Hi everyone
For those of us who are familiar with the Watch Tower Society's 9-year affiliation with the United Nations as an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization), a portion of the latest "Armageddon article" produced in the September 15th 2012 study edition provides some interesting reading.
For those not familiar with the scandal, I can do no better than point you in the direction of the pertinent article over on jwfacts.com, which you can access via the following link:
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/united-nations-association.php
To clarify, here is a letter from the United Nations confirming the affiliation:
The above letter makes it clear that, in applying for NGO status, the Watch Tower Society "agreed to meet criteria for association, including support and respect of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and commitment and means to conduct effective information programmes with its constituents and to a broader audience about UN activities". In short, the Society could only become affiliated with the United Nations by agreeing to support it, despite expressing in earlier literature that the United Nations represents a challenge to divine sovereignty.
As we all know, the Society only withdrew from its affiliation with the UN after the scandal was blown wide open by a Guardian newspaper report in 2001.
During the 9-year period, perhaps unsurprisingly, a number of "UN friendly" articles mysteriously emerged in the magazines to appease their terms of membership, all of which seemed entirely at odds with the earlier scathing language about the UN in previous publications such as the Revelation Climax book. Now, it appears, the Society's "new light" has taken them back to square one in identifying the UN as the "wild beast" of Revelation.
Here is a quote from pages 4 and 5 of the September 15th Watchtower Study Edition:
"God’s Word identifies the harlot’s attacker as a “wild beast” with “ten horns.” A study of the book of Revelation shows that the wild beast refers to the United Nations (UN). “The ten horns” represent all present political powers that support this “scarlet colored wild beast.” (Rev. 17:3, 5, 11, 12) How devastating will the attack be? The nations of the UN will plunder the harlot’s wealth, expose her real character, devour her, and “completely burn her.” Her destruction will be final. —Read Revelation 17:16."
Ironically, the "harlot" of Revelation is identified in the Revelation Climax book, and this very article, as "false religion" (predominantly Christendom) which prostitutes itself to the political powers, including the UN to whom it does obeisance. Obviously, the Society refuses to recognize the irony that, in flirting with the UN by affiliating itself as an NGO for 9 years, its actions ran precisely parallel with the political meddling of which it accuses other religions.
I find it interesting that, with the affiliation at an end, the Society now returns to slating the UN as though nothing ever happened. Obviously, as far as many ignorant publishers are concerned, nothing DID happen, because the Society lacks the candor and humility to own up to its mistakes.
(As always, if you haven't yet voted on the 2012 JW Survey, please do so.)
Cedars
