Corruptions of Christianity: Jehovah's Witnesses
 |
Author: Christopher J. E. Johnson Published: Mar 18, 2013 Updated: Jan 2, 2021 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Introduction to Jehovah's Witnesses
(Read "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
There is an extremely slim chance that any practicing JW would be willing to even open up this article, let alone read it, because the Watchtower Society strictly forbids JWs to read anything their organization does not pre-approve. All their reading and studying MUST come from Watchtower materials, or they run the risk of being disfellowshipped (i.e. shunned; meaning that no other JW is allowed to talk to, or interact with, a disfellowshipped person), which for most JWs, it would cut them off from their parents, children, and friends—pretty much everyone they have ever known. To the Watchtower Society, a website like this is what they call "apostate material," but if an active JW is reading this, I would like quote from their most esteemed founder, Charles Russell, from his book Studies in the Scriptures:
"We need to examine, not only what we personally believe, but also what is taught by any religious organization with which we may be associated. Are its teachings in full harmony with God's Word, or are they based on the traditions of men? If we are lovers of the truth, there is nothing to fear from such an examination. "
-Charles T. Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 2, "The Time Is At Hand," 1913, p. 242
Already, we can see a contradiction from the Watchtower, since they claim to be the only true Christian organization in the world. On the one hand, we have the founder of the Watchtower Society telling us we should examine all associated religions, and that there is nothing to fear from that investigation, but on the other hand, we have the Watchtower telling us that no examination of any outside (i.e. "apostate") materials should be viewed, let alone examined. So who is telling the truth: Is it Charles Russell or the Watchtower?
The official website of the JWs and Watchtower Society is jw.org, and they say:
"God's servants study the Bible and Christian publications. Jehovah's standards are discussed at their meetings, assemblies, and conventions. So Christians are in a position to know what Jehovah requires of them.Disfellowshipping takes place only if a member of the congregation unrepentantly engages in gross sin. "
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "Always Accept Jehovah's Discipline," Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved June 22, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/magazines/w20061115/accept-jehovahs-discipline]
The only sins they mention in their article are things like fornication and drunkenness, but they don't say a word about reading things that are not Watchtower-approved. Our website you're reading right now is a Christian publication, but JWs will be disfellowshipped if caught reading it; thus, what is a "Christian publication" is not really what they mean. In reality, they mean if you read anything that is not Watchtower-approved, they will call for disfellowship, meaning that they believe that reading any source material not produced by the Watchtower Society is a "gross sin>" (This is not something they like to make publically known.)
The Watchtower ignores the statement of its founder, calling for an open analysis of Christian publications in search for the truth, and the ordinances of the Watchtower on this matter have no Scriptural backing for its traditions; meaning that they are founded in the tradition of men, not on the Word of God.
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy [way of thinking] and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments [first teachings] of the world, and not after Christ.
-Colossians 2:8
The official JW website states:
"Jesus is 'the truth.'... And Jesus Christ is 'the life.' By means of the ransom, his giving up his perfect life and blood, he made it possible for us to gain 'the real life,' that is, 'everlasting life.'"
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "The Way, the Truth, the Life," Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved Apr 19, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/books/jesus/way-truth-life]
To the average Christian, that sounds Biblical; however, it's only what they state on the surface. In reality, JWs do not believe what Scripture teaches us, as we learn from Charles Russell:
"Nor could our Lord have been raised from the dead a man ... it was necessary, not only that the man Christ Jesus should die, butjust as necessary that the man Christ Jesus should never live again, should remain dead ,"
-Charles T. Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, International Bible Students Association, Vol. 3, 1916, p. 454, [University of California]
The Bible tells us that if Christ remained dead, and was not raised, then all faith would be in vain, none of us could be saved. If anyone believes and teaches that Christ remained dead, which is what JWs believe and teach, then the Bible says they are FALSE WITNESSES:
Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
-1 Corinthians 15:12-18
"Now if it is being preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how is it that some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If, indeed, there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised up. Butif Christ has not been raised up, our preaching is certainly in vain, and your faith is also in vain. Moreover, we are also found to be false witnesses of God , because we have given witness against God by saying that he raised up the Christ, whom he did not raise up if the dead are really not to be raised up. For if the dead are not to be raised up, neither has Christ been raised up. Further,if Christ has not been raised up, your faith is useless; you remain in your sins. Then also those who have fallen asleep in death in union with Christ have perished ."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "The First to the Corinthians 15:1-58," New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 2013, retrieved June 23, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/books/1-corinthians/15]
So they claim to believe on one hand that Jesus is the "everlasting life," but on the other hand, they believe he's everlasting dead. (We'll cover the Scripture on that in a later chapter.) This is just a taste of the many major contradictions (i.e. lies) that the Watchtower teaches, but just from this one alone, we can see that the foundation of JWs and the Watchtower Society is not laid in Scripture. The JW foundation is laid on men who were proven to be a false prophets time and time again, and who openly denied the Lord Jesus Christ. (We'll also cover that in later chapters.)
I would like readers to consider that people do not become Jehovah's Witnesses by simply reading the Bible, or in other words, they must be converted by another Jehovah's Witness. JWs don't typically go door-to-door in areas where there are no Christians, but rather, they wait until Christians have established a church, then JWs come in like a leech and set up in that area, sucking the blood out of what has already been built by those who are born again in Christ. The bottom line is that many JWs who knock on doors are completely unaware that they are being used to draw people away from the truth, and they are exploited for the express purpose of expanding the Watchtower industry.
I want to also mention that I have, over the years, received numerous emails from people who enjoyed our teachings on things like Christmas, birthdays, and the pagan symbols used by mainstream churchianity, but when they read our foundational doctrines, like those concerning God in three persons, the Sabbath, and many other basic doctrines of Christ, their language was very hostile towards me. It took me years to finally figure out (via the research I did for this teaching) that the majority of those emails are coming from Adventists, who like our ministry for sanctification from paganism and witchcraft (which is very uncommon among those calling themselves "Christians"), but get angry when I will not back them up on their doctrine. Later in this teaching, we'll find out that
Although I have never been a Jehovah's Witness and had to suffer through their endless meetings and duties, and I cannot fully empathize with the grief, confusion, and stress of being brainwashed and drawn out of a cult like the Watchtower, I somewhat understand what a JW goes through because of other things I've personally experienced that can relate. All I can say is this: The facts don't care about how burdened we are, but Jesus Christ does, and I would encourage JWs to put their faith in Christ and His Word alone, rather than a man-made organization.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
-Matthew 11:28-30
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
-Matthew 7:18
The Origin of Jehovah's Witnesses
| The story of Jehovah's Witnesses begins in the early 19th century with a man named William Miller, who was most famous for starting a religious cult called the "Adventists," or "Second Adventists." ('Advent' means "Christ's coming.") In 1833, Miller publically preached his belief that Christ would return in 1844, and that the people should get ready. In that day, Miller's followers were called "Millerites" or followers of "Millerism." His teaching was based on assumptions made about the prophecies of Daniel: |  |
"Taking '2,300 evenings and mornings' of Daniel 8:14 to mean 2,300 years,[Miller] concluded that Christ would return sometime between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844 . Miller [formerly a farmer in New York] began to spend all his time lecturing. An Adventist periodical called The Signs of the Times promoted his teachings.But March 21, 1844 came and went without Christ's return. A few weeks later, however, a follower of Miller named Samuel Snow restored the hopes of the Millerites by suggesting that the real date of Christ's return would be October 22, 1844. A new fervency appeared.A number of Adventists gave up their jobs in the 'last days' and spent their time attending church meetings ... When October 22 passed, the Adventists' hopes were again crushed.This came to be known as the Great Disappointment of 1844 ."
-Kenneth Boa, Cults, World Religions and the Occult, David C Cook, 1990, p. 117, ISBN: 9780896938236
It's called the "Great Disappointment" because many people believed Miller, and expected to be raptured out of the earth in 1844. Many people put off having children, sold their homes, refused to plant crops, etc.
 |
Although the grief of the Great Disappointment faded over time, the fire of end-times occultism had been started, and it split into many small fires. (e.g. Seventh-Day Adventists, Advent Christian Church, etc. We'll cover more on those in a later chapter.) About thirty years later, a former Millerite named Nelson Barbour published a document that stated his prediction that Christ would return in 1873, but when 1873 passed and nothing happened, he pushed his prediction up one year to 1874. |
(Read "Why I Use the King James Bible" here at creationliberty.com for more details on the corrupt manuscripts new-age bible versions use.)
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the
-Matthew 24:27
"As for the lightning comes out from east, and shines to west, so shall be also thepresence of the son of man."
-Benjamin Wilson, The Emphatic Diaglott, Fowler & Wells, 1864, Mat 24:27, p. 102-103, [Princeton University]
Thus, Barbour (through use of a new-age corrupt version) began to preach that Jesus was "present," but still in his spirit form, so he was hidden from the eyes of men. There is nowhere in Scripture where this concept is taught, but the false doctrines taught by that generation of cultists were passed on to the next generation.
|
Charles Taze Russell was born in 1852 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was raised as a Presbyterian, and grew up working in (and managing) his father's clothing store, while attending various denominational church buildings every week. At age 16, he declared he had problems with the doctrines of Scripture, and he began to doubt God and the Bible, so he left the churches to study various other religions until one day he heard a Second Adventist (i.e. Millerite) preacher named Jonas Wendell. (See Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1959, p. 14, [University of Wisconsin - Madison]) |
 |
Although Russell didn't agree with everything he heard, Wendell's preaching had a profound influence on his life, and so Russell decided to follow some Second Adventists to do some study. Some of the men who mentored Russell were Second Adventist minister George Stetson, and George Storrs, a former Millerite and publisher of The Bible Examiner magazine.
(See James M. Penton, Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses, Third Edition, University of Toronto Press, 2015, p. 16, ISBN: 9781442616059)
At age 18, Russell began to meet with a small group of friends on a regular basis to study the Bible, and over time, this group began to refer to Russell as "pastor." A few years later in 1876, Russell read a copy of The Herald of the Morning, that was written by Nelson Barbour, who still taught that there was an Incognito Jesus walking the earth, which was generally rejected by the public, but Russell found it quite interesting, and so he decided to meet with Barbour to discuss the details.
 |
After Russell and Barbour's meeting, Russell became the financial pillar behind the failing Herald of the Morning, and his name was added to the list of assistant editors on the front page. Russell provided cash contributions, and in return, he got to publish his own articles inside. This was where Russell's Bible study groups and the Adventist cult following formed a publication alliance that would eventually grow into a wealthy religious empire. (Click image for larger view.) |
Barbour predicted that the 1874 Incognito Jesus would rapture all Christians to heaven in the early part of 1878, and again, nothing happened. After this, Barbour reanalyzed a number of doctrines he had taught to make some changes, but Russell didn't like all the changes, so he left the Herald of the Morning Adventist magazine and started up his own magazine in 1879 called Zion's Watch Tower.
Slowly, the Adventist cult formed a sect called "The Russellites," and even though Barbour and Russell had a falling out, the cult followers still knew that Russell believed in the general principles of Adventism. Not only did he begin selling his own publication, but Russell also got married (to Maria Ackley) and started up many church study groups across most of the north eastern states. In summary, Russell learned the basics of Adventism through the Millerite followers, then learned the habit of making false prediction claims through Nelson Barbour, and then went on to create his own denomination; namely distinguishing himself by rejecting the doctrine of God in three persons.
(Read "Is The Trinity a Biblical Doctrine?" here at creationliberty.com for more details. The term 'trinity' is a pagan concept, but 'God in Three Persons', meaning that God is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is a core Bible doctrine.)
Zion's Watch Tower and Tract Society became a legal corporation by 1884, and their literature was being produced and spread out at a rapid rate. Two years later, Russell published The Divine Plan of the Ages in which he predicted the end of the world in 1914, but he did NOT base it on Scripture in any sense; rather the entire prediction was made up by measuring the dimensions of the Great Pyramid of Giza. (See image below; click for larger view.)
Men like Russell who study and theorize about the Great Pyramid of Giza (known commonly as one of the Seven Wonders of the World) are typically called "pyramidologists," or rather, it's referred to as "pyramidism." Pyramidologists are typically associated with "pseudoscience," or in other words, it's based on speculation rather than hard facts, which is why you may find many books and websites refer to Russell as a "pyramidist."
Russell wrote in his book:
"This measure is 1542 inches, and indicates the year B.C. 1542, as the date at that point. Then measuring down the 'Entrance Passage' from that point, to find the distance to the entrance of the 'Pit,' representing the great trouble and destruction with which this age is to close, when evil will be overthrown from power, we find it to be 3457 inches, symbolizing 3457 years from the above date, B.C. 1542. Thusthe Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1914 will be the beginning of the time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation--no, nor ever shall be afterward ...Nor should any doubt the fact that the forty years of 'harvest' began in the fall of 1874 ... the 'harvest' period since that date has been one of great advancement in knowledge."
-Charles T. Russell, The Divine Plan of the Ages and the Corroborative Testimony of the Great Pyramid in Egypt, God's Stone Witness and Prophet, International Bible Students Association, 1886, p. 42, [Harvard University]
This actually doesn't make much sense because it relies only on America's unique system of measurement. The rest of the world uses a different metric system than we do, which is why you'll see speedometers in many cars feature both MPH (Miles Per Hour) and KPH (Kilometers Per Hour), because Americans use odd systems of measurement apart from the rest of the world (i.e. everyone else uses kilometers). For example, the famouse (or rather, infamous) McDonald's hamburger, called "The Quarter-Pounder," would not make sense in other countries because of the metric system; so countries like Portugal, Belgium, and France advertise it as "Hamburger Royale," "McRoyal," etc. The fact that Russell judged the measurements based on inches instead of centimeters is based purely on his own biased opinion and nothing more. (i.e. The numbers would not have added up the way he wanted them to if he used centimeters, feet, millimeters, yards, etc.)
In a later edition, before the turn of the 20th century, Russell added the following prediction about the rapture of Christians in 1910. Some of these documents are hard to find because the Watchtower has made great efforts to remove certain volumes and editions from their history so JW members won't learn the truth:
"[B]utthis date, 1910, indicated by the [Great] Pyramid , seems to harmonize well with the dates furnished by the Bible. It is butfour years before the full close of the time of trouble which ends the Gentile times ; and when we remember the Lord's words--that the overcomers shall be accounted worthy to escape the severest of the trouble coming upon the world [i.e. it should be no surprise that he also believed false prophecy of secret pre-tribulation rapture]we may well accept as correct the testimony of the Great Pyramid, that the last members of the 'body' or 'bride' of Christ will have been tested and accepted and will have passed beyond the vail before the close of A.D. 1910. "
-Charles T. Russell, quoted by Edmond C. Gruss, Jehovah's Witnesses: Their Claims, Doctrinal Changes, and Prophetic Speculation : what Does the Record Show? Xulon Press, 2001, p. 47, ISBN: 9781931232302; See also Charles T. Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1908, p. 363-364, [Columbia University]
The words I put in bold were removed and rewritten by the Watchtower Society in 1925. They did not want their members to learn the truth, hiding from them Russell's instructions to "well accept" the dates of the false prophecy he gave, and in fact, I went to jw.org and typed the word "pyramid" into their archive search to see what I could find, and it brought back six results, but none of them had anything to do with the Great Pyramid of Giza or Russell's prophecies. (i.e. The Watchtower has been careful to prevent any information about it from appearing on their website.)
(See 'pyramid', Jehovah's Witnesses, "Search JW.ORG," retrieved Apr 14, 2017, [jw.org/en/search/?l=en&q=pyramid&fpd%5B%5D=any&sortBy=rel])
Once 1914 came and went, the once faithful Russellites became skeptical, which is why by 1928, the pyramidology that was claimed to be God's revelation to mankind was officially rejected by the organization and swept under the rug in embarrassment. Today, many Jehovah's Witnesses remain blissfully unaware that their religious leader, who paved the way for their cult, had roots in pyramidism.
(See Ronald H. Fritze, Egyptomania: A History of Fascination, Obsession and Fantasy, Reaktion Books, 2016, p. 270, ISBN: 9781780236858)
Getting back to the timeline, in 1896, Zion's Watch Tower and Tract Society was renamed Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, which would later be shortened to The Watchtower. By 1906, Russell went through the transformation that every cult leader seems to go through; he told his readers that he was the word of God on earth for men:
"No,the truths I present, as God's mouthpiece , were not revealed in visions or dreams, nor by God's audible voice, nor all at once, but gradually, especially since 1870, and particularly since 1880. Neither is this clear unfolding of truth due to any human ingenuity or acuteness of perception, but to the simple fact that God's due time has come; andif I did not speak , and no other agent could be found,the very stones would cry out ."
-Charles T. Russell, quoted by Henry T. Besse, Church History, Holzapfel Publishing Company, 1908, p. 257, [New York Public Library]
Russell's comment is referring to Luke 19:
And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
-Luke 19:40
When 1914 came, the Russellites prepared for the end of the world. Some JWs today believe that Russell never said these things (because their cultic elders hide the truth from them), but in his book, Russell stated very clearly in his preface to these predictions:
"In this chapterwe present the Bible evidence proving that the full end of the times of the Gentiles , i. e., the full end of their lease of dominion, will be reached inA. D. 1914; and that that date will be the farthest limit of the rule of imperfect men ."
-Charles T. Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, London, 1911, p. 76-77, [Harvard University]
To clarify this quote, Russell said that mankind would no longer rule over the world, which would mean the downfall of all governments. During 1914, the Russellites picked up some momentum because, unbeknownst to Russell, that year would be the start of World War I. Many farmers at that time refused to plant crops in the spring because they believed the end of the world was imminent. As the world entered into war, it gave a temporary illusion of Armageddon to the faithful cultists, but when the year rolled over to 1915, it was as if the Great Disappointment of 1844 was now the Great Disappointment of 1914.
Russell tried to keep his cult followers from leaving by pushing the date back one year to 1915 (a trick he learned from William Miller and Nelson Barbour). As we already know, 1915 came, and 1915 went. Sadly, without repentance, Russell was finally judged by God for his sinful offenses, and died during a train ride home the following year on Oct 31, 1916 at age 64, ending up in hell and the lake of fire without Christ.
| Russell had left instructions that his position was to be replaced by someone else, but the authority over the corporate Watch Tower and Bible Tract Society was to be shared with a board of directors and with the editorial committee. Russell's Vice President, Joseph Rutherford, a judge, lawyer, and Russell's legal advisor, found a loophole in the contracts which allowed him to legally supersede the board of directors without a vote, and so he took over the company by force. |  |
This would obviously create blowback from the board members, because they all thought they had controlling interesting in the company. Of course, they would have shard it, if either Rutherford had been an honest man, or if there would not have been a loophole in the contracts, which raises a curious question: If Rutherford was Russell's legal advisor, could it have been Rutherford who created the loophole in the first place with this plan in mind? (Food for thought.)
To settle the matter, Rutherford called a meeting of the board and told his subordinates:
"If they get too obstreperous [noisy and difficult to control] and indicate they want to start action against the Society, call a policeman... if it becomes necessary, don't hesitate. "
-A.H. Macmillan, Faith On The March, p. 78-80, retrieved Apr 13, 2017, [http://bit.ly/2ovNiwl]; Macmillan was a faithful follower of the Watchtower, bring baptized into Russell's cult in 1900, serving Russell and Rutherford until his death in 1966.
The meeting was held, and needless to say, the board was not happy. The arguments started to get heated, but since Rutherford's scheme gave him complete control, he decided to make it a more public matter because the result of police involvement would look good in a Watchtower report to faithful readers.
 |
A police officer removed the men from the building, and Rutherford took complete control over the Watch Tower and Bible Tract Society, however, this war over the cult started to backfire when the U.S. Department of Justice put out a warrant for the arrest of Rutherford and seven other Watch Tower directors under the 1917 Espionage Act, which prohibited any interference with military recruitment or operations during active wartime. The Watchtower's cultic teaching encouraged members to refuse the draft, and convince active military to break their oaths and leave their duty of service, since joining the military is considered a "fellowshiping offense." |
This is not to argue that being arrested automatically means he did something wrong, or in other words, I'm not approaching this from a fallacious standpoint because even the disciples of Christ were innocent, but arrested and thrown in jail anyway. However, when Rutherford and the rest of his cult society are defying the government on unbiblical grounds (i.e. by hindering the military, which there is no Biblical precedent for such a thing under the specific circumstances; however, they held fast to these rules because they believed it was the end of days), then they are simply rebels who are faithful to deceptive teachings, and so the government warrants were justified in this case.
|
Jehovah's Witnesses are supposed to be pacifists, which means they believe that all war or violence is unjustifiable, and therefore they do nothing, even to defend their own home from intruders. They also claim to have nothing to do with politics, as they state on their official website: " -Jehovah's Witnesses, "Why Do Jehovah's Witnesses Maintain Political Neutrality?" Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved June 28, 2017, [jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/political-neutrality] Notice that the title to their article claims that they "maintain political neutrality." That's interesting because the Watchtower has joined forces with the United Nations (UN): "The -The Guardian, "Jehovah's Witnesses link to UN queried: Sect accused of hypocrisy over association with organisation it has demonised," Oct 9, 2001, retrieved June 28, 2017, [theguardian.com/uk/2001/oct/08/religion.world] The Jehovah's Witnesses officially became a non-governmental organization (NGO) back in 1992, and the U.K. news article points out that the Watchtower has condemned the UN AFTER they received their NGO status. The reporter was not exaggerating the position of the Jehovah's Witnesses concerning the UN, as we can see from their official website: " -Jehovah's Witnesses, "What Is the Scarlet-Colored Beast of Revelation Chapter 17?" Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved June 28, 2017, [jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/scarlet-beast-of-revelation-17] It's almost impossible to misinterpret this, but just in case someone missed it, the Watchtower teaches that the UN is Satan's organization that "dishonors God" and is "full of blasphemous names," and yet, they have yoked up with them. The only way that the Watchtower would join Satan's organization is if its leadership was not of God. This is not an issue of misinterpretation or complex deductions; the fact of the matter is the Watchtower is full of liars and hypocrites. |
In 1918, Russell's book The Finished Mystery: A Helping Hand for Bible Students was condemned by Attorney General Thomas W. Gregory as a conspiracy against the U.S. Army. This condemnation was a response to a petition to release restrictions on the book because:
"The passage of this amendment wouldreopen our camps to this poisonous influence ."
(See Thomas W. Gregory, Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the Second Session of the Sixty-Fifth Congresss of the United States of America, Vol. 56, U.S. Government Printing Office, May 4, 1918, p. 6052)
After appealing their case in court, the Watchtower directors were released on bail, but Rutherford remained. In order to be released, Rutherford made a pact with the U.S. Government that they would instruct their cult members to cut out pages 245-254 of The Finished Mystery, and that the Watch Tower would stop printing copies of the book.
After clearing up the offenses against the U.S. military, Rutherford started replacing elected elders from Watchtower churches with hand-picked staff he appointed. This transformed the Russelite cult into a strictly run corporate network in a very short time. However some of the congregations resisted these changes, which caused a split and created new sects (e.g. Dawn Bible Students [dawnbible.com], Chicago Bible Students [chicagobible.org], Laymen's Home Missionaries [now called Bible Standard Ministries--biblestandard.com], etc), and since their cult was generally known at the time as "The Bible Students," to differentiate between Rutherford's majority sect and the splinter groups, on Oct 1, 1931, Rutherford called his organization "Jehovah's Witnesses."
(See Joseph F. Rutherford, "A New Name," The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, Vol. 52, No. 19, Oct 1, 1931)
During this time, Rutherford moved away from the emphasis on members' personal improvement and understanding, and focused instead on pushing Jehovah's Witness literature. He declared that it was the duty of every JW to go door-to-door and distribute Watchtower books and tracts, and made it a requirement within the organization that still exists today. I know this will upset many Jehovah's Witnesses, but the truth is that the entire function of JWs is to be door-to-door salesmen for the Watchtower Society.
In the next few sections, we're going to cover many of the strange doctrines and beliefs upheld by Jehovah's Witnesses, but in this chapter, I wanted us to first understand and acknowledge that JW traditions and doctrines have largely been handed down from false prophets and heretics over the past 180 years, and I repeat from Charles Russell:
"We need to examine, not only what we personally believe, but also what is taught by any religious organization with which we may be associated.Are its teachings in full harmony with God's Word, or are they based on the traditions of men? If we are lovers of the truth, there is nothing to fear from such an examination. "
-Charles T. Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 2, "The Time Is At Hand," 1913, p. 242
The Bible's Jesus vs The JW's Jesus
 |
The Watchtower and Jehovah's Witness official website (jw.org) states the following:"If Jesus of the 'New Testament' is Jehovah of the 'Old Testament,' as many claim, should there not at least be one Biblical reference saying that Jesus is Jehovah? Yet -The Watchtower, Dec 15, 1984, p. 29 What JWs are essentially asking readers to do is go do a keyword search for the words "jesus" and "jehovah," and they know that their readers will not find any results, and so the conclusion they come to is that Jesus and God are not one. This is a complete fallacy of thinking, and incredibly deceptive, and we'll cover the reasons for the one-by-one as we go through this chapter. |
First of all, the name "Jesus" does not appear in the Old Testament because God didn't reveal the name to anyone until He told it to Joseph and Mary.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
-Matthew 1:21
And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.
-Luke 7:16
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
-Isaiah 9:6
Giving thanks unto the Father... Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son... For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth... all things were created by him, and for him:
-Colossians 1:12-16
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.
-John 10:29-30
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
-Revelation 1:8
And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
-Revelation 22:6-7
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
-Revelation 22:12-13
-Revelation 22:16
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
-Revelation 22:20
(See Watchtower Online Library, "Alpha and Omega," retrieved Apr 5, 2017, [wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200000208#h=5])
However, when speaking with a JW, they will insist that the authorship of the text changes when Jesus is talking, so at that point, they are confirming that the "the first and the last" is Jehovah God only. Now that JWs have confirmed that the first and the last is ONLY talking about Jehovah' God, let's go back to Revelation 1:
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
-Revelation 1:17-18
Again, for the sake of any JW that may be reading this, who may want to say that's just in the King James Bible, I'll quote the corrupt 2013 New World Translation just for you:
"And he laid his right hand on me and said: 'Do not be afraid.I am the First and the Last, and the living one, and I became dead, but look! I am living forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of the Grave."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "A Revelation to John 1:1-20," New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 2013, retrieved Apr 14, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/books/revelation/1]
It is very likely that in future versions of the NWT (I am writing this as of 2017), they will alter this text as they have done with so many others (we'll cover more on that in a later chapter). Every few years, they have to correct the so-called "perfect translation."
There is no created being that can pay the eternal debt of sin; only God can save people from their sins, and JWs believe this too. That means, for the following verse to be true, Jesus Christ has to be God.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
-Matthew 1:21
For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
-Matthew 7:29
Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
-John 5:18
I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
-John 10:30-33
"[T]he Bible teaches that Jesus was created by God. So Jesus is also called a 'Son of God.' "
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "Why Is Jesus Called God's Son?" retrieved Apr 5, 2017, [jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/jesus-gods-son]
Notice that they say "A" Son of God, but not "THE" Son of God; they are making effort continually to lower the divine status of Christ. There is no place the Bible teaches that Jesus was created by God, and again, as we read earlier in Colossians 1, the Bible specifically points out that Jesus Christ is the creator. However, because JWs believe that Christ was created, therefore, they believe that "Son of God" simply means a created being that is not God, but that is not how it is defined in Scripture.
In the verses I just quoted, the Jews recognized that the phrase "Son of God" and Emmanuel (i.e. "God with us") are the same thing, or in other words, they knew that Christ's claim to be the Son of God meant that He claimed to be God Himself who had come in the flesh. The term "son of God" can have multiple meanings, but in this context, the Jews themselves defined it as Christ's claim to be God, and so most hated Him and would not follow Him, and Jehovah's Witnesses today believe EXACTLY the same as the Pharisees believed in Christ's day. This means that JWs believe that Christ is not God, refuse to follow Him, instead choose to follow a false god they deceptively name "jesus," and go door-to-door to convince people to believe the same thing that was believed by those who crucified the Lamb of God.
Although JWs believe that Christ is not God, they do believe that He is A god, but they more view Him as a created god who is not eternal. This too is contradictory to Scripture since the Bible tells us that Christ is to be worshipped:
And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
-Hebrews 1:6
For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
-Exodus 34:14
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
-Matthew 2:11
And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
-Matthew 8:2
While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
-Matthew 9:18
Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
-Matthew 14:33
Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
-Matthew 15:25
And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
-Matthew 28:9
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
-Luke 4:8
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
-Titus 1:2
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
-Romans 1:25
I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
-Isaiah 42:8
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
-John 17:5
These are just a few of the many Scriptures that can be quoted demonstrating that Jesus Christ was, is, and always will be God. JWs will say that Christ is not God and use John 14 as their evidence:
Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
-John 14:28
The Bible tells us that Christ raised Himself from the dead, and the only way He could do that is if He is God:
Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.
-John 2:19-21
"Jesus replied to them: 'Tear down this temple, and in three daysI will raise it up .' The Jews then said: 'This temple was built in 46 years, and will you raise it up in three days?' Buthe was talking about the temple of his body ."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "According to John2:1-25," New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 2013, retrieved June 22, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/books/john/2]
Only the Almighty God could raise Christ from the dead, but Christ said He did it Himself. This is a contradiction unless you believe that the identity of Jesus Christ is God the Father, and Galatians 1 says clearly that God the Father raised Christ from the dead, so if Christ raised Himself from the dead, that means God and Christ are one:
Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
-Galatians 1:1
"The Bible states that 'Michael and his angels battled with the dragon... and its angels.' (Revelation 12:7) Thus,Michael is the Leader of an army of faithful angels. Revelation also describes Jesus as the Leader of an army of faithful angels . (Revelation 19:14-16)"
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "Who Is Michael the Archangel?" retrieved Apr 14, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/books/bible-teach/who-is-michael-the-archangel-jesus]
Let's go read Revelation 12 and 19 for ourselves:
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
-Revelation 12:7
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
-Revelation 19:14-16
What's really absurd about this is that the JWs insist that Jesus and Michael are one based on a vague, out-of-context theory on one passage in Scriputre, but they turn around and deny the many places where Jesus and God are one. "Alpha and Omega" and "the first and the last" is clearly spelled out and defined only a few verses apart from each other, but JWs will reject that Jesus and God are the same person, and yet when it comes to Michael and Jesus, they'll take giant leaps of logic that defies the context of Scripture to say they're the same person. In other words, they're willing to believe Michael and Jesus are the same person with one piece of (false) evidence, but refuse to believe God and Jesus are the same with many pieces of evidence all throughout Scripture.
I also want to point out a fallacy of assumption: Michael leading a group of angels and Jesus leading a group of angels does not automatically make them the same person. That's like saying Donald Trump, who is a U.S. President and Commander-in-Chief over the U.S. Military, is the reincarnation of Douglas MacArthur, who was a U.S. General during WWII. Or it's like saying, Trump is the U.S. President, and Mike Pence is the U.S. Vice President of the same military, therefore, Trump and Pence are the same person; that's beyond absurd to think that because they were both in charge of commanding military soldiers, they must be the same person.
The Watchtower teaches:
"There is Scriptural evidence for concluding thatMichael was the name of Jesus Christ before he left heaven and after his return."
-The Watchtower, May 15, 1969, p. 307
"Michael the great prince is none other than Jesus Christ himself. "
-The Watchtower, Dec 15, 1984, p. 29
One of the major problems with this is that Jesus Christ is given a name which is above every name:
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus... Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
-Philippians 2:5-9
In Hebrews, the Bible tells us that God has never called any angel "Son," nor has he begotten any angel:
Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
-Hebrews 1:4-5
However, for Jehovah's Witnesses, this problem gets much worse because Charles Russell's The Finished Mystery, which is still highly revered by JWs today, defines Michael as the Pope of Rome:
"[Revelation] 12:7 . And there waswar in heaven .--Between the two ecclesiastical powers, Pagan Rome and Papal Rome.Michael .--'Who as God,'the Pope .--B275; C62. And his angels.--The Bishops."
-Charlles T. Russell, The Finished Mystery, International Bible Students Association, 1918, p. 188, [Harvard University]
It's also interesting to note that Russell did not consider Catholicism to be pagan, even though it is, because he separated "Pagan Rome" from "Papal Rome." The main point, however, is that if we connect JW beliefs that the Pope is Michael, and Michael is Jesus, then JWs would have to believe that the Catholic Pope is Jesus, which would please the Catholic Church in some ways because they believe the Pope is the essence of Christ on earth. (i.e. JWs would hate me saying this because they have long preached against the Catholic Church.)
(Read "Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
JWs also teach that when Jesus Christ died, He died permanently and stayed dead. They believe that Jesus's body was hidden by God after it was sealed in the tomb, and Jesus was recreated as Michael the Archangel, but this would make Christ a liar because he told the man crucified with Him:
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
-Luke 23:43
When Mary and Mary Magdalene came to visit the sepulchre where Jesus was buried, they saw the angel sitting on the stone door rolled back from the entrance:
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
-Matthew 28:5-7
The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe... Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
-John 20:25-27
|
Thomas came to believe after seeing the evidence of the wounds with his own eyes, and feeling them with his hands. The reason Christ's body had the wounds of His crucifixion is because His body was risen from the dead. A JW could claim that God made a new spirit creature (i.e. Michael) and put wounds on his body for them to see, but that would be nothing more than deception.
As a side note, the Watchtower claims that Christ was killed on a "torture stake," not on a cross. They depict him with both his hands bound together at the wrists, held up by a single nail. However, the Bible points out that his hands have the print of the NAILS plural, not singular, which would make their depiction of Christ incorrect. (We'll go over this again in the last chapter.) |
 |
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.
-Luke 24:46-48
He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
-Acts 2:31-32
And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not... And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
-1 Corinthians 15:14-18
"SoMichael the archangel is Jesus in his prehuman existence. After his resurrection and return to heaven, Jesus resumed his service as Michael , the chief angel, 'to the glory of God the Father.'"
-Watchtower Online Library, "Our Readers Ask... Is Jesus the Archangel Michael?" retrieved Apr 18, 2017, [wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2010250#h=7]
In summary, the JW belief is that Michael was created, then God ended his existence to re-create Michael as a man called Jesus. Then when Jesus died, he re-created Michael to continue service as an angel. There is no one on the planet who would come to that conclusion by just reading Scripture alone, which means all this has come out of the creative mind of Joseph Rutherford. Don't be deceived when you hear a Jehovah's Witness say "I believe Jesus is the (a) Son of God," because they actually believe Jesus is a created angel, and they do NOT mean that Jesus Christ is God in His person like Christians do.
It's not difficult to figure out who Jesus Christ is just by reading Scripture, and one would not even become a Jehovah's Witness simply by reading the Bible (which is why JWs have to have people go door-to-door to try and convert Christians); however, for those JWs who want an excuse to believe what the Watchtower cult teaches, the contradictions against Scripture I've demonstrated here will never be enough proof for them to repent. I can only pray that what is written here might trouble a JW enough that perhaps, maybe years down the road, they will begin to consider these things and repent.
If there's one thing you should prepare yourselves for if you talk with JWs, they are trained by the Watchtower to make excuses and change the subject to try to escape from being nailed down by any Scriptural certainty. Don't allow them to change the subject; keep them on topic. The Lord Jesus Christ can save these JWs too, if they will repent (i.e. have godly sorrow and grief of wrongdoing) and believe on His saving grace alone, but there are very few who will find that narrow path.
(Read "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
-Matthew 7:14
Jehovah's Witnesses Work for Salvation
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
-Ephesians 2:4-10
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
-Romans 6:23
And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
-Romans 11:6
The Watchtower's official website says:
"To gain salvation, you mustexercise faith in Jesus anddemonstrate that faith byobeying his commands ."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "What Is Salvation?" retrieved Apr 18, 2017, [jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/what-is-salvation]
Thus, according to Jehovah's Witnesses, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God unless you do good works. In the same article, they also teach that Jesus Christ does NOT save anyone, but rather, they claim that God takes advantage of the "
(See Jehovah's Witnesses, "What Is Salvation?: Who is the Savior—God or Jesus?" retrieved Apr 18, 2017, [jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/what-is-salvation])
JWs teach that you must do good works so that one day, God will declare you to be righteous:
"The great crowd istested as to the people's integrity , their continued faithfulness. The final test will result inJehovah declaring them righteous ."
-Watchtower, Oct 15, 1985, p. 31; See also David A. Reed, Index of Watchtower Errors 1879 to 1989, Baker Books, 1990, ISBN: 9781585585878
The problem is that God has already judged mankind on this matter, and in His Word, He has already told us that NONE are righteous:
Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.
-Isaiah 41:26
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
-Romans 3:10-12
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
-Romans 3:20
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
-Romans 3:24-26
"God has arranged for the 'good news of the kingdom' to be proclaimed so thateach individual will have opportunity to work out his own salvation ."
-Watch Tower Magazine, Feb 1, 1985, p. 5; See also David A. Reed, Index of Watchtower Errors 1879 to 1989, Baker Books, 1990, ISBN: 9781585585878
There is a verse in Philippians that mentions this phrase about working out your own salvation, but the contexts are completely different:
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
-Philippians 2:12-13
JWs will commonly say they believe that one is saved by faith in Christ, but this is a deception because they actually mean that faith puts your name in the book of life, but then you have to do enough of the unknown amount of works to stay in the book, otherwise, you get kicked out:
"To get one's name written in that Book of Lifewill depend upon one's works ."
-The Watchtower, Apr 1, 1947, p. 204; See also David A. Reed, Answering Jehovah's Witnesses: Subject by Subject, Baker Books, 1996, p. 208, ISBN: 9780801053177
The Watchtower's official website also states:
"'The book of life,' also called 'the scroll of life' or 'book of remembrance,' contains the names of people in line to receive the gift of everlasting life...God determines those names based on a person's faithful obedience to him. "
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "Whose Names Are Written in 'the Book of Life'?" retrieved Apr 18, 2017, [jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/book-of-life]
The faithful JW must do good works their entire lives, or else God's "salvation" will no longer apply to them:
"Some suggest that belief in Jesus is the end of the matter... there are various things involved in getting saved. We must take in accurate knowledge of God's purposes and his way of salvation. Thenwe must exercise faith in the Chief Agent of salvation, Jesus Christ, anddo God's will the rest of our lives ."
-The Watchtower, Sept 15, 1993, p. 5-7; See also Robert M. Bowman, Jehovah's Witnesses: Issue 11 of Zondervan Guide to Cults & Religious Movements, Zondervan, 1995, p. 85, ISBN: 9780310704119
Please don't be deceived by misunderstanding what they mean by "God's will" in that statement; they actually mean the will of the Watchtower Society because they believe that the Watchtower's will is the same as God's will. They also believe that the works which must be done are those which are prescribed by the Watchtower Society, meaning that no person outside of the Watchtower Society can be saved.
JWs also quickly learn that there is almost no hope of them entering heaven to live with Christ; rather, they simply work really hard to live on the earth after they die. The Watchtower wrote a book called You Can Live Forever In Paradise On Earth, in which they tell people that only 144,000 will get into heaven (we'll cover more on that a little later), and the rest of those who have God's "salvation" will live on Earth under God's government, which is supposed to be "paradise."
(See Jehovah's Witnesses, You can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1989, p. 126-127)
According to this Watchtower book, there are four things you must do in order to gain God's salvation, be declared "righteous," and live in "paradise." The first thing a JW must do is gain the "knowledge needed," or in other words, they must learn "the truth of God," which most people would take to mean studying the Bible, but when new members join the JW cult, they quickly realize this "knowledge needed" is gained by attending the five minimum mandatory one-hour meetings per week, with up to 30 hours of optional activities per week that a JW can choose to attend if they are really zealous.
(See Jehovah's Witnesses, You can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1989, p. 127-128; See also Jerry Bergman, "Why Jehovah's Witnesses Have Mental Problems," Cult Awareness & Information Centre, retrieved Apr 18, 2017, [caic.org.au/jws/medical/mental.htm])
The Watchtower has made it clear to all JWs that The Watchtower Society is the light that all people must come to and serve, or they will be rejected from God's kingdom. Jesus said:
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
-John 14:6
"And there will be only one organization—God's visible organization—that will survive the fast-approaching 'great tribulation'...You must be part of Jehovah's organization, doing God's will [i.e. the will of the Watchtower], in order to receive his blessing of everlasting life ."
-International Bible Students Association, You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1982, p. 255
In other words, they teach that if you are not a JW, you can't have everlasting life:
"Jehovah is using only one organization today to accomplish his will.To receive everlasting life in the earthly Paradise we must identify that organization and serve God as part of it ."
-Watchtower, Feb 15, 1983, p. 12
Guess what organization they believe is "God's organization?" They believe you must be a Jehovah's Witness or you will perish:
"These apostates [i.e. they are referring to born-again Christians such as myself] 'have gone out from us because they were not of our sort.' Hence,they no longer have fellowship with loyal anointed witnesses of Jehovah and their companions, and therefore these self-seeking heretics have no 'sharing' with the Father and the Son, no matter how much they may boast of having intimacy with God and Christ . Instead, they are in spiritual darkness."
-Watchtower, Apr 1, 1983, p. 24
JWs know that if you want to get into the earthly paradise, you have to go to meetings. Alan Miller, former Jehovah's Witness that grew up in a JW family, talks about the way the Watchtower teaches the importance of their regularly scheduled meetings:
"The weekly five hours of meetings were referred to as the five fingers on your hand. All five were important. Just as you wouldn't want to have less than five fingers, a good Witness would not want to try to get away with just four or less hours of these meetings every week. "
-Alan Miller, "Fade From the Truth: A Tale of Learning then Unlearning the Beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses," Barbara Anderson's Watchtower Documents, retrieved Apr 18, 2017, [watchtowerdocuments.org/alan-miller-shares-his-story]
However, it's not just attending meetings; the "knowledge needed" also has to be gained by reading Watchtower literature. The Watchtower makes it very clear to its readers that their literature is vital to their salvation:
"But Jehovah God has also provided his visible organization, [i.e. The Watchtower] his visible and discreet slave made up of spirit-anointed ones, to help Christians [i.e. Jehovah's Witnesses] in all nations to understand and apply properly the Bible in their lives.Unless we are in touch with this channel of communication that God is using, [i.e. Watchtower literature]we will never progress along the road to life, no matter how much Bible reading we do. "
-Watchtower, December 1, 1981, p. 27
This means that JWs believe you can study the Bible all you want, but you can never find the truth, the way, and the life through the Word of God alone. The Watchtower teaches JWs there is no good fruit that comes from studying the Word of God alone, and that you must use their materials to find the truth:
"To turn away from Jehovah and his organization [i.e. the Watchtower], to spurn the direction of 'the faithful and discreet slave,'and to rely simply on personal Bible reading and interpretation is to become like a solitary tree in a parched land ."
-Watchtower, June 1, 1985, p. 20
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
-2 Peter 1:19-20
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
-1 John 2:27
-Jehovah's Witnesses, You can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1989, p. 251-252; Also read "The Biblical Understanding of Baptism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.
The third thing JWs teach you need to gain salvation and enter God's kingdom is "righteous conduct," or in other words, you have to do good works to get in. You have to obey and keep ALL of God's commandments (which the Bible has already told us that men cannot be justified by the deeds of the law - Rom 3:20), and that includes all Watchtower commandments, which means that attending the weekly meetings is considered "righteous conduct."
(See Jehovah's Witnesses, You can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1989, p. 129-132)
The fourth point of requirement to gain salvation and enter God's kingdom is to demonstrate "loyalty to God's government," and this is accomplished by going door-to-door to pass out Watchtower literature and convince others to join the JWs.
"Subjects of God's government must tell others about it. "
-Jehovah's Witnesses, You can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1989, p. 133
If a man was in a hospital, rapidly dying of an illness, and he had with a repentant heart asked a JW to tell him how he could be saved, the JW would have to tell him he has to do four things:
|
I give praise to the Christian God of Bible that he is nothing like the false god of the JWs:
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
-2 Timothy 1:9
And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
-Revelation 7:4
The Watchtower Online Library says:
"In the Bible, the phrase 'those who were sealed'refers to a group of individuals who are chosen from among mankind to rule with Christ in heaven over the coming Paradise earth ."
-Watchtower Online Library, "Why do Jehovah's Witnesses take the number 144,000 mentioned in the book of Revelation literally and not symbolically?" retrieved Apr 19, 2017, [wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2004647]
The Bible does not say this anywhere whatsoever. In an attempt to back up that claim, JWs will go to 2 Corinthians 1:
Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
-2 Corinthians 1:21-22
So because JWs believe only 144,000 are going to heaven, most are simply trying to earn their way into "paradise," which they believe will be an earthly existence under God's direct governing rule. However, JWs have no idea who is among the 144,000, and they also have no idea how much work must be done to gain enough salvation just to get into the earthly "paradise" kingdom.
To give an example of how fervently JWs believe this, I listened to the testimony of an ex-JW who talked about a mother and teenage daughter discussing the paradise vs heaven issue in their congregation. The mother had claimed she had a revelation that said she was going to be one of the 144,000 who would rule in heaven, and the daughter was angry with the god of the JWs because she would be separated from her mother for all eternity. (i.e. The 144,000 are separated from the rest of "paradise," so according to JW doctrine, these people will be separated from one another.)
Hopefully, readers can begin to see why Jehovah's Witnesses experience so much burden and stress in their lives. When one believes he must do an enormous amount of work to get into "paradise," never knowing how much work is enough to earn a ticket, and the hopelessness of knowing it would be next to impossible to do enough work to be in the 144,000 (or not knowing if all the 144,000 slots have already been reserved), it creates a burden of despair that results in JWs suffering an extraordinary amount of depression and anxiety. (This is quite common amongst JW households; we'll cover more on that later.)
The Watchtower teaches that all must come unto the Jehovah's Witnesses to gain salvation:
"And while now the witness yet includes the invitation tocome to Jehovah's organization for salvation , the time no doubt will come when the messages takes on a harder note, like a 'great war cry.'"
-Watchtower, Nov 15, 1981, p. 21; See also Edmond C. Gruss, The Four Presidents of the Watch Tower Society, Xulon Press, 2003, p. 60, ISBN: 9781594671319
"That organization still exists, and of it a longtime Witness of Jehovah said: 'If one thing has been most important to me, it has been the matter ofkeeping close to Jehovah's visible organization [i.e. the Watchtower]... How else can one get Jehovah's favor and blessing?'There is nowhere else to go for divine favor and life eternal ."
-Watchtower, Nov 15, 1992, p. 21
Notice that they did not tell people to come to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, but they have replaced Him with their own organization; meaning that they believe the JW cult is the salvation of mankind. The Watchtower puts their hard yoke and heavy burden on their members, but remember that Jesus Christ tells us:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
-Matthew 11:28-30
Using The Force in Luke
(Read "Video Games: Causing Witchcraft to Prosper" here at creationliberty.com for more details on gnosticism.)
And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.
-Luke 12:11-12
JWs have long taught that the Holy Spirit is an "active force" of God, but not God Himself:
"Satan is the originator of the trinity doctrine. "
-Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Let God Be True, 1952, p. 101; See also 2012 edition, Literary Licensing LLC, ISBN: 9781258314736
In our article "Is The Trinity a Biblical Doctrine?" I point out that the "Trinity" is a pagan concept, but "God in Three Persons" is Biblical, and I talked about the difference between those two, so I highly suggest readers take a look at that teaching to get more details. It's important to understand this because JWs believe the trinity comes from pagan origins, and they are correct on that point, but they deny the Biblical doctrine of God in Three Persons.
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
-2 Peter 1:20-21
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken...
-Isaiah 1:2
To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah...
-Jeremiah 1:2
The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea...
-Hosea 1:1
The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
-Joel 1:1
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus...
-Amos 1:3
And yet, the JW official website says:
"The holy spirit is God's power in action, his active force... The holy spirit is not a person. "
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "What Is the Holy Spirit?" Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved May 25, 2017, [jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/what-is-the-holy-spirit]
"Sothe holy spirit is the invisible active force of Almighty God which moves His servants to do His will..."
-Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Let God Be True, 1952, p. 108; See also 2012 edition, Literary Licensing LLC, ISBN: 9781258314736
"It is theimpersonal, invisible active force that finds its source and reservoir in Jehovah God and that he uses to accomplish His will even at great distances, over light-years of space..."
-Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Let Your Name be Sanctified, 1961, p. 269
Although we saw in Luke that "Holy Spirit" is in capital letters, which puts a proper noun of deity into the name, JWs always use lower-case letters when writing out "holy spirit" or "holy ghost" because of their removal of Godhood from the Spirit. JWs believe that on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the apostles were filled with an "active force" that they could use at will.
Although I'm depicting a humorous side to this matter, I also want to emphasize the dangers of this doctrine. There is one thing in the New Testament dispensation that the Lord God has told us is unforgivable, and that is to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit:
Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
-Matthew 12:31-32
blaspheme (v): to revile or speak reproachfully [charge with fault]; to speak evil of or falsely accuse
(See 'blaspheme', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 27, 2017 [webstersdictionary1828.com])
|
Of course, JWs would say that it's not reasonable, and I've heard them say before that it is not comprehendible. In the JW Reasoning from the Scriptures book, they quote from Psalm 90 and pose the question: "Did God have a beginning?"
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. "Is that reasonable? -Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, p. 148, ISBN: 9781624977541 Although sound reasoning is rare in JWs, sometimes they make a good argument, and I think this is a good argument. However, it should also apply to JWs. Just because JWs may not be able to understand how God can present Himself in three persons is not a reason to reject it. |
Can the wind love people? Can gravity love people? These questions are not typically asked because they are nonsensical, meaning that everyone knows not to ask questions like that about inanimate objects or forces, and yet, JWs must believe it anyway because they believe an inanimate force has the following types of qualities:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
-Galatians 5:22
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
-Ephesians 4:30
But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
-Mark 3:29
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:7
And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people... lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
-Acts 28:25-27
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
-Acts 13:2
But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
-Acts 5:3
(See Jehovah's Witnesses, "What Is the Holy Spirit?" Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved May 25, 2017, [jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/what-is-the-holy-spirit])
And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
-Exodus 15:8
Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
-Exodus 15:10
JWs think the "breath of God" is not God Himself; yet, when you ask them who made mankind, they will tell you it was Jehovah God, as their corrupt New World Translation says in Gen 5:
"This is the book of Adam's history. In the day thatGod created Adam , he made him in the likeness of God."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "Genesis 5:1-32," Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved May 25, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/books/genesis/5/#v1005001]
However, in Job, it says the Spirit of God made man, and it says that His breath gave us life:
The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
-Job 33:4
(Read "The Incredible Edible DNA: Has Life Been Created in the Laboratory?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The JW website goes on to say:
"The Bible also compares God's spirit to water and associates it with such things as faith and knowledge.These comparisons all point to the impersonal nature of the holy spirit ."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "What Is the Holy Spirit?" Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved May 25, 2017, [jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/what-is-the-holy-spirit]
They use Isaiah 44:3 as their evidence:
For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
-Isaiah 44:3
And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.
-Isaiah 44:4
The JW website goes on to attack the King James Bible because they know what that book says is a threat to their beliefs, and anything in the KJB that points to God the Father and the Holy Spirit being one is rejected as "not part of Scripture" according to them, but I want to focus emphasis on the hypocrisy of the arguments they're using. We just read from the JW website where they use comparisons between the Holy Spirit and "impersonal nature," and thus, they conclude that the Holy Spirit is impersonal due to those comparisons, but later in their article, they criticize others for doing the same thing with comparisons of the Holy Spirit being a person:
"The Scriptures do at times personify the holy spirit, but this does not prove that the holy spirit is a person ."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "What Is the Holy Spirit?" Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved May 25, 2017, [jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/what-is-the-holy-spirit]
Just a moment ago, we read the Watchtower make the argument that "
For example, Jesus tells us He is the "door:"
Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
-John 10:7-9
The reason the Watchtower's impersonal-nature argument is not logical is because they are taking verses out of their context, and the reason our Christian personal-nature argument is logical is because we use the context to define Scripture. If examples of personage do not prove a personal nature, then JWs could not say God is personal and living either, because they're relying on personal examples in Scripture to prove that He is the Living God.
Just as they've done with salvation, JWs have to do mental gymnastics to try to get the Bible to say what they want it to say about the Holy Spirit, rather than taking God's Word for what it says. This is a tradition they have long held, and it was a tradition given to them by the false prophets who founded their cult.
A Failed Prophet Is The Devil's Prophet
"The three essentials for establishing the credentials of a true prophet, as given through Moses, were: The true prophet would speak in Jehovah's name;the things foretold would come to pass (Deut. 18:20-22); and his prophesying must promote true worship, beingin harmony with God's revealed word and commandments (De 13:1-4)."
-Insight On The Scriptures, Vol. 2, 1988, p. 696; See also Watchtower Online Library, "Prophet," Insight, Vol. 2, retrieved Apr 14, 2017, [wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200003562]
The Watchtower teaches that a prophet, or one who foretells future events, must claim to be of God, their prophesying must be in harmony with the Bible, and the prophesies must come to pass. If any one of these "credentials" turns out not to be true, then that prophet is false, and his prophecy did not come from God; it came from the Devil.
The reason we must conclude that false prophecies come from the Devil is because the prophecy that does not come to pass is a LIE, which makes the prophet a LIAR. JWs often like to respond to the accusation of false prophecy by saying, "People make mistakes," but predicting future events is prophetic in that it claims to present a vision or message from God directly to an individual, and so that individual bears the responsibility of representing the perfections of the Lord God and His Word. The Bible tells us God cannot lie, which means it is not possible that He would have delivered a lie unto a false prophet, and that the Devil is the father of lies, so only Satan and his fallen angels would be behind a false prophecy:
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
-Titus 1:2
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
-John 8:44
But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously [i.e. arrogantly, in bold defiance of God]: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
-Deuteronomy 18:20-22
If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
-Deuteronomy 13:1-4
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
-Matthew 24:36
In the above section, "The Origins of Jehovah's Witnesses," we briefly mentioned some of the Jehovah's Witnesses false prophecies (which they take great pains to hide from their members), first with the Millerites, then with the Russellites, and the JWs would continue this tradition throughout most of the 20th century. Let's go back through history and look at the details of all the end-time prophecies that were made, and see how many came to pass.
We'll start with William Miller because this is where Jehovah's Witnesses eventually stemmed from, and he first declared that Christ's second coming would happen in 1843. This was based on his private interpretation (2Pe 1:20) of Daniel 8:
|
And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. (Image is the original Millerite chart; click for a larger view.) |
 |
March 21, 1844 came and went, and no second coming of Jesus was witnessed. Miller went back to his calculations and came up with a new theory, and he told everyone that he did not account for a "tarrying time," which is in reference to Matthew 25:
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
-Matthew 25:1-5
|
It's important to understand why these people cling so tightly to a failed religion because, for us, it doesn't make sense for someone to stay in a cult that has proven to be led by false prophets. We Christians know "The Gospel" to mean the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to be the salvation of sinners who repent (i.e. grief and godly sorrow for wrongdoing) and believe in His resurrection; however, those who follow after the traditions of the Millerites believe "The Gospel" means "Jesus is coming back at any moment," so according to their view, to reject the anticipation of Christ's arrival being "just around the corner," is to reject "The Gospel." Sadly, most church buildings in America today have taken after these types of movements, not in specific dates since all of them have failed, but in believing that Christ will return at any moment. Most of these cultic sects are still operating in the U.S. today, but many of them are beginning to shy away from giving specific dates/times for His arrival. This false belief of "Jesus is coming back at any moment" had existed even in the days of Christ's disciples, which is why Paul rebuked them:
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. [i.e. don't get excited as if Christ is returning at any moment] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; [i.e. the final antichrist] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? The "Jesus is coming" Adventist/Millerite/Russellite/Jehovah's Witnesses and the modern-day Pre-Tribbers are no different in their attitudes and their doctrines, and all of them were rebuked in 2 Thessalonians 2. It's sad that so many of them get more wrapped up in the excitement they get when thinking about their new-age false god coming to get them in a secret pre-tribulation rapture (which is not talked about anywhere in Scripture) and take them to a warm and fluffy place where they won't have to suffer any persecution, rather than studying the Word of God to find out what He teaches us.
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. |
So after 1844, there are many dates that were prophesied in the 19th century by various sects across Adventism; so many that I will not be going over the details of each one. There was an individual prophecy for the years
These Millerism/Adventist organizations printed magazines (just like the Watchtower) to get their ideas out to the public, and most cults today have taken after this 19th century tradition of publishing magazines. I'm not saying every magazine is related to a cult, but I'm saying it's a common theme for cultists. In the 19th century, there was
The date that I want to focus in on for the context of Jehovah's Witnesses is 1874, which was the prediction of the aforementioned Nelson Barbour, who later worked with Charles Russell (one of the founders of Jehovah's Witnesses) to get his ideas out through the Herald of the Morning magazine. While Miller claimed the "tarrying time" (after his failed 1843 date) would only be about six months (i.e. from March 21, 1844 to October 22, 1844), Barbour claimed the "tarrying time" would be 30 years, and so he predicted Christ's return in 1873, but that obviously failed, so he pushed it back (just like Miller did) to 1874.
Russell didn't meet Barbour until 1876 (after Barbour's prophecy failed), but at the time, Barbour was teaching a 3.5 year "harvest time," in addition to the "tarrying time," and so he claimed the "Bride of Christ" would not be translated into heaven until 1878, and that Christ did return in 1874, but he was invisible. (Remember "Incognito Jesus?") Barbour also taught that the "Gentile Times" would be over in 1914, and Russell jumped on board by selling his retail clothing chain for a very large sum and investing into the magazine.
Nelson Barbour, now financially backed by Charles Russell, published the following in reference to the 1878 prediction:
"THE END OF THIS WORLD; that is, the end of the gospel, and the beginning of the millennial age is nearer than most men suppose; indeed we have already entered the transition period [i.e. 3.5 years], which is to be a 'time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation' "
-Nelson H. Barbour, The Three Worlds, Рипол Классик [Ripol Classic Publishing], 1877, p. 17, ISBN: 9785880807628
As you can probably guess, 1878 came and went, and nothing happened. After 1878, Barbour and Russell split apart because Russell came up with a new date; he believed the bride would be translated in 1881. Of course, this didn't happen either, so Russell changed his initial prophecy and claimed 1881 was "
(See Charles T. Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1911, p. 95, [University of Virginia])
However, Russell stuck to Barbour's original story that the 'Incognito Jesus' was already on earth, but couldn't be seen, as he reiterated in his writings. The follow quotes are taken from Studies in the Scriptures, which was originally called The Plan of the Ages and The Divine Plan of the Ages, which Russell authored in 1886:
"If, then, the seventh thousand-year period of earth's history be an epoch [i.e. time period] specially noted as the period of Christ's reign, we shall by showing thatit began in 1873, be proving that we are already in it ."
-Charles T. Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, International Bible Students Association, Vol. 2, 1914, p. 40, [Pennsylvania State University]
In case you didn't understand; Russell claimed that we have been in the millennial (thousand-year) reign of Christ since 1873. In another volume, he says Christ (i.e. Incognito Jesus) has been present since 1874, that he was formally given kingship over the world in 1878, and that Christ was in the process of gathering the Christians:
"But nowwe are in the end of this Gospel age , and the Kingdom is being established or set up.Our Lord, the appointed King, is now present, since October 1874, A. D. , according to the testimony of the prophets, to those who have ears to hear it: andthe formal inauguration of his kingly office dates from April 1878, A. D. : and the first work of the Kingdom, as shown by our Lord, in his parables and prophecy(the gathering of 'his elect'), is now in progress ."
-Charles T. Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, International Bible Students Association, Vol. 4, 1913, p. 621, [University of California]
I'd like to point out that if this were true, then the JW's 'Incognito Jesus' must be asleep on the job because soon after, World War I broke out, and then later, World War II. JWs still believe Jesus is on earth invisibly today, and our world is getting worse all the time, so the 'JW Incognito Jesus' is either stupid or doesn't care, but this is all despite the fact that Russell's prophecy stated that all government institutions were supposed to be shut down before 1915:
"True,it is expecting great things to claim, as we do, that within the coming twenty-six years [i.e. by the end of 1914] all present governments will be overthrown and dissolved; but we are living in a special and peculiar time, the 'Day of Jehovah,' in which matters culminate quickly ; and it is written, 'A short work will the Lord make upon the earth.'"
-Charles T. Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, International Bible Students Association, Vol. 2, 1914, p. 98-99, [Pennsylvania State University]
All the dates from Russell and Barbour had been thus far exhausted, so everyone was now waiting for the final date they taught for the end of the world, which was 1914. Of course, 1914 came and went, and nothing happened. If you've been paying attention to the pattern, you'll know what's coming next: Russell pushed back the date to 1915, and after that failed, he died in 1916, but the cultists still cling to their "Gospel message" is that "Jesus is coming," and they have to find a way to make that true, so Joseph Rutherford, appointed to take Russell's place, picked up the torch and made more predictions to satisfy the lust of the Russelites.
In 1918, Rutherford wrote a book called Millions Now Living Will Never Die, and said the end would be in 1925:
"As we have heretofore stated,the great jubilee cycle is due to begin in 1925 . At that time the earthly phase of the kingdom shall be recognized... Thereforewe 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 ,"
-Joseph F. Rutherford, Millions Now Living Will Never Die!, Lulu.com, 2005, p. 89-90, ISBN: 9781411628984
As any Christian reader may expect, there are very serious doctrinal problems in Rutherford's book. For example, on page 94, Rutherford states that Jesus Christ died for the sins of all mankind, but on the very next page, he limits the people who can be saved only to those who hear the message of it in the final days (i.e. in 1925):
"It would be impossible for the human race, therefore, to accept the gift of life everlasting before it is offered. It will be offered only in God's due time and the divine plan shows that his due time is after the seed of promise is developed, after the kingdom is set up [i.e. 1925]; and then each one in his order will be brought to a knowledge of the fact that a plan of redemption exists and that the way is open for him to accept the terms of it and live."
-Joseph F. Rutherford, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, International Bible Students Association, 1920, p. 95-96, ISBN: 9785877875838
 |
Getting back to the false prophecies; a 1922 issue of the Watch Tower said that the 1925 prophecy was better than the 1914 prophecy:"The physical facts show -Watch Tower, "Europe a Boiling Cauldron," Sept 1, 1922, p. 262 Click image for larger view. |
I would like to point out the obvious fact that there is almost no one left alive today who originally read this in 1918. I'm being generous with this statement because you would be hard pressed to find one Jehovah's Witness alive today who was born before 1925, which means either they are dwindling fast or already depleted, and that means "Millions Now Living HAVE Died," which clearly shows that Rutherford was a false prophet, just like his predecessors: Russell, Barbour, and Miller.
Rutherford gave another prophecy to his followers that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were coming back to reign on earth. Although that's absurd because the Bible never mentions anything like that, they took it very seriously; so seriously that they had a mansion built to house the three of them (and other Biblical figures) when they were falsely prophesied to return in 1925.
The mansion is called "Beth-Sarim," which is Hebrew for "House of Princes," although official JW and Watchtower publications today will claim it was constructed as a winter home for Rutherford due to his health complications. It is true that Rutherford had health complications and that he lived there during the winters, but they are once again hiding the embarrassment of false prophecy by simply claiming it was built for Rutherford's comfort. The following image is a photocopy from Rutherford's magazine, The Golden Age, in which he documented what is written in the deed to the house:
"Both the grantor and the grantee, the said JOSEPH F. RUTHERFORD are fully persuaded from the Bible testimony which is the Word of Jehovah God and from extraneous evidence that God's kingdom is now in the course of establishment and that it will result beneficially for the peoples of earth; that the governing power and authority will be invisible to men but thatthe kingdom of God will have visible representatives on the earth who will have charge of the affairs of the nations under supervision of the invisible ruler Christ ; that among those who will be thus thefaithful representatives and visible governors of the world will be David, who was once King over Israel; and Gideon, and Barak, and Samson, and Jepthae, and Joseph, formerly ruler of Egypt, and Samuel the prophet and other faithful men named with approval in the Bible at Hebrews the eleventh chapter. The condition herein is thatthe said WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY shall hold said title perpetually in trust for the use of any or all of the men above named as representatives of God's kingdom on earth and that such men shall have possession and use of said property hereinabove described as they may deem for the best interest for the work in which they are engaged...Any persons appearing to take possession of said premises shall first prove and identify themselves to the proper officers of said Society as the person or persons described in Hebrews chapter eleven and in this deed. "
-The Golden Age, Mar 19, 1930, p. 406-407
By Hebrews 11, he means Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and if you read that carefully, you'll notice that Rutherford never first proved himself to have the identity of these men, so for him to stay in this house actually broke the contractual agreement. (But since it was owned by the Watchtower, he never feared lawsuit because it makes no sense for a company to sue their own CEO.) In reality, Rutherford was living in the top brackets of luxury from the profits of his books and magazines, and the "prophecy" was a convenient excuse for him to buy the mansion and live in it.
The New York Times published an article talking about the Rutherford's 1925 prophecy:
"'If Moses was to descend upon the earth today he could very probably solve most of the distressing problems of the day, but I have not the slightest doubt but that Moses would be clapped into jail, just as we were.' said Alexander Hugh MacMillan, at the closing session of the convention of the International Bible Students' Association [i.e. Millerite/Russellite organization], yesterday afternoon in the academy of Music, Brooklyn. The speaker said he wanted to warn all the sinners to |
 |
MacMillan, who was speaking at the convention mentioned in the news article, didn't understand that Rutherford and Russell had claimed the Millennial reign of Christ was already in progress, but many Millerites and Russellites were deceived about what their religion had taught, just as many Jehovah's Witnesses today are deceived about what their religion has taught. Nonetheless, 1925 came and went, and nothing happened, despite the fact that the Watchtower claimed that the date of 1925 was "definitely settled by the Scriptures," and that the people had more reason to believe in the prophecy of 1925 than Noah had to believe in the coming flood:
"Question: Did the order go forth eight months ago to the Pilgrims to cease talking about 1925? Have we more reason, or as much, to believe the kingdom will be established in 1925 than Noah had to believe that there would be a flood?
Answer: It is surprising how reports get abroad. There was never at any time any intimation to the Pilgrim brethren that they should cease talking about 1925. Anyone who has made the statement that such an instruction was sent out has made it without any authority or excuse or cause. Our thought is that1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures , marking the end of the typical jubilees. Just exactly what will happen at that time no one can tell to a certainty; butwe expect such a climax in the affairs of the world that the people will begin to realize the presence of the Lord and his kingdom power. He is already present, as we know, and has taken unto himself his power and begun his reign. He has come to his temple. He is dashing to pieces the nations. Every Christian ought to be content, then, to do with his might what his hands find to do, without stopping to quibble about what is going to happen on a certain date. As to Noah,the Christian now has much more upon which to base his faith than Noah had (so far as the Scriptures reveal) upon which to base his faith in a coming deluge ."
-The Watchtower, April 1, 1923, p. 106
It appears that someone within the organization told people to stop preaching about 1925; whether by an accident or someone within was convicted to come out and speak the truth, I don't know, but there were people with doubts. To reestablish their faith in the 1925 prediction, The Watchtower directly told them that it was DEFINITELY settled in Scripture, that Incognito Jesus was in His temple (wherever that was supposed to be), even though they had no way to know that, and that Incognito Jesus was "dashing to pieces the nations," even though it's unclear what they mean by that. The whole answer was somewhat odd, but the fact is that they declared, in no uncertain terms, that all people should have faith that Incognito Jesus was to reveal himself to the world and take over the nations in 1925; and that this should be believed moreso than the prophecy of the flood in the days of Noah.
Of course, excuses were made for why nothing happened in 1925, pushing it back a little further to hang on to their cult members. Rutherford held a Q&A, "which took place May 1-3, 1926," where he was questioned on this matter and LIED:"Question: Have the ancient worthies [Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc] returned? -Yearbook, 1980, p. 62; See also Watch Tower, July 1, 1926, p. 196; Click image for larger view. |
 |
Rutherford's Millions Now Living Will Never Die did NOT say "we might reasonably expect," as he shamefully tries to convince the listening audience; we read earlier, Rutherford specifically said "
In 1993, the Watchtower answered the growing concerns of JWs as this information was becoming more readily available:
"Ever since the 1870's, Bible Students had been serving with a date in mind - first 1914, then 1925.Now they realized that they must serve for as long as Jehovah wishes ."
-Watchtower, Nov 1, 1993, p. 12
Never once do they address the fact that the "prophets" that started their religion were false, which makes their religion a lie that is not of God. They will never confess this because members would leave the JW cult in droves, and this statement attempts to drill into the minds of their cultists that they need to keep working and not think about any of these matters of false prophecy.
However, soon after 1926, many people finally got tired of waiting and came to their senses. According to a 1959 Watchtower publication, those actively participating in the "Memorials" (i.e. communion) increased from 32,661 in 1922, to 90,434 in 1925, but by 1928, their numbers dropped by over 80% (17,380).
(See Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1959, p. 110, [University of Wisconsin - Madison])
For the remnant left over after the false prophecy fiasco of 1925, Rutherford named his cult "Jehovah's Witnesses" to separate himself from the many various sects that had developed out of the Millerites and Russellites. After the massive drop in memberships and attendance from the last failed prophecy, the newly incorporated "Jehovah's Witness" board members have learned some valuable lessons; namely, that they should not be so specific with dates, and present more generalized or vague ideas.
I've watched many audio and video recordings of people talking with Jehovah's Witnesses, and these various people attempt to explain to the JWs that the organization has a long history of false prophets. Most JWs are trained to recognize that most people won't have the documentation on hand for these false prophecies, so JWs simply question where, who wrote it, and word-for-word what was said, knowing that the person they're talking to won't have all that information memorized, instead of JWs taking the time to go look up the information themselves. (Not that they are allowed to; since the Watchtower forbids the reading of any material that is not Watchtower-approved.)
I've heard these challenges quite a few times from JWs concerning the 1975 prophecy of the end of the world, since that is the most recent date they have used. In conversation, the JWs claim that since they can't see what was said, they won't make any assumptions; which is fair, so for the sake of clarity, here is the Watchtower magazine's publication from 1968:
"What about all this talk concerning the year 1975? Lively discussions, some based on speculation, have burst into flame during recent months among serious students of the Bible. Their interest has been kindled by the belief that1975 will mark the end of 6,000 years of human history since Adam's creation. The nearness of such an important date indeed fires the imagination and presents unlimited possibilities for discussion."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?" The Watchtower, Aug 15, 1968, p. 494
You may notice that this was rather vague. What exactly is supposed to happened at the end of the "6,000 years of human history?" The fact is that they never said specifically, but like a politician, IMPLIED what would happen, so when it didn't come to pass, they could justify themselves by claiming, "We never said that."
However, if you do a little more digging, you'll find that the implications are not slight. JWs heavily imply what they mean by the prophecy of 1975, as stated in the following audio clips from Jehovah's Witness Overseers who announced publically what would happen:
|
Overseer Sunutko: "Well now, as Jehovah's Witnesses, as runners, even though some of us have become a little weary, it almost seems as though Jehovah has provided meat in due season. Because he's held up before all of us, Overseer Duggan: "So Jehovah's word is in your mind. This good news must be preached first before Armageddon. There will be now a remaining few months; not really a full 83 months remain [from 1968], so lets be faithful and confident, and we will be alive beyond the war of Babylon. |
The Watch Tower published more details:
"The seventh day of the Jewish week, the sabbath, would well picture the final 1,000-year reign of God's kingdom under Christ when mankind would be uplifted from 6,000 years of sin and death. Hence, when Christians note from God's timetablethe approaching end of 6,000 years of human history [i.e. 1975], it fills them with anticipation... Theimmediate future is certain to be filled with climactic events, for this old system is nearing its complete end. Within a few years at most the final parts of Bible prophecy relative to the 'last days' will undergo fulfillment, resulting in the liberation of surviving mankind into Christ's glorious 1000-year reign! "
-Watch Tower, May 1, 1968, p. 271-272
Let's summarize what was just declared by the authorities of JWs: they stated that 1975 was to be the beginning of the 1000-year reign of Christ, and that the last days events in the book of Revelation would "undergo fulfillment," meaning that they would happen on or near 1975, and that all the faithful JWs would join Christ in this reign. (I would point out that in order for Christ to reign, he would have to be recreated by God since they believe that Christ was not risen from the dead, and that Michael the Archangel was recreated in his stead.) In 1968, the Watchtower clearly stated that these events from the book of Revelation would be fulfilled "
As I said earlier, the JWs made more effort to be vague in their writing on this false prophecy, learning from their past mistakes, but despite their best efforts, they still answered with enough specific detail to give us a clear definition of what they meant by what they said. JWs stated there was only a margin of error for weeks or months, but not years, and I am documenting these quotes to answer those JWs who will try to deny these facts to say that they just got the numbers mixed up or that the timing was delayed:
"Are we to assume from this study thatthe battle of Armageddon will be all over by the autumn of 1975, and the long-looked-for thousand-year reign of Christ will begin by then ? Possibly, but we wait to see how closely the seventh thousand-year period of man's existence coincides with the sabbathlike thousand-year reign of Christ. If these two periods run parallel with each other as to the calendar year, it will not be by mere chance or accident but will be according to Jehovah's loving and timely purposes. Our chronology, however, which isreasonably accurate (but admittedly not infallible) , at the best onlypoints to the autumn of 1975 as the end of 6,000 years of man's existence on earth . It does not necessarily mean that 1975 marks the end of the first 6,000 years of Jehovah's seventh creative 'day.' Why not? Because after his creation Adam lived some time during the 'sixth day,' which unknown amount of time would need to be subtracted from Adam's 930 years, to determine when the sixth seven-thousand-year period or 'day' ended, and how long Adam lived into the 'seventh day.' And yet the end of that sixth creative 'day' could end within the same Gregorian calendar year of Adam's creation.It may involve only a difference of weeks or months, not years. "
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?" The Watchtower, Aug 15, 1968, p. 499
See how they used words like "reasonably accurate," "may," "if," and "possibly?" This is their effort to create a sort of insurance policy to protect themselves if it doesn't work out, or in other words, they're trying to keep as much of the growth in membership as possible after the prophecy fails. Following in Rutherford's footsteps, the Watchtower published statements in 1969 that the living JWs would never grow old:
"If you are a young person, you also need toface the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things . Why not? Because allthe evidence in fulfillment of Bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years . Of the generation that observed the beginning of the "last days" in 1914, Jesus foretold: "This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur."-Matt. 24:34. Therefore,as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers . If you are in high school and thinking about a college education, it means at least four, perhaps even six or eight more years to graduate into a specialized career. But where will this system of things be by that time?It will be well on the way toward its finish, if not actually gone! "
-Awake, May 22, 1969, p. 15
Now we can see more definite statements of absolute certainty because the Watchtower publication said clearly that the 1975 prophecy was a "fact," and the Watchtower was very public with these types of statements in the years surrounding 1970. They even told young men and women not to pursue careers or start families because everything was about to end.
The following was published by TIME Magazine in 1969:
"If this turns out to be the last time they all got together, the thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses who gathered last week in New York City's Yankee Stadium for an international assembly will not be a bit surprised. In fact,they fully expect the cataclysm of Armageddon within the next few years . The latest calculations of this energetic, eschatology-minded [study of death and judgment] sectdate the end of the world in autumn, 1975 .
Fearful as it may be to other religious believers, the end is a prospect that rejoices the hearts of the 323,688 U.S. members of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, as the Witnesses are officially known (worldwide membership: 1,155,826).In 1914, according to the sect's calculations, 'God's timetable' ushered in the last days. Ever since then, Witnesses have longed for the end of 'this wicked system of things' and the beginning of the millennium. According to their literal interpretation of The Bible, based on Revelation 14:1, the Lord God will then pick 144,000 Witnesses to reign with Christ in heaven. The rest will remain on earth to convert unbelievers; at the end of 1,000 years, the wicked will be annihilated, while the saved will continue to enjoy a worldly Paradise. In his address on closing day to the week-long assembly of delegates from 78 countries, the sect's president, Pennsylvania-born Nathan H. Knorr, confidently discussed 'The Approaching Peace of a Thousand Years.'...
The Witnesses have what they believe is Scriptural proof that the end is coming. For one thing, their interpretation of Biblical chronology reveals that Adam and Eve were created in the autumn of 4026 B.C., or 5,994 years ago. Linking 6,000 years to the six days of God's creation, they believe it fitting that there be a sabbath-like rest thereafter,beginning in 1975--though Witnesses cautiously avoid a flat prediction linked to that year . What is more, Christ's promise that 'this generation will not pass away 'till all these things take place' means that the generation alive in 1914, when the last days began, will see Armageddon. As they eye the thinning ranks of that generation, Jehovah's Witnesses are well aware the time limit is running out."
-TIME, "Sects: Witnessing the End," July 18, 1969, [content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901074,00.html]
I was laughing when the author wrote that this was their "literal interpretation of the Bible" because JW beliefs have nothing to do with Scripture, and everything to do with their cultic traditions founded in pyramidology. JWs do not base their theories on Scripture, but rather, they cherry-pick verses out of Scripture, apart from its context, whenever they believe it can help justify their presuppositions.
Even though the reporter said they were "cautiously avoiding a flat prediction" for 1975, JW publications still claimed the margin of error was only "weeks or months, not years." If the millennium reign of Christ began in 1975, then one would have to believe that Christ is a cruel and merciless ruler, and obviously lazy and uncaring, since things have only gotten gradually worse over the past 50 years. (i.e. The "Incognito Jesus" of the JWs is not the Jesus Christ of the Bible.)
A Jehovah's Witness can deny all these reports as much he wants, but the facts are clear, and the JWs in the 1970s absolutely believed the end was approaching, proving it by their actions. Just as the cultists did in 1841, 1874, 1914, and 1925, thousands flocked to sell their homes in preparation of the ushering in of God's kingdom:
 |
"Yes, since the summer of 1973 there have been new peaks in pioneers every month. Now there are 20,394 regular and special pioneers in the United States, an all-time peak. That is 5,190 more than there were in February 1973! A 34-percent increase! Does that not warm our hearts? -Kingdom Ministry, "How Are You Using Your Life?" May, 1974, p. 3; Click image for larger view. |
(See Jehovah's Witnesses, "Are We Living in 'the Last Days'?" Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved May 30, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/books/bible-teach/are-we-living-in-the-last-days])
As I searched through the JW official website, despite the fact that they have thousands of articles, I could not find one piece of information on 1975, 1925, 1874, 1841—nothing. This is why most Jehovah's Witnesses aren't aware of these false prophecies; the Watchtower hides the information from them, and tells them they are not to read any material published outside of the Watchtower. (Even though I'm quoting their publications, it would be very difficult to get a JW to read this.) I found one entry on their website for 1914, and there was not one word about the failed prophecy, but rather, they called it a "
(See Jehovah's Witnesses, "1914-A Significant Year in Bible Prophecy" Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved May 30, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/books/bible-teach/1914-significant-year-bible-prophecy])
With that in mind, please read the following excerpt from the Watchtower publication Insights on the Scriptures:
"While malicious [harmful] lying is definitely condemned in the Bible, this does not mean that a person is under obligation to divulge [make known] truthful information to people who are not entitled [deserving] to it. "
-Jehovah's Witness, Insight on the Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 2, 1988, p. 245
To summarize this statement in simple terms, the Watchtower says that some lying is good, which is a lie of itself. There is no such thing as a good lie. They state that certain people are undeserving to the know the truth, and so you can see their malicious intent in their attempts to justify their sin.
(Read "God Does Not Justify Lies" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The Watchtower believes that covering up information, withholding facts, and keeping JWs ignorant is not considered "lying" according to their own definitions; either that, or they think it's a "good" or "beneficial" lie. However, it doesn't end there because not only has the Watchtower Society done a lot of editing and censoring to their history, they also realized that the Bible needed to be changed, or tailored to fit their fraudulent religion.
Tailoring the Bible: The New World Translation
Before I get into this topic, I want to point out the hypocrisy of new-age version users, or rather the "Scholarship-Only" crowd, who often get into bed with the Catholic Church, and jump around various corrupt versions, claiming them all to be the "Word of God." Because the JWs claimed the NWT to be perfect and superior, all the corrupt new-agers banded together to condemn the NWT, and this is pure hypocrisy because the very arguments they use to defend their own new-age versions against the King James Bible are the same arguments that JWs use to defend the New World Translation against the KJB, or in other words, the "Scholarship-Only" people are actually exposing themselves as they expose the NWT, and we'll see examples of this as we explore this topic.
(Read "Why I Use the King James Bible" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
There are so many things wrong with the New World Translation that I doubt I'll be able to list them all out here, but I want readers to understand I am not one of those who uses the "original Greek" scam, meaning that I believe the Greek and Hebrew texts, as well as many other sources (i.e. the 5,000 manuscripts from around the world), were properly filtered and perfectly translated into English as God's preserved and perfect Word through the King James Bible. Sadly, many leavened church-goers and false Christians are debating with JWs over what this scholar says or what that scholar says, when all of them have the same exact problems that JWs have, namely that all of them have corrupt bible versions that have taken liberties to interpret words the way they want, rather than by the context of what God's Word says.
(Read "The 'Original Greek' Scam & Dangers of Using Lexicons and Concordances & "Is the Greek Septuagint Real?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
However, despite their corruption, the scribes of the new-age versions, as far as I have seen, all have serious problems with the NWT. Of course, the typical JW would say that's because it's a Satanic conspiracy against the Watchtower, but I believe we should look at the facts first, so let's analyze the arguments being made. One of the most common points of contention about the NWT is the use of the word "Jehovah" in both the Old and New Testaments.
The Watchtower official website states:
"God wants us to use his personal name. We use personal names when we talk with those we love, such as our close friends--especially if they invite us to do so. Should it be different when it comes to talking with God? Furthermore,Jesus Christ encouraged the use of God's name. "
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "Bible Questions Answered: Why should we use God's name?", The Watchtower, January, 2013, retrieved Apr 27, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/magazines/wp20130101/name-of-god]
The Watchtower claims they have restored the "Divine Name" to the New Testament, and if you ask a JW, you'll find that they believe the use of the name "Jehovah" puts you in direct communication with God, but if you do not call Him by His name, then He will not hear you. So a new JW is brought into the organization, taught that they must call God by His name, shown that "Jehovah" is used throughout many verses in the Old and New Testaments of the NWT, and that's how they get brainwashed into believing they have found the truth.
There are some very serious problems with this claim; the first being that the Hebrew name of God in the Old Testament (commonly called the "Tetragrammaton" - YHWH [yah-wey]) is in the Hebrew language. I realize that seems like an overtly common sense statement (i.e Hebrew words are in Hebrew), but when talking with JWs, this needs to be pointed out because the letter 'J' in "Jehovah" does not exist in the Hebrew, which means not only are "Jehovah's" Witnesses not pronouncing His Divine Hebrew name properly, they are also spelling it wrong.
In fact, the letter 'J' didn't enter the English language until the 16th century. This is why the original printing of the 1611 King James Bible spelled "Jesus" as "Iesus" [yay-soos] and "John" as "Iohn." [yon]
"The next day,Iohn seeth Iesus comming vnto him, and saith, Behold the Lambe of God, which taketh away the sinne of the world."
-Original 1611 Printing of the King James Bible, John 1:29, retrieved Apr 27, 2017, [kingjamesbibleonline.org/1611_John-Chapter-1]
Thus the name "Jehovah" is a man-made term that JWs apply to God, and that means when they use the 'zshyuh' sound of the letter 'J' in "Jehovah," they're not really using God's Hebrew name. The translators for the NWT took the liberty to ADD that name into the New Testament many times, but it was never in the Greek texts of the New Testament, meaning that the JW "translators" didn't do any actual translating on this point.
As we read earlier, Rutherford changed the name of their organization to "Jehovah's Witnesses" in 1931, and conveniently, the 1950 "translation" of the NWT decided to insert "Jehovah" in many verses. Why didn't they add in "Elohim" or "Adonai," which would be more accurate to the Hebrew text? Jehovah's Witnesses could have instead called themselves "Emmanuel's Witnesses" or "Adonai's Witnesses," because those are names for God too, but they stick with "Jehovah" simply because Joseph Rutherford named his cult "Jehovah's Witnesses," and since it was so well established, in so many published documents around the world, it could not easily be changed, which means they have to stick to the name, even though it doesn't make sense with what they claim. (Also, they believe that the head of their organization is God inspired, so they also must believe that the name Jehovah's Witnesses came from God.)
That brings us to question the New World Translation because, putting aside the fact that they were just adding in a personal preference (i.e. they wanted the Bible to say 'Jehovah' so they added it in), anyone who would understand some simple facts about the English language (like the addition of the letter 'J') would have seen the "Jehovah" inserts to be a contradiction. To point out the Watchtower's lies, let's look at the foreword to the The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, a document published by the Watchtower, which is the NWT next to Westcott and Hort's corrupt Greek manuscript (i.e. the manuscript all the new-age bible versions rely on):
"To avoid overstepping the bounds of a translator into the field of exegesis [i.e. explanation or interpretation of the text],we have tried to be most cautious about rendering the divine name, always carefully considering the Hebrew Scriptures as a background . We have looked for some agreement with us by the Hebrew versions we consulted to confirm our rendering. Thus, out of the237 times that we have restored Jehovah's name in the body of our translation, there is only one instance wherein we have no support or agreement from any of the Hebrew versions ."
-Watchtower Online Library, "Kingdom Interlinear: Foreword," Jan 1, 1985, retrieved May 31, 2017, [wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101985061]
When they say they considered the Hebrew Scriptures as a background, they're talking about when a New Testament verse is referring to an Old Testament verse, since the Old Testament was written in Hebrew. (i.e. The New Testament was not originally written in Hebrew.) The Watchtower claims they translated "Jehovah" 237 times, 236 of which are based on reference to the Old Testament.
"How is a modern translator to know or determine when to render the Greek words Κυριος [lord] and Θεος [god] into the divine name in his version? Bydetermining where the inspired Christian writers have quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures. Then he must refer back to the original to locate whether the divine name appears there ."
-Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1969, p. 18
Please don't be nervous about this section because you are not going to have to learn Greek and Hebrew to expose the NWT. The first Greek word mentioned in that quote is "kurios," which means "lord," and the second word is "theos," which means god, so in summary, the translation committee set a rule for themselves that every time the word "lord" or "god" appears in the New Testament, they would check to see if that verse was referring back to (or contextually based on) an Old Testament reference.
If they found the verse in question did refer back to the Old Testament, they would go to that verse and check to see if the "Divine Name" was used, and if it was, then they would write in "Jehovah" instead of "Lord" or "God." This all sounds relatively reasonable in theory, but the problem is that this is mostly a lie; a convenient excuse for a hidden agenda.
I went through all 237 instances listed out in the appendix of the Kingdom Interlinear (see image below) and checked the reference to the Old Testament in each instance. I just wanted to make sure they only inserted "Jehovah" when there was an Old Testament reference. The verses you see highlighted in red (159 out of 237, or 67%) used the "Divine Name", but had NO Old Testament reference connected to them; or in other words, every verse highlighted in red violates the ruleset that the Watchtower told us about in their foreword, and they simply took liberties where they pleased.
Keep in mind, this is just checking the first rule (i.e. Is there an OT reference or not?); in order to determine the entire deception, we would have to go back and find out where the "Divine Name" was used in the Old Testament on those verses which are not highlighted in red (i.e. 33% of verses not highlighted have OT references). In the Old Testament of the King James Bible, every place where the word "LORD" was in all-capital letters, the Divine Hebrew Name of God was used, and so we can easily cross-reference the verses on the list by going to the KJB and checking for an all-caps "LORD."
Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
-Matthew 1:22-23
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
-Isaiah 7:14
"All of this actually came about to fulfill what wasspoken by Jehovah through his prophet, saying: 'Look! The virgin will become pregnant and will give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,' which means, when translated, 'With Us Is God.'"
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "According to Matthew 1:1-25," New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 2013, retrieved June 1, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/books/matthew/1]
I did not bother to go through each one of the verses and double check them because we've already proved they lied, so it's unnecessary, but if we did, we would find many more violations to the rule they set for themselves. Since the Watchtower did not follow their own ruleset, that leaves us with an obvious question: Why? Answering the 'why' question is important because it will help us discover the hidden purpose behind the New World Translation.
Before we continue, after thorough investigation of the Watchtower Society, I want to state that I don't believe the NWT committee made the ruleset and then attempted to follow it. That's what most people think when they read the quotation from the NWT introduction, but we've already proven they were lying. What I believe happened is that they inserted Jehovah in a bunch of places they wanted to do it, and then made up a convenient excuse for it, knowing that JWs would not go check it out because JWs are trained to believe whatever the Watchtower says since they claim to be "Jehovah's spirit-directed organization."
Let me provide some evidence for this by looking at Romans 14 and comparing it with Philippians 2:
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
-Romans 14:11
I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
-Isaiah 45:23-24
"For it is written: 'As surely as I live,'says Jehovah , 'to me every knee will bend, and every tongue will make open acknowledgment to God.'"
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "To the Romans 14:1-23," New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 2013, retrieved June 1, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/books/romans/14]
They abided by their own ruleset in this instance. However, what's really interesting is that Philippians 2 ALSO refers back to verses 23-24 in Isaiah 45:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
-Philippians 2:10-11
"[S]o that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend—of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground and every tongue should openly acknowledge thatJesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.'"
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "To the Philippians 2:1-30," New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 2013, retrieved June 1, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/books/philippians/2]
Aha! If you're paying close attention, and you consider what we've learned so far, it should be obvious why they broke their "Jehovah" translation rule in Philippians 2. JWs do not believe that Jesus Christ is God, and if they had done a truly unbiased translation that "avoided exegesis" (i.e. avoided interpretation of Scripture) as they claimed, then this verse would declare that Jesus Christ is "Jehovah" God; so to avoid that, they cheated their rules and lied about it, or rather, they changed what they wanted to fit their doctrine, and then made up a fake rule to cover their tracks.
In case any JW that might see this would make an excuse that the Greek word used in Phil 2 and Rom 14 were different, I have photocopies (see image below) of the Watchtower's Kingdom Interlinear which shows that both uses of "Lord" in each verse is "Kurios."
|
The true hidden purpose of the New World Translation is to deny that the Lord Jesus Christ is God the Father. |
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that anyone who is outside of the Watchtower cannot be saved; more specifically to the point, they believe you must become a Jehovah's Witness, or you cannot receive "grace." Thus, only those who are a part of the Jehovah's Witnesses will call on the specific name "Jehovah," so therefore, they believe only they can be saved, and the Watchtower had to change the words of Scripture to get their new-age version (NWT) to match that belief.
I want to warn the Watchtower Society what the Lord God (i.e. Lord Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit) said:
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy [e.g. taking away Jesus Christ from His position as God], God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
-Revelation 22:18-19
That leaves an obvious question: If there were no Old Testament references, why did they choose those particular 7 verses to change? Again, remember that the NWT's purpose is to deny Christ's divinity, and so for example, let's look at their change in 1 Thessalonians 4:
That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
-1 Thessalonians 4:6
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
-1 Thessalonians 4:3
For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
-1 Thessalonians 4:2
One of the most clear passages that Jesus Christ is God is found in Colossians 1, and the context shows us that this is speaking directly of Jesus Christ:
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
-Colossians 1:12-20
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him allother things were created in the heavens and on the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. Allother things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before allother things, and by means of him allother things were made to exist,"
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "Letter to the Colossians 1:1-29," New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 2013, retrieved June 1, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/books/colossians/1]
So what ruleset did the Watchtower use to add in the word "other?" There is no ruleset; they just added it in, and you don't have to take my word for it because you can read it from the Kingdom Interlinear for yourself:
In the NWT, the brackets around the word "other" were removed. This will lead readers to believe that the word "other" was part of their Greek text, when it was not. There is no excuse for this; they just added "other" in where they wanted it so they can have an excuse to deny Christ's Divinity.
But this gets worse when we look at Revelation 5 in the Kingdom Interlinear. Look closely at verse 13 and you'll see that the Greek word for "all (things)" is the same as it is in Colossians 1, but they did NOT add in the word "other."
Even if the Watchtower someday "fixed" this verse to their liking, it still would not solve the problem because notice that it says "every creature that is in heaven and on earth" were giving glory and honor "to the Lamb." JWs believe that Jesus Christ is a created being, which creates a contradiction because in order for all created creatures to be giving glory and honor to the Lamb/Jesus, the Lamb/Jesus cannot be a created creature. (i.e. Jesus Christ is the Living God.)
After seeing this heretical pretzel of a bible version, it leads us to ask: who were the translators of the NWT? The fact is that for many years, the Watchtower hid the names of those who were on the translation committee, and Frederick Franz, head of the Watchtower Publicity Department, told a Scottish courtroom under oath:
"That is an absolute secret. It will never be revealed now or even after death. "
-Frederick Franz, Edinburgh, Scotland, Nov 24, 1954, quoted by George D. Chryssides, Jehovah's Witnesses: Continuity and Change, Routledge, 2016, ISBN: 9781351925426
Obviously, the Watchtower didn't want anyone to know who did the "translating." Later, in response to a lot of inquiry, the Watchtower decided to answer their cult members' concerns by quoting Charles Russell in an edition of their Awake! magazine:
"It is the truth rather than its servant that should be honored and proclaimed. There is too much disposition to credit truth to the preacher , forgetful that all truth is of God, who uses one or another servant in its proclamation as it may please him."
-Charles T. Russell, quoted in Awake, Oct 22, 1989, p. 20
This type of answer is actually very common among cults, and many documents I've read, which contain false doctrine and false prophecy, hide the name of the author. Their excuse is to "give credit to God rather than man," but the truth is that they don't want to be held accountable for what they teach, and they don't want to suffer any criticism from someone who actually has the Spirit of God and studies His Word.
I would caution all Christians to beware anyone who claims to be of Christ and will not publically put their name on what they teach; in most cases, it is the equivalent of denying Christ before men. (Mat 10:33) It would be the same as if one of the apostles of Christ in the early days of the church went out to address men on the street about the Gospel, but they wore a black cloak and hood that covered their face, and refused to let anyone know their identity.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
-Matthew 5:14-16
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
-John 3:19-21
"Atranslation committee ofexperienced anointed Christians was organized to produce the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in English."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "How the Bible Came to Us," The Watcher, Oct 15, 1997, p. 11-12
This was obviously an excuse to keep anyone from finding out who worked on the NWT. It wasn't until some members of the Watchtower Society got out of the JW cult and came forward with the truth that the public finally learned about the six men on the committee:
Of course, as soon as the names were released, background checks were done on these men to find out their experience with Hebrew and Koine Greek (i.e. the type of ancient Greek the NT was originally written in), and here's what was found:
|
Now that the names have been released, and we know that Frederick Franz was one of the so-called "translators," let's go back to the 1954 court trial in Scotland and read a line of questioning he answered under oath. As I pointed out above, Franz was the only person on the NWT committee that had some training in Hebrew:
"Q: Have you also made yourself familiar with Hebrew?
A: Yes.
Q: So thatyou have a substantial linguistic apparatus at your command?
A:Yes, for use in my biblical work.
Q: I think you are able to read and follow the Bible in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and French?
A: Yes.
[The following day, on Nov 25th:] Q: You, yourself, read and speak Hebrew, do you?
A:I do not speak Hebrew.
Q: You do not?
A: No.
Q: Can you translate that into Hebrew?
A: Which?
Q: That fourth verse of the second chapter of Genesis?
A: You mean here?
Q: Yes.
A:No, I won't attempt to do that. "
-Frederick Franz, answering questions in Edinburgh, Scotland courtroom, quoted by Ron Rhodes, Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses, Harvest House Publishers, 2009, p. 97, ISBN: 9780736936453
The problem here is that, for any student learning Hebrew, Genesis 2:4 is a relatively simply verse to translate:
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
-Genesis 2:4
Again, the Watchtower has created a bible version for themselves with which they can "correct" any Biblical statement that conflicts with any Jehovah's Witness teaching; thereby making the teachings of the Watchtower Society the measuring rod of truth. This is insanely hypocritical because in 1962, the Watchtower published a critique of Mormonism and accused them of doing the same thing:
"Mormons acknowledge that they accept the Bible as the inspired Word of God, but they are quick to qualify their acceptance by saying: 'We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly.'This loophole permits them to reject any Biblical statement that conflicts with Mormon teaching. Thus, Mormon teachings and writings are made the measuring rod of truth. "
-Watchtower, "A Look at Mormonism," Apr 1, 1962, p. 216
When asked the question "Do Jehovah's Witnesses depend on the New World Translation to support their beliefs," the Watchtower answers:
"No, for we continue to use many translations of the Bible in our witnessing work...we are also happy to study with those who prefer to use other translations ."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "Have Jehovah's Witnesses Changed the Bible to Fit Their Beliefs?" Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved May 30, 2017, [jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/changed-bible-beliefs]
However, if you actually talk with a Jehovah's Witness who shows up at your door, they almost always have a NWT in their hand. In fact, when quoting the King James Bible to them, to show them the contradiction between God's Word and their JW beliefs, they will almost always request to open the verses from the NWT as a response, and this is because they have found a "
In face-to-face conversation, a Jehovah's Witness will tell you that the NWT is the pure word of God that all believers should use, and that no other version can match it for clarity and understanding. The following author went through an analysis of all the English bible versions available, addressing them on common problems associated with each one, and although I do not endorse him in any way, I wanted to point out that after analyzing the NWT, he concluded:
"This study is by no means a comprehensive review of all the merits or faults of the New World Translation. These examples are adequate, however, to show thatit is unsuited for use of people who want to know what the Bible really teaches ."
-Jack P. Lewis, The English Bible, from KJV to NIV: A History and Evaluation, Baker Book House, 1991, p. 235, ISBN: 9780801056666
The reason I wanted to include this quote was to demonstrate that, even an author that may back new-age bible versions does not have a good thing to say about the NWT. As we just read, if someone wants to understand doctrine, they should stay away from the NWT.
I have listened to many Jehovah's Witnesses claim that the NWT gives better clarity and understanding than any other translation, and yet, the year the Watchtower released the NWT, they said:
"The Watch Tower Society have till now quoted, cited and referred to more than seventy different Bible translations in English and other languages. Thusthe Society has recognized the value of them all and has made use of the good in them all as needed for setting forth God's true message and clearing away religious confusion ."
-Watchtower, Sept 15, 1950; See also Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1959, p. 255, [University of Wisconsin - Madison]
I quote the Watchtower to demonstrate more of the contradictions and hypocrisy, showing that they believed the use of other new-age bible versions outside of the NWT were "good" to "setting forth God's true message," but today, they change their story and rely only on the NWT. I've also listened to Jehovah's Witnesses claim the King James Bible is too difficult to read and is not good for people to understand, and yet, until 1950, they primarily used the King James Bible:
"From the time of its organization the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society has used the King James Version of 1611 as its basic version for Bible study. "
-Watchtower, Mar 15, 1951; See also Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1959, p. 255, [University of Wisconsin - Madison]
Some readers may not know that the NWT removes verses from Scripture, but this should be no surprise because the NWT is based on the same thing all the other new-age versions are based on: Westcott and Hort's corrupt Greek manuscript. Like all the other corrupt versions, the NWT removes verses like Mat 17:21, just to give one of many examples:
Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
-Matthew 17:21
(See Jehovah's Witnesses, "How the Bible Came to Us" Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved May 31, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/appendix-a/how-the-bible-came-to-us])
For the Greek text, they claimed to base it primarily on Westcott and Hort's corrupt translation, the same one all the other new-age versions use, but also claimed that they compared it to 2nd and 3rd century papyri (i.e. Sinaiticus and Vaticanus), which all other new-age versions have also done (because that's what Westcott and Hort did), but how did they accomplish this task when no one on their staff could do the translating? However, the only real difference between the NWT and all the other new-age bible versions is that the new-age translators had more people qualified in Biblical languages, but they still translated based on their own personal biases; all of them, Jehovha's Witness or not, have taken liberties in their so-called "translating," and they're all hypocrites, but they want an ecumenical, uniform hypocrisy.
(See Jehovah's Witnesses, "How the Bible Came to Us" Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved May 31, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/appendix-a/how-the-bible-came-to-us]; Read "Where Bible Versions Come From" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Now let's look at what JWs say about the King James Bible, the book that the JWs stopped using in 1950:
"Based on those master texts, it is evident that some verses of the Christian Greek Scriptures found in older translations, such as the King James Version, were actuallyadditions made by later copyists and were never part of the inspired Scriptures . However, because the verse division generally accepted in Bible translations was already established in the 16th century,the omission of these verses now creates gaps in the verse numbering in most Bibles ."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "How the Bible Came to Us" Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved May 31, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/appendix-a/how-the-bible-came-to-us]
In short, they're claiming that the Christians who helped in the eventual production of the King James Bible were liars. (i.e. They would have to be liars if they just added things in that were not inspired of God.) And in cowardly fashion, just as all the other new-age bible versions, they will not simply renumber the verses; instead they leave blanks, or in other words, they believe they have God's true word in the NWT, but don't have enough faith in it to make a stand to change the numbers to what they think those verse numbers ought to be. (i.e. Changing the numbers would cause people to take notice of the problem, so for the sake of being discreet, they leave the numbers as they are.)
I've watched videos from Jehovah's Witnesses talking about the NWT, claiming it adds clarity and understanding to the reader about God's Word. One of the problems with such a claim is their removal of John 5:4.
For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
-John 5:4
Let's emphasize the claim of the Watchtower:
"It befits the significant time of transition from the old world to the righteous new world that translations of Scriptures today should as far as possibleeliminate the misleading influence of religious traditions which have their roots in paganism, that thus thepure truth of God's Word may shine forth in all its harmonious brilliance and with its convincing power... Our primary desire has been to seek, not the approval of men, but that of God, byrendering the truth of his inspired Word as purely and as consistently as our consecrated powers make possible. There is no benefit in self-deception . More than that, those who provide a translation for the spiritual instruction of others come undera special responsibility as teachers before the divine Judge. Hence our appreciation of the need of carefulness ."
-Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1969, p. 8-9
Since the Watchtower said they were "eliminating influence of tradition which had roots in paganism," it's interesting to note that they made the same grave mistake that all the other new-age versions make, which is to change the word "Easter" in Acts 12:4 to "Passover," which makes it wrong, and contradicts the rest of God's Word. New-age versions do this in attempt to defend their pagan celebration of Easter, claiming it to be of Christ instead of confessing the truth of its pagan origin and nature in all of its traditions, and so the NWT does the same because it comes from the same source as all the other wicked versions.
(Read "Easter: Christians Celebrating Abomination" here at creationliberty.com for more details on the truth about Easter in Acts 12:4, and most churchgoers tarnish the holiness of Christ with their wicked pagan traditions.)
In summary, the Watchtower claims they were careful with the Scriptures; translating everything purely as possible without any influence from religious traditions or self-deception. This is a LIE. As any JW will tell you, they believe the Kingdom Interlinear and the NWT to be the most pure bible version that anyone could read, but because they follow the instruction of the Watchtower to read nothing outside of Watchtower approval, they are reaping the same self-deception that their organization has sowed.
Truths and Myths About Charles Russell
In a very early edition of the Watchtower magazine, Russell said:
"A truth presented by Satan himself is just as true as a truth stated by God. Accept truth wherever you find it, no matter what it contradicts. "
-Watchtower, Issue #7, 1879, p. 8-9
This would mean if someone found information that conflicts with the Word of God, and they perceived it as "truth," then it should be accepted as truth. A very strange statement from a very strange man, and perhaps the documentation we'll see about Russell in this chapter will help shed light on why he would say something that complimentary about Satan, the father of lies.
One of the first things I want to address is the claim that Charles Russell was a Freemason, and though some readers may be surprised by my statements on this matter, the fact is that Russell was NOT a member of any known Masonic temple. If any readers are unfamiliar with Freemasonry, and that it is a Luciferian cult, please read our article, "Freemasonry: A Luciferian Beacon" here at creationliberty.com to get more details.
The most common example I've seen used on the internet in favor of Russell being a Freemason is his gravestone (i.e. the location he was buried). Russell is buried at 226 Cemetery Ln, Pittsburgh, PA, and the location is next to a Masonic Temple of the Scottish Rite.
Those who argue in favor of Russell being a Freemason will point to the Masonic symbols on the gravestone, namely, the "Cross & Crown" as seen below.
Although JWs may claim this is a "Christian" symbol, as do many other cults around the world, it has nothing to do with Christianity. Even the cross symbol so commonly used by leavened church buildings and ministries around the world has nothing to do with Christianity; as we demonstrate historically and Scripturally in our article: "Christian Symbols Are Not Christian."
Albert Pike, the most highly revered authority in Freemasonry, stated that the true meaning of the cross in this symbol is a philosophical representation of sexual intercourse:
"The world-producing egg figures [pagan mythology of the world birthed from an egg] in all cosmogonies [study of the origin of the universe]; and modern science has discovered that all animal production is oviparous [females produce eggs that are fertilized by sperm]. Fromthis idea of generation came the reverence everywhere paid the image of generative power [sexual intercourse], which formed the Stauros of the Gnostics, and the philosophical Cross of the Masons ."
-Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, L.H. Jenkins, 1871, p. 771, [University of Michigan]
Pike is saying that this cross does NOT represent Christ, Christianity, or the Bible in any way; rather, it is a representation of "generative power," which is sexual intercourse. Just to make sure this is clarified, he compares it to the Stauros of the Gnostics, which Satanist Helena Blavatsky clearly defined:
 |
" -Helena P. Blavatsky, Isis Unveiled: Theology, J.W. Bouton, 1891, p. 270, [Harvard University] |
So now let me reason with those of you who having understanding: If a dead man has a gravestone made for him that has Masonic symbols on it, does that automatically make him a Freemason? No. Most conspiracy "ministries" out there would condemn me for even questioning it. (i.e. When I say "conspiracy ministries," I mean those church-goers who spend little-to-no time on the doctrines of Christ and most of their time hunting conspiracies.) We have to stop and consider: Did Charles Russell craft his own gravestone? There is no evidence that he made the gravestone himself, and so whoever made it, did it after he was dead (i.e. it would not have been prepared beforehand since his death was untimely), so for all those who would metaphorically bite my head off for daring to question the matter: Is it possible that someone who was a Freemason made that to honor Russell, even though Russell was not a Freemason? (Of course that's a possibility, but not one most people in the "conspiracy ministry movement" are willing to consider.)
Though I haven't seen the direct evidence, I have been told that it was the Watchtower Society who had that gravestone made in 1921. Even if that was the case, they made it with a symbol that they likely didn't understand, and a pyramid shape because that's what Russell studied; it still does NOT provide the evidence needed that Russell was a member of the Freemasons.
The main point I'm trying to make is that we should not be so quick to draw conclusions without evidence. We don't know who made the gravestone, nor how that man was connected to Charles Russell. Also, it's not like Russell walked his dead body over to the burial ground next to the Masonic Temple, someone else buried him there, so we have to leave possibilities open until we gather more evidence.
As I investigated this matter, I found a very interesting quotation from Charles Russell that he gave during a speech to the 1913 Convention Report of the International Bible Students, which at first glance, almost convinced me with certainty that he was Freemason:
"I am very glad to have this particular opportunity of saying a word about some of the things in which we agree with our Masonic friends, because we are speaking in a building dedicated to Masonry, and we also are Masons.I am a Free Mason. I am a free and accepted Mason, if I may carry the matter to its full length, because that is what our Masonic brethren like to tell us, that they are free and accepted Masons."
-Charles T. Russell, speech he gave called "The Temple of God," given a Special 1913 Convention Report of the International Bible Students, quoted by Mercedes O'Ryan, The Wind Demon Within Me: The True Story of One Woman's Lifelong Battle With Demonic Possession After Becoming a Jehovah's Witness, AuthorHouse, 2008, p. 241, ISBN: 9781438929996
As I said, that convinced me—until I did some research and found the full quote. Most conspiracy websites out there will only quote that small section above and stop, but there's a reason they don't go gather the whole thing and quote all of it. (i.e. Hypocrites; because the "conspiracy ministries" often accuse others of doing that very same thing.) Let's read more of the quote:
"I am very glad to have this particular opportunity of saying a word about some of the things in which we agree with our Masonic friends, because we are speaking in a building dedicated to Masonry, and we also are Masons. I am a Free Mason. I am a free and accepted Mason, if I may carry the matter to its full length, because that is what our Masonic brethren like to tell us, that they are free and accepted Masons.That is their style of putting it. Now I am a free and accepted Mason.I trust we all are. But not just after the style of our Masonic brethren. We have no quarrel with them. I am not going to say a word against Free Masons. In fact,some of my very dear friends are Masons , and I can appreciate that there are certain very precious truths that are held in part by our Masonic friends.I have talked to them at times, and they have said, How do you know about all of these things? We thought nobody knew anything about these things except those who had access to our very highest logic. "
-Charles T. Russell, speech he gave called "The Temple of God," given a Special 1913 Convention Report of the International Bible Students, quoted by Mercedes O'Ryan, The Wind Demon Within Me: The True Story of One Woman's Lifelong Battle With Demonic Possession After Becoming a Jehovah's Witness, AuthorHouse, 2008, p. 241, ISBN: 9781438929996
To those of you who read this slowly, in the second part of the quote, it should start to raise questions because Russell begins to address Masons and their organization from a third-person position, and even states that "we ALL are... free and accepted Masons." That doesn't make sense because the audience he was addressing was not made up of Freemasons, so why would he say that they all (i.e. "we" meaning all the Russellites) were Freemasons? He also addresses his "Masonic friends," which again, is from a third-party perspective, from the outside looking in. However, although this alone raises serious questions of the context, I still believe we need more evidence to prove that Charles Russell was speaking of being a "free and accepted Mason" in a metaphorical sense.
After doing some more research, I found the International Bible Students book where Russell's speech was documented, and as I suspected, he was referring to himself and the listening audience as "free and accepted Masons" in the METAPHORICAL context, as can clearly be seen from his introduction:
"My topic for this afternoon, dear friends, is found in the Apostle's words, 'For the Temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.' As Christian people, Bible Students from all denominations, it would seem that we have something in our faith that is in sympathy and harmony with each denomination, the world over. Do our Presbyterian friends speak of the election? We more. Do our Methodist friends have the doctrine of free grace? We more. Do our Baptist friends understand the importance of baptism, to some extent? We more. Do our friends of the Christian denomination, and our Congregational friends, appreciate the great privileges of individuality in church government? We more.Do our Masonic friends understand something about the Temple, and being Knights Templars, and so on? We more. Do our Roman Catholic and Church of England friends believe in a Universal church? We more. "
-Charles T. Russell, "The Temple of God," Pastor Russell's Convention Discourses, International Bible Students Association, 1970, p. 359
When he says "I am a free and accepted Mason," and then says "That is
"In other words, it would seem as though the message of God's Word has been more or less subdivided, andeach denomination [i.e. Freemasonry was one of the denominations being referred to as defined in the first paragraph of his speech] has taken hold of a piece of the truth, and around that bit of truth has gathered a good deal that we think is erroneous . But we are glad they have that little bit of truth... The Lord intended to make one Church, and he intended that one Churchshould have not merely a little scrap of the truth, but all the truth . We are not finding fault with our neighbors and friends—not at all; for we remember we had very similar ideas, and not very long ago; but, without finding any fault with anybody, we are glad that we are coming to see a more reasonable and harmonious way, and,abandoning all church creeds and fences that so long have separated God's people, we come together upon the platform of the Bible, and everything that is in the Bible, and the Bible only. Is not that very happifying to us? Is not that what is bringing us so much blessing in the study of God's Word, as International Bible Students? It is."
-Charles T. Russell, "The Temple of God," Pastor Russell's Convention Discourses, International Bible Students Association, 1970, p. 359
As we read earlier, Russell also spoke of the Masons talking to him and saying they were surprised that he knew certain things about their secrets without having "access to our very highest logic." Russell, later in the speech, points out that they are referring to his study on the Great Pyramid, which turned out to be false doctrine, and thus, he's also telling people that he did NOT learn those things about the Great Pyramid from Freemasons. (i.e. Most conspiracy "ministries" and websites out there claim that the evidence of Russell being a Freemason is because he studied pyramidology, but the evidence in this speech shows that to be false.)
After everything we have read so far, and all the lies we have seen coming from the Watchtower Society, I have found no reason to give credit to much of anything that comes from Jehovah's Witnesses, but at the very least, they have taken more efforts to search for evidence on this matter than most of these "conspiracy ministries" have. They contacted the Pennsylvania Masonic lodges to find any record of Russell's membership, and the following message was sent from the Masonic office:
"Charles Taze Russell was not a Pennsylvania Freemason. Nor does he appear in the records of England or Ireland. "
(See Barbara Anderson, "C.T. Russell Was Never a Freemason," Watchtower Documents, retrieved Apr 11, 2017, [watchtowerdocuments.org/charles-taze-russell-was-not-a-pennsylvania-freemason])
Of course, the fanatics out there would claim this was a cover-up, and to be fair, perhaps it is; but where is the evidence for that? We Christians ought to avoid making claims on conjecture (i.e. an opinion without proper research), and remember that Freemasons, in most instances, love to have popular religious names associated with their organization because it encourages new membership and growth of their cult. The really sad part about this is that I've found more JWs doing actual research and investigation on this matter than I have these conspiracy websites out there because out of all the websites I visited who made the claim that Russell was a Freemason, I've yet to find one who backed up their claim with actual evidence.
The fact is that Russell was NOT a member of the Freemasons, but he WAS a friend and colleague to Freemasons, as he was a friend to Catholics and other various "denominations," because he was attempting an ecumenical unity in the sense that he wanted all people to come and be a part of his International Bible Students organization, which would later become JWs.
Russell also takes a lot of attack about something called "Miracle Wheat," and it seems like a lot of conspiracy websites are only giving half the truth about this subject. In a nutshell, Russell is generally given credit for discovering, naming, growing, and profiting off of "Miracle Wheat" through advertising in his magazine, making the claim that his "Miracle Wheat" was many times better than regular wheat and produced a lot more.
First of all, the alleged Miracle Wheat was discovered by a Virginia farmer named K.B. Stoner, when he found one of the wheat plants in his crop had produced an amazing 142 heads of wheat from a single seed. According to the Watchtower, the seed has been grown in a nursery and on the open field in subsequent years of testing, and the alleged results were that the yield was two to three times greater than a normal wheat harvest. Russell did not discover the wheat, nor did he personally make a report about it; it was the Watchtower who reported it through a magazine that Russell owned.
(See The Watch Tower, Mar 15, 1908, p. 86)
A few months later, the Watchtower reported results of growing experiments from a man named Allen Adams in Idaho; that he was getting higher yields out of the Miracle Wheat variety. Later that year, the Watchtower released another issue which was exploring farmers who had discovered multi-headed wheat plants.
(See The Watch Tower, July 15, 1908, p. 214; See also The Watch Tower, Oct 1, 1908, p. 291)
The problem is that by 1910, Russell began to comment on the Miracle Wheat in the Watchtower, claiming that it may be used in the coming age of the millennial reign of Christ (which, at the time, they believed was going to happen in 4 years), in a section called "Restitution Work Begun:"
"Referring to the 'times of restitution' of Messiah's reign the Prophet declares, 'The earth shall yield her increase .' (Ezek 34:27)Behold preparations for the fulfillment of this promise : About three years ago a Virginia farmer found one abnormal bunch of 120 stalks of wheat from one root—the offspring of one grain of wheat. Under the name of'miracle wheat' it is now being developed slowly in various parts—the average yield appears to be about 1,200 grains from one kernel. And this very year the same peculiarity in oats has been found—a bunch growing wild by the roadside. Additionally the same Divine providence is guiding our chemists to economical methods of extracting nitrogen from the atmosphere for the feeding of the soil and thus to the 'increase' of earth's blessings andin fulfillment of God's promise that he will make the earth (his footstool) glorious ."
-The Watch Tower, Vol. XXXI, No. 17, Sept 1, 1910, p. 279, [pastorrussell.pl/dziela/reprinty/reprinty-1910/r4671-0-273-september-1-1910]
One of the things I want readers to take into consideration is that Russell continued his cult after the 1874/1876 prophecy failed, and that during this time, as well as the 1841 failed prophecy, a number of farmers refused to produce crops because they believed the end was just around the corner. This obviously caused a lot of problems and blowback when the prophecy was revealed to be a lie becaues there were tens of thousands of people left with nothing. The Miracle Wheat was a fantastic opportunity for Russell in the years before 1914, because when his prophecy would later be revealed as a failure, it would soften the blowback because he could now convince farmers that they should grow the "Miracle Wheat" in preparation for the "coming" (future tense) earthly kingdom of Jehovah. (i.e. It was a profitable move for Russell.)
On June 15, 1911, Russell's magazine published the offer of "Brother Bohnet," who offered to sell the Miracle Wheat grain and donate the proceeds to the Watchtower:
"Brother Bohnet writes us that he has gradually accumulated a crop of miracle wheat from the few grains he obtained as a start. He prefers that the first opportunity for obtaining this wheat shall go to THE WATCH TOWER readers.He will sell it for $1 per pound, including postage, and give the entire proceeds to our Society. All orders for this wheat should be addressed, Miracle Wheat Bohnet, 17 Hicks street, Brooklyn, N. Y. This will keep mail on this subject separate from his personal mail and from ours."
-The Watch Tower, June 15, 1911, p. 178, See also Brooklyn Daily Eagle, New York, Sept 25, 1911, p. 1
The conflict started when the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper created and published a cartoon on the subject of the Watchtower's involvement with Miracle What. (See image below.) This obviously struck a negative chord with the public concerning Russell and the Watchtower, so Russell responded with lawsuit against the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
"The action is for damages for libel. [i.e. lying about something or someone in writing] The defendant is the publisher of a daily newspaper. The plaintiff professes to be an interpreter of the Bible, and is an unordained preacher. The libel alleged was published in a cartoon. The headline of the cartoon is 'Easy Money Puzzle.' In the cartoon is shown a building on which is printed 'Onion Bank.' The figure of a man appears at the door of the building. He is represented as saying: 'You're wasting time. Come on in here.' In the foreground is an effigy of the plaintiff, portrayed as carrying a small package. There is this subscription: 'If Pastor Russell can get a dollar a pound for Miracle Wheat, what could he have got for Miracle Stocks and Bonds as a director in the old Union Bank?' Contemporaneously with the publication, |
 |
disciples, to their loss, of a grade of wheat, known as Miracle Wheat, at $1 per pound. The defendant pleaded the truth in justification.The learned trial court charged the jury that the publication was libelous, and left it to them to say whether the defense was established. The jury rendered a verdict for the defendant. "
-New York Supplement, "Russell v. Brooklyn Daily Eagle," Vol. 153, West Publishing Company, 1915, p. 451
To clarify the cartoon, in case you did not understand the above quotation, Union Bank was involved in a list of illegal activities, which can be simply summed up as theft through lies. The cartoon writes "Onion Bank" instead of "Union Bank" as a joke that if you peel back the layers, there is a strong odor inside. The cartoon is suggesting that Russell, depicted holding a package of Miracle Wheat seeds would have been much more successful if he joined forces with the extortionists from the Union Bank.
It should also be noted that "the trial court charged [instructed] the jury that the publication was libelous," meaning that the judge thought the newspaper was guilty of libel. However, in American courts of law, it is up the jury, the people, to decide if they believed the newpaper was guilty of libel; they decided that the newspaper was innocent, and that Russell was deceiving his readers.
Though I cannot know the thoughts of the jurors, I can say there were two major problems with Russell's lawsuit, the first being that Russell had already told his readers that the "Miracle Wheat" was a fulfillment of prophecy, which would adhere them to the sale of it. Although it was the individual farmer selling the wheat, the profits were publically promised to Russell's Watchtower, so the end of the money trail was Russell, and since he advertised it though his own publication, there was no one else to point a finger at.
The second problem is that official U.S. Commercial Bushel sizes for wheat is 60 lbs, which means the "Miracle Wheat" was being sold at $60 a bushel, which wouldn't have been a problem if the claims about the wheat were true, but the jury found the defendant's (i.e. Brooklyn Daily Eagle's) witnesses quite persuasive:
"J.C. Jube, superintendent of the Hecker flour mills in Manhattan, was shown a sample of 'Miracle' wheat. He sent for his head miller, whoexamined the 'divine' grain with great interest. Then the head miller disappeared and returned later with a sample package of No. 2 Red. soft winter wheat. In appearance it was the same as the 'Miracle' wheat, and Superintendent Forbes said he would stake his reputation as a wheat man for years that the wheat the head miller brought in—it sells at 95 cents a bushel—was just as good as the 'Miracle' brand. Both wheats were grown in Ohio. The 'Miracle' wheat was first grown in Pennsylvania, according to Pastor Russell. Brother Bohnet's contributed grains were grown in Ohio and Brother Femming's in Indiania [sic]. The best wheat, according to grain experts, comes from none of these States, but from the Northwest and Canada. According to Dr. John C. Olsen, the Polytechnic Institute chemist and an authority on pure foodstuffs, it is not prossible [sic] to take the best Pennsylvania grain, plant it in Ohio and then have Pennsylvania quality grow. The result will be Ohio quality, for climate and soil will be determining factors. Dr. Ilson [sic] does not see, accordingly, how 'Miracle' wheat grown in comparatively poor wheat soil of an Eastern State can have extraordinary qualities when planted in also comparatively poor wheat soil this side of the region where the country's best wheat is grown."
-Brooklyn Daily Eagle, "Plaintiff's Exhibit 12: Still better Chance to Make $59.05 Profit," New York, Sept 25, 1911, p. 1
At worst, Russell was a liar and extortionist, and at best, he was a fool who didn't do his research; either way, this didn't make him look very good, and the jury found the newspaper innocent on all counts. The Rural New-Yorker published a short article on the matter, and summed it up fairly well:
"About a year ago the Brooklyn pastor undertook to sell 'Miracle' wheat through the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, an organization which, it is said, he personally controlled. It is said that the circulars prophesied a famine for the year 1914 and predicted a sale of the 'Miracle' wheat at $60 a bushel, and the Brooklyn Eagle published a cartoon ridiculing the pastor and his wheat proposition, and the pastor sued the paper for $100,000 damages, alleging that the cartoon and the paragraphs referring to it had put him in the class with financial crooks. The attorney for the defense, in summing the case, alleged that the followers of Pastor Russell had been made to believe that everything he wrote was gospel truth and they rose for it like fish for a minnow, but as soon as the cartoon and articles about it were printed in the Eagle the sales stopped short. We have no information to show the intent of Mr. Russell in the sale of the 'Miracle' wheat.It is possible that he was misled by the claims presented for it by other promoters, and that he was innocent of any intentional deception on his own part, but after having promoted the 'Miracle' wheat he was certainly badly advised in bringing a suit against the publication that sought to protect its readers ,"
-Rural New-Yorker, Rural Publishing Company, Vol. 72, 1913, p. 238
So to clear up the misconceptions, Russell did not personally sell the "Miracle Wheat," but his organization did, and he profited from it. Russell was also legally advised to NOT sue for libel, which demonstrates that people on Russell's staff knew it was only going to make his publication look bad.
Russell did not grow the wheat, nor did he name it "Miracle Wheat," which is what typical "conspiracy ministries" parrot; that name had been floating around in the media for some time, but it was never picked up by any prominent wheat farmer or seller because it was found to be nothing more than regular wheat. I also want to state very clearly the following fact: If Russell had any concern for the welfare of his congregation and readers, he would have never allowed his organization to charge people 60 times the normal value of wheat, and the reason he accepted those prices that were set by that farmer was because Russell was blinded by dollar signs.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
-1 Timothiy 6:10
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion [i.e. taking advantage of people for money] and excess [i.e. overabundance for personal desire of money or material things].
-Matthew 23:25
One of the most commonly cited quotes comes from a Watchtower article from 1900:
"[R]eading matter distributed to a colored congregation would more than half of it be utterly wasted, and a very small percentage indeed likely to yield good results. "
-Watchtower, Apr 15, 1900, p. 122
If we just read this sentence, we would be led to conclude that the Watchtower was a racist organization. However, this is another cherry-picked quote, and in the interest of fairness, let's read the context of the article to get a better idea of why that was written:
"There are probably as many asa hundred colored brethren on the Watch Tower lists , some of them very clear in the truth, and very earnest in its service, financially and otherwise. We have received letters from several of these, who had intended engaging in the volunteer work, expressing surprise that in the call for volunteers in the March 1st issue we restricted the inquiry to white Protestant churches. They rightly realized that we have not the slightest of race prejudice, and thatwe love the colored brethren with just the same warmth of heart that we love the white , and they queried therefore why such a distinction should be made in the call.The reason is that so far as we are able to judge, colored people have less education than whites - many of them quite insufficient to permit them to profit by such reading as we have to give forth. Our conclusion therefore is based upon the supposition that reading matter distributed to a colored congregation would more than half of it be utterly wasted, and a very small percentage indeed likely to yield good results."
-Watchtower, Apr 15, 1900, p. 122
First of all, if there were a hundred black men and women in the organization, then you can't say they're full-on racists, otherwise, they would never have been allowed to join. This publication was addressing those black members' concern of why they were requested to hand out the materials only to the white churches, but not the black ones, and their answer was simply that the black communities (at that time) were often not getting the literary education they would need to read the material for themselves, meaning that the Watchtower would be wasting resources, so to save time and money, they generally avoided the black churches. This was not a racist motivation, but rather, an effort to use the resources more sparingly because they cost money to produce, and I would also add that nowhere in this publication did they give an order not to TALK to the black people; they just requested their members not to hand them materials so to cut down on costs.
As someone who prints and hands out materials, I can completely understand that point of view; meaning, I would not want to hand out materials if they would be wasted. However, the real racial superiority complex of Russell and the Watchtower shows itself in articles like this:
"While it is true that the white race exhibits some qualities of superiority over any other, we are to remember that there are wide differences in the sameCaucasian (Semitic and Aryan) family; and also we should remember that some of the qualities which have given this branch of the human family its preeminence [i.e. virtuous superiority] in the world are not such as can be pointed to as in all respects admirable... The secret ofthe greater intelligence and aptitude of the Caucasian undoubtedly in great measure is to be attributed to the commingling of blood amongst its various branches [i.e. he believes righteousness and virtue are based on special breeding, and that whites have these qualities in greater supply]; and this was evidently forced in large measure by circumstances under divine control [i.e. God made white people breed in the correct way to be morally superior to blacks]... Noah declared, prophetically, that Ham's [ancestor of the black Africans] characteristics which had led him to unseemly conduct disrespectful to his father, would be found cropping out later, inherited by his son, and prophetically he foretold that this degeneracy would mark the posterity of Canaan, degrading him, making him servile. We are not able to determine to a certainty thatthe sons of Ham and Canaan are the negroes; but we consider that general view as probable as any other ."
-Watchtower, July 15, 1902, p. 215-216
There isn't any room for misinterpretation here; Russell made it VERY clear that he believed that morality comes from breeding and genetics, that the blacks were genetically predisposed to be delinquents, and that whites were genetically predisposed to be virtuous. That's clear racist bigotry, and it was based on common teaching that was floating around at that time (mostly thanks to the church of Evolutionism).
(Read "Evolution: A New-Age Religion" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
I've read some online articles from authors defending Russell, claiming that he did not make a racist statement here, and pointed out that prior to this statement, he said that blacks were fit for the "Royal Priesthood." I read it, and I understand what he was saying, but that does not negate the statement we just read. Russell believed that blacks had genetic difficulties in doing good works, and in his Golden Age magazine (later renamed Awake!), the publishers printed an article by Joseph P. Samak, which says:
"The farmers of Czecho-Slovakia do 'crossing' work also. Once I remember they obtained unusually large potatoes, fifteen or twenty from one seed; but big as they were they proved unfit for human beings and were used to feed animals. They were hybrids--nothing else; and although they were large in size the middle of the potato was empty or filled with bad-smelling water. From my experience with these hybrids I believe that when 'the earth shall yield its increase' it will come along different lines than the 'crossing' of plants. Large fruits can be raised by crossing, butnot always of value. Even in the case of the human family, if the father and mother are of different races the children are sometimes unfit for brain work. Wonderful are the fixed laws of God. "
-Joseph P. Samak, "Agriculture and Husbandry," The Golden Age, Jan 7, 1920, p. 246
Decades later, the magazine was still publishing these ideas:
"South Africa's whole color policy is conditioned by this fact and this fear: 80 per cent of her population is black; if the color bar is breached, what new dike can stopa black flood from overflowing and destroying the civilisation with which white man have displaced the wilderness?"
-Awake!, "Race Problems and Policies in South Africa: A Mulitiracial Society Gropes After a Formula for Racial Peace," Oct 8, 1953, p. 6
The Watchtower has changed its tune over the years and started writing articles that supported more interracial marriage and racial equality, but this was only because of politics. With the civil rights movement, the Watchtower began to fear how the public would view their beliefs, so they changed them, not to be in line with the Word of God, but to be in line with the political agenda of the day. These cults, like JWs, Catholics, and Mormons, always do the same thing: They go whichever way the wind is blowing, and their true foundation for belief and teaching is not the Almighty God, but rather it's the political sway of the country they live in at the time.
(Read "Wolves in Costume: Martin Luther King Jr" here at creationliberty.com for more details; The civil rights movement in America is a communist movement, and King was no Christian.)
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
-Ephesians 4:14
The bottom line is that Charles Russell was no more racist or non-racist than many people in that day who believed the Evolutionism being spread around concerning racial traits in connection to intelligence and/or virtue. Though Russell was not an evolutionist, there are aspects of Evolutionism that Russell did accept, and it's the same aspect that the German Nazis accepted:
"Now tell me, Do not these facts prove that divine providence has had much to do with the progress and direction of the lamp of truth?--Are they not a manifestation of divine election or selection? Mark you, I am following the hypothesis presented in MILLENNIAL DAWN, that the non-elect and non-enlightened are similarly and proportionately uncondemned. Nor am I claiming in this that God is a respecter of persons. It is quite another thingthat God may have been, nay,evidently has been, a respecter of races, and has specially blessed and favored certain branches of the Aryan race in Europe and America . But the fact, thatthe white race has been more abundantly blessed with the light of the Gospel than others , is not to be understood to signify that when members of other races heard and appreciated the Gospel, they were repulsed or rejected by the Lord. This view is in full harmony with that suggestion that God is no respecter of persons, but that 'In every land he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted of him.' In harmony with this, the author of MILLENNIAL DAWN holds that, whilethe elect Church will probably be composed chiefly of the highly favored white race , nevertheless, it will probably have in it representatives out of 'every kindred, people and tongue.'"
-Golden Age, Oct 15, 1919, p. 44; See also Charles T. Russell, The Bible Versus the Evolution Theory, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1898, p. 30-31, [University of Michigan]
This Aryan supremacy is exactly what Adolf Hitler believed in, and following the logic Russell's taught that people with different shades of skin color (i.e. other than white Europeans) would be prone to iniquity, it would mean that Jehovah God would have to do something about it in the newly restored kingdom on earth during Christ's reign. Russell believed that the white people followed God, while the black people didn't, therefore, the white people are the dominant "race" of the church's elect. Without any Scriptural backing, their solution to this is that their Jehovah God would turn the black people into white people to "cure" them of their immoral behavior, even though this would only be a small minority of saved people.
"Can the Ethiopian change his skin? We answer, No. But all will admit that what the Ethiopian cannot do for himself God could readily do for him. The difference between the races of men and the differences between their languages have long been arguments against the solidarity of the human family.The doctrine of restitution has also raised the question. How could all men be brought to perfection and which color of skin was the original? The answer is now provided. God can change the Ethiopian's skin in his own due time. Prof. H. A. Edwards, Supt. of Schools in Slater, Mo., has written for the public press an elaborate description of how Julius Jackson, of New Frankfort, Mo.,a negro boy of nine years, began to grow white in September, 1901, and is now fully nine-tenths white . He assures us that this is no whitish skin disease; but that the new white skin is as healthy as that of any white boy, and that the changed boy has never been sick and never has taken medicines. Realizing that his story would be doubted, he interested Dr. F. A. Howard, chief division surgeon of the Chicago and Alton Ry., who corroborates the statement in the following published extract from a letter: 'I am obliged to you for an opportunity of seeing and examining the negro child, Julius Jackson. I found his heart action, respiration and temperature perfectly normal and his mental faculties seem acute for one of his age. The white skin now covering at least 90 percent of his body is, so far as I am able to judge, in full possession of all its organs and those organs seem to be performing their natural functions--no roughness, chalky, or ashen appearance is present. It seems to me that the conditions warrant your opinion--the change is certainly caused by chemical conditions of the blood."
-Watchtower, Feb 15, 1904, p. 52-53
Before anyone thinks these are just tall tales from Russellite fanatics, this is actually a medical condition that has been documented somewhat thoroughly over the past century. Although rare, there are black people who have slowly turned white over the course of months or years, and it is a skin condition called "vitiligo."
 |
One of the most well-known cases of vitiligo was musician/dancer Michael Jackson. Rumors spread so widely about him having so much plastic surgery, many people thought he had some special surgery to turn himself white, but he was actually diagnosed with vitiligo. I am somewhat surprised that Jehovah's Witnesses didn't jump on this (perhaps they did, and I am unaware) because Michael Jackson, according to Jet magazine, was a " |
Below are some before/after photos of random people who have gone through the transition of having black skin turn white. It is not contagious, nor is there anything harmful about it; it's simply a condition in which skin cells that normally produce melanin stop functioning, and over time, as the skin cells die and are replaced, the melanin that made the skin black will disappear, leaving the skin white.
The point is that Russell believed that all will be white in Jehovah's kingdom because black skin represents sin or sinful behavior. This is obviously absurd, but I'm just showing you what he believed and taught.
In the early part of 1914 (i.e. the year he had predicted the end would come), Russell had prepared a photodrama theatre to preach his message, but the ratio of whites to blacks was about 4 to 1, and since the majority of whites did not want to be seated with blacks in the viewing room, Russell chose to segregate the viewings. After giving hypocritical, illogical, and unbiblical reasoning for this decision, the Watchtower assured everyone that, one day, all the corrupt blacks would become good whites:
"We reminded one dear sister that the Lord enjoins humility, and assures us that unless we humble ourselves we shall not be exalted. If nature favors the colored brethren and sisters in the exercise of humility it is that much to their advantage, if they are rightly exercised by it. A little while, and our humility will work out for our good. A little while, and those who shall have been faithful to their Covenant of Sacrificewill be granted new bodies, spiritual , beyond the veil,where color and sex distinctions will be no more . A little while, and the Millennial kingdom will be inaugurated, which will bringrestitution to all mankind--restitution to the perfection of mind and body, feature and color, to the grand original standard, which God declared 'very good,' and which was lost for a time through sin, but which is soon to be restored by the powerful kingdom of Messiah."
-Watch Tower, Apr 1, 1914, p. 106
Taking Russell's entire belief system that we have read from the past few quotations, the elimination of color "to the grand original standard," would mean that the blacks, who he believed were genetically predisposed to sin, would be restored to their original "white" state. As a side note, I also want to point out that Russell was referencing to the point God said everything was "very good," which was at the end of His creating mankind, and that includes woman, so for Russell to say that "sex distinctions will be no more," makes absolutely no sense unless he believes that everyone would become white males in Jehovah's kingdom. (Remember that according to JWs, only 144,000 go to heaven, so the majority will have earthly bodies and live on earth; for his statement to be true, all would have to become white males in Jehovah's kingdom.)
Russell also believed and taught strange medical doctrines; one of them being phrenology. Phrenology is the belief that the study of the shape and size of one's head gives details that indicate the level of one's intellect and moral awareness:
"Without claiming that phrenology has reached a perfection of development--without claiming that any has learned to read accurately from the shape of the human skull the various traits of character therein represented, even while admitting that such a reading of character might be defective, and particularly so with those whose characters have been transformed by the renewing of their mind through the begettal of the holy Spirit--neverthelesswe may admit that phrenology so far as understood fully corroborates the picture given us in the arrangement of the Tabernacle of Israel surrounded by the camp . If we imagine the human skull as spread out flat, we find that the central part would correspond to the Tabernacle and its court; for in the very center of the head on top lies spirituality, and directly in front of it lies veneration [i.e. reverence, or the highest degree of respect]. The latter organ would correspond well to the court, the former to the holy. As to enter the holies it was necessary to pass through the court, so to enter into a proper heart-appreciation of the spiritual things it is necessary that we enter in through veneration, reverence for God, which will lead us to worship him and to seek to know and to do his will.
Surrounding these two central organs are others which correspond well to the different divisions of the tribe of Levi--the sacred tribe devoted to the service of God in the court and in the Tabernacle.These organs represent faith, hope, benevolence, conscientiousness, firmness , etc., and then outside of these again come the various organs of the mind, which have to do more particularly with earthly things. These, useful and valuable in themselves, allneed to be controlled and guided from the center . Even as the in the camp of Israel, the center, the Tabernacle, was not controlled by the tribes, but the tribes were controlled and guided from the Tabernacle. Thusall the talents and qualities of mind and body which we possess, and which are all represented in our brains, are all to be subject to and guided by our reverence for God and our spiritual perception of his will concerning us, which will is to be expressed primarily through the intermediary organs of benevolence, faith, hope, conscience , etc."
-Zion's Watch Tower, "The Tabernacle of Meeting," July 15, 1907, p. 217
This means that Russell believed that morality came from genetic traits, which supports what we read earlier about his conclusions concerning morality and racial traits. He believed certain people were born with natural brain power to be good people, and others did not have the full capability of being good; of course, he believed himself to be among those with the correct color of skin and shape of head to be at the forefront of holiness, and thus, this is Russell's justification that he was a specimen born to be like God.
These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
-Psalm 50:21
"It is known that only about three out of every one hundred operated upon for appendicitis really have a diseased appendix needing removal.We give below a simple cure for appendicitis symptoms. The pain in the appendix region is caused by the biting of worms near the junction of the transverse colon with the small intestines, low down on the right side of the abdomen. This remedy is recommended also for typhoid fever, which is also a worm disease. The medicine is Santonine: dose, 3 grains, an hour before breakfast; repeated for four mornings, or until all the symptoms disappear. Then one dose per month for three months to eradicate all germs.This recipe is of incalculable value. Not only will it save the surgeon's and hospital fees of perhaps $200, but it saves weeks of ill health, inconvenience, convalescence and loss of salary. "
-Watchtower, "Cure for Appendicitis," Vol. 33, No. 2, Jan 15, 1912, p. 26
I have no clue where Russell got the information that 99.7% of all appendix surgeries were unnecessary, but the strange part about it is that 19th century medical journals did recommend 3 grains every morning for about a week, but only for worms, NOT appendicitis. Also, this remedy was NOT intended for people, but rather it was for parasites in dogs and farm animals specifically; based on the side effects I've read about for people, I doubt it is good for animals either, and it is sure to kill a lot of the good bacterial flora in your gut, which will weaken your overall immune system.
(See Charles L. Flint, American Farming and Stock Raising, Vol. 3, Casselberry, 1892, p. 1556, [University of Wisconsin - Madison])
Russell also advertised a "cure" for "surface cancer" (i.e. likely he meant visible tumors on the skin) that he did not disclose, nor did he want anyone to talk about:
"Cancer troubles are becoming more numerous. We know of no remedy for internal cancers except surgery. Even then a cure is doubtful. We have recently learned ofa very effective and simple remedy for cancers which show themselves on the surface of the body . We are informed that a physician, after testing this remedy, paid $1,000 for the information, and that he has established a Cancer Hospital which is doing good work. The recipe has come to us free andwe are willing to communicate the formula, but to those only who are troubled with surface cancers and who will write to us directly, stating particulars. No fee will be charged, but in order to protect the sufferers, we require a promise that they will not sell the formula to others, nor receive pay for the use of it,nor communicate the formula to anybody . Any one known to be a sufferer can be informed of the terms on which the prescription is obtainable through us."
-Watchtower, July 1, 1913, p. 194
It's really strange that Russell claimed to have the cure for tumors, but then told everyone not to tell anyone about it. There is a modern term we use for that; it's called a scam. Once again, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle did a little investigation and found the truth about Russell's claims:
"Yet more unpleasant notoriety was aroused by Russell's sponsoring of a 'cancer cure,' which on analysis was revealed as being nothing other thana caustic paste of chloride of zinc. Unfortunately the 'cure' was not only ineffective but definitely harmful, so that some unfortunate sufferers may have had their end hastened by its application ."
-Boston Daily Eagle, quoted by Royston Pike, Jehovah's Witnesses: Who They Are, What They Teach, What They Do, Watts, 1954, p. 16-17, [University of Wisconsin - Madison]
A deficiency in zinc can cause warts on the hands, which are little bumps that may be perceived as mini-tumors. By taking zinc, one can clear up hand warts, and so this may have been taken to be some connection to full-blown tumors from cancer, which is a huge assumption on Russell's part.
As a side note, a few years after Russell's death, the Watchtower told its readers that grapes cure cancer:
"Don't use ANY other food while on the 'Grape Cure' diet: you will only cause yourself (and perhaps others) trouble by so doing. DON'T do it... In case of internal cancer or cancer that has not become active, it has been found very effective... to begin taking a small of grapes [sic] every two hours or so throughout the day, not using over two pounds a day for the first day or two, gradually increasing the quantity for a week up to not over four pounds a day. Continue the diet as long as the case requires, or until the patient grows too weak. Many continue without breaking away from the diet for six weeks or longer... While the cancer is active and suppurating [undergoing a formation of pus], the pulp of the grape may be made into a poultice and renewed as frequently as indicated.This poultice [soft, moist mass of material used to relieve ailments] will eat its way down into the foreign mass, not injuring normal cells and tissues , however... We suggest changing from one variety of grapes to another, when convenient, although the dark-skinned varieties seem to be the best. But eventhe little green hot-house grape is better than none to arrest the progress of cancer till another grape season comes in ."
-The Golden Age, May 29, 1929, p. 563; See also Diane Wilson, Awakening of a Jehovah's Witness: Escape from the Watchtower Society, Prometheus Books, 2002, p. 207, ISBN: 9781573929424
The Watchtower's so-called "cure" is a bunch of nonsense, however, there is a real, proven cure for cancer, and we have a teaching on that subject, which very few people are willing to take seriously because they've either been brainwashed by cults like Russell's, or they've been brainwashed by the mainstream media and the American Medical Association. The difference between the Watchtower and our website is that we provide very specific details on what cancer is, where it comes from, the science behind how the cure works, the laboratory testing that's proven it, and some of the thousands of eye-witness testimonies that it does work; however, JWs have carried on Russell's tradition of basing things on conjecture and hearsay rather than research.
(Read "The Cure for Cancer" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Continuing, Russell also had inappropriate relationships with young women apart from his wife, which is what the Bible calls adultery. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle documented the court transcript of Russell's wife Maria giving her testimony during the court trial of their divorce in 1906; the following concerns Russell's interaction with his secretary Rose Ball:
"Q:I want you to tell us what your husband did in company with this woman Rose, in your presence and in your home.
A: In the first place I considered it— [An objections was raised and the witness was not permitted to finish. The court would not allow a witness's "consideration," which would be nothing more than her opinion, but rather, she had to testify of what she actually saw.]
Q: Tell us what you saw and what he said was done.
A: One evening he spent the evening downstairs and our library and bedroom were next to each other upstairs on the second floor, and I spent the evening downstairs reading, and I went upstairs about 10 o'clock to my room, and I supposed that: he was either in the library or had retired, and when I went up there I found that he was in neither place, and I stepped out in the hall, and I found that he was in his night robe, sitting beside Miss Ball's bed and she was in bed. On other occasions I found him going in there and I found she called him in and said she wasn't well and wanted him in, andI objected to this, and I said that it was highly improper, and I said: 'We have people about the house, and what kind of a name will be attached in this house if you do that sort of thing?' and he got angry.
Q: You state that you found him doing this at other times. How often after that?
A:I found him a number of times ; I don't remember how often.
Q: In her room?
A: Yes, sir. And I found him in the servant girl's room as well. And I found him locked in the servant girl's room.
Q:Did he make any explanation why he was in the girl's room?
A:No. He did not; he just got angry.
Q: What did you say to him about this conduct and what did he say.
A: I said to him, 'We have a great work on our hands,' and I said, 'In this work you and I have to walk very circumspectly before the world and if you are going to do things like this, what will happen? Suppose you are all right, don't you suppose people will talk about things like this?' and I said,'I am not satisfied with it,' and he said he wasn't going to be ruled by me. But I felt distressed about that.
Q: What did Rose do at the Watch Tower.
A: She attended to the correspondence.
Q: Where was her desk with reference to the desk of Mr. Russell of the Watch Tower Society?
A: It wasn't near his; it was in the office.
Q: When would he go to the Watch Tower, in the morning?
A: I don't remember; he generally went down alone.
Q: Who would return with him?
A: She came with him in the evening and they came about 11 o'clock and the young men that were in the office — she was the only girl, and the young men would go home, and he wouldn't allow her to go home with them, andshe must wait and always go with him .
(Objected to.) Q: I want the mere fact,did this girl Rose go home with your husband?
A:Yes, Sir.
Q: What year was that?
A: In the fall of 1894. [By Mr. Porter, attorney for the plaintiff.]
Q: Did you state to your husband at this meeting any endearing terms?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: What were they?
A: I said 'She tells me that one evening you came home —' I asked her when did these things occur. I said to him, 'She says they occurred down at the office when she stayed down there with him in the evening after the rest had gone, and at home at any time when I wasn't around.'
Q: Now, about the endearing terms?
A: She said one evening when she came home with him, just as she got inside the hall, it was late in the evening, about 11 o'clock,he put his arms around her and kissed her. This was in the vestibule before they entered the hall, and he called her his little wife, but she said 'I am not your wife.' and he said 'I will call you daughter, and a daughter has nearly all the privileges of a wife.'
Q: What other terms were used?
A: Then he said,'I am like a jellyfish. I float around here and there. I touch this one and that one, and if she responds I take her to me, and if not, I float on to others' ; and she wrote that out so that I could remember it for sure when I would speak to him about it. Andhe confessed that he said those things .
Q: And the young men came home ahead of them?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: State to the court and jury what talk, if any, you had with this girl Rose, in regard to her relations with your husband, which you communicated to your husband? [This question was objected to and the question was changed as follows:]
Q: You are to tell what you stated to your husband that Rose had said and his reply to you.
A: I told him that I had learned something that was very serious and I didn't tell him right away. I let a day elapse until I felt I had control of myself and could talk and then I told him that I had something very serious to tell him about this matter, and he said, 'What is it?' and I said, 'Rose has told me that you have been intimate with her, that you have been in the habit of hugging and kissing her and having her sit on your knee and fondling each other, and she tells me you bid her under no account to tell me, but she couldn't keep it any longer. She said if I was distressed about it she felt that she would have to come and make a confession to me, and she has done that .'
Q: What did he say?
A:He tried to make light of it at first and I said, 'Husband, you can't do that. I know the whole thing. She has told me straight and I know it to be true.' Well, he said he was sorry; it was true, but he was sorry. He said he didn't mean any harm. I said, 'I don't see how you could do an act like that without meaning harm.'"
-Brooklyn Daily Eagle, "Girl Kissed Pastor and Sat on His Knee," Oct 29, 1911
Rose Ball never made it to the witness stand because she traveled to Australia. However, the Watchtower to this day defends Russell by quoting his response to these accusations in the Watchtower magazine that Rose was a young girl when she first started working for them, between the ages of 10-13 (according to him), and he claimed it was agreed upon by Charles and Maria that Rose would be "treated as an adopted daughter."
(See M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, 2015, ISBN: 9781442669611)
The fact is that Russell lied because Rose Ball was born on March 19, 1869, which would have made her 19-years-old when she came to live with the Russells and work for them in 1888. The events spoken of in the trial happened in 1894, which would have made her 25 years old at the time. Furthermore, Russell's testimony about her being a little girl conflicts with the fact that in 1894, Ball was one of the directors of Zion's Watch Tower Society; her name was listed as one of the directors more than once in the April 1894 issue.
(See M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, 2015, ISBN: 9781442669611)
The court never charged Russell with adultery, but the jury did grant Maria Russell a legal separation on the grounds of cruelty. The legal definition of cruelty, roughly stated, is intentional and malicious infliction of mental and/or physical suffering of persons or animals that spans over a length of time, and we'll look at why in a moment. Without Rose Ball's testimony on the stand (which she likely did not want to give due to public embarrassment and left the country), there was no way to prove Russell's adultery in this case, although it was fairly obvious due to the very specific nature of Maria's testimony, and the fact that Charles lied about it.
Some readers may be confused as to how Russell got charged with cruelty based on Maria's testimony about her husband's interaction with Ball, but I've only covered a small fraction of the case. There were various trials between Charles and Maria that took place between 1903 and 1909. Charles was the first to propose a separation to Maria as early as 1895, and there were many other things he was guilty of doing to her. The following is documented and published by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:
"Surprise has been expressed here by those who know Pastor Russell at the assertions contained in the last issue of the People's Pulpit [referring to the above quotation of the trial], of which many copies are being circulated in this city. One feature of this issue is Pastor Russell's explanation of his trouble with his wife. He makes in this issue the same charges against his wife for which the Superior Court of Pennsylvania has declared there was not a syllable of justification in the evidence which Pastor Russell presented in court in his vain endeavor toprevent his wife from getting a separation . Some of the specific statements about Mrs. Russell inPastor Russell's paper, which have aroused comment here, read as follows: 'She came under the influence of what is popularly known as "Woman's Rights," and, because she could not have her own way and write what she chose for the columns of my journal, The Watch Tower, she endeavored to coerce me and took one step after another, apparently determined that, if she could not coerce, she would crush and destroy my life and influence.' "
-Brooklyn Daily Eagle, "Pastor Russell Silent to His Wife For Months," Oct 31, 1911
I want to pause here for a moment and make sure readers understand that Russell is attempting to justify himself by accusing her of being a feminist. He claims she was just part of the "Woman's Rights" movement and lied about him. Although the Women's Liberation movement was a blight on this country, and feminists do often lie, Maria was never a part of the feminist movement, but Russell lumped her in with them as an excuse to save himself public humiliation, loss of personal property, and loss of profits from his magazine.
(Read "Feminism: Castrating America" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle article goes on to point out that due to Russell's history of deception, his claims were "not convincing." Congressman Stephen Porter was Maria's lawyer during the trials, and he said:
"The testimony clearly shows that the relations between libellant (Mrs. Russell) and respondent (Pastor Russell) had become somewhatstrained prior to the year 1896 , about which time respondent ceased speaking to his wife, and holding all his communications with her by letter. His letter to her of July 8, 1896, may be fairly considered the key to this case, as it shows respondent's notions of marital life, and his treatment of his wife is in harmony with the spirit of that letter. In the letter he states (Exhibit 3): 'I am convinced that our difficulty is a growing one generally; that it is a great mistake for strong-minded men and women to marry. If they will marry, the strong-minded had far better marry such as are not too intellectual and high spirited, for there never can, in the nature of things, be peace under present time conditions where the two are on an equality.' Later in the letter he states: 'For the past three years you have been cruelly forcing upon me the evidence that we both erred when we married; that we are not adapted to each other. The last month has fastened this conviction upon me much against my will.' While professing at all times to be guided by the Word of God the undisputed evidence is thathe would sulk for weeks at a time and not speak to his wife, and would resort to the pen [written letters only] to have any communications with her; instead of approaching her personally to try to secure reconciliation of their differences and praying with her as a godly man would have done, he went about among her associates and told them she was under the hypnotic influence of Satan in the form of her sister , who was his father's second wife. It will be noted here that Mr. Russell in this letter of July 8, 1896, in statinghis conviction that they made a mistake in getting married, and that that conviction had been growing on him for three years, which would make it begin in 1893 . The dispute about the editorship of the paper began in 1896; therefore it could not have been the dispute about the same that forced the conviction upon Mr. Russell that their marriage was a mistake, and which conviction he says had been growing on him for three years."
-Brooklyn Daily Eagle, "Pastor Russell Silent to His Wife For Months," Oct 31, 1911
In a nutshell, Russell had been heavily considering separating from his wife for years before anything happened between him and Rose Ball. Russell had claimed the conflict began in 1896, but his own letters contradict his court testimony. Russell's disdain for Maria was made clear as more evidence was presented:
"To this, libellant testified, was added nagging and cutting sarcasm. 'You are my wife only in a legal sense' (Exhibit 14, page 6), and by stating to her: 'A wife has no rights which a husband is bound to respect ,' and calling her a blasphemer, as testified by libellant in describing a scene that occurred in the Watch Tower office, where therespondent took her by the arm and forcibly ejected her with the statement: 'Get out of here, you blasphemer .' This is not contradicted by the respondent; in fact, it might be said that the case is somewhat remarkable for the great number of failures to contradict the libellant by respondent when he had ample opportunity to do so."
-Brooklyn Daily Eagle, "Pastor Russell Silent to His Wife For Months," Oct 31, 1911
Of course, the statement that the wife has no rights in terms of the husband in a marriage is completely unbiblical, showing once again that Russell was no real "Bible Student" in the first place. The Bible clearly teaches us that the wife's body belongs to the husband, and the husband's body belongs to the wife:
Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence [goodwill, kindness, and charity]: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other [don't deny sexual relations with the other; defrauding meaning to take that which belongs to the other], except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
-1 Corinthians 7:3-5
"Another incident in the fall of 1896, to which libellant testified, and was uncontradicted, by the respondent was: When leaving home for the far West she helped him get ready, and then putting her hand on his arm, she said: 'Husband, you are going far away. There are lots of railroad accidents, and we might never meet again. Surely, you don't want to leave your wife in this cold, indifferent way.' In reply,he pushed her back, slammed the door in her face, and departed on his journey . Again, libellant testifies, that in the latter part of December, 1896, she was taken sick with a severe form of erysipelas [also known as red skin or St. Anthony's fire, it is a skin bacterial infection that can be lethal if not treated]. When she had been ill for about two weeks respondent went to New York, was gone nearly a week, and when he returnedhe did not so much as enter that sick room and see his wife ; but after taking his breakfast in their apartments, he goes to his office and remains until night, and then between 9 and 10 o'clock goes to the sick room, not to comfort and cheer; butto order libellant out of the room . As a direct result of this treatment, libellant testifies, and it is not denied, thatshe was thrown into a violent fever that night and a heavy backset followed . The erysipelas, which had been confined to head and face, thereafter involved the whole person, and was most distressing and dangerous. Even if defendant did attend to her himself at nights when at home, in preference to hiring a competent nurse, it is evident from the testimony of libellant thathe did not do it in a way becoming to a kind husband , for libellant testifies that in the midst of a nervous chillhe told her himself that it was a judgment of God upon her, and that if she could not control her nerves he would leave her alone, for it was not his duty to attend to her ."
-Brooklyn Daily Eagle, "Pastor Russell Silent to His Wife For Months," Oct 31, 1911
Since erysipelas can be lethal if not treated properly, it would make sense that Russell wanted her to die from the illness so he could be freed from her. Under lawful terms, Russell could have been charged with involuntary manslaughter, or otherwise known as criminal negligence, which lower-level murder charge that results from recklessness or carelessness when the accused had full knowledge of the situation and failed to act accordingly. If it trial was not strictly a divorce court, it would stand to reason that Russell may have brought attempted murder charges on himself.
The article continues:
"While respondent denies that he ever told the libellant directly that her sickness was a judgment of God,he admits that he did say this to Rose Ball, with the intention of having her repeat it to his wife . This Rose Ball is the same girl that the respondent admitted was in the habit of sitting on his knee and kissing him, and would naturally be the most offensive messenger by whom he could send a message to his wife. And she didn't fail to carry it to the bedridden wife. Finally, however, she did recover, after about nine weeks illness. She was again about the duties of her home in the spring and summer of 1897, when one day, in the presence of this same Rose Ball,he demands of his wife an itemized statement of her outlays [the amount of money Maria spent]. Something he had never required before, probably because he realized that she had made more of his money than he did. Such a demand at any time would be inexpressibly humiliating to her, and when made in the presence of Rose Ball would be inexcusably and utterly intolerable."
-Brooklyn Daily Eagle, "Pastor Russell Silent to His Wife For Months," Oct 31, 1911
Indeed, it would be insulting for a wife to hear from her husbands mistress (and director at the Watchtower) a demand of all her expenses, especially when he wasn't on speaking terms with her. The following is a court transcript from the 1907 testimony of Maria Russell:
"Q: Mrs. Russell,after you separated from your husband in November, 1897, where did you go live?
A: I went to my sister's. [80/1006 Cedar Avenue]
Q: And how long did you live with your sister?
A: A year and a half.
Q:Did you receive any support from your husband during that year and a half?
A:None whatever.
Q: At the expiration of the year and a half, which would be about April, 1899, where did you go live?
A: The house next door to my sister [79/1004 Cedar Avenue], which was owned by my husband, which was left vacant, the tenant moved out and I went in and took possession of it and notified Mr. Russell I was there.
Q: How long did you live in that house?
A: I remained there for four years.
Q:During those four years, did Mr. Russell contribute anything to your support, outside of permitting you to live in this house?
A:Nothing.
Q: And during those four years, how did you make a livelihood?
A. I rented furnished rooms.
[During the trial, Maria testified that she made about $30/month profit from renting rooms.]
Q: I believe during this time Mr. Russell gave you some furniture?
A: Yes, Sir.
Q: And that would bring us down now to April, 1903?
A: Yes, Sir.
Q: And did you leave that house on Cedar?
A: On April 16, 1903,Mr. Russell and these men who are with him today came over to my house, and with some others from the office, they were persons connected with the Watch Tower Society and also the [United States] Investment Company and they came over and took possession of the house, and turned me out of the house; he kept the furniture and even retained my pocket book which carried the money that I had received from the rent of rooms .
[She may have said the incorrect date; it was March 16th, not April 16th.]
[An objection was called.]
Q: And then I believe shortly after that eviction from this house you instituted these proceedings for divorce? And also proceedings in the [C]ourt of Quarter Sessions for non-support.
A: Yes. Sir.
Q: In which the court sentenced him to pay $40 a month?
A: Yes, Sir.
Q: Which has been done from that time down until the present?
A: Yes, Sir.
Q:Have you had any financial aid from your husband except this $40 a month which you have received since about April 1, 1903, down to the present time?
A:None whatever .
Q: Mrs. Russell, have you any means of your own?
A: I have no means of my own, excepting a very small legacy from my mother, just a few hundred dollars, and that has helped to eke out life with that $40 a month which I have been living on since that time. Mother just died just before I was evicted from that house.
Q: Mrs. Russell, prior to the time you left your husband, did he ever propose a separation?
A: Yes, Sir.
Q: When was that?
A: That was just before we moved down to the Bible House. It was in 1895.
Q: And at that time you were living on Clifton Avenue, Allegheny?
A: Yes, Sir.
Q: Did or did not Mr. Russell at that time make any threat as to what he would do with his property unless you acceded to his demands?
A: Yes, Sir.
Q: What were they?
A:He proposed that on the ground of incompatibility that we agree to separate, and if I would do so he would give me that house in which we were living, and when I broke down at the suggestion, he said if I did not agree to it, that I would not get anything.
Q: After this proposed separation and threat, Mrs. Russell, where did you go to live, you and your husband?
A: We moved down to the Bible House.
Q: At whose suggestion?
A: Mr. Russell's.
Q: And I believe you continued to live there until the final separation in November, 1897?
A: Yes, Sir.
Q: And I believe you continued to do work in the Bible House for Mr. Russell?
A: Yes, Sir, down to the time I took sick; and after that I kept on with the work all the time I was there."
-"Maria Frances Russell v. Charles Taze Russell: Divorce-Separation Court Case (1903-1909)," Jehovah's Witness Divorces, retrieved June 15, 2017, [http://jwdivorces.bravehost.com/decisions/ctrdivorce.html]
There is so much more to all this, but I believe we have already seen more than enough evidence to prove the point. Russell told reporters that he had given Maria and her six tenants notice of eviction, but he did no such thing. (i.e. Russell LIED.) It doesn't even make sense for six tenants to stay in the rented rooms if they had all received prior notice.
Maria later testified to reporters that Russell had allowed her to stay in a guest room at the "Bible House" under the condition that she submit to the authority of his housekeeper. It would be almost impossible for the lady of the house to give up the authority she has in her own home to a housekeeper because if she doesn't have the authority, it isn't really her home in the first place.
The tenants backed up Maria's story. One of Maria's boarders (given a room in exchange for work) filed assault and battery charges against Russell for grabbing him and trying to throw him into the street. One of Maria's tenants filed a lawsuit against Russell for $1,000 (which would be about $27,000 in 2017) of property damage that Russell had illegally removed from the room he was renting. In addition to the warrant issued for Russell's arrest after he stole money from Maria she needed for food, Russell went to Europe and left his legal problems in the hands of Joseph Rutherford, who would later succeed him.
(See "$1,000 in 1900," Inflation Calculator, retrieved June 15, 2017, [in2013dollars.com/1900-dollars-in-2017?amount=1000])
Russell was involved in so many lawsuits and schemes that it is difficult to know where to end this chapter, and it's difficult to document because much of it has been swept under the rug by Rutherford and the Watchtower Society. Russell, through advice from his lawyers, found ways to cheat Maria out of any dower (i.e. woman's share for her husband's estate), and shut down any accounts she used to pay for food.
(See "Maria Frances Russell v. Charles Taze Russell: Divorce-Separation Court Case (1903-1909)," Jehovah's Witness Divorces, retrieved June 15, 2017, [http://jwdivorces.bravehost.com/decisions/ctrdivorce.html])
If anything, the wicked core of Russell's heart should be clear, and we now have a better understanding of what kind of man he really was. Jesus told us that no good fruit comes out of such a corrupt tree:
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
-Matthew 7:17-20
A Safe Haven For Pedophiles
The point I want readers to remember is that if the organization is corrupt, and it's leader was corrupt from the start, then the fruit will also be corrupt. This is what Jesus taught (Mat 7:17), and it comes down to whether or not with believe the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ because it is absurd to think that a corrupt organizations, which was grown out of wicked roots, would automatically become good over time.
We first need to address the problem of JWs refusing to acknowledge the serious plague of child sexual abuse in the Watchtower Society, because many JWs have been brainwashed by their elders to think that there is no such problem in the Watchtower, and anyone who would dare suggest pedophiles exist within the organization are, as they will say, "spreading apostate lies." Please check out the references I'm giving in this chapter, and decide for yourself if I'm telling the truth, or just "spreading apostate lies."
Geoffery Jackson, one of the governing members presiding over the Watchtower Society, gave testimony before the Australian Royal Commission on Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2015 when he was questioned by Senior Council Angus Stewart:
"STEWART: Do you recognize, Mr Jackson—and in asking this question, let me make it clear, I'm not suggesting it is peculiar to the Jehovah's Witness organization, there are many, many organizations in this position—butdo you accept that the Jehovah's Witness organization has a problem with child abuse amongst its members ?
JACKSON: I accept that child abuse is a problem right throughout the community andit's something that we've had to deal with as well ."
STEWART: Do you accept thatthe manner in which your organization has dealt with allegations of child sexual abuse has also presented problems ?
JACKSON: There have been changes in policies over the last 20 or 30 years, where we've tried to address some of those problem areas, and bythe fact that they have changed the policy would indicate that the original policies weren't perfect . STEWART: And you accept, of course, that your organization, including people in positions of responsibility, likeelders, are not immune from the problem of child sexual abuse ?
JACKSON:That appears to be the case. "
-Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse within Jehovah's Witnesses, Geoffrey Jackson's Testimony, Aug 14, 2015, retrieved July 4, 2017, [youtu.be/gBE_oof1RzE?t=25m18s]
I don't care if a JW wants to argue that pedophilia was never a problem within the Watchtower Society, and that such accusations are "apostate lies," (which is what a JW is taught to say in response on this subject) because this high-ranking Watchtower elder confessed to it. The part that irritates me is that Jackson, in Jehovah's Witness fashion, makes every effort he can to be as vague as possible; instead of saying "Yes, there's a problem," he says, "Well, we aren't perfect—" no one asked him if they were perfect, and so he's trying to side-step a definite "yes" answer, but at least when asked if there were sex offenders among the elders, the words "that appears to be the case" cannot be misinterpreted.
Let's read a bit more of Jackson's testimony, so we can understand what the official position of the Watchtower is on this matter, and then we'll start addressing the facts:
"STEWART: Do you accept, Mr. Jackson, that many of theefforts that are being made by different people and organizations to highlight the issue of child sexual abuse and try and find solutions are genuine efforts to improve the situation ?
JACKSON:I do accept that , and that's why I'm happy to testify.
STEWART: And that such efforts are not necessarily an attack on your organization or its system of beliefs?
JACKSON: We understand that, too.
STEWART: You described earlier in your testimony that the work of the—this Royal Commission is beneficial.Do you accept, then, that the Royal Commission's efforts are genuine and well-intentioned?
JACKSON:I certainly do. And that's why we came in to the Royal Commission hoping that collectively something would come forward that would help us as well as everybody else.
STEWART: Andwould you disagree, then, with anyone who said that the efforts to highlight and deal with child sexual abuse in the Jehovah's Witness church is engaging in apostate lies ?
JACKSON: I guess that's a broad question, because sometimes those who make these accusations make many other accusations as well. But let me assure you, the person making the accusation is not the main thing. The main thing is: is there some basis to the accusation. And if there is some way that we could improve,the Governing Body is always interested in seeing how we can refine our policies . You see, Mr. Stewart, could I just emphasise, as a religion, two very strong things we feel: one is, we try to keep a high moral standard, and secondly,there's love among the organization. So we want to treat victims in a loving way. "
-Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse within Jehovah's Witnesses, Geoffrey Jackson's Testimony, Aug 14, 2015, retrieved July 4, 2017, [https://youtu.be/gBE_oof1RzE?t=25m18s]
I want to emphasize that the Watchtower elder stated tha they want to treat victims in a loving way, but sadly, as we'll see later, that is a lie; there may be some people within the Watchtower Society who believe they are being loving, but there is little or no love coming from the Watchtower on this point. Don't misunderstanding, I'm not accusing all JWs, but rather, I'm putting emphasis on the Watchtower elders and their policies.
The type of person Jackson is referring to when he says "those who make these accusations make many other accusations," are those who would write an article like this, or in other words, he's talking about people like me. He doesn't like the fact that I point out his sin, alongside his false doctrines. So in a nutshell, the Watchtower is desperately trying to keep JWs from reading materials like ours here at creationliberty.com because if a JW would do full research into the pedophilia within the Watchtower Society, and they got to see ALL the information along with it, they would likely leave the organization because it would reveal the true nature of the vicious beast known as the Watchtower Society.
There is a serious foundational problem within the Watchtower concerning the reporting of child sexual abuse, and that has to do with the rule system JWs follow. In the Old Testament, there were some crimes that required at least two or three eye-witness accounts, but not every crime required multiple witnesses, like in the instance of rape for example; it would only require the single eye-witness along with evidence in conjunction with the testimony.
As far as I understand, in the Old Testament law of the Jews, the only time a second or third eye-witness was required was when someone witnessed a crime that he/she were not personally victimized by or personally involved in, meaning that a direct victim of a crime could come forward by him/herself without any eye witnesses. For example, for the crime of worshipping false gods, there was a death penalty, but Deuteronomy 17 explains that there was no punishment to be dealt if only one eye witness came forward; there had to be two or three witnesses to the offense:
If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
-Deuteronomy 17:2-6
"If the accuser or the accused is unwilling to meet with the elders or if the accused continues to deny the accusation of a single witness and the wrongdoing is not established, the elders will leave matters in Jehovah's hands. The investigating elders should compose a record, sign it, put it in a sealed envelope, andplace it in the congregation's confidential file . Additional evidence may later come to light to establish matters."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, Shepherd the Flock of God - 1 Peter 5:2, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 2012, Point #39, p. 72
The problem is not with JWs wanting to protect people from false accusations; rather, the problem is that this "Two Witness Rule" leaves victims of child sexual abuse unable to get justice or protection because without a third-party eye-witness of the abuse, in the Watchtower Society, the abuser gets to walk away from his/her crime by simply refusing to talk about it and/or denying it. Sexual abuse of any kind, whether adult or child, is a crime that is almost never committed in the presence of others, which makes it almost impossible to have a second eye-witness unless two children have been sexually molested and come forward together, which is also very difficult to accomplish because most children are too embarrassed and afraid to talk about it in the first place.
The Watchtower elders leave it in "Jehovah's hands" because of passages like out of Psalm 35:
All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
-Psalm 35:10
How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
-Psalm 85:2-4
This whole process makes the rape/abuse of the second child nothing more than a sacrifice in order to gather more evidence. To call this absurd would be a gross understatement; it's pure insanity. This would be like a murderer stabbing a victim, the victim survives the stab wounds, comes before the elders to file the complaint about the identity of his attacker, but because there were no other eye-witnesses to the stabbing, they must let the murderer roam free among them until he kills or injures someone else.
However, it gets worse because even if the two witness rule is fulfilled, and the crime has been established to the satisfaction of the elders, they will NOT contact civil authorities to have the man arrested and charged with abuse. Often, they "handle" the situation only within the Watchtower, and refuse to get the authorities involved.
The following is a letter to the body of elders of the Watchtower Society concerning various legal matters that was intended to be kept confidential, but was discovered and made public. (i.e. They warned elders in the letter, "do not make any copies of this letter, nor should it be read by others" and that "it should be kept in the congregation's confidential files.") One of the legal matters discussed in the letter was child sexual abuse:
"Many states have child abuse reporting laws.When elders receive reports of physical or sexual abuse of a child, they should contact the Society's Legal Department immediately. Victims of such abuse need to be protected from further danger."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "Letter to the Bodies of Elders in the United States," Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc, July 1, 1989
The victims are not being protected because there are no other eye-witnesses with which to bring charges against the accused, and we'll see more examples later that this "protection of victims" is almost non-existent in the Watchtower. Also notice that it did NOT say to contact the authorities, it simply said that there are state laws about reporting on child abuse, and the elders were instructed to contact the Watchtower's Legal Department instead of the state authorities.
Consider the matter of child sexual abuse while reading this paragraph from the same letter:
"Elders share the obligation to shepherd the flock. However, they must be careful not to divulge information about personal matters to unauthorized persons.There is 'a time to keep quiet,' when 'your words should prove to be few.' (Ecclesiastes 3:7; 5:2) Proverbs 10:19 warns: 'In the abundance of words there does not fail to be transgression, but the one keeping his lips in check is acting discreetly.' Problems are created when elders unwisely reveal matters that should be kept confidential. Elders must give special heed to the counsel: 'Do not reveal the confidential talk of another.' (Proverbs 25:9) Often the peace, unity, and spiritual well-being of the congregation are at stake.Improper use of the tongue by an elder can result in serious legal problems for the individual, the congregation, and even the Society. "
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "Letter to the Bodies of Elders in the United States," Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc, July 1, 1989
Again, the Watchtower has taken the Scripture FAR out of its context, as they have done on so many other doctrines we've already read about in previous chapters. The words being spoken about in the verses from Ecclesiastes and Proverbs are talking about foolish words used to lie and deceive, or other matters like busybodies (i.e. gossipers); in no way does the Bible ever remotely suggest the cover-up of crimes. The whole purpose of covering up the crimes of a pedophile is to protect the reputation of the Watchtower, because the elders claim to be "God's spirit-guided organization," and if their elders are having sexual interactions with children, it would provide evidence that the only spirit that resides over the Watchtower is the Devil's spirit.
The Watchtower elders are not judging in righteousness judgment. They do not fitly speak words of truth to expose the darkness:
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
-John 7:24
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
-Proverbs 25:11
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
-Ephesians 5:11-13
O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
-Proverbs 8:5-7
"In some cases the elders will form judicial committees to handle alleged wrongdoing that also could constitute a violation of Caesar's criminal laws (e.g., theft, assault, etc.). Generally, a secular investigation into a matter that is a concern to the congregation should not delay conducting a judicial hearing. Toavoid entanglement with the secular authorities who may be investigating the same matter, the strictest confidentiality (even of the fact that there is a committee) must be maintained ."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "Letter to the Bodies of Elders in the United States," Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc, July 1, 1989
Of course, JWs might accuse me of covering up the truth because this letter was sent out in 1989 and they've made updates since then. So in the interest of fairness, I'll quote from the 2014 update sent out to the elders of all the Kingdom Halls, and as you can see, there is no change in policy:
"When the elders learn of alleged criminal activity on the part of one of Jehovah's Witnesses or someone associated with the congregation as the accused or the victim, they should immediately call the Legal Department. In some cases, the elders will form a judicial committee to handle alleged wrongdoing that may also constitute a violation of criminal law murder. (rape, child abuse , fraud, theft, assault). Generally, the elders should not delay the judicial committee process, butstrict confidentiality must be maintained to avoid unnecessary entanglement with secular authorities who may be conducting a criminal investigation of the matter. For example, even the fact that a judicial committee has been formed should not be disclosed to persons not entitled to know . (rt-10 chap. 6 par. 18) In addition,the Legal Department should be contacted for legal advice on how to protect confidentiality that is specific to the circumstances of the case."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "To All Bodies of Elders: Procedures When Legal Issues Are Involved," Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc, Oct 1, 2014
Just so we're clear, this is under the circumstance that a child sexual abuser WAS determined to be guilty and enough evidence was brought against him/her for the Watchtower elders to take action. (i.e. The child's testimony plus substantial evidence is not enough for JWs.) There is no commandment to contact local authorities, and even if the state authorities get involved, the criminal evidence presented in the meetings will be withheld from them. The JW elder we read from at the beginning of this chapter stated that the Watchtower rules were "not perfect," so they changed them, but as you can see, he deceived them, because there are no changes to policy, only changes to some of the wording.
In short, the state authorities are trying to bring pedophile criminals to justice, to protect the children, but the Watchtower is getting in their way; not that they are hindering investigation, but their refusal to report and refusal to cooperate with police agencies on such matters is a clear indication they have no intention of protecting the children and bringing the criminals to justice. Yet, the Watchtower hypocrites continue to brainwash JWs by telling them:
"It may not be too long, butwe must endure ! In Satan's system, we have to put up a hard fight for the faith, asthe world's immorality, corruption, and hatreds surround us on all sides ."
-Watchtower, Jan 1, 1990, p. 27
Remember that earlier we already demonstrated that the JWs believe that Incognito Jesus returned to setup an earthly kingdom in 1974, and was "officially" crowned as the king of the world in 1914. Although Russell's prophecy stated that the world's kingdoms were supposed to come to an end in the early 1900s, no such thing has happened, but JWs still cling to the belief that they are under the authority of Incognito Jesus's new kingdom, and thus they also believe those authorities outside of the Watchtower (e.g. police, sheriffs, and judges) are all under Satan's rule.
The Bible tells us such rulers were put in place for our good:
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
-Romans 13:1-4
(Read "Should Christians Submit to Governing Authority?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The true purpose of JWs staying away from law enforcement officials is to protect the Watchtower:
"Loyalty to Jehovah God will also keep us from doing anything that would bring reproach upon his name and Kingdom. For example, two Christians once got into such difficulty with each other that they improperly resorted to a worldly law court. The judge asked, 'Are both of you Jehovah's Witnesses?' Evidently he could not understand what they were doing in court. What a reproach that was! Loyalty to Jehovah God would have caused those brothers to heed the counsel of the apostle Paul: 'Really, then, it means altogether a defeat for you that you are having lawsuits with one another. Why do you not rather let yourselves be wronged? Why do you not rather let yourselves be defrauded?' (1 Corinthians 6:7) Certainly,the course of loyalty to Jehovah God is to suffer personal loss rather than bring reproach upon Jehovah and his organization ."
-Watchtower, Mar 15, 1996, p. 15
In the story, assuming that it's even true, it was two grown men bickering over something minor. That story had nothing to do with, for example, first-degree murder, rape, and/or child molestation.
Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
-1 Corinthians 6:7
Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
-1 Corinthians 6:8-10
Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
-Mark 10:19
But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry.
-1 Corinthians 7:36
(Read "Everything You Need to Know About Atheism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
In the late '90s, pedophile scandals among the JWs were beginning to reach major news networks, and investigative reporters started seeking interviews with JW elders. Since they couldn't be reached, or flat-out refused to comment, journalists had to sneak their way into conventions to try and catch them unawares. The Watchtower was eventually informed that these interviews would go on public TV, and so they sent out an emergency letter to all the Kingdom Halls worldwide:
"In recent weeks, the press in this country has focused attention on the way accusations of child abuse are handled by various religious organizations. Such reports may cause some sincere individuals to ask about the procedures followed by Jehovah's Witnesses. Therefore, we believe that it will be beneficial to review with you our Bible-based position, so that you will 'know how you ought to give an answer' to any who may inquire. -Colossians 4:6
Simply stated,we abhor the sexual abuse of children and will not protect any perpetrator of such repugnant acts from the consequences of his gross sin . (Romans 12:9) We expect the elders to investigate every allegation of child abuse. Even one abused child is one too many. However, in evaluating the evidence, they must bear in mind the Bible's clear direction: 'No single witness should rise up against a man respecting any error or any sin ... At the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses the matter should stand good.' (Deuteronomy 19:15)Later, this requirement to consider testimony of two or three witnesses was confirmed by Jesus. (Matthew 18:16) Thus, although they investigate every allegation, the elders are not authorized by the Scriptures to take congregational action unless there is a confession or there are two credible witnesses. "
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "To All Congregations in the United States," Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc, May 24, 2002
There are numerous Scriptural problems with the Watchtower explanation:
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
-Deutoronomy 19:15
If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.
-Deutoronomy 19:16-19
But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die: But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.
-Deutoronomy 22:25-27
There are many more instances of this in the Old Testament law, in which there is only one witness to a crime, and that witness was the victim him/herself. Now let's address the JW false doctrine on Matthew 18, which was mentioned in the letter I quoted earlier:
But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
-Matthew 18:16
And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
-Matthew 18:17
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
-Matthew 5:23-26
William Bowen had been a JW his whole life, and served as an elder from 1984-2000, but he resigned and left the organization after he discovered the truth about their hidden database. In an interview with BBC investigative reporter Betsan Powys back in 2002, Bowen testified to the information he discovered while being trained on how to respond to child sexual abuse cases within the JW organization:
"BOWEN: They do not want people to know that they have this problem, and by covering it up they just hurt one person. By letting it out, then they hurt the image of the church... Every detail is written down about what happened, where it happened, when it happened, how it happened.
POWYS: So you're saying the organization has its own sexual offenders register if you like.
BOWEN: That's exactly right.
POWYS: That it's keeping to itself and not showing others.
BOWEN: Exactly right. These men remain anonymous to anyone outside the organization and anyone really inside the organization unless you're personally reporting the matter...
POWYS:How many names do you suspect are on that list?
BOWEN:Twenty-three thousand, seven hundred and twenty.
POWYS: How do you know that?
BOWEN: I was contacted by sources within the church. I was given a figure of over 20,000. Two different sources came back to me and said that number is actually more specific and gave me a figure of 23,720. They told me that they had accessed the internal database and that figure was based on child molesters in the USA, Canada and Europe, and that's the figure that they were given.
POWYS: [Monologuing] Over 20,000 names on a secret database. That's why these people say the church has to listen. With Bill Bowen, they're calling for the Jehovah's Witnesses to come clean about their record on child abuse. His campaign, "Silent Lambs", has already heard from 5,000 victims. This candle-lit vigil is for them."
-Interview with William Bowen, "Suffer the Little Children," BBC Panorama, July 14, 2002, retrieved July 12, 2017, [news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/audio_video/programmes/panorama/transcripts/transcript_14_07_02.txt]
To put this into perspective, back in 2017, the total population of the state of Indiana, where I live, was 6.48 million people, and the total number of child sexual abuse cases on the state registry is approximately 8,800, which comes out to be about 0.0013% of the population. Jehovah's Witnesses boasted 15.59 million members in 2002, and the total number of child sexual abuse cases (according to the database testimony of Bowen) was 23,720, which comes out to be 0.0015% of the population. This means that in ratio, the Watchtower has 14% more pedophile activity going on in its ranks than the entire state I live in, and the difference is that the state of Indiana prosecutes child molesters, but the Watchtower does not. These numbers are also incredibly lenient in favor of the Watchtower because these were their numbers back in 2002, and only for the United States, Canada, and Europe (i.e. JW are set up in many more countries), and since then, the secret Watchtower sex offender registry has increased in number, but the total number of JWs since 2002 has decreased, meaning the problem is much worse among their ranks today.
(See World Atlas, "Number of Sex Offenders By State," retrieved July 5, 2017, [worldatlas.com/articles/state-by-state-numbers-of-registered-sex-offenders-in-the-us.html]; See also Suburban Stats, "Population Demographics for Indiana 2017 and 2016," retrieved July 5, 2017, [suburbanstats.org/population/how-many-people-live-in-indiana]; See also Watchtower Online Library, "Worldwide Report 2002 Grand Totals," July 5, 2017, [wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/302003003?q=Preaching&p=doc])
William Bowen started the organization "Silent Lambs" (silentlambs.org) to help victims of child abuse, and help parents to protect their children from known sex offenders. His efforts are a result of discovering the gross amount of child sexual abuse that took place within the Watchtower Society and was ignored by their elders.
What a typical Jehovah's Witness will say is that it's a conspiracy against Jehovah, and there is no secret list. After the BBC report aired, the Watchtower indirectly confessed that there is a list in a fax that was sent from a J.R. Brown of the Watchtower Society to Betsan Powys of the BBC on May 9th, 2002 at the same time the investigative report aired:
"You have been told that here in the United States we have compiled a list of 23,720 names of child abusers.That is false. First of all, the total number of names in our records is considerably lower than that. In addition, it is not meaningful to focus on the number of names we have in our records.This is because our figures include the names of many persons who have only been accused of child abuse whereas the charges have not been substantiated. We keep these records to document our compliance with what the law requires in many U.S. jurisdictions. "
-J.R. Brown, Watchtower Society, Letter Sent to B. Powys, May 9, 2002, retrieved July 5, 2017, [silentlambs.org/secretdatabase.htm]
There are three points we need to address here; the first is that they are only keeping a database because the law tells them to, which means they would not keep record of any of these things if the state did not tell them to do so in the first place, so why are they resisting the state so much to keep these records a secret? Secondly, they are only comparing the number 23,720 to the U.S., when Bowen said the number came from the combined totals of the United States, Canada, and Europe. (i.e. They accused Bowen of lying on a false pretense.) Thirdly, they said the numbers only reflect those accused, but not "substantiated," and we've already learned the Watchtower elders "substantiate" a claim ONLY when they have two eye witnesses, which almost never happens. In short, every sentence they speak is dipped in layers of deception, and until we get public access to that list, we will never know for sure how much sin and criminal activity the Watchtower ignores and covers up on a daily basis.
Nonetheless, the main point of that quotation is that they do indeed have a list. Even though they claim the number mentioned by Bowen was wrong, notice that they still refused to give the number they claim is right.
Not only is the Watchtower refusing to provide the list to the government, but they are paying out millions of dollars in lawsuits across the country because they refuse to disclose that information. One of the first key trials to initiate that flood of lawsuits was the Jose Lopez trial of 2014, in which he testified to being sexually abused by a Jehovah's Witness woman when he was seven years old, and finally decided to press charges in his adult years against the Watchtower for their cover up of the crime, protection of the criminal, and negligence of an abused child. (During the trial, she confessed to her sexual abuse of Lopez when he was a boy.)
(Statistically, men are the victims of rape more than women in the United States. Read "Feminism - The Illusion of Rape Culture" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
During Lopez's trial, the state of California Supreme Court demanded that the Watchtower hand over its secret sex offenders list, but the Watchtower refused that lawful order:
"In the Lopez trial,the Watchtower refused to provide its list of perpetrators, in violation of an order upheld by the California Supreme Court . It also refused to provide thelongest-serving member of the Governing Body, Gerrit Lösch, who was subpoenaed . [i.e. a law-enforced requirement to show up in court] As a result, San Diego Superior CourtJudge Joan Lewis disqualified the Watchtower's defense . 'Watchtower's actions or omissions were reprehensible. [i.e. deserving of condemnation] I think disgraceful may be synonymous with reprehensible, but I think disgraceful doesn't say enough about it,' Lewis wrote in her decision."
-Trey Bundy, "Jehovah's Witnesses use 1st Amendment to hide child sex abuse claims," Reveal, Feb 14, 2015, retrieved July 5, 2017, [revealnews.org/article/jehovahs-witnesses-use-1st-amendment-to-hide-child-sex-abuse-claims]
The court threw out the Watchtower's defense on the grounds that they would not hand the court their list of child sex offenders, which was likely because Lopez's lawyer properly argued that the list was key evidence that the Watchtower had knowledge of the abuse and covered it up. Lopez was awarded $13.5 million to be paid by the Watchtower Society because they simply refused open honesty, and in a Huffington Post interview with Trey Bundy (the author of the above quoted article), he pointed out that the Watchtower argued that the secret list was so long, it would take them years to process the information.
Also notice that I highlighted the section concerning a man named Gerrit Losch, who was the longest-serving member of the Watchtower Governing Body at that time. He was subpoenaed by the court, but the Watchtower refused to present him, and instead they sent a letter from Losch which was filed as evidence:
"The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is the highest ecclesiastical authority for the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses, and it exercises spiritual oversight for Jehovah's Witnesses.I am not, and never have been, a corporate officer, director, managing agent, member, or employee of Watchtower. I do not direct, and have never directed, the day-to-day operations of Watchtower. I do not answer to Watchtower. I do not have, and never have had, any authority as an individual to make or determine corporate policy for Watchtower or any department of Watchtower. Watchtower does not have, and never has had, any authority over me. "
-Gerrit Losch, "Declaration of Gerrit Losch in Support of Motion to Quash Order Granting Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Deposition of Gerrit Losch," Letter from Donald T. Ridley of the Mandel Law Firm to the Superior Court of the State of California, Case No. 37-2012-00099849-CU-PO-CTL, Feb 5, 2014
We've already learned that the Watchtower IS the Governing Body over Jehovah's Witnesses, and it always has been, so Losch is only trying to fool a judge to avoid having to give a testimony in open court. He's claiming that the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses operates independently of the Watchtower Society, which is a lie. He said he does not answer to the Watchtower and they have no authority over him, but if any other Jehovah's Witness stood up in a Kingdom Hall and made that statement, they would be immediately rebuked and disfellowshipped for rebelling against "Jehovah's spirit-guided organization."
In 2014, Karen Morgan, a victim of child sexual abuse when she was 12, finally came forward at the age of 38 to press charges against her uncle, Mark Sewell, a long standing elder in the Jehovah's Witnesses:
"Karen Morgan, 38, told how she reported her uncle's depraved behaviour to the police in order to protect others.Jehovah's Witnesses elder Mark Sewell stripped to his underwear to fondle his niece and bribed her with alcohol — then cynically told her no-one would believe her if she reported the abuse. Depraved grandfather Sewell, 53, was todayjailed for 14 years after being found guilty of eight historic sex charges, including rape, between 1987 and 1995 . Three of the seven indecent assaults he was convicted of relate to his systematic abuse of Karen when she was aged between 12 and 14."
-Ciaran Jones, "'I'm relieved that everybody now knows what he has done, what he is capable of': Victim of paedophile Jehovah's Witness reveals how she spoke out to protect other children," Wales Online, July 2, 2014, retrieved July 7, 2017, [walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/im-relieved-everybody-now-knows-7357125]
"Prosecutor Sarah Waters said he hadused his [JW] influence 'to perpetrate such sexual abuse over a number of years for his own sexual gratification '. At the start of the trial she told the court: 'He is a sexual predator that took opportunities available to him to satisfy his sexual desires. For examplehe would use his high position in the Jehovah's Witness congregation to act in a sexually inappropriate manner with women, being 'touchy-feely' and insisting that he kiss them on the lips.' Between 1987 and 1995 Sewell was alleged to have abused two young girls and also raped a woman, all of whom were fellow Jehovah's Witnesses. The woman he raped told the court how Sewell 'shredded' her knickers in an attack which left her pregnant. She later miscarried. "
-Ciaran Jones, "Jehovah's Witness leader guilty of rape and seven other indecent assaults" Wales Online, July 8, 2014, retrieved July 7, 2017, [walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/jehovahs-witness-leader-mark-sewell-7336623]
The raped woman was told by the elders that they would handle the matter, and that she might not hear anything more about it. She didn't hear anything more about it, and Sewell was not disfellowshipped nor punished by any visible means. It was brought up in court that the elders had to meet concerning Sewell's sexual misconduct on several occasions, but retained his elder position and was not disfellowshipped, until a seven-man committee of elders was finally formed to discuss the matter; Sewell was then disfellowshipped, but not for child molestation and rape, but rather, for having a "belligerent and unforgiving attitude."
(See JW Survey, "Elders labelled 'spiritually corrupt and morally bankrupt' in Mark Sewell trial," retrieved July 7, 2017, [jwsurvey.org/cedars-blog/elders-labelled-spiritually-corrupt-and-morally-bankrupt-in-mark-sewell-trial])
All the various elders who were involved in the JW meetings concerning the sexual deviancy of Sewell were asked to come to open court and give testimony. All but one refused, and the one who did agree later tried to retract his statements in court. The Watchtower instead sent the following letter concerning the prosecution of a known rapist and pedophile:
"As Jehovah's Witnesses we have an absolute and unequivocal abhorrence of child abuse and [offer] our support for any victim or parent who reports this crime to the authorities. This is in line with what the Bible says at Romans 12:9.We feel that the care and safeguarding of children and the promotion of their welfare is extremely important. Jehovah's Witnesses act in harmony with the law and do not condone child abuse in any circumstance orendeavour to shield from the authorities those committing offences of this nature . The spiritual and physical welfare of Jehovah's Witnesses is of paramount concern to the elders who have been appointed to 'shepherd the flock'. Individual members of the congregation who seek guidance on personal matters rightly expect that their concerns are treated confidentially.In the shepherding setting the elders offer personal support in a sensitive and caring manner. Therefore, we are unable to comment on the details of any specific case. Mark Sewell has not been a member of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses for 20 years."
-Watchtower Official Letter, quoted by Ciaran Jones, "Jehovah's Witnesses destroyed documents showing child abuse allegations against church elder," Wales Online, Jun 30, 2014, retrieved July 4, 2014, [walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/jehovahs-witnesses-destroyed-documents-showing-7340603]
If the Watchtower was acting "in harmony with the law," then why didn't they report Sewell to the state authorities? Why did they hide him and cover up his crime so that even the JW congregation was unaware of it? I could possibly understand a man who was on his knees in tears and repentance being forgiven of such wrongdoing with the condition that he would no longer be able to serve where children were involved, but that in no way described Sewell because from every report I've read so far, he was completely unrepentant of his actions, and the JW elders enabled him to continue his abuse of women and young girls by intimidating them with his authoritative position over the already brainwashed JWs. (i.e. Any JW, but most especially JW women, are afraid to speak out against an elder because they know they will be disfellowshipped.)
Furthermore, the one JW elder, who did reluctantly testify, told the court that all the records which were kept on Sewell were destroyed, which is incredibly important for two reasons. First, that evidence would have demonstrated that the JWs knew of the pedophile and rapist activity going on inside their Kingdom Hall, and they did nothing about it, which would make them liable as accessories to commit rape. The second problem is that the tens of thousands of names that are on the Watchtower secret sex offender list are only those they have chosen not to destroy, which means the truth could be far worse than we have thus far suspected. (Not to mention that this violates their alleged compliance with U.S. law in keeping records on sex offenders.)
Worse still (and this is where things get really sick), many people don't realize that when JW elders have meetings concerning a rapist and the victim, the meetings are held with the victim and the accused in the same room. (Karen Morgan testified that she was put through this process as well.) A young child who is a victim of rape is forced by the JWs to tell the intimate details of his/her abuse in front of his/her attacker, only to be accused of lying, which any former JW who has been through such a thing could tell you is almost worse than the sexual abuse itself.
Before moving on to the next trial, I thought it was important to mention that Karen Morgan was disfellowshipped from the JWs when she was 17 years old. Her crime was "having a boyfriend." The JW elders thought it more important to kick a young lady out for having a boyfriend, or to kick a man out for having an "unforgiving attitude," than to kick a man out for multiple counts of rape and child abuse, and according to an interview with Morgan, the JWs are still visiting Sewell in prison, but they have nothing to do with Morgan and her family. (So much for that loving kindness they keep talking about.)
At the start of this chapter, I quoted from the minutes of the Australian Royal Commission in 2015, and I would like to return to that case to give more details about why that interview with Geoffrey Jackson was conducted in the first place. For privacy purposes, the two victims of this trial were named "BCB" and "BCG," and we'll start by looking at BCB's case.
BCB started attending JW meetings at age 10, and was baptized into the organization at age 18, but she was molested and raped repeatedly in her mid-teens by Bill Neill, her friend's father and a JW elder, one of only two elders in the local Kingdom Hall she attended:
"Max Horley was an elder for the Jehovah's Witness congregation in Narrogin, Western Australia, in the late 1980s when a woman, known as BCB, was interviewed about her relationship with another church elder, Bill Neill. On Monday, BCB, 47, told how Neill, who is dead, groomed her from the age of 15. She said he would molest her and spy on her when she was in the shower. She was friendly with Neill's daughter and spent a lot of time at their house, where 'uncle Bill' would tongue kiss her. When the abuse was revealed, BCB was asked to attend meetings with two elders andNeill, who joked about what he had done . At meetings BCB said she felt guilty and found it hard to detail the abuse. Neill denied any intentional misconduct. Horley saidNeill was later stood down as an elder because the allegations cast a shadow over his qualifications to teach the word of God. Horley, an elder in the church for more than 30 years, said notes about sexual abuse allegations were not kept in case they fell into the wrong hands. 'We do not want our wives knowing our stuff — what sort of things we are dealing with,' Horley said. He also said they destroyed notes because they wanted to limit the number of people in the congregation who knew about the abuse. "
-Australian Associated Press, "Jehovah's Witnesses destroyed notes about child sex abuse, inquiry told," July 27, 2015, retrieved July 7, 2017, [theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jul/27/jehovahs-witnesses-destroyed-notes-about-child-sex-abuse-inquiry-told]
Of course JW elders don't want their wives to know they've been accused of child molestation; this is because they fear women more than they fear God. They also don't want the JW congregation to know about it, especially since it would mean that half (1 out of 2 in this case) of their governing elders were involved in child sex allegations, and that's because they fear what the public might think of them more than they fear God.
Not only did he destroy the evidence that would have found fault with both Neill and the Watchtower Society in the trial, but Horley stated that this was standard operating procedure for JWs:
"'It was a very serious nature,' [Max Horley] said. 'I took it as a huge breach of trust.'He then told Justice Peter McClellan he would have destroyed any notes about the meeting to protect the congregation and individuals involved. Justice McClellan then asked Mr. Horley if he would do the same thing today if someone reported a serious allegation of sexual assault to him.'Yes,' Mr. Horley said. 'That's our practice.' "
-Nicole Chettle, "Jehovah's Witnesses failed to report 1,000 alleged perpetrators, child sex abuse royal commission hears," ABC News, July 27, 2015, [abc.net.au/news/2015-07-27/jehovahs-witnesses-child-sexual-abuse-royal-commission/6649340]
In case any readers may not have understood, this JW elder just testified that it is Watchtower policy to destroy evidence of criminal activity. The article goes on to report that Horley said JW elders go to the Watchtower to determine what to do with pedophiles, which is exactly what we learned earlier:
"Justice McLellan then asked him if he was aware of his obligation to tell the authorities if a serious allegation of sexual assault was reported to him. 'If we have any hesitationwe contact the branch for advice on how we should proceed legally and scripturally,' Mr Horley said. 'We don't report it to the police. I think we encourage them to do that. But we give them the assistance to do that.'He was then asked how he encouraged people to report sexual assaults to the police. 'My understanding, a little bit unclear because I've never had to do it - I'm not fully aware on the process but if it did come to me I would just be saying "Look this is a matter that you need to talk to the police about".' Mr Horley said the church required witnesses to establish whether any abuse took place if the offender did not confess. Justice Peter McClellan responded that in many cases, there were no witnesses to sexual assault."
-Nicole Chettle, "Jehovah's Witnesses failed to report 1,000 alleged perpetrators, child sex abuse royal commission hears," ABC News, July 27, 2015, [abc.net.au/news/2015-07-27/jehovahs-witnesses-child-sexual-abuse-royal-commission/6649340]
Since they took no disciplinary or protective action and told no one about what happened, that tells us that the Watchtower informed them to do nothing and say nothing. Horley is lying because in every JW sex abuse case I've seen brought to court, NONE have a victim who said, "The elders told us to contact the police," nor did the elders on trial say, "We told them to contact the police," neither were aforementioned victims, Lopez and Morgan, told to contact the police, because that goes against Watchtower policies, and JWs know they can be disfellowshipped for contacting state authorities on such matters.
Here's an interesting question: If Horley was being honest, then why didn't he tell BCB's parents to contact the police? The answer to that should be clear based on what we've learned so far. I listened to many hours of the Australian court trial, and BCB testified to Neill barging in on her as she would be stepping out of the shower on numerous occasions, forcing her to lay down and performing oral sex on her, but there were no secondary eye witnesses to any of this, so the JW elders did nothing except destroy the evidence; no discipline was issued, nor was there any suggestion for the victim to contact the police.
The other victim in the Australian trial, known as "BCG," was sexually abused by her father, and the JW elders knew about it. They not only knew about his sexual abuse of BCG, but also his sexual abuse of his other three daughters:
"Stewart said BCG would tell the commission her father had also abused her older sister and two younger sisters, but the three elders who heard her case did not take these offences into account. BCG's father was ultimately 'disfellowshipped', not for his sexual abuse but for lying. Her father immediately appealed against the decision to cast him out of the Jehovah's Witness community at Mareeba in far north Queensland. At the church's appeal hearing he admitted the abuse and his excommunication was upheld, but a few years later he was reinstated. "
-Australian Associated Press, "Jehovah's Witnesses did not report 1,000 child abusers, inquiry hears," The Guardian, July 27, 2015, retrieved July 12, 2017, [theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jul/27/jehovahs-witnesses-did-not-report-1000-child-abusers-inquiry-hears]
That whole "Two Witness Rule" we heard about earlier, you might as well throw that out the window too because it's a lie. Not just in this situation, but many others I've read about, multiple instances of sexual abuse would come forward against the same man, and no matter how many instances, he is protected by the JW elders. In this specific situation there were FOUR eye witnesses, and those eye witnesses were all victims, yet, the JW elders sheltered the child abuser and only temporarily kicked him out for lying about it.
"STEWART: Well, just on that point, Mr. Jackson, has the governing body considered apologizing to the survivors of child sexual abuse at the hands of elders within the organization?
JACKSON: I haven't been in discussions in regard to that.
STEWART: Is that something that you foresee might happen; in other words that it, an apology, at least be considered?
JACKSON: The governing body has apologized on other matters; for me to say—I can't speak collectively for everybody, but we have apologized on things in the past in other areas. It is perceivable."
-Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse within Jehovah's Witnesses, Geoffrey Jackson's Testimony, Aug 14, 2015, retrieved July 4, 2017, [https://youtu.be/gBE_oof1RzE?t=25m18s]
And yet, it's never happened because the ruling of the JW elders is considered the same as Jehovah's ruling, which means if they apologize for what they do, then they have to confess that Jehovah was wrong. I'm not saying there is a direct statement from the Watchtower that the JW organization's elders are equivalent to Jehovah, but active and former JWs know exactly what I'm talking about—if you question them, they kick you out. (i.e. It's a cult that's not of Christ.) The point is that apologizing to the victims would have to first acknowledge that the crimes were committed, and then second, it would make the Watchtower liable for damages due to negligence, so they will admit nothing.
There are so many incidents of child sexual abuse among JWs since its inception, it would be impossible to cover them all here, however, I'll give a couple more examples to help prove the point. In 2002, Connie Chung interviewed two victims (Amber Long and Heidi Meyer) along with the aforementioned William Bowen of silentlambs.org:
"CHUNG: Joining us from Minneapolis to tell their stories in the first person are Heidi Meyer and Amber Long. Also joining us is a man who's tried to bring together alleged victims of abuse within the Jehovah's Witnesses. He's William Bowen, once an elder within the congregation who resigned his position two years ago in protest against the way the group deals with suspected abusers... Now,Heidi, you were 10 years old when you were first abused. What happened?
MEYER: The man who abused me... He was a Jehovah's Witness in my congregation. His name is Derrick Lindelah. He was a friend of the family. He was friends with my brother and I was friends with his younger sisters, and whenever the opportunity arose or whenever he created an opportunity,he would pull me aside and molest me any chance he got .
CHUNG: How long did this go on, Heidi?
MEYER: Until — into my 13th year.Just after I turned 13.
CHUNG: All right. Andyou reported this to the elders in the Jehovah's Witnesses . And what happened?
MEYER: When I was 15, I went to the elders with this, as we're instructed as Jehovah's Witnesses to do. And I spoke to them in the hopes of discontinuing this problem, and that they would step in and take care of this person.
CHUNG: Did they?
MEYER: No, they did not.They not only said that they thought I had misinterpreted his actions, but they also told me that I needed to be careful who I spoke to about this and what I said about this, because without two eyewitnesses to the situation, I could be faced with a judicial committee for gossip or slander.
CHUNG: Basically,do you think they were trying to tell you not to go to the police?
MEYER:Absolutely. They said to go to the police and bring this matter to court would be a reproach on God's name and God's organization.
CHUNG:So you kept quiet.
MEYER:Absolutely. Under threat of — under threat of excommunication. "
-Connie Chung Tonight, "Abducted Infant Returned Safely to Parents; Jehovah's Witnesses Caught in Church Scandal," CNN.com, Aug 14, 2002, retrieved July 12, 2017, [cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0208/14/cct.00.html]
Do you see the pattern in these cases? We've already seen cases span over 2-3 decades, they take place in different countries (U.S., Australia, Europe, etc), and the overall stories are identical, which is strong evidence that not only is this a commonplace problem for the Watchtower, but also that it is being covered up in the same way all over the world, and the Watchtower is doing nothing about it.
"CHUNG:Amber, you claim that you were molested by the same man when you were 12 years old. What happened to you?
LONG: Correct. I was at his parent's home. I was friends with his younger sister. And I was molested there. After that visit I went home and told my parents immediately, andwe also went to the elders , as is directed in that religion.
CHUNG: And what happened?
LONG:They, you know, insinuated that it was a misunderstanding, that maybe I was upset , told us to come back and talk about it later. When I still stuck to my story, they told us there wasreally nothing they could do, because there wasn't two eyewitnesses. And again there was that veiled threat of being excommunicated . And all my life, growing up after that, they, you know, made insinuations to the fact thatperhaps it was something that I had done that warranted the abuse .
CHUNG: All right. Amber, we'll get back to you in a minute. Bill, you've gone so far as saying that you believe that theJehovah's Witnesses is a pedophile paradise . You know, are you exaggerating? I know you've investigated, but I think one would believe that you might be exaggerating here.
BOWEN: I've spoken to over 5,000 victims of abuse either through e-mail or direct phone contact. I have an abuse hotline that rings into my home, and I get calls every day. All these people are abuse survivors that tell the same story as Amber and Heidi do. That is, thatthey went to the elders and they were suppressed, they were covered up . It's a common thread. Yesterday I got a thread or an e-mail from a young girl, 15 years of age, she went to the elders, she said I am just like Heidi. And after seeing the recent media, I am angry that they would do this to me. And that's what most of these young ladies are. They're angry that they were abused and revictimized by the policies of this church.
CHUNG:Were you intimidated by the Jehovah's Witnesses?
MEYER:Absolutely. There is no option but to be intimidated. Your entire life revolves around your involvement in that organization. That is your entire life. And it's often referred to as such, in the organization. If you are ousted from that organization, it is a trauma in your life. There is an enormous upheaval. It is something that affects every single day of your life.
CHUNG: This is a statement from the Jehovah's Witnesses, and I'd like all of you to listen to it. 'We abhor the sexual abuse of children and will not protect any perpetrator from the consequences of this gross and perverse sin. We expect the elders to investigate every allegation of child abuse. Unrepentant wrongdoers are expelled from the congregation. Special care is taken to ensure the victims are given ongoing assistance and counsel that help them deal with the pain of the abuse. They should never be told by elders not to report their allegations to the authorities.' Amber, I can see you shaking your head.
LONG: I just — that's just horrifying that they would write something like that. It's so untrue.
MEYER: You know, and it's a good practice on paper. But it's just not — it's just not applied.In my situation, in Amber's situation, in countless numbers of situations across the nation, and into other countries, it's just not applied.
CHUNG: But why would they put out a statement like this which you claim is not correct?
BOWEN:That statement is a bald-faced lie , in my opinion.These people know the abuse has been covered up. Ten years ago, research was done in the organization that they knew multiple little girls were being molested... They refused to acknowledge it then, and the fact that it's went on this long, if they make any acceptance that there's a problem, then they admit they willfully have hurt children and not done anything about it...
CHUNG:Heidi and Amber, what has happened to the member who you claim molested you?
MEYER:Absolutely nothing, to this day.
LONG: Nothing.
CHUNG: Is he a member in good standing?
MEYER: He is a member in good standing.
LONG: Yes, he is."
-Connie Chung Tonight, "Abducted Infant Returned Safely to Parents; Jehovah's Witnesses Caught in Church Scandal," CNN.com, Aug 14, 2002, retrieved July 12, 2017, [cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0208/14/cct.00.html]
These young women are not taken seriously by the JW elders because, in many cases, it is an elder who is the perpetrator, or at the very least, someone who is considered to be a dedicated JW leader. Any mention of their wrongdoing, especially in the eyes of the public, makes them look bad, which means, as I've already stated, that how they look in the eyes of other people is more important to them than judging righteous judgment.
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
-John 7:24
"'Hopefully that message is loud enough that this will cause the organization to change its priorities in a way that they will begin prioritizing the safety of children so that other children aren't abused in the future,' attorney Neil Smith said Thursday. "
-Matt Volz, "Jury: Jehovah's Witnesses must pay $35M to abuse survivor," The Republic, Sept 27, 2018, retrieved Oct 27, 2018, [therepublic.com/2018/09/27/us-jehovahs-witnesses-child-abuse-2]
Since the Word of God is not as important to the Watchtower as money, this lawyer hopes the courts are now speaking a language Jehovah's Witnesses can understand. It ought to be an outright shame that they won't do things on their own to protect the children, but have to be pressured by financial threats before they will purge out the pedophiles. (And even having to pay out massive amounts of money in lawsuits, they are still protecting the perverts!)
The next report is about Candice Conti, and she is fairly well-known by those who have studied the connections between the Watchtower and child sexual abuse; when Bowen made the comment during the interview that this same thing happened "ten years ago," I believe he is partially referring to this event from 1993. Conti went door-to-door evangelizing when she was a child, and was overseen by JW leader Jonathan Kendrick, who ended up taking her back to his house and molesting her on several occasions. Many years later as an adult, Conti found Kendrick on a government website listed as a known sex offender, and at that point she felt guilty for all the other girls he may have molested because she didn't do anything to stop him; thus, she hired a lawyer and contacted the authorities.
Michael Clarke, an elder of the North Fremont Kingdom Hall where Conti had previously attended, was called into a deposition in which he testified the following:
"INTERVIEWER: Do you recall becoming aware of a report of sexual abuse of a child by Jonathan Kendrick?
CLARKE: Yes.
INTERVIEWER: When did you become aware of such a report?
CLARKE: He had called us to his home to discuss a — orto confess to an incident with his step-daughter ."
-Interview with Michael Clarke, "Did leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses cover up child sex abuse?" PBS NewsHour, Feb 16, 2015, retrieved July 12, 2017, [pbs.org/newshour/bb/leaders-jehovahs-witnesses-cover-child-sex-abuse]
The aforementioned PBS reporter Trey Bundy documented the letter Clarke sent to the Watchtower, which proves that not only was the abuse reported, but that Kendrick confessed to the crime:
"Dear Brothers, We are writing to you regarding a case of child abuse. We telephoned 11/12/93 and it was suggested that we submit in writing our questions. We met on 11/11/93 with Jonathan Kendrick, a ministerial servant, whoconfessed to child abuse with his 15 yr old step daughter . The abuse occurred approximately 4 months ago. He confessed to touching the breast of his step daughter while she was sleeping. She was awaken instantly and knew what had happened. His wife was informed that evening and the 3 of them talked it out between them."
-Clarke's Letter to the Watchtower, "Did leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses cover up child sex abuse?" PBS NewsHour, Feb 16, 2015, retrieved July 12, 2017, [pbs.org/newshour/bb/leaders-jehovahs-witnesses-cover-child-sex-abuse]
The letter goes on to state that they removed Kendrick from his leadership position after the elders were informed, but the letter they received back from the Watchtower told them it was not necessary to remove him from leadership. Rather, they told him that they should simply "
During the trials, it was discovered that Kendrick had left the Kingdom Hall where Conti had previously attended, and took a letter of introduction to another Kingdom Hall, namely, a place called the Oakley Congregation. That letter of introduction had no information about his past child sexual abuse, and so he was allowed to operate freely once again, eventually marrying into a JW family at this new location, and sexually assaulted his 6-year-old step daughter.
Trey Bundy interviewed Roger Bentley, a former 30-year veteran elder of the Oakley Kingdom Hall, and together, they looked over Kendrick's letter of introduction, written by the elders of the Kingdom Hall where Conti was molested:
"BENTLEY: There's no indication at all that he's guilty of child abuse."
BUNDY: So no mention of child abuse, but any mention of children?
BENTLEY: Well, if you read it, it very specifically says 'he's a very interesting individual who has taken the lead with some young ones in the congregation and helped them from veering off course.' That's not a child abuser.That's a recommendation. That's a very specific recommendation: 'Oh, relax. He's good with kids.' "
-Interview with Roger Bentley, "Did leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses cover up child sex abuse?" PBS NewsHour, Feb 16, 2015, retrieved July 12, 2017, [pbs.org/newshour/bb/leaders-jehovahs-witnesses-cover-child-sex-abuse]
Kendrick confessed his abuse during the deposition and served 8 months in jail. The Watchtower, in effort to protect themselves, tried to argue First Amendment freedom of religion in court, but that's foolish because the U.S. Constitution does not protect proven criminals under the first amendment, no matter which religion they claim to be a part of. Thankfully, the court shot down their fallacious argument and awarded Conti $15 million in compensation to be paid by the Watchtower. Based on the last report I saw, as of 2017, Kendrick is still an active member in good standing with the Oakley Congregation.
(See Dan Harris & Nick Capote, "Former Jehovah's Witness Accuses Church of Hiding Child Abusers from Congregations," ABC News, Mar 12, 2015, retrieved July 12, 2017, [abcnews.go.com/US/jehovahs-witness-accuses-church-hiding-child-abusers-congregations/story?id=29586778]
These are but a few of the thousands of cases being brought to light in recent years, and more are coming forward all the time. However, the Watchtower still insists they do no wrong, as Stephen Lett, one of the top leaders in the Jehovah's Witness organization, said a video in response to all the surfacing accusations of child sexual abuse in the Watchtower.
Before we look at this video, I want to mention a couple of things to note about liars, and physical signs that someone is lying when they're talking. In the video, please notice how strange that Stephen Lett moves his mouth while he's talking; it's quite odd. If you'll look closely, there are "tells," which are facial expressions and habits, similar to what poker players look for, to see if someone is lying. Stephen Lett does fast smirks and licks his lips frequently, which indicate he is lying.
|
STEPHEN LETT "Another way we can contribute to the oneness: |
Based on all the evidence we've seen in these various court trials, who is the liar? You decide for yourself who you think is lying based on the evidence presented, but I'll end this chapter by quoting Richard Ashe (also shown in the video), one of the Watchtower members of the Governing Body in charge of child sexual abuse cases (who is seen in the 2nd half of the above video):
|
RICHARD ASHE: "Within the congregation, ours is a spiritual protection. |
That means Lett's so-called "protection" a child would receiving in Jehovah's Witnesses is "spiritual," but not physical. However, the problem is that Jehovah's Witnesses do not contact the authorities for that physical protection, which means the Watchtower does NOTHING to protect the children.
I believe there is a need to quote Psalm 85 one more time:
How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. [stop and think] Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
-Psalm 85:2-4
Jehovah's Witnesses Are One of Many
I want to make it clear to any reader who might be a part of Adventism: You and I are not brethren in Christ. The Adventist cult was born out of infestation of false prophets, and Jesus told us that His sheep would not follow after the voice of strangers.
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
-John 10:4-7
Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not... He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
-John 8:43-47
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
-John 7:24
(See Jerome L. Clark, 1844: Religious Movements, Vol. 1, TEACH Services Inc, 1968, p. 70-71, ISBN: 9781572580671; See also Arthur W. Spalding, Origin and History of Seventh-Day Adventists, Vol. 1, Review and Herald Publications Association, 1961, p. 115, [University of Wisconsin - Madison])
Wheeler decided to take Oakes' words to heart, and went home to do some research. After studying in the Bible on the matter, he decided to accept the Sabbath-keeping teaching, or in other words, he accepted the false works-based doctrine that Christians must observe the Sabbath or they cannot be born-again in Christ and will end up in hell.
(Read "Should Christians Keep the Sabbath?" here at creationliberty.com for more details; among those who believe in Sabbath-keeping doctrine, there are almost none who actually keep the Sabbath described in the Old Testament, meaning there are a lot of hypocrites out there.)
 |
As Wheeler's Sabbath-keeping doctrine begins to spread, Thomas Preble, who had accepted Millerite doctrine in 1842, heard Wheeler's doctrine and accepted it too. Preble ended up becoming friends with Wheeler, and Preble was the first Adventist to publish the Sabbath-keeping doctrine in print. (See image) (See Thomas M. Preble, According to the Commandment, Murray & Kimball, 1845) Preble had supposedly, later in his life, denounced this teaching, but not before he had convinced a number of others it was true; one of those he converted was named Joseph Bates, who read Preble's tract in a publication called "The Hope of Israel," printed on Feb 28, 1845, and the following year, Bates taught the Sabbath-keeping doctrine to a woman named Ellen Harmon, who also accepted it. This is extremely significant because soon after, Ellen Harmon went on to marry a man named James White, and she became |
This is not only how the Sabbath-keeping doctrine got added into the Millerite movement, but also ended up creating a nearly countless number of splits into more heretical teachings and cult groups. We just saw one cult timeline, and now we're going to rewind and look at another timeline to bring all this together.
During the Great Disappointment of 1841, a man named Hiram Edson claimed to have a prophetic vision and said that Jesus did not come to earth, but rather, Jesus entered into a special heavenly sanctuary for the first time and would have to do some work there. (i.e. He still believed Miller's prophecy was true, but was slightly off on a few points.) Edson got together with his friend Owen Crosier, and a few years later, they published his vision and doctrine called "The Sanctuary" in the Day-Star Extra on Feb 7, 1846.
(See Arthur White, "O.L. Corsier Article 'The Sanctuary'," Day-Star Extra, 1846, 18-C-3, retrieved June 8, 2017, [ellenwhite.org/content/file/o-l-crosier-article-sanctuary-day-star-extra-1846-18-c-3#document])
The aforementioned Joseph Bates reads about Edson's vision in the Day-Star Extra, and he talks to Ellen White about it; White accepts the vision, and the doctrine that goes with it, known today as "The Investigative Judgment," which teaches that the "divine judgment" of professing Christians has been active since 1844. In a nutshell, the doctrine teaches that once a Christian dies and goes to the judgment, Christ looks to see if they kept all the commandments of God (e.g. keeping the Sabbath), and if they missed one, they cannot enter heaven. To put it in other words, a Seventh-Day Adventist might tell you they believe in grace through faith like you do, but once you get into their church, they'll start to teach that your name gets in the book of life by faith, but now Jesus has to judge whether or not you keep the Sabbath, and if you don't, you're doomed to hell. White emphasized the importance of this doctrine as a foundation for Seventh-Day Adventists, and they still believe and teach it today.
(See Ellen G. White, Counsels to Writers and Editors, Review and Herald Publications Association, 1946, p. 30-31, ISBN: 9780828011761)
|
The Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) name was officially incorporated in 1863, and in their cult, Ellen White's writings are considered as prophetic as the Bible itself. A few decades later, in 1929, (See Victor T. Houteff, The Shepherd's Rod, Universal Publications Association, 1945) The Houteffs started the Shepherd's Rod Adventists, and later changed their name to the Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists (hereafter referred to as Davidians), which was started in 1930. Victor died in 1955, leaving Florence in charge of the church, and she prophesied the end of the world would be in 1959. |
 |
A couple named
Benjamin Roden died, leaving Lois Roden in charge of the Branch Davidians, and two decades later, in 1979, a young man named
(See George D. Chryssides, Exploring New Religions, A&C Black, 2001, p. 52, ISBN: 9780826459596)
Howell went to Israel for a year, returned to the Branch Davidians in 1983, claimed to have a vision from God for them, and changed his name to
(See Kenneth G. Newport, The Branch Davidians of Waco: The History and Beliefs of an Apocalyptic Sect, OUP Oxford, 2006, p. 1, ISBN: 9780199245741)
A number of Branch Davidians were arrested, one of them named Renos Avraam, who claimed to be the successor of David Koresh, or the "Chosen Vessel of the Remaining Bride," and he started a branch of the Branch Davidians called the Hidden Manna. (This group is technically called the Hidden Manna Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists.) After the Waco Siege, Avraam was sentenced to 10 years for voluntary manslaughter and 30 years for various weapons violations. Avraam prophesied Koresh would return in 1999, which obviously did not happen, and with good behavior, he was released from prison in 2006.
(See Mattias Gardell, Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism, Duke University Press, 2003, p. 353, ISBN: 9780822330714
Avraam's Hidden Manna still exist today, although they are relatively hard to find since they're very secretive about authorship and domains. Avraam's last date for the end of the world was Mar 14, 2014. In the late 90s, Avraam and the Hidden Manna Branch Davidians purchased and used the domains "sevenseals.com" and "branchdavidian.com," although when checking whois.com for registrar information, the identity of the owners is concealed by privacy companies.
(They also owned seventrumpets.com and davidkoresh.com from the late 90s until today, but recently, the domains seem to be abandoned; See "Seven Seals Revelation" from Internet Archives Wayback Machine, Feb 12, 1998, retrieved Nov 3, 2018, [web.archive.org/web/19980212122413/http://davidkoresh.com:80]; See also "Seven Trumpets" from Internet Archives Wayback Machine, Mar 3, 2000, retrieved Nov 3, 2018, [web.archive.org/web/20000303003557/http://www.seventrumpets.com:80])
 |
Another Branch Davidian follower named Ron Cole believed that Koresh did not complete his duties as a messenger, and it was now up to Cole to pick up the task. Cole authored a book called Sinister Twilight, in which he told the story of the Waco Siege from the Branch Davidian side. Cole founded the First Colorado Light Infantry Militia and the North American Liberation Army, and in 1997, he and his fellow cult members ended up in prison for possession of illegal firearms and explosives. (See John R. Cashman, Emergency Response to Chemical and Biological Agents, CRC Press, 2002, p. 253, ISBN: 9781420048445; As a side note, Cole had contact with Timothy McVeigh before the Oklahoma City Bombing, but since the bombing was a government conspiracy, this fact did not hold much relevance to the subject matter of Jehovah's Witnesses.) |
Probably the most popular faction of the Branch Davidians is what Clive Doyle is a part of; Doyle met Koresh in 1981, and has been a follower of him since, even allowing his own teenage daughter to have sex with Koresh. Doyle's daughter died during the Waco Siege. In an interview with Doyle on the 20th anniversary after the Waco Siege, Doyle still believes Koresh will return, he still believes the sexual intercourse his daughter had with Koresh and all the other women of the Waco compound was decreed by God, and he still believes he is experiencing the end times, as do all the other Branch Davidians in their organization, which still operates to this day.
(See Carol Kuruvilla, "Waco survivor awaits Branch Davidian leader David Koresh's resurrection," New York Daily News, Mar 25, 2014, retrieved June 16, 2017, [nydailynews.com/news/national/waco-survivor-waiting-david-koresh-resurrection-article-1.1734205])
The purpose of this chapter was written with the hope that Christians would understand that the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Adventists, the Bible Students, and every other flavor inbetween, were all created out of the root of Millerism and false prophecy. This is why God took the matter so seriously in the Old Testament, ordering the Jewish government to execute false prophets (Deut 18:20); althought I don't want anyone to misunderstand, this is not any commandment for Christians because we have no authority to punish criminals, which is a job left up to the government of the nation we live in. (Rom 13:3) We are commanded to preach Christ by the repentance and remission of sins. When the Lord God gives us His Word, that we are to be sanctified from leaven (i.e. false doctrines) and the wickedness of this world, there is a good reason for it, and we who are born again in Christ ought to take the matter of false prophets and liars very seriously, just as God does because, given enough time, those false prophecies can be deadly.
A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
-Galatians 5:9
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
-Matthew 7:18
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Sanctification" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The following list contains the names of cults that have developed from the Millerites. I would ask that American Christians read over these carefully because you will likely recognize some of the names, and you may have seen some of these church buildings in your area. We ought to sanctify ourselves away from these organizations and from these people if they will not acknowledge the truth of their origins and repent of their false prophecies and beliefs.
| Christadelphians (1846) | The Messenger Party (1853) |
| American Millennial Association (1858) | Seventh-Day Adventist Church (1860) |
| Advent Christian Association (1860) | Church of Jesus Christ (1862) |
| Church of Christ (1863) | Church of God (1867) |
| Sabbath Adventist Conference (1874) | Zion's Watch Tower and Tract Society (1881) |
| 7th Day Church of God (1884) | Church of God General Conference (1884) |
| Church of the Blessed Hope (1888) | New Covenant Fellowship (1909) |
| New Covenant Believers (1909) | Laymen's Home Missionary Movement (1918) |
| Pastoral Bible Institute (1918) | Stand Fast Bible Students (1918) |
| Elijah Voice Society (1923) | True and Free Seventh-Day Adventists (1924) |
| Seventh-Day Adventist Reform Movement (1925) | Servants of Yah (1925) |
| Christian Millennial Fellowship (1928) | Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists (1930) |
| Dawn Bible Students (1931) | Jehovah's Witnesses (1931) |
| Radio Church of God (1934) | Worldwide Church of God (1934) |
| Watchers of the Morning (1936) | Assembly of YHVH (1939) |
| Assembly of Yahweh (1943) | United Seventh-Day Brethren (1947) |
| Sabbath Rest Advent Church (1954) | Laodiceans Home Missionary Movement (1955) |
| Epiphany Bible Students (1956) | Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists (1959) |
| Assemblies of Yahweh (1969) | Yahweh's Assembly in Messiah (1980) |
| Eternal Gospel Church (1992) | Hidden Manna (1993) |
| Yahweh's Assembly in Yahshua (2007) | And much more... |
This list contains only a handful of the hundreds, if not thousands, of various branches of Millerism/Adventism developed over the past 180 years. The original concept that the early Millerites developed was non-organizational, which means they did not believe in having a core network organization; it was for this reason that they became well-known for publishing magazines and having conferences, because that was the only way for their followers to link into a central belief.
Each branch would start their own conferences and publish their own magazines and newsletters, but while many died out because they believed in a non-evangelistic approach, others prospered because they took a marketing approach. (e.g. Russellites and Jehovah's Witnesses) They would often split because a small group within the denomination believed something slightly different (sometimes doctrinally, sometimes prophetically), so they would go start their own denomination. Some denominations failed, and the leftover members would split to start up two or three more from it, and those branches became more popular, which is why you might somewhat recognize the names in this list in relation to church buildings with similar names you may have seen while driving down a country road; they have a connection to one another, but there have been so many variations over the past two centuries, it's nearly impossible to keep track of them all.
However, there is one thing all these have in common: to these cultists, the Gospel of Jesus is NOT the blood sacrifice of the Lamb of God for the payment of sin (although they will tell you it is on the surface). Their "gospel" is the belief that Jesus is coming back at any moment, and this is why so many of these cults today keep preaching the false doctrine of pre-tribulation rapture.
(Read "The Beginner's Guide to Tribulation & Rapture" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Paul, very clearly, rebuked all of them in 2 Thessalonians 2:
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
-2 Thessalonians 2:1
That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
-2 Thessalonians 2:2
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
-2 Thessalonians 2:3-5
(Read "Revivalism: The Devil's Design" & "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The son of perdition is the final antichrist, and the final antichrist sitting in Solomon's temple declaring himself to be the Messiah is not going to happen until somewhere midway through the final seven years of tribulation. (i.e. Pre-trib prophecy is false; it's that simple.) Only when that event happens will we know that the day of Christ is at hand, and we are nowhere close to that time because Solomon's temple hasn't even been rebuilt yet (among many other reasons from the Scripture). All the pre-tribbers out there have their hopes in a false prophecy, and just like the Millerites/Adventists, many protect it with vicious hatred, condemning people like me as "fake Christians" because, as I said earlier, they believe the "gospel" is that Christ will return at any moment, so when I reject their "gospel," in their eyes, they believe I'm rejecting Christ.
I'm not just saying this hypothetically, I have received emails and letters in which I have been condemned as a false Christian because I reject the Adventist false doctrine of pre-tribulation rapture. I've also had many emails and letters condemning me as a fake Christian because I reject their works-based, hypocritical doctrine of observing the Sabbath under the New Testament, and it took me a long time to figure out why so many people kept emailing me over that issue because this was a time before I knew anything about Adventism. In short, I teach proper doctrine against the pagan idolatry of things like Christmas, which the Adventists will agree with, but then they'll continue reading my teachings, they'll see that I rebuke their false teachings on the Sabbath, and thus, they write me in anger because I stepped on their toes.
If any Adventist, or like-minded Hebrew roots cultist, is reading this, I want to make it clear that our ministry does NOT endorse or support you in any way. I believe Adventists are not Christians (i.e. they are NOT brethren in Christ) because they have rejected the basic doctrine of grace for salvation in exchange for works doctrine, and they are dangerous because they lead people astray in their hypocrisy, hiding their true beliefs, while lying to the public to tell them they believe in grace through faith. If you are an Adventist, or believe in any type of Adventist doctrine, you are operating outside of Christ's church; you need to come to repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of your wrongdoing) and be born again in the Jesus Christ of the Bible, and I pray our ministry can help you come out from among them to be free from Satan's devices.
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
-2 Corinthians 2:11
But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
-Matthew 15:13-14
Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses
Ex-JWs have lost family, friends, and spouses, and in some very sad cases in which an ex-JW grew up in a JW family, being excommunicated, or "disfellowshipped," means more than just departing from the JWs. Sometimes it means losing a husband or wife, losing your home, losing your children, and much more. The Watchtower, by their strict regulations, will threaten a leaving member with this, literally blackmailing them with his/her family and friends, while lying to their congregations by claiming the JWs don't operate like that (but even many JWs know that's a lie).
This is from the Watchtower's Awake! article published in 2009:
"Although the Bible makes a clear distinction between true and false teachings, God allows each person the freedom to choose how he or she will respond.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. Does study of the Bible lead to family breakup? No. In fact,the Bible encourages a husband and wife who practice different religions to remain together as a family ."
-Watchtower Online Library, "The Bible's Viewpoint: Is It Wrong to Change Your Religion?" Awake! 2009, p. 28-29, retrieved Apr 28, 2017, [wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102009251#h=3]
The Bible might encourage a family to stay together, but the Watchtower does not, and if you have read everything up to this point, it should be no surprise that the Watchtower violates its own teachings in hypocrisy. Every day, JWs are forcing members to choose between family and religion because they instruct their members to shun (i.e. have no contact or communication with) a leaving member unless he/she returns and submits to Watchtower authority.
Tim and JoAnne Terrana were very dedicated Jehovah's Witnesses, and had been very active in the organization for over 25 years, but many years before leaving JWs, Tim had come to learn about Russell's false prophecies, and it brought up many tough questions for him. This led him to investigate some more things that didn't add up about Watchtower doctrines, so he started going through the Bible and writing down a list of questions that he had:
"The list got longer and longer to say the least. By the time I got to the book of first Corinthians, I threw the list out because I didn't have enough time. "
-Tim Terrana, "Our Search for Truth Ended with Jesus: Ex Jehovah's Witness Testimony," 1987, retrieved June 20, 2017, [youtube.com/watch?v=lr_nljqNx6E]
Tim described the many long hours he spent in JW meetings and duties (like going door to door), and this is one of the ways they keep their cult members obedient. Many of the testimonies I've read and listened to say they didn't have enough time to look into the things they sensed were wrong about the Watchtower and what they teach. JWs spend a lot of time studying and learning, but if they're active enough in the organization to be considered a "good Jehovah's Witness," then they don't have any time to think about what they're learning.
What started to really bother Tim was many years later his father began to leave the Jehovah's Witnesses, and Tim asked him why. Tim's father gave him some verses out of Revelation 21 and 22, the same ones I mentioned in previous chapters, about how the "Alpha and Omega, the first and the last" was speaking interchangeably, through both personage and description, with Jesus Christ. At first, Tim did not want to think about it, but his wife JoAnne did, and it began to trouble her as well.
She also read through Rev 1:
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
-Revelation 1:7-8
JoAnne talked about her mother having had numerous radiation treatments for cancer, and finally, knowing the radiation treatments were no longer working, she went down to Mexico to get treated at a Laetrile clinic (i.e. B17). Although she would likely die from the radiation treatments no matter what she did, the vitamin treatments would at least prevent any further cancer issues she might have had. The Laetrile clinic was run by born again Christians who did their best every day to share the truth of the Gospel with JoAnne's mother, knowing they were Jehovah's Witnesses, and although her mother never verbally confessed Christ (i.e. she only confessed the JW organization), JoAnne hopes her mother, through the preaching of the medical staff in Mexico, confessed Christ before she died.
(Read "The Cure for Cancer" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
While he was a Jehovah's Witness, Michael Lehre had attempted suicide, but was saved by the grace of God. Michael was led to suicide through the doctrine of the JWs, believing that the Jehovah's Witness god hated him and was ready to destroy him, so he attempted to kill himself because he thought there was no other way out.
(See Michael Lehre, "Ex-Jehovah's Witness Testimony: Michael Lehre," caligirl7525, retrieved June 21, 2017, [youtube.com/watch?v=sZxKK52ibas&t=2799s])
Michael was born into the Jehovah's Witnesses and spent most of his life learning Watchtower doctrine, attending all the meetings, and going door-to-door. Through a series of events, he came to find some Scriptures that contradicted basic JW teaching, so he brought them to show the elders at the JW Kingdom Hall sessions, but when he just asked them to read the verse he was showing them with the Bible in his hand, he said they lifted up their heads and refused to look down at the Bible to read it; Michael tried it with three different elders, and all of them responded the same way.
Michael wanted to keep it simple for them, so he attempted to show them John 20, in which Thomas mentions that Jesus was nailed to the cross with NAILS plural. This is significant because JWs teach that he was nailed with a single nail to a torture stake (this is how they portray it in their artwork as well), but the Bible says it was more than one nail; Michael just wanted them to read the verse:"Anything I wanted to show them—'No, no, no.' They were just going about me questioning—'What are you doing? Why are you questioning the Watchtower Society? Why are you questioning the truth?' I'm not. I'm questioning why we teach these things—the Bible says that, and these men wouldn't talk to me, they wouldn't have it. And I looked to one of them, he was a good friend of mine, 'Come on dude, come on, |
|
Many of the ex-JWs I've read and listened to have given similar testimonies. They listen, but refuse to hear; they look, but refuse to see. The JW elders have strict control over the rest of their organization, and to question the organization, in their eyes, is to doubt/reject Jehovah; which also means to question the elders is to doubt/reject Jehovah. (i.e. If you question the elders of the Watchtower, you get kicked out.)
For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
-Matthew 13:15
(See Mary Parker, "Ex-Jehovah Witness Mary Parker - Kicked Out Of Their Kingdom," Heard Learned, retrieved June 22, 2017, [youtube.com/watch?v=lfaI560fuXE])
While recovering in her mother's home, Mary began to read Christian books her mother had on hand, she started studying the Bible for herself, and she found the truth of Christ. One of the verses of Scripture she said really opened her eyes was from John 2:
And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.
-John 2:16-21
"Jesus replied to them: 'Tear down this temple, and in three daysI will raise it up .' The Jews then said: 'This temple was built in 46 years, and will you raise it up in three days?' Buthe was talking about the temple of his body ."
-Jehovah's Witnesses, "According to John2:1-25," New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 2013, retrieved June 22, 2017, [jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/books/john/2]
First of all, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus was sinless, which means they believe He never lied, so if He claimed His body was raised from the dead, that means he was resurrected, which also means the Watchtower is wrong because they teach that Jesus was not resurrected. (i.e. The Watchtower can't be Jehovah's organization because it teaches lies.) Also, Jesus said "I will raise it up," which means He raised Himself from the dead, and only God can do that. (i.e. Jesus is God!)
I found some difficulty in trying to put some testimonies on here because they were either far too short (i.e. they didn't give enough detail), or they were far too long, and I had to summarize them. However, the one thing I kept finding in most of them was leaven (i.e. things contrary to God's Word), and although I was glad some had found Christ, I kept seeing so many of them jump out of the frying pan into the fire.
I realize that many readers probably expected this section to be only former JW testimonies, but as I listened to them, I was very convicted to write about this subject rather than document lots of testimonies. The more testimonies I went through, the more troubled I became in what I was hearing and reading. For the sake of other Christians and (if God wills) for the sake of any Jehovah's Witness who is considering leaving the Watchtower, I want to address the problems I have seen and heard in these testimonies.
I often found a common phrase in which they said: "All I had to do was accept Jesus." I understand that many of them came from a works-based religion, and believing on Christ for His grace lifts the burden from their shoulders. However, I could tell there was no repentance of sin in a number of the testimonies I saw; there was repentance of being in the JW cult, but not grief and godly sorrow of their sin. Many claimed they were seeking God everywhere, but just couldn't seem to find Him in Jehovah's Witnesses, and then they would say they came out and finally found the God they were seeking, even though that's not what Scripture teaches us.
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
-Romans 3:10-12
There was one young woman on Youtube I listened to who actually taught repentance of sin, and was surprisingly on target with salvation doctrine (I say 'surprisingly' because it's rare to see); she made a phone call to a local Kingdom Hall where she brought up some issues of doctrine that were taught on jw.org (the official JW website), and got in a conversation with a man who was a 71-year old elder and had been a JW for 35 years. During the conversation, he could not answer the points about Christ, but explained why he was a Jehovah's Witness. He said that he was a JW because he wanted to live in Jehovah's earthly kingdom so he could do all the things he never got to do, like fishing for example, and she responded:
"This is the problem with Watchtower, it appeals to your fleshly desires. It's actually not a spiritual thing. You said you wanted to fish and stuff, and I'm saying I want to be with the one who made me...Jesus wants you to be with Him, and you want to fish? "
-caligirl7525, "Telephone Call with a Jehovah's Witness - JW Admits Watchtower Predicted 1975," retrieved June 22, 2017, [youtube.com/watch?v=CtT6y0RTA6o]; I am not endorsing this woman in any way, there are still other problems of leaven she has, like new-age bible versions for example, so I am only commending her on her responses to this JW elder.
When she told him that the Watchtower appeals to earthly desires, she's not wrong, and this is one of the reasons people become JWs in the first place. The Bible does not use the blessings of God as a fishing lure for salvation, but rather, the Bible says we are saved by Christ after God has given us repentance through the hearing of the law.
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
-2 Timothy 2:25
But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
-Galatians 3:23-24
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
-2 Corinthians 7:10
And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
-Genesis 6:6
(Read "Dangers of Using Lexicons and Concordances" & "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
-Matthew 4:17
And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two... And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
-Mark 6:7-12
But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
-Acts 26:20
The point is that whatever they were seeking when they became JWs, it was not God or truth; they were seeking something more fleshly; for example, the 71-year-old JW elder who wanted to fish was looking more for an earthly retirement package, rather than the Lord Jesus Christ. Many people will disagree with me on the basis that JWs don't do worldly things (like Christmas, Easter, birthdays, etc), and so because they see a "sacrifice" (i.e. they think JWs give up Christmas for the sake of Jehovah), they falsely believe JWs join the Watchtower because they really love God.
Although Jehovah's Witnesses are wrong on many foundational doctrines of Scripture, there are some things they have right; for example, they teach strictly against Christmas and Easter as paganism and witchcraft, and they are absolutely correct. All the origins and traditions of Christmas and Easter were born out of witchcraft, and it was the Catholic church that caused them to flourish; however, the problem is that the Watchtower forces JWs to abstain from celebrating Christmas and Easter on the grounds of threat of disfellowship, which means the Watchtower will use their loved ones as blackmail and extortion against them.
(Read "Christmas: The Rejection of Jesus" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The few who convert away from the Watchtower go into the modern-day church buildings, where there are many false converts, and learn that pagan activities (like Christmas) are acceptable in God's eyes. The JW, who spent a large portion of their life in fear and anxiety, basks in the freedom offered by the church building, and so they start celebrating all the wicked things they never got to do because now they have "liberty in Christ." They go from one organization that teaches false doctrine to another organization that teaches false doctrine, which means they're still following organizations instead of the Word of God.
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
-Galatians 5:13
And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
-Mark 3:4
(Read "The United Vacci-Nations" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
This is exactly what Christ taught us about the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes of that day, which are the pastors of our day; religious authorities that pride themselves over the masses. Those wicked men were teaching some things that were right, but in their hearts, they were corrupt.
All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. [i.e. They teach one thing, but do the opposite.] For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
-Matthew 23:3-8
(Read "Titles Are Unbiblical in the Church" & "Respecting Persons Is Sin" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
-Jeremiah 10:2-4
(Read "Why I Don't Celebrate Birthdays" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The Jews used to say the same things:
Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?
-Jeremiah 7:8-10
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
-Galatians 5:19-21
(Read "Easter: Christians Celebrating Abomination" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
There's much more beyond this, as the traditional modern-day church buildings start to teach ex-JWs bad habits. For example, they'll go from using the New World Translation into using some other new-age bible version that's going to teach them watered-down doctrine. They don't realize that the NWT and all the other new-age versions come from the same source, the corrupt Westcott & Hort Greek Manuscript. Most of the church buildings I've seen have been trained to stay away from the King James Bible, and so when an ex-JW comes into a more welcoming and so-called "loving" community of churchgoers than they experienced with the JWs, then they get lured into an emotional attachment to them that blinds them to the fact that they study corruptions of God's Word.
(Read "Why I Use The King James Bible" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Don't misunderstand, I'm not saying that all those ex-JWs who go into the new-age church buildings are unsaved; I'm just saying they're going from one false doctrine to the next. There are some I have seen who have repentance, the godly sorrow for sin, and teach the salvation of Christ the Biblical way, but they are rare, and among those rare ones I've seen, I've noticed most of them have adopted a lot of leavened traditions and practices because they go into the traditional church buildings. (This is excluding those who go into atheism and other such absurd belief systems.)
(Read "Everything You Need To Know About Atheism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The whole situation is very sad because coming out of the brainwashing and cult mentality is difficult enough, but once they get out of it, Satan has many more roadblocks in place. All I can do is try my best to present the truth of these matters as the Lord Jesus Christ has given me understanding, and pray that some will be willing to listen; I can only encourage them to stand on the Word of God alone.
The message I would give to an ex-JW is that there is a hell, and belonging to a cult is not what puts anyone in hell. It is sin that leads people to hell, but doing good works will not lead us to heaven; only by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ can we be saved.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
-Ephesians 2:8
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
-Colossians 2:13-15
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
-1 John 2:27
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
-Galatians 5:13-18
Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.
-Deuteronomy 12:8
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.
-Proverbs 21:2
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
-Matthew 11:28-30
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
-John 14:15
I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
-John 17:14-19
