When did WT recently change the Insight on the Scriptures -- that 31 year old Bible encyclopedia?

by FatFreek 2005 12 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  FatFreek 2005

  I would like to pinpoint when Watchtower made a dramatic backward editorial change in their 31 year old Insight on the Scriptures, their flagship Bible encyclopedia.

  Below, number 1 quotes the Insight book as it appeared in the original release back in June 1988.
  

  1. “This is also illustrated by what happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and their inhabitants. Jude indicated that these cities were everlastingly destroyed. (Jude 7; compare 2Pe 2:6.) However, Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew 10:15 show that at least some of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah will receive a resurrection.” Insight on the Scriptures (Jun 17, 1988), V1, p 616, Source WT Lib 2013 [version 15.0 Build 4577]
  

  Below, number 2 quotes the Insight book as it appears today -- well, as of a few months ago when I downloaded their WT Library from JW dot org.
  

  2. "Thus, being consigned to Gehenna refers to utter destruction from which no resurrection is possible.—See GEHENNA.
  

  “Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them . . . are placed before us as a warning example by undergoing the judicial punishment of everlasting fire.” (Jude 7) That punishment evidently applies not merely to the physical cities but to their inhabitants as well, because it was the people themselves who committed the gross sins that led to their annihilation." Insight on the Scriptures, [Source WT Library 2017 [Version 19.0 Build 7630] V1, p 617

  Number 1 is from my WT Lib 2013.
  

  They apparently made the editorial change (from Sodomites being resurrected to Sodomites not being resurrected) between those two library releases.
  

  I don't have WT Libs between those two.
  

  If any of you have a tween Lib, please check to see if yours matches either of the above.
  

  If different than the 2013 Lib, please paste the source information by clicking "Help" then "About Watchtower Library". It should look something like the following image:
  

  
  
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  blondie

  https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/resurrection.php
  

  Sodom and Gomorrah (also other comments on who will be resurrected

  The Watchtower has constantly changed its stance on whether those des)ed at Sodom and Gomorrah will receive a resurrection or not. This is because two Scriptures present different viewpoints as to the severity of Sodom's destruction. Jude speaks of punishment of everlastingfire, whereas Matthew says those in Sodom would not fare as badly as others will.

  Jude 1:7 So too Sod′om and Go‧mor′rah and the cities about them, after they in the same manner as the foregoing ones had committed fornication excessively and gone out after flesh for unnatural use, are placed before [us] as a [warning] example by undergoing the judicial punishment of everlasting fire.

  Matthew 10:15 Truly I say to ​YOU, It will be more endurable for the land of Sod′om and Go‧mor′rah on Judgment Day than for that city.

  Over its history, Watchtower leaders keep reaching different conclusions as to which Scripture should receive the greater emphasis. This removes any confidence that Watchtower leaders have a comprehensive understanding of the Bible's true meaning, and indicates God does not direct them to their doctrinal conclusions.

  Resurrected

  "Let me give you an illustration that will be forcible: The Sodomites. Surely if we find their restitution mentioned you will be satisfied. But why should they not have an opportunity to obtain eternal life as well as you or the Jew? They were not wicked in the proper sense, for they did not have law or much knowledge. True, they were not righteous, but neither were you when God gave you your opportunity. Christ's own words shall tell us that they are not as guilty in His sight as the Jews, who had more knowledge: "Woe unto thee Capernium, for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom it would have remained unto this day." Thus Christ's own words teach us that they had not had their full opportunity. "Remember," Christ says of the Sodomites, that "God rained down fire and destroyed them all." So, if their restoration is spoken of, it implies their resurrection." Watchtower 1879 Jul 1 p.8

  "Thus our Lord teaches that the Sodomites did not have a full opportunity; and he guarantees them such opportunity." Studies in the Scriptures, Series I p.110

  This shows us clearly that the eternal fate of the Sodomites is not sealed. When we turn to the Word of the Lord through Ezekiel the Prophet, 16:46-63, we have abundant testimony that the Sodomites will not only be awakened from the sleep of death, but when awakened will be brought to a knowledge of God and to an opportunity of obtaining everlasting life, through The Messiah, by willing obedience. Watchtower 1913 Feb 1 p.45

  "The Scriptures distinctly tell us that the Israelites and the Sodomites will be sharers in that work of restoration, restitution." Watchtower 1920 Oct 15 p.316

  Not Resurrected

  "Sodom and Gomorrah were reduced to complete desolation, from which there is no possibility of recovery; and so likewise the modern Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites shall be destroyed, and the place where they have inhabited shall be, as prophesied, "even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation." The religious-totalitarian rule and rulers,the commercial robbers and those who have defied Jehovah God and his Theocracy, shall perish for ever at the battle of Armageddon, as the prophecy declares." Watchtower 1941 p.367

  "The ancient destructions upon Noah’s contemporaries and Sodom and Gomorrah must be just as final, else how could they illustrate the one Peter was discussing?” Watchtower 1952 Jun 1 p.335

  "Similarly, Sodom did not endure its judgment day, had failed completely, and the Jews knew its fate was sealed. Their opinion of Sodom was the lowest possible. So when Jesus told them that it would be more endurable for utterly depraved Sodom than for these Jewish cities they got the powerful point. These Jewish cities had heard the warning and had seen powerful works; they had had their fair judgment trial and by their decision showed they were worthy of eternal destruction." Watchtower 1952 Jun 1 p.338

  "He was pin-pointing the utter impossibility of ransom for unbelievers or those willfully wicked, because Sodom and Gomorrah were irrevocably condemned and destroyed, beyond any possible recovery." Watchtower 1954 Feb 1 p.85

  Resurrected Again

  "As in the case of Tyre and Sidon, Jesus showed that Sodom, bad as it was, had not got to the state of being unable to repent … So the spiritual recovery of the dead people of Sodom is not hopeless" Watchtower 1965 Mar 1 p.139

  See also Watchtower 1965 Aug 1 p.479

  Not Resurrected

  "How will these, having been caught, be disposed of? Will they be preserved alive? Will they be killed and buried in Hades or Sheol, which is the common grave of dead mankind, from which resurrection is possible? No, these political organizations are slated to be “hurled into the fiery lake that burns with sulphur.” This the Bible describes as the “second death.” (Rev. 20:14) It means the death from which there is no resurrection. They will be burned up root and branch, as completely gone forever as the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which Jehovah God burned up by a rain of fire and sulphur from heaven, never to be rebuilt. It is destruction in Gehenna in which God destroys both body and soul (any right or possibility of living)." Watchtower 1967 Jul 1 p.409

  Resurrected Again

  "Moreover, God’s undeserved kindness and care are so great that he will bring back the people of Sodom by a resurrection, with opportunity to learn and turn around to the way of life, even as his Son stated." Awake 1974 Oct 8 p.20

  Not Resurrected

  "Consequently, in addition to what Jude 7 says, the Bible uses Sodom/Gomorrah and the Flood as patterns for the destructive end of the present wicked system. It is apparent, then, that those whom God executed in those past judgments experienced irreversible destruction." Watchtower 1988 Jun 1 p.31

  Some Resurrected

  “This is also illustrated by what happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and their inhabitants. Jude indicated that these cities were everlastingly destroyed. (Jude 7; compare 2Pe 2:6.) However, Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew 10:15 show that at least some of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah will receive a resurrection.” Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 1 p.616 (Released Jun 17, 1988)

  ""It will be more endurable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on Judgment Day than for that city." Sodom and Gomorrah were everlastingly destroyed as cities, but this would not preclude a resurrection for people of those cities." Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2 p.985

  Not Resurrected

  "Some adjustments will be made in future printings of the Live Forever book. The only significant change is with regard to the Sodomites, on pages 178 and 179. This change appeared in the Revelation book, page 273, and in The Watchtower of June 1, 1988, pages 30 and 31. You may wish to note it in earlier printings that you have on hand." Kingdom Ministry 1989 Dec (US Edition) p.7

  "A definite indication is found at Jude 7, where we read that "Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them … are placed before us as a warning example by undergoing the judicial punishment of everlasting fire." Yes, the destruction of the gross sinners in those cities was eternal, as will be the destruction of the wicked at the end of the present system of things." Watchtower1990 Apr 15 p.20

  "Those who are judged unworthy of a resurrection are pitched into “Gehenna,” or “the lake of fire.” (Matthew 5:22; Mark 9:47, 48; Revelation 20:14) Among these would be the first human pair, Adam and Eve, the betrayer Judas Iscariot, and certain ones who died when God executed judgment upon them, such as the people in Noah’s day and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah." Watchtower2005 Jul 15 p.31
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  Sigfrid Mallozzi

  Blondie, I love you! Thank you.
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  FatFreek 2005

  Thank you, Blondie. However, I'm sure I didn't make myself clear with my question.

  I would like to pinpoint when Watchtower made a dramatic backward editorial change in their 31 year old Insight on the Scriptures, their flagship Bible encyclopedia.

  I actually want to know WHEN they made the editorial change from my quotation 1 to the quotation 2. It apparently was between the 2013 WT Lib CD and the one I downloaded several months ago.

  Since I don't have CDs after 2013 I am pleading with ya'll for help in this matter.

  Again, I apologize for my lack of clarity in my original post.

  Len Miller
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  Biahi

  Blonde, you’re amazing!!
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  blondie

  Len, I don't have any CDs after 2015. I would check with Barbara Anderson (posts on JWN--pm?) or check online for her e-mail.

  I do remember the bouncing around but not the date it was updated. It might have been in 1988 when the Insight books were first printed, or maybe an updated version (mine is 1st edition 1988).

  Another source shows it flipping in 1988/1989 in other publications. (when did the first CD come out; wouldn't it have reflected the 1989 teaching WILL NOT?)

  *** Live Forever (1982 edition) p.179 ***
  (Men of Sodom and Gomorrah will be resurrected)
  
  *** Live Forever (1989 edition) p.179 ***
  (Men of Sodom and Gomorrah will NOT be resurrected)
  
  *** Kingdom Ministry December 1989 p.7 Announcements ***
  • Some adjustments will be made in future printings of the Live Forever book. The only significant change is with regard to the Sodomites, on pages 178 and 179. This change appeared in the Revelation book, page 273, and in The Watchtower of June 1, 1988, pages 30 and 31. You may wish to note it in earlier printings that you have on hand.
  
  Revelation -- Its Grand Climax at Hand! (1988) p.273 ***
  (Men of Sodom and Gomorrah will NOT be resurrected)
  
  Insight Volume 2 (1988) p.984 ***
  (Men of Sodom and Gomorrah will be resurrected)
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  FatFreek 2005

  Thanks blondie for the tip about Barbara being a good source I do have her email address and we'll proceed from there
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  Black Sheep

  2016 Version 18.0 Build 7038
  
  “Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them . . . are placed before us as a warning example by undergoing the judicial punishment of everlasting fire.” (Jude 7) That punishment evidently applies not merely to the physical cities but to their inhabitants as well, because it was the people themselves who committed the gross sins that led to their annihilation.
  
  
  
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  DesirousOfChange

  The resurrection or lack thereof of the inhabitants of Sodom & Gomorrah is the #1 winner of JW flip flops.

  The Holy Spirit just cannot get it straight!
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  Caminante

  The "Insight" volumes were revised twice. First of all, the electronic version was updated in 2015, then last year, the printed version was also updated, and the PDF's of the recomposed books are available on jw.org.