The Catholic Church claim they have followed the line from Peter and can prove that far in advance than the JW. Thus you should submit to that line of thought as it was on the rock Peter the church was to be built. It is when men started to quarrel, make up meaning of scripture into doctrine and break away, that the unity in Christ was lost.
Do you consider the RCC as a continuation of what Christ taught?
It is nothing close. It became more corrupt than Judaism. There was so much blood on her hands that Jesus could never have become part of that disgusting fusion of weakened Christianity and Roman sun worship. (Isaiah 1:15; Matthew 7:21-23)
Jesus never built his church on Peter. Jesus was the rock, not Peter who never became a "Pope" or even a leader among his fellow apostles. Since all of our beliefs are those taught in original Christianity, our origins go back to Jesus and the church that he established in the first century. Did you not know that Jesus and his apostles foretold that Christianity would be corrupted by the traditions of men? It wasn't a recent event.
The prophet Daniel wrote his prophesies over 500 years before Jesus came, but his writings would not be understood until "the time of the end". (some 2,500 years in the future) It was only then that God would reveal previously concealed knowledge, and cleanse a people and refine their worship. (Daniel 12:4; Daniel 12:9-10) This was to be in preparation for the coming judgment. Their warning message along with the remedy for world peace, was to be the basis for God's judgment. (Matthew 24:14) We believe that "the end" is coming for this world, and nothing can stop it.
The more you try to prove your point by showing others how they got it wrong, the more the points become valid to your stance.
It's not about being right or wrong Tony. It's about people's response to the message. They will either accept it or reject it. The messengers are just that.....bearers of information that is a catalyst for decision. Jesus used the days of Noah as an example of what will happen as the last days of this world come to their close. (Matthew 24:37-39) Whether you see the story as literal or allegorical, how many believed Noah? What is the lesson?
The days of Noah are here again....and have the same cause.
The person that needs to be identified came with a New Name as promised. One that had the Authority from God and fulfilled those requirements.
Your prophet came with nothing to identify him as "Christ returned". He claimed that, but there was nothing to prove his claim. Jesus did not just claim to be from God but showed that he had God's spirit and backing. He cured the sick, healed the lame, blind and deaf....not just a few, but all who came to him were 100% cured. He fed thousands of people with just a couple of loaves of bread a a few fish. He even raised the dead. How did your prophet prove himself?
Do you understand that Jesus was a perfect man, not subject to the imperfections of every other human. He came from heaven so that he was not subject to Adam's inheritance of sin. (Hebrews 4:15) He would not have had a sinful nature, nor would he have succumbed to illness. Unless he was physically put to death, he would have lived forever without aging. Because he was without sin, he would never have succumbed to sickness or death.
Your prophet died of fever. That tells me that he was just a man, like many others of his ilk, making claims that he could never prove, originating from a religion that never had God's backing to begin with.
You can believe him if you wish, but I could never believe that he was who he claimed to be.
Jesus appointed his "faithful slave" to feed his fellow slaves their "food at the proper time" (Matthew 24:45)....so we have to find "him" and accept the food he serves, out of faith. We all have the same choices. What we choose determines our future. We tell God who we are by our choices. It's really that simple.
Some might jump up and down about "who really is that slave"?....Jesus appointed him, so its not Jesus.....so who are feeding at another table or even their own self-service lane. They may well find that check-out closed some time soon.....then what? No slave? No truth.
A bunch of men calling themselves the only true interpreters of the Bible, are what the Bible warned against, the people calling out in Christs name that Christ said He does not know.
There would be "false prophets" who would also "mislead many", as Jesus said. (Matthew 24:11) So it's up to us to determine who is telling the truth and who is a puppet of the devil. You know, satan's major accomplishment is to convince people that he doesn't exist. You can't actively oppose an enemy that you don't believe exists. (James 4:7)
I don't believe that the confusion about religion is any surprise. The truth is there like a starkly identifiable beacon.....so how do you hide such a beacon? You surround it with hundreds of similar looking lights with features that appeal to all sorts of people. They will choose what appeals to them and determine their own future by those choices. This makes sense to me. It may not make sense to others.
We will all know in the not too distant future, I think.
Not "species" Adrian...."KINDS". Do you understand the distinction that this classification makes concerning the animals and other creatures that were brought to Noah by God for preservation? Noah did not need to find them and he has decades to plan for the storage of food for them all. It was done under God's instruction, remember?