On his last sojourn to Jerusalem, Jesus stunned his apostles when he viewed the temple and said that no stone would be left standing upon a stone and not thrown down. After a few days, the apostles approached Jesus privately and asked for more details. They wanted to know when these things would befall Jerusalem and the temple.
Evidently though, the apostles were inspired by God to inquire for us. In what sense? At the time they approached Christ on the Mount of Olives, they did not even understand that Jesus was going to be put to death, then raised from the dead, ascend into the heavens, and then return at a much later date. They certainly had no knowledge of a future parousia. And yet they asked for a sign of his presence and the conclusion of the system. Needless to say, none of the apostles lived to see his presence.
It is most noteworthy that Jesus prefaced his prophecy and parables with a warning: “Look out that you are not misled, for many will come on the basis of my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The due time is near.’ Do not go after them. Furthermore, when you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified. For these things must take place first, but the end will not occur immediately.” — Luke 21:8,9
There are many end-time preachers now. Most of them come from Evangelical sects and cults, and more are jumping on the end-times bandwagon as time goes on. However, if we are honest, we will recognize that no sect has been as vocal for as long as the Watchtower in announcing that Christ is here and “the due time is near,” or as the NWT Reference edition says, “The due time has approached.”
C.T. Russell’s second volume in the Studies in the Scriptures, published in 1889, was entitled The Time is at Hand. Interestingly, two years later the American Standard Version of the Bible was published and it rendered Jesus’ words exactly the same: “Take heed that ye be not led astray: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am he ; and, The time is at hand: go ye not after them.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses will rationalize and say that the time was at hand back then because the Kingdom was put in place in 1914. If that were true, though, what wars and disturbances preceded the outbreak of the Great War that may have been cause for giving way to terror?
Here we are now, more than a century removed from when the time was at hand, and the nations of the world are faced with a developing crisis that sober-minded people fear could devolve into another world war and the use of weapons of mass destruction.
Nuclear war is unthinkable. That is why most people dismiss it as an impossibility. People naturally assume that the leaders of the world would not be so reckless and stupid. Provoking a world-ending nuclear holocaust would be insane. Only madmen would blow up the world. And yet, the reality is that the war party in London and other capitals of the West are committed to toppling President Putin and breaking up Russia into smaller pieces. This has been the long-range goal of the British Empire for over two hundred years. Since the end of the USSR and the disbanding of the Warsaw Pact more than 30 years ago the steady expansion of NATO up to Russia’s border is evidence that the Empire is advancing their policy to conquer and subjugate Russia. The Russians know this. They have stated repeatedly that a direct attack upon Russia will be met with a nuclear response. By the way, with the recent terror attack still under investigation, it may ultimately be determined that British and American intelligence were involved, in which case Russia may conclude that they are at war with the West and bypass the Ukrainian proxy.
So, nuclear war is not unthinkable. It is part of Russia’s military doctrine of self-defense. And by all accounts, Russia is under attack. The Warhawks in the West have dismissed Putin’s warning. They say he is bluffing. And so the Anglo beast keeps pushing harder, using longer-ranging missiles to strike deeper and deeper into Russia.
Then there is the war in the Middle East. So far the Islamic nations surrounding have stood by and allowed Israel to slaughter the people of Palestine. That may not always be the case though. And then there is China. Or, rather, the ongoing provocations of China by the same Warhawks of the Anglosphere who are driven by the knowledge that their system is bankrupt and on the verge of collapse and that a new system is emerging—BRICS
Surely, these are the wars and disturbances that “must take place first” before nations and kingdoms are plunged into total war and peace is taken from the earth. Now consider what is stated in the 12th paragraph:
12 Even after the great tribulation starts, it is possible that some who see the destruction of “Babylon the Great” will recall that Jehovah’s Witnesses had long spoken of this event. Might some who see these events have a change of heart?
As I have frequently pointed out there is no scriptural support for the Watchtower’s oft-repeated declaration that the tribulation begins when the eighth king turns upon Babylon the Great. That is why they never offer any. But now it seems that the Watchtower is repudiating itself by speculating that it is possible for some to have a change of heart after God’s judgment is executed against Babylon.
Besides the fact that Babylon will not be destroyed during the tribulation and so it will not be possible for people to recall that what Jehovah’s Witnesses had said turned out to be true, for as long as the Watchtower has existed, it has urged people to get out of Babylon the Great before God’s judgment befalls it. And that warning is supported by the Scriptures. Just for the sake of review let us consider it again: “And I heard another voice out of heaven say: “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues.” — Revelation 18:4
Tragically, apparently, Jehovah’s Witnesses have become so stupefied by the repetition that they do not realize that the Watchtower has casually nullified God’s word. If it were possible for a person to have a change of heart, why would God’s angel sternly warn the people of God to get out of her before she is condemned?
Perhaps there are a few Jehovah’s Witnesses who are sober who are reading this article. To you, I appeal and exhort you to appreciate that we are witnessing the extraordinary fulfillment of prophecy. In light of the Watchtower’s repudiation of itself and contradiction of the Bible, the word of God is fulfilled: “And these also go astray because of wine; their alcoholic beverages make them stagger. Priest and prophet go astray because of alcohol; the wine confuses them, and they stagger from their alcohol; their vision makes them go astray, and they stumble in judgment. For their tables are full of filthy vomit—There is no place without it.” – Isaiah 28:7-8
The publishers of the Watchtower have always claimed that the words of Isaiah applied to the clergy of Christendom. But it is now obvious that the Governing Body is drunk with its own importance. They are staggering and have no idea where they are in relation to the coming of Christ. They are confused about the nature of the tribulation. They have stumbled in their judgment, as is evident in their statement above. In a spiritual sense, their prophetic interpretations that are served up as the finest spiritual food available are set on a table full of revolting vomit.
End of part six
]]>Listed under the subheading Things We Do Know the paragraph states:
11 We do know several things about future events. For example, we know that at Armageddon, people will be dealt with on the basis of how they have treated Christ’s brothers. (Matt. 25:40) Those judged as sheep will have shown their support for the anointed and for Christ. We also know that some of Christ’s brothers will still be on earth after the great tribulation starts and will not be taken to heaven until shortly before the outbreak of Armageddon. As long as the brothers of Christ are still on earth, it is possible that honesthearted individuals will have the opportunity to support them and the work they are doing. (Matt. 25:31, 32; Rev. 12:17) Why are those facts significant?
Do we really know what Jesus’ illustration of the sheep and the goats and their relationship to the brothers of Jesus means? What Paul wrote to the Corinthians seems applicable: “If anyone thinks he knows something, he does not yet know it as he should know it. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by him.” — 1 Cor. 8:2,3
There is a reason Jesus related the illustration of the sheep and the goats after outlining all the events that will lead up to the Son of man standing at the door. The reason is the manifestation—also known as the revelation and the parousia—will occur after the great tribulation is cut short. Hold that thought.
Who are the brothers of Christ? ‘They are anointed persons,’ JWs will respond. And they would be right. Except, how do we know who is really anointed? And what if an anointed Christian becomes unfaithful? Do we still get credit for supporting them?
Not only that, but a growing number of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been misled into believing that all Christians, even those who do not confess having the upward call should publicly partake of the emblems at the annual Memorial. That certainly muddies the water. But it is worse. There are also phony anointed persons—pretenders who are indistinguishable from the genuine. If you want to know, that is what is symbolized by the wheat and the weeds in another of Jesus’ illustrations to be fulfilled during the conclusion.
Speaking to two of the seven symbolic congregations of anointed persons in Revelation, Jesus revealed that there is a synagogue of Satan residing in the midst of his congregations composed of persons who lyingly claim to be Jews. Christians with spiritual discernment know that Jesus is not saying that imposters pretend to be of Hebrew ethnicity. Paul taught us that the real Jews are ones on the inside. They are anointed persons who are in union with Jesus and Jehovah. So, those within Christ’s congregation who pretend to be Jews are people who falsely present themselves as anointed brothers of Christ. Paul also wrote concerning the “superfine apostles” who disguised themselves as ministers of righteousness in imitation of the Devil who disguises himself as an angel of light.
Since Paul revealed that the most prominent men overseeing the Corinthian congregation were false apostles, and Jesus also revealed that there will be false apostles in his congregation when the Lord’s day begins, is it possible that some among the leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses who present themselves as the faithful and discreet slave, in reality, belong to the synagogue of Satan? Yes! It is an absolute certainty. That is what the man of lawlessness is—prominent persons who present themselves as men of God and brothers of Christ, who sit down in the spiritual temple of God among the called ones and use their authority to promote a false parousia, which is the foundational cornerstone of the Watchtower.
So, since we dare not discount the word of God that reveals Satan’s presence among the true sons of God, how are we to discern who is a genuine anointed Christian and who are members of the synagogue of Satan?
Consider what Paul said, that we are hidden in Christ. What does that mean? In what sense are anointed persons hidden? Here is what the anointed apostle wrote: “For you died, and your life has been hidden with the Christ in union with God. When the Christ, our life, is made manifest, then you also will be made manifest with him in glory.” — Colossians 3:3,4
Ah, Jesus himself is also “hidden.” The revelation of Christ will be when the Son of man comes out of hiding—when he makes himself manifest in glory. In what sense will those hidden in Christ also “be made manifest with him in glory”? To answer that question we must first understand who Christ will become manifest to. John, who was with Jesus when he was transfigured, wrote to his fellow anointed brothers concerning the manifestation of Jesus, saying: “See what sort of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are. That is why the world does not know us, because it has not come to know him. Beloved ones, we are now children of God, but it has not yet been made manifest what we will be. We do know that when he is made manifest we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as that one is pure.” — 1 John 3:1-3
Needless to say, all of those who have died in union with Jesus will see him as he is when they are awakened from the dead and rise to heaven. But Jesus will not need to make himself manifest to anyone in heaven. Christ sits at God’s right hand and he is manifest to every spirit in the realm. No, “when he is made manifest” is in relation to anointed persons on earth who “will see him just as he is” when Christ comes alongside them—which is what the parousia is.
Since there is to be a revelation of Jesus and those who will see his manifestation will also become manifest in glory as sons of God, and this will take place after the tribulation is cut short, this means that the judgment of the sheep and the goats based upon their treatment of Christ’s brothers can only occur during the post-tribulation period. That is when the revealing of the sons of God will take place. And who will see the revelation of the chosen ones? Take note of what Paul wrote: “For I consider that the sufferings of the present time do not amount to anything in comparison with the glory that is going to be revealed in us. For the creation is waiting with eager expectation for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but through the one who subjected it, on the basis of hope that the creation itself will also be set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the children of God.” — Romans 8:18-21
The inspired apostle and spokesman for Christ confirms that the manifestation of the holy ones in glory will be while they are in the flesh. But in answer to the question, to whom will the glory of the sons of God be revealed? Paul referred to “creation.” What is creation in that context? Surely it is not the animal creation. Nor could it possibly include unbelievers. They are not in “expectation.” Paul said that the “creation is waiting with eager expectation for the revealing of the sons of God.” That means that persons of faith who are not brothers of Christ are expecting God to reveal something to them when the Kingdom comes. That being evident, since Jehovah’s Witnesses expect to be set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the children of God as was once briefly experienced in Eden by our original parents, why does not the earthly creation expect to see the manifestation of the sons of God in glory?
File it under God’s guarded secrets that are yet to be revealed. But what about the statement that the brothers of Christ will not be revealed until after the tribulation, what is the biblical support for that radical departure? To be continued…
End of part five
]]>When Jesus was among his disciples he often spoke about his being raised up upon a stake and killed. His disciples, even his chosen apostles could not understand Jehovah’s future judgments at that time. The reason they could not is because they had preconceived ideas that they could not dislodge from their minds.
As Jews, they were expecting the Messiah. They understood from the Psalms and Prophets that the Messiah would become a great king. And they accepted Jesus as the foretold Christ and king of the line of David. They even believed that Jesus was the Son of God. However, they could not conceive of Jesus being violently put to death, then resurrected, then being raptured into heaven from where he would eventually reign as King over, not just tiny little Israel, but over the world—even the universe and the invisible realm.
That is why when Jesus appeared to them after he had come back from the dead he rebuked them for being senseless and slow in heart to believe all the things the prophets spoke.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are in a similar position as the apostles prior to their being enlightened by the resurrected Christ. The reason is the same too—false expectations and not understanding all the things the prophets wrote. Except the false outlook Jehovah’s Witnesses are laboring under is not merely the result of a lack of understanding. It is a powerful delusion—an operation of Satan. Jehovah has allowed the Devil to fabricate an elaborate false fulfillment of prophecy with the fake return of Christ as the very foundation of the delusion. Did not Jesus give fair warning that many false Christs and false prophets will arise and try to deceive even the chosen? I have written about this satanic delusion and 1914 fairly extensively. Now let us consider paragraph 12:
12 Even after the great tribulation starts, it is possible that some who see the destruction of “Babylon the Great” will recall that Jehovah’s Witnesses had long spoken of this event. Might some who see these events have a change of heart?
Keep in mind that paragraph 12 falls under the subheading of Things We Do Know.
Over the years I have hammered the Governing Body pretty hard. But it is not all on them. It is becoming clearer to me that Jehovah’s Witnesses fit the description of those whom Paul said “will surround themselves with teachers to have their ears tickled.”
All Christians are obligated to make sure of all things and to test the inspired utterances to determine if they originate with God or from some other source. It is a fairly easy thing to do. It merely requires that we take the time to examine the Scriptures and use our minds to ponder and reason upon them.
Anyone who aspires to be a teacher of God’s word is obligated to prove by scriptural references what they teach is true. Take the Watchtower’s oft-repeated statements that Babylon the Great will be destroyed during the great tribulation—even that the tribulation will begin when the United Nations suddenly turns against false religion.
It is not a question of whether the Bible foretells such a thing. The 17th and 18th chapters of Revelation depict the symbolic harlot of Babylon being devoured by a wild beast with seven heads. It is not even a question of whether the harlot symbolizes false religion. It surely does. And we know the vision of the scarlet-colored beast that arises from the abyss represents the eighth king of Bible prophecy. No reason to doubt that either. Revelation says so quite plainly. The question is when does this occur? Where in the Bible can we determine the timing of this, if this event is the main feature of the tribulation? How can we make sure?
Surely the learned men of Bethel who have studied the Scriptures for decades know. And, as I pointed out, Babylon being at the center of the tribulation is listed in this May 2024 article as things we do know.
So then, why has the Watchtower never offered so much as one verse to support their oft-repeated, never-to-be-questioned, seemingly-inspired forecast regarding the beginning of the tribulation and the end of Babylon the Great? I challenge any student of the Watchtower to point to any scriptural backing in all of their publications for their strong assertions.
Just to clarify, the Watchtower used to point to the desolation of Jerusalem, which Jesus linked to the great tribulation. It was assumed that Jerusalem represented Babylon, the great city. However, they have quietly walked away from that since it is indefensible. So, now they are left with nothing but dogmatism.
Reasoning upon the Scriptures, Jesus said that the tribulation would be unlike any disaster that has ever occurred before or will ever occur again. That would include the Flood that destroyed an ancient world. Jesus went on to say: “In fact, unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short.”
The tribulation will be something far more grave, far worse, than the liquidation of organized religion. Besides, if the great tribulation is coming upon the entire inhabited earth to destroy false religion, why would God intervene to stop it? Does not the scripture say that God will put it into their hearts to carry out his judgments? Why cut it short?
Take China, for example. It is a large part of the inhabited earth making up about a sixth of the world’s population and there is no organized religion openly operating there anyway. Does that mean China will be largely unaffected by the tribulation that is coming upon the entire inhabited earth?
Obviously, if no flesh could survive without divine intervention the tribulation cannot possibly be what the Watchtower claims it is. So, the future judgments of Jehovah that they boast of knowing are a delusion.
Another aspect of the satanic delusion that presently grips Jehovah’s Witnesses is the belief that the eighth king has already begun ruling in the form of the United Nations. It is another example of things the Watchtower pretends to know, but does not. How do we know?
Because the ascension of the eighth kingdom only comes about in the aftermath of the crash of the present system and Jehovah’s future judgments will be based upon how people of the world respond to that development.
To be clear, the emergence of the seven-headed beast from the abyss will occur after Jehovah cuts short the tribulation. The tribulation is depicted in Revelation by the symbolism associated with the opening of the sixth seal. Could anything be more terrifying than if the sun literally turned black, the moon turned into blood and the stars fell from the sky? What does it mean that every mountain and island will be rocked from their place? It betokens the crash of civilization. It doesn’t take a great deal of imagination to envision the sudden catastrophic blowout of the overripe gamblers’ financial system taking down the bankrupt Anglo-American dual power, does it? Would not such a disaster seem as if the sky had fallen? People talk of such an outcome even during a time of peace. How could such a fragile, debt-bloated system possibly endure when the hypersonic missiles are let loose?
Jesus used this very same imagery when speaking of events during the tribulation when the powers of the heavens will be shaken and men will become faint with fright in dread of the things befalling the world. Specifically, Jesus said: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” — Matthew 24:29
In saying “immediately after the tribulation of those days” Jesus indicates that the tribulation does not segue into Armageddon. There is to be a reprieve after the tribulation is cut short. But it will not be the same world as existed before. There will be a foreboding looming over the world as if the sun had darkened and the moon permanently went on the wane. Most likely the literal heavenly luminaries will be dimmed by the smoke and ash residual from plumes of mushroom-shaped clouds billowing into the stratosphere.
We should not suppose, though, that God will permit a full-on nuclear holocaust. That would spell the end of humanity and impose a nuclear winter that would render the planet into a lifeless cinder. We know the Creator will not allow the demons to destroy his work. But what else but a limited nuclear exchange would necessitate divine intervention to prevent the extinction of mankind? And limited, not by humans coming to their senses, but by Almighty God’s intervention. How many nuclear blasts will Jehovah permit? We have to list that among the things we do not know.
Now as regards the Watchtower’s speculation that unbelievers will have a change of heart consider what is also written with the unsealing of the sixth seal: “Then the kings of the earth, the high officials, the military commanders, the rich, the strong, every slave, and every free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they keep saying to the mountains and to the rocks: “Fall over us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
What this revelation tells us is that even though it will be apparent in some way that God has intervened to save mankind from destroying itself, the majority of the survivors will take their stand in opposition to what they will perceive as Jehovah’s judgment against them. Instead of coming out with their hands up, so to speak, they will seek a human savior. As a result of their constructing an institution to save them from the One seated on the throne, the beast will arise from the abyss or from the earth as is symbolized by the two-horned lamb. The fact that the resurrected lamb-beast will begin speaking as a dragon indicates that the Lord of lords and King of kings will no longer be using as his ministers the civil servants formerly known as the superior authorities. The Kingdom of Christ will be fully operational then and all of the kings of the earth will be in full opposition to it. The beast will operate totally as an instrument under the control of Satan the Devil, the one pictured as a dragon.
The 13th chapter of Revelation reveals the basis for Jehovah’s future judgments. Regarding the two-horned beast that arises from the grave, we read: “It misleads those who dwell on the earth, because of the signs that it was permitted to perform in the sight of the wild beast, while it tells those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the wild beast that had the sword-stroke and yet revived. And it was permitted to give breath to the image of the wild beast, so that the image of the wild beast should both speak and cause to be killed all those who refuse to worship the image of the wild beast. It puts under compulsion all people—the small and the great, the rich and the poor, the free and the slaves—that these should be marked on their right hand or on their forehead, and that nobody can buy or sell except a person having the mark, the name of the wild beast or the number of its name. This is where it calls for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is a man’s number, and its number is 666.” — Rev. 13:14-18
In the same chapter of Revelation, we are informed that all of those who dwell on the earth will worship, not only the beast but the dragon who gave it life. And because of their refusal to accept Christ as Earth’s new King, they will not have their names written in the book of life—meaning they will be sentenced to the second death.
Here is where the Watchtower’s delusion is most apparent because God’s mouthpiece claims that the beast has already suffered its foretold mortal wound and revived and the image of the beast has already put everyone under compulsion to worship it and those who refuse have already been killed and all who do worship it have already been marked with the indelible 666.
It is impossible to reason with Jehovah’s Witnesses on this matter. The delusion is strong. To point out to them that if people have already received the mark of the beast that means they have already been irrevocably judged as unworthy of life has no effect. They cannot grasp that if people have already been sentenced to everlasting death there is no point in preaching salvation to the damned.
For an article that the Governing Body presumes explains what we know about Jehovah’s future judgments to omit entirely any discussion of the mark of the beast ought to raise some concern among thinking JWs. But, alas, the delusion is powerful and the inclination to have their ears tickled prevails.
As Jehovah’s watchman, I submit to you that the first act of Jehovah’s future judgments will be directed against the Watchtower and bring about the toppling of the whitewashed wall of pretended knowledge of Jehovah’s future judgments.
Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Because you have spoken what is false and your visions are a lie, I am against you,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. My hand is against the prophets whose visions are false and who foretell a lie. They will not be among the people with whom I confide; nor will they be written in the registry of the house of Israel; nor will they return to the land of Israel; and you will have to know that I am the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. All of this is because they have led my people astray by saying, “There is peace!” when there is no peace. When a flimsy partition wall is built, they are plastering it with whitewash. Tell those plastering with whitewash that it will fall. A torrential downpour will come, hailstones will fall, and powerful windstorms will break it down. And when the wall falls you will be asked, ‘Where is your coating of plaster?’ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘I will cause powerful windstorms to burst forth in my wrath, and a torrential downpour in my anger, and hailstones in destructive fury. I will tear down the wall that you plastered with whitewash and bring it down to the earth, and its foundation will be exposed. When the city falls, you will perish within her; and you will have to know that I am Jehovah.” — Ezekiel 13:8-14
End of part four
]]>Part Three: This is a continuation of the consideration of the Watchtower article entitled: What Do We Know About Jehovah’s Future Judgments?
There is a subheading in the article that states: WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW. Bluntly, what they admit to not knowing is insignificant compared to what they actually do not know. One could write a book about what Jehovah’s Witnesses do not know about Jehovah’s future judgments. In fact, someone has. Me. Jehovah Has Become King. But I do not pretend to know it all. That is why I subtitled the book: A Primer for the Apocalypse
I gifted every member of the Governing Body and every branch office around the world with a free copy of the first edition. I doubt if anyone among them has ever read it though. They simply are not interested. The Governing Body explained at their Annual Meeting that they have exclusive rights to the truth and any new light from Jehovah can only be channeled through them. So, there you go. That is why Jehovah’s Witnesses do not know, because what they regard as the mouthpiece of God has not told them.
But do not take my word for it. Consider what God has said in the book He has sponsored. “From now on I am announcing new things to you, guarded secrets that you have not known. Only now are they being created, and not long ago, things that you never heard before today, so that you cannot say, ‘Look! I already know them.’ No, you have not heard, you have not known, and in the past your ears were not opened. For I know that you are very treacherous, and you have been called a transgressor from birth.” — Isaiah 48:6-8
We might rightly inquire when is “now”? That is because God says “From now on.” Or, when is “today”? Because God refers to “things that you never heard before today.”
To be sure, God was only speaking to the Israelites in a token way. The “Jacob” to whom God’s words are directed is the “Israel of God” that Paul referred to in Galatians. Except, the “now” and “today” when Jehovah unveils his closely guarded secrets to his treacherous servant, secrets that you do not know, is during the Lord’s day. The unveiling of God’s judgments is what the Apocalypse is.
To state it as simply and concisely as can be said: Jesus did not begin ruling in his Kingdom in 1914. Allow me to say it another way: The Lord’s day has not begun. And that changes everything. Or, better said—It will change everything in the future when the Apocalypse begins.
Now, as regards the Watchtower article, they claim that the billions of people who have not had an opportunity to know the truth will have that opportunity in the future even after the tribulation, which is supposedly when the United Nations will destroy false religion. That is strange considering that the Watchtower has always said the tribulation will lead right into Armageddon.
But, now, take into consideration that the Apocalypse has not begun. And what shall we expect to happen when it does? Besides the ouster of Satan and his angels from heaven, which will occur in the invisible realm, the sixth chapter of the book of the Apocalypse portrays the future unveiling of Jehovah’s judgments as a scroll sealed with seven seals. The unsealing of the first four seals represents the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Regarding the horsemen bringing war, famine, and pestilence, the eighth verse states: “And I saw, and look! a pale horse, and the one seated on it had the name Death. And the Grave was closely following him. And authority was given them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with a long sword and with food shortage and with deadly plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.”
I am not going to waste space here explaining how we know that the horsemen of the Apocalypse were not unleashed in 1914. I have written extensively on it already. I only wish to point out that the Book of Truth reveals that the horsemen bringing war, famine, and pestilence are given authority over one-quarter of the earth’s population. The fact that the Grave is closely following the horseman called Death means that if the Apocalypse begins this year, 2024, which it very well may, we can expect approximately two billion souls to be claimed by the Grave before it is over.
If this event began in 1914 ought we expect to see the population of the world exploding from about one billion at the beginning of the 20th Century to the eight billion souls now? Please let your common sense prevail.
So, let the Governing Body factor into their new light on unbelievers accepting the truth after the tribulation, that millions now living will be killed by the ravages of war, famine, and pestilence. The good news is that they will go to the Grave and not the lake of fire.
4 Should we view the account of the Flood as a prophetic type? The answer is no. Why? Because there is no direct Scriptural support for doing so. Jesus did compare “the days of Noah” to the time of his presence, but he did not imply that the Flood was a prophetic type, with each person and each event having a corresponding antitype; nor did he say that the closing of the door of the ark had any prophetic significance. This does not mean, however, that we cannot learn from the account of Noah and the Flood.
It would seem that the Watchtower has completely lost sight of the truth. Years of promoting a lie will do that to you. First, Jesus did not compare the days of Noah to “the time of his presence.” Jesus compared the days before the Flood, when people were eating and drinking and going about their business, to the days prior to his presence, when people will be eating and drinking and going about their business.
Do you really care to know what Jesus actually said about this topic of vital importance without the Watchtower inserting words to bend the meaning? Here is what Jesus said: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father. For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. For as they were in those days before the Flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they took no note until the Flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken along and the other abandoned. Two women will be grinding at the hand mill; one will be taken along and the other abandoned. Keep on the watch, therefore, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know one thing: If the householder had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have kept awake and not allowed his house to be broken into. On this account, you too prove yourselves ready, because the Son of man is coming at an hour that you do not think to be it.” — Matthew 24:36-44
For the sake of brevity, I did not include the next span of verses, but it is probably the most often quoted verse in the book of Matthew, at least by the Watchtower. It starts with Jesus posing the question: “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave…”?
Keep in mind that Jesus was responding to the question put to him by the apostles regarding the conclusion and the parousia. So, Jesus is speaking to anointed Christians who are living before the unknowable day and hour when the Son of man arrives. Jesus is exhorting his slaves to prove themselves ready because the sudden arrival will be like the day Noah went into the ark. Then one will be taken and the other abandoned.
Even with all of their 1914 hullabaloo, since 2013 even the Governing Body now admits that Christ has not come as a thief in the night to judge the slaves appointed to feed the domestics. Although they made that concession they will never accept what that means. What it means is Christ’s presence has not begun. Hence, the need to keep on the watch for the Lord’s coming.
End of part three
This is a continuation of the consideration of the Watchtower article entitled: What Do We Know About Jehovah’s Future Judgments?
2 Jehovah continues to help us to have a clearer understanding of the major events that lie just ahead. (Prov. 4:18; Dan. 2:28) We can be certain that by the time the great tribulation starts, we will know all we need to know in order to endure faithfully and even prosper during that challenging period. However, we must recognize that there are some things that we just do not know about the near future. In this article, we will first discuss why we have reconsidered what we have said about some of those events. Then we will review some of the things that we do know about the future and the way that our heavenly Father will act.
Nothing could be further from the truth or more wrong. Jehovah has not helped anyone among the leaders of the Watchtower to have a clearer understanding of what lies ahead. Jehovah has, in fact, done just the opposite. Read it and “Be stunned and amazed; blind yourselves and be blinded. They are drunk, but not with wine; they are staggering, but not from alcohol. For Jehovah has poured a spirit of deep sleep on you; He has closed your eyes, the prophets, and he has covered your heads, the visionaries.” — Isaiah 29:9-10
Ask yourself, what major events lie ahead? Well, in their spiritually inebriated state, the Governing Body wishes to quibble about such things as whether or not unbelievers will be saved through the tribulation or who will be resurrected. This was the “new light” that sprang from the 2023 annual convocation of the prophets and visionaries. They must feel like it demonstrates their humility to speak authoritatively of things they do not know. Oh, but if only they knew the things they really do not know! And the Governing Body boasts that they have no reason to be embarrassed or ever apologize? They are going to regret ever having said that.
To be sure, the great tribulation is a major event and it does lie ahead, but nothing else the Watchtower teaches in connection with it is reliable.
Since the Watchtower first began publishing in 1879, the Second Coming of Christ has always been rendered into a non-event. Pastor Russell convinced those original Bible Students that an invisible parousia had begun in 1874 and that the Kingdom came into power in 1878. Then around 1930, Judge Rutherford unceremoniously readjusted the dates for these earthshaking events and attached them to 1914. And just like that the most important date in all human history flipped from 1874 to 1914.
According to their dimming light, the Second Coming of Christ is a mere footnote in modern theocratic history. Truly, most of Jehovah’s Witnesses do not even know the Watchtower claims the Second Coming took place 110 years ago. That’s because the phrase “second coming” is not even in the Watchtower’s lexicon of theocratic lingo. Certainly, the average churchgoer would consider the declaration that the Second Coming occurred more than a century in the past to be preposterous, which, of course, it is.
Let us be honest with ourselves. No Second Coming of Christ has taken place. It cannot possibly pass by so uneventfully. So, when the Governing Body speaks of Jehovah helping them to have a clearer understanding of major events that lie just ahead, why is there no mention of the monumental coming of Christ? Is it such an insignificant event in their minds?
Jesus spoke an illustration, a story involving a bridegroom and 10 virgins awaiting his arrival. All of the virgins nodded off and were suddenly aroused from sleep when a call echoed through the night: “Here is the bridegroom! Go out to meet him!”
Now, here is the question: Has the call gone out in the middle of the night announcing the arrival of the bridegroom? Yes, at least according to the Watchtower. It has been announcing the bridegroom’s arrival since 1914; well, not exactly, since 1914 did not become the date for Christ’s arrival until 1930, but you get the point. But how can that be? This March 2015, Watchtower claims that the 10 virgins have been responding to the arrival of the bridegroom all during the last days. That’s a long time. The wise virgins must have had to take along barrels and barrels of oil to keep their lamps illuminated during their decades-long sojourn through the night. But how disappointing for them, even their inexhaustible supply of oil was not enough as they never did make it to the wedding feast.
Sarcasm aside, how can it possibly be true that the bridegroom has come when all of the prospective Kingdom heirs from the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and even more recently, who were supposedly responding to the apparently ongoing call to “go out to meet him,” have all passed away? Jesus’ parable does not allow for the virgins to travel for years and years trying to make their way to the wedding feast only to die of old age along the way. Do not such ridiculous interpretations give evidence that the prophet class is staggeringly drunk and willingly so? They have seemingly obeyed the command to “blind yourselves and be blinded!” Yes, “be stunned and amazed” at such foolishness on the part of the faithful, wise servant.
The reason the Watchtower is compelled to teach such absurdities is because Jesus prefaced his parable by saying: “Then the Kingdom of the heavens may be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.”
If the Kingdom of the heavens opened its doors to those invited in 1914, then, yes, the call “here is the bridegroom” would have gone out then. But, alas, since the Bible Students did not accept 1914 as the date for the bridegroom’s coming until more than 15 years after the call supposedly went out…oh my…what a mess! Drunkards are notorious for making messes, and spiritual drunkards are no exception, being unreasonable, and speaking incoherent gibberish. Jehovah certainly has poured a deep sleep upon them.
Since it is undeniable that the bridegroom has not arrived, the question arises: Who will announce “Here is the bridegroom! Go out to meet him” when he finally arrives? It cannot possibly be the Watchtower. How could it? It has been falsely announcing that the bridegroom has arrived for decades. Perhaps someone such as myself will make the announcement. I do have some bit of authority and credibility in these matters since I have been speaking about Jehovah’s future judgments in connection with the Second Coming of Christ for many years now. However, like the Governing Body, whether or not I will have that privilege I will have to admit, I do not know.
In any case, let us, as many as are sober, not fall victim to the Watchtower’s mind-numbing theocratic trivia game and keep fixed in our minds that the only major event that lies ahead worth mentioning is the Second Coming of Christ and the impending shout in the middle of the night: “Here is the bridegroom! Go out to meet him.”
End of part two
]]>WE ARE living in exciting times! Each day, Bible prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes. For example, we see “the king of the north” and “the king of the south” engaged in a struggle for world dominance. (Dan. 11:40, ftn.) We see the good news of God’s Kingdom being preached on an unprecedented scale, with millions responding favorably. (Isa. 60:22; Matt. 24:14) And we are receiving an abundance of spiritual food “at the proper time.” —Matt. 24:45-47.
“We are living in exciting times!” I do not agree. These times are not so exciting. We are living in the calm before the storm. Or, if you believe times are exciting now just know that things are about to get more exciting, much, much more so when the Son of man suddenly arrives.
“Each day Bible prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes.” That is true. But it is especially true if our eyes are open and we are truly awake, which is not the present condition of most people. As for the brief examples given of prophecy being fulfilled, consider that the history of the kings of the North and South has been unfolding over the past 23 centuries! The Watchtower, of course, claims that the time of the end began in 1914 and hence the foretold “pushing” began then.
Except, according to Bethel the “pushing” has been never-ending. Even though the prophecy indicates that the pushing on the part of the king of the south will be met with an overwhelming flood on the part of the rival king, so much so that the Egyptian king of the south will be subjugated and no further mention is made of him, the Watchtower inexplicably teaches that the pushing has continued from 1914 all during the Cold War and even up to the present. And this is the sort of nonsense we are seeing fulfilled before our eyes?
True enough, Jesus said the good news will be preached in all the world. And we are seeing that. There is no doubt about it. Except, according to Mark’s version of the gospel, Jesus said: “In all the nations, the good news has to be preached first.”
A naturally inquisitive person will likely raise the question: “First,” before what? And the answer is readily available in the context of Jesus’ prophecy. In context, Jesus said: “As for you, look out for yourselves. People will hand you over to local courts, and you will be beaten in synagogues and be put on the stand before governors and kings for my sake, for a witness to them. Also, in all the nations, the good news has to be preached first. And when they are taking you to hand you over, do not be anxious beforehand about what to say; but whatever is given you in that hour, say this, for you are not the ones speaking, but the holy spirit is. Furthermore, brother will deliver brother over to death, and a father a child, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.” — Mark 13:9-12
Have we seen any of the things Jesus foretold (other than what must come first) being fulfilled before our eyes? For example, have anointed witnesses been arrested and made to stand before the highest officials in the land? If so, surely it would be all the talk among Jehovah’s Witnesses. It would deserve a front-page banner article on jw.org for sure. But alas, no such thing has occurred. Have we seen family members handing over their former loved ones to be put to death? If so, when? Where? Who? We have not seen these things being fulfilled before our eyes. Only the preaching of the good news, which Jesus said must come first.
What about the suggestion that Jehovah’s Witnesses are receiving an abundant supply of spiritual food at the proper time? Is that not Bible prophecy being fulfilled before our very eyes in that respect? Well, yes…but…
First, Jesus did not say that there would be “an abundance of spiritual food.” That is the Watchtower’s wording, not Christ’s. In the illustration, Jesus merely said that the master would appoint a slave and assign to him the task of supplying spiritual food at the proper time. Jesus did not indicate that the appointed slaves would necessarily faithfully carry out their assigned task in a way that would meet the master’s expectations. That is why the Lord posed the question: “Who really is the faithful slave”?
And then there is that tiny little two-letter word —“if”—as in: “Happy is that slave if his master on coming finds him doing so!”
It is not a given. That is why Jesus elaborated, further stating: “But if ever that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying,’ and he starts to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with the confirmed drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and in an hour that he does not know, and he will punish him with the greatest severity and will assign him his place with the hypocrites. There is where his weeping and the gnashing of his teeth will be.”
If we believe that the leadership of the Watchtower has been appointed by Christ to provide spiritual food in order to feed the Lord’s people—and I do—then we cannot merely accept the appraisal of the appointed ones as to their faithfulness. That is not how it works.
Writing to the Corinthians, Paul explains how Jehovah’s future judgments work: “A man should regard us as attendants of Christ and stewards of God’s sacred secrets. In this regard, what is expected of stewards is that they be found faithful. Now to me it is of very little importance to be examined by you or by a human tribunal. In fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am not conscious of anything against myself. But by this I am not proved righteous; the one who examines me is Jehovah. Therefore, do not judge anything before the due time, until the Lord comes. He will bring the secret things of darkness to light and make known the intentions of the hearts, and then each one will receive his praise from God.” —1 Cor. 4:1-5
Is not the illustration of the faithful slave alluding to this very thing? Absolutely! As Paul indicated, the object is to be found faithful. Found by whom? By the Lord Jesus upon his arrival and inspection. Jesus said the master is coming on a day the slave does not expect and in an hour that he does not know—that is “the due time.” And why is the Son of man coming like a thief in the night? To judge his appointed slaves as to their faithfulness. To boast of our own faithfulness prior to the coming of the Lord is presumptuous and unseemly.
Furthermore, it should be evident from Christ’s condemnation of the evil slave that more is expected of the appointed slaves than merely faithfulness in carrying out their assigned kitchen duties. Please take note that the master does not condemn the slave for his failure to provide food at the proper time. The slave may well have been faithful to that aspect of his appointment. The slave brought judgment upon himself for his lack of faith, for adopting the attitude that his master was at fault for dallying and for beating his fellow slaves and associating with the confirmed drunkards.
Although the illustration is not a prophecy per se, it does indicate that there are two outcomes for those who have been appointed. While the Watchtower does give evidence of providing spiritual food, even in abundance in terms of quantity, those who are awake and watching can also detect that the very ones who boast of being faithful and discreet give evidence that they are beating their fellow slaves and associating with unsavory men of the world in non-spiritual endeavors.
There is no need for me to elaborate here. I have published hundreds of articles detailing the Watchtower’s many misdoings. But, perhaps the most egregious act of unfaithfulness to date has been the Governing Body’s heartily endorsing the vaccination scheme and threatening elders with judicial action if they dared to advise the flock contrary to the Watchtower medical mandate.
So, when Jehovah’s Witnesses speak of knowing Jehovah’s future judgments, shouldn’t the thief like coming of Christ to initiate the judgment of the house of God be at the top of the list?
End of Part One
]]>When I first began reading the Bible, before I had ever had any contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses, I was stunned when I read the 12th chapter of Revelation about a war erupting in heaven and Satan and all of his angels being hurled to the earth. I did not know if the event had occurred, but it seemed possible that it had. The world certainly seemed to be in the grip of an invisible, evil force, and ever so much so now.
Later, of course, I came into association with Jehovah’s Witnesses and I appreciated the Watchtower’s plausible explanation that the epic war had already occurred and the Devil and his demons were ousted from heaven and confined to the earth since 1914. The governments of the world and the religions were undoubtedly driven by these demonic forces. But….
Now, though, 50 years later, I am absolutely certain that the war in heaven has not taken place. In fact, there is convincing evidence that there is an operation of Satan in play designed to convince even the heirs of the Kingdom that Christ has begun ruling and that peace has already been taken from the earth. All the while the Devil has been maneuvering his earthly minions into place for the day and hour when the Kingdom actually does begin ruling and the time of the end begins. But something must take place before the war in heaven. What is that?
In his second letter to the Thessalonians the prophet Paul wrote concerning the parousia, saying of it: “At the time when he comes to be glorified in connection with his holy ones and to be regarded in that day with wonder among all those who exercised faith.” Elsewhere, namely in his letter to the Romans, the apostle referred to the revealing of the sons of God. Needless to say, the revealing of the sons of God will come about as a result of the revelation of Jesus to them.
John, who was on the mountain when Christ was transfigured before them, wrote in his first epistle: “Beloved ones, we are now children of God, but it has not yet been made manifest what we will be. We do know that when he is made manifest we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is.” – 1 John 3 verse 2
Considering the context of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians concerning the parousia, Paul issued a warning regarding the operation of Satan as the source of authoritative pronouncements and apostolic-like letters declaring that the presence has begun and the Lord’s day is here. Then, the apostle prophesied and gave us a vital bit of information regarding a crucial development that must take place first before Christ appears. Again, what is that? Read it: “Let no one lead you astray in any way, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction.”
The pronoun “it” is in reference to the parousia. And the apostasy must take place immediately before the presence and manifestation of Christ. Jesus referred to Judas as the son of destruction. It is the same designation given to the man of lawlessness. This means that the man of lawlessness is a chosen one, as was Judas, in that, Judas was selected by Jesus as one of the 12 apostles. Christendom has been marinating in apostasy for centuries, to say that the clergy must apostatize first before the presence of Christ is meaningless. The apostasy that must come first must come from within Christ’s congregation of anointed persons; yes, from the leadership; in other words, from among those taking the lead. Obviously, we can not expect the Governing Body to announce this kind of new light.
Now, as regards the daily text, how clever of Satan to use the Scriptures against us. Judas, if you recall, conspired with the Jews and the Roman occupiers, otherwise known as Ceasear, to betray Jesus. The leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses has similarly conspired with the globalist promoters of an Illuminati-run world government whose stated goal is to eliminate a rather large percentage of mankind, a process that the Malthusians consider to be nothing more than culling the herd. Are we to submit to the schemes of an avowed eugenicist billionaire computer nerd who pretends to be a virologist and King Charles, who has spent his entire adult life working on a scheme to get the nations to destroy themselves? And why should nations abdicate their authority to the Gates Foundation-funded World Health Organization? Who gave the UN authority over people living in sovereign nations anyway? Why is the Watchtower going along with this pretense that the WHO has any authority? By the way, the British Monarchy adopted Malthusianism back during the Victorian Age and has already killed tens of millions of Indians, Irish, and Africans by various means and the Empire intends to bring the population down to a manageable billion or so. This is no conspiracy theory, but it is a conspiracy among the pedophile Satanists running the world.
My question is: Where is the Watchtower? Where are its vaunted watchmen on the wall keeping watch? Why are they not sounding the battle trumpet? Indeed, where are those who are taking the lead and watching over Jehovah’s flock? There is only one reasonable explanation for their deafening silence in the face of this evil that is engulfing the world.
Before the Second World War, the Consolation Magazine warned of the evils associated with all vaccines. The Watchtower claimed it was a scheme of the Devil. That seemed a bit extreme considering that vaccinations have eradicated certain diseases that used to be common. It is true, that no medicine comes without side effects. Vaccinations are not risk-free. But now the Governing Body is happy to be praised by the world for its unabashed endorsement of the new mRNA injections and lauded for its zealous cooperation with the very institutions that it has previously exposed as instruments of Satan. What happened to neutrality? What happened to personal choices in private health matters? (Just to be sure, what they call a “vaccine” now is nothing like the vaccines that have been in use for decades. It is a wholly new gene-editing technology that has the potential to be very deadly.)
I pose the question again: Can anyone explain to me why it is the business of the government or the Watchtower if you or I choose not to be vaccinated? The “experts” originally claimed that vaccinated persons could not spread the contagion. That would certainly be a legitimate reason to compel everyone to be injected. But it is simply not true. Time has proven that every claim made by the “experts” has been a lie. What reliable sources of information is the Watchtower referring to, because everything coming from the mainstream, official channels, has been a lie. Vaccinated persons are not even immune to the infection they were supposed to be immunized against. So, again, why would the Governing Body use its authority as the faithful and discreet slave of Christ to compel Jehovah’s Witnesses to submit to injections of a dangerous substance that neither provides immunity nor prevents contagion and has caused millions of adverse reactions and deaths worldwide? Again, there is only one reasonable explanation.
Now the Watchtower is in all the way. Even if the World Health Organization or the Center for Disease Control were to issue decrees stating that the vaccines are not safe nor are they effective, the Governing Body would not retract their endorsement. How could they? They claimed that Jehovah God provided the vaccines especially for his people so that they could remain in the land of the living. No, the apostasy cannot be reversed. Judas has been handed the morsel and he has greedily gobbled it down and gone off into the night.
And are we now to be submissive to those taking the lead? The lead to where?
]]>7 Happy and content. God’s people can “shout joyfully” because their heart overflows with appreciation. (Read Isaiah 65:14.) The upbuilding truths and comforting promises in God’s Word and our solid hope based on Christ’s ransom sacrifice give us a “good condition of the heart.” Talking about these things with our spiritual brothers and sisters makes us truly happy!—Ps. 34:8; 133:1-3.
Reading a passage of prophecy and implying that it has already been fulfilled can be problematic. Let us actually read Isaiah 65:14. It says: “Look! My servants will shout joyfully because of the good condition of the heart, but you will cry out because of the pain of heart and you will wail because of a broken spirit.”
If we identify “my servants” as Jehovah’s Witnesses at this present time, the question ought to arise, who is the “you” to whom God’s denunciation is directed? Another question: If Jehovah’s Witnesses are shouting joyfully, who is suffering pain of heart, crying out and wailing because of the breakdown of their spirit?
As always, I encourage interested persons to read the expanded context. In this instance please take note of verse 12, the latter part states: “So I will destine you for the sword, and all of you will bow down to be slaughtered, because I called, but you did not answer, I spoke, but you did not listen; you kept doing what was bad in my eyes, and you chose what displeased me.”
Imagine, if God called you on your mobile device and you ghosted him and did not answer. Sure, it is a silly idea, but it illustrates an important point. God’s speaking to us is not confined to our reading of the Bible, at least it will not be in the future when Christ comes to call his servants to account. Did not Jesus liken his coming to a master who comes to his house and expects to find it in order?
Isaiah already introduced us to the concept of the Grand Instructor issuing life-saving instructions as though from behind his erring people, urging them to turn around and walk in a new direction. Contrary to the Watchtower’s sophomoric explanation that we hear a word emanating from God as though coming from behind us by merely reading the Bible since the Bible was written back in time. No, God will extend a call to those whom he has up to that point recognized as his servants. He will speak, through Christ, outside of the confines of the Bible. Or, perhaps a better way to put it is that Christ’s coming will activate the judgment pre-recorded in the Bible, such as contained in Isaiah.
Jesus spoke of such matters of judgment, illustrating it by likening his coming to a harvest. Jesus explained: “The harvest is a conclusion of a system of things, and the reapers are angels. Therefore, just as the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be in the conclusion of the system of things. The Son of man will send his angels, and they will collect out from his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling and people who practice lawlessness, and they will pitch them into the fiery furnace. There is where their weeping and the gnashing of their teeth will be. At that time the righteous ones will shine as brightly as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Let the one who has ears listen.” — Matthew 13:39-43
What is this weeping and gnashing of teeth? It is the howling and wailing that is a result of the breakdown of spirit foretold in the 65th chapter of Isaiah. Those who do not answer when Christ calls are the agents of the Devil and wicked slaves who will be thrown out and they will howl and weep knowing that they have not merely been destined for the slaughter—as stated in Isaiah—but to everlasting oblivion—the second death.
It is this harvest that will result in the chosen ones shining as brightly as the sun in Jehovah’s Kingdom. They will shout joyfully because of the good condition of the heart — hearts which Jehovah will have performed a transplant of sorts, exchanging hearts of stone for hearts of flesh, as described in Ezekiel: “And I will give them a unified heart, and I will put a new spirit in them; and I will remove the heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh, in order that they may walk in my statutes and observe my judgments and obey them. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.” — Ez 11:19-20
It would seem that Jesus’ words are directed to those who are joyfully residing in the Watchtower’s artificial spiritual paradise: “But woe to you who are rich, for you are having your consolation in full. Woe to you who are filled up now, for you will go hungry. Woe, you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe whenever all men speak well of you, for this is what their forefathers did to the false prophets.” — Luke 6:24-26
9 Relaxed and calm. Isaiah 65:14 says that those who choose to remain outside the spiritual paradise “cry out because of the pain of heart [and] wail because of a broken spirit.” But what about all the things that have caused God’s people pain and distress? Eventually, those things “will be forgotten [and] concealed from [God’s] eyes.” (Read Isaiah 65:16, 17.) Jehovah will make our troubles go away, and in time the pain of such memories will vanish completely.
Are not churchgoers also relaxed and calm? I know a lot of people doze off during a sermon. Are they not too relaxed and calm? By what measure do we claim that the hundreds of millions of adherents to the various churches of Christendom are crying out in pain because of their broken spirit? Who else but Jehovah’s Witnesses would believe such nonsense?
11 Grateful and excited. Isaiah goes on to reveal why we have every reason to “exult and be joyful” in the spiritual paradise. This environment is a creation of Jehovah. (Read Isaiah 65:18, 19.) No wonder he is using us to direct people away from the spiritually parched organizations of this old world and into our beautiful spiritual environment! We are excited about the blessings we enjoy because of being in the truth, and we are moved to tell others about them. —Jer. 31:12.
Wait. Relaxed and calm and excited altogether? Who writes this stuff?
First-century Christians were grateful and excited over their hope, were they not? Still, they did not enjoy a spiritual paradise. Again, being happy, content, calm, relaxed, grateful and excited does not a paradise make. The blessed condition portrayed in prophecy will come about as a result of God’s intervention to remove and permanently debar wicked and foolish people from among the blessed ones of Jehovah.
Here is how God’s word describes what the Watchtower calls “spiritual paradise”: “The heat-parched ground will become a reedy pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water. In the lairs where jackals rested, there will be green grass and reeds and papyrus. And a highway will be there, yes, a way called the Way of Holiness. The unclean one will not travel on it. It is reserved for the one walking on the way; no one foolish will stray onto it. No lion will be there, and no vicious wild beasts will come on it. They will not be found there; only the repurchased ones will walk there. Those redeemed by Jehovah will return and come to Zion with a joyful cry. Unending joy will crown their heads. Exultation and rejoicing will be theirs, and grief and sighing will flee away.” — Isaiah 35:7-10
Let the spokesmen for Jehovah’s earthly organization go on record as saying that there are no spiritually unclean persons among the congregations. Let them say out loud that no child has had their innocence devoured by cunning, rapacious, beast men. Let them declare before God that no foolish persons walk among Jehovah’s Witnesses. Let them place their hand on the Bible and swear before heaven that there are no harmful animalistic men in their spiritual paradise and then be silent when God replies.
13 Peaceful and safe. With the help of God’s spirit, many who formerly had beastly personalities have made remarkable changes in their life. (Read Isaiah 65:25.) They have tamed their former undesirable traits. (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:22-24) Granted, God’s people are still imperfect, so we will continue to make mistakes. However, Jehovah has united “all sorts of people” in an unbreakable bond of love and peace. (Titus 2:11) This is a miracle that only the almighty God could perform!
On March 9th, 2023, a deranged man in Germany, who had once been in the Watchtower’s “spiritual paradise,” returned with a gun and began shooting. We can only imagine the horror and panic that gripped Jehovah’s Witnesses as they watched Philipp Fusz slaughter their brothers and sisters who had moments before been relaxed and calm. (Massacre of Jehovah’s Witnesses – Why did it happen?)
Eight months later a demoniac in India detonated a bomb among Jehovah’s Witnesses as they sat relaxed and calm at an assembly. Over 50 JWs were injured and three died as a result of the blast.
One of the characteristics of the true spiritual paradise Jehovah will create is the absence of violence. The 11th chapter of Isaiah states: “They will not cause any harm or any ruin in all my holy mountain, because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea.”
How can it be that Jehovah’s Witnesses reside in a peaceful and secure spiritual haven when God allows madmen to cause harm, ruin, and even death?
By declaring the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses to be the foretold spiritual paradise, the leadership of the Watchtower is fulfilling prophecy. They have become those who claim there is peace with God even while they are in a state of rebellion, just as described in Jeremiah: “For from the least to the greatest, each one is making dishonest gain; from the prophet to the priest, each one is practicing fraud. And they try to heal the breakdown of my people lightly, saying, ‘There is peace! There is peace!’ When there is no peace.” (6:13,14)
Are they embarrassed that their spiritual paradise is a sham? What shall become of an organization that practices fraud upon a trusting people? Jehovah goes on to say: “Do they feel ashamed of the detestable things they have done? They feel no shame at all! They do not even know how to feel humiliated! So they will fall among the fallen. When I bring punishment on them they will stumble,” says Jehovah. — Jeremiah 6:15
The end of the four-part series
]]>The article lists five bullet points as proof that Jehovah’s Witnesses are in spiritual paradise. Let us consider the first one. Paragraph five states:
5 Healthy and refreshed. Isaiah’s prophecy draws a vivid contrast between what life is like for those inside the spiritual paradise and what life is like for those outside. (Read Isaiah 65:13.) Jehovah abundantly satisfies the spiritual needs of his worshippers. We have his holy spirit, his written Word, and ample spiritual food so that we can “eat, . . . drink, . . . [and] rejoice.” (Compare Revelation 22:17.) In sharp contrast, those who are outside the spiritual paradise “go hungry . . . , go thirsty . . . , [and] suffer shame.” Their spiritual needs are not being satisfied. —Amos 8:11.
It used to be said among Jehovah’s Witnesses years ago that the “waters of Babylon are drying up.” The witnesses used to say that in reference to dwindling church attendance. While that trend has been evident in the Catholic, Lutheran, and some of the Protestant denominations for many years, there has been a remarkable growth in Pentecostal and other Evangelical denominations and so-called non-denominational sects. Huge mega-churches have become popular in recent years as well. There has also been a growing interest in Bible study, especially online Bible courses.
Given that everyone who is inclined toward Scripture-oriented faith has access to the Bible and there is certainly no shortage of pastors and theologians with Bible-based messages, the contrast is not so evident as the Watchtower claims. Let Jehovah’s Witnesses explain, at least to themselves, how it is that the millions of churchgoers are going hungry spiritually and suffering shame. Rather, is it not shameful for the Governing Body to make such statements?
If we were to actually read the context of the prophecy of Amos we may well discern that what it is foretelling is not being fulfilled at present, and the spiritual hunger spoken of is most certainly not manifest among the multitudes of churchgoers. Consider the context:
“In that day,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘I will make the sun go down at high noon, and I will darken the land on a bright day. I will turn your festivals into mourning and all your songs into dirges. I will put sackcloth on all hips and make every head bald; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day. Look! The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘When I will send a famine into the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah. They will stagger from sea to sea and from the north to the east. They will rove about searching for the word of Jehovah, but they will not find it.”
Imagine the sun going down at high noon. That would be a terrifying event. It would certainly get everyone’s attention. Jehovah once caused the sun to go dark for three days in Egypt. Jesus similarly spoke of a time of metaphoric darkness. At Mathew 24:29 Jesus is quoted as saying: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
How would it be possible for a spiritual famine to come upon those living in spiritual paradise—or, more correctly: those who imagine they are living in spiritual paradise? As all of Jehovah’s Witnesses know, the Watchtower is Jehovah’s earthly mouthpiece. At the 2023 Annual Meeting, the speaker explained that whenever God wishes to impart some new light to his people it will come through the Governing Body. They are Jehovah’s exclusive channel of communication.
Okay. So what will happen when World War Three erupts, (some say it already has) and all the other things that have been assigned to 1914 begin happening? Jehovah’s spokesmen have declared that there can be no such global war. An all-out war between the nuclear powers would ultimately go nuclear. Even a limited exchange would trigger the collapse of civilization. It would seem as if the sun had grown dark and the moon had failed to shine and all of the twinkling stars had fallen from the sky.
Even assuming the Watchtower could publish some word from Jehovah when their bank accounts are closed, and martial law is imposed, what could they possibly have to say? Who would even listen to them then?
6 In his prophecy, Joel used such staples of life as grain, wine, and olive oil to show that Jehovah generously supplies His people with what they need, including spiritual food. (Joel 2:21-24) He does so through the Bible and our Bible-based publications, our website, as well as our meetings, assemblies, and conventions. We can partake of spiritual provisions every day, and as a result, we feel healthier and more refreshed.
For over two decades, I had written to the Watchtower privately as well as posted articles and a book, pointing out the fallacy of the organization’s interpretation of Joel. Then in response to my challenge at the 2019 Annual Meeting came new light on Joel.
Now Jehovah’s Witnesses are no longer regarded as Jehovah’s army of swarming locusts. In fact, the Watchtower has decreed that there is no modern fulfillment of the prophecy…well, not the locust part anyway. The insect invasion that is a precursor to the great and fear-inspiring day of Jehovah is said to have been fulfilled with the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. That’s it. Except, there is no mention of Babylon in the prophecy of Joel.
Inexplicably, even though the locust onslaught is said to have occurred in antiquity God’s intervention in response to the devastation wrought by the symbolic insect invasion came 2,500 years later! But why would God make recompense to the Bible Students and Jehovah’s Witnesses for the loss suffered by the Jews 500 years before Christ?
The question thinking JWs ought to ponder is this: How is it possible to be spiritually healthy and refreshed when the slave serves up a stew of nonsensical slop as food at the proper time?
End of part three
]]>Spiritual paradise once really existed, at least for a short while. It existed in the literal paradise called the Garden of Eden. There were only two people who lived in the paradise park. It was a spiritual paradise because the two humans who lived there had direct access to God. It was said that Jehovah used to stroll through the garden during the breezy part of the day and he and Adam would have a chat. There was no evil. No danger of any kind, at least not until an angel decided to deceive Adam’s wife into disobeying God.
The next time God came through the garden Adam was hiding in the shrubbery. He couldn’t face God. And just like that, spiritual paradise came to an abrupt end. The last thing Jehovah said to the man is recorded at Genesis 3:17-19: “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree concerning which I gave you this command, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground on your account. In pain you will eat its produce all the days of your life. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you must eat the vegetation of the field. In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Jehovah’s long-range purpose is to restore mankind to the spiritual relationship that briefly existed between the original humans and himself. The ransom sacrifice and resurrection of Christ have laid the legal groundwork for the redemption of our sinful, dying race. However, the restoration project will not commence until Christ returns. Jesus spoke of the restoration at Mathew 19:28, where he said to his apostles: “Truly I say to you, in the re-creation, when the Son of man sits down on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel.”
Some translations use the term “regeneration” rather than “re-creation.” Either term is acceptable. Since Adam and Eve were only driven out of Eden after the spiritual relationship with God was ruined, the re-generation must begin with the spiritual. Again, when does this restoration take place? When the Son of man sits down on his glorious throne. This presents a problem in the form of a contradiction in the Watchtower’s eschatology since the Watchtower now claims that the Son of man has not yet sat down upon his glorious throne.
Why then does the Watchtower claim that spiritual paradise has already been restored? It has to do with the influence of Satan, the original disrupter of spiritual paradise. Just as Jehovah did not intervene to prevent the serpent from lyingly misrepresenting God, so too, Jehovah allows for an operation of Satan to influence Christians during the period immediately preceding the coming of the Son of man to sit down upon his glorious throne. The operation of Satan includes “every powerful work and lying signs and wonders and every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth in order that they might be saved.” — 2 Thess. 2:9-10
Now let us consider some of the features of Satan’s lying signs and wonders that Jehovah’s Witnesses have embraced as the truth. Returning to the article under review, the third paragraph again cites the prophecy of Isaiah as a description of spiritual paradise and correctly explains that the re-patriated Jews fulfilled the restoration prophecy in an illustrative way. The next paragraph states:
A second fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy began in 1919 C.E. when Jehovah’s modern-day worshippers were set free from captivity to Babylon the Great. Then the spiritual paradise started to take shape throughout the earth. Zealous Kingdom proclaimers formed many congregations and produced spiritual fruitage. Men and women who once exhibited violent, animalistic tendencies “put on the new personality that was created according to God’s will.” (Eph. 4:24) Of course, many of the blessings that Isaiah described will be fulfilled literally in the future new world. But even now there are rich benefits that we are enjoying. Let us see how this spiritual paradise affects us and why we should never leave it.
First, there is no sensible reason to believe the prophecy began to be fulfilled in 1919. When the Babylonian armies conquered Judah, destroyed Jerusalem, and dragged the survivors off to far away Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar was acting as Jehovah’s executioner. The Jews’ captivity in Babylon for 70 years was punishment for all of their sins and offenses against the God with whom they were in a binding covenant.
According to the Watchtower, Christians were taken captive by Babylon the Great several centuries after Christ when Constantine adopted Christianity as the state religion of the pagan Roman Empire. While it is undoubtedly true that Constantine’s brilliant ploy brought Christianity and the Bible itself under the control of Satan’s beastly empire, there is no reason to suppose that it was punishment from God. Besides, some who were taken captive to Babylon were alive when Cyrus released the Jews and allowed them to return and rebuild Jerusalem and its temple. That hardly compares to the 17 centuries of Christendom’s domination.
Why 1919, you ask? Were not the International Bible Students already recognized as a separate and distinct sect before 1919, being set apart from the various church denominations to which most had belonged? Since the Watchtower no longer teaches that the Bible Students went into captivity to Babylon the Great during the First World War, why ought we believe that Jehovah’s modern-day worshippers were set free from spiritual captivity in 1919?
The truth is, the eruption of war in 1914 along with the prosecution of Watchtower officials, followed by the global pandemic known as the Spanish Flu, were all aspects of the lying signs and wonders Satan orchestrated to impose a deceptive influence designed to create a false kingdom and parousia—including a faux spiritual paradise.
Being a zealous Kingdom proclaimer is not proof of a spiritual paradise. Were not the first-century Christians zealous preachers and teachers? They surely were. Yet, there is no mention by any of the apostles that the congregation was a spiritual paradise.
Likewise, some of those original Christians made drastic personality changes, especially the non-Jewish converts. Yet, not all. Some still exhibited “animalistic tendencies.” Keep in mind many animals use various forms of camouflage and deception to elude or catch their prey. For example, some of the overseers of the Corinthian congregation were not even genuine Christians. They were devious phonies who only pretended to be zealous Kingdom proclaimers. The inspired apostle revealed that those whom he sarcastically dubbed as “superfine apostles” were in reality agents of Satan who cunningly pretended to be ministers of righteousness to gain the trust of naive Christians.
Paul expressed his deep concern for the spiritual welfare of the Corinthians brothers and sisters who were under the influence of these wicked men.
It is most interesting that Paul evoked the Genesis account of the Devil deceiving Mother Eve in spiritual paradise when writing to the Corinthians regarding the spiritual danger that was posed by the deceivers in their midst: “But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent seduced Eve by its cunning, your minds might be corrupted away from the sincerity and the chastity that are due the Christ. For as it is, if someone comes and preaches a Jesus other than the one we preached, or you receive a spirit other than what you received, or good news other than what you accepted, you easily put up with him. For I consider that I have not proved inferior to your superfine apostles in a single thing.” — 2 Corinthians 11:3-5
We should not suppose that Satan the Devil no longer disguises himself as an angel of light or that his modern ministers cannot transform themselves into zealous Kingdom proclaimers. On the contrary, the letter of Jude warns us that before the coming of Christ, men will similarly infiltrate God’s people just as had the superfine apostles in Paul’s day. Jude warned us that these wicked men are elders, shepherds who feed themselves. And they feast together with unsuspecting Christians, lurking like rocks below the water. Of these Jude wrote: “These are the ones who cause divisions, animalistic men, not having spirituality.”
Since these animalistic men devoid of spirituality are appointed elders standing shoulder to shoulder with those who boast of being pure worshippers, how is it that the Watchtower claims that the residents of spiritual paradise have no animalistic tendencies? Is it a ploy of devious men to characterize animalistic characteristics as violent, as if violence was the only type of animalistic behavior?
Is it not rather the case that all of the evidence points to the fact that Jehovah’s Witnesses are under the deceptive influence of men who have disguised themselves as spiritual Jews and apostles and have been deluded into believing that the Devil cannot exert any influence over those in spiritual paradise? How absolutely cunning of the Deceiver!
End of part two.
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