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| "No one should be forced to worship in a way that he finds unacceptable or be made to choose between his beliefs and his family." Awake! 2009 July p.29 (p.28) Identifying The Prophet So, does Jehovah have a prophet to help them. to warn them of dangers and to declare things to come? These questions can be answered in the affirmative. Who is the prophet?... This “prophet'' was not one man, but was a body of men and women. It was the small group of footstep followers of Jesus Christ, known at that time as International Bible Students. Today they are known as Jehovah's Christian Witnesses... of course, it is easy to say that this group acts as a prophet of God. It is another thing to prove it.” The Watchtower, April 1, 1972 14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, Jehovah your God has not permitted you to do so. 15 Jehovah your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of Jehovah your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of Jehovah our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.” 17 Jehovah said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.” 21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by Jehovah?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of Jehovah does not take place or come true, that is a message Jehovah has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed. Deuteronomy 18:14-22 1874 - The Second Coming “Our Lord, the appointed King, is now present, since 1874 A.D.... and the formal inauguration of his kingly office dates from April 1878 A.D. Studies in the Scriptures, vol. 4, p. 621 “the Scriptural proof is that the second presence of the Lord Jesus Christ began in 1874 A.D. “ Prophecy, p. 65 “No one can properly understand the work of God at this time who do not realize that since 1874, the time of the Lord's return in power , there has been a complete change in God's operations.'' The Watchtower, March 1, 1923, p. 67 1914 The Real Second Coming “...the 'battle of the great day of God Almighty' (Revelation 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present ruler ship, is already commenced.'' Time Is At Hand, p. 101, 1908 edition “Christ Jesus came to the Kingdom in A.D. 1914, but unseen to men” The Truth Shall Make You Free, p. 300 (See Matt. 24: 27 and 30) It was said that ''within the coming twenty-six years all present governments will lie overthrown and dissolved... The full establishment of the Kingdom of God will be accomplished by the end of A.D. 1914.” Studies in the Scriptures, vol. 2, pp. 98-99 “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 the glorified, we are not directly informed.'' Studies in the Scriptures, vol. 3, p. 228, 1913 edition In the 1923 edition of the same publication (above) the same sentence reads “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.'' Studies in the Scriptures, vol. 3, p. 228, 1923 edition 1925 - The Return of Abraham Isaac Jacob and the Prophets Watchtower leaders acquired property in San Diego, California, and built a house known as Beth-Sarim (House of Princes). The house was to be the home of the Old Testament saints who were to return in 1925. As a Watchtower publication states, “those faithful men of old may be expected back from the dead any day now... in this expectation the house was built...It is now held in trust for the occupancy of those princes on their return.” The New World, p. 104 “we may expect 1925 to witness the return of they faithful men of Israel from the condition of death, being resurrected...1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the faithful prophet of old.” Millions Now Living Will Never Die, pp. 88-90 ''There will be no slip-up...Abraham should enter upon the actual possession of his promised inheritance in the year 1925 A.D.'' The Watchtower, October 15, 1917, p. 6157 “The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures than 1914.” The Watchtower, September 1, 1922, p. 262 “Our thought is, that 1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures. As to Noah, the Christian now has much more upon which to base his faith than Noah had upon which to base his faith in a coming deluge.'' The Watchtower, April 1, 1923, p.106 ''The year 1925 is here. With great expectation Christians have looked forward to this year. Many have confidently expected that all members of the body of Christ will be changed to heavenly glory during this year. This may be accomplished. It may not. In his own due time God will accomplish his purposes concerning his people. Christians should not be so deeply concerned about what may transpire this year.'' The Watchtower, January 1, 1925, p. 3 “Some anticipated that the work would end in 1925, but the Lord did not state so. The difficulty was that the friends inflated their imaginations beyond reason; and that when their imaginations burst asunder, they were inclined to throw away everything.'' The Watchtower, p. 232 1975 The Year of Armageddon “In what year, then, would the first 6,000 years of man's existence and also the first 6,000 years of God’s rest day come to an end? The year 1975” Awake!, October 8, 1966, p.19 “There are only about ninety months left before 6,000 years of man's existence on earth is completed... The majority of people living today will probably be alive when Armageddon breaks out.” Our Kingdom Ministry, March 1968, p. 4 “In view of the short time left, a decision to pursue a career in this system of things is not only unwise but extremely dangerous.” Our Kingdom Ministry, June 1969, p. 3 “The end of this system is so very near! Is that not reason to increase our activity?... Reports are heard of brothers selling their homes and property and planning to finish out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service. Certainly this is a fine way to spend the short time remaining before the wicked world's end.” Our Kingdom Ministry, May 1974, p. 3 “The publications of Jehovah's Witnesses have shown that, according to Bible chronology, it appears that 6,000 years of man's existence will the completed in the mid-l970s. But these publications have never said that the world's end would come then.” Watchtower, October 15, 1974, p. 635 “The 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses sated, “1925 was a sad year for many brothers. Some of them were stumbled, their hopes were dashed... instead of its being considered a ''probability,'' they read into it that it was a “certainty,” and some prepared for their own loved ones with expectancy of their resurrection.” The 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, p. 146 ''It is not advisable for us to set our sights on a certain date… If anyone has been disappointed through not following this line of thought, he should now concentrate on adjusting his viewpoint, seeing that it was not the word of God that failed or deceived him and brought disappointment, but that his own understanding was based on wrong premises.” The Watchtower, July 15, 1976, p. 441 The Watchtower Society's View of False Prophets The Watchtower magazine says that when one discovers false prophets, “the people should no longer trust them as safe guides.'' The Watchtowers May 15, 1930, p. 154 “Jehovah...will put all false prophets to shame either by not fulfilling the false prediction of such self-assuming prophets or by having His own prophecies fulfilled in a way opposite to that predicted by the false prophets.” Paradise Restored to Mankind - By Theocracy, pp. 353-354 “True, there have been those in times past who predicted an ‘end to the world' even announcing a specific date. Yet nothing happened. The ‘end' did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying. Why? What was missing?... Missing from such people were Gods truths and the evidence that he was using and guiding them.” Awake!, October 8, 1968 (See Luke 21:18) |
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