JW dot org has a banner article posing the question: When Will the Fighting Stop? I know I am being repetitive. But so is the Watchtower. Twice quoting from the UN, one statement says:
“The world is facing the highest number of violent conflicts since the Second World War and 2 billion people—a quarter of humanity—[are] affected.”—United Nations Security Council, January 26, 2023.
Given a topic as complex as the prophetic significance of the ongoing drive for world war, one would expect the Watchtower to offer more than a few sparse paragraphs. But no. The brief article simply says wars are going to end soon, and they quote Jesus, who said: “You are going to hear of wars and reports of wars. . . . Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.”—Matthew 24:6, 7.
The Watchtower implies that the various scattered, low-grade wars and civil wars are fulfilling what Jesus said when he foretold, “You are going to hear of wars and reports of wars…” And I absolutely agree. We are hearing of faraway wars and rumors of impending wars, even talk of nuclear war.
But there is a problem with the Watchtower’s sophomoric explanation. It should be evident that our hearing of wars and reports of wars is a precursor to nations and kingdoms rising against each other in a global war. This presents the Watchtower with an insurmountable contradiction. That is because Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the First World War that began in 1914 was when nations and kingdoms went to war, thus fulfilling the words of Christ. If that were true, though, we would expect those living before the outbreak of total war in Europe to have heard of wars and reports of wars.
How is it that after more than a century since World War One ended, which is believed to have fulfilled prophecy in a way no future event can, we are again hearing of wars and reports of wars? It is the same sort of endlessly looping fulfillment of prophecy the Watchtower espouses in connection with the “pushing” between the kings of the south and north that has been ongoing since 1914.
There is another troubling aspect of the micro article on jw.org. Presumably, the Governing Body has posted this snippet as a fresh update. As a long-time blogger, I, along with many other people and institutions, post daily articles and comments on current affairs as they happen. But this Watchtower article, posted by those who claim to be biblical watchmen, makes no mention of NATO intentionally escalating war with Russia. The Watchtower lists places where there are wars presently:
Areas that are involved in violent conflicts include Israel, Gaza, Syria, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Sudan, Ethiopia, Niger, Myanmar, and Haiti.
Why is there no mention of the most serious conflict that has ever arisen between nuclear superpowers? Is it inconsequential that the outgoing mentally incapacitated president of the United States has authorized Ukraine to fire midrange missiles deep into the Russian homeland? Is it a trivial matter that the Ukrainians cannot accomplish this task without the direct involvement of American technicians and military GPS guidance systems that only Americans can access? Is it unworthy of mention that ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles have already killed more than a dozen Russians far from the battlelines in Ukraine? The president of Russia has clearly stated that direct involvement by NATO will be regarded as a declaration of war. Certain talking heads in the NATO realm say Putin is bluffing. So, that is what it has come down to. The world’s foremost nuclear powers are engaged in a game of chicken. And are we blissfully unaware of the proverbial sword of Damocles above our heads?
If the Watchtower sees fit to mention wars in places like Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Haiti, places most people couldn’t find on a map, why omit any mention of the escalating conflict between the Anglo-America empire and Russia?
Perhaps the Governing Body and their helpers are unaware. Still, last week, Putin responded to Biden’s attack on Russia by unveiling a secret weapon, a hypersonic missile delivery system called Oreshnik. The new missile travels at Mach 10 and can release a cache of non-explosive warheads made of special metal alloys that streak down like incoming comets, reaching temperatures above 7,000 F. The kinetic force of multiple warheads can strike with pinpoint accuracy with a force comparable to a nuclear blast. The impact and intense heat turn everything into bits of dust. Russia obliterated a weapons factory in Ukraine to demonstrate the power of this device. Of course, the Oreshnik can be outfitted with nuclear warheads as well.
Although it is hard for sane people to imagine, apparently, the terminally arrogant Anglo-American war masters have been trying to goad Putin into a nuclear response as a pretext for launching a nuclear attack on Russia. I know it is a well-worn phrase, but the Oreshnik is a “game-changer” because not only is it unstoppable by any current air defense system, but it has the destructive power of a nuclear device without the stigma of deadly radiation contamination associated with an atomic blast. Evidently, the NATO heads are still trying to come to terms with how to proceed in their maniacal war against Russia in the aftermath of Putin’s hypersonic warning shot.
But where is the Watchtower? Where is the vaunted watchman on the wall? Why not alert the millions of readers who look to the Watchtower for reliable information about the virtual declaration of war that the United States has made on Russia? If a trusted news and information source neglects to inform or intentionally omits vital information, isn’t that a form of deception?
Sadly, it is beyond the ability of the leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses to comprehend or accept, but the wars and reports of wars we are hearing now are a precursor to World War Three. Some say WW3 has already begun because of the hybrid proxy wars that are now underway. In any case, at some point soon, we can expect war to explode in places unaccustomed to such violence. The question posed on jw.org is the wrong question. The far more relevant question is: When will world war begin? The answer is: Very soon.
It is noteworthy that the Watchtower’s quote from the United Nations Security Council states that violent conflicts impact nearly two billion people, roughly “a quarter of humanity.”
Being “affected” must be something more than being directly involved in conflict because most of the world is unaffected by war. Isn’t it true that at this moment in time, mankind more aptly fits the description of those whom Christ spoke of who would be busy working, buying, selling, eating, drinking, marrying, and would take no note of what was happening around them?
Interestingly, the Book of Revelation says the same thing as the UN. However, Revelation informs us that the combination of war, food shortages, and pestilence will claim the lives of a quarter of mankind. That would mean that if the horsemen of the Apocalypse were unleashed in 2025, we could expect two billion of our fellow humans to perish. Given the precarious state of the world, such a disaster, although unthinkable, is becoming increasingly likely.
But what about 1914? If the disasters that took place in the 1914-19 period fulfilled prophecy, we should expect to see approximately a quarter of the world killed by combinations of war and pestilence. If we were to run the numbers, what do we find? At the beginning of the 20th Century, the population was approximately one and a half billion. During four years of war, there were about 10 million soldiers killed and about 13 million civilian deaths. The ghastly Spanish Flu claimed the lives of between 20 and 40 million. Taking the top-end estimate of 40 million and adding 23 million civilian and military casualties from the war, we have about 4%. Four percent is nowhere near 25%. Was the Bible wrong? No, of course not. The Watchtower is wrong. The Apocalypse has not begun yet. But from all appearances, the four horsemen of the Apocalypse are at the gate.
There is a reason the Watchtower is unconcerned about nuclear war. Those watchmen imagine it will never happen. They are on record saying there cannot be another world war. They imagine they will never be touched by war. They have deluded themselves into believing it is all in the past. Jehovah’s word has something to say about them: “His watchmen are blind, none of them have taken note. All of them are speechless dogs, unable to bark. They are panting and lying down; they love to slumber. They are dogs with a voracious appetite; they are never satisfied. They are shepherds who have no understanding.” Isaiah 56:10-11
