C) The alleged promise was based on ignorance.
twi's system shares a trait with the Mikean system- they're both Gnostic systems based on secret knowledge. The twi system-which was vpw's system, set up by him and used by him all the time- was that study of the verses was the key to God (plus the "Law of Believing"),. So, the more you study the verses, the more "godly" you can become, especially if you study it the twi way. We've all seen far too many horror stories of twi "masters" who partly memorized vpw/twi materials and were bigger schmucks if anything. Geer spent hours going over vpw's teachings in between drugging women for vpw to rape and preparing to throw himself over vpw as a human shield if anyone tried to shoot him.
But, let's expose the IGNORANCE in the alleged "promise."
How DID the 1st century Christian church know God's Word?
They knew the Torah/Old Testament. They knew the SPOKEN word, They knew The Word BY EXPERIENCE AND POWER. Think about it. They were getting converts left and right while being a disciple was ILLEGAL and punished by imprisonment, murder, or both. They got LOTS of converts with that going on. No amount of charismatic demagoguery can make up for the risk of being killed or imprisoned. You might get a few disaffected outsiders. They got Saul of Tarsus, former persecutor and murderer of Christians (he didn't put his hand on the knife, but he ordered it done.) Did the Greeks hear good speeches then run out and conclude that their gods walked among them and prepared to offer blood sacrifices? They SAW something. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. However, provide the extraordinary proof, and the claims stop looking extraordinary-at least in comparison to the proof.
The 1st century Christians preached-but were known because they had power and could deliver where they spoke. Lots of people preached and didn't get significant converts. Theirs was a pragmatic, direct, power-based ministry. twi was never that. They were study-based, and TALKED ABOUT power lots of times, then considered "Kojacking" a significant witness of "power." 1st century Christians were never centrally-controlled nor organized. twi bore no resemblance to 1st century Christianity except where twi CLAIMED they did. But all the claims don't mean reality matches a claim. The 1st century Christians probably didn't have access to the entire New Testament ANYWHERE. All documents had to be hand-copied. With no printing press and no scanners and PDFs, that was a laborious process and few copies circulated for the 1st century AD (certainly relative to now.)
So, twi has NEVER had "The Word as it was known in the 1st Century." because vpw NEVER had "The Word as it was known in the 1st Century."
vpw might have known that when he phrased the promise he was supposedly given, but he skipped over "Church history". So, he was likely to make such a mistake where God Almighty would not.
vpw made up the alleged 1942 promise. and it's easy to show all the errors. There was no such promise. There's no real, sensible reason to laud vpw or "his" books. They don't comrpise "revelation."
"Seems I find myself in disagreement with the essence of that. "They" (which from the context of your post, appears to be aimed at the church that was based in Jerusalem), and the Word of God that they knew (be it the Torah/Old Testament, the SPOKEN word, or The Word BY EXPERIENCE AND POWER), didn't get to Saul or get him to do anything - aside from hauling them off to prison and making sure they were sentenced to death."
I'm drawing a contrast between the verbiage-heavy, study-based system vpw propagated, and the simpler, action-based system in Acts. Saul of Tarsus consented to the deaths of Christians and their imprisonment for the "crime" of being Christians. He was a somewhat fanatical Jew-which made him actively anti-Christian. Would a speech reach him? No- somebody like that needs to see something. In his case, it wasn't a sales-pitch for a green-card, but being blown off his horse by a flash of light that spoke to him and gave him temporary blindness. THAT got his attention. Until then-and a day or so to think it over- no speech would have gotten through. When I say "they got" it was in the sense of "and FC Barcelona got Lionel Messi that season." ("We got Potter!") Saul of Tarsus joined the team.
"And, as for the Greeks, I don't see that it was anything that they believed as a result of something they saw (or experienced) that turned the world upside down. Instead, I think it was their response to the words that Paul spoke - which they then believed to be the Word of God - which turned the world upside down."
Acts 14: 7-13 (KJV)
7 And there they preached the gospel.
8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:
9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.
11 And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
12 And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.
13 Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
Acts 4: 14-16 (KJV)
14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,
16 Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.
Acts 5:12-16
12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.
13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.
14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)
15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
Acts 6:8-10
8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
Acts 8:5-13
5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
8 And there was great joy in that city.
9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
Acts 9:32-35
32 And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.
33 And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy.
34 And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.
35 And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord.
Acts 9:36-42
36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.
37 And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber.
38 And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them.
39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.
40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
41 And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.
42 And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.
They certainly preached- but with nothing to see, there would not have been as dramatic a conversion rate. People SAW things, people EXPERIENCED things. It's one thing to believe someone can get healed- but if YOU'RE the one healed, it's hard to be convinced it didn't happen. I'm pretty sure the man born blind and the lame at the temple gate Beautiful weren't convinced that it was all just pretty speeches once they got their healing-they knew the difference.
On the other hand, Paul did preach without the miracles, and the results weren't a swelling of converts.
Acts 17:21
(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time
in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
A few converts joined, but the majority were just there for some entertainment and new philosophy. The Greeks who saw miracles sat up and paid attention.
Is it possible to see a similarity between vpw's preaching about Greek words and Paul's preaching and miracles? vpw talked a good game, but when it came time to demonstrate power, he didn't. Saul of Tarsis got confused for a Greco-Roman god on the basis of ONE dramatic miracle. No reasonable person would look at the results of both and say there's little or no difference between them.
The POINT OF THIS THREAD is to point out how the 1942 promise failed to match reality and is rather clearly not a promise from God. If you want to get into a different subject, please take it to a different thread.
