Hello everyone,
As some of the older
posters will remember me, will know that I’been absent from the board for a
long time. I was sick for a long time and now I’m slowly recovering.
I’ve been reading the posts for the last few days now and I do like them, as in the past.
I would like to share
with you an e-mail that I sent to a friend who was challenging me to prove a
mistake or wrong statement in the rather
recent Society’s publication.
I took advantage of a
post written here (!) to prepare the
email.
Here below what I’ve
sent the other evening
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Dear Jonathan,
Following your challenge, I would like to show you briefly
what I did tell you personally concerning the
incorrect/false
claims made by the Society’ Governing Body.
The subject is
Scrutinizing the teaching of Jesus Christ
presence year 1874 vs year 1914
QUOTE:
·
*** g84 8/22 p. 28
From Our Readers ***
You all loved it, didn’t you? You couldn’t
resist taking a shot at the Catholic Church, could you? I will never forgive
the way you mercilessly tore down the Pope. If Jehovah’s Witnesses must refer
to cheap shots in attempting to bring down other religions, they’re in more
trouble than the Catholics.
M. C., Florida
We surely were not trying to
take cheap shots at the pope or
the Catholic Church, nor were we criticizing
Catholics. The Catholic Church occupies a very significant
position in the world and claims to be the way of salvation for hundreds
of millions of people.Any organization that assumes
that position should be willing to
submit to scrutiny and criticism. All who criticize
have the obligation to be truthful in
presenting the facts and fair and objective
in assessing such. In both respects we
try to live up to that obligation’ED.
End
of Quote _
With
the above premise, allow me to give you an
example based on a recent Society’s publication:
Quote :
11 Upon recognizing that Christ’s presence began in 1914, Jesus’ followers rightly
prepared for a possible early arrival of the end.
They did so by intensifying their Kingdom-preaching work. Jesus indicated that
he might come later—“at dawn or early in the morning.” If that happened, how
were his followers to respond? He said: “Keep on the watch.” So a long wait would not justify mentally
postponing the end or totally dismissing their expectations.
From The Watchtower August 15th , 2015 pag 16.
par 11
Study article schheduled for Sunday , October 11th
2015
·
·
Q. When did the Society’s Governing Body recognize that the presence began in the year 1914? The facts
The answer is
provided by a Society’s publication
published 42 years ago , a book
called .
“God’s
Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached”
*** ka *(1973 edition)
Let’s see on page 208
par.55:
*** ka
chap. 11 pp. 209-210 par. 55 “Here Is the Bridegroom!” ***
55 In the year 1943 the Watch Tower
Bible and Tract Society published the book “The Truth Shall Make You Free.”
In its chapter 11, entitled “The Count of Time,” it did away with the insertion of 100 years
into the period of the Judges and went according to the oldest and most
authentic reading of Acts 13:20, and accepted the spelled-out numbers of the
Hebrew Scriptures.
This moved forward the end of six thousand years of
man’s existence into the decade of the 1970’s. Naturally this did
away with the year 1874 C.E. as the date
of return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the
beginning of his invisible presence or parousia.
The millennium that was to be marked by the detaining of Satan the Devil
enchained in the abyss and by the reign of the 144,000 joint heirs with Christ
in heavenly glory was therefore yet in the future.
What, then, about the parousia (presence) of Christ?
Page 324 of the above book positively says:
“The King’s presence or parousia began in 1914 .”
Also, in the Watchtower issue of July 15, 1949
(page 215, paragraph 22), the statement is made:
“ . . . Messiah, the Son of man, came
into Kingdom power A.D. 1914 and . . . this constitutes his
second coming and the beginning of his second parousía or presence.”
Q. 55. (a) When and how was the insertion of 100
years into the period of the Judges done away with, so that 6,000 years of
man’s existence ended when?
(b) How did this affect the date 1874 C.E.,
and what question arose?
and
56 In the year 1950, there was
published the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures,
with the most authentic reading of Acts 13:20, and translating pa·rou·siʹa
every time as “presence.”
Immediately afterward appeared the book “This
Means Everlasting Life.” Its chapter 21 was entitled “Second Presence of
Life’s Chief Agent.”
Here was a whole chapter on the subject according to
the straight Bible timetable. On pages 220-222, we read:
The evidence already considered proves that A.D. 1914
God’s kingdom was born and his Son was enthroned with authority to rule with an
iron rod amid his foes. Eventually he will dash them to pieces and rid the
universe of all fighters against God’s rightful sovereignty.—Psalm 2:8, 9.
So A.D. 1914 marks the time of Christ’s invisible return
in spirit. . . . His coming into the Kingdom in 1914 marks the
beginning of his second presence or pa·rou·siʹa. This Greek word means presence.
. . . Although invisible in spirit, his second
presence is of such importance to people over all the earth that it must not be
kept secret, and it will not be. . . . “For just as the lightning
comes out of eastern parts and shines over to western parts, so the presence [pa·rou·siʹa]
of the Son of man will be.”—Matthew 24:26, 27, NW.
Since 1914 the present Christ has been making the
evidences of his second presence or pa·rou·siʹa manifest and
understandable to men everywhere.
57 How
harmonious with the inspired Scriptures it is, then, that Christ did not begin
reigning forty
years before the end of the Gentile Times in 1914!
Rather, he waited till then at his heavenly Father’s
right hand to begin ruling in the midst of his earthly enemies, whom Jehovah
places as a stool for his feet! (Psalm 110:1, 2; Hebrews 10:12, 13) Rightly,
then, his royal presence or parousia began in that year. In the year 1919, as
history proves, he caused the midnight cry to sound on earth and roused the
sleeping “virgins” to the urgency of the situation. “Here is the bridegroom! Be
on your way out to meet him.” That cry assured them of the heavenly
Bridegroom’s presence. The “discreet” virgin class has since been on its way
out to meet him. They are seen shining as luminaries in this benighted world.
This in itself is an evidence that the promised presence of Christ is upon us.
It is also an evidence that God’s kingdom by Christ of a thousand years has
approached!
58 Fulfillment of the parable of the
“ten virgins” is not all there is to the “sign” of the approach of that blessed
millennial kingdom. We cannot, therefore, stop with this parable, but must go
on to consider other features of that wondrous “sign.”
End of Quote
In conclusion it is very clear that the Society’s Governing Body admitted that it was not until the year 1943 that the Presence/Parousia from the year 1914 was adopted and taught as a the official teaching.
In other word since the year 1879 (1st issue of the Zion’s Watch Tower)
until 1943, the Society taught something biblically incorrect/false!
Think about it….for 64 long years!
Always ready to help you, receive my sincere greetings
Your friend
James C. MacHislopp
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°end of the email °°°°°°°°°°
I do hope that I’ve not upset nor bored anyone ..with the above material.
Greetings to all,
JC MacHislopp
P.S. For ayone interested complete research on the year 1874 vs the year 1914
see
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/60475/1874-v-1914-date-change-masterpiece-forgery-deception
Part One
and
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/60653/1874-v-1914-date-change-masterpiece-part-two
and
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/60836/1874-v-1914-date-change-masterpiece-part-three
