Revelation -- It's Grand Climax At Hand chap. 22 pp. 142-148 The First Woe--Locusts The First Woe--Locusts THE fifth angel prepares to blow his trumpet. Four heavenly trumpets have already sounded, and four plagues have been directed to the third of the earth that Jehovah regards as most reprehensible--Christendom. Her deathly sick condition has been uncovered. While angels sound the trumpet blasts, human heralds follow through on earth. Now the fifth angelic trumpet is about to announce the first woe, more fearsome even than what has gone before. It is related to a terrifying locust plague. First, though, let us examine other scriptures that will help us to understand this plague better. [...] 6 Revelation, written some 26 years after Jerusalem's destruction, also describes that plague. What does it add to Joel's description? Let us take up the record, as reported by John: "And the fifth angel blew his trumpet. And I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to the earth, and the key of the pit of the abyss was given him." (Revelation 9:1) This "star" is different from that at Revelation 8:10 that John saw in the act of falling. He sees "a star that had fallen from heaven" and that now has an assignment with respect to this earth. Is this a spirit or a fleshly person? The holder of this "key of the pit of the abyss" is later described as hurling Satan into "the abyss." (Revelation 20:1-3) So he must be a mighty spirit person. At Revelation 9:11, John tells us that the locusts have "a king, the angel of the abyss." Both verses must refer to the same individual, since the angel holding the key of the abyss would logically be the angel of the abyss. And the star must symbolize Jehovah's appointed King, since anointed Christians acknowledge only the one angelic King, Jesus Christ.--Colossians 1:13; 1 Corinthians 15:25. 7 The account continues: "And he opened the pit of the abyss, and smoke ascended out of the pit as the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun was darkened, also the air, by the smoke of the pit. And out of the smoke locusts came forth upon the earth; and authority was given them, the same authority as the scorpions of the earth have." (Revelation 9:2, 3) Scripturally, "the abyss" is a place of inactivity, even of death. (Compare Romans 10:7; Revelation 17:8; 20:1, 3.) The small band of Jesus' brothers spent a short time in such an "abyss" of relative inactivity at the end of the first world war (1918-19). But when Jehovah poured his spirit upon his repentant servants in 1919, they swarmed forth to meet the challenge of the work that lay ahead. [...] World Rulers Put on Notice 18 The modern-day locusts had a job to do. The Kingdom good news had to be preached. Errors had to be exposed. Lost sheep had to be found. As the locusts went about these tasks, the world was forced to sit up and take notice. In obedience to the angels' trumpet blasts, the John class has continued to expose Christendom as deserving of Jehovah's adverse judgments. In response to the fifth trumpet, a particular aspect of these judgments was emphasized at a convention of the Bible Students in London, England, May 25-31, 1926. This featured a resolution, "A Testimony to the Rulers of the World," and a public talk at the Royal Albert Hall on "Why World Powers Are Tottering--The Remedy," the complete text of both of these being printed in a leading London newspaper the following day. Later, the locust band distributed worldwide, as a tract, 50 million copies of that resolution--a torment indeed to the clergy! Years later, people in England still spoke of this stinging exposé. 19 At this convention, the symbolic locusts received further fighting equipment, notably a new book entitled Deliverance. It included a Scriptural discussion of the sign proving that the 'man child' government, Christ's heavenly Kingdom, had been born in 1914. (Matthew 24:3-14; Luke 21:24-26; Revelation 12:1-10) Thereafter, it quoted the manifesto published in London in 1918 and signed by eight clergymen, who were described as being "among the world's greatest preachers." They represented the leading Protestant denominations--Baptist, Congregational, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, and Methodist. This manifesto proclaimed that "the present crisis points toward the close of the times of the Gentiles" and that "the revelation of the Lord may be expected at any moment." Yes, those clergymen had recognized the sign of Jesus' presence! But did they want to do anything about it? The book Deliverance informs us: "The most remarkable part of the affair is that the very men who signed the manifesto subsequently repudiated it and rejected the evidence which proves that we are at the end of the world and in the day of the Lord's second presence." 20 Rather than announce the incoming Kingdom of God, Christendom's clergy have chosen to remain with Satan's world. [...] (but later on we sided with Christendom and said that anyone can be a remnant and the door to heaven was not shut in 1935) ------ Whoopty doodle. The star that falls from heaven is Jesus and the locusts are the Jdub publishers . Oh what a shining example of false prophecy. Further the 5th trumpet sounded sometime during May 25-31, 1926 I can't believe how brainwahsed the dubs are to accept this B.S. prophecy!!.
The 5th trumpet false prophecy by WT$ inc
by cultswatter 14 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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fullofdoubtnow
Later, the locust band distributed worldwide, as a tract, 50 million copies of that resolution--a torment indeed to the clergy! Years later, people in England still spoke of this stinging exposé.
Worldwide eh? Does that mean it went to China, India, Russia, Africa, etc?
I doubt any of those places had even heard of the watchtower then. Sounds like a very quiet trumpet blast to me.
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garybuss
Sorry to report that the second trumpet might have been a little off key.
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Revelation Grand Climax chap. 21 pp. 134-135 pars. 21-22
Jehovah's Plagues on Christendom
21 "And the second angel blew his trumpet. And something like a great mountain burning with fire was hurled into the sea. And a third of the sea became blood; and a third of the creatures that are in the sea which have souls died, and a third of the boats were wrecked." (Revelation 8:8,9) What does this frightful scene picture?
22 We may best understand it against the background of the convention of Jehovah's people held in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., on August 18-26, 1923. The featured Saturday afternoon talk by J.F. Rutherford was on the topic "Sheep and Goats." The "sheep" were clearly identified as those righteously disposed persons who would inherit the earthly realm of God's Kingdom. A resolution that followed drew attention to the hypocrisy of "apostate clergymen and 'the principal of their flocks,' who are worldly men of strong financial and political influence." It called on the "multitude of the peace and order loving ones in the denominational churches ... to withdraw themselves from the unrighteous ecclesiastical systems designated by the Lord as 'Babylon'" and to ready themselves "to receive the blessings of God's kingdom." -
Arthur
as a tract, 50 million copies of that resolution--a torment indeed to the clergy! Years later, people in England still spoke of this stinging exposé.
It's cracks me up how the borg thinks that every member of the clergy is obessed with JWs so much that they are sitting in a bunker; biting their nails, urinating on themselves and cursing the "John Class".
When Rutheford manipulated the rank & file to go out and picket churches and disrupt their services with sound cars; there were certainly going to be some of the clergy that would get bent out of shape. But so what? Who wouldn't get irritated at this? The important thing to remember is that Rutheford & Co. was able to manufacture much of this "persecution" by his public diatribes, and childish sandwich sign campains.
JWs would be very surprised to learn that many; of not most Christian pastors just don't care much about what Witnesses are doing. They have lives. They don't have the time to sit around and worry about every little tract, magazine, and talk that comes from the Watchtower organization.
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drew sagan
You hit the nail right on the head Arthur
From time to time over the years in rescent times JWs have had resolutions at their conventions that state a variety of things. I can't help but wonder if 50 years from now these will be seen as 'thunderous proclamations' that fullfill Bible prophecy. -
Leolaia
I kinda wonder if Fred Phelps and his gang feel they are fulfilling Revelation 9. (or similar scripture)
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Robert222
I agree with the posts. Looking back on this material, and doing research outside the WA literature, it is true that the persecution was self inflicted and concocted by JW president(s). It made me feel at the time, reading the Revelation Book yrs ago, and attending the assemblies that this was all true (re the trumpet blasts) yet you look at reality, news reports, world events - they totally ignore what the JWs are doing. It just builds up the uneducated, ignored, lonely JW people into thinking they are of massive importance to the world scene. I am still amazed that they think their assemblies have actual biblical fulfillment in our modern times, and they pinpoint exact dates!! - bizarre thinking.
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The Dragon
Have any of their prophecies ever came true at all?
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dedpoet
My oh my, the jws have a high opinion of themselves and their importance
in the world at large, don't they? The watchtower is truly a legend in its' own
mind! I fail to see how anyone can actually believe this crap:The modern-day locusts had a job to do. The Kingdom good news had to be preached. Errors had to be exposed. Lost sheep had to be found. As the locusts went about these tasks, the world was forced to sit up and take notice
They obviously don't watch the news very much - about the only time they
attract media attention is when they've done someting wrong, like when one
of their flock has been brough to book for some crime like child abuse. They
attract no attention whatsoever for their pointless and meaningless ministry,
despite the "urgent message" they purport to be delivering to all mankind.
The world, or most of it, didn't "sit up and take notice" of them then, and takes
even less notice now. How they are able to delude themselves into believing that it
does says a lot for the level of control that the wts hierachy is still able to exert
over it's followers, because anyone capable of even a modicum of independent
thought would be able to see this for the total bull$hit it truly is.dedpoet
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dozy
Christendom's clergy were apparently very upset about Beth Sarim...
1942 The New World" (Rutherford)
"the most recent facts show that the religionists of this doomed world are gnashing their teeth because of the testimony which the 'House of the Princes' bears to the new world"
Gnashty people , all of them....