Cushi

I guess Ukraine was a bad example. I just noticed over the years I’ve been in the truth that some of the friends don’t seem to have much sympathy when some ethnic groups are victims of atrocities, police brutality, injustice as opposed to when others are. I remember when Katrina happened some of the friends were criticizing some of the people of New Orleans who were affected by the storm because they didn’t leave, as if that was an option. I’ve heard so many similar comments and have seen other ethnic groups get more sympathy for similar sufferings, including online and it always bothered me. I’m sorry I caused a stir. My intent of this thread was to highlight the suffering taking place in Nigeria and comment on their remarkable faith despite not being a part of our brotherhood, since this is the section for secular news.

Wow… Your tone is very insensitive and inconsiderate. You’re also jumping to conclusions. I'm not “overly influenced by news coming out of the US president.” I've known about what's going on in Nigeria for about a year now. Most of the reports I've been hearing is from a trusted brother in my congregation who still has family in Nigeria and he forwards me information they send them about what's going on there. He is a brother who's served at Bethel, did translation work, and has been an elder for many years. I trust he would give me accurate information. Donald Trump has nothing to do with my feelings on this matter. I only decided to make the thread when he mentioned it because I felt it was a good time to discuss it after putting it off so long. I barely even watch the news or read news reports. I probably spend 30 minutes doing so every 2 weeks. To be frank, I notice there's less sympathy for African atrocities than ones taking place in places like Ukraine or other European countries. I expect that from the world, but it's very discouraging to see the same callousness from some of the friends, which is part of the reason I was reluctant to post about this because I expected such comments or lack thereof. But I do appreciate that the majority of the friends who I’ve spoken to about this, including in this thread, have expressed sympathy for all the suffering taking place there.

Even if they aren't singling out Christians, that doesn't change the fact that tens of thousands of innocent people are being slaughtered, and our brothers and sisters are in danger.

In Matthew 24:29, Jesus states that it will occur immediately after the tribulation, so after the destruction of false religion, or during the respite. 29  “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened,fand the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.g We still do not know if this will be literal or not. It could very well be, since Luke’s account of Jesus’ words says people will be fainting from what they observe. I imagine, if it is literal, Jehovah’s intent won’t be to scare people, but to give stubborn ones a last-minute reason for repentance. What else would prove God’s existence and the need to repent than unexplained darkness and stars ‘falling’? In verse 30, Jesus says: Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief,hand they will see the Son of mani coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.*j If it will be literal, it may be that the whole world is engulfed in darkness. “The sun will be dark when it rises” like Isaiah 13:10 says, only to be broken up by the radiant light of the “sign of the son of man.” That would be spectacular to see!

Yes, I pray for the friends there. I mentioned that in the congregation opening prayer last week. I wonder how they are doing. I can only imagine the anxiety they must have day to day 🙁

if the proclamation takes place after the destruction of false religion, then the destruction Paul is talking about is Armageddon, not the great tribulation.

I just posted a thread about this subject.

This is a subject I've been meaning to discuss here for the past two weeks. I've been having a hard time finding non-slanted or non-religious news reports and haven't had the time to sift through the videos and reports, so I've been putting it off. There's a Nigerian brother who’s a former bethelite in my congregation that brought to my attention a few months ago that since 2009, many Islamic extremists have killed tens of thousands of people trying to serve Christ the best way they know how. Some reports say as many as 125,000 Nigerians have been slaughtered. Thousands of Churches have been burned and people are literally being killed for attending church. One man was asked to deny Christ and his hand was chopped off. What amazes me the most about all of this, is despite not knowing the cause of suffering and not having accurate knowledge, many Nigerians still hold fast to their faith and continue to go to church and try to follow Christ. The brother I mentioned sent me a video of a Nigerian politician standing in a mass grave full of dead bodies pleading in front of the camera begging the US or any other country to get involved. He was saying that despite governments denying that a genocide is taking place, the mass grave tells a different story. President Trump has recently spoken on the subject. Who knows if anything will be done about it, but what is taking place is sad and barbaric. Here's two video reports. It's the first is somewhat slanted and the second gets very slanted towards the end of the coverage, but it's coverage nonetheless.

Thank you so much for this. The possibility of it happening after the destruction of false religion makes sense because I've always thought that in order for the destruction to occur instantly up them and none of them escape, all of the politicians and religious leaders would have to be destroyed during the GT. But the Bible reveals that won't happen because the nations leaders will still be around to organize an attack on Jehovah’s people and many religious leaders will still be alive to call Jesus “Lord” and beg for mercy when he arrives. That would divide the destruction into two phases. But Paul, under inspiration, seems to be referring to one final destruction. Of course, we don't know for sure, but if the proclamation of peace and security happens after the GT begins, then all will be destroyed at the same time, leaving none to survive.

I do too, but not everyone in that area has the money to catch a flight and leave the island. Just like with Katrina that devastated New Orleans, many people were affected because they couldn't leave.

More foretold pushing between the KoTN and KoTS…

I sure hope so. Let's all pray that if it be Jehovah’s will, he will direct the slave to see to it that another similar campaign takes place. Jehovah used his prophets to repeatedly sound the warning, so it's a possibility.

Wow, I've never thought of Zechariah 8:20-23 in that context. It makes sense and is something to think about.

I read that article on my break from work. It literally had me on the edge of my seat. I love how the slave uses its “platform” to expose false religion every chance it gets and shine a light on true Christianity so people can see the difference.

That must have been scary. I'm glad you and your family are safe.