I've been through all my recent editions of the Awake magazine, and have found that a UN organization is mentioned in a positive light in every one of them. It's usually the World Health Organization, but others, such as UNICEF have been given the same treatment. I'm currently in a discussion with a JW about this very matter. This person refuses to see that by agreeing to dissminate information and gain public support for the UN and its agencies, the WTBTS is in fact allowing the UN to DIRECT, in part, the very nature of their publication. They are also allowing the UN to direct the content, in that they must now use them, at least in part, for the above mentioned purposes. This is hypocricy if I ever saw it.
WTS involvement with politics/UN exaggerated?
by troubled 31 Replies latest jw friends
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tdogg
Very enlightening post all of you. Thank you.
And I will quickly throw in one more testimony toward the fact that is indeed taught or was taught that ANY involvement that was not secular in nature with other religions or political regime is strongly forbidden. This means any affiliation with the UN, any activity side by side with another church or any affiliation with a government. It is just not nessesary since God is the one who will protect you not a false church or a government.
So why the need for lawyers anyway? I guess the same reason the pope needs a bullet proof car.
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bjc2012
Hi Siegswife:
I've been through all my recent editions of the Awake magazine, and have found that a UN organization is mentioned in a positive light in every one of them. It's usually the World Health Organization, but others, such as UNICEF have been given the same treatment. I'm currently in a discussion with a JW about this very matter. This person refuses to see that by agreeing to dissminate information and gain public support for the UN and its agencies, the WTBTS is in fact allowing the UN to DIRECT, in part, the very nature of their publication. They are also allowing the UN to direct the content, in that they must now use them, at least in part, for the above mentioned purposes. This is hypocricy if I ever saw it.
Great Hypocrisy to me too!
And it all got started with the September 8th, 1991 Awake! magazine on the UN.
I think after reading this post, you will agree with me, that a big, big piece of the "puzzle" we are searching for concerning the WTS' publications and their "changing" viewpoint of this "Disgusting Thing" entity, is provided in the information listed below.
Below is a quote taken from a publication called "The Report" Vol. I, written & published by a small group of Jehovah's Witnesses, back in 1994, released and distributed in book stores on the east coast of the U.S. subsequently after that time. Information from this written document, or quoted material from it, is now presently in over 50 different countries around the world. Placed in the hands of thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses and interested persons, secretly. Quietly placed there years ago.
The primary focus of this particular information is upon the Sept. 8th, 1991 Awake! article on the UN organization. A very strange article. The FIRST of its kind. The VERY FIRST.
(I have permission from the publisher to supply this vital information for this forum.)
Here is the information:
------------"The Report" Vol. I (1994)--------
These are but a few examples that demonstrate the regressions of the Watchtower Society in policy. They have continued to regress into worldly ways and have continued to direct the organization of believers away from Jehovah God -- making them "friends of the world" and thus "enemies" with Jehovah! But how about world events of our time? How has the Watchtower Society approached these events in their literature? How have they spoken out on such events as the Persian Gulf Crisis?
Did you happen to notice during the Persian Gulf Crisis of 1991, that the Watchtower magazine was unusually quiet about the obvious idolatrous patriotism going on in the United States? Did you notice it? Yes, they were also very quiet about the apparent flag craze and flag waving that totally took over the American people during the Persian Gulf Crisis of 1991.
And lastly, the publication has been very quiet about the Satanic role of the pseudo world peace-making organization, the United Nations, in misleading the nations in this conflict. No doubt, many letters poured into Bethel during the Persian Gulf Crisis, asking: "What's going on" that is Biblically speaking? The friends are looking to the Society for answers. And yet, the Society provided no answers, that is in print. They did not point to the Bible to tell us where we are in the stream of time.
Why so silent -- all of a sudden -- so quiet about world issues, where formally there was no hesitation in SPEAKING OUT BOLDLY God's Word concerning the atrocities caused by man's persistent yet futile efforts at autonomy or self-rule? Could it be that some in high positions among Jehovah's Witnesses have adopted a "let's wait and see" attitude about world events? The Watchtower Society has been saying over and over in the publications, "the United Nations is poised to sound the international proclamation of "Peace and Security." Are we not supposed to be looking for the promised cry of "Peace and Security?" Then why is there the threat of war? The nations are supposed to be set to cry "Peace and Security." -- 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3
Clearly, there is confusion among the Jehovah's Witnesses concerning what the immediate future will bring. However, in the not-too-distant future, the Watchtower Society will display their real and true attitude for all to see. What attitude is that? Notice:
"And it must occur in that day [that] the prophets will become ashamed, each one of his vision when he prophesies; and they will not wear an official garment of hair for the purpose of DECEIVING. And he will certainly say: `I am no prophet. I am a man cultivating [the] soil, because an earthling man himself acquired me from my youth on?'"
Yes, the attitude of a Coward! -- Zechariah 13:4, 5; Proverbs 29:25; Revelation 21:8
Even now, leanings in this very direction are very clear for us to see if we compare a recent article dealing with the United Nations as a peace-making entity and previous ones on the same subject. Let's examine these together.
A CHANGE IN VIEWPOINT CONCERNING THE UNITED NATIONS
As we know, it has been said many times in the Watchtower Society's publications that the theme of the entire Bible is God's kingdom. That was the theme of Jesus' ministry and is claimed to be the theme of Jehovah's Witnesses' ministry and message under the direction of the Watchtower Society. However, an article in the September 8, 1991 Awake! never pointed to that kingdom in any form or fashion. That particular article never even mentioned God's Kingdom or any scripture of the Bible to present Jehovah's viewpoint on this disgusting and misleading organization! This was a very unusual article published by the Watchtower Society indeed. Did you notice this while reading the article yourself???
Instead of taking their previous stand of staunch resistance against the U.N., they insinuated to over 11 million readers, most of whom are not Jehovah's Witnesses, that the political organization may be able to bring about their accomplished goal of peace. You may be saying: "How did the article do that?" It was by skillful and adroit use of such noncommittal statements as:
"If this could be done, then the UN's voice of jurisdiction could authoritatively denounce any nation threatening the peace of the world."
Individuals reading this may get the idea that the U.N. is within reach of bringing about this `peace for the world.' In commenting on the Persian Gulf Crisis and the U.N.'s use of force to gain world-peace, the article had this to say:
"Perhaps you are wondering, `Was the UN's role in the Persian Gulf crisis a start in this direction?' It could be."
It is clear that this article made no attempt to clarify to the reader the difference between the false peace that man may be able to temporarily bring and the true peace that the Bible speaks about, which as we know, will come only through the "Prince of Peace," Jesus Christ. (Isaiah 9:6) Nevertheless, someone will say: "The Watchtower Society in the past, has written numerous articles stating these very same points. In fact, the Watchtower magazine over the years has become a hated publication because of taking a firm and adamant stand against the U.N. and it's predictions for the future. They don't have to spell out every detail of the Bible's position on the U.N. each time they write an article on the subject, do they? Everybody knows where the Society stands, right???"
THE TRUMPET BLAST
One might illustrate the problem this way: In war situations, most armies have battle formation cadences and alarm signals set up to alert the troops at any time of the approach of the enemy. Even, the nation of Israel had such a signal to keep the people on the alert and give critical direction in case of attack or formation for battle. How was it done? It was done by the sounding of a horn -- yes, a trumpet blast, an instrument known to be loud and clear! (See Numbers 10:3-9; 31:6) Notice this comment from the Watchtower magazine itself on this timely subject to make the critical point.
"The Aaronic priests alone were authorized to sound the sacred trumpets. The notes they blew must be clear and understandable so that the people might know what was required of them. The apostle Paul wrote: `For truly, if the trumpet sounds an indistinct call, who will get ready for battle? In the same way also, unless you through the tongue utter speech easily understood, how will it be known what is being spoken? You will, in fact, be speaking into the air.' (1 Corinthians 14:8,9)"
The article then makes the vital point as it continues:
"There is responsibility, therefore, for Christ's underpriests [anointed upon earth] today to sound out a clear-cut, easily understandable message from God's Word to all peoples, one that is couched in the language of today, that will stand out from the false and blatant and biased messages of human organizations. FEARLESSLY, and using this journal in a signal manner, as they have done for over eighty-five years, the underpriests of Christ Jesus are sounding forth a clear message from God's Word for this day in which we live ... Not to be overlooked is the fact that this same `trumpet' message sounds the call to warfare against Jehovah's enemies." -- See Watchtower 1968 page 374 par. 12,13.
Well, could we say, as mentioned in the article, that they are `fearlessly using this journal?' That is questionable, wouldn't you say??? Also, did you notice the comment: "The trumpet message sounds the call to warfare against Jehovah's enemies?" And who could be a greater "enemy" of God's people than the "beastly" political organization known as the United Nations which according to Revelation chapter 13 will be "worshipped" along with the "Dragon" in these "last days?" Could there be a greater "enemy" than this shortly-to-be persecutor of God's people? Think about it.
And just as the article pointed out, there is real danger in sounding an "indistinct call" to the troops! There is danger in just "speaking into the air" and thus jeopardizing the lives of unsuspecting millions who depend upon such "trumpet blasts." Therefore, we ask the all-important question: Did the presumed modern-day "Aaronic underpriests" [Governing Body and Watchtower Society associates] dutifully alert the nation [Jehovah's Witnesses] for spiritual battle against `the enemy,' the United Nations? Did they sound a "clear and understandable" message so that the people might know what is "required of them" before Jehovah? Or, was the thrust of this article obscure, ambiguous, cryptic, yes, `indistinct?'
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
1)Could the article mislead people who are unfamiliar with Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs giving them the impression that the Witnesses are in favor of the United Nations?
2)Could those who are somewhat familiar with the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses now conclude that Jehovah's Witnesses have a new policy concerning the United Nations organization and are now in favor of such?
3)And worse, could the Jehovah's Witnesses themselves get the message that it's time to take a new approach to the message of the `enemy?' Yes, `let's soften 'em up a little bit,' then the people will listen better.'
These are questions that we need to give serious and sober consideration to. Our very lives may depend upon our having the proper perspective of this matter.
There is one additional point in this article that has definitely escaped the notice of Jehovah's Witnesses world-wide. They did not recognize on whose shoulders the real responsibility has been placed to "sound this message" about the enemy United Nations Organization. That's right, on that of the Witnesses themselves! Notice this comment from the same article:
"Jehovah's Witnesses firmly believe that the United Nations is going to play a major role in world events in the very near future. No doubt these developments will be very exciting. And the results will have a far-reaching impact on your life. We urge you to ask Jehovah's Witnesses in your neighborhood for more details on this matter."
Now, why does the reader need to "ask Jehovah's Witnesses" in his "neighborhood for more details?" What if there are no Jehovah's Witnesses in his neighborhood at all? What if the nearest Jehovah's Witness is many miles away? What is the reader to do? There was ample room for the article to provide the all-important "details" concerning Bible prophecy and the U.N., wasn't there? But instead, the writers of the article deferred. Yes, they shucked `their responsibility' as trumpet blowers. They shifted the responsibility to the "Jehovah's Witnesses in your neighborhood." Did you notice that??? What treachery! What a cowardly side-stepping of responsibility on the Watchtower Society's part! -- Revelation 21:8
PREVIOUS ARTICLES ON THE UNITED NATIONS
We will now quote from articles written over the years by the Watchtower Society on this very same subject. Notice the pointedness and direct application of Bible prophecy as it relates to the United Nations Organization.
"With `the war of the great day of God the Almighty' impending, why trust in a refuge, such as the U.N., that cannot prove trustworthy? Mankind's only hope for permanent peace is God's heavenly kingdom." Awake! 2/8/67 pg. 4
"What a disgusting thing in God's sight that religio-political alliance responsible for killing his Son. A similar disgusting conspiracy was to be a feature of Jesus' second presence. It is here now. Today that religio-political world alliance against God's kingdom finds its most powerful expression in the clergy-blessed United Nations. What a disgusting thing this clergy-supported alliance that stands before the attention of the people where God's kingdom should stand!" -- Watchtower, 1961 page 630 par. 5
"The scarlet-colored wild beast and its `ten horns' devastate Babylon The Great (including Christendom), but not because they want to glorify Jehovah God or because they have come to love him now that they have turned to hating the religious harlot ... It is because they still fight against God's Messianic kingdom, for they strive to keep their occupance of earth by their armed might. Yes, the ten-horned scarlet-colored wild beast is still the thing that Babylon the Great hailed as a substitute for God's Messianic kingdom. So those who make up the wild beast opposed those who practice the true Christianity and who preach and faithfully stick to God's Messianic kingdom, in which the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, serves King under Him." -- Watchtower, 1970 pg. 724, 725 par. 21.
After reading these articles and the pointed comments made in each, we would have to conclude that the former ones are quite different from the September 8th Awake! article.
"AMAZING, ASTONISHING THINGS"
But now, back to the September 8, 1991 Awake! magazine article on the United Nations. It also made these comments:
"The Bible clearly paints a picture showing that the United Nations will very shortly be given power and authority. The UN will then do some very astonishing things that may well amaze you."
"No doubt these developments will be very exciting ... far-reaching."
Why that sounds rather promising! Who wouldn't want to see some "amazing" things done in these dismal days and times? Who wouldn't want to see "exciting things," "far-reaching" things, for the lasting good of all mankind during our lifetime! Who wouldn't want to see the U.N. do such things, especially during our lifetime? This message certainly has appeal to the world! As 1 John 4:5 pointedly warns:
"They originate with the world; that is why they speak [what proceeds] from the world and the world listens to them."
Certainly, if the Watchtower Society continues to use the publications to sound such like messages, the ungodly world will in time start to "listen" to them, also. Think about it.
This is a classic case of "selling out" by telling ungodly people just what they want to hear! Yes, man's efforts will result in "peace and security" through his political governmental arrangements and not Jesus Christ, the "Prince of Peace." (Proverbs 23:23) In fact, it might surprise individuals reading this material to know what the stated purpose of this same said magazine, Awake!, is. This message is printed in the inside cover of each and every Awake! magazine. It says of it's purpose:
"It [Awake!] probes beneath the surface and points to the meaning behind current events."
Now, that's quite a statement! Can we stand before Jehovah and truthfully say that the Society has done just that with the writing of this particular article on the United Nations? Can we truthfully say that? We repeat, nowhere is there one single scripture mentioned in the entire article! No, not one. There is not one solitary mention of God's Kingdom in the whole article! How will the people know from what source real peace will come?
Believe it or not, this is the very first article of it's kind on the vital subject of the United Nations Organization. BUT IT WILL PROBABLY NOT BE THE LAST [caps mine]. There is absolutely no excuse for this! Unfaithfulness is quite evident on the part of the Watchtower Society in the publication of this article! But nevertheless, what conclusion have you reached on this article? Yes, what conclusion do you think you should reach concerning this matter? THIS: The September 8, 1991
Awake! article on the United Nations is a miserable and totally untenable display of cowardice! -- 2 Timothy 1:7
SOMETHING TO PONDERAsk yourself: Could such a display of cowardice as demonstrated by this article be a promise of what is to come? "What things to come?" you may say. Well, let's notice Daniel 11:32 which says:
"And those who are acting wickedly against [the] covenant, he [King of the North] will lead into apostasy by means of smooth words."
Though this powerful king of the North has not prevailed upon the Watchtower Society as of yet, could this article give us a small clue of what is to happen when he does arrive on the earthly scene? Does it? Could this be a demonstration of the unhealthy influence that the United Nations Organization has over the fear-struck, Zedekiah-like Watchtower Society? Could the United Nations Organization have already taken some hidden action or made some threatening demands upon the Watchtower Society precipitating this new, softened message? Think about it.
FAITHFUL IN SOUNDING THE MESSAGE REGARDLESS
When the faithful prophet Isaiah was asked,
"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" He responded "Here I am! Send me." Further, he was told "Go, and you must say to this people, `HEAR AGAIN AND AGAIN . . . .'"
In other words keep repeating this message and do not stop. That was his commission. (See Isaiah 6:8-9.) And for how long? Notice the answer given in verse 11,
"Until the cities actually crash in ruins, to be without an inhabitant, and the houses be without earthling man, and the ground itself is ruined into a desolation."
Yes, preach until the very end, without "letup." (Acts 5:42) As mentioned earlier, prostitution or spiritual adultery is definitely involved in the unfaithful leaders of this organization who dwell in Brooklyn Heights, `selling out truth' for ease of life and filthy lucre. (Proverbs 23:23 and James 4:4) And faithful christians who are still a part of this unfaithful organization of Jehovah's Witnesses must arise from their sleep and come to their senses in order to escape Jehovah's wrath. -- Ephesians 5:13,14; 1 Corinthians 15:33,34
Who will be instrumental in coming to the aid of these christians? This preaching assignment has been given to the "Two-Witnesses" who were prophesied to come in our day and time.
-------end of quote from "The Report" Vol. I-----
As is mentioned above, the Sept. 8th, 1991 article, is the first article of its kind published by the WTS, that began to set this special "tone" towards the UN. There are no scriptures in the article, to my knowledge, mentioned at all in this article. When I first read it, back in 1991, it appeared to me (and other friends I knew) to be a "very strange" article published by the WTS, to say the least.
bjc
NOTE: "The Report" (1994) - ISBN 0-9649409-3-0 (This is not an advertisement to promote or sell the book, just an identification # for those who are interested and want to definitely identify the book specifically. One will have to contact the publisher to receive the book.)
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bjc2012
Hello again:
It seems there are others who are just as disturbed about this troubling situation, reaching the same concensus as here.
Check out this thread.
>> http://www.aimoo.com/forum/postview.cfm?id=311102&CategoryID=2967&ThreadID=75656&tolast=yes
bjc
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MacHislopp
Hello bjc2012,
excellent answer and quotes! Great
addition to the point .This topic and the other about ONG, ONU and WTS,
sems to have awaken some with great doubts...
they simply didn’t know about previous teachings
from the WTS, or if they did that notion ...
disappear from their memory. So here are
some more reminders:From the book “ Babylon the Great has fallen!” - published in 1963 !
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*** bf 593-4 26 "The Judgment upon the Great Harlot" ***The Seventh World Power is the main promoter and supporter of the United Nations, the present form of the “image of the wild beast.” Certainly, then, this international arrangement for peace and security must go down into destruction when the Anglo-American World Power does at Har–Magedon. Destruction is what God’s angel predicted for this scarlet-colored wild beast by saying: “The wild beast that was but is not, it is also itself an eighth king, but springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction.” (Revelation 17:11) “
*** bf 595 26 "The Judgment upon the Great Harlot" ***
Another thing: This scarlet-colored wild beast, which is an “image” of the sea beast, did not come into its existence till after World War I, in the form of the League of Nations. Hence it was only from then onward that the rulers whose nations joined the League and its successor, the United Nations, could “receive authority as kings” with the beast.
*** bf 595 26 "The Judgment upon the Great Harlot" ***
For that reason the existence of the League of Nations and its successor, the United Nations, from 1920 onward, must be still shorter. Revelation 17:12 compares the time to just “one hour,” for it says that the member nations “receive authority as kings one hour with the wild beast.” Since 1920 we have been in that short “one hour” period.
*** bf 595 26 "The Judgment upon the Great Harlot" ***
Many nations did not get into this international “wild beast” organization until it appeared in its new guise as the United Nations in 1945. Their time for membership in it is still shorter.
Just in case, the above words weren’t clear enough:
*** bf 596 26 "The Judgment upon the Great Harlot" ***
The very League of Nations and its successor, the United Nations, represent an international conspiracy against God’s kingdom, which was born in the heavens in 1914 at the end of the Gentile Times.
This international organization for peace and security by human means is a deceptive counterfeit for God’s kingdom by his Lamb, which Jehovah’s witnesses have been preaching to all the nations since the end of World War I.
Thus the whole scarlet-colored “wild beast” is against the heavenly Messianic kingdom.
*** bf 596 26 "The Judgment upon the Great Harlot" ***
Other nations that are not members of the United Nations are just as much against God’s Messianic kingdom. Accordingly they take part with the “wild beast” in this opposition.”
So for those who doubts about the issue, these
printed statement in the WTS publication, should
clarify the point!Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp
" One who has an accurate knowledge
of God's Word will have no problem
in refuting false religious ideas". -
bjc2012
Great point "Mac"!
Thanks for the additional info!
And you are right, this additional information is a "killer."
I think it would be good for yourself (or someone like "me" -- smile) to post your recent research and comments above to the following thread, where we see the "brothers" are truly searching for answers about this whole "UN/Disgusting Thing" issue.
Here's the thread if you wish to do so.
>> http://www.aimoo.com/forum/postview.cfm?id=311102&CategoryID=2967&ThreadID=75656&tolast=yes
Thanks again and great talking to ya.
bjc
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MacHislopp
Hello everyone,
thanks to Zev , here is the latest
addition of WTS statement on United Nations:
"From the book " Isaiah's prophecy " page 52 paragraph 9...
" 9 How similar the condition of Christendom is to that of Jerusalem and Judah in Isaiah's day!Christendom has certainly cultivated a close relationship with United Nations of this world-
She is an enthusiastic supporter of the United Nations and has filled her house with idols and unscriptural practices.
Her adherents are materialistic and put their confidence in military might. And do they not view their clergy as worthy of great distinction, attributing to them titles and honors? Christendom's self-exaltation will without fail be brought to nothing. But when? "
(The book has been published by the WTB&T Society of NY,
and the IBSA , Brooklyn NY in the year 2000 !!!)Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp
" One who has an accurate knowledge
of God's Word will have no problem
in refuting false religious ideas". -
dungbeetle
To all of you who took the time to read, study, research, type and otherwise fabulously answer the original posted question of this thread....
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Did I miss anybody?
Dungbeetle...thanking YOU for cleaning up the crap!!
dungbeetle... STILL cleaning up the crap.
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MacHislopp
Hello Troubled,
to make sure you don't miss the material,
here is for you, some of the latest:
these quotes to be added as further proofs,
of WTS comments concerning the United Nations as an
organisation. The last is from 1958, ....43 years ago!!!
Please take your time to read certain parts....you’ll be greatly
surprised...even more.
The last one is from the Resolution , in the D.C. on 1958,
in New York, words spoken by the WTS president in front of
the 194,418 in attendance!
I)
*** w85 10/1 13-18 Peace, Security, and the 'Image of the Beast' ***
“And he carried me away in the power of the spirit into a wilderness. And I caught sight of a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored wild beast that was full of blasphemous names and that had seven heads and ten horns.”—REVELATION 17:3.
THE apostle John saw this frightening beast in a divinely inspired vision. But John is not the only one to have seen it. In all likelihood, you, too, have seen it, or at least read about
:
it in the newspapers. Did you recognize it?
2 Of course, when we today see this beast, it does not have the appearance that John described. What John saw was symbolic of something that would exist on earth “in the Lord’s day.” (Revelation 1:10) Today we see its fulfillment. The repellent shape of the beast that John saw reflects Jehovah’s view of what it represents—it is repugnant to Him! John had already witnessed in his vision Satan the Devil cast down to the earth “having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.” (Revelation 12:12) He had also seen the political systems of Satan’s world represented as a monstrous beast with seven heads and ten horns ascending out of the “sea” of humanity. (Revelation 13:2; 17:15; Isaiah 57:20; Luke 4:5, 6) This beast had authority over all mankind, and people were forced to submit to the ‘mark of the beast’ in their right hand or upon their forehead, signifying their support for it.—Revelation 13:7, 16, 17.
3 John had watched as men made an image of this beast. (Revelation 13:14, 15) It is this image that he saw in the above vision described in Revelation chapter 17. This seven-headed, ten-horned “image” will play an important part in future events; so it is vital for us to identify it. How can we do that?
The “Image” of the Beast Todayl
7 Do you recognize the beast now? Yes, it is the same as “the disgusting thing that causes desolation” that began as the League of Nations and that now exists as the United Nations. (Matthew 24:15; Daniel 12:11) How does this organization ‘spring from the seven world powers’? In the sense that the whole beastlike organization, like an eighth power, is brought into existence by already existing governments, with the Anglo-American world power being its chief sponsor and supporter.8
Like all images, it is powerless in itself. (Isaiah 44:14-17) Any life that it has comes from its supporters. (Revelation 13:15) At times some of these have taken decisive action through the United Nations, as, for example, during the Korean War.9 Our identification of this beast is confirmed by some further details given by the angel: “The wild beast that you saw was, but is not, and yet is about to ascend out of the abyss, and it is to go off into destruction.” (Revelation 17:8) This has already been fulfilled in part. The second world war effectively killed the League of Nations. In 1942, when Jehovah’s Witnesses came to understand this prophecy clearly, it could be said of the League-beast: “It ‘is not.’”
But in 1945 it ‘ascended out of the abyss’ as the United Nations organization. Will it succeed in its mission to bring peace and security? The prophecy says no. Rather, it is “to go off into destruction.”
The Rider of the BeastIndeed, religious leaders have made that organization “full of blasphemous names.”—Revelation 17:3; compare Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14.
No Force for Peace
12 The United Nations does not enjoy good relations with God’s Kingdom. In fact, its supporters oppose that Kingdom.13 In truth, the United Nations could never be a force for real peace. Its rider, “Babylon the Great,” is one of the most wicked war makers in history, and she is “drunk with the blood of the holy ones and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.” (Revelation 17:6)
Peace lovers are invited to “get out of” Babylon the Great. (Revelation 18:4) Those in Christendom are urged to ‘flee to the mountains.’ (Luke 21:21) Those who submit to God’s Kingdom must avoid having ‘the mark of the beast.’ (Revelation 14:9-12; John 17:15, 16) A great crowd of such righthearted ones will “come out of the great tribulation.” (Revelation 7:9-14) In fact, no one necessarily has to perish along with Satan’s system.—Proverbs 2:21, 22.
But they cannot say in advance whether this will prove to be the fulfillment of Paul’s words quoted above. They are, though, grateful that Jehovah has enabled them to discern the significance of the ‘image of the beast’ and “the disgusting thing that causes desolation.” Thus they see this organization the way Jehovah sees it and are not misled by its efforts to bring peace.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000II)
*** w85 10/1 8-13 A "Disgusting Thing" Fails to Bring Peace ***
“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies . . . then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains.”—LUKE 21:20, 21.
HOWEVER hard men try to bring peace and security through institutions such as the United Nations, they will never succeed. Why? Because mankind today is not at peace with God, and lasting security can be based only on man’s being at peace with his Creator. (Psalm 46:1-9; 127:1; Isaiah 11:9; 57:21)Examining them will teach us much about the future course of man’s “peace and security” organization, the United Nations.
According to these latter two scriptures, a “disgusting thing” was to be set in place during “the time appointed,” or “the time of the end.” (Daniel 11:29; 12:9) We have been living in “the time of the end” since 1914; hence, Jesus’ warning applies today too.—Matthew 24:15.
Christendom’s Choice“The Disgusting Thing” Today
12 What, then, is the modern “disgusting thing that causes desolation”? In the first century it was the Roman troops sent to reimpose Pax Romana in Jerusalem. In modern times, however, the nations that fought in World War I became disillusioned about the usefulness of all-out war in imposing peace and experimented with something new:
an international organization to preserve world peace. This began life in 1919 as the League of Nations and still exists as the United Nations. Here is the modern “disgusting thing that causes desolation.”
13 Interestingly, the Hebrew word translated “disgusting thing” in Daniel is shiq·quts'. In the Bible, this word is used principally of idols and idolatry. (1 Kings 11:5, 7)14 When the nations not only rejected God’s Kingdom but also established their own organization to bring peace, that was rebellion. When religious leaders of Christendom identified that organization with God’s Kingdom and the Gospel, proclaiming it to be “the only available instrument” for bringing peace, that was idolatry. They were putting it in the position of God’s Kingdom, “in a holy place.” Certainly, it was “standing where it ought not.”
(Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14) And religious leaders continue to support the League’s successor, the United Nations, rather than point men to God’s established Kingdom.The Danger to Christendom
15 Although Christendom’s religions chose the League of Nations and its successor over God’s Kingdom, their relations with the member nations of these organizations have deteriorated.True to the prophetic pattern, the nations along with the United Nations will attack and destroy “Jerusalem,” that is, Christendom’s religious structure.—Luke 21:20, 23.
21 Should we be surprised that in the first century “the disgusting thing” appeared just before the destruction of Jerusalem, whereas today it appeared right at the beginning of this world’s time of the end? No.
In each case, “the disgusting thing” appeared at the moment Jehovah wanted his people to flee.
In the first century, Christians had to remain for a time in Jerusalem in order to preach there. (Acts 1:8) Only in 66 C.E., when destruction was imminent, did a “disgusting thing” appear, warning them to flee. But to be “in” modern-day Jerusalem means to be part of the religious domain of Christendom. It is impossible to serve Jehovah acceptably in such a corrupt and apostate environment. Hence, early in this world’s time of the end “the disgusting thing” appeared, warning Christians to flee. The flight out of Christendom is ongoing, each person having a warning to flee as soon as he discerns that “the disgusting thing” is in place.
22 We may ask, though, what leads to this most unexpected act, the destruction of Christendom by militarized elements from within the United Nations? When will it happen? And how can this possibly contribute to peace and security on our earth? We will discuss these questions in the next article.III)
*** w74 12/1 717-9 United Nations-Religion's Friend or Foe?
One of these has to do with the world peace and security organization that we today know as the United Nations.Will the United Nations, in working for world security, view world religions as a help or a hindrance?
An outstanding feature of Jesus’ answer was his mention of Daniel’s prophecy about “the disgusting thing that causes desolation” and that would ‘stand in a holy place.’ (Matt. 24:15, 16)
As pictorially represented at Revelation 17:9-11, a scarlet-colored wild beast was shown in vision to the apostle John. On the beast’s back was a harlotrous woman,
“Babylon the Great.”
About this symbolic “wild beast” we read: “The seven heads mean seven mountains, where the woman sits on top. And there are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet arrived, but when he does arrive he must remain a short while. And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also itself an eighth king, but springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction.”
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This “scarlet-colored wild beast” is an eighth “king,” an eighth world power. Since it “springs from the seven,” it is not the Communistic bloc of nations. Also, unlike the Communist bloc, ‘it was (for a while), then was not; it ascends out. of the abyss (of inactivity) and goes off into destruction.’
The world peace and security organization, known first (when it “was”) as the League of Nations, was formed after World War I. It went into the abyss in 1939, when it was shown to be powerless to stop World War II (thus it ‘was not’).
Then, in 1945, it ‘ascended’ under a new name, the United Nations. How is it a “disgusting thing” in God’s sight?
Most noticeable is the fact that it has a symbolic harlot, an unclean woman, riding it. Also, being formed by the worldly powers and held up, especially by Christendom and its religions, in place of God’s kingdom as the hope for world peace and security, it is a “friend of the world,” making it an “enemy of God.”—Jas. 4:4; John 18:36.Now half of the member nations of the United Nations do not even profess to be Christian.
But has not the United Nations done some good? Some say, ‘Why knock it? It’s merely an effort to keep peace.’ But was the Roman Empire “good”? It tried to keep the Pax Romana, the Roman peace, throughout the world, but it was, nevertheless, pagan, and turned out to be the desolator of religious Jerusalem with its temple. It later persecuted true Christians.
FALSE RELIGION’S DESOLATION
Likewise, the armies under United Nations control become a desolator of the so-called “holy” arena of Christendom’s domain—its false “Christian” religions.
What actually brings this desolation about? Is it merely the idea of the United Nations? It is God’s judgment on the ‘harlotlike’ organizations of false religions that have long oppressed the people and have done so in religion’s name, misrepresenting God and bringing reproach upon his name.
Will the “wild beast” of scarlet hue then be the friend of true Christians? No more than the Roman Empire was.
As an enemy, the “beast” must “go off into destruction” at the hands of Jesus Christ.
The kings represented by the beast’s ten horns “will battle with the Lamb, but, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, the Lamb will conquer them.” (Rev. 17:14)
The “disgusting thing” will meet annihilation at that time, never to come up again.The appearance now of the “disgusting thing” upon the world scene is a feature of the “sign” of Christ’s presence and the imminence of its attack upon the Lamb.
Even nearer, therefore, is the desolation of “Babylon the Great.”
What does this mean for those who may be involved with these worldly organizations?
God’s Word urges: “Get out of her [Babylon the Great], my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues.”—Rev. 18:4.
Only by a study of the Bible to see that this time of judgment is upon us, and by discerning between true and false religion, can anyone escape. But it is worth any effort that is required.
For life on earth after the destruction of all unjust, God-dishonoring organizations will be a delight.°°°°°°°°
IV)*** w67 2/15 120-4 An Abortive Attempt to Establish a New Order ***
WILL a peaceful new order of things ever come about? If so, who do you think is going to establish it? Will it be God himself or will it be men having God as a helper? Also, is there a timetable for it?
Should we not look to world rulers and leading clergymen? Can they not alter and reform the governments so that the principles of the kingdom of God will be expressed through them? Well, we surely should be able to find the answers to these questions in the Bible because it is from the Bible and not from any other source that we get the information that there is to be a permanent new order in which men can live on earth forever. But what does the Bible say about it?
First of all, the Bible says that those trying by governmental and social reform to bring about such a new order incorporating the things that the kingdom of God will accomplish have taken hold of a wild beast.
It is no ordinary wild beast, either, for it is a monstrosity having seven heads and ten horns on its heads. It represents the worldwide human political organization under control of the Devil.
The beast is ferocious and has proved over the past several thousand years to be untamable.
Well, then, maybe they can make something that would reflect the beast, perhaps an image of the beast.
It would be something that the people could look to as authoritative as far as bringing peace and unity among the nations is concerned, something that the nations could work through.
PEACE EFFORT AND RESULTS FOREKNOWN
Amazingly, Jehovah God, the Author of the Bible, foreknew the very line of thinking these world leaders would pursue and foretold that they would do just this very thing. In his Word he describes exactly what they would do, showing that they would make an image to the wild beast and set it up for the people to look to for the good things that the kingdom of God would bring.
Ah, but in doing so they would create something just as formidable as the first wild beast and as hard to make peaceful and righteous! John describes the vision God gave to him on this matter:
The woman riding the beast is a harlot and is named Babylon the Great, which has already been explained in previous issues of this magazine as symbolically representing the world empire of false religion. She has a very prominent role in setting up the peace organization.This scarlet-colored wild beast is the same as the image of the beast told of in Revelation 13:14, 15, but not fully described there. Being an image, it is pleasing to Babylon the Great, for she is very familiar with images and the use of them. Idolaters often say that the images they use are not worshiped by them but are merely aids in the worship of the gods pictured by the images or idols, which idols receive only a relative worship. This is contrary to God’s law, which condemns idols in any form and forbids relative worship even through men. (1 John 5:21; Rev. 19:10)
In this case the people are turned toward the image to look for the things that God’s kingdom will bring and therefore are led to support it whether it is truly representative of God’s kingdom.
DEATH AND REVIVAL OF “NEW ORDER” BEAST
The scarlet color of the beast represents royalty. When did it come into being and when was this royalty attributed to it? At first in 1920, when the League of Nations was ratified. Up until World War II it “was.”
Jehovah’s witnesses were, like John, observing matters at the time, proclaiming the fact that the League was standing as a counterfeit substitute for God’s kingdom. In the vision to John the angel says the wild beast “was, but is not.” When does it become “not”? This was when the Catholic-Nazi dictator Hitler touched off the explosion of World War II in September of 1939. The League here failed of its chartered purpose and ceased to function with proper effect, going down into the abyss of raging, roaring humanity in the world’s greatest war until then, into a state of inactivity, suspended animation.
Jehovah’s witnesses observed it when it went into the abyss of inactivity, when it “is not.”
Just as John was told that the beast would again be present, coming up out of the abyss, Jehovah’s witnesses were watching for this to take place. In 1942, at the middle of World War II, this was forcefully pointed out by the president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in the public talk “Peace—Can It Last?” at a national convention meeting in fifty-three cities, tied in by wire to the key city, Cleveland, Ohio. He said:
“ . . . Though forty members still profess to adhere to the League, the League is in effect in a state of suspended animation, and needs to be revived if it is ever to live again. It has gone into the abyss of inaction and ineffectiveness. It ‘is not.’
“Will the League remain in the pit? . . . The association of worldly nations will rise again. . . . The necessities of meeting the totalitarian aggressions and stopping them are forcing the nations to that final confederation of nations for the new order, whatever its form. . . .
“ . . . The repeated cries and demands of politicians and religionists for ‘More religion!’ make certain that religion will ride the peace beast. The personal envoy sent by the president of the nation to the Vatican to work together with the religious chief for peace is another forerunner of the courtesy and deference that will be paid to the ‘woman’ named Babylon when the total war ends. Her intercourse then with the rulers of the world will satisfy her worldly desires, and she will pronounce the peace arrangement a ‘peace of Christianity,’ another one of those ‘names of blasphemy’ tacked on the ‘beast.’”
The Seventh World Power, the dual world power of Great Britain and America, had worked to bring the League of Nations into existence.
Now this same dual world power worked to get this international peace-and-security organization out of the abyss of apparent death.
On June 26, 1945, fifty nations (not including Vatican City and the Axis Powers) signed the Charter of the United Nations in San Francisco, California. It was ratified on October 24, 1945, the number of nations being twenty-nine, including the Big Five; it became part of international law.
Then the United Nations became existent.
CHRISTIAN DECLARATION AGAINST IT
Jehovah’s witnesses were looking for further fulfillment of this prophecy and they recognized that now the scarlet-colored wild beast had ascended out of the abyss.
But Jehovah’s witnesses did not wonder admiringly or worship the scarlet-colored beast, the “image” of the wild beast. In the above-quoted lecture given in 1942 the speaker said:
“ . . . Suddenly those ten horns and the beast will go into perdition, not peacefully, but violently, at the battle of Armageddon. This time the beast and its heads and horns will go, not into the ‘bottomless pit,’ but into the ‘lake of fire and brimstone,’ to be utterly consumed and destroyed.—Rev. 19:20; 20:10.”
So Jehovah’s witnesses today are proclaiming to the people that the United Nations is the same old image as the League, dressed up in a new name and that it will not continue and that it will not bring peace to the people.
But many people feel that, since the United Nations has been established to maintain international peace and security, as its charter states, this new international organization will preserve peace and security for the wild beast out of the sea and keep it existing.
As is known, the United Nations Organization (U.N.O.) was established on June 26, 1945, and to it there were subsequently added intergovernmental agencies with extensive international tasks in the economic, social, cultural, educational and health fields. The United Nations Organization had as its essential purpose the maintenance and consolidation of peace between peoples, fostering between them friendly relations, based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, and varied forms of cooperation in every sector of human society.
An act of the highest importance performed by the United Nations Organization was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, approved in the General Assembly of December 10, 1948. In the preamble of that declaration, the recognition and respect of those rights and respective liberties is proclaimed as an ideal to be pursued by all peoples and all countries.Since the popes of the Roman Catholic Church express such admiration for the United Nations, does this mean that this “public authority of the individual political community” will survive the war of the great day of God the Almighty?
No, neither does it mean that the United Nations in any way reflects the Kingdom or promotes the Kingdom, for as a matter of fact it reflects the wild beast that came out of the sea, Satan’s visible, political organization, which has always opposed God and now today opposes his kingdom under his Messiah.
A DECISION TO MAKE
What about us as individuals? Should we give support to the international peace arrangement?
God says that he does not write in his scroll of life the names of those who give their worship to the wild beast’s image or who pin their hopes on it.
This, of course, is, not a literal scroll, but a symbolic one, and in it Jehovah has been writing the names of those worthy of life since the founding of the world, that is, from when he founded the human race, the world of mankind. According to God’s written Word, Abel the martyred son of Adam and Eve appears to be the first one “written upon the scroll of life.” (Heb. 11:4; 12:24; Gen. 4:2-10, 25; Matt. 23:35) The names of those idolaters are not written with that of Abel.
True Christians, therefore, will recognize the United Nations, the “image” of the wild beast, or the scarlet-colored beast, as a counterfeit and an abortive attempt to establish God’s new order in the earth.
As to the means for bringing peace on earth, Jesus Christ said his kingdom was not of this world.
Not by trusting in the military might of nations or a combination of nations that are against God can peace be brought.
As Jehovah says: “Not by a military force, nor by power, but by my spirit.”—Zech. 4:6.Political and religious leaders are mistaken also as to God’s timetable. His kingdom is already established in heaven in the hands of his Messiah, Christ. Through the prophet Daniel God foretold that the kingdom of God would break in pieces all the existing kingdoms and it would stand forever. (Dan. 2:44)
God’s new order, bringing fully to mankind the blessings of his heavenly kingdom, will take place soon—in this generation—but it will not do so before all images and idols, including the United Nations, are destroyed.
So they lack faith in God, and their attempt to take it upon themselves to set up God’s kingdom and bring in a new order is abortive and ends in miscarriage, to the disappointment of all those who put their hope in it.
Let all who truly love righteousness hear what God says in his Word, the Bible, and learn of his kingdom and the stability and permanence of his new order based, not on an uncertain, uncomfortable coexistence, but on real righteousness.
Let them forsake all image worship and dedicate themselves to Jehovah God through Jesus Christ and have their names written in Jehovah’s scroll of life.°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
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*** w61 10/15 612-26 When All Nations Unite Under God's Kingdom ***
This public address delivered by the president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society was heard by audiences totaling four hundred eighty-one thousand one hundred and ninety-five throughout North America and Europe during the past summer.2 But there is also this question: Does this modern world need an invisible spirit God to unite all nations under his kingdom?
Do we need more than the United Nations of today?
Has mankind ever before seen such a thing—ninety-nine nations united in one association? No!
But at the same time has the world ever seen such a show as it is making, such a failure at unification?
Is it living up to its big-sounding name?
Is it by nations outside the United Nations that the “cold war” is being fought today with a ruthlessness that does not care even though it keeps all the rest of the world in fear and anxiety?
No; it is by the leading nations right inside the United Nations.
Have we reason, then, to expect that the United Nations will prove to be a satisfying man-made substitute for “God’s kingdom”?
Let us not forget that the United Nations is the successor of the League of Nations, and that during its existence before World War II the League of Nations was religiously called the “political expression of the kingdom of God on earth.” So has the United Nations become the political expression of God’s kingdom on earth since 1945? Ask Hindu India! Ask Communist Russia! Ask Buddhist Japan, Burma, Thailand! Ask Islamic Turkey, Indonesia, United Arab Republic!3 Did these and other nations join the United Nations because they wanted to be under God’s kingdom, and is this why they stay in it?
Did the love of God move them to join up?
We do not have to wait for their answer.
Common sense and honesty answer No!14 Since World War I of 1914-1918 kings, or rulers bearing that title, have been on their way out. Once upon a time there were no human kings nor any human empires nor any colonial powers on earth. There was only a heavenly King over mankind. Who was he? Jehovah God. In the last book of the Bible he is called the “King of eternity.” (Rev. 15:3; Jer. 10:10)
Why, then, do we have the human kings of today,
why the empires,
why the colonial powers?
Why international communism?
Yes, why the United Nations?
It is because of the original rebellion against the “King of eternity.”
Was that rebellion not put down at once? No, it was not. Why were not the rebels executed all at once to keep the rebellion from spreading? Well, if they had been at once executed, we would not be here today, with an opportunity of being united under God’s kingdom. Why not? It was because the rebels included our first human parents. We are the latest descendants from those rebels against Jehovah God.
THE UNITING UNDER WAY
38 Do you accept those evidences of the establishment of God’s kingdom in the heavens in 1914? Many persons of all nations now do so. Under this kingdom, in the establishment of which they believe, they now unite. Yes, Jehovah’s witnesses, who are at present found in 181 lands and island groups around the earth, unite under God’s kingdom. From his Word they know that his kingdom by Christ will take charge of the whole earth. There is no need for the democratic Western bloc of nations to fear that the Communist bloc will take universal control of the earth. There is no need for the socialist Communist bloc to worry in fear that the democratic Western bloc of nations will take over world domination. There is no need for the neutral bloc of nations to try to keep in the middle, siding with neither bloc, for fear that either bloc of “cold war” fighters will gain final victory and then what will they do if they have sided with the losing bloc? None of those national blocs will gain the world domination, no matter which bloc dominates at present in outer space. The universal rule, including domination of the whole earth, has already been conferred, not on the choice of the Democrats, nor on the choice of the Communists, nor on the choice of the neutrals, nor on the choice of any man, but on God’s choice of ruler, mankind’s Savior Jesus Christ. At the end of the “appointed times of the nations” in 1914, Jehovah God took his power and enthroned Jesus Christ in the heavens. So in loyalty to the “King of eternity,” Jehovah’s witnesses unite under God’s kingdom, no matter in what lands they are found. They preach it everywhere.
Now in this day of decision, when the vast majority of mankind are going contrary to God’s will and kingdom, the honesty and sincerity of each one who offers that prayer is being tested. Does one really mean it? There are those who do mean it. Though all the world be against them, they choose to be ruled in God’s way, by his kingdom under Christ. What has been the result of this choice of theirs?
What kind of spectacle do these choosers present to the rest of mankind?
Do they present a spectacle of disunity, of international suspicions, of mutual rivalries and jealousies, of racial prejudices, such as the United Nations organization displays?
A candid investigation answers No!
41 These choosers of God’s kingdom present the actually alive model demonstrating how people of all nations can now unite and will unite under God’s kingdom after it has brought to ruin those who are ruining the earth and after it has bound the one chiefly responsible for the ruinous course of the nations, Satan the Devil. Today, amid a world in turmoil, these united ones out of all the nations are an example of unity on a global scale, and this in spite of their own inherited human imperfections and weaknesses.
Not to the United Nations, but to these exemplary people we must turn and ask, What is the secret of their loving, peaceful unity? How do they attain to it?46 There is also another potent force for unifying these baptized believers in God’s Word the Bible. It is something that the United Nations and all the rest of this world do not have.
For its part, the United Nations, which is a representative of this world, has the spirit of this world.
We are all acquainted with what the spirit of this world is, because the fruitage of that spirit is seen in abundance on every hand. But, says the apostle Paul to the dedicated, 47
PROTECTION AND SURVIVAL
48 Those who today are united under God’s kingdom have the greatest government of the universe to protect them. In these days of world-wide fear of a third world war with nuclear weapons and missiles, the various governments set up by puny men view themselves as the principal and most powerful protectors of the people.They do not appreciate that by being bound together in the United Nations they are united against God and his kingdom by Christ.
They do not believe that the “appointed times of the nations” ran out in 1914 and that it is time to make way for the kingdom of God to take full, undisputed, unhindered control of all the earth. They do not discern that by their own opposition against God’s kingdom he is forcing them into a unity in which they will be slaughtered in the “war of the great day of God the Almighty.”
So what shall WE do?
Be united under God’s kingdom for our salvation or be united with them to be slaughtered with them?God’s kingdom is the only government of protection, the only government that can and will preserve us. In the coming test of strength of governments, God’s kingdom by his Christ will prove stronger and will win.
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*** w58 11/1 645-54 Why This Assembly Should Resolve ***
22 Still the clergy of Christendom have no message of the day for mankind. They look to the perplexed, dazed, staggering politicians to take the lead that they may follow the politicians and give these moral and religious support in their churches.
Let the politicians suggest a League of Nations, and the clergy are for it.
Let the politicians propose a United Nations organization, and the clergy support it as the one hope that all mankind must support or else all is lost.
26 To the people of the world the clergy stand for the God of Christianity.
Does the clergy’s failure to have a clear-cut message, a “better plan,” mean that God has nothing better than the United Nations?
It would be an insult to Jehovah God to think so.
Why, then, do these paid clergymen who parade in special religious garb to show themselves off as devoted to God and as representing him have no message to guide men to unity, peace and life?
41 Today, by Jehovah’s loving-kindness, we have been brought to this one harmonious assembly. For us witnesses from the four corners of the earth, of so many nationalities and languages, it is a supreme occasion to make a united statement of how we stand toward the world situation, what our enlightened understanding of God’s will is and what our united purpose is for the future in discharging our God-given commission. This is “why this assembly should resolve” to make an expression before we have to part, for it to be published to all the world.
I therefore yield the platform to the president of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania to present any expression in which we can all unitedly and heartily join.
42 Amid the great applause the Society’s president stepped to the fore and presented the following
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*** w58 11/1 654-60 Resolution ***
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT
WE, Jehovah’s witnesses, assembled here in Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds, New York city, in the Divine Will International Assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses this first day of August, 1958, do unite in declaring that we are exclusively devoted to the divine Sovereign of the universe and to the interests of his promised new world now at hand;16 THAT, in their fear of ungodly communism and of more world war, the clergy have turned their backs on Jesus Christ the King and have endorsed the political organizations for perpetuating this old world, which is God’s enemy, namely, the League of Nations and its successor, the United Nations;
and they have led and encouraged the people in the idolizing of these human makeshifts for God’s kingdom;
and in their worldly-wise schemes to safeguard the people from further devastating world war by means of these incapable organizations, the clergy have failed to help the people to find refuge and security against the far more destructive universal war, “the war of the great day of God the Almighty” (Rev. 16:14, 16); so that, in times of international peace, the clergy hypocritically encourage the nations not to fight one another, not to fight against men, but, by backing up the political schemes of men, they encourage the nations to fight against God, both now and in the coming war of Armageddon;17 THAT the nations are now on judgment before Jehovah God the Supreme Judge, and the clergy of Christendom stand as the most reprehensible and delinquent class on earth before Him, and at Armageddon he will give his judicial attention first to them, and all the blind peoples who follow these blind religious guides will suffer execution with them at God’s hands;
19 THAT we, 194,418 witnesses of Jehovah God and people of good will, have come together here in international assembly to learn further concerning his holy will and how to carry it out;
23 THAT, in spite of our having to part in a matter of days, we will continue to preserve the unity of the organization,….
….we will persist in praying for one another and will carry out the Scriptural instructions;
….and even when persecution may get more intense and we may be scattered physically or be driven underground or deprived of our Bible-study literature, we will keep on obeying God rather than men and will preach the good news of the Kingdom, the only God-given hope of mankind, by the use of our Bibles alone, if necessary, or by just that divine Word stored up in our hearts; we will, in all these respects, strive to be like our faithful brothers who today find themselves behind the Communist Iron Curtain or under totalitarian government and dictatorship and for whom we have not ceased to pray;24 THAT down to the end, as far as within us lies, God’s will shall be fulfilled in us as regards the preaching of his established kingdom and the gathering of all other sheep into the fold of his Right Shepherd, Jesus Christ, to enjoy salvation with us, so that we may be accounted worthy of being ushered into God’s everlasting new world after Armageddon, there to worship him unitedly as one family of his creatures without racial distinctions and national boundaries and divisions, under one government, His kingdom by Christ, and to do his will forever and ever.
25 Accordingly, on this inspiring occasion, we call upon all lovers of life in happiness under righteous government, to whose attention this Resolution may come, to take to heart its import and to honor the name of the Creator of heaven and earth and to turn to His kingdom by Christ as the rightful government of the new world and to bring themselves into harmony with his perfect will, because “he that does the will of God remains forever.”—1 John 2:17.
JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES IN THE DIVINE WILL INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY IN NEW YORK CITY THIS FIRST DAY OF AUGUST OF 1958.
Moved by N. H. Knorr, President Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
Seconded by F. W. Franz, Vice-President
Attested to by M. G. Henschel, ChairmanADOPTION
26 Having finished reading the repeatedly applauded Resolution, the Society’s president moved for its adoption. During the din of further heavy applause the vice-president seconded the motion. The president then called for all in favor of adopting the Resolution to say Aye! As one man the audience of 194,418 cried out Aye! and burst into applause again with great joy and enthusiasm. This set the pattern for similar action at the subsidiary large-scale assemblies that were to be held in Great Britain, Germany, and other lands around the earth in the course of the succeeding months.”Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp
P.S. I’m sure it was worth ...the effort!
Dungbeetle: Thanks for your generosity!
" One who has an accurate knowledge
of God's Word will have no problem
in refuting false religious ideas". -
bjc2012
Hello TweetieBird (OrangeBlossom):
I remember a couple of years back, when I was first starting to doubt if "it" was the truth, I came across a web site. It was something like TWMC"...stood for "Two Witnesses Must Come" ... Actually, it was the first "apostate" site that I dared peek into and what caught my eye was that it described itself as elders looking for the society to reform (or something like that).
.Anyway, they even published a book which I found at the bookstore so I purchased it and read it.
What was interesting is that it prophesied that the WTS would eventually support the UN
While I dismissed it as one FALSE PROPHET calling another a false prophet, it did make for some interesting reading and took away the guilt that I had felt for a long time. Perhaps, some of you may remember the website.
Just wondering, are the writers of "The Report" still "false prophets"?
bjc