As noted elsewhere, the Watchtower Society goes to extreme lengths to keep its checkered past from its current membership. The failed predictions and vacillating doctrine that is the history of this organization does not lend support to the Society's claims of being God's "channel of communication"1 and His "spirit-directed organization".2 To maintain the façade that they are indeed God's "prophet to the nations", Watchtower Society leaders misrepresent the past history of the organization to the point of publishing outright lies about past teachings. It is ironic that this very act precludes any possibility of the Watchtower Society being God's prophet, His "channel of communication", "spirit-directed organization", or in any way being the true religion; for as the Watchtower Society itself so poignantly noted, "a religion that teaches lies cannot be true." 3
One example of the historical revisionism of the Watchtower Society is found in the April 1, 1984 Watchtower magazine:
Today, Jehovah's Witnesses point to the "sign" given by Jesus and look back upon 1914 as the year when his invisible presence in Kingdom power became a reality. But how could they have had advance knowledge of such a momentous event? Not because of extraordinary human wisdom. No, but because they have prayerfully studied the Scriptures, heeded God's prophetic word and paid more than usual attention to what God's Son foretold. (2 Peter 1:19; Hebrews 1:1, 2; 2:1) Grateful that Jehovah has 'told them fresh things before they have appeared,' the Witnesses are delighted to be spreading this knowledge earth wide. –The Watchtower, April 1, 1984, page 16.
In this article, the Watchtower Society claims to have had "advance knowledge" of "1914 as the year when [Jesus'] invisible presence in Kingdom power became a reality." Two factors contribute to the acceptance at face value of this statement by individual Jehovah's Witnesses. First, the average Jehovah's Witness has no easy means of verifying the claim since it would require an examination of Watchtower literature from an earlier era and the Witness does not have practical access to such literature.4 Second, Jehovah's Witnesses equate the writings of the Watchtower Society with the "voice of God"5 and therefore have no reason to suspect the Society of being dishonest.
The blind faith of individual Jehovah's Witnesses notwithstanding, the Watchtower Society did not have "advance knowledge" of "1914 as the year when [Jesus'] invisible presence in Kingdom power became a reality." Prior to 1914 the Watchtower Society taught that Jesus came into invisible kingdom power in the year 1878, not 1914. Watchtower literature from the era confirms this fact:
The Life-giver is present; and, since 1878, when he took his great power and began the exercise of his authority, none of his members need to sleep. –Thy Kingdom Come, 1891, page 240.view
Since that time it has been emphatically manifest that the time had come in A.D. 1878 when kingly judgment should begin at the house of God. It is here that Rev. 14:14-20 applies, and our Lord is brought to view as the Reaper crowned. The year A.D. 1878, being the parallel of his assuming power and authority in the type, clearly marks the time for the actual assuming of power as King of kings, by our present, spiritual, invisible Lord–the time of his taking to himself his great power to reign, which in the prophecy is closely associated with the resurrection of his faithful, and the beginning of the trouble and wrath upon the nations. –The Time Is At Hand, 1902, page 239.view
The living stones are taken out of the quarry (the world); and by the experiences and discipline of the present life they are shaped and chiseled and polished and thus fitted for their places in the temple which, during the time of the presence of the Lord--viz, since 1878, when he took his great power as king--is being noiselessly put together..." –The Watchtower, July 1, 1922, page 207.view
The invisibly present Jesus assuming Kingdom power in 1878 was the consistent view of the Watchtower Society prior to 1914 and remained so up until the 1920's. The statement in the 1983 Watchtower magazine claiming that the Watchtower Society had "advance knowledge" of 1914 as the year for this event is an outright lie.
The 1981 Watchtower publication Let Your Kingdom Come contains another example of the Watchtower Society's dishonest representation of their past:
Counting from October 607 B.C.E., the "seven times" of 2,520 years bring us down to early October 1914 C.E., when, as we have already seen, Jesus' great prophecy on "the conclusion of the system of things" started to be fulfilled. Reliable information in God's Word is the basis for this conclusion, which the Watchtower magazine has been championing now for more than 100 years. –Let Your Kingdom Come, 1981, page 137.view
The Watchtower Society here claims that "for more than 100 years" the Society has been "championing" through the Watchtower magazine that "the conclusion of the system of things", as prophecied by Jesus, "started to be fulfilled" in October, 1914; however the record contradicts this claim. 100 years ago the view promulgated by the Watchtower Society was that the "conclusion of the system of things" or "time of the end"6 started to be fulfilled in 1799, not in 1914:
All men discern these things, but not all alike, the faithful, the Watchers, discern them not only as facts but also as fulfilments of prophecy; as proofs that we are already in the period termed "the time of the end." Further investigation and applications of the prophetic measurements prove to the watchers that we have been in "the time of the end" since 1799, and that it is also termed "the day of his [Jehovah's] preparation." –The Watchtower, March 15, 1902, page 86 (reprints page 2973).view
The indisputable facts, therefore, show that the "time of the end" began in 1799; that the Lord's second presence began in 1874; that the harvest followed thereafter and greater light has come upon the Word of God. –The Watchtower, March 1, 1922, page 73 .view
100 years ago, the Watchtower Society taught that 1914 was to be the end of the prophecied "conclusion of the system of things", not the start:
Be not surprised, then, when in subsequent chapters we present proofs that the setting up of the Kingdom of God is already begun, that it is pointed out in prophecy as due to begin the exercise of power in A.D. 1878, and that 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, is already commenced. –The Time Is At Hand, 1902, page 101.view
The claim made by the Watchtower Society in the their 1981 book Let Your Kingdom Come is patently false, a lie designed to deceive unwary readers. From its inception up until the 1930's the Watchtower Society taught that the "conclusion of the system of things" started in 1799, not in 1914.
Another example of the Watchtower Society's historical revisionism is seen in the June 1, 1985 Watchtower magazine:
In the latter part of the 19th century, Jehovah again asserted his leadership and began calling his genuine worshipers out of this wicked world and its Babylonish religious systems. (Revelation 18:1-5) By means of his written Word and the holy spirit, God revealed to his modern-day servants that the year 1914 marked the end of uninterrupted rule by Gentile nations and also the heavenly enthronement of the glorified Jesus Christ, God's choice as King over all mankind. Subsequently, a new nation comprised of the remnant of spiritual Israel was organized, further enlightened as to God's purposes and fully trained for the ministry. Later, these anointed followers of Christ were joined by a multitude of believers with earthly hopes. –The Watchtower, June 1, 1985, pages 17-18.
In this 1985 article, the Watchtower Society claims that in the "latter part of the 19th century" God revealed to his servants (i.e. the Watchtower Society) that 1914 marked the "heavenly enthronement of the glorified Jesus Christ". This is patently false and easily proven to be so by examining Watchtower literature from the era. "In the latter part of the 19th century" the Watchtower Society taught that the "heavenly enthronement" of Christ took place in the year 1878, not 1914:
The Life-giver is present; and, since 1878, when he took his great power and began the exercise of his authority, none of his members need to sleep. –Thy Kingdom Come, 1891, page 240.view
Reckoning a hundred years from 1780, the date of the first sign, the limit would reach to 1880; and, to our understanding, every item predicted had begun to be fulfilled at that date;-the "harvest" or gathering time beginning October 1874; the organization of the Kingdom and the taking by our Lord of his great power as the King in April 1878, and the time of trouble or "day of wrath" which began October 1874 and will end October 1914; and the sprouting of the fig tree. –The Day of Vengeance, 1898, page 604.view
Throughout the 19th century, it was 1878 - not 1914 - that was claimed by the Watchtower Society to be the year for "the heavenly enthronement of the glorified Jesus Christ". This was Watchtower doctrine until the 1920's. The statement in the 1985 Watchtower magazine is another outright lie, an attempt to hide the Watchtower Society's changing doctrines and to present itself as the chosen organization of God.
Another example can be found in the Watchtower magazine of October 15, 1956:
Regarding Bible chronology, suffice it to say that on the basis of time periods indicated in the books of Daniel and Revelation, as far back as 1877 the date 1914 was given as the time for the coming or establishing of God's kingdom. –The Watchtower, October 15, 1956, page 614.
Here the Watchtower Society claims that "as far back as 1877", the year 1914 was given as the time for the coming or establishing of God's kingdom. Again, we have the historical record to refer back to, and once again the record contradicts the Society's claim. "As far back as 1877", Watchtower doctrine held the year for the establishment of God's kingdom to be 1878, not 1914:
The Life-giver is present; and, since 1878, when he took his great power and began the exercise of his authority, none of his members need to sleep. –Thy Kingdom Come, 1891, page 240.view
We did not then see, as we now do, that that date (1878) marked the time for the beginning of the establishment of the Kingdom of God... –The Watchtower, July 15, 1906, page 232.view
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: and the formal inauguration of his kingly office dates from April 1878, A.D. ... Consequently the Kingdom ... was set up in 1878; and all that remains to be done for its completion is the "gathering together unto the Lord" of those of the "elect" who are alive and remain, - whose trial is not yet complete. –The Battle of Armageddon, 1913, page 621-622.view view
The statement in the October 15, 1956 Watchtower magazine is another attempt to obscure the Society's history of doctrinal aberrancy and to instead portray the image of consistent doctrine that one would expect from God's "spirit-directed organization". "As far back as 1877" and indeed long after that date, the Watchtower Society taught that 1878 was the year for the coming or establishment of God's kingdom.
The final example to be considered comes from the January 15, 1993 Watchtower magazine:
The Watchtower has consistently presented evidence to honesthearted students of Bible prophecy that Jesus' presence in heavenly Kingdom power began in 1914. –The Watchtower, January 15, 1993, page 5.
As already demonstrated numerous times, the Watchtower Society originally claimed that Jesus' "presence in heavenly Kingdom power" began in 1878, not 1914:
The Life-giver is present; and, since 1878, when he took his great power and began the exercise of his authority, none of his members need to sleep. –Thy Kingdom Come, 1891, page 240.view
Be not surprised, then, when in subsequent chapters we present proofs that the setting up of the Kingdom of God is already begun, that it is pointed out in prophecy as due to begin the exercise of power in A.D. 1878, and that 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, is already commenced. –The Time Is At Hand, 1902, page 101.view
The Watchtower Society has most certainly not "consistently presented evidence...that Jesus' presence in heavenly Kingdom power began in 1914." On the contrary, for decades the Society presented contradictory "proofs" of the exercise of Christ's Kingdom power in 1878. This being the case, their claim in the 1993 Watchtower magazine is another blatant lie.
Considering Jesus' words at Matthew 12:37, perhaps it is not so ironic that a Jehovah's Witness need look no further than the writings of their own organization to condemn it as false religion; The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.
Look here and here for more on the "honesty" of the Watchtower Society.
Footnotes
1. The Watchtower, June 15, 1957, page 370. Cf. note 5.
2. The Watchtower, April 15, 1987, page 12.
3. The Watchtower, December 1, 1991, page 7.
4. Even the "Watchtower Library" CD does not include issues of the Watchtower magazine older than 1950. All other material on the CD goes back only as far as 1970.
5. According to the Watchtower Society, it is "vital" for individual Jehovah's Witnesses to accept the Watchtower Society as God's "channel of communication" and to respond to the directions of the Society as to the "voice of God":
Let us now unmistakably identify Jehovah's channel of communication for our day, that we may continue in his favor. ... It is vital that we appreciate this fact and respond to the directions of the "slave" [i.e. the Watchtower Society] as we would to the voice of God, because it is His provision. –The Watchtower, June 15, 1957, page 370.
6. The terms "conclusion of the system of things" and "time of the end" are synonymous in Watchtower eschatology:
That group of four disciples on the Mount of Olives had asked Jesus when the magnificent Jewish temple would be thrown down, also what would be the sign of his second presence and the conclusion of the system of things, or "time of the end." –The Watchtower, October 15, 1967, page 611.
The "time of the end," the "conclusion of the system of things," that began in 1914 at the end of the Gentile Times was God's appointed time for the fulfillment of many prophecies. –Paradise Restored To Mankind-By Theocracy!, 1972, page 352.
So when we see men today gathering in their crops at the time of harvest, we should be reminded of Jesus' illustration and realize that we are living in a time of ingathering, a time the Scriptures speak of as "the time of the end," "the conclusion of the system of things." –The Watchtower, May 1, 1970, page 277
7. Arguably the most important doctrine of the Watchtower religion, the Society has long taught that the "times of the Gentiles" mentioned at Luke 21:24 refers prophetically to a time period that ended in October of 1914. Current Watchtower doctrine holds that Jesus returned invisibly at that time and three and a half years later, in 1918, appointed the Watchtower Society as his earthly agency:
In a time parallel, Jesus Christ was enthroned as King in heaven A.D. 1914. Three and a half years later, or in 1918, would be the time for him to come to God's spiritual temple. ... When Jesus came to God's spiritual temple in 1918 for the purpose of judging men, Christendom was rejected. A remnant of Jesus' anointed followers on earth passed that temple judgment and were cleansed and purified and sent forth as Jehovah's witnesses, as visible representatives of the "new heavens." –The Watchtower, August 1, 1960, page 462.
All the Society's claims of being the true religion and God's channel of communication are made on the basis of this supposed appointment in 1918.
8. In a time calculation borrowed from Nelson H. Barbour and the Adventist movement, the Watchtower Society holds that the "Gentile Times" ended in early October, 1914:
Never has the world been the same since 1914. Secular historians cannot explain the reason for this. But the reason simply is that about October 4/5, 1914, or 2,520 years from the desolating of Judah and Jerusalem after the Babylonian conquest, the Gentile Times of uninterrupted world domination ended. –The Watchtower, September 15, 1979, page 24.
9. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria occurred on June 28, 1914 and led to declarations of war in July of 1914.