AWAKEN ISSUE #32 ANALYSIS OF WHAT THE WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA TAUGHT ABOUT THE YEAR 1925. This issue will present quotes from past Watch Tower publications. Very few present day Jehovah's Witnesses will have any knowledge of this material. Studies In The Scriptures, Vol 7, The Finished Mystery, from page 128: "No doubt Satan believed the Millennial Kingdom was due to be setup in 1915...Be that as it may, there is evidence that the establishment of the Kingdom in Palestine will probably be in 1925, ten years later than we once calculated." Millions Now Living Will Never Die, published in 1920, from page 88 : "...we may expect 1925 to witness the return of these faithful men of Israel from the condition of death, being resurrected" Millions Now Living Will Never Die, from page 89-90 : "Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old" Millions Now Living Will Never Die, from page 97 : "...1925 will mark the resurrection of the faithful worthies of old" Watchtower Oct. 15, 1917, from page 6157 : "There will be no slip-up...Abraham should enter upon the actual possession of his promised inheritance in the year 1925" Watchtower July 15, 1922, from page 217 : "This chronology is not of man but of God...of divine origin...absolutely and unqualifiedly correct." Watchtower Sept. 01, 1922, from page 262 : "1914 ended the Gentile Times...The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures...by then the great crisis will be reached and probably passed" Watchtower April 01, 1923, from page 106 : "1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures...the Chrostian 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 the coming deluge" Watchtower July 15, 1924, from page 211 : "The year 1925 is a date definitely and clearly marked in the Scriptures, even more clearly than that of 1914." *** Note - now watch the backtracking. Don't forget that the chronology which the Watch Tower had presented was claimed to have been from God. Therefore is the prediction fails, which we know it did, it is not the fault of the Watch Tower but God's fault. Watchtower Jan. 01, 1925, from page 3 : "The year 1925 is here. With great expectations Christians have looked forward to this year. many have confidently expected that all members of the body of Christ will be changed to heavenly glory during the year. This may be accomplished. It may not be." *** Note - Back in 1923 the Watch Tower was telling it's follower that they should have more faith in 1925 that Noah had. Now they are backtracking. Note also that the blame is being placed on the followers of the Watch Tower's own teaching. The Watch Tower rarely faces up to it's doctrinal mistakes. We will now see what the Watch Tower tells it's modern day followers about what happened in 1925. 1975 Yearbook, from page 146 : "The year 1925 came and went. Jesus' anointed followers were still on earth as a class. The faithful men of old time - Abraham, David and others - had not been resurrected to become princes in the earth. (Ps. 45:16) So, as Anna MacDonald recalls: '1925 was a sad year for many brothers. Some of them were stumbled; their hopes were dashed...Instead of it's being considered a "probability," they read into it that it was a "certainty." and some prepared for their loved ones with expectations of their resurrection." *** Note - interesting rewrite of history. Everything is changed around to place the blame for the error on the followers. I guess Anna forgot that it was the Watch Tower thru it's publications which had promoted certain events to occur in 1925. Said predictions were stated with words of strong certainty. I guess that the Watch Tower also forgot what it had promoted to occur in 1925. Being loyal followers of the Watch Tower, Jehovah's Witnesses would not be inclined to question whatever is stated by the Watch Tower in it's publications. Loyal Jehovah's Witnesses would have no need to check their Kingdom Hall libraries for any publications from the early 1920's. Why would they, since they all believe that they are all in the Truth. It is interesting to note that the above quote was from the 1975 yearbook. The Watch Tower had made many statements about event to take place in 1975. Guess what, nothing happened in 1975. (see AWAKEN9.ZIP for more details about the 1975 fiasco). I would now like to move the discussion over to see what the Watch Tower has said about being God's prophet and also at what both the Bible and the Watch Tower have said about false prophets. ------------------------------------------------------------------- WATCHTOWER 01/15/1959, p 40, 41: "Whom has God actually used as his prophet ? By the historical facts of the case Christendom is beaten back in defeat. Jehovah's witnesses are deeply grateful today that the plain facts show that God has been pleased to use them." During the late 1970s and throughout 1980, each issue of their principle magazine featured the following assertion as part of its masthead: "A WATCHTOWER enables a person to look far into the distance and announce to others what is seen. Likewise, this magazine, published by Jehovah's Witnesses, aids the reader to see what the future holds". Now, by definition one who tells what the future holds is, of course, a prophet. Ok then, lets look at other statements to get a clearer picture of this : WATCHTOWER forward 04/01/1972: "The Watchtower is it God's Prophet?" WATCHTOWER 04/01/1972: "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 the prophet ? ... This "prophet" was not one man, but was a body of men and women. It was the small group of footstep followers of Jesus Christ, known at the time as International Bible Students. Today they are know as Jehovah's Christian Witnesses". AWAKE 06/08/1986 pg 9: "You will be interested to learn that God has on earth a people, all of whom are prophets, or witnesses for God. In fact they are known thoughout the world as Jehovah's Witnesses." -------------------------------- Now lets look at the Holy Bible to see what it says about prophets. Please get your Bible and turn it to Deuteronomy 18:20-22. I will quote from the Watch Tower's own New World Translation: "However, the prophet who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded him to speak or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die. And in case you should say in your heart: "How shall we know the word that Jehovah has spoken ?" when the prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah and the word does not occur or come true, that is the word that Jehovah did not speak. With presumptuousness the prophet spoke it..." Now lets see what The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has said about False Prophets: PROPHECY (1929), p 22 : "If these prophesies have not not been fulfilled, and if all possibility of fulfillment is past, then these prophets are proven false." VINDICATION, vol 1 (1931), p 146 : "God's faithful people on earth emphasized the importance of the dates 1914 and 1918 and 1925. They had much to say about these dates and what would come to pass, but all they predicted did not come to pass." VINDICATION, vol 1 (1931), p 338-339 : "There was a measure of disappointment on the part of Jehovah's faithful ones on earth concerning the years 1914, 1918 and 1925....they also learned to quit fixing dates for the future and predicting what would come to pass on a certain date...." PARADISE RESTORED TO MANKIND -- BY THEOCRACY (1972), p 353 - 354 : "Jehovah... will put all false prophets to shame either by not fulfilling the false prediction of such self-assuming prophets or by having His own prophesies fulfilled in a way opposite to that predicted by false prophets." AWAKE! 10/08/1968, p 23 : "True, there have been those in times past who predicted an 'end to the world', even announcing a specific date....The 'end' did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying....Missing from such people were God's truths and the evidence that he was guiding them and using them." WATCHTOWER 06/15/1974, p 381 : "Similarly, the 'false prophet' is not a person, but is a system or an organization." Using the Biblical test for False Prophets and even using the Watchtower's own material about False Prophets, it seems that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has made predictions which had failed. They have called themselves God's Prophet, yet they have had more than one Prophecy which turned out to be FALSE. Not only does the Bible give us a simple test for prophets, which we considered above, namely that their prophecy will fail, but the word of God has more to say about prophets and their predictions. Since the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has had so many failed prophecies (actually only ONE FAILED PREDICTION is required to earn the title of FALSE PROPHET), we know they can't be prophecying by GOD's direction, nor through GOD's Holy Spirit, nor by GOD's Angels. Jehovah's Witnesses should carefully read Ezekiel, chapter 13, verses 8 & 9. I quote from The New Jerusalem Bible: ' "Very well, the Lord Yehweh says this: Because of your futile words and false predictions, I am now against you - declares Lord Yehweh. My hand will be against the prophets who have futile visions and give false predictions; ' =============== end of AWAKEN Issue #32 =================== Please share the info found in these issues of AWAKEN with other members of the faith to which you belong. Consider using this info within publications issued to members of your faith. One example is to use this info within Church bulletins. People need to become informed about the Watch Tower and it's teachings. Why ? Jehovah's Witnesses go door to door preaching whatever the Watch Tower has told them to preach. They are trained weekly to respond to any and all objections to their preaching. They are told by the Watch Tower that the Watch Tower is the only TRUTH and that the Watch Tower is the only TRUE religion. They are told by the Watch Tower that all other faiths, teach false teachings because all other faiths are agents of SATAN. They have no qualms attacking any and all aspects your belief system, when they come on their un-asked for visits. They are trained to SELL you on the Watch Tower's teachings, just as they themselves had been SOLD. By becoming informed about the Watch Tower, one will be better prepared to decide whether one should get involved with this group. Copyright (C) 1993 by Vince Banial, Toronto Ontario Canada. All rights reserved. This material cannot be incorporated into any book without the empress and written permission of Vince Banial. This file may be freely uploaded to any BBS, as long as it remains unchanged. Please Upload this file to every BBS which you call. Thanks in advance. ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/apl/jw: awaken-032.txt .