The blog enters its seventh year

 

The following article will explain the background that led to the creation of the blog where it talks about the author's personal experiences.

This article does not intend to denigrate an organization in particular or attack anyone: all this is described to explain facts and background as they were experienced, therefore from the point of view of the author.

For about six years now, the author has been convinced that all religious organizations (all), are self-referential, illegal and not approved by God and none of them occupies a "special place" either for better or for worse.

Any cleric reading this article, whatever religion they come from, is encouraged to ascertain God's perfect will above and beyond their own affiliation – Jeremiah 23:21, 22; Romans 12:2

I don't remember the exact day but it was August and the year was 2016 when I finally decided to open a blog dedicated to the study of Scripture with particular attention to prophecy.

I thought a title like “Beware of Prophecy” would appeal not merely to the curious but to sincere lovers of God's Word.

However, before arriving at this decision, I had to overcome a series of problems linked above all to the religious education received.

Would that have been the right thing to do?

The religious organization to which I belonged would not have allowed it: to do such a thing would have constituted "apostasy", according to their understanding, all the more considering the tenor of the articles themselves.

Obviously the blog would not have been created to act as a branch for anyone, or to slavishly repeat the articles and intentions of that or other religions.

It was evident that, if I had finally decided to do so, the aim would have been a truly in-depth study, absolutely sincere and to the detriment of everything, purged of the religious conditioning suffered.

At least that would have been the intention.

“ We use the Bible to explain the Bible” … said the theory and it was a really good theory.

The reality of the facts, however, in this organization as in others, showed something very, very different.

What happened in the previous months that finally led me to make the decision to open the blog, knowing full well the problems this would cause me?

Studying the Bible is an honor, a duty and a privilege. No permissions are needed

The background

Like many others before me, after the post-baptism period where everything seemed perfect and wonderful, I too realized that there were several problems within what was defined as God 's people .

From 1991, the year I was baptized… I saw everything and more and not always the good.

Obviously this, in itself, would not have justified any exit.

On the other hand, even in the people of God described in the Bible we saw various problems, some even very serious, but history showed that sooner or later God intervened.

Always.

With this parallel it was always possible to diminish or even justify a certain mismanagement.

Any conversation that even threatened to become argumentative was nipped in the bud with a phrase like “God will fix things. You believe in God, don't you?"

Obviously the problem was not the contrast with the individual faithful, which could and did happen in any community, but precisely the management from above… at various heights.

All of this actually had its own logic.

If that was God's people, it had to be God who intervened through His appointee or, in the worst case scenario, He Himself would have intervened - Psalm 52:8; Galatians 5:10

On the other hand, let's try to imagine David who, disappointed by Saul's dangerous and creepy behavior, goes to the Philistines to adore Dagon... or abandons God's people because it was not at all what it should have been.

I myself wasn't that wonderful and flawless person, on the contrary!

If I myself was wrong and I had probably stepped on someone's toes… could I perhaps expect perfection from others? - Matthew 7:1-5

It was necessary to come to terms with it: although imperfect, as they often used to say, it was the best organization that could exist!

Or so I thought…. At the start.

I probably would have defended that organization to the last drop of my blood and in fact it was really sad to see that some disassociated themselves for trivial reasons such as having found the boy or girl "of the world", having quarreled with the elder on duty or other stupid and childish things.

Weren't we dedicated to God??

Weren't we supposed to be accountable to God and not to man? - Romans 14:10

However… what if I found that the very foundations of what the self-described people of God, i.e. the founding foundations of that organization, had been twisted, changed, or misinterpreted?

At that point it would no longer be a matter of simple mismanagement or conflict with the brothers.

At that point it would become a matter of consistency.

Had we dedicated ourselves to God or to an organization?

The first understanding: Babylon the Great

It seems strange but the first spark came just as I was watching a Watchtower video discussing the preaching work in Israel.

Among other things, this video mentioned how difficult it was to talk to them as they are proud, convinced that they are still God's people.

Poor deluded huh?

They didn't understand that they should have become Jehovah's Witnesses.

However, from that video I was curious to make scriptural comparisons, without any publication, using only the concordance.

Well almost immediately I realized that the Bible alone and without so many "treatises" showed some very interesting things.

Of course, it still took a long time to understand that the people of God were, are and will be the Jews even during the millennial reign; period when all obedient nations will go up to the mountain of God – Isaiah 2:2-4; Zechariah 8:23

However, at the time I clearly saw the connections to prophetic Babylon, what I would have sworn just a moment ago to be "the world empire of false religion."

I remember that everything happened very quickly.

In just one day, I had already done a 12-page research showing that Babylon the Great was none other than end-time Israel (Jerusalem) (at the time, I was still convinced that the end-time began in 1914).

Evaluating my first research, I realize today that there were several errors… but I was aware, then as now, that I had extrapolated a very, very important truth.

This had happened only and only with the concordance or by comparing the Scriptures without filters, without "explanations", without anyone's "treatises"!

I had used the Bible to understand the Bible …shouldn't we all have done this?

As mentioned, in my first research there were some errors that I corrected later; this shows that, even with the right method and the best of intentions, human error cannot be ruled out.

Surely, however, the concept of making the Bible talk to the Bible was and remains valid, as well as practical: I was on the right track and, to date, among a thousand flights of fancy, authoritarianism and puns, no one has been able to demonstrate that that research was wrong.

Not in its substance, at least.

I knew I had something big in my hands… but what was I supposed to do with it at that point?

How should I relate to my siblings and how would they view this?

Surely, they wouldn't let me talk about it.

The more moderate ones would have told me “If it is correct and it is God's will, it will come out, but until then keep it to yourself and don't tell anyone about it”, while the more “zealous” ones would have told me flatly “Do you want to put yourself to the test? place of the slave? Have you screwed up your head? Do you know what happened to Cora who wanted to take the place of Moses?”.

The first few days I was really conflicted.

I knew that if I really understood an important truth, it was through God's undeserved kindness and I could not keep it to myself.

It wasn't my stuff.

At the same time I really didn't want to stumble anyone and I had no intention of putting myself "in the place of the slave" whose position and authority I respected in all conscience at the time.

I therefore decided that the only possible thing to do was to write to the headquarters.

Before sending my research, I decided to write a long, long introduction… where I assured that I had no intention of making this research public and that I would not tell anyone about it , where I assured that I recognized their authority , where I assured that I would accept any of their decisions ( whether they accepted it or shredded it), where I also made it clear that I didn't even expect an answer… .

And indeed it was so: no one answered me.

Honestly, I'm not even sure that letter ever arrived since the big transfer maneuvers from New York to Warwick were underway at the time.

In any case, I made up my mind that I would have been good and good… convinced that I had done my duty.

I hadn't kept that research to myself and now the ball was in their hands: from now on it was just their problem.

Curiosity takes over: knowledge changes the rules

I have always considered myself a thoughtful and very curious person.

I have always enjoyed doing research, on different fields, ever since I was a child.

Anyone who has known me from an early age knows what I'm talking about.

However, when I knew what for me was "the truth", at least in this field I disciplined myself to research "only in the publications of the slave" ...

Why?

Because according to them there was so much apostate material in the world… bad stuff artfully created by former brothers to keep individuals away from the love of God.

From my point of view, at the time, it was a question of loyalty.

However, as it is easy to imagine, that precedent of Babylon began to dig into me…

That was no small thing. He was not a marginal subject.

Any thoughtful person could have put two and two together: since many biblical subjects are related to each other, understanding that Babylon the Great was anything but what we were taught what a domino effect it would cause ?

Which and how many other intentions would he have modified if not completely invalidated?

Well… I resisted for a while but in the end healthy curiosity won out despite the superstitious and vulgar conditioning.

At first I thought I would keep to myself anything that came up…but in the end it was as if the things learned had a life of their own – Hebrews 4:12

They opened up new, much broader perspectives and led to other questions…

Some of these questions hadn't come up in nearly thirty years, and I'm pretty sure the vast majority of my former siblings never asked.

It would only be a matter of time before we got to the heart of the matter.

Was the organization I belonged to really “the truth”? - John 17:17

However before getting to this I finally decided to open the blog because keeping all this knowledge to yourself would have been wrong regardless.

Could someone "stumble" ?

And why should one stumble before the Word of God? - Psalm 119:165

Wasn't the problem perhaps that someone would risk asking too many questions, exactly as I was doing?

It is true that my research could also be completely wrong and therefore, at least in theory, could lead a confused person astray... but from the very first article I emphasized my willingness to respectful discussions and in the light of Scripture.

I wrote ad nauseum in the introduction of many articles that I would remain open to confrontation and that I would retract everything… if someone would prove me wrong from scripture .

Instead this path allowed me, among many other positive things, to better understand how empty of content there was in religions in spite of appearances. All.

In the end, although starting with one or more writings, all the comparisons made ended up with "We have the slave and you don't"; “we have the gifts of the spirit”; “we have the fathers of the church”….

Faced with the impossibility of refuting certain affirmations with scriptural logic, practically all comparisons ended up with the veto of the (presumed) authority.

Is there a difference between being worshipers of God and worshipers of one's religion?

As written at the beginning, in August 2016 I published my first article and it was the one dedicated to Babylon the Great.

In the meantime, I searched the net to see if others had come to conclusions similar to mine.

I noticed that the vast majority of these sites, blogs or forums were real wastes of time.

Born of a polemical nature, many used (and do use) these spaces to let off steam... to tell how badly they were treated in that organization and the bad things they suffered.

Among other things, these sites, whether they realize it or not, play into the game of the same organization they criticize because in this way they will be able to model themselves by saying that "whoever comes out of the people of God becomes bad and unhappy by shooting at zero over everything” – compare 2 Peter 2:19-22

Some propose improbable and imaginative reforms to improve conditions… (as if this would elevate a self-referential organization to God's people).

Others claim to study the Bible, however, taking from various scholars and "scholars", generally becoming much more confused than before and thus passing from the frying pan to the fire.

In practice they have freed themselves from some chains and then run happily to put on others.

Since the first article, the blog of "Attention to the prophecy" has detached itself, clearly and categorically, from all of these.

The author does not feel hatred or resentment towards anyone and candidly admits that he has spent some happy and profound moments with his former brothers.

He recognizes the sincerity of the majority and does not contest everything from bias: several things learned were and remain valid.

Acquired truths don't become “bad” or false just because they come from that organization: in the end they come from the Bible, they are nobody's property.

At the same time, however, unconditional biblical research led him to conclude that the most important teachings (such as the identity of the slave, 1914, the number of the elect, the identity of Babylon the great and many many other things ) were simply false.

Simply fake.

Today more than ever the author is convinced that "God will solve things", exactly as they said, but not as they imagined.

God will fix things by, among others, eliminating religions – Isaiah 2:18-22

All.

Furthermore, the "Attention to prophecy" blog does not take from any "scholar", it does not refer to treatises or works of others but, apart from the minimum support of historical and/or geographical information as a compendium, it exhibits research done with the sole use of the concordance , that is to say exclusively through scriptural comparison .

This simple method has allowed us to understand many, many things (see the article " LET'S PUT IN ORDER WHAT WE KNOW AND THANK GOD ") and today we are truly light years away from that and any other organization.

We really have nothing to do with any of them anymore.

We have understood that God is about to prepare the holy first fruits and the virgin daughter of Zion (see the articles “ The Watchtower and the others ” and “ Testing our honesty before Romans chapter 11 ”) so we do not consider ourselves a people of God: We wait for God to restore pure worship and then we will attach ourselves to his representatives.

In September this adventure will enter its seventh year.

To date we are still few and we can't wait for others, Beroeans of fact and not of chatter, to approach the Word of God without conditioning.

Although few and still uncertain for the near future, the author of the article is proud to have met these people who, like him, wish to adore God with Spirit and Truth.

Few people but really good for having had the strength to go against the tide reaching the point of giving themselves ostracism for the love of God…. And they earned it big! - Hebrews 13:6

We wholeheartedly wish that other people would cast off their conditioning and draw near to God in spite of immediate carnal interests…but we will not beg for it.

God's will will be done as and when God wills and we will not water down biblical truths to make everyone happy.

There are still many things we need to figure out and we don't feel like we've arrived at all.

Instead of discouraging us, this should prompt us to keep curiosity alive, that healthy curiosity that has guided us here, from the very beginning, continuing to study and pray again and again.

With this in mind, as the world gets drunk on false assurances and is led by false ministers, let us enter our seventh year of study and let us not forget to praise God by thanking Him for all He has given us so far.

Which was a lot.

We praise Yah!