Hello everyone,
I'm sure that pages and pages have been written on this subject, that is also
one of the favorite of the WTBS Inc. Recent event beg the question, which
is the title of this topic of mine.
But before I begin some gems coming from the ' greatest publishing Society on earth', allow me to offer a reminder, concerning : " the writers f the publications of the Watch Tower Society?". The reminder posted below, was published more than 44 years ago:
*** w59 10/1 607-8 Questions from Readers ***
Who are the writers of the publications of the Watch Tower Society, and what are their educational qualifications??M.D., U.S.A.
The literature published by the Watch Tower Society is published in the name of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Regardless of who may write certain articles, they are checked carefully by members of the governing body before they are published; so they are properly viewed as coming from the Society.
Our publishing work is not done to glorify any men or to give them a name of prominence before this world, depending upon the name of men in order to induce a study of God?s Word with the aid of the Watch Tower Society?s publications. We avoid all kinds of creature worship and anything that would stimulate to creature worship. In harmony with this endeavor the Society does not identify the writers of the various books, booklets, magazines, or articles that it publishes.
They prefer to remain anonymous, not because of their educational background but in order that the students of the literature may concentrate on the truths and the facts presented instead of upon the identity of the writer and being influenced by who he is. They prefer that the Society and not the individual contributor to its publications should be the thing to recommend the Watch Tower publications to all readers and that the attention of readers should be directed to the organization that is being used by Jehovah God as his instrument rather than to any individual.?Matt. 24:45-47.
So we let the literature speak for itself. The scholarliness of it, the logical presentation of the Scriptures that it sets forth and its faithful adherence to the Bible are the things that should impress the reader and that should convince him that this is the Bible truth.
Worldly scholarship is not the thing to be required. It was not the thing required in the production of the Christian Greek Scriptures from Matthew to Revelation. The writers of those twenty-seven Bible books were obscure men according to worldly standards. Peter and John were ordinary fishermen, Matthew a tax collector, Mark a resident of Jerusalem of no scholastic fame, James was a half-brother of Jesus who was a carpenter in the city of Nazareth. Only the apostle Paul lays claim to some education. And yet in Philippians the third chapter he says that all the worldly advantages that he had he considered as mere refuse in comparison with the knowledge of Jesus Christ that he gained after he became a follower of the Savior.
The Bible shows that it was possession of the holy spirit that was the important factor in the writing of the books of the Bible and that it moved men of faith to record God?s Word. (2 Pet. 1:21; Acts 28:25) It is also possession of that spirit that is necessary to understand the Scriptures. ?Now we received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that have been kindly given us by God. These things we also speak, not with words taught by human wisdom, but with those taught by the spirit, as we combine spiritual matters with spiritual words. But a physical man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are examined spiritually.? (1 Cor. 2:12-14)
Thus it is that the world, with its wisdom, has not come to know God and understand his purposes, because it does not have the wisdom that comes from above.
With these things in mind, we encourage all who seek the Bible truth to see the prime necessity of the possession of the holy spirit on the part of those who are responsible for the material that goes into the publications of our Society.
The evidence of the holy spirit in the quality and content of the writings published by the Watch Tower Society should be the thing that satisfies, that convinces, together with a comparison of these things with the inspired Word of God, the Holy Scriptures."
The reasoning and the claims are there but ?Let's see then if they , throughout their history, have lived up to the above claim and I've chosen some statement/declaration/prediction etc. concerning a well known subject:
"ARMAGEDDON"
*1 From the booklet " Universal War Near" written by
J.F. Rutherford in the year 1934, pages 26-27
"Universal war is absolutely certain to come and that soon, and no power can stop it.... During the few remaining months until the breaking of that universal cataclysm the powers that rule the nations of the earth will continue to make treaties..."
*2 From the book "Children" written by by J.F. Rutherford,
in the year 1941, page 366
"Armageddon is surely near. ... Our hope is that within a few years our marriage may be consummated and, by the Lord's grace, we shall have sweet children that will be an honor to the Lord. We can well defer our marriage until lasting peace comes to the earth. "
*3 From 'The Watchtower' September 15th, 1941, page 288
"Cartons of Children that had been deposited in The Arena were now opened,.... Receiving the gift, the marching children clasped it to them, not a toy or plaything for idle pleasure, but the Lord's provided instrument for most effective work in the remaining months before Armageddon."
Let's skip a few years and arrive in the year 1955, when it was published the book:
*4 Jehovah?s Witnesses The New World Society? written by
Marley Cole - (1955 Vantage Press Inc. New York - Libray of Congress Catalog Card Number 54-12633)
Chapter one, page 3, deals with the JW's Convention:
?? Sunday , July 26 th , 1953 ?the Yankee Stadium, in the
Bronx, New York. ?, now the description of the event on
page 5 , The New World Society Assembles :
? Thunderous hand clapping filled the stadium. Mr. Knorr, whois president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, international directive agency of Jehovah?s witnesses, waited while an attendant adjusted his microphone. He looked out toward asmany of the 165,829 people as he could from the stage.
He commenced to speak , and his words were carried simultaneously to another invisible audience over the Witnesses? own 5,000watt
radio station WBBR.? Other wires transmitted his message to tape-recording technicians, who recorded it for replaying on a mass scale to no tellling how many more people associated with the 14,000 congregations of Jehovah?s witnesses scattered among 150 countries, in the day and the years to come.
?Armageddon,? Knorr was saying ? is no mere stormy conflict between two political parties within a nation??
Wrapping all the world and its nations up together as Armageddon?s target, Knorr ?s voice warned dramatically . ? Armageddon is what the sacred Scriptures of divine prophecy call it, ? the war of the great day of God the Almighty.? the war in which the Creator of heaven and earth will face all his foes and will fight as he did in the days of old. God the Almighty foresaw thenecessity for that war in due time and he foretold its coming. That war is unavoidable."
His audience sensed his approaching climax. " The facts of modern history prove we are in ' the day of God the
Almighty' and his war is very near ."
Again a resounding peal of hand clapping filled the air. No shouting, no hooting, no whistling, but a vibrant sensitive response to evry word. And every pointed to Armageddon as ringing down the curtain on this present living generation".
(end of quote of page 5)
Let's now arrive in the year 2003, and more precisely in the month of
December:
*5 From 'The Watchtower ' December 15th, 2003 page 15 §§6-8
Our Watchfulness Takes On Greater Urgency
Warned of ?Things Not Yet Beheld?
6 In Noah?s day, Jehovah declared: ?My spirit shall not act toward man indefinitely in that he is also flesh. Accordingly his days shall amount to a hundred and twenty years.? (Genesis 6:3) The issuance of this divine decree in 2490 B.C.E. marked the beginning of the end for that ungodly world. Just think what that meant for those then living! Only 120 years more and Jehovah would bring ?the deluge of waters upon the earth to bring to ruin all flesh in which the force of life is active from under the heavens.? - Genesis 6:17
7 Noah received the warning of the upcoming catastrophe decades in advance, and he wisely used the time to prepare for survival. ?
After being given divine warning of things not yet beheld.? Says the apostle Paul, ?[Noah] showed godly fear and constructed an ark for the salvation of his household.? (Hebrews 11:7) What about us? Some 90 years have passed since the last days of this system of things began in 1914. We are certainly in ?the time of the end. ? (Daniel 12:4)
How should we respond to warnings we have been given? ?He that does the will of God remains forever,? states the Bible. (1 John 2:17) Now is therefore the time to do Jehovah?s will with a keen sense of urgency.
9 Jehovah has kept these warnings in front of his people by means of timely reminders through the spiritual food provided by ?the faithful and discrete slave.? ?
21Although the Flood seems remote from our day, it clearly provides a warning that we must not ignore?. »
Yet within a month or two of distance from the above article, the WTBS Inc.
publishes the following:
*6 From the booklet ? Examining the Scriptures Daily?,published by the WTBS Inc. , for the year 2004, page 5, par.2
?Earlier, Jesus stated: ? Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of then heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.?(Matt. 24:36) So it does no good to speculate on either the ?day? or the ?hour? of the arrival of the Son of man.
Rather , we need to give attention to ourselves to make sure that when the Son of man does arrive, we are found living up to what we claim to be ? his disciples and fellow witnesses-not being embarrassed or shamed. ? Rev. 16:15 .?
In conclusion, the WTBS Inc. has a serious problem of memory recollection?of its own publications such as the quote below?and naturallywith all the serious implications for those who :
" ?.
*6 from the w56 2/1 88 Cautious as Serpents Among Wolves
45 We dare not lie against God?s Word, adding to it or taking away from it, reading into it what it does not say and denying, passing over or explaining away what it does truthfully say.
?Every word of God is tried: . . . Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.? (Prov. 30:5, 6, AS)
We may not tell untruths in his name, for that puts God in the light of a liar. ?Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.? (Rom. 3:4, NW)
In Jeremiah?s day the false prophets prophesied lies in Jehovah?s name and lied against his purpose, foretelling in his name what he had not foretold.
Therefore Jehovah was against them. He executed judgment against them at Jerusalem?s destruction in 607 B.C. (Jer. 23:25; 27:15)
Religious liars like them today cannot escape a like judgment but will meet a like end at Armageddon."
That's all for now!
Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp