Sunday, July 18
Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. —1 Thess. 5:2.
In the short time remaining before his “day” begins, Jehovah expects us to keep busy in the preaching work. We need to make sure that we are “having plenty to do in the work of the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58) When Jesus spoke about all the significant things that would happen during the last days, he added: “Also, in all the nations, the good news has to be preached first.” (Mark 13:4, 8, 10; Matt. 24:14) Just think: Every time you go in the ministry, you are having a share in fulfilling that Bible prophecy! Year by year, the Kingdom-preaching work is moving ahead. For example, think about the increase in the number of Kingdom proclaimers worldwide during the last days. In 1914, there were 5,155 publishers in 43 lands. Today, there are some 8.5 million publishers in 240 lands! Even so, our work is not yet over. We must keep proclaiming God’s Kingdom as the only solution to all mankind’s problems. —Ps. 145:11-13. w19.10 8 ¶3; 9-10 ¶7-8
The Watchtower keeps repeating itself over and over again—compelling me to do the same.
By way of review, in the gospel of Mark cited in the daily text, Jesus said the good news has to be preached first. First before what? First before the end—or more correctly, first before the beginning of the time of the end, otherwise known as the conclusion. This matter has been discussed most recently in this article.
Secondly, most probably Paul did not originally use YHWH at 1st Thessalonians 5:2. While there is little reason to doubt that the apostles and Jesus spoke and wrote the divine name when quoting directly from the Hebrew text where the Tetragrammaton appears, it does not appear Paul was directly quoting a specific Hebrew passage. On the other hand, Jesus spoke of his coming as a thief in the night to commence a surprise inspection of the house of God. So, could it not also be said that the Lord’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night?
Furthermore, it is evident that the day of Jesus has not begun. Consider a few passages: “He will also make you firm to the end so that you may be open to no accusation in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 1:8
Paul connects the “end” with “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Watchtower claims the Lord’s day began in 1914. Is the Lord’s day different than the “day of Jesus Christ”? There is no basis for believing that it is. Furthermore, in the preceding verse, Paul wrote of the revelation of Jesus, connecting it with the day of Jesus: “while you are eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Not even the Watchtower is so bold as to claim the revelation of Christ has already taken place, but since Paul connected it with the day of our Lord that means the Lord’s day has not arrived.
In his letter to the Philippians Paul twice used a similar expression, saying: “For I am confident of this very thing, that the one who started a good work in you will bring it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” — Phil 1:6
In the verse above Paul refers to the completion of the work in the day of Jesus Christ. Again, obviously, that day has not arrived. The formation of the body of Christ is still a work in progress.
“…that you may make sure of the more important things, so that you may be flawless and not stumbling others up to the day of Christ…” — Phil 1:10
The Watchtower is perpetrating a great fraud—claiming that Christ has already come, but of course, he is coming again. To support that fraud the seers claim that everything Jesus foretold has already been fulfilled and cannot be duplicated. In other words, there cannot be another world war. It is beyond their grasp that the preaching of the good news is a prelude to the conclusion. It is because of the Watchtower’s faux parousia doctrine that the Lord’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night.
Concerning the importance of the preaching and disciple-making work that Jesus said must come first, the Watchtower condemns itself. As Jehovah himself states: “According to their way I shall act toward them, and with their judgments I shall judge them; and they will have to know that I am Jehovah.” — Ez. 7:27
Are Jehovah’s Witnesses busy in the all-important, life-saving preaching work? No. By the order of the Governing Body, JW’s are not allowed to stand on a street corner or knock on a door or have any face-to-face contact with anyone. Although everything else is back to normal—kids are back in school, churches, mosques, and synagogues are open—every Kingdom hall remains locked and 8.5 million publishers remain in lockdown because the GB say so.
The Watchtower is in open revolt against Christ. That is what apostasy is. The end of the public ministry of Jehovah’s Witnesses is especially tragic given the fact that millions of people have been at home who ordinarily would not have been. And people are scared. No doubt many would be more receptive to the message, flawed as it is.
Even though the GB claim “our work is not over yet” they have made it impossible for Jehovah’s Witnesses to carry out any sort of effective ministry. What is left except for the thief-like coming of Christ to commence the judgment?
Then there is the question of what comes next. “Whenever it is that they are saying, “Peace and security!” then sudden destruction is to be instantly on them, just like birth pains on a pregnant woman, and they will by no means escape.”
The Watchtower assumes that the “sudden destruction” that comes instantly following their saying “peace and security” is the war of Armageddon and the total destruction of Satan’s world. However, in view of the fact that the time of the end has not begun the destruction that comes upon them is what will be initiated by the coming of Christ. Did not Jesus say that nation warring against nation, food shortages, and pandemics are only the beginning pangs of distress—alluding to the birth pangs of a pregnant woman?
There are many aspects of prophecy that the Watchtower claims have already been fulfilled. Take for instance the 13th chapter of Revelation. Concerning the seven-headed satanic beast, the apostle John wrote: “I saw that one of its heads seemed to have been fatally wounded, but its mortal wound had been healed, and all the earth followed the wild beast with admiration. And they worshipped the dragon because it gave the authority to the wild beast, and they worshipped the wild beast with the words: “Who is like the wild beast, and who can do battle with it?” It was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and it was given authority to act for 42 months.”
The prophets of Bethel claim the head of the wild beast was fatally wounded as a result of World War One. It matters not that Great Britain and America were victorious in the Great War or that America’s entry into the war did not take place until three years into the war and quickly tipped the scales in favor of the Allies. Nor does it matter that America suffered many times more casualties during the Civil War and World War Two. It is apparently also inconsequential that neither the government of the United Kingdom or the United States collapsed. Nor was there any social upheaval. The head of the beast was wounded and came back to life because the Watchtower said so. And the reason they insist upon it is because they recognize that the 42 month period coincides with the 1,260 days that commence immediately after Christ evicts Satan and his angels from heaven. In other words, in order to effectively wield the foretold deluding influence the Watchtower is compelled to concoct a whole array of absurdities.
Meanwhile, the Anglo-America system is crumbling and reeling toward collapse. It is evident in so many ways that Western civilization is coming unraveled. The last presidential election process was riddled with irregularities. The recounts underway in several states seem to be confirming what millions of people suspect—that the election was totally rigged. If fraud is proven then Donald Trump is still the legally elected president.
Underlying the looming political crises the City of London and Wall Street are on life-support. Sure, the stock markets are regularly reaching new all-time highs. That is because the Federal Reserve Bank is backstopping the markets—for now anyway. Just as the election was rigged, so is the financial system. Without the continual injection of trillions of dollars of freshly minted money, the whole debt-bloated system would seize up. And it surely will crash at some point. And when it does the governments will go down too. Without money, they will simply cease to function. By the way, the collapse of the money system will put the Watchtower out of business.
If the results of the last election are reversed I would imagine the Empire would sooner pull the plug and plunge the world into war and crash it all than allow Trump to return to power.
To be sure, the mortal wound inflicted on the head of Satan’s wild beast will not pass by so uneventfully as Jehovah’s Witnesses have been deluded into imagining. The crash of mighty America will change everything. I stand convinced that America’s awful end will come about as a result of the sudden destruction that will come upon those saying “peace and security.”
