Many people may have noticed that the Watch Tower Society exhibits
Dr. Robert J. Lifton's Eight Criteria for Thought Reform
which are often considered to be the criteria for defining a cult.
my question is, why do so many think the watchtower bible tract society is a cult?
.
Many people may have noticed that the Watch Tower Society exhibits
which are often considered to be the criteria for defining a cult.
"with everything that is going on in this world it really is wonderful to be spiritually awake!
the world is groping for answers to solve their problems.
jehovah is revealing to us what is about to happen.
Every time I hear "deliverance is near" I remember:
Other "timely reminders" can be found in earlier Watchtower Magazines:
APRIL 1, 1997. (p.11) The increasingly difficult conditions on earth are striking evidence that a vast change—indeed, a grand deliverance—is near at hand! For whom? Deliverance is nearing for those who pay attention to the warning signals and who take appropriate action.
MAY 1, 1993. (p.26) While we eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us show zeal in telling others about God’s loving Kingdom promises. Deliverance is at hand!
OCTOBER 1, 1982. (p.28) This requires a true Christian today to be a person of strong faith in the Almighty God and his promises to the faithful ones. The “deliverance” that is now at hand for persons of such faith is not initially the heavenly glorification of the remnant of the spirit-begotten disciples of Christ and their being taken away from the earthly scene of tribulation, although that is in store for them finally. Rather, the “deliverance” is the putting of a stop to the wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes and the rabid persecution of the true followers of the reigning King, Jesus Christ, this by the destruction of all enemies of Jehovah’s kingdom by Christ in the “war of the great day of God the Almighty” at what is called Har-Magedon.
APRIL 15, 1972. (p.233) Mankind desperately needs a Liberator from these ruinous demonic heavens. Jehovah God has raised up the needed Deliverer! Jehovah’s marked time for the desired deliverance is at hand!
MARCH 15, 1967. (p.168) True Christians can rejoice because God’s kingdom is near and deliverance from this wicked system of things is at hand.
JULY 1, 1959. (p.388) Despite the woes that have come upon our generation, those who walk in the light from God can be happy. Deliverance is at hand.
OCTOBER 15, 1954. (p.624) Instead of sobbing about the present anguish of nations and praying for its abatement, true Christians see that these turbulent times, indeed such calamities as famines, earthquakes and wars, are fulfillment of Bible prophecy pertaining to the sign of the “last days,” hence they rejoice, as Jesus said they should. (Luke 21:28) They rejoice because they know deliverance to a new world is at hand, that this present evil world must end in that “great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again,” namely, the war of Armageddon.
OCTOBER 15, 1949. (p.307) Deliverance and release have come! Jehovah’s witnesses can testify to that. So on with the song in a continual crescendo, that more and more people may hear the message which tells of the fuller and complete deliverance and release so near at hand for all men of good-will!
OCTOBER 1, 1941. (p.303) These see it is their privilege now to be his witnesses, and to declare his name and his glory in the earth. As his witnesses these faithful ones the great Jehovah God bids to go and tell the glad news to the sorrowing world, and to advise mankind that Jehovah is God, that Christ Jesus is the King of kings, and that the day of deliverance is at hand.
JANUARY 1, 1940. (p.10) For some time many of God’s people have said, and say: "Oh that the salvation of Israel [spiritual Israel] were come out of Zion !" (Ps. 14: 7) Let all such who have hope and who look for salvation now rejoice because the day of deliverance is at hand. By faith we now see the climax of Armageddon and, like David, continue to say: "But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation."--Ps. 13:5.
DECEMBER 1, 1939. (p.363) Jehovah is the King of Eternity. He has enthroned Christ Jesus, his King of the Theocratic Government. Jehovah has appeared in his glory, and the day of deliverance is at hand for all those who flee to the Theocratic Government and give their allegiance and unselfish devotion to the Theocracy.
JULY 1, 1936. (p.195,196) Let Jehovah’s witnesses now be strong in faith and bold in the warfare, knowing for a certainty that the day of deliverance is at hand.
SEPTEMBER 15, 1930. (p.281) God has now given his people an understanding of The Revelation which he gave to Jesus Christ to show unto his servants. The publication of the two books called Light, giving the explanation of The Revelation, will greatly anger the Devil and all who have not the spirit of Christ. We may therefore ex- pect the opposition to the kingdom to quickly become stronger than ever. It will be of short duration, however, because the day of deliverance is at hand. The remnant is now giving honor to Jehovah’s name by faithfully serving him. ‘
AUGUST 15, 1926. (p.248) To this end the Lord is now sending forth a worldwide proclamation that the time of DELIVERANCE is at hand.
JANUARY 1, 1921. (p.13) Behold, the evidence daily increases that the old world has ended! The kingdom of heaven is here! Let the saints look up and lift up their heads. Let them sing aloud for joy because the day of deliverance is at hand.
AUGUST 1, 1918. (p. R6300) In the clear light of unfolding time-prophecy, we see that we are now living at the very end of the reign of sin and death; that the night of sorrow, pain and tears is almost over; that the glorification of the 1ast members of the Christ body is very soon to be completed. Yes, beloved, "the night is far spent" [about ended] and the glorious day of deliverance and blessing is at hand. Even now the first faint streaks of dawn appear. Then let us cast away every encumberance, everything that would hinder us in the slightest degree in running successfully our glorious race. Let us press on with renewed vigor, looking neither to the right nor to the left, but keeping our eyes "fixed on the glory of the prize," and soon, please God, the victory shall be ours!
JUNE 1, 1910. (p. R4627) Thank God for the great Deliverer; thank God also, for his great day of deliverance, the Millennial age, now nigh at hand!
MAY 1, 1907 (p. R3990) The Lord assures us, too, that he knows all about these matters and is very sympathetic, far more so than we, and he is both able and willing to grant the deliverance needed at the appropriate time. What confidence it gives us now when we look back and behold that Spiritual Israel has been preserved through all these centuries! that notwithstanding the fiery affliction and adversity that burned against them, they have not been consumed! How it comforts and cheers us now to hear the Lord's voice telling us of the deliverance that is just at hand, and sending by us his messages of love and power to all those who have and are to hear, and who are desirous of having liberty from the power of the world, the flesh and the Adversary.
NOVEMBER 1892. (p. R1464) It is therefore his will rather that we should suffer injustice than that we should spend our strength in fruitless efforts to interrupt the present order of things. And so the kingdom of heaven suffers violence now, but such will not always be the case; for the time of her deliverance is at hand.
DECEMBER, 1881. (p. R302) Let us, dearly beloved, see to it, that we not only bury ourselves and our wills in Christ's, but also keep our bodies under--dying daily until fully delivered into the blessed kingdom --which deliverance we believe to be so very nigh at hand.
SEPTEMBER, 1880. (p. R134) Let us, dearly beloved, live up to our covenant, and not only bury ourselves and our wills in Christ's, but also keep our bodies under--dying daily until fully delivered into the blessed kingdom--which deliverance we believe to be so very nigh at hand.
one thing is absolutely certain, bible chronology reinforced with fulfilled bible prophecy shows that six thousand years of mans existence will soon be up, yes, within this generation!
(matt.
24:34) this is, therefore, no time to be indifferent and complacent.
***w67 7/15p.427 FestivalsofPraisetoJehovah***
5 It is good to know that this weekly sabbath of the Jews is only “a shadow of the good things to come.” The Bible indicates that Jehovah created the heavens and the earth in six days, each 7,000 years in length. On the seventh day Jehovah rested from his creative work and entered into his sabbath. Mankind, however did not keep peaceful rest or sabbath with Jehovah, but through disobedience came into bondage to sin, imperfection and death. Almost six thousand years of the seventh day have passed and there is only a little more than a thousand years left. Jesus, speaking of the weekly sabbath day, said: “The sabbath came into existence for the sake of man, and not man for the sake of the sabbath.” So these last thousand years are set aside by Jehovah for a special purpose foreshadowed by the weekly sabbath of the Jews, namely, for the reign of Christ Jesus, his Son, for Jesus went on to say: “Hence the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath.” (Mark 2:27, 28) It is a thousand-year sabbath within Jehovah’s great 7,000-year sabbath of rest. Like the weekly sabbath, the greater thousand-year sabbath will be devoted to the worship of Jehovah, and to the education of all the living, including those resurrected from the memorial tombs, in the righteous requirements of Jehovah.-Heb. 10:1; Gen. 2:1-3; John 5:28, 29.
***w67 7/15 pp.446-447TheRemovalofMankind’sChiefDisturber***
According to the Bible timetable, man’s history on earth has been nearly 6,000 years. Adam was created in 4026 B.C.E., which means that six thousand years of human history end about the fall of 1975 C.E. We are in the great 7,000-year rest day of God, starting at the time he rested after the creation of Adam and Eve. There are, therefore, a thousand years left to run. Without Satan and his demons to disturb mankind it will indeed be a restful time. It will be like a sabbath. In a way it will be a sabbath within a sabbath. The last thousand years of God’s great seven-thousand-year rest is a special sabbath over which the Son of man will be Lord.-Matt. 12:8.
***w69 5/15 p.312HaveYouBeenStudyingforSixMonths?***
In view of the short time left in which to do their work, Jehovah’s witnesses do not continue to study the Bible with any who fail to respond to its urgent message within six months. The nearness of this system’s end compels them to use their time in the most effective way possible.
***w69 10/15 p.623par.42TheApproachingPeaceofaThousandYears***
42 In order for the Lord Jesus Christ to be “Lord even of the sabbath day,” his thousand-year reign would have to be the seventh in a series of thousand-year periods or millenniums. (Matt. 12:8, AV) Thus it would be a sabbatic reign. Since early in the existence of mankind Satan the Devil has been on the loose, making the human family to toil in hard bondage, causing the earth to be filled with violence before the global flood of Noah’s day and inducing the same old earth to be filled with even greater violence today. Soon now six millenniums of his wicked exploiting of mankind as his slaves will end, within the lifetime of the generation that has witnessed world events since the close of the Gentile Times in 1914 till now, according to the prophetic words of Jesus in Matthew 24:34. Would not, then, the end of six millenniums of mankind’s laborious enslavement under Satan the Devil be the fitting time for Jehovah God to usher in a Sabbath millennium for all his human creatures? Yes, indeed! And his King Jesus Christ will be Lord of that Sabbath.
this weeks km disscusses the topic of why jehovah's witnesses are not false prophets.. on page 136 and 137 of the reasoning book, it asks and answers the following question:.
have not jehovahs witnesses made errors in their teachings?.
jehovahs witnesses do not claim to be inspired prophets.
Matters on which corrections of viewpoint have been needed have been relatively minor when compared with the vital Bible truths that they have discerned and publicized.
But, of course, if you disagree with any of the false teachings (no matter how "minor") while they are still current, you can be disfellowshipped -- with supposedly eternal repercussions. The Watch Tower Society claims that this is a matter of life and death.
"Minor"?
again, i apologize to any who think i may be going overboard posting these letters, but i am hoping that i can help prepare others for the type of bombardment that they may face when dealing with mentally diseased witness parents who have no idea just how much control this cult has over them:.
august 19, 2013. dear <my name removed> & <my wifes name removed>, .
i had the privilege of attending the convention this weekend for a second time and i must say that i enjoyed it more than the first.
….For human apostates 1 John 2:19 shows that apostates come from among us. Usually they take a stand against the organization because they have been counseled about something. As a result, they pridefully resent the counsel, become bitter and jealous and in the end, reject the counsel. They reject Jehovah’s service, field ministry and don’t try to make disciples, rather they try to draw away disciples of Jesus. As a result the scriptures tell us toavoid them. Romans 16:17,18 “Now I exhort YOU, brothers, to keep your eye on those who cause divisions and occasions for stumbling contrary to the teaching that YOU have learned, and avoid them
1 John 2:21b states: "[N]o lie originates with the truth." I rejected the Watch Tower Society because I became acquainted with their earlier teachings -- and couldn't reconcile those earlier teachings with the claims (i.e. lies) they made about their history.
this is the exchange of text messages i had with my super spiritual brother.
it is sad... it is pathetic... it has helped me realize that i have no connection to these people anymore.
i feel free today.
He and his wife gave up pioneering. They are working toward the circuit work AGAIN...
I am confused. How could your brother be "working toward the circuit work again" when he knows he is not exemplary?
What I mean is that your brother has, after all, "disowned the faith and is worse than a person without faith." (1 Tim. 5:8 NWT)
i realize some witnesses will say how wonderful it is that the governing body has put into print how their understanding has changed over the years.. the sheep and goats, the faithful and discreet slave, the evil slave class, etc.
are all viewed differently then originally understood.. the sad thing is that if you questioned any current understanding, as explained through the watchtower, or if you disagreed with it, you would be disfellowshipped!.
even if their understanding was totally in error, if anyone ever pointed it out, they were out!.
I am most fascinated by the fact that the Governing Body is willing to acknowledge (tacitly) the fact that they have been reviling the Associated Bible Students ("Russellites") as the "Evil Slave Class" for decades... (Cf. 1 Cor. 5:11; 6:9,10)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yldwe_6jsu.
.
cedars.
“No one should be forced to worship in a way that he finds unacceptable or be made to choose between his beliefs and his family.” ( July 2009 Awake! p29)
i am fairly new to learning the truth with jehovah's witnesses.
we have been having 2 home bible studies a week for over 4 months now and we started going to the kingdom hall 3+ months now.
i am enjoying my studies and the brothers and sisters are wonderful .
Welcome!
You will really get an education here.
If not, I would suggest you read the following book:
in the 18th century a book appeared:.
a faithful narrative of the surprising work of god (1737), jonathan edwards.
this book detailed elements of the so-called great awakening.. what was the great awakening?:.
If Truth is factual wouldn't it be MORE light rather than NEW light?
If we were following a man undoubtedly it would be different with us; undoubtedly one human idea would contradict another and that which was light one or two or six years ago would be regarded as darkness now: But with God there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, and so it is with truth; any knowledge or light coming from God must be like its author. A new view of truth never can contradict a former truth. "New light" never extinguishes older "light," but adds to it. If you were lighting up a building containing seven gas jets you would not extinguish one every time you lighted another, but would add one light to another and they would be in harmony and thus give increase of light: So is it with the light of truth; the true increase is by adding to, not by substituting one for another.
(Zion's Watch Tower February 1881 WTR p. 188)