Forget about UFOs and orbs darting through the skies of New Jersey, or the peculiar fog and bizarre weather gripping parts of the world lately. None of that is on the Watchtower’s radar. Their focus? The King of the North. The latest article on JW.org, penned by Nicholas Achladis, asks the riveting question, “Who is the King of the North today?” While the rest of the world ponders mysteries of cosmic significance, the Watchtower is obsessing over one solitary player in a prophecy that feels increasingly out of place in modern discussions.
Why this narrow focus? Because, quite frankly, the Watchtower has practically canceled the book of Revelation. Once considered the definitive guide to the Bible’s most thrilling future events, Revelation has been sidelined for years. The last time Jehovah’s Witnesses attempted to tackle it in their book *Revelation—Its Grand Climax at Hand!* the results were far from triumphant. That book went through so many revisions, updates, and awkward reinterpretations that it was quietly shelved. They even stopped studying it in congregations.
Revelation, for all its terrifying plagues, marks, and beasts, was simply too messy for the Watchtower to handle. They don’t believe in literal plagues or the Antichrist. The mark of the beast? It’s just a metaphor. Essentially, they’ve written themselves out of 99% of the prophecies that have captivated believers for centuries. What’s left is Daniel 11’s King of the North—a pale, overly simplified substitute for the grandeur and complexity of Revelation’s apocalyptic visions.
Let’s get back to this King of the North. For years, the Watchtower has played a guessing game with its identity, changing it as world powers shift. Today, it’s Russia and its allies. The logic behind this is simple: Russia banned Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017, labeled them an extremist organization, and began cracking down on their activities. But how much of a threat is this, really?
Currently, fewer than 100 Jehovah’s Witnesses are reported to be in prison in Russia. Out of a global membership of 9 million, that’s 0.001%. Yes, any form of persecution is unjust, and those individuals deserve compassion and support. But does this minuscule fraction of Jehovah’s Witnesses represent the grand fulfillment of biblical prophecy? If the King of the North’s defining act is imprisoning 0.001% of a religious group, it’s hard to see this as the apocalyptic showdown the Bible describes. The numbers simply don’t add up.
Now compare this to what Revelation says about the Antichrist. The Antichrist, identified in Revelation as the "wild beast," is described as wielding immense power and causing catastrophic loss of life. Revelation 13:7 states, “It was permitted to wage war with the holy ones and to conquer them.” This is no minor crackdown—this is global persecution on a scale unimaginable compared to Russia’s actions. Revelation 20:4 further highlights the brutal toll, mentioning those who are beheaded for their faith and their refusal to accept the mark of the beast. These verses paint a far grimmer picture than the King of the North narrative, which pales in comparison.
Revelation’s Antichrist is not a regional player; it’s a global force demanding worship and allegiance. Those who refuse to comply will face severe consequences, including death, as described in Revelation 13:15: “It causes those who refuse to worship the image of the wild beast to be killed.” The death toll among faithful believers in the last days is clearly immense, a stark contrast to the relatively minor persecution experienced by Jehovah’s Witnesses under Russia’s ban. The Watchtower’s neglect of this prophetic figure and its global implications leaves a glaring gap in their eschatology.
Making matters worse, by persistently criticizing Russia on their website, the Watchtower unwittingly validates President Putin’s accusations. Putin has accused Jehovah’s Witnesses of being an NGO that promotes United Nations directives that Russia views as counterproductive and even subversive. This, he argues, is why the religion was banned. Whether his claims are fair or not, the Watchtower’s relentless focus on Russia while tiptoeing around other global powers only reinforces his narrative.
When was the last time the Watchtower directed this kind of scrutiny toward the King of the South, their supposed Anglo-American world power? Unlike Russia, the Anglo-American alliance is a far greater aggressor against Christian values and traditions. Just look at what’s happening in Britain, where attacks on Christianity are steadily increasing. The country is shifting into what some describe as a “communist caliphate,” where Islam is protected at all costs while Christian values are eroded. Traditional Christian holidays, symbols, and even speech are increasingly censored or marginalized, yet the Watchtower is silent about these developments.
This glaring inconsistency raises questions about the Watchtower’s priorities. Why the constant criticism of Russia, where the impact on Jehovah’s Witnesses is minimal in the grand scheme, while ignoring the far-reaching cultural and spiritual erosion occurring in the West? The Bible speaks of a time when “the wild beast” will demand total submission, and Revelation 13:16-17 warns of a system where “no one can buy or sell except a person having the mark.” Such developments seem more in line with what’s unfolding in secular, increasingly anti-Christian Western nations than with the relatively minor actions of Russia.
The Watchtower’s obsession with the King of the North while avoiding substantive discussions about Revelation or the King of the South leaves their theology feeling unbalanced and hollow. They’ve abandoned the dramatic and awe-inspiring prophecies of Revelation in favor of a narrow, uninspired focus on a single geopolitical player. And while this approach might simplify their narrative, it sacrifices depth, relevance, and a true engagement with the complex and sobering events the Bible predicts for the last days.
KING OF THE NORTH ATTACKs 0.001% OF JWS
by raymond frantz 6 Replies latest watchtower bible
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raymond frantz
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Vidiot
Nice analysis.
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Journeyman
Mostly a good synopsis there, but I'd take issue with one or two points (or rather, just want to refocus on them - not really intending to argue).
Firstly, there is the often repeated myth that the JWs have flip-flopped around about who the King of the North is. That's not true. For the last 70 or so years at least, they were very clear that it was identified from the 20thC onwards with the German Empire (Kaiser, followed by Hitler), and then the Soviet Union after WWII.
At the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, they simply said in the Daniel's Prophecy book "we're no longer sure who it is", as it seemed unclear how things were going to work out with the former Soviet republics, but they still tended to lean towards identifying it with Russia, or possibly other similar communist/totalitarian elements like China or North Korea.
With the rise of Putin and the return of Russia as a polar opposite to "the West" (UK/USA/Europe), they simply went back to and firmed up their view that the King of the North was indeed still Russia. The fact that Putin's regime turned their judicial anger on the JWs helped to persuade them of that.
The other aspect is regarding the King of the North (and his enemy the King of the South) as portrayed in Daniel. You're right that the mistake the JW org makes is constantly seeing Bible verses as exclusive to them only, or only relevant through their own history. That's the major reason for all their self-imposed confusion around the book of Revelation, and likely why they've not revisited it for interpretation for a long time!
But that's not the emphasis of Daniel 11. The whole point is about the ongoing struggle between these two Kings through the ages - which in turn pulls in all of mankind in some way. It's not just one king picking on a tiny group of religious people, yet that's how the JWs exclusively frame the whole KotN discussion these days. Of more Biblical significance if you're going to analyse the actions of the KotN is how he interacts in his "struggle" with the KotS, as brought out in Daniel 11:40-45, and how he eventually "goes off into destruction" towards the end. Will that be at the hands of the KotS? Or by God before Armageddon (by dissolving the nation(s) involved, perhaps)? Or at the hand of Christ and his armies at the end, as seems indicated/paralleled by Revelation 17:12-14? That's what the GB should be watching.
Your point about the KotS also acting against Christianity is certainly true. The whole point is that BOTH Kings are opposed to God and Christ. Both labels originally represented opposing nations either side of God's people Israel. Both kings want to rule for themselves and are guilty of blasphemy, wickedness and the slaughter of godly people throughout their history.
One thing you have to say is that, as it stands today, the interpretation of the KotN as the UK/USA and the KotS as Russia still seems spot on, as those two powers are once again locked in political combat (and occasionally military confrontation by proxy too). From the point of view of someone who is interested in following religion and politics in the world, it's also been fascinating to see how the Russian Orthodox Church has now turned itself into a mouthpiece for Putin, clearly blaspheming against God - blessing the war and telling the Russian people it is their "Christian duty" to kill Ukrainians and die for the cause, for example.
https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/osw-commentary/2024-04-12/a-holy-war-russian-orthodox-church-blesses-war-against-westThe only weak point is that one might make a case for the KotS being just the USA or perhaps the EU and USA, not the UK and USA, as the UK itself is a much reduced player since the days of the British Empire. However, in terms of "inheritance" and the passage of history, the USA is the "offspring" of the British Empire (which in turn was the major offspring of the Roman Empire), and the UK, while much weaker militarily than at its peak, still carries much power diplomatically and culturally through its historic impact on other nations, the global use of the English language, etc. Additionally, the EU, although united in name, has never truly been unified in purpose especially when put under pressure (as can be see by the splits over how to deal with Putin), and despite the Eurozone being a large economic market, the EU itself is unlikely to ultimately ever be a significant single world power bloc politically and militarily.
The other possibility of change to what the JWs state is that it is possible the KotN proves to be not only Russia but others who may take its side before the end. But again, the JW org did anticipate that by using statements like "Note why we can say that today the king of the north is Russia and its allies." (from a May 2020 study WT on the KotN). At present, only North Korea looks like doing that though, as even China is uneasy with Putin and the way he is acting in the region, but there are some other countries who have at least tacitly indicated sympathy to Russia, if only as a resistance to what they see as Western hegemony.
The full development of this end struggle between the two Kings has yet to play out, but I can see nothing majorly wrong with the JW interpretation except that they - as they often do - overestimate their own importance and relevance in the big picture. There was a point at the fall of the Soviet Union where it looked like that was over - the reason why the GB of the time wavered about who the KotN was, presumably - but from the occupation of Crimea in 2014, and certainly since the direct attack on the whole of Ukraine since 2022, it seems the Cold War is blowing hot once again!
TLDR: 1) the JWs have not flip-flopped or shown confusion about who they believe the KotN to be in recent years, and 2) the account in Daniel between the two Kings is of significance because it is an ongoing struggle between two major powers (or power blocs) which has hugely influenced the direction of nations through history and is still doing so.
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raymond frantz
Thanks @Journeyman at your detailed analysis, I agree that Russia is the KoTN today my issue is that in the end he won't prove to be the biggest player on persecuting Christians in the same way other previous empires did in the past like Romans,Babylonians or Egyptians the ultimate final prayer is the Antichrist and neither the KoTN or KoTS as I will prove soon with another video based on Daniel chapter 11. Thanks again for your insightful analysis
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Anony Mous
How is Russia today (a far stretch from the Soviet Union and a puppet of China) the KoTN today? They have technologically speaking no advantage to even a small country like Ukraine.
They have a large amount of people to send into the meat grinder (2M active duty military and 2M+ reservists) but the bulk of their battle tanks are now about 50 years old - those were the same tanks Iraq used in Desert Storm in the 90s, a single US troop disabled in 23 minutes about 120 tanks and other armor - in another event a single tank on patrol took out about 12 before they were even in range. The US had ALL of their losses (~20-30 tanks/armor/artillery destroyed or disabled) through friendly fire and other mishaps rather than the enemy (0 total hits, 7000+ losses).
If you were to pit armies against each other today - well, there are plenty of people that have theorized about that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zshbkU42nWY&ab_channel=TheInfographicsShow
There is no KoTN, Reagan killed them.
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Vidqun
IMO the big picture is still developing: A unipolar grouping vs. multipolar grouping give you a bipolar world. And that is exactly what is happening. Anglo-America and allies vs. Sino-Russia and followers are diametrically opposed to each other. While the United States as hedgemon is diminishing, the King of the North "shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt." According to the prophecy, the Cushites (black nations) and Libyans (Arabic nations) become footstep followers of the King of the North, which is happening right now (Dan. 11:43 ESV). Precious things [commodities] of Egypt, i.e., the world will come under control of the King of the North. Sure looks that way.
Anony mous, just a reminder. Ukraine is a proxy war waged by NATO. None of NATO's wonder weapons have made a difference. I think the Russians are doing quite well, having so far taken over approximately 20% of Ukraine (and counting). But of course, if you follow the war through MSM, then: "Ukraine is winning!" And as Lindsey Graham used to say: "Let's fight the Russians to the last Ukrainian. It's a bargain!" And now there's the Oreshnik. Seems like nobody wants to take it on.