About the Rain

do you suppose when the scriptures talk about "no rain" that it means absolutely nothing or just close to it?

ex.

These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy
Revelation11

And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
Zecheriah14

of course the last one is a little tricky when considering what "Jerusalem" is-

But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Galatians4

anyway I've noticed 'the general idea' on other subjects but this one has got me wondering

You can't really take anything the Bible says to heart though. At least that's my beliefs.

You are welcome to yours as well.

Well, IMHO, rain brings water, water is the key to life. Take away rain, and you take away a building block of life. Looking at it this way, in Zecheriah14, whos families do not worship the King will not have rain, and given that many families in that time period were farmers, no rain would mean no harvest... Thats just my take on it

reply to post by princessgrey


yes you can and you're welcome also I guess even though there are threads related to whether or not you believe Jesus Christ was raised from the dead (which is the dominant point of the scriptures), this is'nt one

reply to post by whiskeycowboy


yes obviously an important matter even in our modern time which is still very much dependant on rain in all kinds of ways

Originally posted by whiskeycowboy
Well, IMHO, rain brings water, water is the key to life. Take away rain, and you take away a building block of life. Looking at it this way, in Zecheriah14, whos families do not worship the King will not have rain, and given that many families in that time period were farmers, no rain would mean no harvest... Thats just my take on it

Hmm.... I don't do the above, yet I have rain. So who's wrong?

reply to post by Chamberf=6


Granted you have your beliefs, which i respect and i hope i dont insult anyone here, but in this time period many families were religious and worshipped many religion and idols, so in a sense the bible was saying be christian, worship the christian God, and he'll bring you rain and you would have a plentiful harvest (if in case you were a farmer), and if you didnt you would have no rain...

Its kinda like marketing, "buy this car and you'll be cool" kinda thing...

Its a prophecy about modern times? "In those days" is a good tell. People who are involved where ever / whenever this is supposed to take place will be led to understand that the events described will be identifiable because of a drought in the region or place and time. There are other indicators, but this one is not as relevant to me as some others and I don't really want to put in the time to decipher it. If you have any other specifics, knock and I'll take a look,
Intrptr

reply to post by whiskeycowboy


Wasn't this thread relating the "scriptures" to modern times -- now????

Really. C'mon

reply to post by Chamberf=6


Where in the op does it reference modern times?...

reply to post by whiskeycowboy


Why else place it in "Prophecies and Predictions"?

reply to post by Rustami

This power identifies the Witnesses with Elijah, just as the power "to turn waters into blood" identifies them with Moses.
I suggest the real point is that their mission is identical with the combined mission of Moses and Elijah; viz., to stand up for God and God's people against those who would oppress them ( cf. Moses) or seduce them into idolatry (cf Elijah).

reply to post by Chamberf=6


But where is the prediction or prophecy? Seems like its about rain in the bible...

reply to post by whiskeycowboy

The passage in Revelation ch11 which the OP is quoting is a prophecy.
In fact that whole book is prophecy. That is the point.
The stopping of rain is understood to be a future event, and the question was how literally it should be taken.

Originally posted by whiskeycowboy
reply to post by Chamberf=6

 

But where is the prediction or prophecy? Seems like its about rain in the bible...

Me thinks whiskeycowboy had a might bit much whiskey on this day Thank you for trying though... This is why Bible study and discussions are only meant for the few. When the uninitiated attempt to join in, it just turns into a mockery of intelkectual discussion and is often demoted to mere thinly veiled ridicule, misunderstandings, and other types of "communication" (if you can call it that) most commonly associated with drunkards and schoolyard antics. It's almost as bad as when a "fundamentalist 'Christian'" tries to join in

It's too bad there werent more appropriate responses here. I almost feel like its a waste of time to even try, but, I feel that the rain could be interpreted as a metaphor for "life". As in, those who have the teachings of the Lord in their hearts will live a full life, or will be "full of life", whereas others will be bitter and empty. Like a dried up husk. Like those who turn to alcohol to have some form of enjoyment because the rest of life to them is just misery. You can sense it in the tone of Atheists when they attempt to talk down to you when they pretend to understand your beliefs, when really they spend all of their energy discounting the beliefs of the fundamentalists who are always making us look like crazy idiots. They chose the easy route. But you can detect such a bitterness in them and its easy to see they are not happy at all. They are happiest when they are degrading another human being, and that is not true happiness. That is not "life" in my opinion. Just as whiskey boy over here is probably happiest when sucking down on a bottle and letting the booze take over as if on auto pilot. That's not life either. That's letting the booze live it for you because you are not happy when you have to live it yourself.

*forgive me Lord, for I have stooped to their level once again. It just angers me so much to see your legacy belittled even though they do not understand you and so their comments are not truly aimed at you, its the perception of others that they are aimed at you and in this way it still troubles me and causes me to lash out at them. Please instill in me the wisdom to appropriately address these issues in a more loving and wise way, in YOUR way, when they arise. Thank you for everything. I shall now meditate on these matters and await your guidance*