To give a defense [of the faith] was a common practice in the first century church and in subsequent centuries. It was effective to give a “reasoned statement” to those that were perverting the gospel or denying it altogether. This was not endless debating either, but there was more involved than just throwing out a few “proof texts”, hoping that they would stick. The early Christians were also well versed in the culture/religions/teachings that they were addressing. Having such “intel” was helpful in determining how to approach each individual, where they were coming from, and how to apply scripture accordingly. In a future article, we’ll discuss how some of these dialogues (and their techniques) played out in society and why it’s important for the church today.

SKEPTIC: So what’s your point?

BELIEVER: That it’s Noah’s Ark and the dimensions match up perfectly to the description in the Bible.

SKEPTIC: Ahh that doesn’t prove that it was Noah’s ark. Besides, that’s just another myth from Bible.

BELIEVER: Well, perhaps, but they found the name “NOAH” etched into Gopher Wood, in the side of the boat.

SKEPTIC: So, they didn’t find a surname did they? Still not enough evidence.

BELIEVER: I guess there just never is. *sigh*

The Watchtower claims that they are the only true organization/religion that’s approved by Jehovah God, and that they were definitively chosen in 1919. Read below…

(1973 God’s Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached page 355)

This is an astounding claim to many, considering all of what the Society teaches, especially what they were teaching back in 1919. Though we don’t have the space to examine every doctrine they were teaching at the time, we’ll include a good amount to see if their statement could possibly be true.

THE WBTS WAS CHOSEN BY JESUS IN 1919 DESPITE:

1. Teaching the worship of Charles Taze Russell-

(1916 Watchtower December 1st page 6015)

2. Teaching the worship of Jesus-

(1918 The Finished Mystery page 290)

3. Teaching that Jesus became king in 1878 (not 1914)-

(1918 The Finished Mystery page 66)

4. That one of their main magazine editors was demon possessed-

(1913 Bible Students Convention Report)

5. Promoting books dictated by fallen angels to humans-

(1924 Angels and Women)

“I made some inquires, and was told that it was a book that a fallen angel dictated to a woman, showing a desire to come back in harmony with God; and that Pastor Russell approved of the book.” -1924 Dec 3rd Golden Age page 50

6. Preaching racism-

(1902 Watchtower July 15th page 215)

“While it is true that ‘of one blood God hath made all nations of men nevertheless under present imperfect conditions a wise segregation is probably an advantage to all concerned.”-1919 The Golden Age page 8

7. Preaching the cross-

(1918 The Finished Mystery page 418)

8. Teaching that Jesus returned invisibly in 1874-

(1918 The Finished Mystery page 60)

9. Teaching that the 1000 year reign of Christ started in 1874-

(1918 The Finished Mystery page 386)

10. Teaching that the “other sheep” were to be in Heaven and number approximately 411,840,000-

“The number of the Great Company (other sheep) will apparently exceed one hundred millions. Num. 4:46-48 and Ex. 28:1 indicate but one priest to each 2,860 Levites, which would make the number of the Great Company approximate 411,840,000.—T118, 119; Dan. 7:10. 5:12. Saying with a loud voice—The Great Company will be very enthusiastic workers on the other side of the veil…“-1918 The Finished Mystery page 102-103

11. Teaching that Charles Taze Russell was the Faithful and Discreet Slave, hence no Governing Body-

(1916 Watchtower December 1st page 5998)

12. Teaching that World War 1 is Armageddon-

(1917 Pastor Russell’s Sermons,  page 676)

13. Teaching that Michael is the pope-

(1918 The Finished Mystery page 188)

14. Teaching that the pyramids were God’s witness stone-

(1918 The Finished Mystery page 226)

Charles Taze Russell loved the pyramids so much that he requested in his will to have one placed next to his grave site. The Society carried out his request.

15. Promoting the pagan “winged sun disk”-

(1918 The Finished Mystery)

16. Promoting Masonic symbols-

(1918 March 1st Watchtower)

17. Falsely prophesying the end of the world in 1918-

(1918 The Finished Mystery page 485)

18. Celebrating holidays-

(1919 Golden Age Dec 24th pg. 215)

(1923 Golden Age Dec 5th)

(1926 Christmas at Bethel)

19.

Filed under: Religion, Uncategorized, Watchtower, Jehovah's Witness, truth, Jehovah, lies, kingdom hall ]]> http://middleman777.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/11-jw-jesus-chose-the-watchtower-as-his-organization-despite-teaching-these-doctrines/feed/ 4 middleman777 1973 God’s Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached page 355 1916 Watchtower December 1st page 6015 The Finished Mystery page 290 1918 The Finished Mystery page 66 1913_Bible_Students_Convention_Reportx2 1924 Angels and Women 1902 Watchtower July 15th page 215 The Finished Mystery page 418_cross 1918 The Finished Mystery page 60x2 1918 The Finished Mystery page 386 1916 Watchtower December 1st page 5998 1917 Pastor Russell's Sermons, page 676x2 1918 The Finished Mystery page 188 1918 The Finished Mystery page 226 Image352 watch_tower-masons 1918 The Finished Mystery-cover Watchtower cover_March 1, 1918_OCCULTWatchtower Watchtower cover_color 1918 Finished Mystery pg. 485x2 1919 Golden Age Dec 24th pg. 215 1923 Golden Age Dec 5th 1926 Christmas at Bethel http://middleman777.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/9-jw-what-is-the-kingdom-of-god-part-2/ http://middleman777.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/9-jw-what-is-the-kingdom-of-god-part-2/#comments Sat, 12 Sep 2009 02:04:09 +0000 middleman777 http://middleman777.wordpress.com/?p=1179 ]]> If you haven’t read Part 1 please do so before reading this post CLICK HERE…it’s the law lol j/k. In this installment of the “Kingdom of God” I would love to share some more interesting verses on this subject. I “discovered” these verses below.

Isa 60:19-21 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but Jehovah will be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 20 Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for Jehovah will be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 21 Thy people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

The obvious observation is that this scripture is in the Old Testament. So logically one can conclude that this scripture and the “thy’s” and the “thee’s” are directed at Israel and the patriarchs. This passage of scripture has some interesting cross references to the New Testament. Where in human history has the sun and moon not shown nor been needed for light etc? Well, yes this is a trick question it hasn’t happened yet but will happen in the future according to Revelation 21:23 and 22:5.

Revelation 21:23 And the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb.

Revelation 22:5 And there shall be night no more; and they need no light of lamp, neither light of sun; for the Lord God shall give them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

These passages refer to the time after (ya eternity) the thousand year reign of Christ or “new millennium” as some call it. The JW’s will say that the “other sheep” will benefit from the light of Jehovah and the “Theocratic Reign” from Jesus and the 144K, but only from “paradise earth”. There’s a city that was mentioned in Revelation 21:23, lets see if this has a cross reference that we can connect to. Well, in Hebrews it mentions that Abraham looked for a city whose builder is Jehovah below…

Hebrews 11:8-10 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 for he looked for the city which hath the foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Wait a minute here, what city was built by Jehovah that Abraham was waiting for? Perhaps this city is Jerusalem? There must be another scripture to clarify where this city is located. Read below…

Hebrews 11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city.

Ok so we can see that this city is “heavenly” but who are the they according to Hebrews 11? Apparently it’s Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and  Sarah etc. Make sure to read this chapter to verify this information. Lets make sure we know the name of this heavenly city before we conclude. According to Revelation 21:2 it is Jerusalem, well the “NEW JERUSALEM”. Read below…

Revelation 21:2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

Why does the Watchtower insist that heaven is only for the 144K despite the Biblical evidence showing it’s for ALL who are obedient to Jehovah? I’ll let you decide the answer of that

(NOTE: All scripture references are from the American Standard Version)

1. They often quoted liberal “Bible scholars” and “historians” some of which reject parts of the New Testament as the Word of God, instead claiming certain scriptures as ideas from Greek philosophers (A).
2. The other obvious observation is that the Society spent a great deal of time mixing Modalism/ Sabellianism, Tritheism, and Trinitarianism into one belief system. This “muddying of the waters” makes it hard for one to define what they are refuting or defending.

On page 7 of this publication we see the Society reference 6 “fathers” consisting of Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, and Origen. Read below…

To see an exhaustive list of the Society’s misquotes and fallacies from this publication CLICK HERE.  Below in the red section is what the WBTS quoted in the “Trinity” book and in black is what the writer actually believed.

(1-Justin Martyr)

(1a) Trinity book says “Justin Martyr, who died about 165 C.E., called the prehuman Jesus a created angel who is other than the God who made all things. He said that Jesus was inferior to God and never did anything except what the creator…….willed him to do and say.” Page 7

(1b) Justin says “… nor to know that the Father of the universe has a Son; who also, being the first-begotten Word of God, is even God.” - First Apology of Justin, Ch LXIII.

“… but now you will permit me first to recount the prophecies, which I wish to do in order to prove that Christ is called both God and the Lord of hosts …” - Dialogue with Trypho, Ch XXXVI.

“Therefore these words testify explicitly that He is witnessed to by Him who established these things, as deserving to be worshipped, as God and as Christ.” – Ibid, Ch LXIII.

(2-Irenaeus)

(2a) Trinity book says “Irenaeus, who died about 200C.E, said that the prehuman Jesus had a separate existence from God and was inferior to him. He showed that Jesus is not equal to the One true and only God, who is supreme over all, and besides whom there is no other.” Page 7

(2b) Irenaeus says “… and to raise up anew all flesh of the whole human race, in order that to Christ Jesus, our Lord, and God, and Saviour, and King …” – Against Heresies, Bk 1, Ch 10.

“But that He is in His own right , beyond all men who ever lived, God, and Lord, and King Eternal, and the Incarnate Word, proclaimed by all the prophets and apostles, and by the Spirit Himself, may be seen by all who have attained to even a small portion of the truth.” – Against Heresies, Bk 3, Ch 19.

(3-Clement of Alexandria)

(3a) Trinity book says “Clement of Alexandria, who died about 215 C.E., called God the uncreated and imperishable and only true God. He said that the Son is next to the only omnipotent Father but not equal to him.” Page 7

(3b) Clement says “For ‘before the morning star it was;’ and ‘in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’” and “This Word, then, the Christ, the cause of both our being at first (for He was in God) and of our well being, this very Word has now appeared as man, He alone being both, both God and man …” and “The Word, who in the beginning bestowed on us life as Creator when He formed us, taught us to live well when He appeared as our Teacher; that as God He might afterwards conduct us to the life which never ends.” – Exhortation to the Heathen, Ch 1.

(4-Tertullian)

(4a) Trinity book says “Tertullian, who died about 230 C. E., taught the supremacy of God. He observed The father is different from the Son (another), as he is greater; as he who begats is different from him who is begotten; he who sends; different from him who is sent. He also said: “There was a time when the Son was not….Before all things, God was alone.” Page 7

(4b) Tertullian says “”Him we believe to have been sent by the Father into the virgin, and to have been born of her – being both Man and God, the Son of Man and the Son of God, and to have been called by the name of Jesus Christ.” and “… while the mystery of the dispensation is still guarded, which distributes the Unity into a Trinity, placing them in their order the three Persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost …” – Against Praxeas, Ch 2.

“With these did He then speak, in the Unity of the Trinity, as with His ministers and witnesses.” and “…I mean the Word of God, ‘through whom all things were made, and without whom nothing was made.’ Now if He too is God, according to John (who says) ‘The Word was God’…” - Against Praxeas, Ch 12.

(5-Hippolytus)

(5a) Trinity Book says “ Hippolytus, who died about 235 C.E., said that God is the one God, the first and the only One, the Maker and Lord of all, who had nothing co-eval [of equal age] with him…But he was One, alone by himself; who, willing it, called into being what had no being before, such as the created prehuman Jesus.” Page 7

The underline above is a misquote. The original is “But He was One, alone in Himself.” The Refutation of All Heresies Book One Chapter XXVIII. This subtle misquote changes the meaning of the writer.

(5b) Hippolytus says “For he speaks to this effect: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’” and “…’Go ye and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.’ And by this He showed, that whosoever omitted any one of these, failed in glorifying God perfectly. For it is through this Trinity that the Father is glorified. For the Father willed, the Son did, the Spirit manifested. The whole Scriptures, then, proclaim this truth.” – Against the Heresy of One Noetus, Ch 14.

“For Christ is the God above all, and He has arranged to wash away sin from human beings.” - The Refutation of All Heresies, Bk 10, Ch 30.

(6-Origen)

(6a) Trinity book says “Origen, who died about 250 C.E., said that the father and Son are two substances …two things as to their essence, and that compared with the Father, [the Son] is a very small light.” Page 7

(6b) Origen Says “From all which we learn that the person of the Holy Spirit was of such authority and dignity, that saving baptism was not complete except by the authority of the most excellent Trinity of them all …” – Origen de Principiis, 1.3.2

“For it is one and the same thing to have a share in the Holy Spirit, which is (the Spirit) of the Father and the Son, since the nature of the Trinity is one and incorporeal.” - Origen de Principiis, 4.1.32

……………………

NOTES:

(A) One of the “Bible authorities” the WBTS references is “historian” Will Durant. They quote him as saying “Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it….From Egypt came the ideas of a divine trinity”. Below is what else he stated concerning the Bible and Christianity.

(The Story of Civilization: Part III, Caesar and Christ, 1944, pp. 594-595) “It seems incredible that the Apocalypse and the Fourth Gospel should have come from the same hand. The Apocalypse is Jewish poetry, the Fourth Gospel is Greek philosophy….Just as Philo, learned in Greek speculation, had felt a need to rephrase Judaism in forms acceptable to the logic-loving Greeks, so John…sought to give a Greek philosophical tinge to the mystic Jewish doctrine that the Wisdom of God was a living being, and to the Christian doctrine that Jesus was the Messiah. Consciously or not, he continued Paul’s work of detaching Christianity from Judaism.…Now the pagan world—even the anti-Semitic world—could accept him as its own. Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it.”

The 1993 Proclaimers book pg. 160 admits this fact as well. Another interesting fact is that the Society once included Trinitarians like Wesley, Calvin, Luther, and Knox as part of the “Little Flock”. Read the 1883 Watchtower March pg. 5 below…

The Society also taught that “All must eat the flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus” (communion/partake of the emblems). Read the 1887 Watchtower February pg. 2 below…

So, if the WBTS has claimed that the “Little Flock” are all true Christians, then who have the other sheep been all along? To be continued…

………………………

NOTES:

(1) 1988 Revelation It’s Grand Climax At Hand paragraph 18 pg. 63.

(2) 1995 Knowledge Book pg. 161.

(3) 1989 Reasoning From The Scriptures pg. 166.

John 14:2 “In my Fathers house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you…”

1.) Unlike Christianity, who teach that all Christians go to Heaven, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society teaches that Heaven is reserved only for the 144,000, also known as the “Anointed Class” (A). They also teach that the choosing of this heavenly class began in the year 33 A.D. and ended in the year 1935 (B), until recently. The Watchtower Society was officially formed in 1881 under the name of “Bible Students” (changed in 1931 to Jehovah’s Witnesses), and in 1935 they claimed to have had 52,465 memorial partakers (C). The calculations (below) are based on the 1935 numbers given by the Watchtower.

(NOTE: THE GRAPH WILL START AT 1879 BECAUSE THIS IS THE YEAR THAT C.T. RUSSELL FIRST PUBLISHED HIS MAGAZINE AFTER BREAKING TIES FROM THE SDA INFLUENCE)

∇ Years between 1879 and 1935 = 56 ∇

1879 = 0 partakers <———————–> 1935 52,465 partakers.

56 years

2.) By using the number of 52,465 that were “called” in the year 1935 and dividing it by 56 years, we come up with the number of 936.8 called per year between the Watchtower’s founding and the closing of the heavenly class! > 52,465 ÷ 56 = 936 per year! We know that according to the Society there are only 144,000 going to heaven. We know that in the year 1935 they had a count of 52,465 of that 144,000. When we subtract 52,465 from 144,000 we see that there are only 91,535 openings left. > 144,000 – 52,465 = 91,535 openings left!

3.) Now lets calculate the amount of years between the year of 33 A.D. “the time when the choosing of the heavenly class started” and 1879 the year that the Watchtower was founded in order to fill the rest of the openings. This turns out to be 1,846 years. (See below) > 1879 – 33 = 1,846 years left to fill the openings!

∇Years between 33 ad and 1879 = 1,846∇

33 A.D <——————————————> 1879

1,846 years

We now end up with 1,846 remaining years to fill the rest of the openings. Lets divide 91,535 (which is the remaining openings paragraph 2.) by 1,846 (which is the remaining years paragraph 3.) in order to see how many per year were allowed to go to heaven during that time period. It turns out to be 49.5 per year. > 91,535 ÷ 1,846 = 49.5 per year! We see that in the first 1,846 years of the Christian era since the “heavenly calling” started in 33 A.D, 49 people per year could have been chosen to go to Heaven. We also see that since the Watchtower’s founding in 1879 till 1935 “ when the calling ended”, 936 people per year could have been chosen to go to heaven. I should mention also that I have not included Biblical and historical numbers of Christians such as:

Acts 1:15 (120) The upper room account!

Acts 2:41 (3,000) They gladly received!

Act 4:4 (5,000) Many that heard believed!

Say for a moment that you got lost in the figures or mine are simply off. Does the Society say that there was only ONE heavenly calling through the centuries? Well, according to figure (D) this has been the case. So, how does one reconcile that the Society had claimed almost A MILLION Christians were martyred only a few centuries after the first century church was established? Read this in the 1918 Watchtower March 1st pg. 74 below…

………………………….

NOTES:

A. 1989 “Reasoning from the Scriptures” pg. 76

B. 1995 Watchtower Feb 15th pg. 19 “Logically, the calling of the little flock would draw to a close when the number was nearing completion, and the evidence is that the general gathering of these specially blessed ones ended in 1935.”

C. 1993 Jehovah’s Witnesses Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom pg. 717.

D. 1983 United in Worship of the Only True God pg. 11“For some 19 centuries after this there was only one calling, the heavenly one. It was an undeserved kindness that God bestowed on a limited number in furtherance of his own wise and loving purposes.”

(New World Translation) Luke 23:43

And he said to him: “Truly I tell you today,You will be with me in Paradise.”

To read this scripture from their own Bible CLICK HERE

Below is a sample comparison of other translations that show the comma in the correct place.

(New International Version)

Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

(New American Standard Bible)

And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

(Amplified Bible)

And He answered him, Truly I tell you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.

(New Living Translation)

And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

(King James Version)

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

(American Standard Version)

And he said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.

(Young’s Literal Translation)

and Jesus said to him, `Verily I say to thee, To-day with me thou shalt be in the paradise.’

In the Watchtower’s 1969 “Kingdom Interlinear Translation” pg. 408  (below) they explain why they omit the comma before the word “today”. They do so because there are no commas in the Greek.

This seems like a logical explanation but one may ask, after having the correct placement of the comma in their (written by Benjamin Wilson a non JW) 1942 “Emphatic Diaglott” pg. 305, why would they change it in their translation? To clarify here, the WBTS bought the copyright of the “Diaglott” in the early 1900′s.  See below…

Unfortunately, the Society has a history of making Bible “revisions” to tailor scriptures to fit their doctrines. This is just one small example of their willingness to do so.

According to the 1936 the “Golden Age”, Sept. 23 pg. 803 “the unseen guests at the aluminum-dinner table” apparently are food poisoning, cancer, and death.  See below…

In the same issue on page 806  they pictured a slaughtered goat (the public) that was “killed” by the “evil” men that endorse aluminum. Below…

According to this 1930 April 2nd “Golden Age” pg. 438 (below) “The Scientific American, The Literary Digest, most of the M.D.’s are dead wrong,” that aluminum is safe. They are “immune to facts or reasons as the D.D.’s are on the “hell” question. By the way D.D. stands for “Dumb Dogs”. Many groups that disagreed with JF Rutherford were often called this slander…how sincere he was.

Evidently, according to the “Golden Age”, Sept. 8, 1937, p. 771 (picture below) the rich greedy men were not too concerned about all of those “sick” people going to the hospital because of aluminum.

In the same issue on page 773 (below) the children were being loaded up “for the tomb”. Evidently, one of the children contracted insanity from aluminum.

Even as late as 1949, the Society was publishing comments from doctors on how harmful aluminum was. What I find interesting is that most of the doctors only had their initials listed, kinda makes it it hard to verify this information huh? Read the 1949 Awake Aug. 8th pg.16 below…

Finally we got new light (in 1962) that “At present the great majority of authorities in medical and scientific fields gave aluminum a rather clean bill of health.” This was printed in the 1962 June 22nd “Awake!” pg. 8. May the soup kitchens of the world rejoice.