

HARMAGEDDON What where when and why?

Yes. I see that you expect to sit back and watch Jesus mete out all the death and destruction as you joyfully anticipate the paradise earth. Will Jesus bury the billions of corpses and clean up the rubble, or will Jehovah's Witnesses be expected to do that? Who knows--it might be your job to clean up what's left of the building I live in and bury my charred corpse.

[JehovahsWitness]

Did you read my post on Harmageddon?

HARMAGEDDON What where when and why?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 178#917178

Yes.

Good; well I don't think this conversation will afford me more opportunity to post from the book you specifically mention in the OP Revelation it's Grand climax at hand available to read online for free from the JEHOVAH'S WITNESS WEBSITE - www.jw.org) so unless you have more you would like to quote specifically from this publication, I think my work here is done.


https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/lv/r1/lp-e/0/56388

Have a most excellent evening,

JW

[Tcg]

...I think my work here is done.

Not according to 1 Peter 3:15. Both Jagella and I have asked questions you have failed to answer. Is there some reason you are disobeying this scripture?