Thomas Walker

They've changed up the Announcements of new things. There was a time when Releases/Announcements were given at Regional Conventions, back when we called them 'District Conventions'. But that doesn't work anymore, because people like us can talk about Releases months in advance of later Conventions. So they started releasing new information at Annual Meetings. But that's going around the grapevine while the AM is being translated for the rest of the organization. But new announcements/understandings/publications all come from the GB now, and the GB has the monthly updates now. We get the themes of Conventions, new mandates on Dress and Grooming... Odds are the announcements for songs and such will come from there too.

I never know where to put the Code in either. 😅

I never thought of the Daniel parallel, but dang. It's perfect. A suspended sentence is the law saying 'We're watching you for this exact thing.'

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/18/climate/ocean-heat-record-year-climate-intl/index.html

In my territory, there are plenty of suburbs where people will just not answer the door to someone in a suit and tie. Is it someone from the Council? A landlord? A Cop? Someone sent by Child Support, or to solicit money? If nothing else, it'll shake up the territory a little.

They make this announcement right before the Special Talk/Memorial. Going to be an interesting night. My Cong has the Special Talk in four hours. We're going to see who watched the update right away. Now, if you'll pardon me a moment, I'm just going to light a small bonfire for my ties...

If some science lab announced tomorrow morning that they had cracked an 'immortality serum', you know what would happen. Everyone would fight for first dibs. The Rich and Powerful would get priority, and then suddenly realize that the world would fill up too fast, and limit access. If, for the sake of argument, everyone was given eternal life anyway, by means other than Paradise, under Divine Rule? Then what? You'd spend eternity working off debts that somehow kept growing for all eternity, the way student debt does now. Someone would raise the cost of food dramatically, because 'you can't really die, so do you need to eat, given how many mouths there are to feed?' The only way to be wealthy now is if you inherited a huge fortune from your parents. if they never die, do rich kids spend eternity on their old allowance, working in Daddy's company, with no chance to ever do anything different? If the world could have granted eternal life even 200 years ago, the Class Systems would ensure that slaves would never be freed, and spend eternity under the whip. The Aristocrats would despise poor people even more than they did already. The powerful would find some way to exploit the absence of death for their own profit. Even the very patient, who saved little coins, one at a time, for a billion years, and eventually have their fortune? imagine the bitterness that would come from centuries of denial, prejudice... If the secular world could have granted eternal life in the time of the Pharaohs, or the Emperors, or literally any point in human history, then society would have become static. With the same people in charge forever, nothing would ever change from the way it is. If a King, or a President could rule for longer than a Term Limit, or even a lifetime, the world would become fixed. Watch any period piece, any move set as recently as the 90's, and you'll see how times have changed. You nod and say "That was how we thought back then." Now imagine that you never get to see any 'new' faces on television, or hear any new leadership ideas. Believe me, Eternal Life is the least of what will make it a Paradise. *** As to the other question, "Would you step away from God's Rule if you could, without losing His Promise?" I don't know. Probably a few more movies/books/video games I'd normally avoid. It's not like going out to bars, or smoking a cigarette holds any appeal to me.

How did I not hear about this in May 2022?!

I find myself wondering about places like North Korea. The way they're brainwashed over there, they'd eat their kids before admitting their leaders don't give them enough food. Millions of people regulated into military-level 'sameness'. How do you read the heart in a life that demands you never think or feel anything of your own? How do you judge people like that? It goes so far beyond 'outward appearances'.

Ahh, I would have paid a hundred bucks to read this seven months ago. The study of it is going to be an emotional one. Everyone in my Cong is living with this worry, for at least one or two people that they love. Some of them a lot more than that. It rewrites everything we think about the GT. For some, it's the one thing that makes them hope it's further off than we think. Hoping someone will make the Big Choice before then. There's a point where we can't be any more prepared for it to happen. Taking some of the fear away is no small thing.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/25/world/gulf-stream-atlantic-current-collapse-climate-scn-intl/index.html https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/25/gulf-stream-could-collapse-as-early-as-2025-study-suggests https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66289494 I'm old enough to remember when The Day After Tomorrow was a sci-fi movie. I know this seems weird, coming from me, but Climate Change is the only aspect of the Last Days to still give me existential dread. Politics is a joke, poverty and crime are things people can recover from, and things that the Cong helps with, when times are hard for our brothers. Climate Change is the one aspect of the time that still gets me low enough to think "It's not coming. The Bible is a fairy tale after all." Never for long, but it's the battleground I'm fighting on. If Paradise doesn't come, then the long range forecast is: We're all gonna die. And the last man to starve/freeze/thirst will look back on our legacy and say: "At least we made profits for a few shareholders." Of course, the reverse is also true. I've always believed that the 'Sovereignty' issue is answered when the Earth gets to the point where our extinction is inevitable. If the System hasn't ended yet, then we aren't at the point of no return yet. Verses like the 'four winds' in Revelation tells me that Jah is counting down the seconds. Jesus even said 'If those days lasted, no flesh would be saved.' When I was younger, I thought that was talking about GT, but in truth, it applies to the Last Days as well.

Here in Australia, I've seen limited news coverage, since Gridiron is a purely American game. But we're running clips from your networks all the time. Endless debate about airspace, and whether or not Taylor Swift can make it from her Tokyo Concert to her boyfriend's luxury skybox in time... Also, the millions of dollars it takes to get a thirty second commercial during Superbowl airtime, and whether the ads this year will rely on comedy, or sex appeal; and which movies/shows/games will be unveiled. There's a heated debate about match-fixing, and whether or not it's all a prelude for a paid political endorsement, as well as an angry panel discussion about how much beer and snacks will cost, and/or people will be allowed to bring their own. There are a few sidebars about the risks of scalping tickets, and the dangers of covid and possible terror attacks in such a huge crowd... I understand there's a sporting event going on too.

So, it's been a Day or Two, so the paperback version should be safely cycled in to all the Amazon Stores. And that means it's time to put the whole thing up on the blog. Prologue Chapter One: "It's Finally Over." Chapter Two: Survivor's Guilt Chapter Three: "What Is It?" Chapter Four: The Old Ways Chapter Five: "Welcome to Paradise." Chapter Six: Legacy Chapter Seven: "I Finally Understand." Chapter Eight: Jehovah's Judgment Chapter Nine: "There's So Much." Epilogue and Afterword It's also up for download with the other books. I think we can safely declare this thread to be a Spoiler-Friendly Zone. I hope everyone's enjoying this one. There still aren't any reviews, which is unusual for this series, and ever so slightly nerve-wracking. 😅

Here's one I heard yesterday, from one of the Speakers, at the Zone Visit that was broadcast to all Austra-lasia Congregations. Two years ago, a sister in Australia came across a pigeon, with unusual colors. It was a specially bred pigeon that just landed near her. She noticed a message tube tied to it's leg. The message said: "This is a specially trained homing pigeon. Write your location, throw the pigeon in the air, and it will return home to me." (Or words to that effect.) The sister realized that someone was training/breeding homing pigeons, and was testing their range. I've since looked it up. Homing pigeons are really good about finding their way home. That's what they do, no matter how far away they fly. So our sister writes her location, and throws the bird up in the air. The pigeon promptly circles around and lands back at the Sister's feet. She tries again. Again, the bird refuses to leave. A third time, our sister tries to send the pigeon on his way. A third time, he comes straight back. Against all odds, our sister has a new pet. And she decides to start breeding them, when she finds out this particular pigeon is rare in our part of the world. Here in Australia, we are filming the 'Life of Jesus' series. A big part of production, is the provision of animals. Specifically, ones that would fit in with life in Israel, 2000 years ago. Not an easy thing to find in Modern Day Australia, as you might imagine. The production crew sent out a 'casting call' for the kind of pigeon that would offered in the temple as a sacrifice, including detailed descriptions/images of the breed of pigeon that would have been used. I can't imagine they expected to find many. But in those two years, our sister had managed to breed twenty such birds, from the homing pigeon who refused to 'go home'. Ten were donated to the production, who were surprised, and grateful. It's an obscure enough experience that I'm willing to believe it's a coincidence, but it's unlikely enough to be 'part of a plan'. I can tell you with some certainty, breeding rare pigeons is not a typically Australian pastime.

Aaaand, the Paperback Version is now available. I'll give it another day or two to cycle to the entire international bookstore, and then put the blog editions up. Thank you all for your patience, and your support. In the last few days, the book jumped back up to the Top 5 in it's (admittedly niche) category, which helps others, including Non-JW's find the series. You never know what might come of that.

I have a stack of 'to be read' books. As a result, I never get back around to favorite. I actually feel guilty rereading a fav. Audiobooks have been the answer. I get to enjoy the book again during my 'non-reading' time, and I don't mind if my mind drifts a little, because I've read the book before, and I don't get lost.

Glad you're enjoying them @bagwell1987. And if you're re-reading book 5, then it means I got the file right, and didn't put accidentally replace it with a bank statement, or a journal entry. (I know, it's a crazy thing to worry about, but these books get revised and corrected enough that it's a paranoia I always have when I release a new book. I don't relax until a few people have finished it and tell me so. 😅) Currently working on book six of BTV. No word on when it'll be ready. It's only a third of the way there. If you haven't read them, there's the 'New Earth' series. There are also other books written by JW's, if not set in paradise. You'll find them in the same forum as this thread.

Oof. That happened to me. My condolences.

Aaaand, we've made the Bestseller list. My thanks to you all.

I will admit, all the flashpoints seem to be happening at once. Gaza in outright war. The US Election finally underway. Russia expanding against Europe. Taiwan electing an anti-China reformer. The mean temperature of the world flirting with a 1.5 increase. The 'KotN' attacks on JW's... All the things that have been simmering for decades as 'what ifs' are on the boil, all at the same time, in 2024.

In the week since publication, the book has sold dozens of ebook copies, and the proofing copy of the paperback is currently en route to me for approval. Once that's done, I'll put it up on the blog, free of charge, for those who are not part of Amazon. No reviews yet, either here or on Amazon, which is slightly nerve-wracking for me, as it doesn't usually take this long, and I'm always stressed I've made some critical error, and uploaded the wrong file or something. 😅 The good news is, having a series of sales in a short time helps the book climb the charts, (Briefly hit top 20 in it's category) which helps more than you know, by gaining readers who aren't JW's. I've heard tell that people are more willing to discuss a fiction book with their JW relatives than have an actual Bible Study. For that matter, in the last week, I've sold nearly 10 copies of JSY in paperback format, I'd also like to thank everyone helping get word out to new readers.

Yup. He pulled the book when it looked like the 'door closed' at the start of GT. The new Annual Meeting has made his books more scripturally accurate than mine. 😅

Now Available Walking to Paradise, by Thomas Walker Book Five In The 'Between The Verses' Series Book Three in the 'Exodus' Trilogy Paige, Nate, and Alvin came through the darkest chapter in human history, and entered Paradise. The world is now safe, and inhabited with joyful followers of Jehovah God, who are seeing the promises of the Bible fulfilled at last. Satau, Takarut, and Leahe left Egypt with the nation of Israel. Freed from slavery by the hand of God, they enter the wilderness, on the way to a new promised land of their own. Though they live thousands of years apart, these two groups take similar journeys, following the same God as they all face the realities of a joyful future they've always been waiting for, but never experienced until now. Seeing the fulfilment of very different prophecies gave them all a strong faith, but meeting the unexpected brings its own challenges, as they build entirely new lives. From the author of 'Just See Yourself', comes a new book in the 'Between the Verses' Series, and the thrilling conclusion to the Exodus story. As before, I must delay the addition of the text to the blog. Amazon's 'crawlers' identified the text of my own blog as 'already published work' and refused to let me publish the paperback version of an earlier novel, for fear I was plagiarizing... well, myself. It'll be another week or two before I can approve the paperback version, and then the book will be added in it's entirety, free of charge, on the blog. In the meantime, if you'd like to support the author, you can purchase the ebook on Amazon, post a review, or tell a friend about this series.

Coming Soon