The following is from Keep on the Watch! currently studied by Jehovah’s Witnesses in their Book Study meeting. Questions at the end of each section are supplied by Our Kingdom Ministry (April 2005) as part of this arrangement. My comments in red.
Week of June 6
Page 20-21
PAYING ATTENTION SAVED THEIR LIVES
JESUS CHRIST gave advance warning of the end of the Jewish system of things that was centered at the temple in Jerusalem. He did not give a date when it would occur. But he described events that would lead up to that destruction. He urged his disciples to keep on the watch and to get out of the danger zone.
Jesus foretold: "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies, then know that the desolating of her has drawn near." He also said: "When you catch sight of the disgusting thing that causes desolation . . . standing in a holy place, . . . then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains."
Jesus urged his disciples not to go back to save material possessions. Flight was urgent if their lives were to be saved. -Luke 21:20,21; Matthew 24:15,16.
In order to put down prolonged revolt, Cestius Gallus led Roman forces against Jerusalem in 66 C.E. He even entered the city and laid siege to the temple. Turmoil engulfed the city. Those who kept on the watch could see that disaster was imminent. But was flight possible? Unexpectedly, Cestius Gallus withdrew his troops. Jewish insurgents pursued them. Now was the time to flee from Jerusalem and all Judea!
The next year, Roman troops returned under Vespasian and his son Titus. The whole country was engulfed in war. Early in 70 C.E., the Romans built around Jerusalem a fortification of pointed stakes. All escape was blocked off. (Luke 19:43, 44) Factions within the city slaughtered one another. The remainder of the people were either killed by the Romans or taken into captivity. The city and its temple were completely destroyed. According to first-century Jewish historian Josephus, more than a million Jews suffered and died. That temple has never been rebuilt.
If the Christians had still been in Jerusalem in 70 C.E., they would have been killed or enslaved along with everyone else there. However, ancient historians report that the Christians had heeded divine warning and fled from both Jerusalem and all Judea to the mountains east of the Jordan River. Some settled in Pella, in the province of Perea. They had abandoned Judea and had not returned. Paying heed to Jesus' warning had saved their lives.
Blurb on Page 20: Paying attention to the warning saved the lives of many when Mount Pinatubo spewed out volcanic ash
Blurb on page 21: The lives of Christians who heeded Jesus' warning were spared when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 C.E.
Okay, first we see the WTS lay down a historical basis for what is to follow. No argument here, but watch next to see how this is extruded into internal logic.
Do You Take Seriously Warnings From Reputable Sources?
After hearing about numerous warnings that have not materialized, many people treat all warnings lightly. However, heeding warnings may save your life.
What is being referenced here, the boy who called wolf? Or is the WTS admitting that the rank & file have become passé over all the failed predictions the organization has promulgated? Notice that the subheading mentions “Reputable Sources”. Can the WTS really claim they are based on their track record?
In China in 1975, warnings were given that an earthquake would strike. Officials took action. The people responded. Many thousands of lives were saved.
In April 1991 in the Philippines, villagers on the slopes of Mount Pinatubo reported that steam and ash were spouting from the mountain. After monitoring the situation for two months, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned of imminent danger. Promptly tens of thousands of people were evacuated from the area. Early on June 15, with a mighty explosion, more than two cubic miles of pulverized material was hurled toward the heavens and then settled over the countryside. Paying attention saved thousands of lives.
The Bible warns of the end of the present system of things. We now live in the last days. As the end nears, are you keeping on the watch? Are you taking action so as to stay out of the danger zone? With a sense of urgency, are you warning others to do the same?
This brochure is so JW-lite. There is not even a bother to quote scripture here. The question that often comes up is, is this material for the newly interested person or the long-time JW?
If its for the newbie, then serious consideration to scriptural proof should be given before asking the person, “are you warning others to do the same?”
But if it’s for the long-time JW (which it is IMO) the entire content is telling. The format of this material shows that 1) the average JW is asleep at the wheel of their beliefs and 2) no proof is needed, only reminders. An occasional prod to keep the wound tender.
Pages 20-1 Questions:
What warning about fleeing did Jesus give to his first-century followers? (Luke 21:20, 21)
When was such flight possible?
Why was it urgent to flee without delay? (Matt. 24:16-18, 21)
Why do many people ignore warnings?
How did thousands of people in China and the Philippines benefit from heeding reliable warnings?
Why is it even more urgent to heed the Bible's warning about the end of the present system of things?
In view of this great urgency, we have what responsibility? (Prov. 24:11, 12)
And so we see the aim of this “urgency”, simply to recruit. I’m curious, in the Philippines and China, did the authorities encourage the citizens to remain and tell others? I think not. They got the hell out of there, that was the point of the warning.
So the logic is IF Jesus foretold Jerusalem’s destruction and people survived, and IF natural disasters occur and people escape because they heed warnings THEN Jesus also foretold the end in our day and you must recruit. Hmmm…
Page 22-23
“THEY TOOK NO NOTE”
LIGHTLY brushing aside warnings can result in disaster.
Darwin, Australia, was in the midst of preparations for holiday festivities in 1974 when sirens warned of an approaching cyclone. But Darwin had not been damaged by a cyclone in some 30 years. Why now? Most of the residents did not view the danger as truly serious until savage winds began to rip off roofs and peel away walls of the houses in which people huddled. By the next morning, the city was a desolate waste.
In Colombia in November 1985, a volcano erupted. Melting snow and ice unleashed a mudflow that entombed more than 20,000 of the inhabitants of the town of Armero. Was there no advance warning? The mountain had trembled for months. However, accustomed to living alongside a volcano, most people in Armero were unconcerned. Officials received warning that disaster would soon strike, but they did little to warn the public. Radio announcements were made in an effort to reassure the populace. The public-address system at the church was used to urge people to remain calm. During the evening, there were two spectacular explosions. Would you have abandoned your possessions and fled? Few people made any effort to do so until it was too late.
Often geologists predict with considerable accuracy where earthquakes will occur. But they can seldom predict exactly when they will strike. In 1999, earthquakes around the world claimed some 20,000 lives. Many of those who died had thought that it would never happen to them.
So now we have examples of people who failed warnings, stated fact. This is always the first step of logical fallacy--to start with commonly accepted facts. But watch out from there.
And can anyone tell me the relevance of mentioning the death toll for earthquakes? The paragraph says that “often geologists predict with considerable accuracy where earthquakes will occur.” Where yes, but not when. Most of these deaths come from third world countries with no standard of building for earthquakes. Even San Fransicso and LA have never been able to predict the time of an earthquake. Can you blame these victims by saying “they took no note”?
How Do You React to Warnings That Come From God Himself?
The Bible vividly described long in advance the events that mark the last days. In connection with that, it urges us to consider "the days of Noah." "In those days before the flood," people were busy with the customary activities of life, though they were no doubt concerned about the prevalence of violence. As for the warning that God gave through his servant Noah, "they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away." (Matthew 24:37-39) Would you have heeded the warning? Do you do so now?
WARNING: Premise in the question. Does the WTS warning about the end comes from God or man?? If it does come from God, then why so many failed predictions?
What if you had lived in Sodom, near the Dead Sea, in the days of the man Lot, a nephew of Abraham? The countryside was like a paradise. The city was prosperous. The people were carefree. In the days of Lot, "they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building." The society in which they lived was also grossly immoral. Would you have taken to heart the warning when Lot spoke out against bad practices? Would you have listened when he told you that God had determined to bring the city of Sodom to ruin? Or would you have treated it as a joke, as did Lot's prospective sons-in-law? Might you possibly have begun to flee but then turned back, as did Lot's wife? Though others did not take the warning seriously, on the day that Lot came out of Sodom, "it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all." -Luke 17:28, 29.
Time for a state of the JW nation address. Everyone is getting married, as soon as possible. The WTS no longer warns against marriage even though we are “deep in the end” of this system. Lots of young JW couples are having kids. You should see the assemblies at lunchtime, nothing but 2-10 year-olds (since 1995?) running on the lawn while dads cradle their new infants and mommy grows another one. JWs are taking no note!
Why would you have kids if you believed the end was so near?
Does the WTS discourage this baby boom? Oh no, there is a youth-related article in every magazine, and a new Learn From the Great Teacher book. Youths are the focus of the organization right now. If teenagers stopped getting baptized there would be no growth in North America and Europe.
The majority in our day take no note. But these examples have been preserved in God's Word as a warning to us, to encourage us to KEEP ON THE WATCH!
And now for the proof. Why print this crap?
Box on Page 22: Was There Really a Global Flood?
Many critics say No. But the Bible says Yes. Brilliant.
Jesus Christ himself spoke of it, and he was alive when it occurred, viewing it from the heavens. Maybe he can tell me why there are no koalas and kangaroos anywhere but Australia.
Box on page 23: Were Sodom and Gomorrah Actually Destroyed?
Archaeology testifies to this event. References?
Secular history makes mention of it. References?
Jesus Christ verified the event, and what occurred is referred to in 14 separate books of the Bible. So it must be true!! What classic interior logic!
Pages 22-3 Questions:
In Australia in 1974 and in Colombia in 1985, why did many lightly brush aside warnings of disaster, and with what results? How do you think you would have reacted to these warnings, and why? What may indicate whether we would have heeded the warning in Noah's day? Why did people want to live in and around ancient Sodom? How can we benefit by thinking seriously about what happened in Sodom?