Does the WTS's past matter?

by M.J. 58 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

Qcmbr

Can you imagine if Moses and Joshua had used the same tack - Oh yea we were wrong about those ten commandments - there were only two so I made a few up just in case. Sorry about the forty years in the wilderness - it was meant to be 4 but I got my dates wrong. When we said destroy every living soul of the Ammonites it was never meant to be by killing them - there are some very over zealous Israelites out there. etc..etc.. If I was a dub I'd use a new light arguement to do whatever I wanted - i.e. 'Bro Dave didn't you know christmas was apostate?!! - Yea Bro Overseer Man but I just had new light that actually Pastor Russel was right, yo ho ho'
wanderlustguy

The past always matters, you have to know where you were to judge your progress in anything, the WTS is no different. From examining it we clearly see a pattern of mistakes and false predictions, as well as a lack of accountability. They do not even acknowledge their mistakes.
There is no such thing as "NEW LIGHT".
stillajwexelder

No their past does not matter - but when they cover up and lie about - then it matters
It is a bit like Bill Clinton - did it matter that he had sex with Monica Lewinsky - no , not really. What did matter is that he lied about it to the American People
mnb77

False Prophecies of the Jehovah's Witnesses
The Witnesses make many claims in their attempt to convert you to their faith. They profess to have the only true Christian church, to be the only true representatives of God, to have the only correct biblical teaching, and to be the only true announcers of Jehovah's coming kingdom.
If they are the only true church and are the only true voice of God's word, then what they say should prove to be true, especially in prophecy. When it comes to predicting the future, the Watchtower organization fails miserably. Following are some of the false predictions made over the years by the Watchtower organization. If you present these to a JW, he will probably say something like, "Those are taken out of context," or "They didn't claim to be the prophet of God," or "The light is getting brighter and we are understanding Bible prophecy better now," etc. Make a copy of these false prophecies, found in the appendix, and give it to them to check. They are right out of the Witnesses' literature.
Remember Deut. 18:22, "If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him." If someone makes a false prophecy, and they have claimed to be a prophet of God, then they are false prophets and are not to be listened to.
Do the Witnesses claim to be the prophet of God? Yes, they do.
In 1972 the Jehovah's Witness Watchtower claimed to be the prophet of God.
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 this 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, 4/1/72, p. 197. (See Deut. 18:21)
1897 "Our Lord, the appointed King, is now present, since October 1874," Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 4, page 621.

1899 "...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 rulership, is already commenced." The Time Is at Hand, page 101 (1908 edition).
1916 "The Bible chronology herein presented shows that the six great 1000 year days beginning with Adam are ended, and that the great 7th Day, the 1000 years of Christ's Reign, began in 1873." The Time Is at Hand, page ii, (forward).
1918 "Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old, particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews 11, to the condition of human perfection." Millions Now Living Will Never Die, page 89.
1922 "The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures than 1914." The Watchtower 9/1/22, page 262.
1923 "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, page 106 4/1/23.
1925 "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 be. 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, 1/1/25, page. 3.
1925 "It is to be expected that Satan will try to inject into the minds of the consecrated, the thought that 1925 should see an end to the work." The Watchtower, Sept, 1925 page 262.
1926 "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, page 232.
1931 "There was a measure of disappointment on the part of Jehovah's faithful ones on earth concerning the years 1917, 1918, and 1925, which disappointment lasted for a time...and they also learned to quit fixing dates." Vindication, page 338.
1941 "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." The Watchtower, 9/15/41, page 288.
1968 "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 God's truths and evidence that he was using and guiding them." Awake, 10/8/68.
1968 "Why are you looking forward to 1975?" The Watchtower, 8/15/68, page 494.

april 2005 - the latest has to do with the april publication of watchtower where they made a comment how some living to day may not die.
A JW might say that the organization is still learning. If that is so, then how can they trust what they are taught now by the Watchtower? Will what they are being taught now change also?
A true prophet of God won't err in prophesying. Only a false prophet does. The Jehovah's Witness organization, that claims to be a prophet of God, is really a false prophet. Jesus warned us by saying, "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect -- if that were possible" (Matt. 24:24).
check out carm.org and their JW connections great info. there
Brummie

Does the WTS's past matter?

Only when they want it too. For instance, they keep refering back to the very old literature to show how they knew certain things before everyone else did. They also refer back to "Russel" "Rutherford" etc to show how God directed those presidents. Yet they will tell you the past "doesnt matter" when you go to check out if there was evidence of Jah directing those presidents, and find that there wasnt.
If old literature is irrelevant since it is now "past", why do they use the Bible?
Brummie
coffee_black

The history (or record) of any organization either establishes their credibility or disproves it. The Watchtower makes the claim to be the only channel of communication with God on earth. Any group can make such a claim...just saying it doesn't make it so. So, the evidence lies with the record....does it prove or disprove their claim? They have an enormous amount of written material by which to measure their credibility.
Say I applied for a job for an electrical design engineer. I present my resume and list my degrees... Let's say a Phd in engineering from MIT. Let's say I listed an impressive work history....say 15 years with Stone & Webster. Lets say I list many personal and professional references. Now, does my history matter? Of course it does! Especially when I tell you that it's bogus...and you wouldn't want me to design anything to do with electicity. My history is a record on which you can measure my qualifications. Checking the list of credentials will establish that I am not an electrical design engineer.
It is the same with the organization. They can't escape the written record. People check out the credentials of employees, Drs, Lawyers and others that have impact on their lives....but they don't check the credentials of an organization that controls their lives. When they do...as we did, they find out the record does not support their claim.
Coffee
battman

Yes, the past is extremely important. Once I found the internet and could finally do some real research I was stunned by the magnitue of their errors. It was mainly their own past that set me free and to think I only went to the web to find a suitable sister. ROTFLMAO.
All you guys have written some wonderful relpies with lots of insight and logical thinking.
My only additional comment would be their revisionist history. This is about the most disgraceful, lowest academic trick, and most dangerous there is.
Besides "I didn't inhale". ya right
Battman
DesirousOfChange

marked for watchtower errors list

Doc
Phizzy

Some really great posts on this thread, a number of times I have had the "those old things from years ago do not matter" argument thrown at me. Now if ever it is again, I will have some succinct and telling answers to it.

I will also add something to merely saying to a JW "You should investigate your Org's history", because they do not see any reason to do so, I will use the illustration from a post that says a prospective employee's history matters, it is his history that qualifies him, the same with the GB and the WT, only their history, true history, qualifies them to claim to be God's channell and the true religion. Or it dis-qualifies them.

The WTS's past history really does matter.
Rattigan350

I used to say No.

But considering how much the apostle Paul looked at Israel's past and how that sets a precedent, then the WTS past is the same.

Does the WTS's past matter?

Share this