Mailbag

QUESTION: I am wondering if perhaps the moving of the capital of Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is part of the disgusting thing on holy ground? In a word, No. Although it is the central feature of end-times theology for various evangelical sects and cults, the establishment of Israel as a nation in 1948 has nothing whatsoever to do with the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Neither is [...]

I may have just debunked the Bible: Q: If the Genesis account is to be believed, how would we explain: 1. How did Kangaroos make it all the way to just Australia from the Mountains of Ararat ? In geologic studies, there are two schools of thought—Uniformitarianism and Catastropheism. The dominant view that scientists are indoctrinated in is the uniformitarian theory. The Doctrine of Uniformity [...]

QUESTION: (Rev. 13: 14,15)  Is it true that the WT teaches that the wild beast that received the sword-stroke was the League of Nations?  —and that the healed beast was/is the revived League now known as the U.N.? This is how I always interpreted their teaching. To me this makes sense when looking back at how they tried to push the League through, but it failed [...]

QUESTION: Matt. 25:31. How do you see this separating actually taking place and over how long of a period of time? 9 billion people, 5 minutes each = mega waking hours. First, we should not suppose that there will not be a drastic population reduction when the horses of the Apocalypse are unleashed. According to Revelation fully one-quarter of mankind will be cut down to Hades. [...]

QUESTION: Is there any Bible example(s) where Israelites or early Christians were under a "deluding influence"? The deluding influence --formerly called an “operation of error”--is a unique phenomenon associated with the return of Christ. In context, Paul was warning the brothers —who, as it turns out, is us —not to accept any announcements as authentic, no matter how authoritative their source, regarding the return of Christ [...]

QUESTION: Jehovah’s Witnesses have long understood the facets of the sign of Christ’s presence to be a description of conditions that would precede the great tribulation. My question is, are the various facets of the sign that Jesus describes merely a description of the great tribulation, rather than events that lead up to it? There is an initial sequence of events that leads up to the [...]

QUESTION: You've written at various times about the influence of Masonry within the Watchtower organization over the years, so I would like to have your thoughts on a recent adjustment in the New World Translation. In the 1984 edition, at Hosea 12:14, the NWT translators chose to use "Grand Master," and likewise at Malachi 1:6 we see the same usage. This has since been adjusted [...]

QUESTION: Does the "inspired" recorded story of Jonah set a precedence for Jehovah to change his mind and delay the world’s destruction? —Especially upon those nations which have little to no say in world affairs or at the U.N. or who "know not their left hand from their right?" (Hindus, Buddhists, Shintoists, Islamists, etc... including third world countries and those opposed to JW's because of their perceived zionist [...]

QUESTION: Luke 11:18,  Jesus: "If Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?” If all of the world's kingdoms are Satan's, and, if the Anglo-American world power is to be the last before the Kingdom stone not cut by hands strikes the feet of the Daniel image; and, if Great Britain and America became a joint world power during WW1, how can it also be [...]

QUESTION: The Bible says that young David unnecessarily obtained an extra 100 foreskins, killing/mutilating an extra amount of men for King Saul and yet the Bible says that Jehovah’s spirit "continued with him" after this dirty deed. The Bible also says: "Do not become mutilators of the flesh..." and "look out for those who mutilate the flesh..." -An apparent contradiction? Their kind of warfare was disturbing to say [...]