In the recent thread about 'Millions now living may/will never die', purplesofa said that the WTS changed wording on watchtowers between magazine and bound volume. I'd be interested to see some examples please! This could be very useful to help someone I know see they are fallible. Thanks!
Changing WT wording
by KingAgag 17 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Doug Mason
King,
I know that the following is not exactly what you are looking for, but you might find it handy in the scheme of things:
http://www.jwstudies.com/Changed_MD_and_SS_words.pdf
Doug
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Larsinger58
I heard there was some minor editing of words for certain Watchtowers that may have had announced corrections, but I don't know of them actually trying to "update" really old historical works since later issues of the Watchtower would reflect the change in doctrine. They mostly make excuses for the embarrassing errors or blame it on the rank and file, like they did with the 1975 issue.
The most blatant admission of erorr in regards to past publication though is the omission of Babylon the Great Has Fallen! God's Kingdom Rules! publication. And I don't think The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop is any longer available, the book primarily upon which the BTG book was based. It's just missing. But silence is deafening! They don't have to formally tell the masses not to follow those publications any more or that they no longer support them.
LS
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possible-san
Hi, KingAgag.
I show you one example which I know.
It is an article on the Watchtower, January 1, 1989.That original article was written like this.
"The apostle Paul was spearheading the Christian missionary activity. He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our 20th century."
(The Watchtower, January 1, 1989, p. 12. original edition)However, they corrected like this secretly in "bound volume" edition.
"The apostle Paul was spearheading the Christian missionary activity. He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our day."
(The Watchtower, January 1, 1989, p. 12. bound volume edition)The further information is here.
http://www.watchman.org/jw/watchtower2000.htmAnd the Japanese version is here.
http://www.jesuscom.org/helpcult/data_y/data_y_16.htmAnd if you ask of other people, you may also be able to see that PDF or picture.
possible
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KingAgag
Thanks, that was useful. More examples? I think the Revelation book corrections were funny as they sent slips around telling dubs where to change everything themselves! I'd rather focus on WT and awakes though.
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blondie
While the passing of this "generation" necessitated a change of interpretation, there has apparently been some vacillation on the part of their Governing Body in recent years regarding just how they were going to reinterpret the "1914 generation" doctrine. The first printed evidence1 of such vacillation came with the January 8, 1987 issue of the Awake! magazine. The traditional masthead on page 4 discontinued the statement saying that the generation that saw 1914 would not pass away, only to resume the statement with the March 8, 1988 issue. With the release of the Nov. 8, 1995 Awake!, the masthead has been altered to avoid mentioning "1914" or "generation" at all (see page 11). A similar seldom-noticed change occurred back in 1989 when they reprinted the Jan. 1, 1989 Watchtower in book form ("bound volumes"). On page 12 in the magazine it had said that "He [the apostle Paul] was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in the 20th century," but by the end of the year when the bound volumes were completed, that sentence was changed to "...would be completed in our day," inadvertently revealing their own insecurity about being in that "special generation." Apparently the WT Society was no longer confident that Armageddon would occur in the 20th century after all.
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Lady Lee
I might have them on my computer but I am getting ready to leave for the holidays so unless others can provide the images I will post some when I get back
But in the meantime look for changes in:
- WTs
- Truth book 1968 vs 1981
- Babylon the Great has Fallen
- 2 version of the Holy Spirit book
- Thy Kingdom Come p 228
There are plenty of others. Most often it is just a few words but the changes have major impact on the ever changing beliefs
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WTWizard
They do this so people cannot get a proper reference to all the failed predictions. If people thought this has been going on since 1874, not very many people would be going into the cancer. However, if they removed the certainty so it looks like they were only mentioning the possibility and not certainty, or they alter wording so a date is removed, people are going to think they were only preparing the organization for this time.
Anyone joining the witlesses now is only wasting their time, since you have forever before Jehovah is going to do anything about it. And, by that time, president Osama Obama is likely to have sold us into the One World Totalitarian Government, used us to get Codex Alimentarius caught up worldwide (it is seriously behind schedule worldwide), and sold everyone's wealth and prosperity to the Establishment. And Jehovah is not going to do a damn thing about it.
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blondie
Changes in Watchtower Literature
Quotations that speak for themselves:
"That the deliverance of the saints must take place some time before 1914 is manifest...Just how long before 1914 the last living members of the body of Christ will be glorified, we are not directly informed;" (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 3, p. 228).
"That the deliverance of the saints must take place very soon after 1914 is manifest... Just how long after 1914 the last living members of the body of Christ will be glorified, we are not directly informed;" (Ibid., 1923 ed.)
"This calculation shows A.D. 1874 as marking the beginning of the period of trouble; for 1542 years B.C. plus 1874 years A.D. equals 3416 years. Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1874 was the chronological beginning of the time of trouble..." (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 3, p. 342, 1889 ed.)
"This calculation shows A.D. 1915 as marking the beginning of the period of trouble; for 1542 years B.C. plus 1915 years A.D. equals 3457 years. Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1914 will be the beginning of the time of trouble..." (Ibid., 1905 ed.)
"Also, in the year 1918, when God destroys the churches wholesale and the church members by millions..." (The Finished Mystery, 1917 ed.).
"Also, in the year 1918, when God begins to destroys the churches and the church members by millions..." (Ibid., 1926 ed.)
These are some of the writings foundational to Watchtower history, but what of more recent examples?:
"Also, as reported back in 1960, a former United States Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, declared that our time is "a period of unequaled instability, unequaled violence." And he warned: "I know enough of what is going on to assure you that, in fifteen years from today, this world is going to be too dangerous to live in." (The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life, p.9. [as published prior to 1975]).
"Also, as reported back in 1960, a former United States Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, declared that our time is "a period of unequaled instability, unequaled violence." Based on what he knew was then going on in the world, it was his conclusion that soon "this world is going to be too dangerous to live in." (The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life, p.9. [as published after to 1975]).
Note that this was changed after the significant Watchtower date of 1975, which was strongly hinted to be the date for the beginning of the millennium reign of Christ, failed to materialised.
"The apostle Paul was spearheading the Christian missionary activity. He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our 20th century." (w89 1/1 12 "The Hand of Jehovah Was With Them" [as originally published in the Watchtower magazine]).
"The apostle Paul was spearheading the Christian missionary activity. He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our day." (w89 1/1 12 "The Hand of Jehovah Was With Them" [as it appears in Watchtower bound volumes & CD-ROMs])
Thy Kingdom Come
Millennial Dawn, vol. III
(1891-1904 editions), page 342
Thy Kingdom Come
Studies In the Scriptures, vol. III
(post-1904 editions), page 342
"So, then, if we measure backward down the 'First Ascending Passage' to its junction with the 'Entrance Passage,' we shall have a fixed date to mark upon the downward passage. This measure is 1542 inches, and indicates the year B.C. 1542, as the date at that point.Then measuring down the 'Entrance Passage' from that point, to find the distance to the entrance of the 'Pit,' representing the great trouble and destruction with which this age is to close, when evil will be overthrown from power, we find it to be 3416 inches, symbolizing 3416 years from the above date, B.C. 1542. This calculation shows AD. 1874 as marking the beginning of the period of trouble; for 1542 years B.C. plus 1874 years AD. equals 3416 years. Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1874 was the chronological beginning of the time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation -- no, nor ever shall be afterward.And thus it will be noted that this 'Witness' fully corroborates the Bible testimony on this subject..."
"So, then, if we measure backward down the 'First Ascending Passage' to its junction with the 'Entrance Passage,' we shall have a fixed date to mark upon the downward passage. This measure is 1542 inches, and indicates the year B.C. 1542, as the date at that point. Then measuring down the 'Entrance Passage' from that point, to find the distance to the entrance of the 'Pit,' representing the great trouble and destruction with which this age is to close, when evil will be overthrown from power, we find it to be 3457 inches, symbolizing 3457 years from the above date, B.C. 1542. This calculation shows AD. 1915 as marking the beginning of the period of trouble; for 1542 years B.C. plus 1915 years AD. equals 3457 years. Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1914 will be the beginning of the time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation -- no, nor ever shall be afterward.And thus it will be noted that this 'Witness' fully corroborates the' Bible testimony on this subject..."
When you compare the text in red, above, you will notice that the significant change is the elongation of the Passage from 3416 inches to 3457 inches, (a difference of 41 inches). The other changes are the deletion of one word ("chronological") and the change of one verb from past to future tense ("was" to "will be"). Apparently these changes were made to buttress Russell's new date of 1914 for the "beginning" of the period of trouble. What I would like to learn is did Russell alter data on a whim to conform to his speculation or did he have some justifiable reason for changing his measurements? In other words, Russell changed the measurements. Why?? Did further research show that the original measurements (supposedly from Smyth) were in error? And if so, where is the documented evidence?
Look at what the Watchtower published concerning the its prediction of when the 6,000 years of human history would end.
6,000 years of human history ended in 1873. (The Time Is At Hand, p.33)
6,000 years of human history ended in 1972. (The Truth Shall Make You Free, p. 152, 1943 edition)
6,000 years of human history ended in 1975. (Awake!, October 8th, 1968)
Then there’s the changes in the date for the end of Armageddon.
Armageddon would end in 1914. (The Time is At Hand, Page 101, 1889 Edition)
Armageddon would end in 1915. (The Time is At Hand, Page 101, 1915 Edition)
[NOTE: Today, Jehovah’s Witnesses expect Armageddon at any minute.]
How about the changes in when they say the millennium began?
The Millennium began in 1873. (Thy Kingdom Come, page 305)
The Millennium began in 1874. (Finished Mystery, page 386)
What about the changes the Watchtower made concerning the Book of Ruth?
The Book of Ruth is “not prophetical.” (Watchtower Reprints IV, p. 3110, Nov. 15, 1902)
The Book of Ruth “is prophetic.” (Watchtower Book, “Preservation”, pages 169, 175, 176)
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blondie
Post 16262 of 28714
Since 5/28/2001http://users.skynet.be/awsid/eng/paws004e.htm A Watchtower Survey in depth
Studies in the Scriptures, 1914
See how some sentences in "Studies in the Scriptures" differs depending from year of publication. All quoted sentences are found in publications from the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.back to home pageStudies in the Scriptures - Volume IIStudies in the Scriptures - Volume IIIStudies in the Scriptures - Volume IV
