Posted by Peg on March 22, 1999 at 05:29:14 {MWV7/1kkPzlK6}:
In Reply to: Watchtower's Flawless Teaching posted by Charlotte on March 21, 1999 at 22:58:54:
False Prophecies of the Jehovah's Witnesses
The Witnesses make many claims in their attempt to convert you to
their faith. They profess to have the only true Christian church, to be the
only true representatives of God, to
have the only correct biblical
teaching, and to be the only true announcers of Jehovah's coming kingdom.
If they are the only true church and are the only true voice of God's
word, then what they say should prove to be
true, especially in prophecy.
When it comes to predicting the future, the Watchtower organization fails
miserably. Following are some of the false predictions made over the years
by the Watchtower organization. If you present
these to a J.W., he will
probably say something like, "Those are taken out of context," or "They
didn't claim to be the prophet of God," or "The light is getting brighter
and we are understanding Bible prophecy better now,"
etc. Make a copy of
these false prophecies, found in the appendix, and give it to them to
check. They are right out of the Witnesses' literature.
Remember Deut. 18:22, "If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the
LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not
spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him."
If someone makes a false prophecy, and they have claimed to be a prophet of
God, then they are false prophets and are not to be listened to.
Do the Witnesses claim to be the prophet of God? Yes, they do.
In 1972 the Jehovah's Witness Watchtower claimed to be the prophet of
God.
IDENTIFYING THE "PROPHET" -- "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?...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 that time as International Bible Students. Today
they are known as Jehovah's
Christian Witnesses...Of course, it
is easy to say that this group acts as a 'prophet' of God. It is
another thing to prove it." The Watchtower, 4/1/72 (See Deut.
18:21)
1897 "Our Lord, the appointed King, is
now present, since October 1874,"
Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 4, page 621.
1899 "...the 'battle of the great day of God Almighty' (Revelation 16:14),
which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's
present
rulership, is already commenced." The Time Is at Hand, page 101 (1908
edition).
1916 "The Bible chronology herein presented shows that the six great 10000
year days beginning with Adam are ended, and that the great
7th Day, the
1000 years of Christ's Reign, began in 1873." The Time Is at Hand, page ii,
(forward).
1918 "Therefore we 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."
Millions Now Living Will Never Die, page 89.
1922 "The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures
than
1914." The Watchtower 9/1/22, page 262.
1923 "Our thought is, that 1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures. As
to Noah, the Christian now has much more upon which to base his faith than
Noah had upon which to base his faith
in a coming deluge." The Watchtower,
PAGE 106 4/1/23.
1925 "The year 1925 is here. With great expectation 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 this year. This
may be accomplished. It may not be. In his own due time God will accomplish
his purposes concerning his people. Christians should not be so deeply
concerned about what
may transpire this year." The Watchtower, 1/1/25,
page. 3.
1925 "It is to be expected that Satan will try to inject into the minds of
the consecrated, the thought that 1925 should see an end to the work." The
Watchtower,
Sept, 1925 page 262.
1926 "Some anticipated that the work would end in 1925, but the Lord did
not state so. The difficulty was that the friends inflated their
imaginations beyond reason; and that when their imaginations burst
asunder,
they were inclined to throw away everything." The Watchtower, page 232.
1931 "There was a measure of disappointment on the part of Jehovah's
faithful ones on earth concerning the years 1917, 1918, and 1925, which
disappointment lasted for a time...and they also learned to quit fixing
dates." Vindication, page 338.
1941 "Receiving the gift, the marching children clasped it to them, not a
toy or plaything for idle pleasure, but the Lord's
provided instrument for
most effective work in the remaining months before Armageddon." The
Watchtower, 9/15/41, page 288.
1968 "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. They were guilty of false prophesying. Why? What was
missing?..Missing from such people were God's truths and evidence that he
was using and guiding them." Awake,
10/8/68.
1968 "Why are you looking forward to 1975?" The Watchtower, 8/15/68, page
494.
A J.W. might say that the organization is still learning. If that is
so, then how can they trust what they are taught now by the
Watchtower?
Will what they are being taught now change also?
A true prophet of God won't err in prophesying. Only a false prophet
does. The Jehovah's Witness organization, that claims to be a prophet of
God, is really
a false prophet. Jesus warned us by saying, "For false
Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles
to deceive even the elect -- if that were possible" (Matt. 24:24).