One of the first articles I wrote after engaging in a months-long Bible-reading marathon was entitled Collapse of the Watchtower. It was before the Internet came of age. Eventually, though, the material was published online and found its way into the first edition of Jehovah Himself Has Become King (2005). One hundred copies of the book were distributed to the then-Governing Body and branch offices worldwide. The topic has been enlarged upon in numerous articles, videos, and podcasts over the past 20 years.
The reason for reconsidering this subject now is because the Watchtower has published an article entitled Seek the City That Will Remain. That concept is based upon what is written in the book of Hebrews, in which Paul masterfully explained how the Jewish system of worship centered in Jerusalem had served its purpose, had become obsolete, and was near to fading away. In the last chapter the apostle stressed to those residents of Jerusalem the impermanence of the holy city, saying: “We do not have here a city that remains.”
Those Hebrew Christians were undoubtedly aware that Jesus had foretold this very outcome for the temple and the city of Jerusalem when he told the Jews their house had been abandoned to them and the temple would have no stone left standing upon another stone. A few days later, when the Lord was with his apostles on the Mount of Olives, he explained in detail how a disgusting thing would stand in the holy place, and Jerusalem would be trampled upon by the nations for an appointed time.
Besides the 10s of thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses who have some familiarity with my work, there is no doubt that at least some of the present leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses do too. It is apparent to me that the article published in the May 2025 Watchtower is a response to the message contained in Collapse of the Watchtower. So, what follows is my response.
Paragraphs four and five point out that Jerusalem was the base of operations for what the Watchtower calls the governing body, which it surely was. I have pointed this out numerous times. But Jerusalem was more than that. It was what the Watchtower calls itself—the center of true worship, at least in a representative way.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the original Jerusalem that was destroyed by Babylon was referred to as the place where God had caused his name to reside. It was the only city on earth associated with the sacred name of God. When Jesus presented himself as the Messiah, he regarded the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem as his Father’s house. On two occasions he threw out the money changers and merchants who had set up shop in his Father’s house. As regards Jerusalem itself, in his gospel, Matthew twice referred to Jerusalem as “the holy city.”
After Jesus was resurrected, he instructed his disciples to remain in Jerusalem until the holy spirit came upon them. And it was on the festival day of Pentecost that 120 of Jesus’ disciples were in an upper room in the holy city when they were anointed by the same spirit that had anointed Jesus three and a half years before. So, Jerusalem was not only the center of worship for the Jews, but it was also the birthplace of Christianity as well as the unofficial headquarters of the apostles.
Although Jesus condemned Jerusalem as the killer of the prophets, the apostles and original Christians did not abandon the temple. On the contrary, those whom Christ appointed to be witnesses of his resurrection preached in the temple night and day.
No doubt many who became believers did so because of the presence of the disciples of Christ in the temple courtyard and environs. So, even though the animal sacrifices were no longer valid and the Levitical priests who officiated were no longer recognized by God as his ministers, the temple itself was still the center of true worship due to the ministry of the anointed underpriests of Christ.
For example, we are informed in the opening words of the 3rd chapter of Acts that Peter and John went up to the temple for the hour of prayer. That was the occasion when they healed a crippled man and were consequently called before the Jewish high court. Does that sound like they regarded the Jewish form of worship as something unclean?
Some years later the apostles in Jerusalem advised Paul to go to the temple and make an offering to quell the rumors circulating that the apostle to the nations was preaching an apostasy against Moses. What an example of humility. Paul, who vigorously repudiated Judaism and explained in detail how the law had been fulfilled in Christ, obeyed his fellow apostles, ceremoniously cleansed himself, and went to the temple to make an offering.
No doubt Paul was inspired to write his letter to the Hebrew Christians because they were not merely residents of Jerusalem but were intimately associated with the temple, which was both the Jewish and Christian center of worship.
However, according to the Watchtower, Jerusalem was merely a city. At least that is what is implied in the article under consideration. For example, paragraph five states:
5)To prepare the Christians for what was coming, Paul helped them to focus on how Jehovah viewed the city of Jerusalem. Paul reminded them that from Jehovah’s perspective, the temple, the priesthood, and the sacrifices being offered in Jerusalem were no longer sacred. (Heb. 8:13) Most of the city’s inhabitants had rejected the Messiah. Jerusalem’s temple was no longer the center of pure worship of Jehovah, and it would be destroyed.
As explained, the apostles most certainly viewed the temple as holy and their center of worship and ministry. When Jesus spoke of the coming desolation of Jerusalem he said that observant Christians would see a disgusting thing standing in a holy place. If those apostles and first-century disciples living in Jerusalem did not regard the temple as a holy place, how would they discern when the disgusting thing would stand where it ought not?
The Watchtower is implying that the Hebrews to whom Paul was writing merely regarded Jerusalem as an ordinary city. Here is what is stated in paragraph six:
When Paul wrote to the Hebrews, Jerusalem was a thriving city. A Roman author of that era called Jerusalem “by far the most famous city of the East.” Jews from many lands traveled there yearly to observe the festivals, which contributed to a thriving economy. No doubt some Christians also benefited from this favorable economic situation. Perhaps that is why Paul told them: “Let your way of life be free of the love of money, while you are content with the present things.”
There is a very important question that is left unanswered—unasked. Do you discern what it is? Since Jerusalem’s desolation in the first century is merely a pattern for something greater that will occur when Christ comes, what does Jerusalem represent? Jesus indicated that fleeing Jerusalem would be a matter of life and death.
It is true, Jesus implied that we might have to leave personal possessions when he said, “Let the man on the housetop not come down to take the goods out of his house, and let the man in the field not return to pick up his outer garment.” For that reason, the Watchtower implies that leaving “Jerusalem” simply means leaving behind our worldly goods, as stated in paragraph seven:
What lies ahead for us? The end of this present system of things in the “great tribulation.” (Matt. 24:21) Like the first-century Christians, we must stay awake and be ready. (Luke 21:34-36) During the great tribulation, we may have to leave behind some or all of our belongings, trusting completely that Jehovah will never abandon his people.
Actually, Jehovah will abandon his people for a short time. At least, that is what is stated in prophecy. “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great mercy I will gather you back. In a flood of indignation I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting loyal love I will have mercy on you,” says your Repurchaser, Jehovah.” — Isaiah 54:7-8
Realistically, we cannot expect the Governing Body to explain that Jerusalem represents the Watchtower or that Jehovah’s Witnesses will have to abandon the organization when they see the disgusting thing standing where it ought not. That is why there is no hint or suggestion of what Jerusalem represents. In this, though, the Governing Body are not honest. This is evident because elsewhere in their commentary on prophecy, they have interpreted the holy city to represent the Watchtower Society.
To illustrate the point, when he was foretelling the desolation of Jerusalem, Jesus advised the discerning reader to consult Daniel’s prophecy. The eighth chapter (vs 13) speaks of the desolation of the holy place and the trampling of it for an appointed time—exactly the same terms attributed to Christ in Luke’s account. The Watchtower claims this was fulfilled during the Second World War, and the holy place was brought into its right condition after the appointed times of trampling expired. Supposedly the holy place was set right when the board of directors made a few trifling changes to the Watchtower’s charter.
Not only that, but in the 11th chapter of Revelation, which was written many years after Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, we read this: “But as for the courtyard that is outside the temple sanctuary, leave it out and do not measure it, because it has been given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city underfoot for 42 months. I will cause my two witnesses to prophesy for 1,260 days dressed in sackcloth.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses have been led to believe that the holy city was trampled by the nations during World War One. Their interpretation requires us to believe that the Watchtower was and still is the holy city. However, the Lord Jesus foretold that the holy place would be brought to desolation by a disgusting thing and Jerusalem would be trampled upon by the nations for a specified period of time, which the Watchtower claims began in 607 BCE, before ever the Romans laid seige to the temple, and that Jerusalem represents Babylon the Great. But the prophecy of Daniel, to which Jesus referred the discerning reader, was fulfilled during WW2.
Despite the hodgepodge of obfuscation and contradictory interpretation, the Watchtower asserts that “responsible” men will step forward during the great tribulation to give reliable instructions. Seriously.
Paragraph eight points out that Jesus instructed his disciples to flee to the mountains. But which mountains? Paragraph 10 explains:
It appears that Jehovah guided the Christians by means of those who were taking the lead in the congregation. Historian Eusebius later wrote: “The people of the congregation in Jerusalem, by divine providence, received a revelation given to approved men; they were commanded . . . to migrate from the city before the war and to settle in a certain city of Perea called Pella.”
The Watchtower appears to be claiming that Jesus’ life-saving instructions were not specific enough for the Christians living in Jerusalem then. They needed more direction from “approved men.” That is in keeping with the Watchtower’s mental conditioning of Jehovah’s Witnesses—leading them to expect to receive life-saving direction from the Governing Body when the world explodes. They even boast of having provided reliable direction during the pandemic.
Paragraph 14 makes a truthful statement:
When the great tribulation strikes, we will need to show love to one another as never before. In this regard, we will need to follow the example of those Christians living in Jerusalem and Judea. They had always shown love to one another.
But here is the problem: We are not immediately facing the great tribulation. Instead, what is directly before us is World War Three and all the things Jesus foretold that will lead up to the tribulation. No wonder Jesus said many will be stumbled and hate one another.
In short, what looms before us are all the things the Watchtower adamantly insists have already been fulfilled and cannot occur in more significant measure in the future. And that, my dear reader, is the basis for the collapse of the Watchtower.
It is one thing to explain prophecy and attach it to past events, which describes the Watchtower’s entire exegesis. But when all the things believed to have occurred begin to occur, then, it will be over for the prophet class. Jehovah explains the outcome this way: “Since you reject this word and you trust in fraud and deceit and you rely on these, so this error will be for you like a broken wall, like a bulging high wall ready to fall. It will crash suddenly, in an instant. It will be broken like a large potter’s jar, so completely smashed that no fragment among its pieces will be left to rake the fire from the fireplace or to scoop water from a puddle.” —Isaiah 30:12-14
Since the symbolic city that will remain represents the Kingdom of God, and contrary to the Watchtower’s teaching, we are still awaiting the city having real foundations, the city here that will not remain is the Watchtower Society.
