Prince's Sign of the Times turns 25

The sign of the times is also used in association with the destruction of the Jewish temple were yeshua(jesus) gives an accounting of the events that would precede the Roman invasion but the Watchtower religion claim/claimed that it had a greater or secondary fullfilment culminating in Armaggedon which never happened thus, after generations of preaching and teaching this within their religion and to the general public they quietly sweeped it under the carpet back in 1996 because the generation that was suppose to be alive to witness Armaggedon was dieing out. The dieing out was the clue to them their prophetic teaching failed. Mathew 24

As the upper echleons of the Watchtower religion played the run up to Armaggedon they even went as far as counciling Parents or Kids regarding limited communications with non-believing spouse. The religion taught its followers the divisions it caused within familys evidenced Gods favor citing scriptures from Mathew 10:32-. When you consider the historical back drop of the scripture its understandable why "acknowleding who he was" would cause divisions with in the Jewish familys.
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Even today the Wacthtower disciples use the signs of the times from Mathew Chapter 24 to prove the end of the world senerio and other.  Just a cursory read of the chapter with some historical facts shows in no uncertainty the teaching is not compatable with this chapter for a varity of reasons.  How such an er·ro·ne·ous teaching can tack hold and become a truth from God says alot about the dumb and willful  gullibleness of the Watchtower disciples.
 

The context of this chapter is about the destruction of Jersulams temple, the end of the ways of there society and yeshuas(jesus) presence, not about a global catostrophic destruction.
 
QUOTE: "Departing now, Jesus was on his way from the temple, but his disciples approached to show him the buildings of the temple.  In response he said to them:“Do YOU not behold all these things? Truly I say to You, By no means will a stone be left here upon a stone and not be thrown down.”  While he was sitting upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately, saying:“Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?” Mathew 24: 1-3

 
Yeshua(Jesus) then describes the events that would precede the destruction of the temple one of which is the accomplishment of the Preaching of the Good news.
 
QUOTE: "And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will” Mathew 24:14

He then goes on and shows after the destruction of the temple by the Romans of 70 c.e. would be the start of the great tribulation mentioned in verse 21 that would eventually come to a close or end.

QUOTE:“Immediately after the tribulation of those days...then the sign of the Son of man will appear” Mathew 24:29, 30

Up to this point and after the destruction of Jersulam and the great trbulation he then purposed a gathering of his chosen ones of that time. He then narrows down the timing of the event to the day and hour
that,“...nobody knows...” He futher, shows what the condemd peoples of Noahs day experienced that they got “...swept away...” and it happened unexpectedly, they were unaware or didn't notice the clue when Noah went into the ark,“...they took no note...” And, he likens this to his presence (for the gathering) that the actual event itself “day and hour” will come unexpectedly, like the flood came upon the peoples, thats why he futher told his chosen ones,“...you do not know”...“prove yourselves ready...” And, as an incentive, would share in more responsibility. He then warns the evil slave with loss.

It should be evident that yeshua wasn't trying to instill fear into his disciples, his chosen ones with the comparison of Noahs flood but showed them his presence would come as a surprise. And, the Watchtowers effort to compare, yeshuas encouragemnet to continue to,“keep on the Watch” with the flood victims who ,“took no note” is incompatable since it was irrelavant whether or not they took note, they were “ruined” and slated for execution. There was no opprotunity to get on the ark. Genesis 6:1-14
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This is yet another Watchtower teaching regarding the "sign of the times" which most probably will treat as insignificant and not relavant to salvation but it does reveal the quality of their research work and makes suspect their small scale interpretation(s) which the Watchtower disciples are dependant upon for understanding.

The Watchtower statement that the Pharisees and Sadducees should have known of the cataclysm is most likely false because yeshua(Jesus) hadn't yet prophesied the destruction of the temple and/or Jersualem.

QUOTE: "When Jesus Christ was on earth, he gave his listeners a lesson in observing signs and acting accordingly. He was talking about something of far-reaching importance. The Bible reports:

“The Pharisees and Sadducees approached him and, to tempt him, they asked him to display to them a sign from heaven. In reply he said to them:‘When evening falls you are accustomed to say,“It will be fair weather, for the sky is fire-red”; and at morning,“It will be wintry, rainy weather today, for the sky is fire-red, but gloomy-looking.” You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but the signs of the times you cannot interpret.’”—Matthew 16:1-3.

In mentioning “the signs of the times,” Jesus indicated that his first-century Jewish listeners should have been aware of the urgency of the times in which they were living. The Jewish system of things was about to experience a cataclysm that would affect all of them." END OF QUOTE
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The term cataclysm (from the Greek kataklysmos, to 'wash down'(kluzein "wash" + kata "down") may refer to:

- Deluge (mythology)

- a hypothetical Doomsday event

- any catastrophic geological phenomenon: volcanic eruption, earthquake

- more generally, any large-scale diaster

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataclysm
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*appeared in The Watchtower October 1, 2005, subject heading: Signs of much Greater Importance

QUOTE: "After 500,000 copies were pressed, Prince demanded his follow-up release, The Black Album, be recalled after experiencing a spiritual epiphany* where he discovered the record to be "evil." page 2(6)**

What makes the above quote suspect is that Judas, the one who betrayed Gods son, may have had a simulary experience that Prince had.



QUOTE: John 13:27 “Most truly I say to YOU, One of YOU will betray me"...“It is that one to whom I shall give the morsel that I dip"...And after the morsel then Satan entered into the latter."..."Then Judas, who betrayed him, seeing he had been condemed,...saying: I sinned when I betrayed righteous blood..." Mathew 27:3, 4

A point of obsevation is usually possession by another entity is known by the host but in this case Judas may not have been aware or didn't realize his actions until after the betrayal was accomplsihed and most likely, only after Satan had left him. Likewise with Prince he didn't realize The Lengendary Black album was a work product of evil... Although their can be legions of explainations why Prince did what he did even according to Wikepedia, "Definitions of evil vary, as does the analysis of its root motives and causes; however, evil is commonly associated with conscious and deliberate wrongdoing, discrimination designed to harm others, humiliation of people designed to diminish their psychological well-being and dignity, destructiveness, motives of causing "unnecessary" pain or suffering..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil


Releasing the limited addition of the black album sometime after his "sudden realization" to the commercial market and even now reissued prints are open to buyers may require Prince to give an explanation to the clergy overseers, known as Elders in the congergation assigned to.

Watchtower people have in the past complained to the Organazation even video recording the complaning and putting it on youtube.





*QUOTE: "An epiphany (from the ancient Greek ἐπ&#953 ;φά&#957 ;ει&#945 ;, epiphaneia, "manifestation, striking appearance") is the sudden realization or comprehension of the (larger) essence or meaning of something."


** http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2012/04/pr...



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Album_ (Prince_album)
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