i need to enjoy having a happy time with my girlfriend thoroughly tonight since i might not be able to see her for ten days
life is short, our fun is even shorter
Thursday, 30 September 2010
hell & well
this month was just a hell
i couldnt see two young girls on second and 27th
my love toward girlfriend strengthened though
my hectic life bwtween London and Paris continues
last month was a hell
i couldnt take holidays for 22 consecutive days
life is a hell
she is a well unlimited
i couldnt see two young girls on second and 27th
my love toward girlfriend strengthened though
my hectic life bwtween London and Paris continues
last month was a hell
i couldnt take holidays for 22 consecutive days
life is a hell
she is a well unlimited
leave of absence
ill take one day off tonight
to be natural for a married couple is very hard for us to pursue since we live away
this life will eventually lead not to devastation, i hope
to be natural for a married couple is very hard for us to pursue since we live away
this life will eventually lead not to devastation, i hope
Lyrics for Last Smile
Lyrics for Last Smile as interpreted by Booyacka
Last Smile Lyrics
Send "Last Smile" Ringtone to your Cell
Hora dakiaeru yorokobi wa sugisarishi
I never look back again
mune no naka ude no naka
kanashimi wa kimi to melt away
yume de aetatte hitori naitatte
kimi wa change your way
hibikanai todokanai
aimaina te no hirade odoru tango style
boku nara mou subete tokedashita noon e ni naranai monday
I wish if I could see the light of heaven
I don't know the color of sea, but there's no reason
unmeisen kara other way
sorekara ureiteru kaze to mo get away
itsudemo hanataretaku to mo kimi wa me no mae de last smile
tada mimamotteru yo na kimi no style
oh tawamure no toomena loser
aitai kimochi ga go away
ima de mo nakitakunaru nara anyway
itsuka wa tabidachitaku to mo kimi wa mukou gishi de last smile
kureru omoide yo go away
soutaisei kara wake up tada hitamukina asu e no step up
ima shidai ni umareyuku imeeji wa global
I'm feeling you away
eien kara naru loser ima dake ni tomaranai yoo na lover
hateshinaku tsuzuku suteeji wa break down
I'm gonna find another way oh
sore wo oiyatte boku wa hotto shite
toki wa just as same in my dream you call my name
joke it like it use to babe
uso ni nuretatte tsumi wa kienai owannai it's so heavy
I wish if I could see the light of heaven
I don't know the color of sea, but there's no reason
seimeisen kara other way
sorekara ureiteru yume to mo get away
itsudemo musubaretaku to mo kimi wa me no mae de last smile
tada tomadotteru yo na kimi no style
oh itaike de toomena loser
aitai kimochi ga go away
ima de mo nakitakunaru nara anyway
itsuka wa tabidachitaku to mo kimi wa mukou gishi de last smile
kureru omoide yo go away
I wish if we could see the light of heaven
I don't know the color of sea, but there's no reason
I wish if we could be in the light of heaven
don't go away...
don't go away...
unmeisen kara other way
sorekara ureiteru kaze to mo get away
itsudemo hanataretaku to mo kimi wa me no mae de last smile
tada mimamotteru yo na kimi no style
oh tawamure no toomena loser
aitai kimochi ga go away
ima de mo nakitakunaru nara anyway
itsuka wa tabidachitaku to mo kimi wa mukoo kishi de last smile
kureru omoide yo go away
unmeisen kara other way
sorekara ureiteru kaze to mo get away
itsudemo hanataretaku to mo kimi wa me no mae de last smile
aitai kimochi ga go away
ima de mo nakitakunaru nara anyway
itsuka wa tabidachitaku to mo kimi wa mukou gishi de last smile
Last Smile Lyrics
Send "Last Smile" Ringtone to your Cell
Hora dakiaeru yorokobi wa sugisarishi
I never look back again
mune no naka ude no naka
kanashimi wa kimi to melt away
yume de aetatte hitori naitatte
kimi wa change your way
hibikanai todokanai
aimaina te no hirade odoru tango style
boku nara mou subete tokedashita noon e ni naranai monday
I wish if I could see the light of heaven
I don't know the color of sea, but there's no reason
unmeisen kara other way
sorekara ureiteru kaze to mo get away
itsudemo hanataretaku to mo kimi wa me no mae de last smile
tada mimamotteru yo na kimi no style
oh tawamure no toomena loser
aitai kimochi ga go away
ima de mo nakitakunaru nara anyway
itsuka wa tabidachitaku to mo kimi wa mukou gishi de last smile
kureru omoide yo go away
soutaisei kara wake up tada hitamukina asu e no step up
ima shidai ni umareyuku imeeji wa global
I'm feeling you away
eien kara naru loser ima dake ni tomaranai yoo na lover
hateshinaku tsuzuku suteeji wa break down
I'm gonna find another way oh
sore wo oiyatte boku wa hotto shite
toki wa just as same in my dream you call my name
joke it like it use to babe
uso ni nuretatte tsumi wa kienai owannai it's so heavy
I wish if I could see the light of heaven
I don't know the color of sea, but there's no reason
seimeisen kara other way
sorekara ureiteru yume to mo get away
itsudemo musubaretaku to mo kimi wa me no mae de last smile
tada tomadotteru yo na kimi no style
oh itaike de toomena loser
aitai kimochi ga go away
ima de mo nakitakunaru nara anyway
itsuka wa tabidachitaku to mo kimi wa mukou gishi de last smile
kureru omoide yo go away
I wish if we could see the light of heaven
I don't know the color of sea, but there's no reason
I wish if we could be in the light of heaven
don't go away...
don't go away...
unmeisen kara other way
sorekara ureiteru kaze to mo get away
itsudemo hanataretaku to mo kimi wa me no mae de last smile
tada mimamotteru yo na kimi no style
oh tawamure no toomena loser
aitai kimochi ga go away
ima de mo nakitakunaru nara anyway
itsuka wa tabidachitaku to mo kimi wa mukoo kishi de last smile
kureru omoide yo go away
unmeisen kara other way
sorekara ureiteru kaze to mo get away
itsudemo hanataretaku to mo kimi wa me no mae de last smile
aitai kimochi ga go away
ima de mo nakitakunaru nara anyway
itsuka wa tabidachitaku to mo kimi wa mukou gishi de last smile
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
a life with or without
a life without a wife is so harsh
with a wife is interesting and happy
i find reason to live, if with a wife
with a wife is interesting and happy
i find reason to live, if with a wife
two giants
the area of china is 9,572,900
the area of america is 9,522,055
its interesting to see the area of two super powers is almost the same
as a country that occupies the most moderate climate area for humans
the area of america is 9,522,055
its interesting to see the area of two super powers is almost the same
as a country that occupies the most moderate climate area for humans
two types of filipinas
one is the one who still lives in philippines and wanting to come to japan
they are really eager to come for mainly economical reasons, which itself is not bad or rather just a normal and natural matter
but im not sure they really love me in japan, since we havent met. we need to make love to someone whom only we know on line. i think its never rational
the other is the one who already got married to japanese guy and separated, they are usually not yet divorced, so they dont have to marry someone any more. they have a permit of permanent residence, so they are finding a patron who can financially support them
im not sure whether they intend to make love their supporter, probably which is depends
i hope they come to japan first for any purpose, then its so natural for them to fall in love with some japanese
on line communication is very useful for those who already know in real but its absolutely crazy for people who know only online to make love soon after they meet first
they are really eager to come for mainly economical reasons, which itself is not bad or rather just a normal and natural matter
but im not sure they really love me in japan, since we havent met. we need to make love to someone whom only we know on line. i think its never rational
the other is the one who already got married to japanese guy and separated, they are usually not yet divorced, so they dont have to marry someone any more. they have a permit of permanent residence, so they are finding a patron who can financially support them
im not sure whether they intend to make love their supporter, probably which is depends
i hope they come to japan first for any purpose, then its so natural for them to fall in love with some japanese
on line communication is very useful for those who already know in real but its absolutely crazy for people who know only online to make love soon after they meet first
spiritual exposure
Tuesday, September 21, 2010I Need to Clean Up My Act
I'm a real treasure. My assets are the following: great ass, great boobs, dirty mouth, a tendency towards exhibitionism, a semi-functional brain with way too many short-circuited synapses and... psychotic episodes on (and off) demand.
Who wouldn't love to hang out with me, right? I for sure would, if I wasn't myself...
Posted by Daniela Champagne at 8:28 PM 3 comments:
Star Singer said...
like so much love u more my puppies
September 21, 2010 8:57 PM
Eiko Onoda said...
i think you have a tendency towards spiritual exhibitionism, and i like a woman who reveals many secrets in front of me
September 24, 2010 8:53 AM
Daniela Champagne said...
That's so sweet Eiko! I always appreciate non-judgemental intelligent people. :)
September 26, 2010 4:50 PM
I'm a real treasure. My assets are the following: great ass, great boobs, dirty mouth, a tendency towards exhibitionism, a semi-functional brain with way too many short-circuited synapses and... psychotic episodes on (and off) demand.
Who wouldn't love to hang out with me, right? I for sure would, if I wasn't myself...
Posted by Daniela Champagne at 8:28 PM 3 comments:
Star Singer said...
like so much love u more my puppies
September 21, 2010 8:57 PM
Eiko Onoda said...
i think you have a tendency towards spiritual exhibitionism, and i like a woman who reveals many secrets in front of me
September 24, 2010 8:53 AM
Daniela Champagne said...
That's so sweet Eiko! I always appreciate non-judgemental intelligent people. :)
September 26, 2010 4:50 PM
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
apology
apology
Saturday, July 3, 2010 9:37 AM
From:
To: "Carlos Burman"
Hi, Carlos...
i hope you are well..its been a while since last time we met
i just want to remind myself and you that we are in Bible study and trying to know precisely and a lot more about what bible says.
we are talking about christian belief, not what other religions say.
so its up to our choice and freedom whether we read other materials other than bible, but when it comes to our bible study what we learn right now is bible and christianity.
i am sorry because i was trying to deviate from this main point.
yesterday i happened to meet br komatsu
he told me english congregation will be basically for native only as of september
im not sure whether i will be allowed to attend the meeting i seriously hope our study lasts
hopefully
eiko
Saturday, July 3, 2010 9:37 AM
From:
To: "Carlos Burman"
Hi, Carlos...
i hope you are well..its been a while since last time we met
i just want to remind myself and you that we are in Bible study and trying to know precisely and a lot more about what bible says.
we are talking about christian belief, not what other religions say.
so its up to our choice and freedom whether we read other materials other than bible, but when it comes to our bible study what we learn right now is bible and christianity.
i am sorry because i was trying to deviate from this main point.
yesterday i happened to meet br komatsu
he told me english congregation will be basically for native only as of september
im not sure whether i will be allowed to attend the meeting i seriously hope our study lasts
hopefully
eiko
believing in
Friday, June 25, 2010 2:51 AM
From:
To: "Carlos Burman"
hi, Carlos...
Finally we are divorced on 7th of June for her family reasons.
I just learned description of Exodus is not historically verifiable in both bibliography and archaeology.
I feel really shocked because I just had been taken it for granted the Exodus is history.
What is the meaning of a word of God?
I think it means it is a verifiable truth both in historic and scientific viewpoint.
Existence of God is hardly verifiable, so we can believe in.
Many other matters are verifiable. If we still believe in the Earth is flat, our belief is false.
We believe in God becase it's still hard to verify.
Had beter we read the Exodus as a story rather than history as far as it is not verifiable ?
It was just acceptable for humans to think chronology of humans starts from two people while no one couldn't explain where and when the history of humans started.
Sorry for absence
eiko
From:
To: "Carlos Burman"
hi, Carlos...
Finally we are divorced on 7th of June for her family reasons.
I just learned description of Exodus is not historically verifiable in both bibliography and archaeology.
I feel really shocked because I just had been taken it for granted the Exodus is history.
What is the meaning of a word of God?
I think it means it is a verifiable truth both in historic and scientific viewpoint.
Existence of God is hardly verifiable, so we can believe in.
Many other matters are verifiable. If we still believe in the Earth is flat, our belief is false.
We believe in God becase it's still hard to verify.
Had beter we read the Exodus as a story rather than history as far as it is not verifiable ?
It was just acceptable for humans to think chronology of humans starts from two people while no one couldn't explain where and when the history of humans started.
Sorry for absence
eiko
stalemate
Re:Monday, June 14, 2010 1:41 PM
From:
To: "Carlos Burman"
Carlos..
No problem!
I was at work in an open field whole day long yesterday, so I was tanned! though I wanted to attend the meeting.
Talk to you soon!
Eiko
--- On Mon, 6/14/10, Carlos Burman wrote:
From: Carlos Burman
Subject:
To:
Date: Monday, June 14, 2010, 10:56 AM
Dear Eiko
How are you??
im fine...its the rainy season now hasnt it...muchi atsui desune
anyway,i want to let you know that this past 2 weeks ive been a little busy..but hopefully this week i endeavor to send you a new proper email.
i hope you are well..
speak soon
Carlos
From:
To: "Carlos Burman"
Carlos..
No problem!
I was at work in an open field whole day long yesterday, so I was tanned! though I wanted to attend the meeting.
Talk to you soon!
Eiko
--- On Mon, 6/14/10, Carlos Burman wrote:
From: Carlos Burman
Subject:
To:
Date: Monday, June 14, 2010, 10:56 AM
Dear Eiko
How are you??
im fine...its the rainy season now hasnt it...muchi atsui desune
anyway,i want to let you know that this past 2 weeks ive been a little busy..but hopefully this week i endeavor to send you a new proper email.
i hope you are well..
speak soon
Carlos
questions to the future
Wednesday, June 9, 2010 1:39 PM
From:
To: Carlos Burman"
Monotheism Moses found in circa 1300 BCE is very different from Christianity we see today.
His main theme was how to establish an individual relationship with Jehovah. His aim was to run away from tens of thousands of numerous gods people believed in at that time, that divide the minds of people, resulting in a political turmoil.
He thought believing in only one God makes people's mind united. Jews were slavery class under Egypt. He led Jewish people to their promised land, actually Joshua did though.
The thought of Saviour was later formed after they were in Babylonian captivity. Firstly people thought the Saviour was Jehovah himself, but they started believing someone appears as Saviour. Christians in general believe Jesus to be the Saviour.
Believe on not, Pentateuch was written or edited in this Babylonian captivity in circa 550 BCE, many noted prophets as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel are more or less related to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. At the same time many new thoughts other than monotheism were introduced into the thought of Judaism. Many angels stem from polytheistic tradition in Babylonia started being described from this era.
Again even today what is important is how to establish a personal relationship with Jehovah. My point is it ought to be thought more the spirit of Moses who originally started monotheistic religion.
As to Paraclete, I think Jesus meant apparently different figure other than him, who plays a role of mediator, though it's not in harmony with the belief of second advent.
Jesus didn't claim he is a Son of God, but people at that time believe he is. Christian in general believe he is a Son of God. He claims he is a son of man.
See you soon!
Eiko
From:
To: Carlos Burman"
Monotheism Moses found in circa 1300 BCE is very different from Christianity we see today.
His main theme was how to establish an individual relationship with Jehovah. His aim was to run away from tens of thousands of numerous gods people believed in at that time, that divide the minds of people, resulting in a political turmoil.
He thought believing in only one God makes people's mind united. Jews were slavery class under Egypt. He led Jewish people to their promised land, actually Joshua did though.
The thought of Saviour was later formed after they were in Babylonian captivity. Firstly people thought the Saviour was Jehovah himself, but they started believing someone appears as Saviour. Christians in general believe Jesus to be the Saviour.
Believe on not, Pentateuch was written or edited in this Babylonian captivity in circa 550 BCE, many noted prophets as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel are more or less related to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. At the same time many new thoughts other than monotheism were introduced into the thought of Judaism. Many angels stem from polytheistic tradition in Babylonia started being described from this era.
Again even today what is important is how to establish a personal relationship with Jehovah. My point is it ought to be thought more the spirit of Moses who originally started monotheistic religion.
As to Paraclete, I think Jesus meant apparently different figure other than him, who plays a role of mediator, though it's not in harmony with the belief of second advent.
Jesus didn't claim he is a Son of God, but people at that time believe he is. Christian in general believe he is a Son of God. He claims he is a son of man.
See you soon!
Eiko
time to leave
Wednesday, September 22, 2010 12:14 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"
Dear Eiko,
How are you?
We havnt seen you at our meetings for many weeks now,are you ok?
i cant remember the last time we met but i think it was early summer...
Anyway,hope your fine...its been a very hot summer as you know and now its starting to gradually get slightly cooler.
Asami and I have been verrrry busy! The Fukuoka English congregation has been downsized from about 50 members to only 25-30 membersl...so we have less men,elders and ministerial servants and this means i have extra work....infact i have double the work load..
I do enjoy the work,but it means i cant always have time for recreation and rest.
Also,Asami and I have decided to leave to England this winter...we will be going back for good,therefore we have many preparations to make before then...including packing,looking for jobs,home etc..
So all in all,we have definitely been super busy ...
I apologize that i havnt been able to send you answers to some of the Bible questions you have asked in the past,and over the next few days,i will look over your questions and send you gradually...
this week,im slightly less busy and so i can email you....
One thing i will say is,please dont stop studying the bible or stop coming to meetings just because i dont contact you sometimes...remember,while i care about your situations,i cant constantly be in contact with you...so it would be a great display of your personal desire and motivation to study the bible if you come to the meetings without me or anyone having to say...
we always appreciate when you come and we always are happy when you make that effort and those in the Kingdom hall are also happy...
I really hope nothing bad has happened with you such a a sickness or accident ot anything...please let me know how you are...
have a good day,and i will contact you later during this week to answer at least one of your questions...
ps...from next monday for 6 days ,i will be on holiday and so i wont be in Japan...that means i wont be able to email you next week.
regards
Carlos
From: "Carlos Burman"
Dear Eiko,
How are you?
We havnt seen you at our meetings for many weeks now,are you ok?
i cant remember the last time we met but i think it was early summer...
Anyway,hope your fine...its been a very hot summer as you know and now its starting to gradually get slightly cooler.
Asami and I have been verrrry busy! The Fukuoka English congregation has been downsized from about 50 members to only 25-30 membersl...so we have less men,elders and ministerial servants and this means i have extra work....infact i have double the work load..
I do enjoy the work,but it means i cant always have time for recreation and rest.
Also,Asami and I have decided to leave to England this winter...we will be going back for good,therefore we have many preparations to make before then...including packing,looking for jobs,home etc..
So all in all,we have definitely been super busy ...
I apologize that i havnt been able to send you answers to some of the Bible questions you have asked in the past,and over the next few days,i will look over your questions and send you gradually...
this week,im slightly less busy and so i can email you....
One thing i will say is,please dont stop studying the bible or stop coming to meetings just because i dont contact you sometimes...remember,while i care about your situations,i cant constantly be in contact with you...so it would be a great display of your personal desire and motivation to study the bible if you come to the meetings without me or anyone having to say...
we always appreciate when you come and we always are happy when you make that effort and those in the Kingdom hall are also happy...
I really hope nothing bad has happened with you such a a sickness or accident ot anything...please let me know how you are...
have a good day,and i will contact you later during this week to answer at least one of your questions...
ps...from next monday for 6 days ,i will be on holiday and so i wont be in Japan...that means i wont be able to email you next week.
regards
Carlos
monothesim and many spiritual beings in bible
RE: Is helper angel?
Tuesday, June 8, 2010 1:16 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"
Dear Eiko,
Again How are you?
your words are deep and you reply quick these days...
anyway,sorry for the late reply...i just attached here a piece of writing that helps to see that spirit creatures mentioned as Gods does not conflict with the christian doctrine that there is only one GOD.
Does being “divine” or godlike mean that Jesus Christ is himself almighty and coeternal with God the Father?
It is true that trinitarians attach special significance to the divine status of Jesus. They even employ a special non-Biblical Greek term, homoousios (“of one substance,” or “of one essence”), in this regard. The New Catholic Encyclopedia explains under the heading “Consubstantiality,” which is an English rendering of homoousios: “The consubstantiality defined by [the Council] Nicaea I [325 C.E.], then, . . . affirms essentially that the Son is equal to the Father, as divine as the Father, being from His substance and of the same substance with Him; it follows necessarily that the Son cannot belong to the created . . . Because of the absolute unicity, unity, and simplicity of God, the identity of the substance is not merely specific [as in the case of humans having human nature in common] but absolute, or numerical.”
Where, though, in the Scriptures does one encounter such reasoning? The answer is simple: Nowhere. The written Word of God neither contains the word homoousios nor the idea that trinitarians attach to it. That is mere philosophizing.
Does the idea that Jesus Christ is “a god” conflict with the Scriptural teaching that there is only one God? (1 Cor. 8:5, 6) Not at all. At times the Hebrew Scriptures employ the term for God, ’elo·him′, with reference to mighty creatures. At Psalm 8:5, for example, we read: “You also proceeded to make him [man] a little less than godlike ones.” (Hebrew, ’elohim′; “a god,” New English Bible, Jerusalem Bible) The Greek Septuagint Version renders ’elo·him′ here as “angels.” The Jewish translators of this version saw no conflict with monotheism in applying the term for God to created spirit persons. (Compare Hebrews 2:7, 9.) Similarly, Jews of the first century C.E. found no conflict with their belief in one God at Psalm 82, though verses 1 and 6 of this psalm utilize the word ’elo·him′ (the·oi′, plural of the·os′, Septuagint) with reference to human judges.—Compare John 10:34-36.
Jesus Christ, according to the Scriptures, is “the image of the invisible God.” (Col. 1:15) Yet Christians with a heavenly calling expect to bear Christ’s image in its fullness, becoming partakers of “divine nature,” when they get to heaven. (2 Pet. 1:4; 1 Cor. 15:49; Phil. 3:21) They have already gotten a start toward this by the spiritual “new birth” while yet on earth. (1 Pet. 1:3, 4) This, however, does not mean that they will be coequal with God. Nor does Jesus’ then having “divine nature” with them mean that for him.
The translation “a god” at John 1:1 does no injustice to Greek grammar. Nor does it conflict with the worship of the One whom the resurrected Jesus Christ called “my God” and to whom Jesus himself is subject.—John 20:17 Rev. 3:2, 12; 1 Cor. 11:3; 15:28.
Its worth mentioning that the literal word "MONOTHEISTIC" literally mean "ONE GOD" which im sure you knew...However,this does not merely mean that a religion must have only One GOD to be correct.
The idea behind the Monotheistic religion is not only EXISTENCE of a GOD but the WORSHIP of GOD.
Isaiah 9:6 for example calls Jesus Christ "mighty God",yet later on at Matthew 4,Jesus directed that WORSHIP and EXCLUSIVE devotion must be given ONlY to Jehovah GOD...
True christians worship only Jehovah...christians follow Jesus christ but do NOT bow down to him..we do not worship him or view him as the creator or the sovereign of the universe...Only Jehovah is this one.
At Jesus baptism,Jehovah said to him and all those present at the time "This is my son,my beloved,the one i have approved"
Only Jehovah holds ultimate power and authority..
In the Bible only Jehovah is called "almighty" where as Jesus is called no more than "mighty".
From context of scriptures,from genesis right down to revelation,worship of Jehovah God is stresses over and over with no room to worship anyone else.
Maybe alittle illustration might help to clear it up.
In a family,only one father exists...not 2...it belongs to HIM ONLY to make the final decisions in a family...yet,his wife also has an opinion and she adds to how a household is managed and what needs to be bought,how much ,where etc...
The Husband humbly allows is wife to express her views..and at times when he sees its a good idea,allows the view to be put in to action..YET, it is ALWAYS the husbands,the families head final decision....he makes sure things are run well...all his children should view him as father and respect his final decisions.
likewise,Jehovah who is way more powerful than jesus...infact ,Jesus was also created,just like you and I,jehovah allows jesus to have a view point and to express his view.YET its the fathers decision that is final..and all must worship only Jehovah.
The whole theme of theme of the Bible is Monotheism.
With regard to other religions with hundreds,thousands or even millions of Gods such as Hinduism...Hindus generally believe all over them as equal but hold different capacities and qualities...
A TRUE christian believes in just one God,and that this God is ultimate and the one to be worshipped only.
By the way,i would be careful when you search secular dictionaries or encyclopedias,since some do not give the root meaning of various phrases or words and do not always make it clear.
also becareful,since some are biased or onesided..some publications are anti religion or anti christian..so it wouldnt be an accurate view if you read these.
The best place to find answers is always the Bible,since it is Gods word of truth...and not human philosophy or writing.
anyway,i will answer you again with your other question abit later..
i hope you have a nice day and speak to you soon
Carlos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 23 May 2010 11:59:09 -0700
From:
Subject: Is helper angel?
To:
Hello again Carlos..
Thanks Brother, also thank you very much for calling me for the first time 'Brother'..
I really appreciate that.
In my history recognition the Middle Ages was the hell human kind ever faced. In the Middle Ages the rich, high and noble got rich, richer, richest and the poor got poor, poorest. The chasm between very few noble people, including monks in Church and peasants etc. became so deep that no one couldn't restore.
It lasted 7 or 8 hundred years till Enlightenment when people started to awake the right of individuals.
In my understanding Contemporary world is much better than the Middle Ages in many aspects, not only as to fundamental human rights but in technological development, too.
War is inevitable in a society where there's a deep chasm in classes. War is a tragedy, but often a necessary evil.
I think current world became much safer after experiencing two world wars.
I'd like to just point out that the view 'the breakout of world war I is the beginning of the end of the system of things' is a unique interpretation of Revelations.
I am now reading many materials written by early Christian apologists.
While reading some, I encountered the Greek term 'paraclete' which appears in Greek Scriptures in John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:07.
In New world translation it is translated as 'helper'. In other versions, the Comforter, the Counselor, etc.
Christianity is a monotheistic religion. Only one God Jehovah, which is almighty. But there are many spiritual beings as well as Almighty God.
Michael, Gabriel are angels, which are super natural beings.
Jesus became King in Kingdom of Heaven right now. He became super natural being after resurrection.
I mean there are some divine figures in Christianity, is it in line with monotheistic view?
Eiko
--- On Sat, 5/22/10, Carlos Burman wrote:
From: Carlos Burman
Subject: RE: The end of the system of things
To: eritreaqqq@yahoo.com
Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010, 12:38 PM
Dear Hiroshi,
I just wanted to reply to an email you sent maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago but only now i have had a chance to look at properly.
Its in relation to "the end of the system of things","1914", "world war 1" ,"armageddon"...etc......
In the email ,as shown below in your original email to me,you said that armageddon is a spiritual war....the Bible,gods word..agrees with you that it is a spiritual warfare..notice the exerpt below and what it says in Revelation 16:14...It says there that it is a war of God...Jehovah God is a spirit so obviously it will be a spiritual warfare....please read the rest below:
Armageddon According to the Bible
Although many past wars fought near Megiddo proved decisive, none eliminated wickedness. None really pitted the forces of good against the forces of evil, in the absolute sense. Logically, that type of conflict must originate with God. As Jesus once said, “nobody is good, except one, God.” (Luke 18:19) Furthermore, the Bible specifically refers to Armageddon as God’s war.
In the Bible, the book of Revelation says that “the kings of the entire inhabited earth” will be gathered together “to the war of the great day of God the Almighty.” (Revelation 16:14) The prophetic account then adds: “And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Har–Magedon,” or Armageddon. (Revelation 16:16) Later on, Revelation explains that “the kings of the earth and their armies” will be “gathered together to wage the war with the one seated on the horse and with his army.” (Revelation 19:19) This horseman is identified as none other than Jesus Christ.—1 Timothy 6:14, 15; Revelation 19:11, 12, 16.
What are we to conclude from these verses? That Armageddon is a war between God and the forces of disobedient mankind. Why would Jehovah and his Son, Jesus Christ, fight such a war? For one thing, Armageddon will “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” (Revelation 11:18) In addition, it will usher in a peaceful world, “a new earth that we are awaiting according to his [God’s] promise,” where “righteousness is to dwell.”—2 Peter 3:13.
However,if you notice paragraph 3 of the excerpt above,it mentions Revelation 11:18(please read)...it says there that this war will bring to ruin those ruining the earth...many of which are flesh and blood like you and i...many humans in history have been very bad ...these these ones surely will be affected by this spiritual war in Heaven...
This war will affect all humans and we will see the effects of war...abit like a tsunami....the earthquake often isnt seen and many times it doesnt affect the population..yet we know an earthquake happened because of the effects of the tsunami.
So,yes while armageddon is a spiritual war, a war of jehovah god against his enemies, this effects of this war WILL be seen by all...it will effect every single human on the planet.
You also mentioned about that world war 1 which started in 1914 has nothing todo with armageddon.....well,according to Bible understanding,that is an incorrect statement...october 1914 was the very year that Jesus christ became king in heaven...Jesus as King in 1914 threw satan and all his demons out from the vicinity of heaven to the vicinity of earth.Look below at what happened in 1914...in verse 4 it says that the "woman who was about to give birth,that,when she did give birth,it might devour her child."..in 1914 jehovahs King,Jesus Christ ,did give birth...1914 was the year jesus became king in heaven...as soon as he became king,he threw satan put of heaven...this resulted in satan and his cohorts being very angry,thus in 1914,to distract jesus christs birth as king as many religions back then would come in that year,he made a giant world war,something that had never taken place previously.notice revelation 12:4-17 below.
; 4 and its tail drags a third of the stars of heaven, and it hurled them down to the earth. And the dragon kept standing before the woman who was about to give birth, that, when she did give birth, it might devour her child. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was caught away to God and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days. 7 And war broke out in heaven: Mi′cha·el and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled 8 but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God! 11 And they conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witnessing, and they did not love their souls even in the face of death. 12 On this account be glad, YOU heavens and YOU who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to YOU, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.” 13 Now when the dragon saw that it was hurled down to the earth, it persecuted the woman that gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place; there is where she is fed for a time and times and half a time away from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent disgorged water like a river from its mouth after the woman, to cause her to be drowned by the river. 16 But the earth came to the woman’s help, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon disgorged from its mouth. 17 And the dragon grew wrathful at the woman, and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus.
The paragraphs below show us that jehovahs witnesses Long before 1914 were warning of 1914...they said in that year significant changes took place...and from history,we all know they were very big changes to the universe..
Vindicated on the Issue
4 So, first of all, we will ask: Who were the ones that, many years beforehand, pointed out to the whole world that “the times of the Gentiles” would end in the latter half of 1914? It was the International Bible Students, using the columns of the Watch Tower magazine and other publications of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Today they are known worldwide as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Have world events vindicated them? Yes!
5 Since most of mankind today pay no attention to that calculation of God’s time, and since Christendom with its hundreds of sects and denominations dispute its correctness, have those opposers who far outnumber Jehovah’s Witnesses won the hot dispute concerning the setting up of God’s Kingdom by Christ in the heavens in 1914 C.E.? The fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy concerning what would mark “the end of the world” (AV), or “the conclusion of the system of things” (NW), thunders back to us the answer No! Sixty-eight years after 1914 we see in existence the state of affairs foretold by Jesus in Luke 21:25-27, in the following words: “There will be . . . on the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation, while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Properly, then, the ending of the Gentile Times in the latter half of 1914 still stands on a historical basis as one of the fundamental Kingdom truths to which we must hold today.
“The Time of the End” Confirmed
8 World events from 1914 onward confirm that the above understanding based on Bible chronology is correct. Jesus himself said that “the conclusion of the system of things” would be marked by wars, famines, and pestilences. (Matthew 24:3-8; Revelation 6:2-8) That has certainly been the case since 1914. The apostle Paul added to the picture, saying that there would be a marked difference in the attitudes of people toward one another. His description of the changes that we have all witnessed was right on target.—2 Timothy 3:1-5.
9 Has “the scene of this world” really changed so much since 1914? In the book The Generation of 1914, Professor Robert Wohl observes: “Those who lived through the war could never rid themselves of the belief that one world had ended and another begun in August 1914.” Confirming this, Dr. Jorge A. Costa e Silva, as the mental-health director for the World Health Organization, wrote: “We live in a time of extremely fast changes, which end up causing anxiety and stress at levels never before seen in mankind’s history.” Has that been your personal experience?
10 Who is the villain behind the worsening world conditions? Revelation 12:7-9 unmasks the culprit: “War broke out in heaven: Michael [Jesus Christ] and his angels battled with the dragon [Satan the Devil], and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, . . . who is misleading the entire inhabited earth.” So Satan the Devil is the guilty troublemaker, and his ouster from heaven in 1914 has meant “woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”—Revelation 12:10, 12.
To be honest, there are hundreds of pages i could send you that show that 1914 was the start of the Pangs of Distress mentioned in the bible...both secular evidence and scriptural evidence agrees with this conclusion and jehovahs witnesses know without a doubt that from 1914..we HAVE been living in the LAST DAYS of this present system and that very soon now,Jehovah god by means of his son Jesus Christ acting as King in heaven will act to bring an end to all wickedness and lawlessness both in heaven and earth.
Brother Hiroshi regardless of what newspaper tabloids says or or seemingly clever,intelligent and wise people speculate,jehovahs witnesses are 100percent confident in the end of this system which will take place.
As always,please look through this information carefully and if you would like more and can keep sending more..i just dont want to drown you with too much information in an email.
and by the way,i will answer your other questions about baptism soon in another email..
until then take care
Carlos
Tuesday, June 8, 2010 1:16 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"
Dear Eiko,
Again How are you?
your words are deep and you reply quick these days...
anyway,sorry for the late reply...i just attached here a piece of writing that helps to see that spirit creatures mentioned as Gods does not conflict with the christian doctrine that there is only one GOD.
Does being “divine” or godlike mean that Jesus Christ is himself almighty and coeternal with God the Father?
It is true that trinitarians attach special significance to the divine status of Jesus. They even employ a special non-Biblical Greek term, homoousios (“of one substance,” or “of one essence”), in this regard. The New Catholic Encyclopedia explains under the heading “Consubstantiality,” which is an English rendering of homoousios: “The consubstantiality defined by [the Council] Nicaea I [325 C.E.], then, . . . affirms essentially that the Son is equal to the Father, as divine as the Father, being from His substance and of the same substance with Him; it follows necessarily that the Son cannot belong to the created . . . Because of the absolute unicity, unity, and simplicity of God, the identity of the substance is not merely specific [as in the case of humans having human nature in common] but absolute, or numerical.”
Where, though, in the Scriptures does one encounter such reasoning? The answer is simple: Nowhere. The written Word of God neither contains the word homoousios nor the idea that trinitarians attach to it. That is mere philosophizing.
Does the idea that Jesus Christ is “a god” conflict with the Scriptural teaching that there is only one God? (1 Cor. 8:5, 6) Not at all. At times the Hebrew Scriptures employ the term for God, ’elo·him′, with reference to mighty creatures. At Psalm 8:5, for example, we read: “You also proceeded to make him [man] a little less than godlike ones.” (Hebrew, ’elohim′; “a god,” New English Bible, Jerusalem Bible) The Greek Septuagint Version renders ’elo·him′ here as “angels.” The Jewish translators of this version saw no conflict with monotheism in applying the term for God to created spirit persons. (Compare Hebrews 2:7, 9.) Similarly, Jews of the first century C.E. found no conflict with their belief in one God at Psalm 82, though verses 1 and 6 of this psalm utilize the word ’elo·him′ (the·oi′, plural of the·os′, Septuagint) with reference to human judges.—Compare John 10:34-36.
Jesus Christ, according to the Scriptures, is “the image of the invisible God.” (Col. 1:15) Yet Christians with a heavenly calling expect to bear Christ’s image in its fullness, becoming partakers of “divine nature,” when they get to heaven. (2 Pet. 1:4; 1 Cor. 15:49; Phil. 3:21) They have already gotten a start toward this by the spiritual “new birth” while yet on earth. (1 Pet. 1:3, 4) This, however, does not mean that they will be coequal with God. Nor does Jesus’ then having “divine nature” with them mean that for him.
The translation “a god” at John 1:1 does no injustice to Greek grammar. Nor does it conflict with the worship of the One whom the resurrected Jesus Christ called “my God” and to whom Jesus himself is subject.—John 20:17 Rev. 3:2, 12; 1 Cor. 11:3; 15:28.
Its worth mentioning that the literal word "MONOTHEISTIC" literally mean "ONE GOD" which im sure you knew...However,this does not merely mean that a religion must have only One GOD to be correct.
The idea behind the Monotheistic religion is not only EXISTENCE of a GOD but the WORSHIP of GOD.
Isaiah 9:6 for example calls Jesus Christ "mighty God",yet later on at Matthew 4,Jesus directed that WORSHIP and EXCLUSIVE devotion must be given ONlY to Jehovah GOD...
True christians worship only Jehovah...christians follow Jesus christ but do NOT bow down to him..we do not worship him or view him as the creator or the sovereign of the universe...Only Jehovah is this one.
At Jesus baptism,Jehovah said to him and all those present at the time "This is my son,my beloved,the one i have approved"
Only Jehovah holds ultimate power and authority..
In the Bible only Jehovah is called "almighty" where as Jesus is called no more than "mighty".
From context of scriptures,from genesis right down to revelation,worship of Jehovah God is stresses over and over with no room to worship anyone else.
Maybe alittle illustration might help to clear it up.
In a family,only one father exists...not 2...it belongs to HIM ONLY to make the final decisions in a family...yet,his wife also has an opinion and she adds to how a household is managed and what needs to be bought,how much ,where etc...
The Husband humbly allows is wife to express her views..and at times when he sees its a good idea,allows the view to be put in to action..YET, it is ALWAYS the husbands,the families head final decision....he makes sure things are run well...all his children should view him as father and respect his final decisions.
likewise,Jehovah who is way more powerful than jesus...infact ,Jesus was also created,just like you and I,jehovah allows jesus to have a view point and to express his view.YET its the fathers decision that is final..and all must worship only Jehovah.
The whole theme of theme of the Bible is Monotheism.
With regard to other religions with hundreds,thousands or even millions of Gods such as Hinduism...Hindus generally believe all over them as equal but hold different capacities and qualities...
A TRUE christian believes in just one God,and that this God is ultimate and the one to be worshipped only.
By the way,i would be careful when you search secular dictionaries or encyclopedias,since some do not give the root meaning of various phrases or words and do not always make it clear.
also becareful,since some are biased or onesided..some publications are anti religion or anti christian..so it wouldnt be an accurate view if you read these.
The best place to find answers is always the Bible,since it is Gods word of truth...and not human philosophy or writing.
anyway,i will answer you again with your other question abit later..
i hope you have a nice day and speak to you soon
Carlos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 23 May 2010 11:59:09 -0700
From:
Subject: Is helper angel?
To:
Hello again Carlos..
Thanks Brother, also thank you very much for calling me for the first time 'Brother'..
I really appreciate that.
In my history recognition the Middle Ages was the hell human kind ever faced. In the Middle Ages the rich, high and noble got rich, richer, richest and the poor got poor, poorest. The chasm between very few noble people, including monks in Church and peasants etc. became so deep that no one couldn't restore.
It lasted 7 or 8 hundred years till Enlightenment when people started to awake the right of individuals.
In my understanding Contemporary world is much better than the Middle Ages in many aspects, not only as to fundamental human rights but in technological development, too.
War is inevitable in a society where there's a deep chasm in classes. War is a tragedy, but often a necessary evil.
I think current world became much safer after experiencing two world wars.
I'd like to just point out that the view 'the breakout of world war I is the beginning of the end of the system of things' is a unique interpretation of Revelations.
I am now reading many materials written by early Christian apologists.
While reading some, I encountered the Greek term 'paraclete' which appears in Greek Scriptures in John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:07.
In New world translation it is translated as 'helper'. In other versions, the Comforter, the Counselor, etc.
Christianity is a monotheistic religion. Only one God Jehovah, which is almighty. But there are many spiritual beings as well as Almighty God.
Michael, Gabriel are angels, which are super natural beings.
Jesus became King in Kingdom of Heaven right now. He became super natural being after resurrection.
I mean there are some divine figures in Christianity, is it in line with monotheistic view?
Eiko
--- On Sat, 5/22/10, Carlos Burman
From: Carlos Burman
Subject: RE: The end of the system of things
To: eritreaqqq@yahoo.com
Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010, 12:38 PM
Dear Hiroshi,
I just wanted to reply to an email you sent maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago but only now i have had a chance to look at properly.
Its in relation to "the end of the system of things","1914", "world war 1" ,"armageddon"...etc......
In the email ,as shown below in your original email to me,you said that armageddon is a spiritual war....the Bible,gods word..agrees with you that it is a spiritual warfare..notice the exerpt below and what it says in Revelation 16:14...It says there that it is a war of God...Jehovah God is a spirit so obviously it will be a spiritual warfare....please read the rest below:
Armageddon According to the Bible
Although many past wars fought near Megiddo proved decisive, none eliminated wickedness. None really pitted the forces of good against the forces of evil, in the absolute sense. Logically, that type of conflict must originate with God. As Jesus once said, “nobody is good, except one, God.” (Luke 18:19) Furthermore, the Bible specifically refers to Armageddon as God’s war.
In the Bible, the book of Revelation says that “the kings of the entire inhabited earth” will be gathered together “to the war of the great day of God the Almighty.” (Revelation 16:14) The prophetic account then adds: “And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Har–Magedon,” or Armageddon. (Revelation 16:16) Later on, Revelation explains that “the kings of the earth and their armies” will be “gathered together to wage the war with the one seated on the horse and with his army.” (Revelation 19:19) This horseman is identified as none other than Jesus Christ.—1 Timothy 6:14, 15; Revelation 19:11, 12, 16.
What are we to conclude from these verses? That Armageddon is a war between God and the forces of disobedient mankind. Why would Jehovah and his Son, Jesus Christ, fight such a war? For one thing, Armageddon will “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” (Revelation 11:18) In addition, it will usher in a peaceful world, “a new earth that we are awaiting according to his [God’s] promise,” where “righteousness is to dwell.”—2 Peter 3:13.
However,if you notice paragraph 3 of the excerpt above,it mentions Revelation 11:18(please read)...it says there that this war will bring to ruin those ruining the earth...many of which are flesh and blood like you and i...many humans in history have been very bad ...these these ones surely will be affected by this spiritual war in Heaven...
This war will affect all humans and we will see the effects of war...abit like a tsunami....the earthquake often isnt seen and many times it doesnt affect the population..yet we know an earthquake happened because of the effects of the tsunami.
So,yes while armageddon is a spiritual war, a war of jehovah god against his enemies, this effects of this war WILL be seen by all...it will effect every single human on the planet.
You also mentioned about that world war 1 which started in 1914 has nothing todo with armageddon.....well,according to Bible understanding,that is an incorrect statement...october 1914 was the very year that Jesus christ became king in heaven...Jesus as King in 1914 threw satan and all his demons out from the vicinity of heaven to the vicinity of earth.Look below at what happened in 1914...in verse 4 it says that the "woman who was about to give birth,that,when she did give birth,it might devour her child."..in 1914 jehovahs King,Jesus Christ ,did give birth...1914 was the year jesus became king in heaven...as soon as he became king,he threw satan put of heaven...this resulted in satan and his cohorts being very angry,thus in 1914,to distract jesus christs birth as king as many religions back then would come in that year,he made a giant world war,something that had never taken place previously.notice revelation 12:4-17 below.
; 4 and its tail drags a third of the stars of heaven, and it hurled them down to the earth. And the dragon kept standing before the woman who was about to give birth, that, when she did give birth, it might devour her child. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was caught away to God and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days. 7 And war broke out in heaven: Mi′cha·el and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled 8 but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God! 11 And they conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witnessing, and they did not love their souls even in the face of death. 12 On this account be glad, YOU heavens and YOU who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to YOU, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.” 13 Now when the dragon saw that it was hurled down to the earth, it persecuted the woman that gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place; there is where she is fed for a time and times and half a time away from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent disgorged water like a river from its mouth after the woman, to cause her to be drowned by the river. 16 But the earth came to the woman’s help, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon disgorged from its mouth. 17 And the dragon grew wrathful at the woman, and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus.
The paragraphs below show us that jehovahs witnesses Long before 1914 were warning of 1914...they said in that year significant changes took place...and from history,we all know they were very big changes to the universe..
Vindicated on the Issue
4 So, first of all, we will ask: Who were the ones that, many years beforehand, pointed out to the whole world that “the times of the Gentiles” would end in the latter half of 1914? It was the International Bible Students, using the columns of the Watch Tower magazine and other publications of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Today they are known worldwide as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Have world events vindicated them? Yes!
5 Since most of mankind today pay no attention to that calculation of God’s time, and since Christendom with its hundreds of sects and denominations dispute its correctness, have those opposers who far outnumber Jehovah’s Witnesses won the hot dispute concerning the setting up of God’s Kingdom by Christ in the heavens in 1914 C.E.? The fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy concerning what would mark “the end of the world” (AV), or “the conclusion of the system of things” (NW), thunders back to us the answer No! Sixty-eight years after 1914 we see in existence the state of affairs foretold by Jesus in Luke 21:25-27, in the following words: “There will be . . . on the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation, while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Properly, then, the ending of the Gentile Times in the latter half of 1914 still stands on a historical basis as one of the fundamental Kingdom truths to which we must hold today.
“The Time of the End” Confirmed
8 World events from 1914 onward confirm that the above understanding based on Bible chronology is correct. Jesus himself said that “the conclusion of the system of things” would be marked by wars, famines, and pestilences. (Matthew 24:3-8; Revelation 6:2-8) That has certainly been the case since 1914. The apostle Paul added to the picture, saying that there would be a marked difference in the attitudes of people toward one another. His description of the changes that we have all witnessed was right on target.—2 Timothy 3:1-5.
9 Has “the scene of this world” really changed so much since 1914? In the book The Generation of 1914, Professor Robert Wohl observes: “Those who lived through the war could never rid themselves of the belief that one world had ended and another begun in August 1914.” Confirming this, Dr. Jorge A. Costa e Silva, as the mental-health director for the World Health Organization, wrote: “We live in a time of extremely fast changes, which end up causing anxiety and stress at levels never before seen in mankind’s history.” Has that been your personal experience?
10 Who is the villain behind the worsening world conditions? Revelation 12:7-9 unmasks the culprit: “War broke out in heaven: Michael [Jesus Christ] and his angels battled with the dragon [Satan the Devil], and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, . . . who is misleading the entire inhabited earth.” So Satan the Devil is the guilty troublemaker, and his ouster from heaven in 1914 has meant “woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”—Revelation 12:10, 12.
To be honest, there are hundreds of pages i could send you that show that 1914 was the start of the Pangs of Distress mentioned in the bible...both secular evidence and scriptural evidence agrees with this conclusion and jehovahs witnesses know without a doubt that from 1914..we HAVE been living in the LAST DAYS of this present system and that very soon now,Jehovah god by means of his son Jesus Christ acting as King in heaven will act to bring an end to all wickedness and lawlessness both in heaven and earth.
Brother Hiroshi regardless of what newspaper tabloids says or or seemingly clever,intelligent and wise people speculate,jehovahs witnesses are 100percent confident in the end of this system which will take place.
As always,please look through this information carefully and if you would like more and can keep sending more..i just dont want to drown you with too much information in an email.
and by the way,i will answer your other questions about baptism soon in another email..
until then take care
Carlos
baptism ii
RE: Baptism
Saturday, June 5, 2010 9:50 AM
From: "Carlos Burman"
hi Eiko,
hope your week has been good.its becoming hotter each week isnt it.
ive been really busy this past week,so i havnt been able to email you back yet in answer to your questions,as i said i would.
therefore i apologise for that but i will email you hopefully very soon.
i hope you enjoy your weekend and pehaps see you sunday..it would be great to see you.
many regards
Carlos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 26 May 2010 12:20:57 -0700
From:
Subject: RE: Baptism
To:
Thanks Brother Carlos..
I pretty much enjoyed reading whole your reply as to baptism.
I was able to make it clear what baptism with holy spirit and fire mean.
I think baptism in general means repentance for the past sin and willingness to accept Christian faith and its way of life, but baptism of Jesus by John the baptiser means completely different.
I think by accepting baptism by John the baptiser, Jesus demonstrated all humans ought to repent their sins and prepare for the Kingdom of God.
Jesus respected the role of John as a baptiser with water. But Jesus knew he (Jesus) would later baptise each individuals either with holy spirit or fire in the coming day of the last judgement, which is more important apparently. As a matter of fact Jesus didn't baptise people himself in his missionary.
John was at first reluctant to perform baptism on Jesus. Because John thought Jesus is greater than John. But because of the very same reason, John the baptiser was the right person who baptised people with water.
June is a rainy season in Japan. June in America in 1987 was a perfect month in temperature. June in England in 1991 was a season of little bit chilly and scattered shower.
June in 2010 might be humid. We are going to attend the meeting in spite of rain and humidity.
Sincerely yours,
Eiko
Saturday, June 5, 2010 9:50 AM
From: "Carlos Burman"
hi Eiko,
hope your week has been good.its becoming hotter each week isnt it.
ive been really busy this past week,so i havnt been able to email you back yet in answer to your questions,as i said i would.
therefore i apologise for that but i will email you hopefully very soon.
i hope you enjoy your weekend and pehaps see you sunday..it would be great to see you.
many regards
Carlos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 26 May 2010 12:20:57 -0700
From:
Subject: RE: Baptism
To:
Thanks Brother Carlos..
I pretty much enjoyed reading whole your reply as to baptism.
I was able to make it clear what baptism with holy spirit and fire mean.
I think baptism in general means repentance for the past sin and willingness to accept Christian faith and its way of life, but baptism of Jesus by John the baptiser means completely different.
I think by accepting baptism by John the baptiser, Jesus demonstrated all humans ought to repent their sins and prepare for the Kingdom of God.
Jesus respected the role of John as a baptiser with water. But Jesus knew he (Jesus) would later baptise each individuals either with holy spirit or fire in the coming day of the last judgement, which is more important apparently. As a matter of fact Jesus didn't baptise people himself in his missionary.
John was at first reluctant to perform baptism on Jesus. Because John thought Jesus is greater than John. But because of the very same reason, John the baptiser was the right person who baptised people with water.
June is a rainy season in Japan. June in America in 1987 was a perfect month in temperature. June in England in 1991 was a season of little bit chilly and scattered shower.
June in 2010 might be humid. We are going to attend the meeting in spite of rain and humidity.
Sincerely yours,
Eiko
baptism
Baptism
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 5:40 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"
Dear Eiko,
Another working day begins..and its very nice warm weather outside.
Im glad you were able to hear some of the watchtower yesterday...maybe your wife was chotto taikutsu with listening to a different language.
I also hope that you understood my talk.
Anyway,you always ask me very deep but meaningful for questions..of course, i will try to answer them meaningfully and logically in return.
Before i do,i realise since ive been in Japan how obedient Japanese people are...they always obey even when they dont know the reason for direction given. Therefore,i feel that many Japanese people who are christians,they often dont fully understand the meaning of the bible...but they obey anyway.
Its very important to understand why we do things...or why will follow certain laws...for example,children dont know why they shouldnt touch a hot oven door at an early age..but later they learn why because of experience and testing the theory...if the child never experienced or tryed to see why he shouldnt touch the hot oven door,he would grow up without a full understanding of basic rules that protect his body and give him reason in the future to continue following these laws.
Likewise,when we study the Bible,its always a good idea not only to follow the laws and rules...but to understand WHY we follow laws and rules set out within the scriptures...this will help us to more willingly accept any counsel given now and in the future...i personally do....and many non japanese are very logical people....I know that when i was a young child,when my mum said to do something or not to do something,i often listened because i knew she never has let me down in the past..she always gave me wise counsel.
Therefore im glad that you have got a very reasoning mind which is Logical..it helps me to try and explain things easier.
So,now to your question...one of your queries was,if Jesus is the perfect son of God why did he choose to get baptised?, you mentioned in your email that baptism means repentance of past sins...
Well, first of all,The word Baptism as found in the Holy Scriptures and as written in the Greek text means to "Dip" or "Immerse"...this is the basic meaning of the word.
It means that a person must be fully immersed or dipped under water,not just his head or any other part of his body but the WHOLE body.
With regard to John the Baptizer and his purposes while on earth notice this extract from a bible encyclopedia:
John’s Baptism. The first human authorized by God to perform water baptism was John the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. (Lu 1:5-7, 57) The very fact that he was known as “John the Baptist” or “the baptizer” (Mt 3:1; Mr 1:4) implies that baptism or water immersion came to the attention of the people especially through John, and the Scriptures prove that his ministry and baptism came from God; they were not of John’s origin. His works were foretold by the angel Gabriel as from God (Lu 1:13-17), and Zechariah prophesied by holy spirit that John would be a prophet of the Most High to make Jehovah’s ways ready. (Lu 1:68-79) Jesus confirmed that John’s ministry and baptism were from God. (Lu 7:26-28) The disciple Luke records that “God’s declaration came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. So he came . . . preaching baptism.” (Lu 3:2, 3) The apostle John states of him: “There arose a man that was sent forth as a representative of God: his name was John.”—Joh 1:6.
Further understanding of the meaning of John’s baptism is gained by comparing various translations of Luke 3:3. John came “preaching baptism in symbol of repentance for forgiveness of sins” (NW); “baptism conditioned on repentance” (CB); “baptism whereby men repented, to have their sins forgiven” (Kx); “baptism in token of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (NE); “Turn away from your sins and be baptized, and God will forgive your sins” (TEV). These renderings make plain that the baptism did not wash away their sins, but the repentance and changing of their ways did, and of this, baptism was a symbol.
The baptism performed by John was therefore not a special cleansing from God through his servant John, but a public demonstration and symbol of the individual’s repentance over his sins against the Law, which was to lead them to Christ. (Ga 3:24) John thereby prepared a people to “see the saving means of God.” (Lu 3:6) His work served to “get ready for Jehovah a prepared people.” (Lu 1:16, 17) Such a work had been prophesied by Isaiah and Malachi.—Isa 40:3-5; Mal 4:5, 6.
If you look at the scripture at Luke 7:27 as shown below again,it tell us regarding what Jesus said about John the Baptizer:
(Luke 7:27) This is he concerning whom it is written, ‘Look! I am sending forth my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way ahead of you.’
yes
John was merely a man of flesh and blood,born that way and having died that way...Jesus came from Heaven and he had previously been a mighty spirit creaturewho had help make the earth alongside is father ,Jehovah for aeons of time.
Johns work while great ,was not at all the same as Jesus and thus Jesus was the greatest man who ever lived on our earth.
John knew that his works were merely a preparing of the way before God’s Son and Messiah and would give way to the greater ministry of that One. The reason for John’s baptizing was that the Messiah might be made manifest to Israel. (Joh 1:31) According to John 3:26-30, the Messiah’s ministry would increase, but John’s ministry was to decrease. Those who were baptized by Jesus’ disciples during Jesus’ earthly ministry and who therefore also became Jesus’ disciples were baptized in symbol of repentance in the manner of John’s baptism.—Joh 3:25, 26; 4:1, 2.
However,changing angles slightly ,You also asked then,why did Jesus become baptized if he was an impeccable being who was perfect....well please read this Bible encyclopedia exerpt:
Jesus’ Baptism in Water. The baptism of Jesus himself as performed by John must of necessity have had a meaning and purpose quite different from John’s baptism, as Jesus “committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth.” (1Pe 2:22) So he could not submit to an act symbolizing repentance. Undoubtedly it was for this reason that John objected to baptizing Jesus. But Jesus said: “Let it be, this time, for in that way it is suitable for us to carry out all that is righteous.”—Mt 3:13-15.
Luke states that Jesus was praying at the time of his baptism. (Lu 3:21) Further, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews says that when Jesus Christ came “into the world” (that is, not when he was born and could not read and say these words, but when he presented himself for baptism and began his ministry) he was saying, in accord with Psalm 40:6-8 (LXX): “Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but you prepared a body for me. . . . Look! I am come (in the roll of the book it is written about me) to do your will, O God.” (Heb 10:5-9) Jesus was by birth a member of the Jewish nation, which nation was in a national covenant with God, namely, the Law covenant. (Ex 19:5-8; Ga 4:4) Jesus, by reason of this fact, was therefore already in a covenant relationship with Jehovah God when he thus presented himself to John for baptism. Jesus was there doing something more than what was required of him under the Law. He was presenting himself to his Father Jehovah to do his Father’s “will” with reference to the offering of his own “prepared” body and with regard to doing away with animal sacrifices that were offered according to the Law. The apostle Paul comments: “By the said ‘will’ we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.” (Heb 10:10) The Father’s will for Jesus also involved activity in connection with the Kingdom, and for this service too Jesus presented himself. (Lu 4:43; 17:20, 21) Jehovah accepted and acknowledged this presentation of his Son, anointing him with holy spirit and saying: “You are my Son, the beloved; I have approved you.”—Mr 1:9-11; Lu 3:21-23; Mt 3:13-17.
Yes,Jesus himself knew he was a perfect being,yet, because he wanted to do Gods will so much,he symbolized it by Dedication and baptism.
Jesus didnt have to do this..there was no law for him to do this and Jehovah didnt think bad of him if he didnt.
but ,as a parent Hiroshi,how do you feel when your child or wife buys you or makes you something more than you even asked?
How do you feel when your wife asks you what you would like for dinner..then she makes you that food you asked and the makes even more things that she knows you enjoy?
Of course you realise how much she loves you and wants to respect you and be in subjection to you.
Jesus was symbolising his this dedication because he want to express his love for Jehovah in everyway possible.
Jehovahs witnesses do similar today...although its true,baptism generally represents our repentance of our sins,it also represents our unreserved,unconditional dedication or obedience to God,Jehovah....Jesus,although perfect at the point of getting baptized,could still turn bad and show disobedience to his father if he willed,yet, he chose to do Gods will.
Today Jehovahs witnesses,try their very best to live up to thier dedication.......although we make many mistakes,for the reason that Jesus died for all humans,we pick ourselves up and continue.
In your last email,you also asked about "baptism with fire"...again the Bible encyclopedia says this about the terminology:
Baptism With Fire. When many Pharisees and Sadducees came out to John the Baptizer, he called them “offspring of vipers.” He spoke of the coming One and said: “That one will baptize you people with holy spirit and with fire.” (Mt 3:7, 11; Lu 3:16) The baptism with fire is not the same as baptism with holy spirit. The fiery baptism could not be, as some say, the tongues of fire at Pentecost, for the disciples there were not immersed in fire. (Ac 2:3) John told his listeners that there would be a division, there would be a gathering of the wheat, after which the chaff would be burned up with fire that could not be put out. (Mt 3:12) He pointed out that the fire would not be a blessing or a reward but would be because ‘the tree did not produce fine fruit.’—Mt 3:10; Lu 3:9.
Using fire as a symbol of destruction, Jesus foretold the execution of the wicked to take place during his presence, saying: “On the day that Lot came out of Sodom it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all. The same way it will be on that day when the Son of man is to be revealed.” (Lu 17:29, 30; Mt 13:49, 50) Other instances of fire representing, not a saving force, but a destructive one, are found at 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Jude 7; and 2 Peter 3:7, 10.
What results from baptism with fire?
Luke 3:16, 17: “He [Jesus Christ] will baptize you people with . . . fire. His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor completely . . . The chaff he will burn up with fire that cannot be put out.” (Its destruction would be forever.)
Matt. 13:49, 50: “That is how it will be in the conclusion of the system of things: the angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the righteous and will cast them into the fiery furnace.”
Luke 17:29, 30: “On the day that Lot came out of Sodom it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all. The same way it will be on that day when the Son of man is to be revealed.”
Not the same as baptism with holy spirit, which was for disciples
Acts 1:5: “John, indeed, baptized with water, but you [Jesus’ faithful apostles] will be baptized in holy spirit not many days after this.”
Acts 2:2-4: “Suddenly there occurred from heaven a noise just like that of a rushing stiff breeze, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting. And tongues as if of fire became visible to them and were distributed about, and one sat upon [but did not envelop or immerse] each one of them, and they all became filled with holy spirit and started to speak with different tongues, just as the spirit was granting them to make utterance.”
Thus as you correctly guessed,being baptised in water means we want to repent and do Gods will BUT baptism with fire means destruction.
One thing to keep in mind is that,when a person gets baptised in water,it means that he REPENTS of his sins...it doesnt TAKE AWAY his sins..all humans are imperfect whether we are baptised or not....this means that we have to DIE faithfully and be loyal to God all our lives in order to have everlasting life...baptism on its own doesnt mean everlasting life just as being born sinful doesnt mean everlasting death.
Each person must put effort into doing Gods will continuously,just as Jesus did and does.
You also mentioned in your email that Jesus thought that John was a starter of a new religious movement and so Jesus decided to follow him..
This takes us back to that scripture we saw earlier: Jesus said:
(Luke 7:27) This is he concerning whom it is written, ‘Look! I am sending forth my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way ahead of you.’
Yes,this scripture shows us that God raised up John the baptiser as a forerunner of Jesus christ,he prepared the way for Jesus who would be greater than him.
At around this time,the jewish nation was expecting Jesus as King to come and save them all...yet when Jesus came,he was not as people expected him to be like or look like.
Thus John the baptiser,in fullfillment of Bible scriptures uttered centuries earlier came and prepared the way ahead of Jesus...even preached Jesus imminent coming and he baptised those who willing accepted what the Bibles scriptures prophesied.
Those who did accept bible truth were humble people who diligently studied the bible and knew them well and of course obeyed them.
Jesus as Gods son knew he was a very important person..he also knew he was very powerful and he had Gods backing.
John was Born from woman..he was not a spirit being as was jesus previously.
John died and he was not resurrected and he didnt go to heaven.
Jesus did go to heaven and he now stands at the right hand of God as king of Gods kingdom.
thus while John was a faithful man who obey and carrying out his assignment,he was not anywhere near as powerful in rank or power or influence as jesus Christ..otherwise today we would call ourselves "Johnites" as followers of John...but of course we dont.
Christians follower Jesus Christ.
anyway,this is again quite alot of information yet i have to say,its only the fringes of the knowledge that is to be found on this subject..there are many other sources we could look at that help to identify the true roles of both Jesus and John...as always,if you dont understand,please let me know.
By the way, i want to let you know that with regards to "Brother Hiroshi" which i mistakenly wrote to you, you see a brother of Christ is one that gets baptised in the name of Jesus christ...its one who dedicates his whole life to the works that Jesus did when he was on earth.....its someone who preaches and teaches to other the things christ taught..his whole focus in life is being a christian.
Please accept my apologies..i dont mean to sound judgmental,but according to scriptures, we only call a "brother" someone who is now baptized and living in harmony with the Bible and with holy spirit and inline with Gods earthly spirit anointed organisation.
I dont view you as any worse just because i dont call you "brother" though...it just means that now scripturally you are a qualified member of the Christian congregation.
Even once you come into the christian congregation,thier are different roles that we can reach out for as it were.
Even i dont title myself as "brother".
Im a ministerial servant but accoding to the scriptures i have to scripturally qualify to become an "olderman" or an elder as we call them.
anyway,i hope to hear from you soon...
when you next come to the meeting,you WONT need your slippers,bring your own shoes.
hope to speak to you soon
Carlos
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 5:40 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"
Dear Eiko,
Another working day begins..and its very nice warm weather outside.
Im glad you were able to hear some of the watchtower yesterday...maybe your wife was chotto taikutsu with listening to a different language.
I also hope that you understood my talk.
Anyway,you always ask me very deep but meaningful for questions..of course, i will try to answer them meaningfully and logically in return.
Before i do,i realise since ive been in Japan how obedient Japanese people are...they always obey even when they dont know the reason for direction given. Therefore,i feel that many Japanese people who are christians,they often dont fully understand the meaning of the bible...but they obey anyway.
Its very important to understand why we do things...or why will follow certain laws...for example,children dont know why they shouldnt touch a hot oven door at an early age..but later they learn why because of experience and testing the theory...if the child never experienced or tryed to see why he shouldnt touch the hot oven door,he would grow up without a full understanding of basic rules that protect his body and give him reason in the future to continue following these laws.
Likewise,when we study the Bible,its always a good idea not only to follow the laws and rules...but to understand WHY we follow laws and rules set out within the scriptures...this will help us to more willingly accept any counsel given now and in the future...i personally do....and many non japanese are very logical people....I know that when i was a young child,when my mum said to do something or not to do something,i often listened because i knew she never has let me down in the past..she always gave me wise counsel.
Therefore im glad that you have got a very reasoning mind which is Logical..it helps me to try and explain things easier.
So,now to your question...one of your queries was,if Jesus is the perfect son of God why did he choose to get baptised?, you mentioned in your email that baptism means repentance of past sins...
Well, first of all,The word Baptism as found in the Holy Scriptures and as written in the Greek text means to "Dip" or "Immerse"...this is the basic meaning of the word.
It means that a person must be fully immersed or dipped under water,not just his head or any other part of his body but the WHOLE body.
With regard to John the Baptizer and his purposes while on earth notice this extract from a bible encyclopedia:
John’s Baptism. The first human authorized by God to perform water baptism was John the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. (Lu 1:5-7, 57) The very fact that he was known as “John the Baptist” or “the baptizer” (Mt 3:1; Mr 1:4) implies that baptism or water immersion came to the attention of the people especially through John, and the Scriptures prove that his ministry and baptism came from God; they were not of John’s origin. His works were foretold by the angel Gabriel as from God (Lu 1:13-17), and Zechariah prophesied by holy spirit that John would be a prophet of the Most High to make Jehovah’s ways ready. (Lu 1:68-79) Jesus confirmed that John’s ministry and baptism were from God. (Lu 7:26-28) The disciple Luke records that “God’s declaration came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. So he came . . . preaching baptism.” (Lu 3:2, 3) The apostle John states of him: “There arose a man that was sent forth as a representative of God: his name was John.”—Joh 1:6.
Further understanding of the meaning of John’s baptism is gained by comparing various translations of Luke 3:3. John came “preaching baptism in symbol of repentance for forgiveness of sins” (NW); “baptism conditioned on repentance” (CB); “baptism whereby men repented, to have their sins forgiven” (Kx); “baptism in token of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (NE); “Turn away from your sins and be baptized, and God will forgive your sins” (TEV). These renderings make plain that the baptism did not wash away their sins, but the repentance and changing of their ways did, and of this, baptism was a symbol.
The baptism performed by John was therefore not a special cleansing from God through his servant John, but a public demonstration and symbol of the individual’s repentance over his sins against the Law, which was to lead them to Christ. (Ga 3:24) John thereby prepared a people to “see the saving means of God.” (Lu 3:6) His work served to “get ready for Jehovah a prepared people.” (Lu 1:16, 17) Such a work had been prophesied by Isaiah and Malachi.—Isa 40:3-5; Mal 4:5, 6.
If you look at the scripture at Luke 7:27 as shown below again,it tell us regarding what Jesus said about John the Baptizer:
(Luke 7:27) This is he concerning whom it is written, ‘Look! I am sending forth my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way ahead of you.’
yes
John was merely a man of flesh and blood,born that way and having died that way...Jesus came from Heaven and he had previously been a mighty spirit creaturewho had help make the earth alongside is father ,Jehovah for aeons of time.
Johns work while great ,was not at all the same as Jesus and thus Jesus was the greatest man who ever lived on our earth.
John knew that his works were merely a preparing of the way before God’s Son and Messiah and would give way to the greater ministry of that One. The reason for John’s baptizing was that the Messiah might be made manifest to Israel. (Joh 1:31) According to John 3:26-30, the Messiah’s ministry would increase, but John’s ministry was to decrease. Those who were baptized by Jesus’ disciples during Jesus’ earthly ministry and who therefore also became Jesus’ disciples were baptized in symbol of repentance in the manner of John’s baptism.—Joh 3:25, 26; 4:1, 2.
However,changing angles slightly ,You also asked then,why did Jesus become baptized if he was an impeccable being who was perfect....well please read this Bible encyclopedia exerpt:
Jesus’ Baptism in Water. The baptism of Jesus himself as performed by John must of necessity have had a meaning and purpose quite different from John’s baptism, as Jesus “committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth.” (1Pe 2:22) So he could not submit to an act symbolizing repentance. Undoubtedly it was for this reason that John objected to baptizing Jesus. But Jesus said: “Let it be, this time, for in that way it is suitable for us to carry out all that is righteous.”—Mt 3:13-15.
Luke states that Jesus was praying at the time of his baptism. (Lu 3:21) Further, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews says that when Jesus Christ came “into the world” (that is, not when he was born and could not read and say these words, but when he presented himself for baptism and began his ministry) he was saying, in accord with Psalm 40:6-8 (LXX): “Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but you prepared a body for me. . . . Look! I am come (in the roll of the book it is written about me) to do your will, O God.” (Heb 10:5-9) Jesus was by birth a member of the Jewish nation, which nation was in a national covenant with God, namely, the Law covenant. (Ex 19:5-8; Ga 4:4) Jesus, by reason of this fact, was therefore already in a covenant relationship with Jehovah God when he thus presented himself to John for baptism. Jesus was there doing something more than what was required of him under the Law. He was presenting himself to his Father Jehovah to do his Father’s “will” with reference to the offering of his own “prepared” body and with regard to doing away with animal sacrifices that were offered according to the Law. The apostle Paul comments: “By the said ‘will’ we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.” (Heb 10:10) The Father’s will for Jesus also involved activity in connection with the Kingdom, and for this service too Jesus presented himself. (Lu 4:43; 17:20, 21) Jehovah accepted and acknowledged this presentation of his Son, anointing him with holy spirit and saying: “You are my Son, the beloved; I have approved you.”—Mr 1:9-11; Lu 3:21-23; Mt 3:13-17.
Yes,Jesus himself knew he was a perfect being,yet, because he wanted to do Gods will so much,he symbolized it by Dedication and baptism.
Jesus didnt have to do this..there was no law for him to do this and Jehovah didnt think bad of him if he didnt.
but ,as a parent Hiroshi,how do you feel when your child or wife buys you or makes you something more than you even asked?
How do you feel when your wife asks you what you would like for dinner..then she makes you that food you asked and the makes even more things that she knows you enjoy?
Of course you realise how much she loves you and wants to respect you and be in subjection to you.
Jesus was symbolising his this dedication because he want to express his love for Jehovah in everyway possible.
Jehovahs witnesses do similar today...although its true,baptism generally represents our repentance of our sins,it also represents our unreserved,unconditional dedication or obedience to God,Jehovah....Jesus,although perfect at the point of getting baptized,could still turn bad and show disobedience to his father if he willed,yet, he chose to do Gods will.
Today Jehovahs witnesses,try their very best to live up to thier dedication.......although we make many mistakes,for the reason that Jesus died for all humans,we pick ourselves up and continue.
In your last email,you also asked about "baptism with fire"...again the Bible encyclopedia says this about the terminology:
Baptism With Fire. When many Pharisees and Sadducees came out to John the Baptizer, he called them “offspring of vipers.” He spoke of the coming One and said: “That one will baptize you people with holy spirit and with fire.” (Mt 3:7, 11; Lu 3:16) The baptism with fire is not the same as baptism with holy spirit. The fiery baptism could not be, as some say, the tongues of fire at Pentecost, for the disciples there were not immersed in fire. (Ac 2:3) John told his listeners that there would be a division, there would be a gathering of the wheat, after which the chaff would be burned up with fire that could not be put out. (Mt 3:12) He pointed out that the fire would not be a blessing or a reward but would be because ‘the tree did not produce fine fruit.’—Mt 3:10; Lu 3:9.
Using fire as a symbol of destruction, Jesus foretold the execution of the wicked to take place during his presence, saying: “On the day that Lot came out of Sodom it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all. The same way it will be on that day when the Son of man is to be revealed.” (Lu 17:29, 30; Mt 13:49, 50) Other instances of fire representing, not a saving force, but a destructive one, are found at 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Jude 7; and 2 Peter 3:7, 10.
What results from baptism with fire?
Luke 3:16, 17: “He [Jesus Christ] will baptize you people with . . . fire. His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor completely . . . The chaff he will burn up with fire that cannot be put out.” (Its destruction would be forever.)
Matt. 13:49, 50: “That is how it will be in the conclusion of the system of things: the angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the righteous and will cast them into the fiery furnace.”
Luke 17:29, 30: “On the day that Lot came out of Sodom it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all. The same way it will be on that day when the Son of man is to be revealed.”
Not the same as baptism with holy spirit, which was for disciples
Acts 1:5: “John, indeed, baptized with water, but you [Jesus’ faithful apostles] will be baptized in holy spirit not many days after this.”
Acts 2:2-4: “Suddenly there occurred from heaven a noise just like that of a rushing stiff breeze, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting. And tongues as if of fire became visible to them and were distributed about, and one sat upon [but did not envelop or immerse] each one of them, and they all became filled with holy spirit and started to speak with different tongues, just as the spirit was granting them to make utterance.”
Thus as you correctly guessed,being baptised in water means we want to repent and do Gods will BUT baptism with fire means destruction.
One thing to keep in mind is that,when a person gets baptised in water,it means that he REPENTS of his sins...it doesnt TAKE AWAY his sins..all humans are imperfect whether we are baptised or not....this means that we have to DIE faithfully and be loyal to God all our lives in order to have everlasting life...baptism on its own doesnt mean everlasting life just as being born sinful doesnt mean everlasting death.
Each person must put effort into doing Gods will continuously,just as Jesus did and does.
You also mentioned in your email that Jesus thought that John was a starter of a new religious movement and so Jesus decided to follow him..
This takes us back to that scripture we saw earlier: Jesus said:
(Luke 7:27) This is he concerning whom it is written, ‘Look! I am sending forth my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way ahead of you.’
Yes,this scripture shows us that God raised up John the baptiser as a forerunner of Jesus christ,he prepared the way for Jesus who would be greater than him.
At around this time,the jewish nation was expecting Jesus as King to come and save them all...yet when Jesus came,he was not as people expected him to be like or look like.
Thus John the baptiser,in fullfillment of Bible scriptures uttered centuries earlier came and prepared the way ahead of Jesus...even preached Jesus imminent coming and he baptised those who willing accepted what the Bibles scriptures prophesied.
Those who did accept bible truth were humble people who diligently studied the bible and knew them well and of course obeyed them.
Jesus as Gods son knew he was a very important person..he also knew he was very powerful and he had Gods backing.
John was Born from woman..he was not a spirit being as was jesus previously.
John died and he was not resurrected and he didnt go to heaven.
Jesus did go to heaven and he now stands at the right hand of God as king of Gods kingdom.
thus while John was a faithful man who obey and carrying out his assignment,he was not anywhere near as powerful in rank or power or influence as jesus Christ..otherwise today we would call ourselves "Johnites" as followers of John...but of course we dont.
Christians follower Jesus Christ.
anyway,this is again quite alot of information yet i have to say,its only the fringes of the knowledge that is to be found on this subject..there are many other sources we could look at that help to identify the true roles of both Jesus and John...as always,if you dont understand,please let me know.
By the way, i want to let you know that with regards to "Brother Hiroshi" which i mistakenly wrote to you, you see a brother of Christ is one that gets baptised in the name of Jesus christ...its one who dedicates his whole life to the works that Jesus did when he was on earth.....its someone who preaches and teaches to other the things christ taught..his whole focus in life is being a christian.
Please accept my apologies..i dont mean to sound judgmental,but according to scriptures, we only call a "brother" someone who is now baptized and living in harmony with the Bible and with holy spirit and inline with Gods earthly spirit anointed organisation.
I dont view you as any worse just because i dont call you "brother" though...it just means that now scripturally you are a qualified member of the Christian congregation.
Even once you come into the christian congregation,thier are different roles that we can reach out for as it were.
Even i dont title myself as "brother".
Im a ministerial servant but accoding to the scriptures i have to scripturally qualify to become an "olderman" or an elder as we call them.
anyway,i hope to hear from you soon...
when you next come to the meeting,you WONT need your slippers,bring your own shoes.
hope to speak to you soon
Carlos
baptism by fire
Baptism
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 5:40 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"
Dear Eiko,
Another working day begins..and its very nice warm weather outside.
Im glad you were able to hear some of the watchtower yesterday...maybe your wife was chotto taikutsu with listening to a different language.
I also hope that you understood my talk.
Anyway,you always ask me very deep but meaningful for questions..of course, i will try to answer them meaningfully and logically in return.
Before i do,i realise since ive been in Japan how obedient Japanese people are...they always obey even when they dont know the reason for direction given. Therefore,i feel that many Japanese people who are christians,they often dont fully understand the meaning of the bible...but they obey anyway.
Its very important to understand why we do things...or why will follow certain laws...for example,children dont know why they shouldnt touch a hot oven door at an early age..but later they learn why because of experience and testing the theory...if the child never experienced or tryed to see why he shouldnt touch the hot oven door,he would grow up without a full understanding of basic rules that protect his body and give him reason in the future to continue following these laws.
Likewise,when we study the Bible,its always a good idea not only to follow the laws and rules...but to understand WHY we follow laws and rules set out within the scriptures...this will help us to more willingly accept any counsel given now and in the future...i personally do....and many non japanese are very logical people....I know that when i was a young child,when my mum said to do something or not to do something,i often listened because i knew she never has let me down in the past..she always gave me wise counsel.
Therefore im glad that you have got a very reasoning mind which is Logical..it helps me to try and explain things easier.
So,now to your question...one of your queries was,if Jesus is the perfect son of God why did he choose to get baptised?, you mentioned in your email that baptism means repentance of past sins...
Well, first of all,The word Baptism as found in the Holy Scriptures and as written in the Greek text means to "Dip" or "Immerse"...this is the basic meaning of the word.
It means that a person must be fully immersed or dipped under water,not just his head or any other part of his body but the WHOLE body.
With regard to John the Baptizer and his purposes while on earth notice this extract from a bible encyclopedia:
John’s Baptism. The first human authorized by God to perform water baptism was John the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. (Lu 1:5-7, 57) The very fact that he was known as “John the Baptist” or “the baptizer” (Mt 3:1; Mr 1:4) implies that baptism or water immersion came to the attention of the people especially through John, and the Scriptures prove that his ministry and baptism came from God; they were not of John’s origin. His works were foretold by the angel Gabriel as from God (Lu 1:13-17), and Zechariah prophesied by holy spirit that John would be a prophet of the Most High to make Jehovah’s ways ready. (Lu 1:68-79) Jesus confirmed that John’s ministry and baptism were from God. (Lu 7:26-28) The disciple Luke records that “God’s declaration came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. So he came . . . preaching baptism.” (Lu 3:2, 3) The apostle John states of him: “There arose a man that was sent forth as a representative of God: his name was John.”—Joh 1:6.
Further understanding of the meaning of John’s baptism is gained by comparing various translations of Luke 3:3. John came “preaching baptism in symbol of repentance for forgiveness of sins” (NW); “baptism conditioned on repentance” (CB); “baptism whereby men repented, to have their sins forgiven” (Kx); “baptism in token of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (NE); “Turn away from your sins and be baptized, and God will forgive your sins” (TEV). These renderings make plain that the baptism did not wash away their sins, but the repentance and changing of their ways did, and of this, baptism was a symbol.
The baptism performed by John was therefore not a special cleansing from God through his servant John, but a public demonstration and symbol of the individual’s repentance over his sins against the Law, which was to lead them to Christ. (Ga 3:24) John thereby prepared a people to “see the saving means of God.” (Lu 3:6) His work served to “get ready for Jehovah a prepared people.” (Lu 1:16, 17) Such a work had been prophesied by Isaiah and Malachi.—Isa 40:3-5; Mal 4:5, 6.
If you look at the scripture at Luke 7:27 as shown below again,it tell us regarding what Jesus said about John the Baptizer:
(Luke 7:27) This is he concerning whom it is written, ‘Look! I am sending forth my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way ahead of you.’
yes
John was merely a man of flesh and blood,born that way and having died that way...Jesus came from Heaven and he had previously been a mighty spirit creaturewho had help make the earth alongside is father ,Jehovah for aeons of time.
Johns work while great ,was not at all the same as Jesus and thus Jesus was the greatest man who ever lived on our earth.
John knew that his works were merely a preparing of the way before God’s Son and Messiah and would give way to the greater ministry of that One. The reason for John’s baptizing was that the Messiah might be made manifest to Israel. (Joh 1:31) According to John 3:26-30, the Messiah’s ministry would increase, but John’s ministry was to decrease. Those who were baptized by Jesus’ disciples during Jesus’ earthly ministry and who therefore also became Jesus’ disciples were baptized in symbol of repentance in the manner of John’s baptism.—Joh 3:25, 26; 4:1, 2.
However,changing angles slightly ,You also asked then,why did Jesus become baptized if he was an impeccable being who was perfect....well please read this Bible encyclopedia exerpt:
Jesus’ Baptism in Water. The baptism of Jesus himself as performed by John must of necessity have had a meaning and purpose quite different from John’s baptism, as Jesus “committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth.” (1Pe 2:22) So he could not submit to an act symbolizing repentance. Undoubtedly it was for this reason that John objected to baptizing Jesus. But Jesus said: “Let it be, this time, for in that way it is suitable for us to carry out all that is righteous.”—Mt 3:13-15.
Luke states that Jesus was praying at the time of his baptism. (Lu 3:21) Further, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews says that when Jesus Christ came “into the world” (that is, not when he was born and could not read and say these words, but when he presented himself for baptism and began his ministry) he was saying, in accord with Psalm 40:6-8 (LXX): “Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but you prepared a body for me. . . . Look! I am come (in the roll of the book it is written about me) to do your will, O God.” (Heb 10:5-9) Jesus was by birth a member of the Jewish nation, which nation was in a national covenant with God, namely, the Law covenant. (Ex 19:5-8; Ga 4:4) Jesus, by reason of this fact, was therefore already in a covenant relationship with Jehovah God when he thus presented himself to John for baptism. Jesus was there doing something more than what was required of him under the Law. He was presenting himself to his Father Jehovah to do his Father’s “will” with reference to the offering of his own “prepared” body and with regard to doing away with animal sacrifices that were offered according to the Law. The apostle Paul comments: “By the said ‘will’ we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.” (Heb 10:10) The Father’s will for Jesus also involved activity in connection with the Kingdom, and for this service too Jesus presented himself. (Lu 4:43; 17:20, 21) Jehovah accepted and acknowledged this presentation of his Son, anointing him with holy spirit and saying: “You are my Son, the beloved; I have approved you.”—Mr 1:9-11; Lu 3:21-23; Mt 3:13-17.
Yes,Jesus himself knew he was a perfect being,yet, because he wanted to do Gods will so much,he symbolized it by Dedication and baptism.
Jesus didnt have to do this..there was no law for him to do this and Jehovah didnt think bad of him if he didnt.
but ,as a parent Hiroshi,how do you feel when your child or wife buys you or makes you something more than you even asked?
How do you feel when your wife asks you what you would like for dinner..then she makes you that food you asked and the makes even more things that she knows you enjoy?
Of course you realise how much she loves you and wants to respect you and be in subjection to you.
Jesus was symbolising his this dedication because he want to express his love for Jehovah in everyway possible.
Jehovahs witnesses do similar today...although its true,baptism generally represents our repentance of our sins,it also represents our unreserved,unconditional dedication or obedience to God,Jehovah....Jesus,although perfect at the point of getting baptized,could still turn bad and show disobedience to his father if he willed,yet, he chose to do Gods will.
Today Jehovahs witnesses,try their very best to live up to thier dedication.......although we make many mistakes,for the reason that Jesus died for all humans,we pick ourselves up and continue.
In your last email,you also asked about "baptism with fire"...again the Bible encyclopedia says this about the terminology:
Baptism With Fire. When many Pharisees and Sadducees came out to John the Baptizer, he called them “offspring of vipers.” He spoke of the coming One and said: “That one will baptize you people with holy spirit and with fire.” (Mt 3:7, 11; Lu 3:16) The baptism with fire is not the same as baptism with holy spirit. The fiery baptism could not be, as some say, the tongues of fire at Pentecost, for the disciples there were not immersed in fire. (Ac 2:3) John told his listeners that there would be a division, there would be a gathering of the wheat, after which the chaff would be burned up with fire that could not be put out. (Mt 3:12) He pointed out that the fire would not be a blessing or a reward but would be because ‘the tree did not produce fine fruit.’—Mt 3:10; Lu 3:9.
Using fire as a symbol of destruction, Jesus foretold the execution of the wicked to take place during his presence, saying: “On the day that Lot came out of Sodom it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all. The same way it will be on that day when the Son of man is to be revealed.” (Lu 17:29, 30; Mt 13:49, 50) Other instances of fire representing, not a saving force, but a destructive one, are found at 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Jude 7; and 2 Peter 3:7, 10.
What results from baptism with fire?
Luke 3:16, 17: “He [Jesus Christ] will baptize you people with . . . fire. His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor completely . . . The chaff he will burn up with fire that cannot be put out.” (Its destruction would be forever.)
Matt. 13:49, 50: “That is how it will be in the conclusion of the system of things: the angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the righteous and will cast them into the fiery furnace.”
Luke 17:29, 30: “On the day that Lot came out of Sodom it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all. The same way it will be on that day when the Son of man is to be revealed.”
Not the same as baptism with holy spirit, which was for disciples
Acts 1:5: “John, indeed, baptized with water, but you [Jesus’ faithful apostles] will be baptized in holy spirit not many days after this.”
Acts 2:2-4: “Suddenly there occurred from heaven a noise just like that of a rushing stiff breeze, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting. And tongues as if of fire became visible to them and were distributed about, and one sat upon [but did not envelop or immerse] each one of them, and they all became filled with holy spirit and started to speak with different tongues, just as the spirit was granting them to make utterance.”
Thus as you correctly guessed,being baptised in water means we want to repent and do Gods will BUT baptism with fire means destruction.
One thing to keep in mind is that,when a person gets baptised in water,it means that he REPENTS of his sins...it doesnt TAKE AWAY his sins..all humans are imperfect whether we are baptised or not....this means that we have to DIE faithfully and be loyal to God all our lives in order to have everlasting life...baptism on its own doesnt mean everlasting life just as being born sinful doesnt mean everlasting death.
Each person must put effort into doing Gods will continuously,just as Jesus did and does.
You also mentioned in your email that Jesus thought that John was a starter of a new religious movement and so Jesus decided to follow him..
This takes us back to that scripture we saw earlier: Jesus said:
(Luke 7:27) This is he concerning whom it is written, ‘Look! I am sending forth my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way ahead of you.’
Yes,this scripture shows us that God raised up John the baptiser as a forerunner of Jesus christ,he prepared the way for Jesus who would be greater than him.
At around this time,the jewish nation was expecting Jesus as King to come and save them all...yet when Jesus came,he was not as people expected him to be like or look like.
Thus John the baptiser,in fullfillment of Bible scriptures uttered centuries earlier came and prepared the way ahead of Jesus...even preached Jesus imminent coming and he baptised those who willing accepted what the Bibles scriptures prophesied.
Those who did accept bible truth were humble people who diligently studied the bible and knew them well and of course obeyed them.
Jesus as Gods son knew he was a very important person..he also knew he was very powerful and he had Gods backing.
John was Born from woman..he was not a spirit being as was jesus previously.
John died and he was not resurrected and he didnt go to heaven.
Jesus did go to heaven and he now stands at the right hand of God as king of Gods kingdom.
thus while John was a faithful man who obey and carrying out his assignment,he was not anywhere near as powerful in rank or power or influence as jesus Christ..otherwise today we would call ourselves "Johnites" as followers of John...but of course we dont.
Christians follower Jesus Christ.
anyway,this is again quite alot of information yet i have to say,its only the fringes of the knowledge that is to be found on this subject..there are many other sources we could look at that help to identify the true roles of both Jesus and John...as always,if you dont understand,please let me know.
By the way, i want to let you know that with regards to "Brother Hiroshi" which i mistakenly wrote to you, you see a brother of Christ is one that gets baptised in the name of Jesus christ...its one who dedicates his whole life to the works that Jesus did when he was on earth.....its someone who preaches and teaches to other the things christ taught..his whole focus in life is being a christian.
Please accept my apologies..i dont mean to sound judgmental,but according to scriptures, we only call a "brother" someone who is now baptized and living in harmony with the Bible and with holy spirit and inline with Gods earthly spirit anointed organisation.
I dont view you as any worse just because i dont call you "brother" though...it just means that now scripturally you are a qualified member of the Christian congregation.
Even once you come into the christian congregation,thier are different roles that we can reach out for as it were.
Even i dont title myself as "brother".
Im a ministerial servant but accoding to the scriptures i have to scripturally qualify to become an "olderman" or an elder as we call them.
anyway,i hope to hear from you soon...
when you next come to the meeting,you WONT need your slippers,bring your own shoes.
hope to speak to you soon
Carlos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 09:53:47 -0700
From:
Subject: Baptism
To:
Good evening Carlos..
Thank you for letting me know the address.
We needed to shorten our stay in the hall since she still works in Kokura and needed to get back.
In a Watch tower study I got curious about the kinds of baptism and the practice of baptism itself.
In your comment you said Jesus didn't need to baptise but he did it.
Jesus's baptism is controversial. Some insist he ought not to do it if he is greater than Baptiser John and if he was born to be impeccable. Baptism generally means repentance from the past sin.
How do you explain Jesus's baptism?
In the kinds of baptism, 'baptism by fire' was not mentioned. How do you explain this 'baptism by fire' ?
In Matthew 3:11 reads Christ baptises you with Holy Spirit and with fire
My understanding is Baptiser John baptise us with water for repentance and we will become a Christian.
Those who baptised with Holy Spirit by Christ will have everlasting life.
But those who baptised with fire by Christ will be simply terminated.
Jesus accepted baptism because he just thought Baptiser John was a forerunner of kind of new religious movement and Jesus had decided to follow him.
John the Baptiser was beheaded unreasonably and John's unexpected death made Jesus realise Jesus himself might have been the stronger one who were foretold by John.
Eiko
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 5:40 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"
Dear Eiko,
Another working day begins..and its very nice warm weather outside.
Im glad you were able to hear some of the watchtower yesterday...maybe your wife was chotto taikutsu with listening to a different language.
I also hope that you understood my talk.
Anyway,you always ask me very deep but meaningful for questions..of course, i will try to answer them meaningfully and logically in return.
Before i do,i realise since ive been in Japan how obedient Japanese people are...they always obey even when they dont know the reason for direction given. Therefore,i feel that many Japanese people who are christians,they often dont fully understand the meaning of the bible...but they obey anyway.
Its very important to understand why we do things...or why will follow certain laws...for example,children dont know why they shouldnt touch a hot oven door at an early age..but later they learn why because of experience and testing the theory...if the child never experienced or tryed to see why he shouldnt touch the hot oven door,he would grow up without a full understanding of basic rules that protect his body and give him reason in the future to continue following these laws.
Likewise,when we study the Bible,its always a good idea not only to follow the laws and rules...but to understand WHY we follow laws and rules set out within the scriptures...this will help us to more willingly accept any counsel given now and in the future...i personally do....and many non japanese are very logical people....I know that when i was a young child,when my mum said to do something or not to do something,i often listened because i knew she never has let me down in the past..she always gave me wise counsel.
Therefore im glad that you have got a very reasoning mind which is Logical..it helps me to try and explain things easier.
So,now to your question...one of your queries was,if Jesus is the perfect son of God why did he choose to get baptised?, you mentioned in your email that baptism means repentance of past sins...
Well, first of all,The word Baptism as found in the Holy Scriptures and as written in the Greek text means to "Dip" or "Immerse"...this is the basic meaning of the word.
It means that a person must be fully immersed or dipped under water,not just his head or any other part of his body but the WHOLE body.
With regard to John the Baptizer and his purposes while on earth notice this extract from a bible encyclopedia:
John’s Baptism. The first human authorized by God to perform water baptism was John the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. (Lu 1:5-7, 57) The very fact that he was known as “John the Baptist” or “the baptizer” (Mt 3:1; Mr 1:4) implies that baptism or water immersion came to the attention of the people especially through John, and the Scriptures prove that his ministry and baptism came from God; they were not of John’s origin. His works were foretold by the angel Gabriel as from God (Lu 1:13-17), and Zechariah prophesied by holy spirit that John would be a prophet of the Most High to make Jehovah’s ways ready. (Lu 1:68-79) Jesus confirmed that John’s ministry and baptism were from God. (Lu 7:26-28) The disciple Luke records that “God’s declaration came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. So he came . . . preaching baptism.” (Lu 3:2, 3) The apostle John states of him: “There arose a man that was sent forth as a representative of God: his name was John.”—Joh 1:6.
Further understanding of the meaning of John’s baptism is gained by comparing various translations of Luke 3:3. John came “preaching baptism in symbol of repentance for forgiveness of sins” (NW); “baptism conditioned on repentance” (CB); “baptism whereby men repented, to have their sins forgiven” (Kx); “baptism in token of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (NE); “Turn away from your sins and be baptized, and God will forgive your sins” (TEV). These renderings make plain that the baptism did not wash away their sins, but the repentance and changing of their ways did, and of this, baptism was a symbol.
The baptism performed by John was therefore not a special cleansing from God through his servant John, but a public demonstration and symbol of the individual’s repentance over his sins against the Law, which was to lead them to Christ. (Ga 3:24) John thereby prepared a people to “see the saving means of God.” (Lu 3:6) His work served to “get ready for Jehovah a prepared people.” (Lu 1:16, 17) Such a work had been prophesied by Isaiah and Malachi.—Isa 40:3-5; Mal 4:5, 6.
If you look at the scripture at Luke 7:27 as shown below again,it tell us regarding what Jesus said about John the Baptizer:
(Luke 7:27) This is he concerning whom it is written, ‘Look! I am sending forth my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way ahead of you.’
yes
John was merely a man of flesh and blood,born that way and having died that way...Jesus came from Heaven and he had previously been a mighty spirit creaturewho had help make the earth alongside is father ,Jehovah for aeons of time.
Johns work while great ,was not at all the same as Jesus and thus Jesus was the greatest man who ever lived on our earth.
John knew that his works were merely a preparing of the way before God’s Son and Messiah and would give way to the greater ministry of that One. The reason for John’s baptizing was that the Messiah might be made manifest to Israel. (Joh 1:31) According to John 3:26-30, the Messiah’s ministry would increase, but John’s ministry was to decrease. Those who were baptized by Jesus’ disciples during Jesus’ earthly ministry and who therefore also became Jesus’ disciples were baptized in symbol of repentance in the manner of John’s baptism.—Joh 3:25, 26; 4:1, 2.
However,changing angles slightly ,You also asked then,why did Jesus become baptized if he was an impeccable being who was perfect....well please read this Bible encyclopedia exerpt:
Jesus’ Baptism in Water. The baptism of Jesus himself as performed by John must of necessity have had a meaning and purpose quite different from John’s baptism, as Jesus “committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth.” (1Pe 2:22) So he could not submit to an act symbolizing repentance. Undoubtedly it was for this reason that John objected to baptizing Jesus. But Jesus said: “Let it be, this time, for in that way it is suitable for us to carry out all that is righteous.”—Mt 3:13-15.
Luke states that Jesus was praying at the time of his baptism. (Lu 3:21) Further, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews says that when Jesus Christ came “into the world” (that is, not when he was born and could not read and say these words, but when he presented himself for baptism and began his ministry) he was saying, in accord with Psalm 40:6-8 (LXX): “Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but you prepared a body for me. . . . Look! I am come (in the roll of the book it is written about me) to do your will, O God.” (Heb 10:5-9) Jesus was by birth a member of the Jewish nation, which nation was in a national covenant with God, namely, the Law covenant. (Ex 19:5-8; Ga 4:4) Jesus, by reason of this fact, was therefore already in a covenant relationship with Jehovah God when he thus presented himself to John for baptism. Jesus was there doing something more than what was required of him under the Law. He was presenting himself to his Father Jehovah to do his Father’s “will” with reference to the offering of his own “prepared” body and with regard to doing away with animal sacrifices that were offered according to the Law. The apostle Paul comments: “By the said ‘will’ we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.” (Heb 10:10) The Father’s will for Jesus also involved activity in connection with the Kingdom, and for this service too Jesus presented himself. (Lu 4:43; 17:20, 21) Jehovah accepted and acknowledged this presentation of his Son, anointing him with holy spirit and saying: “You are my Son, the beloved; I have approved you.”—Mr 1:9-11; Lu 3:21-23; Mt 3:13-17.
Yes,Jesus himself knew he was a perfect being,yet, because he wanted to do Gods will so much,he symbolized it by Dedication and baptism.
Jesus didnt have to do this..there was no law for him to do this and Jehovah didnt think bad of him if he didnt.
but ,as a parent Hiroshi,how do you feel when your child or wife buys you or makes you something more than you even asked?
How do you feel when your wife asks you what you would like for dinner..then she makes you that food you asked and the makes even more things that she knows you enjoy?
Of course you realise how much she loves you and wants to respect you and be in subjection to you.
Jesus was symbolising his this dedication because he want to express his love for Jehovah in everyway possible.
Jehovahs witnesses do similar today...although its true,baptism generally represents our repentance of our sins,it also represents our unreserved,unconditional dedication or obedience to God,Jehovah....Jesus,although perfect at the point of getting baptized,could still turn bad and show disobedience to his father if he willed,yet, he chose to do Gods will.
Today Jehovahs witnesses,try their very best to live up to thier dedication.......although we make many mistakes,for the reason that Jesus died for all humans,we pick ourselves up and continue.
In your last email,you also asked about "baptism with fire"...again the Bible encyclopedia says this about the terminology:
Baptism With Fire. When many Pharisees and Sadducees came out to John the Baptizer, he called them “offspring of vipers.” He spoke of the coming One and said: “That one will baptize you people with holy spirit and with fire.” (Mt 3:7, 11; Lu 3:16) The baptism with fire is not the same as baptism with holy spirit. The fiery baptism could not be, as some say, the tongues of fire at Pentecost, for the disciples there were not immersed in fire. (Ac 2:3) John told his listeners that there would be a division, there would be a gathering of the wheat, after which the chaff would be burned up with fire that could not be put out. (Mt 3:12) He pointed out that the fire would not be a blessing or a reward but would be because ‘the tree did not produce fine fruit.’—Mt 3:10; Lu 3:9.
Using fire as a symbol of destruction, Jesus foretold the execution of the wicked to take place during his presence, saying: “On the day that Lot came out of Sodom it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all. The same way it will be on that day when the Son of man is to be revealed.” (Lu 17:29, 30; Mt 13:49, 50) Other instances of fire representing, not a saving force, but a destructive one, are found at 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Jude 7; and 2 Peter 3:7, 10.
What results from baptism with fire?
Luke 3:16, 17: “He [Jesus Christ] will baptize you people with . . . fire. His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor completely . . . The chaff he will burn up with fire that cannot be put out.” (Its destruction would be forever.)
Matt. 13:49, 50: “That is how it will be in the conclusion of the system of things: the angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the righteous and will cast them into the fiery furnace.”
Luke 17:29, 30: “On the day that Lot came out of Sodom it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all. The same way it will be on that day when the Son of man is to be revealed.”
Not the same as baptism with holy spirit, which was for disciples
Acts 1:5: “John, indeed, baptized with water, but you [Jesus’ faithful apostles] will be baptized in holy spirit not many days after this.”
Acts 2:2-4: “Suddenly there occurred from heaven a noise just like that of a rushing stiff breeze, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting. And tongues as if of fire became visible to them and were distributed about, and one sat upon [but did not envelop or immerse] each one of them, and they all became filled with holy spirit and started to speak with different tongues, just as the spirit was granting them to make utterance.”
Thus as you correctly guessed,being baptised in water means we want to repent and do Gods will BUT baptism with fire means destruction.
One thing to keep in mind is that,when a person gets baptised in water,it means that he REPENTS of his sins...it doesnt TAKE AWAY his sins..all humans are imperfect whether we are baptised or not....this means that we have to DIE faithfully and be loyal to God all our lives in order to have everlasting life...baptism on its own doesnt mean everlasting life just as being born sinful doesnt mean everlasting death.
Each person must put effort into doing Gods will continuously,just as Jesus did and does.
You also mentioned in your email that Jesus thought that John was a starter of a new religious movement and so Jesus decided to follow him..
This takes us back to that scripture we saw earlier: Jesus said:
(Luke 7:27) This is he concerning whom it is written, ‘Look! I am sending forth my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way ahead of you.’
Yes,this scripture shows us that God raised up John the baptiser as a forerunner of Jesus christ,he prepared the way for Jesus who would be greater than him.
At around this time,the jewish nation was expecting Jesus as King to come and save them all...yet when Jesus came,he was not as people expected him to be like or look like.
Thus John the baptiser,in fullfillment of Bible scriptures uttered centuries earlier came and prepared the way ahead of Jesus...even preached Jesus imminent coming and he baptised those who willing accepted what the Bibles scriptures prophesied.
Those who did accept bible truth were humble people who diligently studied the bible and knew them well and of course obeyed them.
Jesus as Gods son knew he was a very important person..he also knew he was very powerful and he had Gods backing.
John was Born from woman..he was not a spirit being as was jesus previously.
John died and he was not resurrected and he didnt go to heaven.
Jesus did go to heaven and he now stands at the right hand of God as king of Gods kingdom.
thus while John was a faithful man who obey and carrying out his assignment,he was not anywhere near as powerful in rank or power or influence as jesus Christ..otherwise today we would call ourselves "Johnites" as followers of John...but of course we dont.
Christians follower Jesus Christ.
anyway,this is again quite alot of information yet i have to say,its only the fringes of the knowledge that is to be found on this subject..there are many other sources we could look at that help to identify the true roles of both Jesus and John...as always,if you dont understand,please let me know.
By the way, i want to let you know that with regards to "Brother Hiroshi" which i mistakenly wrote to you, you see a brother of Christ is one that gets baptised in the name of Jesus christ...its one who dedicates his whole life to the works that Jesus did when he was on earth.....its someone who preaches and teaches to other the things christ taught..his whole focus in life is being a christian.
Please accept my apologies..i dont mean to sound judgmental,but according to scriptures, we only call a "brother" someone who is now baptized and living in harmony with the Bible and with holy spirit and inline with Gods earthly spirit anointed organisation.
I dont view you as any worse just because i dont call you "brother" though...it just means that now scripturally you are a qualified member of the Christian congregation.
Even once you come into the christian congregation,thier are different roles that we can reach out for as it were.
Even i dont title myself as "brother".
Im a ministerial servant but accoding to the scriptures i have to scripturally qualify to become an "olderman" or an elder as we call them.
anyway,i hope to hear from you soon...
when you next come to the meeting,you WONT need your slippers,bring your own shoes.
hope to speak to you soon
Carlos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 09:53:47 -0700
From:
Subject: Baptism
To:
Good evening Carlos..
Thank you for letting me know the address.
We needed to shorten our stay in the hall since she still works in Kokura and needed to get back.
In a Watch tower study I got curious about the kinds of baptism and the practice of baptism itself.
In your comment you said Jesus didn't need to baptise but he did it.
Jesus's baptism is controversial. Some insist he ought not to do it if he is greater than Baptiser John and if he was born to be impeccable. Baptism generally means repentance from the past sin.
How do you explain Jesus's baptism?
In the kinds of baptism, 'baptism by fire' was not mentioned. How do you explain this 'baptism by fire' ?
In Matthew 3:11 reads Christ baptises you with Holy Spirit and with fire
My understanding is Baptiser John baptise us with water for repentance and we will become a Christian.
Those who baptised with Holy Spirit by Christ will have everlasting life.
But those who baptised with fire by Christ will be simply terminated.
Jesus accepted baptism because he just thought Baptiser John was a forerunner of kind of new religious movement and Jesus had decided to follow him.
John the Baptiser was beheaded unreasonably and John's unexpected death made Jesus realise Jesus himself might have been the stronger one who were foretold by John.
Eiko
time is indefinite ..we all live in the day of end
The end of the system of things
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:38 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"
Dear Eiko,
I just wanted to reply to an email you sent maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago but only now i have had a chance to look at properly.
Its in relation to "the end of the system of things","1914", "world war 1" ,"armageddon"...etc......
In the email ,as shown below in your original email to me,you said that armageddon is a spiritual war....the Bible,gods word..agrees with you that it is a spiritual warfare..notice the exerpt below and what it says in Revelation 16:14...It says there that it is a war of God...Jehovah God is a spirit so obviously it will be a spiritual warfare....please read the rest below:
Armageddon According to the Bible
Although many past wars fought near Megiddo proved decisive, none eliminated wickedness. None really pitted the forces of good against the forces of evil, in the absolute sense. Logically, that type of conflict must originate with God. As Jesus once said, “nobody is good, except one, God.” (Luke 18:19) Furthermore, the Bible specifically refers to Armageddon as God’s war.
In the Bible, the book of Revelation says that “the kings of the entire inhabited earth” will be gathered together “to the war of the great day of God the Almighty.” (Revelation 16:14) The prophetic account then adds: “And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Har–Magedon,” or Armageddon. (Revelation 16:16) Later on, Revelation explains that “the kings of the earth and their armies” will be “gathered together to wage the war with the one seated on the horse and with his army.” (Revelation 19:19) This horseman is identified as none other than Jesus Christ.—1 Timothy 6:14, 15; Revelation 19:11, 12, 16.
What are we to conclude from these verses? That Armageddon is a war between God and the forces of disobedient mankind. Why would Jehovah and his Son, Jesus Christ, fight such a war? For one thing, Armageddon will “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” (Revelation 11:18) In addition, it will usher in a peaceful world, “a new earth that we are awaiting according to his [God’s] promise,” where “righteousness is to dwell.”—2 Peter 3:13.
However,if you notice paragraph 3 of the excerpt above,it mentions Revelation 11:18(please read)...it says there that this war will bring to ruin those ruining the earth...many of which are flesh and blood like you and i...many humans in history have been very bad ...these these ones surely will be affected by this spiritual war in Heaven...
This war will affect all humans and we will see the effects of war...abit like a tsunami....the earthquake often isnt seen and many times it doesnt affect the population..yet we know an earthquake happened because of the effects of the tsunami.
So,yes while armageddon is a spiritual war, a war of jehovah god against his enemies, this effects of this war WILL be seen by all...it will effect every single human on the planet.
You also mentioned about that world war 1 which started in 1914 has nothing todo with armageddon.....well,according to Bible understanding,that is an incorrect statement...october 1914 was the very year that Jesus christ became king in heaven...Jesus as King in 1914 threw satan and all his demons out from the vicinity of heaven to the vicinity of earth.Look below at what happened in 1914...in verse 4 it says that the "woman who was about to give birth,that,when she did give birth,it might devour her child."..in 1914 jehovahs King,Jesus Christ ,did give birth...1914 was the year jesus became king in heaven...as soon as he became king,he threw satan put of heaven...this resulted in satan and his cohorts being very angry,thus in 1914,to distract jesus christs birth as king as many religions back then would come in that year,he made a giant world war,something that had never taken place previously.notice revelation 12:4-17 below.
; 4 and its tail drags a third of the stars of heaven, and it hurled them down to the earth. And the dragon kept standing before the woman who was about to give birth, that, when she did give birth, it might devour her child. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was caught away to God and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days. 7 And war broke out in heaven: Mi′cha·el and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled 8 but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God! 11 And they conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witnessing, and they did not love their souls even in the face of death. 12 On this account be glad, YOU heavens and YOU who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to YOU, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.” 13 Now when the dragon saw that it was hurled down to the earth, it persecuted the woman that gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place; there is where she is fed for a time and times and half a time away from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent disgorged water like a river from its mouth after the woman, to cause her to be drowned by the river. 16 But the earth came to the woman’s help, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon disgorged from its mouth. 17 And the dragon grew wrathful at the woman, and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus.
The paragraphs below show us that jehovahs witnesses Long before 1914 were warning of 1914...they said in that year significant changes took place...and from history,we all know they were very big changes to the universe..
Vindicated on the Issue
4 So, first of all, we will ask: Who were the ones that, many years beforehand, pointed out to the whole world that “the times of the Gentiles” would end in the latter half of 1914? It was the International Bible Students, using the columns of the Watch Tower magazine and other publications of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Today they are known worldwide as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Have world events vindicated them? Yes!
5 Since most of mankind today pay no attention to that calculation of God’s time, and since Christendom with its hundreds of sects and denominations dispute its correctness, have those opposers who far outnumber Jehovah’s Witnesses won the hot dispute concerning the setting up of God’s Kingdom by Christ in the heavens in 1914 C.E.? The fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy concerning what would mark “the end of the world” (AV), or “the conclusion of the system of things” (NW), thunders back to us the answer No! Sixty-eight years after 1914 we see in existence the state of affairs foretold by Jesus in Luke 21:25-27, in the following words: “There will be . . . on the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation, while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Properly, then, the ending of the Gentile Times in the latter half of 1914 still stands on a historical basis as one of the fundamental Kingdom truths to which we must hold today.
“The Time of the End” Confirmed
8 World events from 1914 onward confirm that the above understanding based on Bible chronology is correct. Jesus himself said that “the conclusion of the system of things” would be marked by wars, famines, and pestilences. (Matthew 24:3-8; Revelation 6:2-8) That has certainly been the case since 1914. The apostle Paul added to the picture, saying that there would be a marked difference in the attitudes of people toward one another. His description of the changes that we have all witnessed was right on target.—2 Timothy 3:1-5.
9 Has “the scene of this world” really changed so much since 1914? In the book The Generation of 1914, Professor Robert Wohl observes: “Those who lived through the war could never rid themselves of the belief that one world had ended and another begun in August 1914.” Confirming this, Dr. Jorge A. Costa e Silva, as the mental-health director for the World Health Organization, wrote: “We live in a time of extremely fast changes, which end up causing anxiety and stress at levels never before seen in mankind’s history.” Has that been your personal experience?
10 Who is the villain behind the worsening world conditions? Revelation 12:7-9 unmasks the culprit: “War broke out in heaven: Michael [Jesus Christ] and his angels battled with the dragon [Satan the Devil], and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, . . . who is misleading the entire inhabited earth.” So Satan the Devil is the guilty troublemaker, and his ouster from heaven in 1914 has meant “woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”—Revelation 12:10, 12.
To be honest, there are hundreds of pages i could send you that show that 1914 was the start of the Pangs of Distress mentioned in the bible...both secular evidence and scriptural evidence agrees with this conclusion and jehovahs witnesses know without a doubt that from 1914..we HAVE been living in the LAST DAYS of this present system and that very soon now,Jehovah god by means of his son Jesus Christ acting as King in heaven will act to bring an end to all wickedness and lawlessness both in heaven and earth.
Brother Hiroshi regardless of what newspaper tabloids says or or seemingly clever,intelligent and wise people speculate,jehovahs witnesses are 100percent confident in the end of this system which will take place.
As always,please look through this information carefully and if you would like more and can keep sending more..i just dont want to drown you with too much information in an email.
and by the way,i will answer your other questions about baptism soon in another email..
until then take care
Carlos
Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:38 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"
Dear Eiko,
I just wanted to reply to an email you sent maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago but only now i have had a chance to look at properly.
Its in relation to "the end of the system of things","1914", "world war 1" ,"armageddon"...etc......
In the email ,as shown below in your original email to me,you said that armageddon is a spiritual war....the Bible,gods word..agrees with you that it is a spiritual warfare..notice the exerpt below and what it says in Revelation 16:14...It says there that it is a war of God...Jehovah God is a spirit so obviously it will be a spiritual warfare....please read the rest below:
Armageddon According to the Bible
Although many past wars fought near Megiddo proved decisive, none eliminated wickedness. None really pitted the forces of good against the forces of evil, in the absolute sense. Logically, that type of conflict must originate with God. As Jesus once said, “nobody is good, except one, God.” (Luke 18:19) Furthermore, the Bible specifically refers to Armageddon as God’s war.
In the Bible, the book of Revelation says that “the kings of the entire inhabited earth” will be gathered together “to the war of the great day of God the Almighty.” (Revelation 16:14) The prophetic account then adds: “And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Har–Magedon,” or Armageddon. (Revelation 16:16) Later on, Revelation explains that “the kings of the earth and their armies” will be “gathered together to wage the war with the one seated on the horse and with his army.” (Revelation 19:19) This horseman is identified as none other than Jesus Christ.—1 Timothy 6:14, 15; Revelation 19:11, 12, 16.
What are we to conclude from these verses? That Armageddon is a war between God and the forces of disobedient mankind. Why would Jehovah and his Son, Jesus Christ, fight such a war? For one thing, Armageddon will “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” (Revelation 11:18) In addition, it will usher in a peaceful world, “a new earth that we are awaiting according to his [God’s] promise,” where “righteousness is to dwell.”—2 Peter 3:13.
However,if you notice paragraph 3 of the excerpt above,it mentions Revelation 11:18(please read)...it says there that this war will bring to ruin those ruining the earth...many of which are flesh and blood like you and i...many humans in history have been very bad ...these these ones surely will be affected by this spiritual war in Heaven...
This war will affect all humans and we will see the effects of war...abit like a tsunami....the earthquake often isnt seen and many times it doesnt affect the population..yet we know an earthquake happened because of the effects of the tsunami.
So,yes while armageddon is a spiritual war, a war of jehovah god against his enemies, this effects of this war WILL be seen by all...it will effect every single human on the planet.
You also mentioned about that world war 1 which started in 1914 has nothing todo with armageddon.....well,according to Bible understanding,that is an incorrect statement...october 1914 was the very year that Jesus christ became king in heaven...Jesus as King in 1914 threw satan and all his demons out from the vicinity of heaven to the vicinity of earth.Look below at what happened in 1914...in verse 4 it says that the "woman who was about to give birth,that,when she did give birth,it might devour her child."..in 1914 jehovahs King,Jesus Christ ,did give birth...1914 was the year jesus became king in heaven...as soon as he became king,he threw satan put of heaven...this resulted in satan and his cohorts being very angry,thus in 1914,to distract jesus christs birth as king as many religions back then would come in that year,he made a giant world war,something that had never taken place previously.notice revelation 12:4-17 below.
; 4 and its tail drags a third of the stars of heaven, and it hurled them down to the earth. And the dragon kept standing before the woman who was about to give birth, that, when she did give birth, it might devour her child. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was caught away to God and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days. 7 And war broke out in heaven: Mi′cha·el and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled 8 but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God! 11 And they conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witnessing, and they did not love their souls even in the face of death. 12 On this account be glad, YOU heavens and YOU who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to YOU, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.” 13 Now when the dragon saw that it was hurled down to the earth, it persecuted the woman that gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place; there is where she is fed for a time and times and half a time away from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent disgorged water like a river from its mouth after the woman, to cause her to be drowned by the river. 16 But the earth came to the woman’s help, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon disgorged from its mouth. 17 And the dragon grew wrathful at the woman, and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus.
The paragraphs below show us that jehovahs witnesses Long before 1914 were warning of 1914...they said in that year significant changes took place...and from history,we all know they were very big changes to the universe..
Vindicated on the Issue
4 So, first of all, we will ask: Who were the ones that, many years beforehand, pointed out to the whole world that “the times of the Gentiles” would end in the latter half of 1914? It was the International Bible Students, using the columns of the Watch Tower magazine and other publications of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Today they are known worldwide as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Have world events vindicated them? Yes!
5 Since most of mankind today pay no attention to that calculation of God’s time, and since Christendom with its hundreds of sects and denominations dispute its correctness, have those opposers who far outnumber Jehovah’s Witnesses won the hot dispute concerning the setting up of God’s Kingdom by Christ in the heavens in 1914 C.E.? The fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy concerning what would mark “the end of the world” (AV), or “the conclusion of the system of things” (NW), thunders back to us the answer No! Sixty-eight years after 1914 we see in existence the state of affairs foretold by Jesus in Luke 21:25-27, in the following words: “There will be . . . on the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation, while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Properly, then, the ending of the Gentile Times in the latter half of 1914 still stands on a historical basis as one of the fundamental Kingdom truths to which we must hold today.
“The Time of the End” Confirmed
8 World events from 1914 onward confirm that the above understanding based on Bible chronology is correct. Jesus himself said that “the conclusion of the system of things” would be marked by wars, famines, and pestilences. (Matthew 24:3-8; Revelation 6:2-8) That has certainly been the case since 1914. The apostle Paul added to the picture, saying that there would be a marked difference in the attitudes of people toward one another. His description of the changes that we have all witnessed was right on target.—2 Timothy 3:1-5.
9 Has “the scene of this world” really changed so much since 1914? In the book The Generation of 1914, Professor Robert Wohl observes: “Those who lived through the war could never rid themselves of the belief that one world had ended and another begun in August 1914.” Confirming this, Dr. Jorge A. Costa e Silva, as the mental-health director for the World Health Organization, wrote: “We live in a time of extremely fast changes, which end up causing anxiety and stress at levels never before seen in mankind’s history.” Has that been your personal experience?
10 Who is the villain behind the worsening world conditions? Revelation 12:7-9 unmasks the culprit: “War broke out in heaven: Michael [Jesus Christ] and his angels battled with the dragon [Satan the Devil], and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, . . . who is misleading the entire inhabited earth.” So Satan the Devil is the guilty troublemaker, and his ouster from heaven in 1914 has meant “woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”—Revelation 12:10, 12.
To be honest, there are hundreds of pages i could send you that show that 1914 was the start of the Pangs of Distress mentioned in the bible...both secular evidence and scriptural evidence agrees with this conclusion and jehovahs witnesses know without a doubt that from 1914..we HAVE been living in the LAST DAYS of this present system and that very soon now,Jehovah god by means of his son Jesus Christ acting as King in heaven will act to bring an end to all wickedness and lawlessness both in heaven and earth.
Brother Hiroshi regardless of what newspaper tabloids says or or seemingly clever,intelligent and wise people speculate,jehovahs witnesses are 100percent confident in the end of this system which will take place.
As always,please look through this information carefully and if you would like more and can keep sending more..i just dont want to drown you with too much information in an email.
and by the way,i will answer your other questions about baptism soon in another email..
until then take care
Carlos
Eureka!
RE: Eureka!Sunday, May 16, 2010 3:31 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"
hi Eiko..really sorry to give the adress so late..i had to find it out from other people.
its **
i hope you get this mail on time.
and again i apologise for the lateness of it.
Carlos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 15 May 2010 03:12:17 -0700
From:
Subject: Eureka!
To:
Eureka!
It took 50 minutes from my house.
I visited Nokata area for the first time. With very good air, It was a nice and pleasant place.
Address was not yet decided.
We will be there by bus. See you soon!
Eiko
From: "Carlos Burman"
hi Eiko..really sorry to give the adress so late..i had to find it out from other people.
its **
i hope you get this mail on time.
and again i apologise for the lateness of it.
Carlos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 15 May 2010 03:12:17 -0700
From:
Subject: Eureka!
To:
Eureka!
It took 50 minutes from my house.
I visited Nokata area for the first time. With very good air, It was a nice and pleasant place.
Address was not yet decided.
We will be there by bus. See you soon!
Eiko
new hall
Saturday, May 8, 2010 7:28 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"
Dear eiko,
how are you?
my wife and i are fine.
its again been a really nice week of weather.ive enjoyed it very much.
anyway,i will reply more later about the the "conclusion of the system if things"...i want to let you know more..i think though you might understand the subject alot easier in your own language,japanese.
but i will try my best to make it understandable to you.
Tomorrow, 9th may, the meeting will be at the old Nokata Kingdom hall at 4:30pm
On thursday 13th may at 7:15pm...the meeting will be at the NEW nokata kingdom hall that is about 5 minutes walk from the old one.
from Thursday the 13th onwards...ALL MEETINGS will be at the NEW nokata kingdom hall ...thursdays at 7:15pm and sundays at 4:30pm
next sunday 16th, i will be giving the public discourse,so it would be nice to see you there if you are able to come.
i hope you have a nice evening and i hope to see you soon
Carlos
From: "Carlos Burman"
Dear eiko,
how are you?
my wife and i are fine.
its again been a really nice week of weather.ive enjoyed it very much.
anyway,i will reply more later about the the "conclusion of the system if things"...i want to let you know more..i think though you might understand the subject alot easier in your own language,japanese.
but i will try my best to make it understandable to you.
Tomorrow, 9th may, the meeting will be at the old Nokata Kingdom hall at 4:30pm
On thursday 13th may at 7:15pm...the meeting will be at the NEW nokata kingdom hall that is about 5 minutes walk from the old one.
from Thursday the 13th onwards...ALL MEETINGS will be at the NEW nokata kingdom hall ...thursdays at 7:15pm and sundays at 4:30pm
next sunday 16th, i will be giving the public discourse,so it would be nice to see you there if you are able to come.
i hope you have a nice evening and i hope to see you soon
Carlos
swine and contamination
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 4:41 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"
Hello,
Going straight in to your question about Swine and contamination.
Leviticus 11:7 says:"Also the pig,because it is a splitter of the hoof and a former of a cleft in the hoof,but it does not chew the cud, it is unclean for you"
Deuteronomy 14:8 says:"The pig also, because it is a splitter of the hoof but there is no cud. it is unclean for you.None of the flesh must you eat,and their carcasses you must not touch".
The word "BECAUSE" in both of those scriptures quoted above,indicates THE REASON as to why Jehovah God did not want the Israelites to eat the pig or anything like it.
Jehovah as we have already established has the right to ask anything of his subjects.
All animals belong to him,as he created all of them.
While Jehovahs ban on eating pork was not necessarily based on health considerations,there were and still are hazards connected with the use of this meat for food.Since pigs are indiscriminate in their feeding habits,even eating carrion and offal,they tend to be infested with various parasitic organisms,including those responsible for diseases such as Trichinosis and Ascariasis.
One Doctor called Dr short said:"True we eat the pig, the rabbit and the hare but these animals are liable to parasitic infections and are safe only if the food is well cooked.The pig is an unclean feeder, and harbours 2 worms, Trichina and Tapeworm,which may be passed on to man.The danger is minimal under present conditions,but it would have been far otherwise in Palestine of old, and such food was better avoided".
Thus,while Jehovah didnt give the direct answer to exactly why the Jews were not to eat any meat of the pig,he did state that this particular meat was something that wasnt to be eaten for his HOLY or clean and pure nation.
However,Even if there was no health concerns or worry of disease or infestation,the very fact that the law came from Jehovah,was enough reason to obey it ,which literally is the meaning of SUBMISSIVENESS.
Many people today do not know how to fix a car...however,if you gave it to a qualified and experienced mechanic,most of us would trust him to fix whatever problem that needed fixing even if we personally didnt know anything about the insides of the car.
Anyway,You said that Christians today,do not obey this law anymore.This is because,of course,Christians are not Jews...the Christians had a new law,they were no more bound by the law that God gave to the Jews.
Notice what Galatians 3:24,25 says:"Consequently the law has become our tutor leading to Christ,that we might be declared righteous due to faith.But now that the faith has arrived,we are no longer under a tutor".
and Romans 10:4:"For Christ is the end of the law,so that everyone exercising faith may have righteousness".
Thus True Christians today have no need to obey the law in the same way as the Jews did back when they were Gods people.
Furthermore, please read Acts 10:9-16...this chapter shows that Peter the apostle,was commanded by God, to eat birds and animals of various kinds that were UNCLEAN under the Mosaic law...Peter was shocked for never has he eaten anything defiled or unclean..
Yet Gods angel told Peter "you stop calling unclean what God has cleansed".
Yes ,at the time of the apostles,no more was the law to refrain from eating pig or any other animal previously seen as unclean in force.
All Christians were free to eat as they chose or not.
Thus this gives us a little insight as to how Jehovah views things.
Thus today if a Christian decides not to eat pork,thats up to him....if he decides to eat pork,thats also up to him.
Jehovahs witnesses view pork today virtually as any other meat, except when we cook it, we make sure its well cooked.
Carlos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 4 May 2009 06:07:19 -0700
From:
Subject: Re:
To:
Hello good evening Br Carlos
Probably my remark might be thought too trivial. He was executed whatever the way it might be.
Moses was a wise man. He tried to establish social systems valid still in today's world.
Jewish people had been suffered from hard work and no rest. They had to keep on working till they died.
Moses had thought how they can get a rest without changing the frame of society. Hard work is, of course necessary for humans to survive. Taking a rest is, also very important to keep on working efficiently and everlastingly. So it was important to determine how often they can take a rest without losing two important factors, working hard and taking a rest.
Moses tried to stabilise the rate 5.5 workday and 1.5 taking a rest by introducing Sabbath. The custom of Sabbath was very new to them and some tried to work even when others are taking a rest.
Moses thought it is a sever violation or threat to the effective continuation of productive activity in society. Therefore it took one night to make up his mind whether to execute and how to execute him -the Sabbath breaker.
Moses used in his execution not hanging, stubbing only by one executor but stoning by all members of society, emphasising he committed a crime not against one person but against the benefit of all - I think this is the meaning of his being stoned to death.
I recall somewhere in Hebrew Scriptures that we mustn't eat pork. In today's world no Christians keep this rule. What I understand is the pork at that time is not the same one now we have. In ancient times swine eat various foods so they tend to be contaminated by poisonous matters, therefore prohibited.
Is my understanding correct? Or is there any new decree that we can eat pork?
Thank you for taking your time.
Eiko
From: "Carlos Burman"
Hello,
Going straight in to your question about Swine and contamination.
Leviticus 11:7 says:"Also the pig,because it is a splitter of the hoof and a former of a cleft in the hoof,but it does not chew the cud, it is unclean for you"
Deuteronomy 14:8 says:"The pig also, because it is a splitter of the hoof but there is no cud. it is unclean for you.None of the flesh must you eat,and their carcasses you must not touch".
The word "BECAUSE" in both of those scriptures quoted above,indicates THE REASON as to why Jehovah God did not want the Israelites to eat the pig or anything like it.
Jehovah as we have already established has the right to ask anything of his subjects.
All animals belong to him,as he created all of them.
While Jehovahs ban on eating pork was not necessarily based on health considerations,there were and still are hazards connected with the use of this meat for food.Since pigs are indiscriminate in their feeding habits,even eating carrion and offal,they tend to be infested with various parasitic organisms,including those responsible for diseases such as Trichinosis and Ascariasis.
One Doctor called Dr short said:"True we eat the pig, the rabbit and the hare but these animals are liable to parasitic infections and are safe only if the food is well cooked.The pig is an unclean feeder, and harbours 2 worms, Trichina and Tapeworm,which may be passed on to man.The danger is minimal under present conditions,but it would have been far otherwise in Palestine of old, and such food was better avoided".
Thus,while Jehovah didnt give the direct answer to exactly why the Jews were not to eat any meat of the pig,he did state that this particular meat was something that wasnt to be eaten for his HOLY or clean and pure nation.
However,Even if there was no health concerns or worry of disease or infestation,the very fact that the law came from Jehovah,was enough reason to obey it ,which literally is the meaning of SUBMISSIVENESS.
Many people today do not know how to fix a car...however,if you gave it to a qualified and experienced mechanic,most of us would trust him to fix whatever problem that needed fixing even if we personally didnt know anything about the insides of the car.
Anyway,You said that Christians today,do not obey this law anymore.This is because,of course,Christians are not Jews...the Christians had a new law,they were no more bound by the law that God gave to the Jews.
Notice what Galatians 3:24,25 says:"Consequently the law has become our tutor leading to Christ,that we might be declared righteous due to faith.But now that the faith has arrived,we are no longer under a tutor".
and Romans 10:4:"For Christ is the end of the law,so that everyone exercising faith may have righteousness".
Thus True Christians today have no need to obey the law in the same way as the Jews did back when they were Gods people.
Furthermore, please read Acts 10:9-16...this chapter shows that Peter the apostle,was commanded by God, to eat birds and animals of various kinds that were UNCLEAN under the Mosaic law...Peter was shocked for never has he eaten anything defiled or unclean..
Yet Gods angel told Peter "you stop calling unclean what God has cleansed".
Yes ,at the time of the apostles,no more was the law to refrain from eating pig or any other animal previously seen as unclean in force.
All Christians were free to eat as they chose or not.
Thus this gives us a little insight as to how Jehovah views things.
Thus today if a Christian decides not to eat pork,thats up to him....if he decides to eat pork,thats also up to him.
Jehovahs witnesses view pork today virtually as any other meat, except when we cook it, we make sure its well cooked.
Carlos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 4 May 2009 06:07:19 -0700
From:
Subject: Re:
To:
Hello good evening Br Carlos
Probably my remark might be thought too trivial. He was executed whatever the way it might be.
Moses was a wise man. He tried to establish social systems valid still in today's world.
Jewish people had been suffered from hard work and no rest. They had to keep on working till they died.
Moses had thought how they can get a rest without changing the frame of society. Hard work is, of course necessary for humans to survive. Taking a rest is, also very important to keep on working efficiently and everlastingly. So it was important to determine how often they can take a rest without losing two important factors, working hard and taking a rest.
Moses tried to stabilise the rate 5.5 workday and 1.5 taking a rest by introducing Sabbath. The custom of Sabbath was very new to them and some tried to work even when others are taking a rest.
Moses thought it is a sever violation or threat to the effective continuation of productive activity in society. Therefore it took one night to make up his mind whether to execute and how to execute him -the Sabbath breaker.
Moses used in his execution not hanging, stubbing only by one executor but stoning by all members of society, emphasising he committed a crime not against one person but against the benefit of all - I think this is the meaning of his being stoned to death.
I recall somewhere in Hebrew Scriptures that we mustn't eat pork. In today's world no Christians keep this rule. What I understand is the pork at that time is not the same one now we have. In ancient times swine eat various foods so they tend to be contaminated by poisonous matters, therefore prohibited.
Is my understanding correct? Or is there any new decree that we can eat pork?
Thank you for taking your time.
Eiko
stoning to death
Saturday, May 2, 2009 7:19 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"
Good Evening Eiko,
With regards to your question that you posed me..." why was a sabbath breaker executed by stoning and not by hanging or being stabbed to death?"
The question is valid, since of course ,there are countless ways to kill a human life.
However,with logic in mind, if you faced the death penalty and you could choose between dieing by hanging,being stabbed to death or being stoned...which would you choose??
I personally would like to have the quickest form of death, with the least pain possible..
Of course, Jehovah, the creator of all humans, knows that humans have physical and emotional feelings...feelings of pain being one of them.
would you not say that death by stoning would be the way of dieing that was least desired out of all the ways that you mentioned ,of being executed?
Today,various countries adopt different ways of executing a criminal...hanging, electric chair, lethal injection and firing squad.
These ways of putting to death a criminal was not the way that God wanted evildoers and sacred law breakers to be dealt with,since most of these ways of execution result in fairly quick or immediate death, just as being hanged and stabbed to death does.
Notice what Deuteronomy 13:10,11 says: "And you must stone him with stones,and he must die,because he has sought to turn you away from Jehovah your God,who has brought you out of the land of Egypt,out of the house of slaves.
Then all Israel will hear and become afraid, and they will not do anything like this bad thing again in your midst".
Yes, all Israel would hear of this kind of punishment,and it would instill FEAR in their hearts.
Hearing of such a terrible way to die would surely put the majority off from disobeying Jehovahs SACRED laws ,which actually benefited the Israelites anyway.
Who would like to die a fairly slow and extremely painful and demeaning death??
Jehovah really wanted the Israelites to see how greatly important his laws were and that his laws should not be treated with little significance.
For the ones who went ahead and stoned an evildoer, it showed they were zealous for true worship,anxious that no reproach came on Jehovahs holy name.
Just one further piece of logic and scriptural understanding...
An inventor of a new car has the right to do anything he wants to the car..he designed it..he made it..its his money and materials that created it..he can improve it..and he can destroy it.....what ever he desires, he can do.
Likewise,Jehovah as recorded at Revelation 4:11 says of angels in heaven singing :" you are worthy, Jehovah,even our God,to receive the glory and the honor and the power,because you created all things,and because of your will they existed and were created".
Yes, Jehovah God has the right to make any law he likes.
However,balancing this out..Jehovah will never act viciously or without self control..he doesnt want people to have pain..
Please read what Exodus 34:6 and 7 says about Jehovah...Jehovahs predominant quality is Love.(1 John 4:16)
Thus, as Abraham said at the imminent destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah many centuries ago..."Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" ( Genesis 18:25)
Thus, even though we should be submissive and accept Jehovah's ways of doing things ,they also are quite evidently logical as to why he does them.
Carlos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 1 May 2009 08:14:43 -0700
From: eritreaqqq@yahoo.com
Subject: One Sabbath breaker
To: scoobycarlos@hotmail.com
Hello good evening Br Carlos,
>Matthew completed his account about 41CE, only 8 years after Jesus death,while Marks was completed about 25 years later and Lukes 28 years later.
It was only Johns that wasnt completed until 98CE.
This is a very useful information.
>Admittedly, this account seems quite unbelievable to say the least.
Nebuchadnezzar issued a decree which is all people should worship his statue. But idol
worship is prohibited in Jews. Three young men didn't obey his order, then they were thrown into furnace. They never changed their faith in the face of their life and death. Their firm faith impressed the King a lot, so after this incident he never force Jewish people again to worship his statue.
Bible mentioned three were all saved by angels and they went to other places for their jobs later in their lives, which means in my view younger Jewish people other than three could enjoy their lives without breaking Jewish law or worshiping idols any more.
There were many wise prophets but Daniel was wiser than others. He not only invented a King's dream but also interpreted it favourably to King so that he couldn't deny. Regrettably three young men were wise but martyred on account of their faith. They are entitled to be called one of the earliest Jehovah's Witnesses.
Bible describes one Sabbath breaker was stoned to death. He was executed not by hanging, stubbing, but by stones. Why?
Hiroshi
From: "Carlos Burman"
Good Evening Eiko,
With regards to your question that you posed me..." why was a sabbath breaker executed by stoning and not by hanging or being stabbed to death?"
The question is valid, since of course ,there are countless ways to kill a human life.
However,with logic in mind, if you faced the death penalty and you could choose between dieing by hanging,being stabbed to death or being stoned...which would you choose??
I personally would like to have the quickest form of death, with the least pain possible..
Of course, Jehovah, the creator of all humans, knows that humans have physical and emotional feelings...feelings of pain being one of them.
would you not say that death by stoning would be the way of dieing that was least desired out of all the ways that you mentioned ,of being executed?
Today,various countries adopt different ways of executing a criminal...hanging, electric chair, lethal injection and firing squad.
These ways of putting to death a criminal was not the way that God wanted evildoers and sacred law breakers to be dealt with,since most of these ways of execution result in fairly quick or immediate death, just as being hanged and stabbed to death does.
Notice what Deuteronomy 13:10,11 says: "And you must stone him with stones,and he must die,because he has sought to turn you away from Jehovah your God,who has brought you out of the land of Egypt,out of the house of slaves.
Then all Israel will hear and become afraid, and they will not do anything like this bad thing again in your midst".
Yes, all Israel would hear of this kind of punishment,and it would instill FEAR in their hearts.
Hearing of such a terrible way to die would surely put the majority off from disobeying Jehovahs SACRED laws ,which actually benefited the Israelites anyway.
Who would like to die a fairly slow and extremely painful and demeaning death??
Jehovah really wanted the Israelites to see how greatly important his laws were and that his laws should not be treated with little significance.
For the ones who went ahead and stoned an evildoer, it showed they were zealous for true worship,anxious that no reproach came on Jehovahs holy name.
Just one further piece of logic and scriptural understanding...
An inventor of a new car has the right to do anything he wants to the car..he designed it..he made it..its his money and materials that created it..he can improve it..and he can destroy it.....what ever he desires, he can do.
Likewise,Jehovah as recorded at Revelation 4:11 says of angels in heaven singing :" you are worthy, Jehovah,even our God,to receive the glory and the honor and the power,because you created all things,and because of your will they existed and were created".
Yes, Jehovah God has the right to make any law he likes.
However,balancing this out..Jehovah will never act viciously or without self control..he doesnt want people to have pain..
Please read what Exodus 34:6 and 7 says about Jehovah...Jehovahs predominant quality is Love.(1 John 4:16)
Thus, as Abraham said at the imminent destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah many centuries ago..."Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" ( Genesis 18:25)
Thus, even though we should be submissive and accept Jehovah's ways of doing things ,they also are quite evidently logical as to why he does them.
Carlos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 1 May 2009 08:14:43 -0700
From: eritreaqqq@yahoo.com
Subject: One Sabbath breaker
To: scoobycarlos@hotmail.com
Hello good evening Br Carlos,
>Matthew completed his account about 41CE, only 8 years after Jesus death,while Marks was completed about 25 years later and Lukes 28 years later.
It was only Johns that wasnt completed until 98CE.
This is a very useful information.
>Admittedly, this account seems quite unbelievable to say the least.
Nebuchadnezzar issued a decree which is all people should worship his statue. But idol
worship is prohibited in Jews. Three young men didn't obey his order, then they were thrown into furnace. They never changed their faith in the face of their life and death. Their firm faith impressed the King a lot, so after this incident he never force Jewish people again to worship his statue.
Bible mentioned three were all saved by angels and they went to other places for their jobs later in their lives, which means in my view younger Jewish people other than three could enjoy their lives without breaking Jewish law or worshiping idols any more.
There were many wise prophets but Daniel was wiser than others. He not only invented a King's dream but also interpreted it favourably to King so that he couldn't deny. Regrettably three young men were wise but martyred on account of their faith. They are entitled to be called one of the earliest Jehovah's Witnesses.
Bible describes one Sabbath breaker was stoned to death. He was executed not by hanging, stubbing, but by stones. Why?
Hiroshi
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