Revelation-It's Grand Climax at Hand, 2006, page 256
A person might renounce his place in the Christian congregation by his actions, such as by becoming part of an organization whose objective is contrary to the Bible, and, hence, is under judgment by Jehovah God. –The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, page 23.

Thoughts on the Watchtower Society's Ten Year Affair with the United Nations

(Click here to view a letter from the United Nations, confirming the Watchtower Society's almost 10 year association with UN.)

In late 2001 it was uncovered by former members that the Watchtower Society had joined the religions of the world as a non-governmental member of the United Nations, the organization the Watchtower Society teaches to be the "scarlet beast" of Revelation and the "abomination that causes desolation" ("disgusting thing" in the NWT) - the enemy of God.1

Besides their doctrinal position on the identification of the United Nations as the scarlet beast of Revelation, the Watchtower Society has engaged in a decades long campaign of criticism and slander against other religions for their own association with the UN.2 According to the Watchtower Society, it is these religions who associate with the UN that are referred to in Revelation as the "prostitute" ("harlot" in the NWT) who sits atop the scarlet beast.3

To those familiar with the Watchtower doctrinal position on the United Nations and religion, the hypocrisy was blatant, and the story was soon picked up by The Guardian newspaper.4 The Watchtower Society immediately went into damage control mode, terminating their membership with the United Nations in October 2001 and issuing a letter to all branch offices wherein they stated that the purpose in their associating with the United Nations was in effect to obtain a library card.5

With their 'library card' defense, the Watchtower Society tries very hard to minimize the significance of their relationship with the United Nations. According to the Watchtower Society, this was actually a very trivial association, analogous to obtaining a library card - something very non-political, and something most of their members will relate to (as library card holders) and view as quite innocuous.

In their letter to the branches, the Watchtower Society also implies that the "criteria for association" with the UN had changed. They say: "at least in their latest version". This is tantamount to lying. They know full well the criteria was just as damning in 1992 when they climbed atop the "beast".6 But with their usual flair for subtle and clever wording, they will mislead their members into believing that the requirements for association only recently changed, at which point the Watchtower Society "immediately withdrew [their] registration".

But something the Watchtower Society clearly ignores with their 'library card' defense is the requirement for associate NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to disseminate UN propaganda to their members, and to regularly report back to the UN with samples of this. Consider the following statements from the official DPI-NGO brochure, which defines the relationship between the United Nations-DPI and associate NGOs:

The Department of Public Information and NGOs cooperate regularly.
NGOs associated with DPI disseminate information about the UN to their membership, thereby building knowledge of and support for the Organization at the grassroots level.
This dissemination includes: Publicizing UN activities around the world on such issues as peace and security, economic and social development, human rights, humanitarian affairs and international law; Promoting UN observances and international years established by the General Assembly to focus world attention on important issues facing humanity.
...undertake to support the work of the United Nations and to promote knowledge of its principles and activities...
Have the commitment and means to conduct effective information programmes about UN activities...
...disseminating information and mobilizing public opinion in support of the UN and its Specialized Agencies. Association with DPI constitutes a commitment to that effect.
Associated NGOs are expected to devote a portion of their information programmes to promoting knowledge of the United Nations' principles and activities.
In addition, they are expected to keep the DPI/NGO Section abreast of their activities by regularly providing samples of their information materials relating to the work of the UN.

This is the "smoking gun" in this case, and its significance can not be understated. For if the Watchtower Society was indeed disseminating UN propaganda, then it proves conclusively that the Society was fully aware of the requirements of their association with the United Nations and that they lied in their defense sent to the brach offices. Futhermore, if UN propaganda was indeed being disseminated through the publications of the Watchtower Society, then the Society's claims of being "God's visible organization"7 and His "channel of communication"8 would necessarily be forfeit, for not even the staunchest Jehovah's Witness could possibly concede that Almighty Jehovah God would share his "channel of communication" with the "scarlet beast" of Revelation.

Jehovah is a God exacting exclusive devotion and taking vengeance; Jehovah is taking vengeance and is disposed to rage. Jehovah is taking vengeance against his adversaries, and he is resentful toward his enemies. –Nahum 1:2 (NWT)

That the LORD God Almighty would permit his organization to promote the agenda of his enemy or that He would share his "channel of communication" with his enemy are wholly untenable notions. To argue this position would be sheer lunancy. More so than any other, it is for this reason that the Watchtower Society withdrew their UN-NGO membership.

As evidence of the Watchtower Society fulfilling her responsibilities to the UN as outlined in the NGO brochure, consider the following dissemination of UN propaganda in Watchtower literature:

"[Disseminating] information about the UN to their membership"

"Mobilizing public opinion in support of the UN"

"Promoting UN observances and international years"

"Publicizing UN activities"

"Promoting knowledge of the United Nations' principles and activities"

In addition to the above evidence, to verify that the Watchtower Society was indeed cooperating with the UN, keeping the UN "abreast" of their work, and "providing samples" of the work they were doing to support the "beast", consider this page on the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights web site, and note the second item in the list. (In the event that this link is removed or altered, click here to view a screen-shot of the original page.)

The facts of this matter are incontrovertible. The Watchtower Society voluntarily applied for and obtained a formal association with the United Nations, the organization they teach is the "scarlet beast" of Revelation and the "disgusting thing" of Daniel, the enemy of God.9 In doing so, they agreed not only to support the UN "beast", but to build support for the beast. To this end, they committed to use their publications - which they profess to be God's channel of communication - as a channel of communication for the beast, and they have clearly lived up to this commitment. They have gone so far as to report back to the beast, submitting samples of their efforts in "mobilizing public opinion in support of the UN".

The Watchtower Society has long laid claim to the role of the "faithful and wise servant" of Matthew chapter 24 ("faithful and discreet slave" in the NWT);10 the very publications that were used to disseminate UN propaganda are said to be the "food at the proper time" referred to in that parable. It is significant that the parable of the servant includes a second outcome as to the fate of "that servant", though the Watchtower Society is loath to acknowledge it. In conclusion, I offer the parable of the "faithful and wise servant" in its proper context:

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.Matthew 24:45-51 (NIV)

Footnotes

1. Consider:

As explained in previous issues of The Watchtower, the scarlet-colored beast is the international peace organization now known as the United Nations.The Watchtower, April 1, 1967, page 219.
But what is the "disgusting thing" in this twentieth century? It is the international organization for world peace and security, now known as the United Nations...The Watchtower, October 1, 1970, page 602.

For a representative view of the Watchtower doctrinal position on the United Nations, click here.

2. Note:

Today this abominable political idol, which has been set up with the full approval of the religious clergy, is the United Nations...The Watchtower, February 15, 1959, page 112
In reality the world's religions have followed a course exactly opposite to that set forth by God's own Son. Christ Jesus said that 'his kingdom was no part of the world' and that his true followers would be no part of the world. (John 18:36; 17:14) But for centuries the world's religions have prostituted themselves to the political powers to gain influence with them.Awake!, October 8, 1972, page 17-18
The clergy of Christendom have opted for putting the UN in "a holy place" that rightly belongs to the "heavenly Jerusalem," God's kingdom, and to the "holy ones" representing it on earth. But there is nothing "holy" about the UN.The Watchtower, September 15, 1982, page 18

3. Notice:

All the religions of this world [that] now associate with the international alliance, the United Nations...are all symbolized under one figure, that of the great harlot...The Watchtower, December 1, 1955, page 716.
Appropriately, today the harlot represents all the world's religions, which have mingled in with the affairs of governments.The Watchtower, October 1, 1995, page 6.

4. The original article published in The Guardian on October 15, 2001 can be viewed here. A second article published days later can be viewed here.

5. Click here to view a letter sent by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society to their branch offices wherein they attempt to justify their relationship with the United Nations. (Notice also the second sentence, where the Society says this letter "replaces any replies we have given earlier". One is left wondering why, if the Society is being completely honest, would any previous response offered by the Society not agree with this response.)

6. The press release from 1992 shows that the criteria and responsibilities for associating with the UN as an officially registered non-governmental organization were at that time clearly defined, and were equivalent to the "latest version" referred to by the Society. Notice: "...build public understanding and support for United Nations programmes and goals"; and "...support the charter of the United Nations...". Additionally, United Nations Resolution 1296 (XLIV) of 23 May 1968 stated that non-governmental organizations associated with the UN "...shall undertake to support the work of the United Nations and to promote knowledge of its principles and activities...".

7. The Watchtower Society claims to be the visible, earthly organization of God, directly under the control of "Jehovah God himself":

New features of the work have required new methods, which has meant revisions and changes from time to time in organization instructions, but it is all a part of the advancement of Jehovah's theocratically controlled organization under the immediate direction of Jehovah God himself.The Watchtower, June 1, 1965, page 352.

8. The Watchtower Society professes to be God's "channel of communication", apart from which one cannot attain salvation:

That faithful and discreet slave is represented today by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, which has as its publicity agent the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Most appropriately, that faithful and discreet slave has also been called God's channel of communication.The Watchtower, September 1, 1991, page 18-19.
A third requirement is that we be associated with God's channel, his organization. ... To receive everlasting life in the earthly paradise, we must identify that organization and serve God as part of it.The Watchtower, February 15, 1983, page 12.
Unless we are in touch with this channel of communication that God is using, we will not progress along the road to life, no matter how much Bible reading we do.The Watchtower, December 1, 1981, page 27.

9. The Watchtower Society's voluntary association with the United Nations is also interesting in light of Watchtower policy towards individual members who voluntarily associate with organizations that are "disapproved of God". Notice:

Or, a person might renounce his place in the Christian congregation by his actions, such as by becoming part of an organization whose objective is contrary to the Bible, and, hence, is under judgment by Jehovah God. (Compare Revelation 19:17-21; Isaiah 2:4.) So if one who was a Christian chose to join those who are disapproved of God, it would be fitting for the congregation to acknowledge by a brief announcement that he had disassociated himself and is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses.The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, page 23.

10. Cf. note 8.

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