Posted by AF [AF] on October 30, 1999 at 01:26:57 {G0PnT/qYmk1EwaxRomAMdaOt1gg/Zk}:
In Reply to: Discussion summaries posted by Rational on October 29, 1999 at 13:28:35:
I agree that the position taken by you, Nimrod and Gedanken on the issue of what the quote from the Survival book meant, and that Friend's contrary position is wrong. Friend quoted only a part of the paragraph in question, leaving out the most relevant part, and failed to consider the question at the bottom of the page.
Here is the paragraph that is at center stage. The relevant part that Friend omitted is bolded:
15 It would be a serious mistake to reason that, because the destruction of the "goats" is everlasting, the parable could not apply until later on, perhaps during the Millennial Reign of Christ. On the contrary, Jesus gave this parable as part of the sign of "the conclusion of the system of things." (Matthew 24:3) What he describes takes place after he is enthroned but also while his "brothers" are still in the flesh and experiencing the hardships that he mentions. We are living in that time, and it is fast running out. How vital it is, therefore, not only to put full confidence in the Kingdom but to help others to see the importance of doing so now.
In other words, right now -- right now in 1984, when the book is being published -- this is when the parable is being fulfilled, and any claim that it might be fulfilled at a later time, whether that be next year or a thousand years hence, is wrong.
This proof is further enhanced by the Society's "question" at the bottom of the page:
15. (1) How do we know that this parable applies now?
Obviously, the opposite of "this parable applies now" is "this parable applies later". "Later" might include tomorrow, next year, or after "the conclusion of the system of things" ends at Armageddon (according to WTS "reasoning").
Q.E.D.
AF