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The unspeakably wonderful privilege set before you is not merely being part of the first generation of humans who will never die, but rather, because of your already knowing and participating in the resolution of the great universal issues regarding Jehovah’s sovereignty and the integrity of all intelligent creation being called into question by Satan, you are in an advantaged position to take a stand on the world’s stage as a resolute advocate of the kingdom of Christ during the critical time of the end.

Many of the International Bible students and Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 20^th century have already had the privilege of demonstrating their faith in such a manner.  Although J.F. Rutherford may have unwisely tried to placate Hitler initially, that does not diminish the faith and courage displayed by Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany during the Nazi reign of terror, which is well documented in the Holocaust Museum. Due to their faith in God and the hope of the resurrection Jehovah’s Witnesses were the only religious group that uncompromisingly stood up to Hitler and were willing to take his merciless punishment without flinching.

More recently Jehovah’s Witnesses in Malawi endured horrible persecution because of their refusal to buy 25-cent ID card that would have affiliated them with the ruling political party. And since the Second World War many, many male members of Jehovah’s Witnesses have suffered imprisonment because of their refusal to take up arms and be trained to kill their fellowman.

But besides the common temptations that befall all of us and the relatively light persecutions and ridicule Jehovah’s Witnesses are routinely subjected to, most of Jehovah’s Witnesses presently have never been confronted with these great tests of Christian loyalty and faith.

That is about to change.

"I WILL MAKE YOU PASS UNDER THE ROD"

When Jehovah brought the Israelites and the vast mixed company out of Egypt and through the Red Sea they were not directly led into the Promised Land – the land flowing with milk and honey. Instead, they wandered in an uninhabited and fear-inspiring wilderness for forty years.  Through the hardships that befell them Jehovah tested them to determine if they were really putting faith in him. Sadly, the historical record indicates that most did not.

 In the 20^th chapter of Ezekiel Jehovah made reference to the Israelite experience in the wilderness in announcing his determination to establish a nation of loyal worshipers. Specifically, Ezekiel 20:37-38 states: ‘“Just as I put myself on judgment with your forefathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I shall put myself on judgment with you,’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ‘And I will make you pass under the rod and bring you into the bond of the covenant. And I will clean out from you the revolters and the transgressors against me, for out of the land of their alien residence I shall bring them forth, but onto the soil of Israel they will not come; and you people will have to know that I am Jehovah.”’

Passing under the rod is apparently a reference to Moses’ rod, the rod being a symbol of his office as prophet and judge. Since the soil of Israel had originally been the Promised Land it stands as a symbol for the new world that God has promised to the meek and faithful under the rule of Christ’s kingdom. All those who hope to inherit the new earth must pass under the rod of Christ – Jehovah’s appointed spokesman and judge.

According to the Watchtower’s interpretation though, unfaithful Israel of old is pictorial of Christendom. But if that is the true interpretation are we to expect God’s judgments to remove the multitudes of transgressors out from among the thousands of different religious denominations and sects making up Christendom and establish his covenant with them as a prelude to their entry into that which is represented by “the soil of Israel”? The answer should be obvious.

This brings us to the nature of the test come. For a test to accomplish its intended purpose it must of necessity be unexpected. Consider the situation of the apostles leading up to the death of Jesus Christ. On the night of his arrest Jesus told Peter that Satan had demanded to have them to sift as wheat. Jehovah allowed it, just as he also allowed Jesus to be put to the test by the Tempter. The sifting came about due to the disciples’ faulty expectations regarding Christ. Although Jesus told them on numerous occasions that he was destined to be handed over to the Jews and put to death the apostles simply could not accept it. On one occasion Peter even pulled Jesus aside and try to dissuade Jesus from his God-ordained, sacrificial course, only to be rebuked by Christ. The reason the apostles could not grasp that Christ had to die is because they were laboring under the erroneous assumptions common among the Jews at that time; namely, that the Messiah would reestablish the earthly kingdom of Israel and free them from Roman domination. A suffering Messiah who would be rejected by the nation’s religious leaders and put to death was unacceptable to them. So, when Jesus was unexpectedly put to death his disciples were stumbled and their faith was tested. For example, in spite of the testimony of his fellow disciples who had already seen Jesus, the apostle Thomas resolutely refused to believe that Jesus had been resurrected until he could personally see him.

The faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses will be tested in a similar way.

DO YOU BELONG TO GOD'S SPIRIT-DIRECTED ORGANIZATION?

As all of Jehovah’s Witnesses know, the Watchtower Society has absolute control over the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Governing Body of the Watchtower Society determines virtually every aspect of the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Not only does the Governing Body determine doctrinal matters, but also they interpret the meaning of prophecy, and along with the less visible board of directors for the Watchtower Corporation, Bethel determines policy for the congregations and even dictates trivial instructions on how meetings should be conducted and a host of other matters.   It is no exaggeration – Bethel even claims to speak for God himself and Jehovah’s Witnesses treat their every utterance accordingly.

Because of their power and dominance over the spiritual lives of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Watchtower organization may have come to occupy the place in the hearts and minds of dedicated Christians exclusively reserved for Jehovah and Christ. After all, some of the Corinthian Christians boasted of belonging to Paul and Cephas and Apollos. We should not suppose that the human tendency to follow men is any less ingrained now or that the Watchtower Organization is any less imposing in the spiritual lives of Jehovah’s Witnesses today than the apostles were then. While Jehovah’s Witnesses may vigorously deny that they are mere followers of the Watchtower Society, Satan the Devil, being “the accuser of our brothers,” could easily make the case that you are, and not without some justification.

(One of the most insidious instances of the Watchtower Society actually inserting itself into the place reserved for God and Christ is the undeniable fact that since 1985 all persons who are baptized in the name of the Father and Son must also confess to being followers of the “spirit-directed organization” too. Ought Jehovah's Witnesses suppose it is a trifling matter in the eyes of God that the Watchtower has insinuated itself into the sacred baptismal vows? Remember, please, that Jehovah debarred Moses from entering the Promised Land because on one occasion he rashly took credit for miraculously providing water.)

In view of the inordinate power the Society wields over the congregations, the question of whether Jehovah’s Witnesses have genuine faith in God can only be answered definitively if the Watchtower were to be taken out of the picture. And not only taken out of the picture, but in view of the nature of the tests that Satan brought upon the original followers of Christ, in order to do his sifting work today the test of faith that Jehovah’s Witnesses will inevitably be subjected to is the discrediting and humiliation of the “spirit-directed organization” – the Watchtower Society.

As all of Jehovah’s Witnesses are surely aware, according to the Watchtower’s interpretation of numerous prophecies, Jesus Christ returned in 1914 and after the great upheaval during the First World War, since 1919 the Watchtower Society has been transformed into a spiritual paradise and all of Jehovah’s Witnesses now speak the prophesied pure language of truth.

It is considered to be virtually impossible in the minds of Jehovah’s Witnesses that the sign of Christ’s presence could present itself more convincingly at a future time. This in spite of the persistent reality that the world now stands at the brink of global war using nuclear weapons, a hyperinflationary financial crash and the food shortages and disease pandemics that would surely follow an economic collapse.

Due to cult-like indoctrination it is presently inconceivable to Jehovah’s Witnesses that the Watchtower could ever be in error in any significant way. And if there is any need for minor doctrinal or organizational changes, then it is believed that Jehovah will kindly bring it to the attention of the Governing Body and they will promptly make the needed adjustments. It is deemed to be immpossible that the leadership of the Society could ever come under evil influence or mislead Jehovah’s Witnesses in any way.

“LET NO ONE SEDUCE YOU IN ANY MANNER”

Because the faithful have always lived in expectation of Jesus’ promised return Satan is intent on devising various schemes to trick Christians into believing in a fake parousia. In the first century Satan used two individuals, Hymenaeus and Philetus by name, whom Paul said had “deviated from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already occurred; and they are subverting the faith of some.”

In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul explicitly warned the brothers not to allow themselves to be seduced by official sounding proclamations heralding the presence of Christ. At Thessalonians 2:1-5, the inspired apostle wrote: “However, brothers, respecting the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we request of you not to be quickly shaken from your reason nor to be excited either through an inspired expression or through a verbal message or through a letter as though from us, to the effect that the day of Jehovah is here. Let no one seduce you in any manner, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction. He is set in opposition and lifts himself up over everyone who is called “god” or an object of reverence, so that he sits down in the temple of The God, publicly showing himself to be a god. Do you not remember that, while I was yet with you, I used to tell you these things?”

Now consider the facts.

Since they were initially formed into an association, the International Bible Students were seduced into believing that the presence of Christ commenced in 1874. One of the first issues of the Watchtower Magazine in 1878 heralded 1914 as the year designated in Bible chronology, corroborated by occultic pyramidology, as the beginning of the day of Jehovah. Some of those early Bible Students were so shaken from their reason by Russell’s apocalyptic message that in the early part of 1914 they sold their winter clothes, assuming they would not need them come the winter of 1914-15. The Watchtower Society teaches that the resurrection has already begun too – supposedly in 1918.

About a decade after 1914 had come and gone the Watchtower Society dropped 1874 as the date of Christ’s return and adopted 1914. However, up until 1970 the Watchtower taught that the great tribulation and the day of Jehovah had begun in 1914, but that God had cut it short. Also, as is well known, back in the 1960’s the Watchtower Society began building anticipation for the year 1975. Again, many became “excited” through “verbal messages” issued by circuit and district overseers and other Watchtower officials. But, needless to say 1975 came and went uneventfully. But to this day the Society continues to issue official sounding verbal messages and apostolic-like letters in the form of various publications insisting the parosuia has already begun and the day of Jehovah is here.

But 1914 is easily refuted. Simply considering the context of the 21^st chapter of Luke ought to convince reasonable minds that the so-called gentile times, “the appointed times of the nations,” did not begin when the Chaldeans destroyed Jerusalem.

A few days prior to Jesus’ remarks he had stunned the apostles when he told them that the temple in Jerusalem was going to be thrown down without so much as a single stone remaining upon another stone. When the disciples questioned Jesus regarding when these things would occur he went on to explain to them that Jerusalem would be surrounded by pointed stakes and distressed from every side and that the holy place would be trampled upon by the nations until the appointed times of the nations had been fulfilled. Jesus went on to tell them that when they saw the disgusting thing standing in the holy place they were to immediately flee out of Jerusalem and not return. So, their heeding the sign Jesus gave them would be of life and death importance.

Now ask yourself: If I had been one of the apostles on the Mount of Olives listening to Jesus explain the events that were to occur, would I have perhaps understood him to mean that the trampling of Jerusalem by the nations had already begun five centuries prior when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Solomon’s temple? No sober-minded person would ever arrive at that conclusion. And yet, that is precisely what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe today!

That being the case, how can any honest-reasoning person deny that Jehovah’s Witnesses have been positively shaken from their reason and seduced by the Watchtower’s clever but specious presentation of chronology? (For more information see the chapter: The Gentile Times.)

“THAT THE MAY GET TO BELIEVING THE LIE”

According to the Watchtower the man of lawlessness is manifest in the clergy of Christendom. The apostasy that Paul prophesied supposedly occurred some 17 centuries ago when Constantine assumed control of what passed for Christianity. However, Paul indicated that the presence of a man of lawlessness would be an immediate prelude to the authentic presence and manifestation of Christ.

It is most noteworthy that Paul also described the man of lawlessness as “the son of destruction.” That is an allusion to Judas, the traitorous apostle and treacherous associate of Jesus. This, and Paul’s revelation that the man of lawlessness sits down in the spiritual temple of The God, which is to say – Christ’s congregation – indicates that the man of lawlessness exists inside the intimate group of Christians up until the manifestation of Jesus Christ. (For more information, see the chapter: The Man of Lawlessness.)

Just as the apostles were oblivious to Judas’ duplicitous nature up until the moment he betrayed the Lord with a tender kiss, so too, the chosen ones who make up the temple of Christ are presumably unaware of the existence of the man of lawlessness in their midst. That is because he is an agent of Satan and can easily transform himself into a minister of righteousness, just as his master, Satan, is capable of transforming himself into an angel of light, as he did in connection with the superfine apostles who had wheedled their way into leadership positions among the Corinthians back then.

Paul went on to say: “But the lawless one’s presence is according to the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and portents and with every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth that they might be saved. So that is why God lets an operation of error go to them, that they may get to believing the lie, in order that they all may be judged because they did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Keep in mind that Paul’s sobering warning was directed to anointed Christians. They are the ones whom Satan has demanded to have to sift as wheat. And that is why Jehovah allows an operation of error to go to those who otherwise know the truth, in order to have their love of the truth tested. And according to the context of our apostle’s warning, the operation of error emanating from Satan, through his man of lawlessness, is intended to deceive anointed Christians into accepting a faux parousia. Also, it should be noted that Jesus himself warned of a great deceptive work that would counterfeit the very presence of the Christ that would be in operation during the conclusion of the system, which will be so convincing so as to deceive even the chosen ones, were that possible.

That the foretold “operation of error” is in effect at this moment is evident by the fact that Paul said it was in order that they may be judged. In other words, those who continue to believe the lie after Christ’s parousia actually commences will be adversely judged. This is the means by which Jehovah shall cause his people to pass under the rod during the judgment. 

When considering the Watchtower Society’s long record of false proclamations regarding the parousia and the day of Jehovah, dating all the way back to 1874, and the artifice used to twist the meaning of the appointed times of the nations, (and many other prophecies not highlighted in this article) and the fact that the Organization claims to speak for Jehovah himself, in affect, claiming to be a god, can there be any doubt that the man of lawlessness resides within the Bethel leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses?

During the test to come all of Jehovah’s Witnesses will be required to dislodge the operation of error that the Watchtower has implanted in their minds or risk losing all. The question all of Jehovah’s Witnesses reading this article ought to consider is this: When the Son of man arrives will he really find the faith dwelling in me? 

This is a revised and expanded article that appeared on the original Watchman site in 2005.

The April 1st, 2004, Watchtower Magazine carried an article on the meaning of Revelation’s mysterious 666 – the name and mark of the wild beast. Under the subheading on page four, the Watchtower asks the rhetorical question: “Do you enjoy solving a mystery?” Notably, that statement implies that the Watchtower Society has already solved the mystery. But have they really? In keeping with the apostolic exhortation: “Do not believe every inspired expression, but test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God,” we do well to take a closer look at this important topic.

The Watchtower rightly dispels the Fundamentalist’s simplistic notion that the mark of the beast is some sort of implanted microchip. But the article leaves the reader with the impression that everyone who now supports the present political system in any way has already been invisibly stamped with the symbolic 666. For example, on page six the Watchtower states: “How important, therefore, that we avoid having the deadly mark of the beast.”

For a certainty, this is not “new light” for Jehovah’s Witnesses. As far back as 1953 the Watchtower Society has taught this. Here is a quote from the February 1^st edition:

“Also that today is a day of judgment and that everyone is receiving a mark, either the mark of the beast or the mark that Jehovah’s servants place on those who sigh and cry for the abominations they see committed in the land. You individually cannot escape being marked. You cannot avoid having to make a decision.”

If, in 1953, people could not avoid getting the mark of doom, what do Jehovah’s Witnesses believe as regards when people actually first began receiving the 666 mark of the beast?

The Watchtower teaches that the image of the beast was originally manifested with the creation of the League of Nations in 1919, and presumably everyone since then who has not become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses (International Bible Students before 1931) has already received the mark. Supposedly, too, the creation of the United Nations in the aftermath of WWII and the subsequent disbanding of the League of Nations was the fulfillment of the emergence of the scarlet-colored beast from the abyss, as portrayed in the 17^th chapter of Revelation. But the establishment of the UN is largely an irrelevant development since Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the marking has been ongoing since 1919!

Bluntly, the teaching of the Watchtower Society on this issue is patently absurd. Let the reader be reminded that those who receive the mark of the beast are doomed to everlasting death. That is what it means not to have their names written in the book of life, as Revelation states regarding those who worship the revived beast from the abyss: “And all those who dwell on the earth will worship it; the name of not one of them stands written in the scroll of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered, from the founding of the world.” (Revelation 13:8 & Revelation 17:8)

(The Watchtower erroneously attributes two separate identities to the seven-headed wild beast in the 13^th chapter of Revelation and the scarlet beast in the 17th chapter. Even though the beast in the 11^th chapter of Revelation is said to also emerge from the abyss – just as does the scarlet-colored beast – the Watchtower attaches no significance to it. Reasonably, though, the death-stroke upon the head of the beast is also depicted in the symbolism of the Apocalypse as the entire beast going into a deathlike state, symbolized by its going into the abyss. Likewise, the emergence of the beast from the abyss parallels the miraculous recovery of the beast’s slaughtered head. The two-horned, lamblike beast that arises from the earth also depicts the beast coming from the abyss, as if rising up from Sheol – from the depths of the earth. The scarlet color of the beast from the abyss characterizes the beast after its recovery from death and reflects the intense anger of the satanic, fiery-colored, seven-headed dragon that is cast down to earth, resulting in the death of the head of the earthly beast.)

The absurdity of the Watchtower’s teaching ought to be apparent in view of the fact that many of Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves – at least before their having become Jehovah’s Witnesses – were active supporters of the political system, even fighting the bloody wars of the militaristic nations. But there is no indication in the Scriptures that those who receive the “deadly mark” can thereafter repent so that the mark is removed from them. Otherwise, what is the point of the symbolic marking if it does not permanently fix a person’s destiny? And if persons have already been marked, and hence, doomed to eternal death, what would be the point of preaching the good news of salvation to the damned? But how reasonable is it that the billions of people who have lived and died since 1919 have already been judged unworthy of a resurrection due to their presumed admiration of a largely irrelevant and long-since defunct organization like the League of Nations? It is not reasonable at all. In fact, it even contradicts other Watchtower teachings. What teachings specifically?

In 1995 the Society revised their understanding of when it is that the illustration of the separating of the sheep and the goats takes place, so that Jehovah’s Witnesses now expect the sheep and the goat-like individuals to be separated during the tribulation. But if that is the case, if the goats are yet to be judged worthy of everlasting cutting off based upon their failure to support Christ’s brothers during their trials, then it ought to be obvious – at least to thinking persons – that the world has not already been doomed in relation to wild beast.

WHEN IS THE MARK OF THE BEAST?

As one might at this point discern, the more relevant question for Jehovah’s Witnesses to consider is not ‘what is the mark of the beast?’ – It is ‘When is the mark of the beast?’

The 13th chapter of Revelation pinpoints a specific development that gives rise to the 666 mark of the beast? What is it? According to God’s prophetic word one of the heads of the seven-headed wild beast suffers a calamitous death-stroke and then revives. It is after that near-death experience that the two-horned Anglo-American beast conjures up an image of the seven-headed beast and breathes life into it so that the image fully comes to life and begins to speak – demanding the worship of every person on earth upon pain of death.

Apparently, the image will become manifest in the form of a world government, one capable of controlling earth’s affairs to the extent that no one will be able to buy or sell without placating the political image in some way that would compromise a Christian’s stand. Ostensibly, at this point the United Nations Organization is the only institution capable of exerting control to that extent. However, at the present moment the UN has no such life-and-death powers and there is no basis for believing that the image merely inflicts a figurative death upon those who refuse its mark, as the Watchtower has led Jehovah’s Witnesses to believe.

Of course, according to Watchtower interpretations, the seven-headed beast suffered a death-stroke as a result of the First World War. Realistically, though, as horrendous as that Great War was and the indisputable fact that it forever altered the course of history notwithstanding, there is simply no historical basis in reality for the notion that the Anglo-American duo experienced anything even remotely analogous to the prophesied sword-stroke. (The Bethel writing staff ought to be reminded of the fact that the United States and Great Britain were victorious in both world wars.)

Going into the First World War the United States was the world’s single greatest industrial power. And it emerged from that war as the greatest political and military power on earth as well. There was no political instability in the United States as a result of Europe’s Great War. The government did not totter on the brink. If so, where are the historical facts to document such a thing? The British Empire also emerged from the Great War intact. Granted, the populations and institutions of Europe were staggered, momentarily. Britain lost nearly a half-million men – about the same number killed in the American Civil War of 1860-64. But even the nations impacted most directly by the war did not experience political collapse – not even the vanquished, Germany. True, Czarist Russia was overthrown by Bolshevism and the Ottoman and Austria-Hungarian empires were dissolved, but so what? The head of the beast is just that, the leading nations of the political system. According to history and the Society’s own writings, in 1914 the British Empire and the United States remained the most powerful nations on the planet.

It is not a matter of disbelief in the so-called “faithful slave.” The “inspired expressions” of prophetic interpretation proffered by the Watchtower Society just simply do not pass the test of authenticity. The ramifications of their error should not be minimized.

In view of the fact that the Anglo-American dual world power and all nations still exercise a large measure of sovereignty and independence, thinking persons are forced to conclude that the death-stroke upon the head of the wild beast is yet to occur.

By the forward-shining light of Jehovah’s word, we are enabled to peer beyond the now-looming collapse of the present Anglo-American dominated system of things, to envision the revival of the beast in the form of a totalitarian, absolutist form of world government, which will do away with all vestiges of democracy and freedom. After all, the Babylonian king, who typifies the eighth king, was called “the tyrant of the nations.”

Such an earth-shaking development will run concurrent with the actual establishment of Jehovah’s kingdom, making the revived beast a competing government with Christ. That is why the supporters of the beast will be marked as worthy of eternal death because they will out-rightly reject Christ as their ruler in favor of a human government.

(Admittedly, although the Watchtower’s teaching regarding the timing of the administration of the mark of the beast is ludicrous, their error is because of their ardent attachment to the 1914 doctrine of the belief in the invisible presence of Christ. In that respect, they resemble the man/men depicted in the prophecy of Isaiah (28:20) who is trying to find his repose upon a couch that is too short with a bed sheet that is too narrow to cover himself with completely. So, no matter how authoritatively the Governing Body may assert that Christ has been invisibly present since 1914 and how God’s judgments have supposedly already been accomplished, they simply cannot tie all the loose ends together into a cohesive explanation of prophecy and are thus stuck with numerous discomforting absurdities, such as presented here.)

HOW MIGHT THE PROPHESIED DEATH STROKE COME ABOUT?

Presently, the global financial system is poised to disintegrate in the near term. As an indication of the trouble bubbling beneath the surface of the much-ballyhooed “recovery,” recently the wealthy clients of the Royal Bank of Scotland were warned via newsletter to prepare for a monster money printing operation by the Federal Reserve in response to the next phase of the financial crisis. Clients were urged to “think the unthinkable.” Indeed, the financial crisis that erupted two years ago, which, at its height reportedly came within less than 48 hours of toppling the entire London/Wall Street global system, has only temporarily been papered over by the most extraordinary means – not excluding outright fraud and the massive plundering of the taxpayer. But the total unraveling of the gargantuan debt and quadrillions derivatives pyramid is inevitable.

Concurrently, the Anglo-American-Zionist powers, while calling for a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, are preparing to launch nuclear war, not just against Iran, but apparently with the intent of a initiating a pre-emptive strike against Chinese and Russian nuclear capabilities as well.

The United States now maintains over 800 military bases, camps and stations around the world, many in nations that were formerly part of the Soviet Union – forming an arc of encirclement around Russia and to a lesser extent China. The goal is an Anglo/European-controlled world government.

Considering both its vast nuclear and conventional arsenals and sophisticated weapons delivery systems the American military is, for the most part – invincible. It is capable of delivering withering devastation upon multiple nations simultaneously in any corner of the globe within a couple of hours of receiving the command to do so. However, politically and economically the U.S. is very fragile and subject to collapse. In fact, the physical economy of the world’s greatest nation is now locked in a death spiral of accelerating collapse; as states cut their budgets, reducing their tax base, thereby requiring further budget cuts, further shrinking the tax base, their credit worthiness is reduced, borrowing costs are raised, provoking another round of budget reductions, further collapsing the state’s tax base, and on and on until total collapse is accomplished. But the destruction of the social structure and the Republic will not necessarily decapitate the military beast.

As already stated, the death-stroke upon the head of Satan’s beastly political system will bring about the end of the democratic, nation-state arrangement and wipe out the capitalist system. But from the ashes of catastrophe will arise a form of global communism, presumably administered by the UN; policed predominately by the incontestable military power of the former U.S.; dominated by the same clique of private financial interests, which will by then own the means of life – having left the once-wealthy moneyed and working class suckers holding worthless paper, destroyed through the sudden ignition of a hyperinflationary firestorm created by a handful of bankers – so that no one will be able to buy or sell outside of their system or contest the supremacy of the satanically controlled super-state.

Indicative of the incontestable power the eighth king will ultimately wield, the 18^th chapter of Revelation says regarding the kings who will eventually concede their power to the last king: “And the kings of the earth who committed fornication with her and lived in shameless luxury will weep and beat themselves in grief over her, when they look at the smoke from the burning of her, while they stand at a distance because of their fear of her torment and say, ‘Too bad, too bad, you great city, Babylon you strong city, because in one hour your judgment has arrived!’”

Reasoning on the verse above, if all the kings of the earth will tremble in fear at the power of the eighth king, does that not indicate that the eighth king will have been empowered as the sole military power on earth? That being the case, Jehovah’s Witnesses ought not any longer imagine that the League of Nations and the present-day United Nations were/are the last kingdom of prophecy or that the administering of the mark of the beast is already underway.

The collapse of the mighty Anglo-American kingdom along with the global financial system appears to be imminent! The coming crash will do what seemingly no earthly power can do – it will shatter the 1914 parousia delusion that presently grips Jehovah’s Witnesses.

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SOLVING A MYSTERY

 According to the Watchtower, the 666 simply means human imperfection as expressed through government. However, let it be noted that much of Revelation draws from the prophecy of Daniel. Consider the fact that the composite beast of the 13^th chapter of Revelation is composed of aspects of the individual beasts presented in the eighth chapter of Daniel. Also, the chronology connected with the beast of Revelation and the 42 months allotted it to wage war against the sons of the kingdom finds a parallel in Daniel as well. Likewise, the mandatory worship of the image of the beast ought to call to mind the historical account in the 3rd chapter of Daniel, where Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image on the Plains of Dura and ordered representatives from his entire empire to attend the inaugural ceremony of the image. Anyone who refused to bow before the image was to be put to death.

Not coincidently, the towering image measured 60 cubits by six cubits. The 666, being “a man’s number,” seems intended to call attention to the man, Nebuchadnezzar. So, the 666 of Revelation symbolizes the decisive situation, when, during the last hour, the beast will attempt to coerce all mankind – especially Jehovah’s anointed witnesses – to deny their faith in God. Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, those who are sealed with the name of Jehovah and Christ on their foreheads will join their Lord in the fiery furnace of martyrdom for their staunch refusal to worship the image of the beast during the last hour. 

This September (2010) marks the eighth year since e-watchman.com first came online. Over the years since then I’ve received numerous email inquiries about my identity and my history as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and my present relationship with the Watchtower Society.  Although the Watchman is not about me, it seems natural that I ought to provide readers with a bit of background. So, here is my story.

Originally I published anonymously. But in 2004 that changed.  In the Spring of that year I undertook a massive mailing campaign of an eight-page letter addressed to every kingdom hall in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and all 100-branch offices of the Watchtower Society throughout the world. I also handed a signed copy to my local elders at the Kingdom Hall on 8 Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan; informing them that I was publicly accusing the Watchtower Society of apostasy in connection with their secretive, 10-year NGO partnership with the United Nations and that I was calling for a formal judicial investigation of those at Bethel who were directly involved.  That, of course, initiated my own judicial hearing with the elders for my supposed apostasy!

Amazingly, I was not disfellowshipped at that time; the reason being, that I had not spoken about this issue with anyone in the congregation. Admittedly, though, I had not made fully known to the elders the whole range of my issues with the Watchtower nor the extent of my anonymous presence on the Internet. However, later that same year I undertook another more modest mail-out of an open letter entitled: Is It Time (for the Watchtower) to Say ‘We Are Sorry’? (Both open letters are available as PDF downloads in the Archives page.)

After some months a letter came from Bethel, again directing the local elders to initiate judicial action against me. At that hearing I made known to the elders some of the unseemly, backdoor lawyering the Watchtower had been doing, such as denying in legal cases that overseers of Jehovah’s Witnesses have any fiduciary duty to protect the children of the congregations from the sexual crimes of fellow congregants. I also expressed my conviction that the judgment of the house of God did not occur in 1918, as the Watchtower Society teaches; but rather, the parousia of Christ is a future event, though imminent. I was subsequently disfellowshipped in the Spring of 2005.

But, as is the right of every disfellowshipped Jehovah’s Witness, I appealed the decision. I knew the outcome would likely be the same but I wanted to expose another three-member body of elders from another congregation to the issues I had raised.  Perhaps the decision may have been overturned if I had expressed remorse over publicizing the Watchtower's unseemly doings. But how could I renounce that which I knew to be true? Also, at the very time the appeal committee was considering my case I let them know that I had just sent the manuscript of Jehovah Himself Has Become King to the publisher. So, I left them few options but to uphold the decision of the original committee.

I will state here and now that the elders treated me kindly and fairly and I harbor no ill will towards them. If I had been in their position, as I have been on a couple of dozen judicial cases that I had sat on as an elder myself, I would have made the same decision as they. I did not really want to be disfellowshipped. But I it seemed hypocritical for me to continue to publish anonymously – especially on the mailing campaign and the publication of a book.

Ultimately, I felt that the exposure of the Watchtower’s apostasy was more important than my good standing in the congregation. I was driven to speak out and try to shake things up, even at the cost of being branded as an apostate and losing a lifetime of friendships. Although I have suffered loss, I do not regret the actions I have taken. It had to be done.

Although I now have no face-to-face fellowship with Jehovah’s Witnesses, I do have many interchanges with active Jehovah’s Witnesses online and through e-mail, many of whom are disturbed or have been stumbled by the Watchtower in some fashion or another.

Ironically, since I have been disfellowshipped these last five years now, I have acquired a greater freeness of speech and credibility, particularly among those just studying the Bible who have questions and issues and the growing numbers of disassociated and disfellowshipped Jehovah’s Witnesses. I no longer am compelled to always defend the Society, but can speak the truth. In a very real sense I have become the minister of the disaffected. But my foremost purpose in being online is to publish the insights that I have been given. After all, did not Jesus say that no one lights a lamp and places it under a basket? So, it is my intent not merely to expose the hypocrisy of the Watchtower Society, but to shine a light on the things to come by means of a fresh and unique presentation of God’s prophetic word in order to announce Jehovah’s soon-to-be-unveiled judgments.

But how did I arrive at the point of accusing the Watchtower Society of apostasy and what emboldened me to promote what some may feel are my own personal views?

I began studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses in the summer of 1973. Actually, I found the Watchtower Society before Jehovah’s Witnesses found me. Let me regress. Prior to that summer I had been on a quest to find God. I do not know what it was, but as I was entering young manhood I developed an intense spiritual yearning.  Although my parents were not particularly religious, as a child I had been sent to Sunday school. So, I was at least inclined to towards Christianity and the Bible when I began to have this spiritual awakening. I started to read the Bible for the first time. I was deeply moved by the life and words of Jesus Christ. (I also spoke about my becoming one of Jehovah's Witnesses in the #12 podcast)

Although I had long since stopped going to Sunday school, as part of my quest to find God I began going to a different church every Sunday to see if there were any that made sense. Sometimes I would stay for the whole   service, other times I would walk out and scratch them off the list. I went to several Catholic masses. One Sunday I went to a Methodist church. One Sunday I went to a Baptist church. I also went to a Christian Scientists service. At one point I was invited to a Pentecostal church and they baptized me on my first visit and ‘tarried’ with me to try to get me to speak in tongues, which, fortunately for me, was unsuccessful. I frequently spoke with Jesus freaks – hippies who supposedly found Jesus. I even hung out with Hare Krishnas at the local Divine Light temple a few days and ate brown rice with them and listened to their spiel.

Then I came upon a Watchtower publication on a bookshelf in a lodge where we were staying while on vacation, my parents and I. The book was entitled: Things in Which it is Impossible for God to Lie. Just as it was said of Jesus, that he was a man who spoke with authority, unlike the Pharisees, I recognized the Watchtower also spoke with authority and knowledge. A few months later I met two individuals, a man and a woman, who had studied with Jehovah’s Witnesses for some time, but had since left off. Both of them gave me boxes of books and old Watchtower magazines and bound volumes. So, for weeks I read and read and read some more.  I was fascinated with Bible prophecy particularly and devoured the Society’s books such as the The Finished Mystery of God commentary on Revelation; The Nations Shall Know I Am Jehovah – based upon the prophecy of Ezekiel; Your Will Be Done explanation of the prophecy of Daniel; and Babylon the Great Has Fallen - God’s Kingdom Rules! I think I read pretty much every book the Society had published back to 1950.

About that same time one of Jehovah’s Witnesses knocked on my door and a formal study was begun. I also began attending meetings at the kingdom hall.  And I started talking to others about what I was learning. I probably would have been baptized within a short period of time, but in December of 1973 the Watchtower instituted a no smoking policy and would no longer allow smokers to be baptized. And I was a smoker at the time. I was also a recreational drug user. It took me a few more years to get sorted out, as the saying goes. But I was finally baptized in April of 1977 at a circuit assembly on the campus of Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana.

It was a joyous day for me. I was so pumped up with the Spirit that immediately after getting baptized, while everyone else was eating lunch and chatting, I went out witnessing to the college students who happened to be sitting around on the lawn on the campus grounds.

When I first began studying I was working as a mechanic at a John Deere farm equipment dealership, but when I witnessed to some of the fellows during lunch, I was promptly fired. I would venture to say I offended a few Trinity devotees. But it all worked out for the best. I soon got a job with a brother in the landscaping and tree trimming business. A few years later the brother who owned the business, along with his wife, were accepted at Bethel. She was a computer programmer and the Society was turning everything over to computers back then. I ended up buying his business and equipment. Being self-employed, or self-unemployed as I termed it when the business was slow, I was able to spend more time in the ministry. And in 1981 I became a regular pioneer and also that same year I was appointed as a ministerial servant in the congregation. It turns out I had a knack for public speaking and so I was privileged to give regular public talks as a ministerial servant.

In 1982 I had had enough of the “Rust Belt” – as Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan were called back then due to economic stagnation, and I moved to Houston, Texas. Within a few months I met a pretty little sister and we were married in 1983. She too was a regular pioneer. In fact, most of our “dates” were in field service and afterwards when we stopped for coffee with many refills.

Over the years I studied with well over 100 individuals and families and about a dozen of them became baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses. My pioneering, though, was an on-again off-again thing. I struggled with health problems and low energy and it was hard to run a business part-time and keep up with the ministry. I think I was on and off the pioneer list about four different times. In 1985 I was appointed as an elder and during one stretch when we were both pioneering the circuit overseer said he was going to recommend me as a substitute circuit overseer on his next visit. But alas, I was off the list by the time he came around again.  As an elder, though, I usually served as the School Overseer or the Service Overseer.

I first began to suspect that something was not quite right with the Watchtower’s interpretation of prophecy back in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. I kept expecting the Society to revise their interpretation of the prophecy of the king of the north, but they never did. Even in 1999, eight years after the USSR had been dissolved, the Watchtower saw no need to revise their interpretation in their Pay Attention to Daniel’s Prophecy commentary.

But shortly after the collapse of the USSR I began looking into the conspiratorial view of history and current events. I first began reading the literature of the John Birch Society. Also I took up a more intense study of the work of Lyndon LaRouche. I have found the Executive Intelligence Review, of which LaRouche is the Founder and senior editor, to be very valuable.

In 1995 my wife and I moved to a small town in Oregon, Lake Oswego. We had moved a few times prior to that and I had always been reappointed. I knew that I had been highly recommended by my previous congregation, but it made no difference. I was not reappointed. And although the Society’s policy was that any elder who moves into a new congregation can still serve as an elder, for instance, giving public talks, even without being reappointed. He just can’t sit on judicial committees. No matter. The elders in my new congregation had their own way of doing things. Although I had more experience then some on the body, they considered me unqualified to do what I had been doing for the past decade, and that was that.

As an anecdote, because things became pretty intolerable there we moved to another congregation in the Seattle area. A few years later we ran into one the elders from Lake Oswego at a convention. He was an older man, a former Bethelite, whom I liked a lot. When we approached to extend greetings he suddenly burst into tears and weep. He didn’t say anything, but we both knew he felt terrible about the way I had been treated. As it turned out, the power-hungry elders that had refused to allow me on their body also turned on him and booted him off the elder body. What a disgrace. He was old enough to have been the other elders’ father.

As distressing as it was to me at the time – being prevented from serving as an elder by power-coveting brothers – I gradually began to appreciate that Jehovah has disciplining and humbling me in preparation for another assignment that did not depend upon having the approval of any elder body or Service Department.

Then in October 1996 I had a profound experience that changed my life. I was anointed by God’s spirit – called to the heavenly kingdom.  I resisted at first. But after some months of wrestling with it and trying to ignore it, the Spirit convinced me. The way the Spirit manifested itself upon me at the time was, I suddenly developed an insatiable desire to read the Bible – and not just the Bible, the prophets in particular. Up until that time I was like most of Jehovah’s Witnesses; I concentrated more on the Watchtower Society’s literature and only read the Bible as part of the weekly Bible reading routine or when studying Watchtower material. But in 1996 I began reading the prophets every day, sometimes all day long. I started with Ezekiel, then Isaiah, Daniel, Joel, Habakkuk and others of the so-called Minor Prophets.  I read some of the prophets 20 or 30 times.

But from the very beginning a new understanding opened up to me. For example, when reading Ezekiel chapters 26-32, I immediately discerned that the prophecy did not merely apply to Tyre and ancient Egypt, but that it was written in such a way so as to foretell the sudden, horrifying downfall of the mighty Anglo-American kingdom; the city of Tyre representing London and Egypt picturing the United States of America. The takedown of Tyre and Egypt must correlate with the death-stroke upon the head of the seven-headed beast of Revelation. I also discerned that Babylon represents the eighth king to come, which will be realized with the imposition of a tyrannical world government. These are the things that make up part of my wiritngs now.

About that same time I also acquired my first computer and I began pecking around on the keyboard, writing essays and mailing them off to various departments and brothers at Bethel. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this before, but one of my first research projects on the Internet involved looking up information about NGOs, because I had read that NGOs were being used by the United Nations to condition society to accept a world government. To my astonishment I saw the Watchtower Society listed as an NGO working in cooperation with the United Nations. This was back in 1996. I did not know quite what to make of it at the time, but I did take note. When the Guardian article came out in October of 2001, I was not surprised. Rather, I had been expecting it.

Prior to that time I also understood that the Hebrew prophecies, as well as Revelation, did not apply to Christendom as Jehovah’s Witnesses have been taught. But then I could not fully understand why Jehovah would so sternly denounce the Watchtower Society. But when the Society’s hypocrisy and treachery came to light in 2001, it all came together for me. And then in 2002, with Bill Bowen’s  and the Silentlambs appearance on Dateline and other programs, it became even more apparent to me that the Watchtower had gone deep in dealing treacherously with Jehovah.

The child-abuse exposé did not really come as a shock for me either. As an elder I had had the unfortunate experience of dealing with several child abuse cases and I saw firsthand how the Watchtower’s legal department strong-armed the brothers and victims’ families to prevent them from going to the police. In one case I appealed an injustice to a circuit and district overseer, only to be told that their hands had been tied. Guess who tied their hands?

On another unsatisfactorily resolved case I wrote to a member of the Governing Body, whom I had met a few years before and actually had the privilege of working with out in field service. I explained to him how a brother had committed horrible sex acts with his own daughters over a period of years and instead of being turned over to the police and disfellowshipped, incredibly, the elders merely arranged for a Bible study with him! I received a reply from the Watchtower Society exhorting me to ‘wait on Jehovah.’ In 2002 when the many child abuse victims told their stories to the public most of them had also been told not to worry about the injustice done to them, but to 'wait on Jehovah.' As I recall, Bill Bowen had even recorded a conversation he had with a Bethel elder who advised him not to pursue a case but to ‘wait on Jehovah.’ It seems that ‘wait on Jehovah’ is the Society’s pat answer to all complaints against their unjust policies and practices.

Also that same year (2002) it suddenly dawned on me that “the appointed times of the nations,” about which Jesus spoke, could not possibly have been in reference to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 607 B.C.E. Jesus was discussing the future desolation of Jerusalem by a disgusting thing, not something that had already occurred. So, as I stated already, it all came together for me in 2001-2002. And that is when I determined to start a website and things have sort of developed from there.

I should also mention as well, that, in spite of my view that the leadership of the Watchtower Society has betrayed Jehovah, I continued on as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, going to meetings and out in service up until I was disfellowshipped; although, admittedly, not with the same innocence and unbounded zeal that I had formerly.

So that’s my story. It is rather ironic that I find myself heeding the Watchtower’s advice after all. I am still waiting on Jehovah. However, now I am waiting on Jehovah to set matters straight with the Watchtower, which I am confident he will do, and soon.

Robert King

Image from September 15, 2010 WatchtowerW

Jehovah’s day is not a mere 24-hour day.

It is the period of time during which God expresses his long-restrained anger – beginning with his own house first, as the Scriptures indicate in several places, and concluding with the entire wicked civilization being wiped off the earth and the beginning of the new world.

Jehovah’s day coincides with the interval variously termed in the Bible as the conclusion of the system of things, the time of the end, the final part of the days, as well as the last days.

The day of Jehovah is also referred to as the day of the Lord and the Lord’s day. That is appropriate in view of the fact that Christ Jesus stated that the Father has committed all judging to him. So that is why Jehovah’s day is also called the day of the Lord Jesus, since Christ will carry out all of Jehovah’s judgments.

While Jehovah’s day is characterized as an awesome display of divine power, according to the Scriptures extraordinary events on earth will serve as a precursor to that great day. What events? As many people who are not even Bible-oriented are anticipating, an unprecedented calamity seems certain to overtake this world in the near future. War, financial collapse, famine and pestilence – in short, the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, which is vividly portrayed in the prophecy of Joel, wherein three references are made to the day of Jehovah.

The prophecy of Joel portrays the day of Jehovah coming upon the world as an unstoppable, locust-like plague that subsequently devours the resources of God’s people and reduces them to imploring Jehovah, their God, for salvation. The catastrophe is described as a despoiling from the Almighty himself. Joel words it this way. “Gather together the older men, all the inhabitants of the land, to the house of Jehovah your God, and cry to Jehovah for aid. ‘Alas for the day; because the day of Jehovah is near, and like a despoiling from the Almighty One it will come! Has not food itself been cut off before our very eyes; from the house of our God, rejoicing and joyfulness? Dried figs have shriveled under their shovels. Storehouses have been laid desolate. Barns have been torn down, for the grain has dried up. O how the domestic animal has sighed! How the droves of cattle have wandered in confusion! For there is no pasturage for them. Also, the droves of the sheep have been the ones made to bear guilt. To you, O Jehovah, I shall call; for fire itself has devoured the pasture grounds of the wilderness, and a very flame has consumed all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field also keep longing for you, because the channels of water have dried up, and fire itself has devoured the pasture grounds of the wilderness.’” 

The second chapter of Joel commands God’s ministers to sound the battle cry: “Blow a horn in Zion, O men, and shout a war cry in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land get agitated; for the day of Jehovah is coming, for it is near! It is a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick gloom, like light of dawn spread out upon the mountains.” (For a more detailed consideration of the prophecy of Joel click here.)

There is nothing in the history of ancient Judah or Jerusalem that could even be considered as a typical fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel. However, on the day of Pentecost, when the holy spirit was poured out as Christ had foretold, the apostle Peter was inspired to attribute that outpouring and tongues-speaking phenomenon to the fulfillment of Joel. Interestingly, however, although the prophecy of Joel does not explicitly say it, Peter stated that the prophecy was being fulfilled in the last days. And indeed, the Jewish system entered into their last days once Christ announced woe upon the city and its temple during his final visit to Jerusalem.

But it is also apparent that the words of Jehovah in Joel will have an ultimate realization during the last days of the present evil system in connection with an institution comparable to Jerusalem of old; this, because of what is written at Joel 3:15-17: “Sun and moon themselves will certainly become dark, and the very stars will actually withdraw their brightness. And out of Zion Jehovah himself will roar, and out of Jerusalem he will give forth his voice. And heaven and earth certainly will rock; but Jehovah will be a refuge for his people, and a fortress for the sons of Israel. And you people will have to know that I am Jehovah you God, residing in Zion my holy mountain. And Jerusalem must become a holy place; and as regards strangers, they will no more pass through her.”

Discerning readers will take note of the fact that Jesus also used similar phraseology, such as the sun, moon and stars going dark, regarding the events to occur during the conclusion of the global system of things and the desolation of the holy place and that which is represented by Jerusalem of old. Clearly, the “Jerusalem” referenced in Joel is that which is related to Christ’s congregation. Contrary to the Watchtower Society’s assertion that Jehovah’s Witnesses are presently doing the work of the symbolic locust, caterpillar and cockroach armies of Joel, any sober reading of the prophecy reveals that it is God’s special property that is destined to be devoured and trampled on by the nations; the nations being symbolized in Joel as God’s great military force – the “strangers” –who “will no more pass through her,” for the reason that they will be annihilated.

Although the above-cited verses of Joel portray the insect onslaught as a prelude to the day of Jehovah, Joel 2:10-11 makes no distinction – revealing that the great military assault is a manifestation of Jehovah’s great and fear-inspiring day: “Before it the land has become agitated, the heavens have rocked. Sun and moon themselves have become dark, and the very stars have withdrawn their brightness. And Jehovah himself will certainly give forth his voice before his military force, for his camp is very numerous. For he who is carrying out his word is mighty; for the day of Jehovah is great and very fear-inspiring, and who can hold up under it?”

What is Jehovah’s military camp? As already stated, it simply cannot be Jehovah’s Witnesses. And it is not Jehovah’s legions of mighty, heavenly angels. That which is spoken of as Jehovah’s military force are those anti-God, earthly armies of all the nations, armed with nuclear, biological, chemical, laser and conventional weapons without number, which Jehovah will merely acquisition to accomplish his own purpose. And once his purpose has been accomplished, then Jehovah disposes of his military force. That will then conclude the day of Jehovah.

That is what occurred some 25 centuries ago, when God co-opted Nebuchadnezzar’s Chaldean military force in order to destroy his own nation.  Although the Chaldean war machine was a manifestation of Satan’s imperial control, God assigned the people of Marduk the task of meting out punishment upon the nations – Judah in particular. That is why Habakkuk wrote: “At that time it will certainly move onward like wind and will pass through and will actually become guilty. This its power is due to its god. Are you not from long ago, O Jehovah? O my God, my Holy One, you do not die. O Jehovah, for a judgment you have set it; and, O Rock, for a reproving you have founded it.”

But even though God sanctions the attack upon his people, as portrayed in the prophecy of Joel, Habakkuk also depicts God becoming directly involved in response to the assault, resulting in the attackers being vanquished. That, of course, did not happen in the actual Chaldean campaign against Jerusalem. (For a more in depth consideration of Habakkuk, click here)

BEFORE THERE COMES UPON YOU THE DAY OF JEHOVAH’S ANGER

The prophecy of Zephaniah similarly situates Babylon’s conquest of Judea as occurring during the day of Jehovah. In fact, the expression “the day of Jehovah” is used seven times in the brief prophecy of Zephaniah.

As an indication that Jehovah’s day encompasses more than what occurred in connection with the apostate Jewish kingdom in ancient times, the prophecy speaks to all the meek ones of the earth, those “who have practiced His own judicial decision” – holding out to them the opportunity of surviving that terrible day. In other words, the prophecy pertains to the potential great crowd of hopeful Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Zephaniah 2:1-3 states: “Gather yourselves together, yes, do the gathering, O nation not paling in shame. Before the statute gives birth to anything, before the day has passed by just like chaff, before there comes upon you people the burning anger of Jehovah, before there comes upon you the day of Jehovah’s anger, seek Jehovah, all you meek ones of the earth, who have practiced His own judicial decision. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you may be concealed in the day of Jehovah’s anger.”

Jehovah’s purpose is to purge the wicked and faithless from his nation as a precondition for their entry into the blessed new world – particularly from the leadership, which is evident from the following passage: “In that day you will not be ashamed because of all your dealings with which you transgressed against me, for then I shall remove from the midst of you your haughtily exultant ones; and you will never again be haughty in my holy mountain. And I shall certainly let remain in the midst of you a people humble and lowly, and they will actually take refuge in the name of Jehovah.” – Zephaniah 3:11-12 (For a more in depth consideration of how the Watchtower Society fits the description of the “nation not paling in shame” read the chapter, Zephaniah.)

The prophecy of Ezekiel echoes Joel and Zephaniah, in foretelling that the day of Jehovah’s fury will impact that which God considers to be his special property and that it will be profaned by “strangers” for the purpose of humbling his people. Ezekiel 7:19-22 reads: “Into the streets they will throw their very silver, and an abhorrent thing their own gold will become. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah’s fury. Their souls they will not satisfy, and their intestines they will not fill, for it has become a stumbling block causing their error. And the decoration of one’s ornament—one has set it as reason for pride; and their detestable images, their disgusting things, they have made with it. That is why I will make it to them an abhorrent thing. And I will give it into the hand of the strangers for plunder and to the wicked ones of the earth for spoil, and they will certainly profane it. And I shall have to turn away my face from them, and they will actually profane my concealed place, and into it robbers will really come and profane it.”

The 13^th chapter of Ezekiel denounces the “stupid prophets” who are misleading God’s people. Jehovah foretells that they will not continue on “in the intimate group of my people,” and: “You men will certainly not go up into the gaps, neither will you build up a stone wall in behalf of the house of Israel, in order to stand in the battle in the day of Jehovah. They have visioned what is untrue and a lying divination, those who are saying, ‘The utterance of Jehovah is,’ when Jehovah himself has not sent them, and they have waited to have a word come true.”

This portion of prophecy applies most aptly to the leadership of the Watchtower Society. They even refer to themselves as an “Ezekiel class” of prophet and they have now even exalted themselves to speak for Jehovah himself; saying as it were: ‘The utterance of Jehovah is’ – just as the prophecy foretells. The September 15^th, 2010, Watchtower is a striking example of this. On page 13, paragraph eight, the Watchtower states:

Similarly today, a Governing Body composed of Spirit anointed Christians contributes to the unity of the worldwide congregation. The Governing Body publishes spiritually encouraging literature in many languages. This spiritual food is based on God's word. Thus, what is taught is not from men but from God.

It is true, the Governing Body publishes encouraging literature in many languages. And most of what the Watchtower teaches is based on God’s word. However, the same issue of the Watchtower goes on to regurgitate the well-worn message of how Christ began ruling in his kingdom in 1914 and how Jesus declared the Watchtower Society to be his clean instrument back in 1919. But since it can be Scripturally proven that the Society’s 1914 doctrine is false, obviously that is not a teaching from God. That means that the Governing Body is practicing a massive deception – wittingly or unknowingly does not matter. The Governing Body and their predecessors have most certainly envisioned what is untrue regarding the parousia of Christ having already commenced. And now in 2010, just four years shy of a century since Jesus supposedly returned invisibly, the Watchtower Society is still waiting to “have a word come true.” So far not one of their prophetic utterances has.

Of the utmost interest to Jehovah’s Witnesses at this time is what Paul foretold as regards the influence of the man of lawlessness over anointed Christians. Paul expressly warned the brothers not to be deceived by apostolic-like proclamations regarding the presence of Christ and the arrival of the day of Jehovah. Paul wrote: “However, brothers, respecting the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we request of you not to be quickly shaken from your reason nor to be excited either through an inspired expression or through a verbal message or through a letter as though from us, to the effect that the day of Jehovah is here. Let no one seduce you in any manner, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction.”

Over the past century the Watchtower has issued many verbal messages and authored countless written statements, authoritatively announcing both “the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ” and that “the day of Jehovah is here.” Ironically, that, coupled with the reality of the Society’s own apostasy, indicates that the day of Jehovah is about to erupt. (See the article in the Archives section: The Apostasy Comes First.)

 The book of Amos refers to the day of Jehovah three times – all in the same context in the 5^th chapter. “‘Woe to those who are craving the day of Jehovah! What, then, will the day of Jehovah mean to you people? It will be darkness, and no light, just as when a man flees because of the lion, and the bear actually meets him; and as when he went into the house and supported his hand against the wall, and the serpent bit him. Will not the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light; and will it not have gloom, and not brightness?”

Jehovah’s Witnesses fit the description of those who are “craving the day of Jehovah,” primarily because the Watchtower Society has misled them to expect to be idle bystanders to the unveiling of Jehovah’s judgments.

JEHOVAH’S DAY IS COMING AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT

Finally, as regards when the day of Jehovah will arrive, according to the New World Translation anyway, Paul wrote at 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2: “Now as for the times and the seasons, brothers, you need nothing to be written to you. For you yourselves know quite well that Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. Whenever it is that they are saying: “Peace and security!” then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them just as the pang of distress upon a pregnant woman; and they will by no means escape.”

Christians know that Jehovah’s day is coming as a thief in the night because that is what Jesus taught. In the 12^th chapter of Luke Jesus exhorted his disciples to keep their loins girded in anticipation of the master’s sudden return. Jesus went on to state: “But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief would come, he would have kept watching and not have let his house be broken into. You also, keep ready, because at an hour that you do not think likely the Son of man is coming.”

When Peter asked Jesus to whom the illustration applied, to them or to all, Jesus replied with another illustration, asking: “Who really is the faithful steward, the discreet one, whom his master will appoint over his body of attendants to keep giving them their measure of food supplies at the proper time? Happy is that slave, if his master on arriving finds him doing so! I tell you truthfully, He will appoint him over all his belongings.”

The same Watchtower article previously cited insists that the faithful slave was appointed over all the master’s belongings in 1918-1919. If that were true, though, it would mean that Christ has already come as a thief in the night and the day of Jehovah is underway. Clearly that cannot be true. No wonder Jesus went on to explain that even the faithful slave who ignorantly fails his master will be flogged, albeit with only a few strokes. As all the prophecies indicate, all of Jehovah’s people will be thrashed during the day of Jehovah, but especially those who are in charge, as Jesus indicated in the concluding words of the illustration: “But the one that did not understand and so did things deserving of strokes will be beaten with few. Indeed, everyone to whom much was given, much will be demanded of him; and the one whom people put in charge of much, they will demand more than usual of him.” – Luke 12:48

But as regards the prophecy Paul uttered some 2,000 years ago, who is the “they” who will be saying “peace and security,” which will then serve as the authentic signal that the presence of Christ and the day of Jehovah are finally here? Although the Hebrew prophecies indicate that the leaders of the Jews falsely claimed there was peace between God and his people – that does not seem to have any connection to the prophecy in question.

First, it should not be supposed that the “sudden destruction” that is destined to instantly come upon “them” is the ultimate destruction of the nations at the world-ending war of Armageddon. Considering that the day of Jehovah will rock all the nations and throw them into a violent tumult, from which the anguished and terrified peoples of the world will see no way out, apparently the “they” who are prophesied to be “saying peace and security” are the present leaders of the world – more probably the leaders of the Anglo-American superpower – the champions of freedom and democracy. This may, perhaps, be manifest in the coming months in some sort of “solution” to the long-standing problems in the Middle East regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the Israeli and Palestinian situation.

In any case, the destruction that comes upon those who are “saying peace and security” will most certainly be the destruction of the nation-state political arrangement, along with the already collapsing global financial system. Their destruction will give way to the imposition of a short-lived, genocidal global government, administered through the United Nations – the neo-Chaldean tyrant, who then will carry out heaven’s judgments during the desperate day of Jehovah.

During the bleakest time in all human history, Jehovah's salvation will be revealed to all those who call upon his name, even as was foretold in the prophecy of Joel: "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered." - American Standard Version

(Note: The prophecies foretell that during Jehovah’s day men will throw their gold and silver into the street. However, gold and silver were used as money in Bible times, but relatively few people value gold and silver today. Therefore, it should be understood that what passes for money today is what will become worthless – not actual gold and silver. Many now fear that the money pumping operations of the central bankers will result in the destruction of  the Dollar and Euro through hyperinflation.)



 Since the April 20th explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig the ongoing toxic geyser in the Gulf of Mexico has dominated the news. But as disastrous for the environment as the out-spreading oil is, the chemical dispersants being spewed by the millions of gallons are said to be four times more toxic than the petroleum.

There are reports of widespread crop damage in the Gulf States, perhaps attributable to the potent chemical dispersant vapors precipitating out of the atmosphere with rain. And in a few more weeks the oil will exit the Gulf and enter the Atlantic Ocean. And to compound an already difficult situation it is predicted to be an active hurricane season.

This is shaping up to be a mega-disaster – not just for the environment or the economies of the Gulf States, but for America and even the world.

Predictably, there is a grassroots movement to boycott British Petroleum. But that may only exacerbate the disaster. For one thing, most of the thousands of BP service stations in the United States are privately owned, mom-and-pop franchises. And besides that, British Petroleum sells oil to many other retail outlets besides those named British Petroleum. But if British Petroleum goes bankrupt, what then? Already the company has lost half of its market value. But if BP goes under it would probably trigger a derivatives panic in the financial markets; that is because of the billions in credit default swaps. In other words, those who are counterparties of the derivatives bets would be on the hook for the billions and billions of BP’s debt.

The situation in Europe is also bleak. While the sovereign debt of Greece has dominated the news in recent months, the death vigil has now turned to Spain. Credit rating agencies recently rattled markets when they cut Spain’s credit worthiness rating merely one notch. Again, though, the situation is such that if just one nation or large bank defaults it will trigger billions, possibly trillions, in CDS (credit default swaps) and other forms of derivatives.

The BIS has placed the derivatives market at about $600 trillion. Others, though, say that the total off-balance sheet, notional value of derivatives bets worldwide is in the quadrillions! To put things in perspective, the world’s GDP is about $50 trillion, and much of that is fictitious as well.  

One year ago the European Central Bank (ECB) loaned €440 billion to other banks within the European Union to prevent a meltdown of the banking system. On July 1, 2010, those loans came due. But the borrowers came nowhere near paying off their debt. In other words, it became apparent that the great banks of Europe are bankrupt. The ECB was forced to roll over parts of the debt – loaning the bankrupt banks another €110 billion for a mere six days! That sounds like a joke, but it is not. That is the situation. The Masters of the Universe are just trying to keep the thing held together for another week! Oddly, though, while the Euro is breaking down the United Nations has called for the nations to ditch the Dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

Meanwhile, the largest military buildup since World War II is underway. In a few more weeks the United States will reportedly have four aircraft carrier attack groups and a marine contingent within striking distance of Iran. American and Israeli aircraft and ground troops are amassed in Azerbaijan, on Iran’s northern border. Iran has deployed its Revolutionary guard and is on a full-alert, war footing. Saudi Arabia has given Israel a “green light” to use its airspace for an attack. With the Anglo-American powers having gotten official United Nations’ sanctions against Iran they will likely begin to ratchet up the pressure against the land of the ancient Persian Empire in order to provoke a response, as a pretext for launching a nuclear attack.

The driving force behind the relentless push for war is the collapsing financial system. Private financial interests know that the game is up. As a last gasp they will undoubtedly flood the world with trillions upon trillions of Dollars and Euros, which will decrease in value by the hour, then by the minute and second – until their money becomes worthless. As one indication that private financial interests are manipulating the nations into war, consider that billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s London Times has been accused of publishing fake documents demonizing Iran. This is of course the exact same tactic that was used to justify the invasion of Iraq. Remember the phony yellowcake story?

The Bible writer James was inspired to foretell the fire-like, hyperinflationary destruction of money when he wrote: “Come, now, you rich men, weep, howling over your miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted, and your outer garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are rusted away, and their rust will be as a witness against you and will eat your fleshy parts. Something like fire is what you have stored up in the last days.”

It is their intent to blow up the world after securing control over the world's vital resources, such as oil and gas. In case anyone is uncertain as to how the world works it was recently announced that Afghanistan is sitting on about $3 trillion worth of minerals. The so-called war on terror has never been about eradicating Al Qaeda. That could be done in a single day considering the overwhelming force the United States is capable of mustering.  The war in South Asia is about protecting London’s opium business, which nets the European banks hundreds of billions in laundering fees and interest. It’s about controlling vital oil and gas pipelines and shipping lanes to the Persian Gulf. And, of course, it’s about oil.

THE WATCHTOWER HAS BLINDED JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

Jehovah’s Witnesses see no significance in current events. The Watchtower Society has convinced those under its influence that virtually all prophecy has already been fulfilled. For example, it may seem ludicrous to those who are unfamiliar with the Watchtower’s teachings, but Jehovah’s Witnesses actually imagine that the 8^th king of prophecy has come to power and that people have already received the mark of the beast by merely admiring the now-defunct League of Nations and its successor, the United Nations. Just how it is that no one can buy or sell unless receiving the mark of the beast is anyone’s guess. Jehovah's Witnesses do not seem to realize that it is blasphemous to imply that God has blotted out from his book of life millions of names because they may have casually supported the League or the modern UN. It is virtually impossible for Jehovah’s Witnesses to comprehend that the now-imminent collapse of the Anglo-American system will signal the beginning of the conclusion of the system and the parousia of Christ and the death-stroke of the beast. Now Jehovah’s Witnesses are only waiting for the United Nations to suddenly destroy organized religion throughout the world.

But, there is no earthly power that can penetrate the Watchtower's control over the minds of Jehovah's Witnesses. And as all of Jehovah's Witnesses surely know, if any in the congregation were to voice any misgivings agout the Watchtower's interpretations of prophecy they would be dealt with speedily by the elders.  Truly, the very institution Jehovah’s Witnesses credit for their assumed enlightenment has in reality effectively blinded them.

Jesus Christ forewarned his disciples that he was coming as a thief in the night. However, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Christ’s thief-like coming took place in 1914. The outbreak of nuclear war and global financial collapse in the coming months, coupled with the inevitable food shortages, famine and disease, will shatter the Watchtower’s 1914 delusion. Then Jehovah’s Witnesses will be forced to go on faith and abandon whatever is left of Bethel and the Society. That will be a very difficult thing for most of Jehovah’s Witnesses. After all, the Watchtower claims to speak for God. When it becomes apparent that the Watchtower has misled the flock, then what?

No wonder Jesus posed the somewhat unsettling question: “Nevertheless, when the Son of man arrives, will he really find the faith on the earth?” – Luke 18:8



The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

This is an open letter to the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watchtower Society. Please print a copy and sent it to any number of departments at Brooklyn Bethel or any of the other 100 branch offices of the Watchtower Society around the world. Most of the branch overseers read English. 

 Bethel has occasionally produced articles counseling Jehovah’s Witnesses on the need for them to be quick to apologize when they may cause offense.  But what about the Watchtower? Has it ever apologized?  Personally, I’m fairly familiar with everything the Watchtower has published over the years and I am not aware of any instance in which the Society has ever apologized for anything.

Of course, the Watchtower Society is comprised of many men. And no doubt, as individuals you likely have apologized to others on occasion. But as for the individuals who write and speak for the Watchtower organization itself, that is another matter entirely. And this is truly unfortunate, because from God’s standpoint, Jehovah judges his organization as if it were a single person. Does not Jehovah refer to his nation as "Jacob" and "Israel"? Does not Christ have a congregation, his body? Is not the Watchtower viewed by Jehovah’s Witnesses as the very manifestation of the faithful and discreet slave? (singular) And more than that, the Watchtower expects Jehovah’s Witnesses to show unwavering loyalty and obedience to everything the so-called slave class utters.

So, while the Watchtower frequently counsels Jehovah’s Witnesses on the need for them to be quick about apologizing to others, in order to keep the peace; sadly, the Slave of Christ has never followed his own counsel.

When one does not practice what they preach – be they individuals or an institution like the Watchtower – that is called hypocrisy.

You men who write and speak for the Watchtower Society; likely you may feel there is nothing over which Bethel ought to apologize. But what about the thousands of children who have been sexually abused and molested by men who were themselves Jehovah’s Witnesses?

(It is here acknowledged that a Watchtower spokesman once expressed regret for the victims, and he declared that Jehovah’s Witnesses abhor the scourge of child abuse, but that is not good enough. The reason it is not good enough is because the Watchtower has never publicly acknowledged that it has played any part or has been negligent in any way in regards to the many children who have been harmed.)

And yet privately the Watchtower has paid out millions of dollars in recent months to abuse victims in order to keep the plaintiffs out of court. Of course, the payment of an out-of-court settlement is not the same as an admission of guilt, not legally anyway; but everyone knows that it is a tacit admission. If the Watchtower was not at fault, if the abused plaintiffs had no case against the Society, why would Bethel allow itself to be shaken down that way? Why would the Watchtower’s attorneys timidly hand over millions of dollars of donated funds from hard-working Jehovah’s Witnesses if the lawyers of the plaintiffs had no case and were merely extorting money from the Society? Why not go to court and depend on Jehovah for victory? The answer is obvious. The plaintiffs had a winnable case. Like any corporation, the Watchtower took the most expedient path to dismiss the cases against it.

So, why not sincerely and publicly apologize to the victims of abuse and the entire brotherhood under your domain? The Governing Body and the Legal Department well know their guilt. And thousands of elders who have sat in on judicial cases and had dealings with the Watchtower’s legal team in times past also know quite well that in many instances Bethel gave direct orders to elders forbidding them to contact the police in order to report that a crime had been committed against a child in their congregation. Children and their parents were at times even threatened with judicial action if they even attempted to expose pedophiles in the congregations.

Jehovah and Christ liken their people to sheep. They are precious to them. Jesus gave his life for his Father’s sheep. Jesus said it is not a desirable thing with his Father for even one of the sheep to be lost. But how many tender, lamblike child abuse victims have been skinned and lost because of the way the elders and Bethel have mishandled their cases?

If even one child has been stumbled and turned their back on God because of mistreatment at the hands of abusers and lack of support and protection on the part of their elders and the Governing Body, would that not be one child too many?

WHY THE WATCHTOWER OUGHT TO APOLOGIZE

The Watchtower Society published an article in 2002, which has also been published on your website entitled: Why Should I Apologize? Here is an excerpt of the article:

When we find out that someone was offended by what we said or did, we may feel that the person is being unreasonable or too sensitive. Yet, Jesus Christ advised his disciples: "If, then, you are bringing your gift to the altar and you there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, and go away; first make your peace with your brother, and then, when you have come back, offer up your gift."—Matthew 5:23, 24.

For example, a brother may feel that you have sinned against him. In such a situation, Jesus says that you are to go and "make your peace with your brother," whether you feel you have done him wrong or not. According to the Greek text, the word Jesus here used 'denotes mutual concession after mutual hostility.' (Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words) Indeed, when two humans are at odds, there may be a measure of blame on both sides, since both are imperfect and prone to err. This usually calls for mutual concessions.

 According to the Watchtower’s own advice, even if the accused is innocent the Christian thing to do is to apologize – for the sake of the offended. Certainly, there are many who accuse the Watchtower of many evil things. It seems that a "concession" on your part could go a long way towards making peace. But an apology can do more than merely make peace. An apology coming from the Watchtower could potentially be life saving to untold thousands among the stumbled. There is no question about it, if the Watchtower’s spokesmen were to come clean, so to speak, and humbly and sincerely make a confession of their double-dealings and hypocrisy, it could be like a breath of fresh air for many who have been sickened by your dealings.

Commendably, the Society has expressed interest in those who have been disfellowshipped; and some years back Bethel initiated a program, whereby, once a year the elders are to call upon those in their territories who may be disfellowshipped, to see if perhaps they could be assisted to take steps to come back to the congregation. As an elder back in the late 80’s, I participated in that program and called on a disfellowshipped man in our territory and made a few follow-up visits; he began coming back to meetings and was eventually reinstated. That was very gratifying for me personally.

The Watchtower has the opportunity to extend their healing hand to many thousands of ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses who have left in disgust or who have been disfellowshipped for disagreeing with the Organization on various things, and many others who have simply left off studying because of so many stumbling blocks. If a simple article expressing the faithful slave’s deepest apology for having stumbled so many could restore the faith of at least a few who have fallen away, would it not be unconscionable for the Watchtower not to offer a few words of sincere regret and apology?

Assuredly, Jehovah will judge you accordingly.

Robert King



When the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform exploded on April 20 and sank to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 rig workers and severing the mile-long riser pipe connected to the wellhead, as horrific as that disaster was, it did not initially seem to have global ramifications. However, two months into the ongoing gusher on the floor of the ocean it seems that the localized catastophe has the potential to impact the world in far-reaching ways.

Reports are surfacing now that British Petroleum’s efforts to plug the gusher by pumping high pressured “mud” into the wellbore has inadvertantly resulted in cracks opening up in the seabed itself – releasing even more oil into the ocean. (YouTube - Undersea feed) (Doomsday – YouTube)

Not only that, some researchers have warned that the runaway well cannot be capped and the velocity of the out-spewing gas and oil, along with the tons of sand, rock and earth carried with it, is having an eroding effect upon the wellbore itself – a sandblasting effect, if you will – with the potential to completely blow out the wellhead, resulting in a volcanic-like release of the entire cavernous, reservoir of petroleum, which some estimate to be the volume of Mount Everest. If that were to occur the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean would be turned into dead zones in a short period of time. But once the oil had been released, then seawater, under the tremendous pressure a mile down, would jet into the cavern, where the Earth’s temperature may exceed 400°F, causing the water to boil and turn into steam, expand and explode, thereby collapsing the seabed above the cavern and creating a tsunami that could reach 80 feet high. That is, of course, the worst-case scenario. Other less dire scenarios are equally unpleasant, however.

British Petroleum officials are now saying that the well may not be plugged until Christmas. And with steadily upward-rising estimates – now between 30,000 to 60,000 barrels per day gushing into the Gulf waters – not only is the crude fouling the delicate marshes and pristine beaches of the Gulf coast, but shortly it will enter the swiftly moving currents of the Gulfstream, which would carry the oil and deadly dispersants up the Eastern seaboard of the United States and into the rich fisheries of the Grand Banks in the northern Atlantic Ocean, and beyond.

Given the potential of the ongoing disaster to bring ruination on a scale heretofore unknown to mankind, it is time to consider the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the context of Bible prophecy.

As thinking persons well know, sometimes small, seemingly insignificant events, can change the course of an individual’s life or even the trajectory of the entire world. Take, for example, the assassination of arch Duke Ferdinand in August of 1914. Because of the political situation that existed in Europe then, with all of the nations having foolishly entered into treaties with one block or another, all it took was a single bullet from an assassin’s pistol to set off a conflagration now known as the First World War.

Of course, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that WWI was the indirect result of Satan and his demons being cast down from heaven, as foretold in the 12^th chapter of Revelation.

For a certainty, the ouster of   the Devil and his horde of demons from heaven will initiate an unprecedented period of calamity for both the Earth and the sea.  Immediate upon his coming down to earth in rage, according to the Bible Satan will be allowed to vent his wrath against Jehovah’s people for 1,260 days.

Being the unseen ruler of this world, Satan’s ouster will have an observable knock-on-effect on the world below.  This is why Jehovah's word says: “Woe for the earth and the sea because the Devil has come down to you having great anger knowing that he has a short period of time.”

The 11^TH and 13^th chapters of Revelation indicate that concurrent with Satan’s overthrow from heaven, his earthly political apparatus will suffer a deathlike experience and afterwards it too will wage war against God’s servants for 42 months – ultimately killing them. However, at the end of the 42 months – that short period of time – Satan and his earthly political beasts are taken completely off the earth. That is when, according to 11:18, God will bring to ruin those who are ruining the earth. Satan’s short period of time, therefore, is revealed in Scripture to be three and half years.

But as regards the ongoing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, it is not here being stated that this catastrophe is in any way the fulfillment of the apocalyse's, “woe for the sea.”

Having stated the disclaimer above, however, if the worst-case scenario transpires and the great oceans of the earth are ruined with oil, then, April 20, 2010, may well mark the occasion for Satan’s overthrow. But if not, the ongoing tragedy may at least provide a preview of things to come.

In any case, the British Petroleum disaster has brought into focus another aspect of prophecy. As I have already written at some length regarding the identity of the prophetic kings of the north and south and the significance of the iron and clay; their being reflected in the modern day Anglo-American dyad; specifically, the king of the north being manifested in the form of the British Empire, that is to say, the monetary, financial empire of the City of London, of which British Petroleum is a key asset. So, what we have developing now is really a pushing between the private financial interests nominally headquartered in the City of London, but manifested also in the parasitical Wall Street banking operation, which is basically a franchise of the City. This is the great dynamic that is in operation presently. As the system collapses bankers are demanding with greater forcefulness their proverbial pound of flesh; and individuals, families, municipalities, states, small businesses, and entire nations are being forced to deliver.

British Petroleum merely typifies the arrogance, audacity and cavalier attitude of the agents of the Queen’s Empire who are charged with plundering the planet and looting the peoples of the world.  Although private financial interests have corrupted the leadership of the nations, the democratic institutions, or what is left of them, still retain the power to regulate and even expropriate the assets of the Empire, were they to be sufficiently aroused. To ensure that that does not happen, though, the Empire is determined to destroy the nation-state system once and for all. It will do so by means of war and financial collapse. This is the great dynamic at work presently.

It may well turn out that the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon was the detonator for the collapse of the global system of things. Time will tell.

Huffington Post - Methane Tsumani



Theodore Jaracz

However, today I was astonished to find that the Watchtower Society has actually published a funeral brochure glorifying the life and death of Ted Jaracz. Someone scanned it and uploaded the brocure to the JW.net discussion board.

What is the propblem with publishing a brochure eulogizing someone who has devoted their life to the Watchtower Society? Well, on the surface there is nothing particularly objectionable about it. However, given the culture of  Society worship prevelant among Jehovah's Witnesses and the virtual idolization of the Governing Body, it is disturbing.

(It is noteworthy that the funeral handout states that Ted Jaracz was known for his "zeal for theocratic orderliness." Would it not be better, however, to be known for being zealous for Jehovah, or for the truth or for being loving, kind and humble? Having "zeal for theocratic orderliness" could also have been said of the Pharisees, could it not?)

It should be realized that from Jehovah's standpoint giving worship to something or someone other than God does not necessarily have to be an overt act. Merely giving undue honor to another may be considered a form of idolatry. Consider the case of the Corinthians. In 1st Corinthians the first chapter, Paul expressed his astonishment that some of the Corinthians claimed to belong to him; others to Apollos, etc. It was not that the Corinthians were praying to Paul, as a modern Catholic might direct their prayers to Saint Paul or Saint Peter, etc. But apparently it was more than mere gratitude for Paul's self-sacrifice, which is why Paul asked them the question; 'Paul did not die for you, did he?'

There is no question that we humans are prone to idolatry. Just look at young people at a rock concert and you are looking at a worship service. Don't they even call the performers "stars" and "idols"?

Not being able to see God human imperfection inclines us to worship something that we can see. The Jews were ensnared by this sinful inclination towards idolatry and that tendency was in evidence in the early Christians as well. Even the aged Apostle John - overawed when given the Revelation by the angel of Christ -  twice had to be cautioned against bowing low and worshiping the angel.

Should Jehovah's Witnesses be so naïve as to think that just because they do not kiss a crucifice or light a candle to a saint that they are free from the infirmity that has afflicted mankind from antiquity?

Some of the Corinthians claimed to belong to Paul or Apollos or Chephas because those were the men who taught them the truth, just as the Watchtower Society has taught Jehovah's Witnesses the truth. But in their teaching the truth to millions of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide and in full knowledge of the human tendency towards paying undue honor to men and their institutions, why is it that the Watchtower Society has never, ever, cautioned Jehovah's Witnesses about giving undue honor to the organization or its Governing Body or the faithful slave? Has Bethel now begun to cannonize their saints?

That is why this funeral brochure eulogizing Theodore Jaracz is so disturbing.

If you are one of Jehovah's Witnesses ask ourselves the question: Why is not the passing of rank-and-file members of Jehovah's Witnesses eulogized in such a manner? In fact, having given funeral talks myself, I can say with some authority that the Watchtower Society publishes an outline for funeral discourses and the instructions to the elder giving the funeral talk specifically says not to eulogize the deceased, but rather, to focus upon what the Scriptures say about the resurrection.You may be sure that if Joe Publisher had a brochure printed up and distributed at his funeral the local circuit overseer would swiftly put the clamps on such activity and sternly counsel the congregations not to engage in such extravagant eulogies.

But apparently the Governing Body is above its own counsel. Jesus once told his disciples to do what the Phaisees say, but do not do what they do. The same counsel could be given to Jehovah's Witnesses today: 'Do what the Governing Body says, but do not do as they do.'

Interestingly, the acts of the Apostles are recorded in the Scriptures, but those very same Scriptures are silent as respects the deaths of the apostles. Personally, I've always been disappointed when reading the enthralling account in the book of Acts and how Paul was taken to Rome in chains awaiting for an audience with Caesar. But the story ends rather abruptly with no mention of how Paul's life ended. Likewise, we know the apostle Peter's life ended in chains as well, even as Jesus had foretold, and yet there is no mention of it either. The same holds true for the apostle John.

If the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses are intent on patterning themselves after the apostles of Christ they would do well to consider the humble example of the apostles and stop glorifying themselves as the faithful slave who has already received his master's reward. And besides, no matter what Ted Jaracz may have accomplished in his life, there is only one death that deserves to be eulogized, and that is the death of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

For a fuller discussion of the idolatry practiced by Jehovah's Witnesses, see the article: Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watchtower Idol

 

Who are Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses? Are they the true worshippers of God – the true light-bearers, as the Watchtower Society claims? What makes the witnesses of Jehovah so special? Do they really believe that they are the only ones who will receive salvation? After all, many accuse Jehovah’s  Witnesses of being a satanic cult. How could such a maligned sect possibly be the only true faith?

According to About.com-Christianity, there are 38,000 Christian denominations and sects in the world today – with more coming into existence daily. Originally, however, there was only one. And according to the Founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ, there still is only one true faith, which is why Jesus posed the question in reference to the chosen ones: “Nevertheless, when the Son of man arrives, will he really find the faith on the earth?” (“The faith” – singular – not ‘the faiths.’)

 While it is common to hear reference made to “the church,” as if the bewildering conglomeration of denominations and sects somehow make up the collective congregation of Christ, that simply cannot be the case. Jesus only recognizes one church, or congregation, and that is the organization Paul referred to as “the congregation of the firstborn who have been enrolled in the heavens.” (Hebrews 12:23)

 The apostle Peter referred to Christ’s congregation in an even more descriptive way, saying of it: “But you are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for special possession, that you should declare abroad the excellencies’ of the one that called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

But what has happened to “the congregation of the firstborn” the “holy nation” and the exclusive, “special possession” of God? Does it exist today as the sum of the thousands of competing denominations and sub-sects? Again, no. That cannot possibly be so. The Scriptures condemn sects and sectarianism. Even in the first century, though, there was a tendency towards sectarianism. Paul listed “sects” as a work of the fallen flesh. Besides, Christ’s congregation is founded upon the truth. There is nothing that the churches teach that could be said to be the truth – Nothing!

Paul also foretold that there would be many who would eventually fall away from the faith because of their paying attention to misleading teachings inspired by wicked demons. Paul listed two demon-inspired teachings. One such demonic teaching is celibacy and the other is dietary prohibitions. Undeniably, these two teachings became manifest in the Catholic and Orthodox denominations, from which nearly all of the 38,000+ sects in existence today have directly or indirectly sprung. So, the word of God reveals, that, those who originally fell away from the faith fabricated organizations that have passed themselves off as “the church,” yet they were established and remain under the influence of God’s archenemy – Satan the Devil.

 It should come as no surprise that this has come about. Even when Jesus was on the earth the demons sought to use humans under their control to herald Jesus as the Christ. Jesus usually forbade them to even speak. But during Paul’s ministry a girl possessed by a demon of divination followed Paul and Barnabas around for days, all the while crying out: “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are publishing to you the way of salvation.” (Acts 16:17) Paul finally grew weary of the demon-possessed girl and ordered the evil spirit to come out of her, which it promptly did. But if the Devil and his demons were opposed to the truth and the spread of Christianity why would the demon endorse the work of Paul and Barnabas? After all, what the girl said was true. Paul and Barnabas were slaves of the Most High God and they preached the message of salvation through Christ. Obviously, the demon did so in order to gain credibility, so as to acquire some influence over those who might become believers.

For a certainty, as congregations sprang up the Devil was keen to try to insert his covert agents into the midst of Jehovah’s “special possession.” Apparently, at one point Satan successfully infiltrated the Corinthian congregation by using men who deceitfully passed themselves off as apostles. Paul sarcastically referred to them as the “superfine apostles” and revealed them to be false apostles and deceitful workers who merely transformed themselves into apostles and ministers of righteousness in imitation of the Devil, who is an adapt at transforming himself into “an angel of light.” Evidently some of the Corinthians put up with the phony apostles. But after Paul and the other apostles and stalwarts died off it got worse. Satan gradually took over completely.

At 1 John 2:18, the apostle John spoke of “the last hour” and warned of the coming of an antichrist. That verse reads: “Young children, it is the last hour, and, just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now there have come to be many antichrists; from which fact we gain the knowledge that it is the last hour.”

Some have mistakenly supposed that the apostle’s reference to “the last hour” meant that John was announcing the imminent return of Christ and the end of the world 2,000 years ago. Although the true disciples most certainly heeded Jesus’ many exhortations to stay in anticipation of his return, that is not what the apostle meant by “the last hour.” What was “the last hour” then? It was the last hour of Christianity. It was the last hour of God’s anointing. Jesus had warned his hearers to walk in the light while it was shining, saying at John 12:35-36: “The light will be among you a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness does not overpower you; and he that walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, exercise faith in the light, in order to become sons of light.”

Jesus was undoubtedly referring to himself as the light. But his original disciples were also to become the light of the world, while they were alive. But with the passing of the apostles the light of truth went on the wane and was eventually overpowered by the darkness. Speaking for all of the apostles, Paul told the Ephesian elders: “I know that after my going away oppressive wolves will enter in among you and will not treat the flock with tenderness, and from among you yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves.”

True to Paul’s word, in the post-apostolic period there arose prominent scholars and theologians, who although now are revered as “Church Fathers,” were nothing of the sort. The apostles were the only legitimate fathers of the true faith. As evidence that many of the apostles’ immediate successors were deceitful workers and false apostles, those who came after the apostles began to debate and thereby subtlety call into question the most basic of truths; the main being, the special father/son relationship of Jehovah and Jesus. By so doing the so-called Church Fathers revealed themselves to be mere antichrists. In the 4^th century the corrupt protectors of the faith went so far as to hand over ecclesiastical authority to the emperor of Rome, Constantine. Christ’s congregation thus came under complete control of an antichrist. Oppressive wolves indeed! All that masquerades today as “Christianity” has sprung from that ancient apostasy.

The Catholic and Orthodox institutions that then came into existence effectively snuffed out the light of truth. The Sacred Scriptures were locked away and unavailable to the average person. Any would-be light-bearers who may have arose were swiftly crushed by the priestly keepers-of-the-darkness. But it would not always be that way. As a prelude to the return of Christ once again the light of truth would be made to shine.

 In the third chapter of Acts the apostle Peter urged the Jews to repent so that Jehovah “may send forth the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven, indeed, must hold within itself until the times of restoration of all things of which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets of old time.”

“The restoration of all things” did not take place in the first century. Jehovah did not restore the Judean kingdom, at least not in the way the Jews may have expected. The restoration of which the apostle spoke is to occur when Jesus comes from heaven. What is to be restored? God’s purpose is to destroy this present evil system and replace it with a righteous new heavens and new earth. What is to be restored, then, is Christianity itself. And not only that, God purposes to restore humankind to the perfection that Adam and Eve lost. Paul explained God’s purpose at Ephesians 1:9-10: “It is according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself for an administration at the full limit of the appointed times, namely, to gather all things together again in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth.”

The fact that the Scriptures speak of gathering “all things together again” indicates that there has been an undoing, a scattering. The gathering again is to be a replication of what took place in the first century when the light originally began to shine. But unlike in the first century, the restoration will fully accomplish God’s purpose. It will do so by gathering not only “the things in the heavens,” that is to say, those who are called and chosen to share Christ’s heavenly glory, but also, “the things on the earth” – those are invited to inherit the earth and share in restoring it to Eden-like perfection.

But the appointed times of the restoration is not something that can be calculated using chronology. It is, however, an observable phenomenon.  Just as the original establishment of Christianity was characterized by means of an aggressive preaching campaign, so too, the preliminary of the restoration would be identifiable by the preaching of the truth of the good news. The work of Charles Taze Russell and the International Bible students in the late 1800s and the beginning of the 20^th century followed the pattern of the first century Christians. The light of truth, which had long been hidden by Christendom, began to shine once again. And many people responded.

Originally the focus of the restoration was upon the heavenly things and many of those who became associated with the Watchtower Society were anointed by God’s spirit, just as the original Christians had been in the first century. But by the 1930’s a new dynamic was clearly at work, evidenced in the appearance of persons who accepted the truth and began to preach the kingdom, but who began to identify themselves as “the things upon the earth” – God having implanted in their hearts the hope of surviving the end of this world and inheriting the world to come.

Together those with the heavenly hope and the earthly hope dwell together in the same organization, just as Jesus foretold when he stated that he had other sheep that were “not of this flock,” which he must also gather. This, indeed, is something entirely unprecedented, but a predictable development as a prelude to the conclusion of the system of things.

The word that is translated administration comes from the Greek word oikonomian, from which the English word economy is derived. Originally it had to do with the management of a household, which would naturally include a budget. The Latin word used is dispensationem, which is translated into English as dispensation. This is as Jesus foretold also; namely, that prior to his arrival he would appoint a slave over his household to feed his domestics their spiritual food at the proper time. In other words, the appointed slave would manage the master’s household and dispense food to his servants until such time as the master arrives. (Please note that Christ indicated that there are two appointments of the slave. See the chapter: The Judgment)

Over the decades the Watchtower Society has sponsored the greatest preaching work the world has ever known – far surpassing even that which the apostles accomplished. Especially since World War II Jehovah’s Witnesses have gone to the farthest corners of the earth with the beautiful message of God’s kingdom. Jehovah’s Witnesses have been trained by the Watchtower Society and empowered by God’s spirit to vigorously overturn the accumulation of devilish lies and practices that have for centuries masqueraded as Christianity. Like the first century Christians Jehovah’s Witnesses have endeavored to be no part of Satan’s world; refusing to participate in the political process; refusing to bloody their hands with the wars of the nations, or celebrate their pagan and national holidays. Jehovah’s Witnesses have repudiated the ungodly things of this world and have endeavored to live godly lives in full devotion to Christ. Like the first century Christians Jehovah’s Witnesses have also been hated, maligned and persecuted throughout the world and some have even been martyred, even as Jesus foretold.

Unlike the first century Christians, however, the appearance of those with faith in God and Christ, but who do not profess a heavenly hope, is an entirely unique phenomena, but one that is expected to occur as a preliminary to the restoration of all things – specifically, “the things on the earth.”

But while the watchtower Society and Jehovah’s Witnesses may represent a restored form of primitive Christianity, the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses is not the finished product of the foretold restoration of all things. It is only precursory to the actual restoration. That is because the true restoration does not occur until during the tribulation.

At this moment in time a great empire that has existed in various forms for over two- thousand years has entered into a terminal state. The present form of empire is the British Empire. Not the colonial empire of yesteryear, but a supranational monetary and financial empire, designed by and run out of London. (See the chapter: London-Satan’s Throne)

With the crash of the Wall Street mortgage scheme in 2008 and the now-impending collapse of the Euro, it is becoming increasingly apparent that a globe-rocking collapse of that entire decadent system is inevitable and imminent. That is because of the hundreds of trillions of dollars of derivatives bets that sit atop the underlying economy. Any significant default will be the banker's worst nightmare: A systemic event. In view of their own bankruptcy, the mafia-like masters of that empire are determined to set off a global conflagration in order to destroy the nation-state system and implement a corporate-run, fascist world government. The convulsive crash of the present system will give rise to the last king, who is destined by prophecy to rule for an hour – a relatively short period. (See the chapter: An Eighth King)

Even as first-century Christianity was punctuated by the “last hour” before the antichrist, the light-bearing work that Jehovah’s Witnesses are presently engaged in has reached the final hour as well. The world is soon to be enveloped in terrifying darkness. It will signal the end of the Watchtower Society and the ministry of Jehovah’s Witnesses. (See the chapters: Collapse of the Watchtower and Joel)

Just as Peter made reference to the restoration in connection with the holy prophets who spoke from God, it is those very prophets who have foretold that Christ’s congregation is destined to be decimated by a disgusting thing during the tumult of the conclusion. Jesus spoke of an appointed times of the nations to trample upon God’s “special possession” – his holy place. At the conclusion of that appointed period of time, however, God’s purpose will be completely accomplished. He will have chastened and gathered the last of the 144,000 kings and priests and winnowed out a people to inherit the earth.

Just as the Israelites and the vast mixed company of Egyptians and others who came out of Egypt passed under Moses’ outstretched staff and into the midst of the Red Sea, so it is, that Jehovah’s Witnesses now stand poised on the edge of the wilderness to pass under the rod of Jehovah’s judgment. The prophet wrote: “‘And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples and put myself on judgment with you there face to face. Just as I put myself on judgment with your forefathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I shall put myself on judgment with you,’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ‘And I will make you pass under the rod and bring you into the bond of the covenant. And I will clean out from you the revolters and the transgressors against me, for out of the land of their alien residence I shall bring them forth, but onto the soil of Israel they will not come; and you people will have to know that I am Jehovah.’ – Ezekiel 20:35-38

“The bond of the covenant” is the ultimate fulfillment of the new covenant, which will be consummated when Christ sends for his angels and uproots all persons doing lawlessness and all things that cause stumbling out from his kingdom. (See the chapter: The Harvest)

The restoration of all things will then be complete. Jehovah’s Witnesses, the faithful ones at least, will then inherit God’s promised new heavens and new earth.

  Not Jehovah's Witnesses official website

From its inception the Watchtower Society has declared that the invisible presence of Christ has already begun.

Originally Charles Russell and the International Bible Students believed that Jesus’ presence began in 1874. They pointed forward to 1914 as the year of the final judgment and the end of the world. In fact, the Watchtower was originally titled: Zion's Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Presence. After 1914 came and went though, in the ensuing years the Watchtower reformulated an elaborate eschatology to point backwards to 1914 as the year that Jesus’ invisible presence began. 

Presently the Watchtower teaches that the symbolic seals of the Apocalypse were unsealed in rapid succession in 1914. The symbolic horsemen of war, famine and pestilence are believed to have been unleashed in 1914 and supposedly have been on the gallop ever since then. But what Jehovah's Witnesses believe about the Apocalypse simply does not square with reality. For instance, the angel said that the horses of death and Hades would be given authority over a fourth part of the earth. But the death toll from the First World War and the Spanish influenza was nowhere near a quarter of Earth's population back then. (For fuller discussion of the facts read the chapter The Sign) 

The Watchtower has taught Jehovah's Witnesses that the events that began in 1914 are unique and cannot be duplicated. The Watchtower even states that there will be no third world war. Their reasoning is that such a war would likely involve the use of nuclear weapons and that there would be few survivors. But, again, that flies in the face of reality. At the close of World War II the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki—obliterating them in a flash. Since the time the Society declared that there will be no nuclear war technology has changed. While there are thermonuclear weapons that are much more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb, there are now nuclear weapons that are much smaller that are intended to be tactical weapons for use on a battlefield. There are even convenient suitcase sized nukes that could blow up a city block. There are also dirty bombs, so-called, which are conventional explosives laced with radioactivity that when detonated spew deadly radioactive material into the environment. And just recently the United States military has announced that they have a laser weapon system that is now operational.

Clearly, the nations are heading to war. There are a number of flashpoints around the world that could easily set off a global conflagration. The Korean peninsula is one such flashpoint. But the most likely trigger for World War III is Iran. A war in the Middle East would have the added bonus of making it appear that the evangelical prognosticators have it right. At the present moment the Iranians are being trained by Russian technicians on the use of high-tech antiaircraft weaponry. Meanwhile, President Obama is sending yet another US carrier strike-force to the Persian Gulf region. By August the United States may have as many as five carrier battle groups within striking distance of Iran. 

So while the Watchtower Society and Jehovah's Witnesses are eagerly waiting for the United Nations to suddenly destroy all organized religions, the world is preparing for war - a war that has the potential to far surpass the horrors and hardships of both world wars of the 20th century. And the force driving the nations to war is the reality that London's financial system is disintergrating.

The great irony is, while Jehovah's Witnesses continue to point to 1914 as the year when the four horsemen of the Apocalypse began to ride, the reality is that the real horses of the Apocalypse are champing at the bit and are about to be unleashed.

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Not Jehovah's Witnesses official website