What is your method of bible study?

יהוה_saves

Well-known member
im not a very good studying type person. I pray before and after I read the scriptures. What i love most is the audio versions of the bible and i’ll listen to whole books- often times i fall asleep before it’s finished.

I don’t restrict myself to any single version or translation, though the NWT is easiest for me to navigate so i usuualy go there first but i really enjoy different renderings.

I have a beautiful special edition hard copy of the NIV bible and i have these special highlighter pens for thin paper - both my sister gave me. She sent these to me shortly after i left WT and close to the time i discovered e-watchman. There are 10 colors in the highlighter set- so pretty. So when i come upon a scripture that i want to remember i pick a color and highlight it. then I take a picture of it for my photo website (and after all that effort, i still have trouble calling up verses).

When i first discovered e-watchman i was a highlighting mad woman. haha. i think i highlighted the entire book of Habakkuk but i used all ten colors so it’s very pretty to look at.
 

SusanB

Well-known member
im not a very good studying type person. I pray before and after I read the scriptures. What i love most is the audio versions of the bible and i’ll listen to whole books- often times i fall asleep before it’s finished.

I don’t restrict myself to any single version or translation, though the NWT is easiest for me to navigate so i usuualy go there first but i really enjoy different renderings.

I have a beautiful special edition hard copy of the NIV bible and i have these special highlighter pens for thin paper - both my sister gave me. She sent these to me shortly after i left WT and close to the time i discovered e-watchman. There are 10 colors in the highlighter set- so pretty. So when i come upon a scripture that i want to remember i pick a color and highlight it. then I take a picture of it for my photo website (and after all that effort, i still have trouble calling up verses).

When i first discovered e-watchman i was a highlighting mad woman. haha. i think i highlighted the entire book of Habakkuk but i used all ten colors so it’s very pretty to look at.
It is wonderful to read many different versions.
 

kirmmy

Well-known member
It is wonderful to read many different versions.
I've been reading The Bible in Living English.


I like it because it has God's name in it, at least in the Hebrew scriptures. I'd recommend it as a project.

But when I finished it, I wanted to read the NWT. Trouble is it's the really tiny one and the print is too small for my eyes. So I'm still reading The Bible in Living English. 😥 It's like a hoppy beer, it's enjoyable in small quantities but it's time for a change.
 

BARNABY THE DOG.

Well-known member
I love the idea of bible study thread(s). My method for (personal) study has been to start with praying for discernment, then take note of phrases or words that either I do not understand or that may have other meaning. In the past it was not so easy to find things using index tools that were out there. Now with computers and the full bible text being easily made searchable it is a different experience.

Maybe watchman could add a forum heading called "bible study threads" or such. The closest one currently is "examining the scriptures", but that one is apparently used for the daily text, and rightly so.

What do you all think of another idea: to use a chat tool or skype/zoom for bible study, and do it live at a given time in small groups? Is it possible or reasonable to create a virtual house where we gather? The Org apparently has given their seal of approval to using zoom for that purpose, even though their credibility is shot, so I do not assert that they are the authority in the matter.
I wonder about the depth of meaning behind the attributes of Jehovah. We are amazed by the odd insight we have into the animal kingdom when they mimic human traits, such as cows gathering to listen to music, or dolphins greeting humans and racing before boats. Whales jump out of the water for the sheer joy of it, but surprisingly, few seek to wonder at where we get our senses from. Name an animal that does not follow its allotted purpose in life. It cannot be done. How does the spider spin a web so mathematically correct that the elements cannot destroy it? How do bees explain to other bees, where to find pollen through dance?
Creation is a bible in itself. Yet it’s crowning glory, the manifestation of the attributes of the spirit go unremarked, even though our very lives are guided by them.
How do we interpret sense of being, if not through our emotions? And can they even be divided from life, separated out, or do they constitute life? What is love, is just as important as asking “what is truth?” - probably the most profound question of all time.
We strain and worry over deciphering when the end will be; how to determine Jehovah’s purpose, what we should study to improve our chances, yet seldom stop to analyse the essence of Jehovah, the mark of the potter, that forms our very sense of being alive.
 

Nomex

Well-known member
I have a very good memory, so when it comes to Bible study, unfortunately reading the bible is not my strength in so as far as reading a certain passage/passages daily. But I have an excellent understanding of words as well, and so when something is brought up, I read the passage and all the verses surrounding that passage, and I have done that for a very long time, and I form my understanding from that. Interrestingly, this has served me very well, becasue I always review my understanding of the Bible this way and confirm constantly what I know to be true.
 

LifeLearning

Well-known member
We strain and worry over deciphering when the end will be; how to determine Jehovah’s purpose, what we should study to improve our chances, yet seldom stop to analyse the essence of Jehovah, the mark of the potter, that forms our very sense of being alive.
We do not know when the end will be. Jehovah has set things up on his terms, and could easily rebuke the peoples and world powers in such a way to extent things for another hundred years.

There are things hidden that will out, and serve to change this statement (i.e. the sealed up prophesy of Daniel) Until that time, the quoted thought from Barnaby above is an important one.

While I do prepare like the end is here, I pray that Jehovah will help me see what I should do in the interim. Unfortunately for me, going door to door preaching the good news according to WT publications is not an option. Indeed, I am living in the darkness, but I am here and ready Lord, Send me.

Edit: I was thinking of Isaiah 6:8 when I wrote 'send me'. had to go look it up.
 

BARNABY THE DOG.

Well-known member
We do not know when the end will be. Jehovah has set things up on his terms, and could easily rebuke the peoples and world powers in such a way to extent things for another hundred years.

There are things hidden that will out, and serve to change this statement (i.e. the sealed up prophesy of Daniel) Until that time, the quoted thought from Barnaby above is an important one.

While I do prepare like the end is here, I pray that Jehovah will help me see what I should do in the interim. Unfortunately for me, going door to door preaching the good news according to WT publications is not an option. Indeed, I am living in the darkness, but I am here and ready Lord, Send me.

Edit: I was thinking of Isaiah 6:8 when I wrote 'send me'. had to go look it up.
There is a slant on the end times that is becoming more prominent as society sinks into it’s own destruction - and that is that the entire ecological system that supports our life here, is declining at such a rate that any form of a future is doubtful and that, that future, such as it is, is foreseeable in decades, not centuries. I don’t refer to global warming, but more to the demise of the lifecycle.
There is though another consideration and that for me at least, is a consideration on the time we live in. That is of course, the watchtower. A body of people recognisable as representatives of the Name, is an integral part of prophesy. It is possible, perhaps, that a more representative organisation assuming and preaching the name could arise phoenix style from the ashes of the current watchtower, but what such a revival could achieve in terms of apostasy than this current example has, is debatable. The watchtower is without doubt, in its last days, with visible corruption oozing from it like a leaking coffin.
It is true that we do not know the day or hour, but the bible points to the ‘times’ in which to look for it. I agree that such ‘times’ have been ’identified’ practically by every generation since the day they were described in the bible, but now, nature it’s self describes the same thing. It is also true of human nature, that we are always looking for a definitive tangent to our hopes. The bible though points to us ‘discerning’ the time. In other words, that we look at things as a whole, rather than wait for it to hit us in the face. Hence the need to ‘be prepared’, includes as it’s main, tour de force, faith. Whatever the future holds, it is better to die faithful than undecided.
 

kirmmy

Well-known member
We do not know when the end will be. Jehovah has set things up on his terms, and could easily rebuke the peoples and world powers in such a way to extent things for another hundred years.

There are things hidden that will out, and serve to change this statement (i.e. the sealed up prophesy of Daniel) Until that time, the quoted thought from Barnaby above is an important one.

While I do prepare like the end is here, I pray that Jehovah will help me see what I should do in the interim. Unfortunately for me, going door to door preaching the good news according to WT publications is not an option. Indeed, I am living in the darkness, but I am here and ready Lord, Send me.

Edit: I was thinking of Isaiah 6:8 when I wrote 'send me'. had to go look it up.
I was thinking this the other day. Kind of like the Israelites in Egypt. They slaved under a tyrant for decades until God set them free. It's certainly possible but I agree more with Barnaby. As the poet said: "The center cannot hold". There is just way too much going wrong now to hold out much longer. The leaking coffin illustration was a nice touch. :LOL:

I remember Robert saying it's probably going to spin out of control this year. He's probably right.
 
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