Doug

Yeah . . It don't work that way. .

The Olympic games are supposed to bring the world together in sportsmanship and goodwill. The reality is that Russian athletes have been banned since 2017 for doping. Furthermore, the IOC said in December that Russian and Belarusian athletes who have qualified for Paris 2024 will be eligible to compete as neutral athletes. No Russian or Belarusian government officials will be included in opening ceremonies. The UN may try to put lipstick on the pig ~ but the Olympics may be the world's stage for nationalism rather than peace, as usual. The world is broken and cannot be patched-up, not even temporarily, imho.

It's a powder keg, for sure. News reports that Russia is offering Iran fighter jets and missiles. Biden has repeatedly said the US will help defend Israel. His assurances sound almost unconditional as far as defense is concerned. As if that pushing weren't enough, reports say that North Korea are developing virus and biological weapons, anthrax and smallpox. "The United States assesses that the DPRK has a dedicated, national level offensive biological weapons program".

Isn't that because the information is written with the public in mind?

The Slave has brought back the headline on jw.org "Will Armageddon Begin in Israel"?

The ayatollah must have been under extreme pressure from the hardliners to respond to Israel's attack on their facility in Damascus. Knowing that Israel is a nuclear actor. And now, what will Israel do? This back-and-forth has to end somehow. Last man standing???

Yes, and let's remember human leaders can set the bar very low. They can declare a success if nuclear is avoided and only conventional war is happening.

In the old days, an attack by one state actor against another was a declaration of war. But these days, with the prospect of a nuclear armageddon, a proportional response seems to be the sensible tactic. This crisis could evolve into P&S because if it isn't contained it could go nuclear.

USA, UK (KOTS) Russia (KOTN), China, India, Pakistan, France, Israel and North Korea.

Thank you. I share your feelings to some extent. I have actually thought that I could sit down and start making a list of all my mistakes and not overlook a single one. Why are we so hard on ourselves? Is it pride? Do we see our mistakes as a betrayal of our imperfect nature? As Paul said "When I wish to do what is right, what is bad is present with me. I really delight in the law of God according to the man I am within, but I see in my body another law warring against the law of my mind and leading me captive to sin's law that is in my body (especially the heart). Miserable man that I am! So, then, with my mind I myself am a slave to God's law, but with my flesh to sin's law." How does Jehovah see us? I have given that question a lot of thought as well. When a dog has a litter of puppies, there's probably a runt. One inferior in some way. But doesn't our heart go out to that one especially? Poor baby! When people come to select a puppy, sometimes it will be the runt that's picked. Why? Because we know it has a disadvantage and we have sympathy for it. We wish all the puppies a healthy and happy life, but we make it our business to make sure that runt is cared for. Isn't that how Jehovah sees us? We are born with a horrible burden to bare, imperfection and under sin's law. But Jehovah makes it his business to make sure we are cared for. The ransom is a good reminder. Why would Jehovah allow his precious Son to go through that, and Himself to go through that, if he didn't love us very much? The ransom should convince us that God sees us, knows us, understands our inherent weaknesses and treacherous hearts, and makes it his business to help us overcome those disadvantages. Thanks Tim

I had the privilege of the Bible reading a couple of weeks ago. Psalm 22:1-19. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Powerful material. And, it was my first assignment n my new congregation!

From Al Jazeera re: Kim Jong Un rhetoric / saber rattling: "Now is the time to be more thoroughly prepared for war than ever before", citing "the uncertain and unstable military and political situation around the DPRK". "North Korea should be more firmly and perfectly prepared for a war, which should be won without fail, not just for a possible war". Meanwhile, Biden said "I welcome the opportunity of our allies to initiate dialogue with the Democratic Republic of Korea. As I've said many times, we're open to dialogue ourselves anytime without preconditions". Kim Jong Un rejected the offer.

We will always have some who are better off materially and are eager to share. Perhaps they chose to work secularly instead of pioneering, but that's between them and Jehovah. I understand because being a productive person in the workplace can be very satisfying. Yes, when the time comes, we will be thankful to have an "inner room" provided by a generous host to take refuge in.

And I've always thought it was "Cold art the orb that rules the night". I saw them live at Lake Tahoe . . . 1994 ish

Until it happens and we know exactly what the message is and how it will be delivered, all we can say about it now is it will be A Hard-Hitting Message of GOOD NEWS

True. But we just had the explanation that the good news would continue to be our message until the end. No explicit "judgement" message. A judgement is implied. Can good news take the form of a hard-hitting message? Or, to put it another way; Can a "hailstone" message (Rev. 16:21 is cited) be considered "good news" ? Seems counter intuitive. Is there a precedent? The message to Nineveh had a good effect, but it wasn't a message of good news. It was repent, or else.

I'm back from the "Enter Into God's Rest" Circuit Assembly with Branch Representative at Mira Loma Assembly Hall. I can report that the branch representative said that according to Rev. 16:21 we will deliver a hard-hitting message. He didn't use the word "hailstone", but that is used at Rev 16:21, nor "judgement". He didn't give any clue as to the timing of the hard-hitting message. A hard-hitting message, hmmm . . . Special campaign?

Right? And don't we agree it's their feminine / maternal qualities that will be put to good use in their heavenly assignment?

Song 27 "Fear Them Not" Fear them not, my faithful warriors Fight! Let not your heart grow faint. Never fear you are forgotten; I am still your strength and shield Though you die upon the field, Even death to me will yield. Fight!

I worry for the friends who have had a comfortable life in this system. How will they handle the GT?

In our song "A Perfect Wage" we have the following: Jehovah is faithful and fully aware Of all those who serve him whole-souled. He knows there are times their devotion and zeal Result in their loss as foretold. So, hardships may come, but not always.

No, there's no specifics about age and when started in the After Memorial report to the branches. However, when a partaker dies, is it possible that such information is provided to the branch? We know there were 8,683 reported partakers in 1992. So, there's the baseline for the second group. When Jesus made his comments, he was teaching his disciples an important truth. He began with: "Learn . . . from the fig tree . . . And he added emphasis by starting his teaching point with "Truly" . . He only did that on a few occasions. Our Christian Life and Ministry March 2018 featured the topic Close to the End of this System of Things. We were given the link to watch Br Spane's video and then answer five questions. The last question was "How do Jesus' words indicate that we are living deep in the time of the end?" And the answer is: There were just 8,683 of the second group 26 years ago (at the time the material was being studied in 2018 [today its 32 years ago]) and based on what Jesus taught 'Learn' these 8,683 will by no means pass away until all these things happen'. Mt 24 is about the sign his disciples asked for. Some features of the one sign wouldn't be fully understood at that time. But not paying attention to Mt. 24:34 (as in knowing approximately how many remain till today) would be no different than not paying attention to wars, earthquakes and food shortages. Mt 24:7. It's one sign. One other thought; The Slave needs to gauge the information they dispense. How can they gauge properly? By the intensity of wars? The severity of food shortages? The frequency of earthquakes? No. Because they have no way of knowing if things will get a lot worse than it is now or not. However, they can gauge by how thoroughly the Good News is being preached in all the earth. That is measurable. And, they can gauge by approximately how many of the second group of "this generation" are still alive. Jesus said "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away". And just knowing how many are still alive doesn't mean we can know the day or hour. Nor do we know the meaning of the expression "by no means pass away". The Slave has said it doesn't have to mean it will go all the way down to just a few. Nor does it mean the last of them will be old and decrepit. It can be any day now.

This has always been the key. The unknown detail is the meaning of Jesus words "by no means pass away until all these things happen". No explanation has been floated as to what he meant "by no means". Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? I beat this drum a lot, but I'm personally convinced the GB pay attention (keep on the watch) to the number of partakers back in 1991/92 (the last chance to belong to the second group) and how many of them are still with us. Not their names ~ just the numbers. But even then, we don't know what Jesus meant with "by no means". To be a part of the second group, one would have been partaking for at least the past 32 years or more!!!

It's surely a drastic change for our anointed sisters, eh?

Typical bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo. Question: "What are your successes?" Answer: Well, we have had a conditional, non-comprehensive, bit of success in Yemen in 2022. Maybe that had more to do with the pandemic than with the UN's diplomacy. The UN is little more than an employer and people want to keep their cushy jobs.