IS THE WATCHTOWER REALLY A PROPHET OF GOD?
Many today who are members of the religion known as Jehovah's Witnesses are totally unaware of the many prophecies which have been made by their religion. Others may know that there have been some "failed expectations", but do not really realize the extent or nature of these predictions. Interestingly, the Bible not only tells us how to identify a true or a false prophet, but it also gives us clear instructions as to how we should view these prophets. Let us first examine some of the more prominent prophecies which have been advanced by the Watchtower Society, and then review the results. The Watchtower itself has encouraged this very course of action in an article in the April 1, 1972 WATCHTOWER, on page 197, which was entitled "THEY SHALL KNOW THAT A PROPHET WAS AMONG THEM". The article states:
"Of course it is easy to say that this group acts as a 'prophet' of God. It is another thing to prove it. The only way that this can be done IS TO REVIEW THE RECORD. What does it show?" (emphasis mine).
Since the Watchtower has itself encouraged us to review the record of its prophecies, then Jehovah's Witnesses should have no problems with that whatsoever. Let us "review the record" concerning the more prominent prophecies of the Watchtower concerning the years 1874, 1914, 1918, 1925, and 1975.
1874
Today, Jehovah's Witnesses are convinced that the Scriptures plainly indicate that Jesus Christ has "returned" and been present, ruling invisibly from Heaven since the year 1914. What many are unaware of, is that for nearly 50 years, the Watchtower taught that 1874 was the year of Christ's "return", and that this was the date that the Scriptures pointed to. Consider the following:
"CHRIST'S PRESENCE AND THE HARVEST BEGAN IN 1874", (Studies In the Scriptures, Vol. 2, p. 239).
"SCRIPTURES PROVE THAT THE LORD'S SECOND ADVENT WAS IN 1874", (The Finished Mystery, pg. 68).
"THE MILLENIUM BEGAN IN 1874, WITH THE RETURN OF CHRIST", (The Finished Mystery, pg. 386).
"THE SCRIPTURAL PROOF IS THAT THE SECOND PRESENCE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST BEGAN IN 1874 A.D.", (Prophecy, pg. 65).
1914
The year 1914 has held many different beliefs for Jehovah's Witnesses, depending on the time period in which they lived. It may surprise many JWs to learn that, while they now believe that 1914 marked the invisible "presence" of Christ, this has not always been the case. As has been shown, the original teaching for this event was supposedly 1874. What, then, have been the various belief s concerning 1914?
At first, it was believed and taught by the Watchtower that 1914 would mark the END of the Battle of Armageddon, and that God's kingdom would take power at this time.
"WITHIN THE COMING 26 YEARS ALL PRESENT GOVERNMENTS WILL BE OVERTHROWN AND DISSOLVED....THE FULL ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY THE END OF A.D. 1914", (Studies in the Scriptures, Volume 2, pg. 98-99). (This was changed to 1915 in later editions).
"THE BATTLE OF THE GREAT DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTY (Rev. 16:14), WHICH WILL END IN A.D. 1914 WITH THE COMPLETE OVERTHROW OF EARTH'S PRESENT RULERSHIP", (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 2, pg. 101). (Changed to 1915 in later editions).
"THE DATE OF THE CLOSE OF THAT BATTLE IS DEFINITELY MARKED IN SCRIPTURE AS OCTOBER, 1914. IT IS ALREADY IN PROGRESS, ITS BEGINNING DATING FROM OCTOBER, 1874", (Watchtower, 1/15/1892/, pg. 1335).
In fact, as to the year 1914 being the time for the end of the Battle of Armageddon, the Watchtower of July, 1894 stated that this was GOD'S DATE, and therefore, could not be changed. If it truly had been God's date, one cannot help but wonder why the date failed to come to pass. Perhaps it wasn't God's date after all.
When this prophecy failed to come to pass, the teaching concerning 1914 was revised. For many years, dedicated Jehovah's Witnesses viewed the generation that "saw the events of 1914", as the generation that would see the end of this system, and the ushering in of God's kingdom. This was first said to apply to people who were around 15 years of age in 1914, but certainly not babies in 1914. Then, as this "generation" began to die out, it was said that it could refer to those who were 10 years of age. Then, as more of this generation passed on, we were told that perhaps babies could be included in the phrase "this generation" after all (Mt. 24:34). A very interesting statement even appeared in the AWAKE! magazine until the year 1995, under the heading "WHY AWAKE! IS PUBLISHED"...
"MOST IMPORTANT, THIS MAGAZINE BUILDS CONFIDENCE IN THE CREATOR'S PROMISE OF A PEACEFUL AND SECURE NEW WORLD BEFORE THE GENERATION THAT SAW THE EVENTS OF 1914 PASSES AWAY".
Beginning with the Nov 8, 1995 issue of the AWAKE!, this statement was changed to read:
"MOST IMPORTANT, THIS MAGAZINE BUILDS CONFIDENCE IN THE CREATOR'S PROMISE OF A PEACEFUL AND SECURE NEW WORLD THAT IS ABOUT TO REPLACE THE PRESENT WICKED, LAWLESS SYSTEM OF THINGS".
Notice the removal of any reference to the year 1914? A comparison of these 2 quotes would seem to indicate that the Creator has decided not to honor His previous promise of bringing the "end" before the generation of 1914 passes away. Or, perhaps this was never the Creator's promise to begin with, but rather, the false speculations of man.
At the present time, the year 1914 is simply regarded as the date of Christ's invisible "return". Since all the VISIBLE aspects of the prophecy failed, the WT has chosen to retain the INVISIBLE "return" of Christ as to their teaching regarding this date. Incidentally, an "invisible" return or presence is a very hard thing to prove.
1918
The year 1918 was prophesied to bring about the destruction and annhilation of members of the various churches, who failed to agree with the Watchtower's message.
"ALSO, IN THE YEAR 1918, WHEN GOD DESTROYS THE CHURCHES WHOLESALE AND THE CHURCH MEMBERS BY THE MILLIONS, IT SHALL BE THAT ANY THAT ESCAPE SHALL COME TO THE WORKS OF PASTOR RUSSELL TO LEARN THE MEANING OF THE DOWNFALL OF CHRISTIANITY", (The Finished Mystery, 1917 edition, pg. 485).
That statement was found in an article entitled "THE CHURCHES CEASE TO BE". Is any comment really needed here?
1925
Many JWs may be shocked to learn that the Watchtower predicted that the year 1925 would bring a resurrection to Old Testament servants of God such as Moses, Abraham, Jacob, Abel, Noah, Isaac, etc.
"WE MAY EXPECT 1925 TO WITNESS THE RETURN OF THESE FAITHFUL MEN OF ISRAEL FROM THE CONDITION OF DEATH, BEING RESURRECTED"
"THEREFORE WE MAY CONFIDENTLY EXPECT THAT 1925 WILL MARK THE RETURN OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, JACOB, AND THE FAITHFUL PROPHETS OF OLD", (these quotes taken from the publication "Millions", pg. 88-90).
"THERE WILL BE NO SLIP-UP....ABRAHAM SHOULD ENTER UPON THE ACTUAL POSSESSION OF HIS PROMISED INHERITANCE IN THE YEAR 1925", (Watchtower, 10/15/17/, pg. 6157).
Evidently, there was a slight 'slip-up'.
"1914 ENDED THE GENTILE TIMES...THE DATE 1925 IS EVEN MORE DISTINCTLY INDICATED BY THE SCRIPTURES", (Watchtower, 9/1/22/, pg. 262).
One must wonder... if 1925 is more Scriptural than 1914, and 1925 has now been rejected, why do JWs stll believe in the year 1914?
Even after the year 1925 came and went, without seeing the predicted resurrection, the Society held out hope. In the year 1929, the Watchtower built a mansion in San Diego, California for these ancient Old Testament worthies to live in after their resurrection. They named it "Beth Sarim", which in Hebrew, means "House of the Princes". The Watchtower's president at the time, J.F. Rutherford, generously spent many months of his time there, making sure the place was ready for the "Princes" upon their arrival. Because the mansion was a reminder of yet another failed prophecy, the Society sold Beth Sarim in 1948. I encourage any JW who doubts the truth of this to check out the facts for themselves. While in recent years, the Society has claimed that the house was built because of Rutherford's bad health, there are many older Watchtower publications proving that it was, in reality, built to house these men who were due to be resurrected any day.
1975
One of the most recent prophetic blunders of the Watchtower has to do with the year 1975. It was predicted that the fall of 1975 was supposed to mark the end of 6,000 years of man's existence, and witness the beginning of the Millenial reign of Jesus Christ. Interestingly, most JWs today deny that there was ever any real emphasis put on the year 1975. Granted, the Watchtower was somewhat more cautious in their predictions concerning 1975, than they were in their previous predictions about other years, but the effect it had on individual Witnesses at that time was still the same. It is true that they did employ terms such as "possibly", "it very well could be", "probably", etc., but there were also some pretty definite statements about what could be expected to happen in 1975.
An article in the Watchtower of 3/15/69/, pg. 171, urged its readers to NOT PURSUE HIGHER EDUCATION, BECAUSE THERE IS VERY LITTLE TIME LEFT".
"REPORTS ARE HEARD OF BROTHERS SELLING THEIR HOMES AND PROPERTY AND PLANNING TO FINISH OUT THE REST OF THEIR DAYS IN THIS OLD SYSTEM IN THE PIONEER SERVICE. CERTAINLY THIS IS A FINE WAY TO SPEND THE SHORT TIME REMAINING BEFORE THE WICKED WORLD'S END", (Kingdom Ministry, 5/74/, pg. 3).
It seems rather odd that the Society would publicly endorse JWs selling their houses, unless they wanted to emphasize that the time was very short.
The Watchtower did allow for a little variance from the prediction of the fall of 1975, but not much. Consider...
"ARE WE TO ASSUME FROM THIS STUDY THAT THE 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....IT MAY INVOLVE ONLY A DIFFERENCE OF WEEKS OR MONTHS, NOT YEARS", (Watchtower, 8/15/68/, pg. 499).
Not years? It has now been 29 years and counting.
All of this brings us to a rather strange question: "Has the Watchtower claimed to be a prophet?" That depends upon what the context of your discussion is. When trying to convince others of its being the true Organization of God, the Watchtower does not hesitate to apply to itself the designation of "Prophet". On the other hand, when someone questions a JW about the Watchtower's false predictions, they are likely to reply with something like this... "Well, we do not claim that the men at WT headquarters are infallible. They do not claim to be prophets. Yes, they have made many mistakes in the past, because in their human fallibility, they misinterpreted matters. But the light keeps getting brighter, and we have corrected our mistakes."
The subject of "new light", or "the light getting brighter", is very likely to come up in any discussion with a JW concerning the Watchtower's failed prophecies and changing doctrines. They base this argument on Proverbs 4:18, which reads...
"BUT THE PATH OF THE JUST IS AS THE SHINING LIGHT, THAT SHINETH MORE AND MORE UNTO THE PERFECT DAY".
JWs claim that this passage allows for constantly changing doctrine and failed prophecies. In context, however (the first 17 verses), we find that this is simply a dialogue between a father and his son. The father is contrasting the path of the wicked, which leads to darkness (v. 19), with the path of the righteous, which is light. There is no mention at all of changing doctrine or false prophecy. Perhaps there is an appropriate Scripture for the ever-changing teachings of the Watchtower Society, however. Consider Ephesians 4:14, where we read....
"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".
It would seem to the objective mind, that the Watchtower's failed prophecies and changing doctrines, rather than being "new light", is actually an example of "being tossed to and fro".
The Watchtower has the amazing ability to take its failed prophecies and doctrinal errors, and use these very things to "prove" to its members that they are indeed the true religion. "After all", they say, "this proves that Jehovah God is guiding and leading this Organization. He corrects it and brings it more and more in line with His Word".
Of course, this argument only applies when a JW is discussing the failures and changes of his/her OWN religion. When it is speaking of other religions, however, these very type of things are used as "proof" that these religions do not belong to God. In speaking of OTHERS who have made false predictions, the Watchtower had this to say:
"TRUE, THERE HAVE BEEN THOSE IN TIMES PAST WHO PREDICTED AN 'END TO THE WORLD', EVEN ANNOUNCING A SPECIFIC DATE...YET, NOTHING HAPPENED. THE 'END' DID NOT COME."
Notice especially the remainder of this quote......
"THEY WERE GUILTY OF FALSE PROPHESYING. WHY? WHAT WAS MISSING? MISSING WAS THE FULL MEASURE OF EVIDENCE REQUIRED IN FULFILLMENT OF BIBLE PROPHECY. MISSING FROM SUCH PEOPLE WERE GOD'S TRUTHS AND THE EVIDENCE THAT HE WAS GUIDING AND USING THEM", (AWAKE!, 10/8/68/, pg. 23).
If this is the standard applied to others when they falsely prophesy, should we not apply this same standard to the Watchtower Society? Should we not conclude that the fact of their false prophecies indicates that they do not have God's truths, and that God is not using or guiding them, either?
Amazingly, the Watchtower avoids this judgment by denying that they have ever claimed to be a prophet. Let the reader judge for himself.
"SO, DOES JEHOVAH HAVE A PROPHET TO HELP THEM, TO WARN THEM OF DANGERS AND TO DECLARE THINGS TO COME? THESE QUESTIONS CAN BE ANSWERED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. WHO IS THIS PROPHET? ...TODAY THEY ARE KNOWN AS JEHOVAH'S CHRISTIAN WITNESSES", (Watchtower, 4/1/72/, pg. 197).
"MORE ACCURATELY, WAS THERE ANY GROUP ON WHOM JEHOVAH WOULD BE WILLING TO BESTOW THE COMMISSION TO SPEAK AS A 'PROPHET' IN HIS NAME, AS WAS DONE TOWARD EZEKIEL BACK THERE IN 613 B.C.E.?...IT IS OF IMPORTANCE TO EVERY INDIVIDUAL ON EARTH TO IDENTIFY THE GROUP THAT JEHOVAH HAS COMMISSIONED AS HIS 'SERVANT' OR MESSENGER", (Watchtower, 3/15/72/, pg. 189-190).
"THE SCROLL WAS DOUBTLESS DELIVERED TO EZEKIEL BY THE HAND OF ONE OF THE CHERUBS IN THE VISION. THIS WOULD INDICATE THAT JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES TODAY MAKE THEIR DECLARATION OF THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM UNDER ANGELIC DIRECTION AND SUPPORT...YES, THE TIME MUST COME SHORTLY THAT THE NATIONS WILL HAVE TO KNOW THAT REALLY A 'PROPHET' OF JEHOVAH WAS AMONG THEM", (Watchtower, 4/1/72/, pg. 200).
These are but a few of the many examples that could be given showing that the Watchtower most definitely has claimed the title of a "Prophet" for itself, and its followers. Since the WT has identified itself as a prophet, the only question that remains is: Have the prophecies uttered by this "prophet" proven true or false? Since the beginning of the Watchtower Society in 1879, they have enjoyed a 100% rate of failure for every prophecy that they have uttered. One need only review the content of the prophecies themselves, to see whether these events have actually taken place.
How does the Bible tell us to respond to a man or Organization that gives evidence of being a false prophet? Are we instructed to "wait on the prophet to receive new light", or to "maintain integrity" (a phrase often used by JWs, meaning to stick with the Watchtower Organization despite its blunders) by continuing to follow the prophet? Why not let the Bible, God's holy Word, give us the answer?
Deut. 18:20-22: "But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak....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: THOU SHALT NOT BE AFRAID OF HIM."
JWs today fear that, to leave the Watchtower, would be to forfeit everlasting life. The Bible, however, says we should not fear any such prophet.
Jerem. 14:14-16: "The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I SENT THEM NOT, neither have I commanded them, NEITHER SPAKE UNTO THEM....Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not....I will pour their wickedness upon them".
Is it possible that Jehovah God has not sent the leaders of the Watchtower, nor commanded them, nor spake unto them?
Jerem. 23:16, 21: "Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: ...they speak a vision of their own heart, AND NOT OUT OF THE MOUTH OF THE LORD....I HAVE NOT SENT THESE PROPHETS..."
Jerem. 23:32: "Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD...and cause my people to err by their lies....YET I SENT THEM NOT, NOR COMMANDED THEM...THEY SHALL NOT PROFIT THIS PEOPLE AT ALL, SAITH THE LORD."
Could it be that the Watchtower has not really profited its members at all, and that God is against them, also?
Jerem. 29:9: "For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I HAVE NOT SENT THEM, saith the LORD."
Ezek. 13:3, 6, 8, 9: "Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, AND HAVE SEEN NOTHING!...they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word...Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, behold, I AM AGAINST YOU, SAITH THE LORD GOD...THEY SHALL NOT BE IN THE ASSEMBLY OF MY PEOPLE."
According to this verse, God's true people should not be partakers of the deeds of a false prophet such as the Watchtower Society.
The Bible is very clear concerning God's view of those who falsely prophesy. They could not claim "new light" when their prediction failed. If they could, then what false prophet wouldn't have utilized this excuse just before he is about to be stoned? The fact is, even God's prophets were infallible human beings, who made mistakes in their daily lives. But when they were prophesying for Jehovah God, their predictions had to be right on target. In other words, they did not have to be perfect as humans, but they DID have to be perfect as prophets. There was no room for error. False prophesying is a very serious matter.
There are many Jehovah's Witnesses today who are totally unaware of the prophetic failures of their religion. They truly believe that this is God's Organization, and they sincerely believe that they are serving Jehovah by being part of it. But, in order to be pleasing to Jehovah God, one must follow the guidelines in His Word. He has clearly commanded us to have no part of a prophet who utters false prophecies. When one honestly reviews the record, they are drawn to the conclusion that the Watchtower has done just that. Obedience to God's Word should compel us to trust in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation, rather than any man-made organization.
