Because of my love for Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW’s), it’s easy for me to maintain a positive tone and show kindness toward them on this blog. Also, I do not promote blogs or websites which slander, show maliciousness, bitterness or have an ax to grind - so to speak - with JW’s or the Watchtower organization. Even so, while keeping things positive and trying to help JW’s, I cannot overlook things which I believe must be addressed, even though it may seem negative to some. I must take an honest and open approach in the articles I write, yet show love and kindness while not watering down or avoiding what may seem to be controversial to a loyal JW. I always prayerfully consider these things before I write on this blog or speak to others about the organization.
I have spent a lot of time praying and thinking about this particular article before posting it on this site. My goal is to be honest yet not gloss over the facts. Please do not mistake my candor as anger or bitterness. I write these things in Christian love.
That being said, I would like to share a few thoughts with you regarding the July 15, 2011 Watchtower study article which begins on page 15. The article is entitled, “Will You Heed Jehovah’s Clear Warnings?” This was the Watchtower study topic for Sunday 9/11/2011 which focused on apostasy and apostates.
Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language defines apostasy as, “The abandoning of a religious faith.”
The same dictionary defines an apostate as, “Someone who abandons his religious faith for another.”
Merriam-Webster online gives two definitions of apostasy.
1 : renunciation of a religious faith
2 : abandonment of a previous loyalty
These definitions sound accurate and reasonable to me. After all, this is the definition of the words from what most would consider an authority on the English language.
It seems though, that the Watchtower has a definition of apostasy which applies only to it’s own organization or members. For example, if someone leaves another Christian Church and becomes a JW, from the Watchtower’s point of view this is not considered an apostasy. Why? Because they left a “false religion” and came to the “truth.” Yet, the true definition of the word according to Webster makes this an apostasy because they abandoned one religious faith for another. But as far as the Watchtower is concerned, one can only apostatize from the JW organization because they are the only “true Christians” in the world.
The Watchtower’s book, Reasoning From The Scriptures page 34, defines apostasy this way:
“Apostasy is abandoning or deserting the worship and service of God, actually a rebellion against Jehovah God. Some apostates profess to know and serve God but reject teachings or requirements set out in his Word. Others claim to believe the Bible but reject Jehovah’s organization.”
The Reasoning book later comments on page 35 in bold heading:
"Not only do they abandon the true faith but they then “beat” their former associates, using public criticism and other methods to hinder their work; the efforts of such apostates are devoted to tearing down, not building up”
According to the Watchtower organization I am considered an apostate. Under normal circumstances if we were considering the actual definition (Webster’s definition) of an apostate this would not offend me at all. However, the Watchtower organization demonizes apostates to the point that the majority of rank and file witnesses are literally afraid of anyone labeled an apostate.
This being the case, out of sheer curiosity I decided to tune in to the local Kingdom Hall meeting during this particular study. Most Kingdom Halls have a provision for those who are ill, infirm or otherwise can’t make it to the meeting, to be able to call in on the phone and listen or even participate.
Since I am well aware of the Watchtower’s view of apostates, it came as no surprise to see this study article describe apostates as it did, using such terms as:
1) False teachers
2) Ravenous wolves
3) Corruptive
4) Deceptive
5) Mentally diseased
6) Disloyal
7) Twisted
8) Malicious slanderers
9) Meddlers
What really grabbed my attention were some of the comments of the friends during this study. As I listened, I began to write down the words being used by the congregation to describe apostates. Some of these words were repeated several times, so I decided to put them on a spreadsheet and let it alphabetize them while removing any duplicated words or phrases. Here is a partial alphabetized list of the words the friends used during the Watchtower study describing apostates.
1) Bitter
2) Cunning
3) Dangerous
4) Dark
5) Disgusting
6) Distorted
7) Filthy
8) Godless
9) Haters of Jehovah
10) Immoral
11) Miserable
12) Nasty
13) Oppressors
14) Satanic
15) Sick
16) Slanderers
17) Unkind
18) Unloving
19) Venomous
20) Wolves in sheep’s clothing
Again, this is only a partial list of the words used by those commenting during the Watchtower study. Is it just me, or is this considered slander toward those of us who have decided to leave the organization due to teachings and policies we believe to be unscriptural?
There have been many articles and comments about apostasy and apostates in the pages of the Watchtower over the years, but take a look at the following paragraph.
The Watchtower 10/1/93 page19 paragraph 15 says this:
“Apostates are included among those who show their hatred of Jehovah by revolting against him. Apostasy is, in reality, a rebellion against Jehovah. Some apostates profess to know and serve God, but they reject teachings or requirements set out in his Word. Others claim to believe the Bible, but they reject Jehovah’s organization and actively try to hinder its work. When they deliberately choose such badness after knowing what is right, when the bad becomes so ingrained that it is an inseparable part of their makeup, then a Christian must hate (in the Biblical sense of the word) those who have inseparably attached themselves to the badness. True Christians share Jehovah’s feelings toward such apostates; they are not curious about apostate ideas. On the contrary, they “feel a loathing” toward those who have made themselves God’s enemies, but they leave it to Jehovah to execute vengeance.”
Does this quote or the comments above sound like they came from a Christian organization? Is this what Jesus taught? By saying and promoting these things, is the Watchtower following the command Jesus gave to love your enemy? Please notice what our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-48 during His sermon on the mount,
“You heard that it was said, ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 However, I say to you: Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those persecuting you; 45 that you may prove yourselves sons of your Father who is in the heavens, since he makes his sun rise upon wicked people and good and makes it rain upon righteous people and unrighteous. 46 For if you love those loving you, what reward do you have? Are not also the tax collectors doing the same thing? 47 And if you greet your brothers only, what extraordinary thing are you doing? Are not also the people of the nations doing the same thing? 48 You must accordingly be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (New World Translation (NWT) Emphasis mine)
While I may not agree with some of the Watchtower’s theology, I do not persecute my JW brethren, neither do I slander them or consider them my enemy. I love them and I continue to pray for them. This same love for the JW congregation is shared among my “apostate” friends who have other websites which are designed, not to tear down the brothers and sisters, but to help JW’s should they decide to leave the organization. Like me, these particular “apostates” have left not because they are immoral or rebellious, but because they have awakened to the fact that the organization is not “the truth” which they thought at first. We are living up to the light that we have and we DO NOT believe salvation comes through an organization. In John 14:6 Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (NWT Emphasis mine)
Jesus is the truth, not an organization! I believe we should be part of a corporate group of Christian fellowship. (Hebrews 10:24-25) I also believe we should try to find a group or Church that teaches the closest thing to Bible truth we can find. (John 4:23-24) If we are part of an organization or Church which is preaching the Gospel and we find another which preaches the Gospel and in addition, other valuable truths which my organization or Church isn't teaching, wouldn’t it be wise to go where there is more Bible truth? Would Jehovah and Jesus condemn us for not being part of the Watchtower if we believe in our heart of hearts there is another Church or organization that has more Bible truth than the JW‘s? Are people condemned which are not part of the Watchtower organization?
Please consider this. Right after Jesus and his disciples went into Capernaum, He was counseling them that if anyone welcomes a little child in His (Jesus’) name, they are welcoming Jesus. In turn, by welcoming Jesus, they are welcoming His Father. Immediately following this, notice what happens in Mark 9:38-40:
“John said to him: “Teacher, we saw a certain man expelling demons by the use of your name and we tried to prevent him, because he was not accompanying us.” 39 But Jesus said: “Do not try to prevent him, for there is no one that will do a powerful work on the basis of my name that will quickly be able to revile me; 40 for he that is not against us is for us.” (NWT)
Luke 9:49-50 reports the same account: “In response John said: “Instructor, we saw a certain man expelling demons by the use of your name and we tried to prevent him, because he is not following with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him: “Do not YOU men try to prevent [him], for he that is not against YOU is for YOU.” (NWT)
Stop and think for a moment what is being said here. The disciples actually tried to stop this man who was not part of their “organization” - if you will - from doing a good thing and expelling demons in the name of our Lord Jesus. Did this mean that he did not have the approval of Jehovah God and Jesus Christ? Absolutely not! We know this because Jesus rebuked His disciples by telling them “Do not try to prevent him.” Then He basically told them that they were on the same team - so to speak - because this man was not against them but for them.
In the same sense, I am not against the JW organization as far as the good they are doing. I have said, and will continue to say, that the organization has a place in ministering to people for the good. JW’s have helped many people to leave the dregs of society and have taught people how to live clean and moral lives by following Biblical principles. This is certainly a good thing! Also as I have written in the header of this blog, JW’s do have some valuable truths, i.e. the dead are conscious of nothing, the earth will be restored to a paradise, hell is not an eternal burning fire.
However, one of several areas where I have a major problem with the Watchtower leadership is how they treat those of us who have decided to leave because we may disagree with some of the doctrines. If it’s made known that someone disagrees with the Watchtower on any point of doctrine, he will be talked to by the Elders. If he tells them he cannot accept what the Watchtower says, he will be disfellowshipped being completely cut off from association with the congregation whether family or friends.
It seems to me that if the organization is going to have their own definition of apostasy, they should establish levels of apostasy. But the Watchtower does not allow for this. One must treat apostates as if they are the filthiest of the filthy by cutting them off completely simply because of being labeled an apostate by the organization. If a JW does not cut off the apostate completely, the JW has the fearful reality that he or she will be labeled an apostate as well. Of course there are those that have left the organization whom the list above may describe in some way. There are also many who are bitter and will say terrible things about the JW’s. But to make a blanket statement that these words describe all apostates without any kind of disclaimer, makes the leadership in the organization false teachers, corruptive, deceptive, disloyal, malicious slanderers and meddlers to use the Watchtower's own words as applied to apostates.
Using the descriptive words of the congregation provided in the list above this would make the organization bitter, cunning, distorted, oppressors, slanderers, unkind and unloving.
Might I submit to you that many who have left and will leave the organization angry and bitter may not be that way if the organization would let them leave with their dignity. They likely would not feel this way if they were still able to communicate at least with their immediate family.
There are many like me that have tremendous love for Jehovah God and His Son Jesus, who have come to realize that our relationship with the Father and His Son is personal. Contrary to what the Watchtower teaches, our relationship with Jehovah is not based on our affiliation with the Watchtower organization. It is based solely our personal relationship with Jehovah and Jesus. Salvation does not come with a religious denomination or through an organization as the Watchtower teaches. Salvation comes from believing in the shed blood of Jesus, repenting of our sins and having faith that Jesus is the risen Christ who is now serving in heaven as our High Priest. Having this faith means that we will live up to the light that we have.
As for me and my personal friends that have been labeled apostates by the Watchtower, we continue to serve Jehovah and our Lord Jesus even though we are not part of the Watchtower organization. We truly love the JW brothers and sisters. That's why we provide websites such as this one. These sites are designed to help JW's deal with the unjust, unloving way the Watchtower deals with those who must leave due to doctrinal differences. James said, “Therefore, if one knows how to do what is right and yet does not do it, it is a sin for him.” (James 4:17 NWT)
It would have been a sin for us if we would have remained in the organization.
Mark M.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Did The 10 Commandments Exist Before Sinai?
What do you think? Did the Ten Commandments exist before Sinai? Over the years as a Jehovah’s Witness I asked this question many times. I asked not only publishers, both brothers and sisters, but also many “mature” brothers in the organization which included elders throughout our circuit and district, 5 circuit overseers and several substitute circuit overseers. The answer I always received was, “No.” Then they would usually go on to explain that the Ten Commandments did not exist until Moses brought them down from Mount Sinai.
Let’s take just a few moments to examine this subject while keeping in mind that there are many more points that can be made in this regard. Is it true that the Ten Commandments came about some 2500 years after Adam was created as the Watchtower teaches? To answer this question we must consider what the Apostle Paul states in Romans 4:15b, “Where there is no law, neither is there any transgression.” (New World Translation, NWT)
Let me begin by using an illustration:
Suppose you are driving on a highway where no state or federal speed limit exists. If you are traveling at a speed of 80mph, can you be given a ticket for speeding? What about 90mph? How about 100mph?… The answer is no! You cannot be given a ticket for speeding where there is no law stating a maximum speed or the speed limit. In other words, where there is no law, there is no transgression. A law has to exist in order to be transgressing or “breaking” the law.
When we read the Scriptures and go back in time to the days of Cain and Abel. (Genesis 4) We need to ask ourselves, was it wrong or sin for Cain to kill Abel? Well, was it? Yes it was! Please read Genesis 4:10-12. When Jehovah said to Cain in verse 10, “Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10), the word blood is literally “bloods” in the plural form. This means that Cain was held responsible not only for killing Abel, but for killing all of his potential progeny or offspring as well. Now the question that needs to be asked is, how could it be wrong for Cain to kill Abel if there was no Commandment stating, “You must not murder”? (Exodus 20:13 NWT) In other words, how could Jehovah hold Cain responsible for Abel’s death if this Commandment did not exist until Sinai? Keep in mind that we already established from Scripture that, “Where there is no law, there is no transgression.” (Romans 4:15) So it seems clear that there had to have been a law or Commandment for Cain to be held accountable for killing his brother.
What about Joseph? Would it have been wrong for Joseph to commit adultery with Potiphar’s wife? (Genesis 39:7-9) Please notice what Joseph said in Genesis 39:9, “how could I commit this great badness and actually sin against God?” Notice that Joseph called this act of adultery a sin. How could this be a sin if the seventh Commandment “You must not commit adultery” did not exist until Sinai? (Exodus 20:14)
Now, let’s go back to the Garden of Eden to a time even before Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. After dialoguing with Eve about the trees in the Garden, the serpent said to Eve regarding the eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, “You positively will not die.” (Genesis 3:4) Today, we know that this was a lie. Let me ask you, was it a sin for Satan to lie? How could it be if there was no Commandment saying, “You shall not bear false witness” (Exodus 20:16, NKJV)
If the 10 Commandments did not exist before Sinai, then none of the sins mentioned above were sins. Why? Because based on Holy Scripture, “Where there is no law, there is no transgression.” This means that even though the 10 Commandments were not yet in writing, they must have existed. If the Ten Commandments did not exist, then Jehovah could not and would not hold these people (including Satan) accountable for breaking them because they would not have been sinning.
The fact is, many of the Ten Commandments were broken in the Garden of Eden. Not only by eating the forbidden fruit, but also by what led up to the eating of it. Here are some examples:
1) We already established that the serpent lied when he told Eve she would not die. In doing so he broke the 9th Commandment. (Genesis 3:4, Exodus 20:16)
2) It’s clear that Eve coveted the fruit. (Genesis 3:6) In coveting she broke the 10th Commandment. (Exodus 20:17) It seems likely that she also coveted the possibility of being like God. When one covets, this also breaks the 2nd Commandment about idolatry (Exodus 20:4-6) because in Colossians 3:5 the Apostle Paul said that covetousness is idolatry. In turn, breaking these 2 Commandments also breaks the 1st Commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3) Isn’t it true that coveting and idolatry is putting other things or even people before Jehovah, making them as gods? This can be the case with money, possessions or anything we put before our God Jehovah. Adam evidently loved Eve more than he loved Jehovah because he chose to eat the fruit and die rather than to obey his God. I also believe that Satan had the same issue of coveting, prior to the fall of man. Please read Isaiah 14:12-14.
3) Satan convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. When she and Adam ate the fruit, Satan, Adam, and Eve in effect murdered mankind, including Jesus! (Genesis 3:15, John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 15:3) This broke the 6th Commandment, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13) John 8:44 says of Satan, “That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie.” (NWT Emphasis added)
4) Adam and Eve also broke the 5th Commandment, “Honor your father and your mother.” (Exodus 20:12 Emphasis added) Were they showing honor to their Heavenly Father Jehovah when they directly disobeyed Him? Notice how this Commandment reads. It says, “Honor your father and your mother, in order that your days may prove long upon the ground that Jehovah your God is giving you.” This Commandment is so true, because if Adam and eve had honored Jehovah by not eating the fruit, they would still be alive today!
5) Adam and Eve broke the 7th Commandment, “You must not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14) When they followed Satan instead of Jehovah, was this not Spiritual adultery? (Hosea 2:16, 19, 20, Hosea 3:1-5, James 4:4)
6) They also broke the 8th Commandment, “You must not steal.” (Exodus 20:15) When they took of the fruit which Jehovah told them not to Adam and Eve took or “stole” what did not belong to them. (Genesis 2:15-17)
7) Satan broke the 3rd Commandment, “You must not take up the name of Jehovah your God in a worthless way.” As the angels of heaven looked onto this earth, (1 Corinthians 4:9) Jehovah’s name was brought into question by Satan when he accused the supreme lawgiver Jehovah of holding back from Adam and Eve the ability of knowing good and bad and being like God. (Genesis 3:5) This also insinuates that Adam and Eve felt that they did not need their creator for eternal life. In essence Satan was saying to Eve, “you yourself can be God, you don‘t need Jehovah.” When you consider the gravity of the accusation and the action taken by Adam and Eve, Wouldn’t this be treating Jehovah’s name in a worthless way?
Lastly, as to whether or not Adam and Eve broke the Sabbath which is the 4th Commandment, the Bible does not say. However, just as the marital arrangement is Holy, so too the Sabbath is Holy. One cannot deny that both marriage and the Sabbath were created prior to sin. (Genesis 2:2, & 2:24) This also proves that the Sabbath existed before there ever was a Jew. So it’s very clear in Scripture that the Sabbath existed before Sinai as well. (Exodus 16:22-30, Exodus 20:11)
Hopefully this article has helped you, the reader, to understand why I believe the 10 Commandments existed before Sinai. If you have any comments or questions please feel free to post them. :-)
Let’s take just a few moments to examine this subject while keeping in mind that there are many more points that can be made in this regard. Is it true that the Ten Commandments came about some 2500 years after Adam was created as the Watchtower teaches? To answer this question we must consider what the Apostle Paul states in Romans 4:15b, “Where there is no law, neither is there any transgression.” (New World Translation, NWT)
Let me begin by using an illustration:
Suppose you are driving on a highway where no state or federal speed limit exists. If you are traveling at a speed of 80mph, can you be given a ticket for speeding? What about 90mph? How about 100mph?… The answer is no! You cannot be given a ticket for speeding where there is no law stating a maximum speed or the speed limit. In other words, where there is no law, there is no transgression. A law has to exist in order to be transgressing or “breaking” the law.
When we read the Scriptures and go back in time to the days of Cain and Abel. (Genesis 4) We need to ask ourselves, was it wrong or sin for Cain to kill Abel? Well, was it? Yes it was! Please read Genesis 4:10-12. When Jehovah said to Cain in verse 10, “Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10), the word blood is literally “bloods” in the plural form. This means that Cain was held responsible not only for killing Abel, but for killing all of his potential progeny or offspring as well. Now the question that needs to be asked is, how could it be wrong for Cain to kill Abel if there was no Commandment stating, “You must not murder”? (Exodus 20:13 NWT) In other words, how could Jehovah hold Cain responsible for Abel’s death if this Commandment did not exist until Sinai? Keep in mind that we already established from Scripture that, “Where there is no law, there is no transgression.” (Romans 4:15) So it seems clear that there had to have been a law or Commandment for Cain to be held accountable for killing his brother.
What about Joseph? Would it have been wrong for Joseph to commit adultery with Potiphar’s wife? (Genesis 39:7-9) Please notice what Joseph said in Genesis 39:9, “how could I commit this great badness and actually sin against God?” Notice that Joseph called this act of adultery a sin. How could this be a sin if the seventh Commandment “You must not commit adultery” did not exist until Sinai? (Exodus 20:14)
Now, let’s go back to the Garden of Eden to a time even before Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. After dialoguing with Eve about the trees in the Garden, the serpent said to Eve regarding the eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, “You positively will not die.” (Genesis 3:4) Today, we know that this was a lie. Let me ask you, was it a sin for Satan to lie? How could it be if there was no Commandment saying, “You shall not bear false witness” (Exodus 20:16, NKJV)
If the 10 Commandments did not exist before Sinai, then none of the sins mentioned above were sins. Why? Because based on Holy Scripture, “Where there is no law, there is no transgression.” This means that even though the 10 Commandments were not yet in writing, they must have existed. If the Ten Commandments did not exist, then Jehovah could not and would not hold these people (including Satan) accountable for breaking them because they would not have been sinning.
The fact is, many of the Ten Commandments were broken in the Garden of Eden. Not only by eating the forbidden fruit, but also by what led up to the eating of it. Here are some examples:
1) We already established that the serpent lied when he told Eve she would not die. In doing so he broke the 9th Commandment. (Genesis 3:4, Exodus 20:16)
2) It’s clear that Eve coveted the fruit. (Genesis 3:6) In coveting she broke the 10th Commandment. (Exodus 20:17) It seems likely that she also coveted the possibility of being like God. When one covets, this also breaks the 2nd Commandment about idolatry (Exodus 20:4-6) because in Colossians 3:5 the Apostle Paul said that covetousness is idolatry. In turn, breaking these 2 Commandments also breaks the 1st Commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3) Isn’t it true that coveting and idolatry is putting other things or even people before Jehovah, making them as gods? This can be the case with money, possessions or anything we put before our God Jehovah. Adam evidently loved Eve more than he loved Jehovah because he chose to eat the fruit and die rather than to obey his God. I also believe that Satan had the same issue of coveting, prior to the fall of man. Please read Isaiah 14:12-14.
3) Satan convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. When she and Adam ate the fruit, Satan, Adam, and Eve in effect murdered mankind, including Jesus! (Genesis 3:15, John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 15:3) This broke the 6th Commandment, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13) John 8:44 says of Satan, “That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie.” (NWT Emphasis added)
4) Adam and Eve also broke the 5th Commandment, “Honor your father and your mother.” (Exodus 20:12 Emphasis added) Were they showing honor to their Heavenly Father Jehovah when they directly disobeyed Him? Notice how this Commandment reads. It says, “Honor your father and your mother, in order that your days may prove long upon the ground that Jehovah your God is giving you.” This Commandment is so true, because if Adam and eve had honored Jehovah by not eating the fruit, they would still be alive today!
5) Adam and Eve broke the 7th Commandment, “You must not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14) When they followed Satan instead of Jehovah, was this not Spiritual adultery? (Hosea 2:16, 19, 20, Hosea 3:1-5, James 4:4)
6) They also broke the 8th Commandment, “You must not steal.” (Exodus 20:15) When they took of the fruit which Jehovah told them not to Adam and Eve took or “stole” what did not belong to them. (Genesis 2:15-17)
7) Satan broke the 3rd Commandment, “You must not take up the name of Jehovah your God in a worthless way.” As the angels of heaven looked onto this earth, (1 Corinthians 4:9) Jehovah’s name was brought into question by Satan when he accused the supreme lawgiver Jehovah of holding back from Adam and Eve the ability of knowing good and bad and being like God. (Genesis 3:5) This also insinuates that Adam and Eve felt that they did not need their creator for eternal life. In essence Satan was saying to Eve, “you yourself can be God, you don‘t need Jehovah.” When you consider the gravity of the accusation and the action taken by Adam and Eve, Wouldn’t this be treating Jehovah’s name in a worthless way?
Lastly, as to whether or not Adam and Eve broke the Sabbath which is the 4th Commandment, the Bible does not say. However, just as the marital arrangement is Holy, so too the Sabbath is Holy. One cannot deny that both marriage and the Sabbath were created prior to sin. (Genesis 2:2, & 2:24) This also proves that the Sabbath existed before there ever was a Jew. So it’s very clear in Scripture that the Sabbath existed before Sinai as well. (Exodus 16:22-30, Exodus 20:11)
Hopefully this article has helped you, the reader, to understand why I believe the 10 Commandments existed before Sinai. If you have any comments or questions please feel free to post them. :-)
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Will Adam and Eve Be Resurrected?
Will Adam and Eve Be Resurrected?
This is an interesting question to ask a Jehovah’s Witness (JW). The line of reasoning used by the Watchtower Society is as follows: Since Adam and Eve sinned in perfection they have no chance of being resurrected. The Watchtower 1/15/1960 page 53 third paragraph says,
“Since the supreme Judge never makes a mistake, there is no need for him to take under review any judgment that he has passed. His judgments are final. That means the people who perished in the flood of Noah’s day will never be resurrected to stand trial again. The same is true with the people of Sodom and Gomorrah as well as Adam and Eve. All had their judgment day before the great Judge of the universe and all were sentenced to destruction. They will never have a conscious existence again. ”
All of my life I have heard the above reasoning and it always made sense to me. I also have to agree that Jehovah does not make mistakes in judgment. However, as I have continued to read and study the Bible my understanding has changed a bit regarding Adam and Eve. Is it true that there is no hope for them and that they will not be resurrected? Is it possible that they cannot be forgiven? Please consider the following:
The Bible teaches that Adam and Eve were created, Adam first, then Eve. (Genesis 2:18, & 2:21-22, and 1 Timothy 2:13) Also the Bible teaches that it was to Adam that the command was given, “But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.” (Genesis 2:17 New World Translation or NWT) This means that if Adam and Eve had never eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and bad, and had only eaten from the other trees of the garden including the tree of life, they would still be alive to this day and we would not be born into sin as we are today. Thus far I believe that the Watchtower and most Christians would be in agreement.
As a JW when I studied with non-JW’s I was asked many times, why didn’t Adam and Eve die the very day that they ate the fruit as God said they would? I was taught to respond with the following answers. First I would say, “Adam and Eve did die Spiritually that day”. (I still believe that is true.) Then I would say, “In the Bible we are told that a day to Jehovah is as 1000 years to man,” and I would show them the Scripture in 2 Peter 3:8 which says, “However, let this one fact not be escaping YOUR notice, beloved ones, that one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.” (NWT) Next I would show them that Adam lived to be 930 years old, (Genesis 5:5) and I would reason based on 2 Peter 3:8 and Genesis 5:5, that Adam’s dying before he reached 1000 years old, from Jehovah’s perspective Adam died in the very day he ate from the fruit. To this day this sounds reasonable to me. However, I believe there is much more to it than this.
For many, this answer was only partially satisfying. Quite a few still wanted to know just why did Adam and Eve live so long after sinning, when they were clearly told, “for in the day you eat from it you will positively die” (Genesis 2:17) I believe that in searching for the answer to this question we will also find the answer to the title question of this article, namely, “Will Adam and Eve Be Resurrected?”
Please follow this carefully. When both Adam and Eve had sinned they realized that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:7) During a conversation with God, neither Adam nor Eve wanted to take responsibility for their sin. (Genesis 3:12-13) As a result of their sin, they must suffer the consequences which ultimately is death. In Genesis 3:15 God said to the serpent: “And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.” (NWT) This is the first prophecy in Scripture. The beautiful thing about this is that God provides a way out of the inherited sin from Adam. This verse applies to every person who shows faith in the shed blood of Jesus. I believe this includes Adam and Eve. How can we be sure of this? Notice what happens next. God tells Adam and Eve of the immediate and long term consequences of their sin which would affect every living thing on earth. (Genesis 3:16-19)
Now we have come to an important part of this situation. Genesis 3:21 says: “And Jehovah God proceeded to make long garments of skin for Adam and for his wife and to clothe them.” Think about it for a moment. Adam and Eve were not physically naked at this time, as they had already covered themselves with fig leaves in Genesis 3:7. My question to you is, where did God get the long garments of skin from and why did God clothe them? The only logical answer is that the skin must have come from an animal. Likely a lamb. (Genesis 4:2, John 1:29) In other words, an animal (or animals, one for Adam and one for Eve) had to die or be sacrificed in order to make garments of skin. What was the purpose of an animal sacrifice? To atone for sins. (Leviticus 17:11 & Hebrews 9:22) In this way the animal sacrifices covered -- so to speak-- Adam and Eve the same as it did all of God's servants who sacrificed animals for their sins until Jesus came to officially pay the price with His blood! The skins of the lambs physically covered their bodies and the lambs blood spiritually covered their sins. For the first time in the history of the earth one of God’s creatures had to die. Our loving God chose to apply the literal lamb’s blood which temporarily covered Adam and Eve’s sins until Jesus, the Lamb of God came and shed His blood which would blot out their sin permanently! (Acts 3:19 & John 1:29)
When the Patriarchs and Prophets of old performed these sacrifices they were in essence showing their faith in God and their faith in the power of the blood of the coming Jesus. They were exercising faith and demonstrating that they believed that Jehovah accepted the blood of the animals as forgiveness for their sins. The only reasonable Biblical explanation as to why Adam and Eve did not literally die that very day is because Jehovah substituted the life of those lambs in the place of Adam and Eve! This kept Adam and Eve from having to give their lives that very day. We must understand that Jehovah’s justice must be met. This is the whole purpose of the Sanctuary service which points directly to Jesus as the Lamb of God! (Exodus 25:8 & Exodus Chapters 26-27) Something or someone had to die! Blood had to be shed so that Adam and Eve could live long enough to procreate. (Genesis 1:28) That is why the animals used for the skin must have been the temporary sacrifice which was made on the day they sinned. The sacrificial system was a way to cover sins until Jesus came and died for all. Without a doubt, Adam and Eve from this point knew about animal sacrifices for forgiveness. Otherwise, how would Abel have known that God wanted the firstlings of his flock? (Genesis 4:2-4) The answer is, Adam and Eve passed this structure of worship on to their progeny.
The Sanctuary service is a tremendous study in itself. I may cover more on this at a later time. However, the point of this article is, it seems clear that the Bible teaches that Adam and Eve will be, or at least have the potential to be resurrected into God‘s Kingdom. If Jesus came to buy back what Adam lost, then why would Jesus’ blood not cover Adam? Yes, Adam was a perfect man, but so was Jesus! Is Jesus’ blood lacking anything? Would Jesus’ blood not cover Adam and Eve if they were truly repentant? Adam not only suffered the immediate consequences of sin, but he died just as God said he would. Did Adam die the second death? Not according to the Bible because the second death occurs after the 1000 year reign. (Revelation 20:13-14)
Here are a few Scriptures that should be considered in this regard. The infamous Scripture of John 3:16 says: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life”. (NWT) Emphasis mine.
1 Timothy 2:5-6 says: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all—[this is] what is to be witnessed to at its own particular times“. (NWT) Emphasis mine.
John 17:1-2 Says: “Jesus spoke these things, and, raising his eyes to heaven, he said: “Father, the hour has come; glorify your son, that your son may glorify you, 2 according as you have given him authority over all flesh, that, as regards the whole [number] whom you have given him, he may give them everlasting life.” (NWT) Emphasis mine.
For the Watchtower to say that Adam and Eve will not be resurrected is to assume that they were never sorry for their sin. It also sells short the love of God and the power of the ransom sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus! When Adam and Eve were ousted from the Garden of Eden and had to cultivate the land in the sweat of their faces, when they felt the physical pain caused by sin and saw the weeds, thorns and thistles growing among their beautiful surroundings, when they looked past the flaming sword and the Cherubs guarding the entrance to the beautiful Garden and saw that the tree of life was unattainable, when they witnessed the sacrifice of the lamb and saw the life blood pouring out because of what they had done, when their son Abel was murdered by his brother Cain, at one of these points if not all of them I have to believe that there was remorse and even repentance for what they had done.
Will Adam and Eve be resurrected? I believe that the evidence shows they will. I suppose when we get to the Kingdom we will find out for sure. :-)
This is an interesting question to ask a Jehovah’s Witness (JW). The line of reasoning used by the Watchtower Society is as follows: Since Adam and Eve sinned in perfection they have no chance of being resurrected. The Watchtower 1/15/1960 page 53 third paragraph says,
“Since the supreme Judge never makes a mistake, there is no need for him to take under review any judgment that he has passed. His judgments are final. That means the people who perished in the flood of Noah’s day will never be resurrected to stand trial again. The same is true with the people of Sodom and Gomorrah as well as Adam and Eve. All had their judgment day before the great Judge of the universe and all were sentenced to destruction. They will never have a conscious existence again. ”
All of my life I have heard the above reasoning and it always made sense to me. I also have to agree that Jehovah does not make mistakes in judgment. However, as I have continued to read and study the Bible my understanding has changed a bit regarding Adam and Eve. Is it true that there is no hope for them and that they will not be resurrected? Is it possible that they cannot be forgiven? Please consider the following:
The Bible teaches that Adam and Eve were created, Adam first, then Eve. (Genesis 2:18, & 2:21-22, and 1 Timothy 2:13) Also the Bible teaches that it was to Adam that the command was given, “But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.” (Genesis 2:17 New World Translation or NWT) This means that if Adam and Eve had never eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and bad, and had only eaten from the other trees of the garden including the tree of life, they would still be alive to this day and we would not be born into sin as we are today. Thus far I believe that the Watchtower and most Christians would be in agreement.
As a JW when I studied with non-JW’s I was asked many times, why didn’t Adam and Eve die the very day that they ate the fruit as God said they would? I was taught to respond with the following answers. First I would say, “Adam and Eve did die Spiritually that day”. (I still believe that is true.) Then I would say, “In the Bible we are told that a day to Jehovah is as 1000 years to man,” and I would show them the Scripture in 2 Peter 3:8 which says, “However, let this one fact not be escaping YOUR notice, beloved ones, that one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.” (NWT) Next I would show them that Adam lived to be 930 years old, (Genesis 5:5) and I would reason based on 2 Peter 3:8 and Genesis 5:5, that Adam’s dying before he reached 1000 years old, from Jehovah’s perspective Adam died in the very day he ate from the fruit. To this day this sounds reasonable to me. However, I believe there is much more to it than this.
For many, this answer was only partially satisfying. Quite a few still wanted to know just why did Adam and Eve live so long after sinning, when they were clearly told, “for in the day you eat from it you will positively die” (Genesis 2:17) I believe that in searching for the answer to this question we will also find the answer to the title question of this article, namely, “Will Adam and Eve Be Resurrected?”
Please follow this carefully. When both Adam and Eve had sinned they realized that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:7) During a conversation with God, neither Adam nor Eve wanted to take responsibility for their sin. (Genesis 3:12-13) As a result of their sin, they must suffer the consequences which ultimately is death. In Genesis 3:15 God said to the serpent: “And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.” (NWT) This is the first prophecy in Scripture. The beautiful thing about this is that God provides a way out of the inherited sin from Adam. This verse applies to every person who shows faith in the shed blood of Jesus. I believe this includes Adam and Eve. How can we be sure of this? Notice what happens next. God tells Adam and Eve of the immediate and long term consequences of their sin which would affect every living thing on earth. (Genesis 3:16-19)
Now we have come to an important part of this situation. Genesis 3:21 says: “And Jehovah God proceeded to make long garments of skin for Adam and for his wife and to clothe them.” Think about it for a moment. Adam and Eve were not physically naked at this time, as they had already covered themselves with fig leaves in Genesis 3:7. My question to you is, where did God get the long garments of skin from and why did God clothe them? The only logical answer is that the skin must have come from an animal. Likely a lamb. (Genesis 4:2, John 1:29) In other words, an animal (or animals, one for Adam and one for Eve) had to die or be sacrificed in order to make garments of skin. What was the purpose of an animal sacrifice? To atone for sins. (Leviticus 17:11 & Hebrews 9:22) In this way the animal sacrifices covered -- so to speak-- Adam and Eve the same as it did all of God's servants who sacrificed animals for their sins until Jesus came to officially pay the price with His blood! The skins of the lambs physically covered their bodies and the lambs blood spiritually covered their sins. For the first time in the history of the earth one of God’s creatures had to die. Our loving God chose to apply the literal lamb’s blood which temporarily covered Adam and Eve’s sins until Jesus, the Lamb of God came and shed His blood which would blot out their sin permanently! (Acts 3:19 & John 1:29)
When the Patriarchs and Prophets of old performed these sacrifices they were in essence showing their faith in God and their faith in the power of the blood of the coming Jesus. They were exercising faith and demonstrating that they believed that Jehovah accepted the blood of the animals as forgiveness for their sins. The only reasonable Biblical explanation as to why Adam and Eve did not literally die that very day is because Jehovah substituted the life of those lambs in the place of Adam and Eve! This kept Adam and Eve from having to give their lives that very day. We must understand that Jehovah’s justice must be met. This is the whole purpose of the Sanctuary service which points directly to Jesus as the Lamb of God! (Exodus 25:8 & Exodus Chapters 26-27) Something or someone had to die! Blood had to be shed so that Adam and Eve could live long enough to procreate. (Genesis 1:28) That is why the animals used for the skin must have been the temporary sacrifice which was made on the day they sinned. The sacrificial system was a way to cover sins until Jesus came and died for all. Without a doubt, Adam and Eve from this point knew about animal sacrifices for forgiveness. Otherwise, how would Abel have known that God wanted the firstlings of his flock? (Genesis 4:2-4) The answer is, Adam and Eve passed this structure of worship on to their progeny.
The Sanctuary service is a tremendous study in itself. I may cover more on this at a later time. However, the point of this article is, it seems clear that the Bible teaches that Adam and Eve will be, or at least have the potential to be resurrected into God‘s Kingdom. If Jesus came to buy back what Adam lost, then why would Jesus’ blood not cover Adam? Yes, Adam was a perfect man, but so was Jesus! Is Jesus’ blood lacking anything? Would Jesus’ blood not cover Adam and Eve if they were truly repentant? Adam not only suffered the immediate consequences of sin, but he died just as God said he would. Did Adam die the second death? Not according to the Bible because the second death occurs after the 1000 year reign. (Revelation 20:13-14)
Here are a few Scriptures that should be considered in this regard. The infamous Scripture of John 3:16 says: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life”. (NWT) Emphasis mine.
1 Timothy 2:5-6 says: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all—[this is] what is to be witnessed to at its own particular times“. (NWT) Emphasis mine.
John 17:1-2 Says: “Jesus spoke these things, and, raising his eyes to heaven, he said: “Father, the hour has come; glorify your son, that your son may glorify you, 2 according as you have given him authority over all flesh, that, as regards the whole [number] whom you have given him, he may give them everlasting life.” (NWT) Emphasis mine.
For the Watchtower to say that Adam and Eve will not be resurrected is to assume that they were never sorry for their sin. It also sells short the love of God and the power of the ransom sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus! When Adam and Eve were ousted from the Garden of Eden and had to cultivate the land in the sweat of their faces, when they felt the physical pain caused by sin and saw the weeds, thorns and thistles growing among their beautiful surroundings, when they looked past the flaming sword and the Cherubs guarding the entrance to the beautiful Garden and saw that the tree of life was unattainable, when they witnessed the sacrifice of the lamb and saw the life blood pouring out because of what they had done, when their son Abel was murdered by his brother Cain, at one of these points if not all of them I have to believe that there was remorse and even repentance for what they had done.
Will Adam and Eve be resurrected? I believe that the evidence shows they will. I suppose when we get to the Kingdom we will find out for sure. :-)
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Is The Watchtower Organization God’s Channel Of Truth?
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society Incorporated is the publishing agency owned and operated by the Jehovah’s Witness (JW) organization. They publish Bibles, books, tracts and brochures. They also publish the Watchtower and Awake magazines. JW’s are taught that the Watchtower (Both the organization and the magazine) is God’s means of interpreting the Bible and making it understandable for people. JW’s are also taught that the Watchtower is Jehovah God’s sole “channel” of truth and that it has been from the time of it’s first being published in 1879. This is not only what the organization teaches but this is what the vast majority of JW’s sincerely believe. However, it’s interesting what an honest examination of past Watchtower teachings will reveal. One must look at the history of the organization to really gain an understanding as to whether or not the Watchtower is or ever was, “God‘s channel of truth.”
It’s unfortunate that the majority of JW’s will never look into the old Watchtower publications (Pre-1950) to get the actual truth of what used to be taught and how some of the doctrines were developed. For example, where did the doctrine teaching that 1914 started the time of Christ‘s presence come from, and how was the year 1914 chosen? How did they come up with 607 B.C.E. as the destruction of Jerusalem when all historical evidence proves that this occurred in 587-586 B.C.E? Where did they get the doctrine that Jesus’ return is invisible instead of literal and visible as the Bible teaches? (Acts 1:11, Revelation 1:7.)
(Also see, “Is Jesus' Return Visible or Invisible?” within this blog.)
The answers to these questions are very interesting. Over the years, (even as recently as 2010) the Watchtower has had many, many changes of doctrine, particularly prior to the year 1950. JW’s call the old publications “old light” as opposed to “new light” or “brighter light” which is what they say the organization is teaching today. They base this statement on Proverbs 4:18 which says; “But the path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established” (NWT) While I do believe the light of truth gets brighter as time goes on, I have never seen in the Bible where truth changes. In other words, if you have truth, the light getting brighter does not negate what you knew before, but it adds to it. It actually sheds more light or more understanding upon the subject. The problem with the Watchtower is that they have abandoned many of their teachings all together and are teaching things now that are diametrically opposed to what they taught originally, yet they are still calling it “truth!”
An example of this can be seen in the Watchtower’s Revelation book entitled, “Revelation - It’s Grand Climax At Hand!” Following is a quote from chapter 6 page 31 paragraph 17 of this Revelation book:
“In his parable of the wheat and the weeds, Jesus foretold the time of darkness that would exist while Christendom reigned supreme. Nevertheless, through all the centuries of apostasy, there would exist individual wheatlike Christians, genuine anointed ones. (Matthew 13:24-29, 36-43) Thus, when the Lord’s day dawned in October 1914, there were still true Christians on earth. (Revelation 1:10) It appears that Jehovah came to his spiritual temple for judgment about three and a half years later, in 1918, accompanied by Jesus as his “messenger of the covenant.” (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 13:47-50) It was time for the Master to reject finally the false Christians and to appoint ‘the faithful and discreet slave over all his belongings.’—Matthew 7:22, 23; 24:45-47.”
In laymen’s terms this is saying that Jehovah and Jesus examined all Christian denominations for a period of three and one half years beginning in October 1914 and concluding in the Spring of 1918. During this period of “Judgment” they found only Jehovah’s Witnesses (then known as the Bible Students) doing God’s will. So at this time, Jehovah and Jesus - being pleased with what they saw in the organization - appointed the “faithful and discreet slave” over all “true” Christians.
As a side point, It’s interesting to note that today this “slave class” is known to JW’s as the remaining ones of the anointed remnant or the 144,000. These (144,000) are the only ones that have a “heavenly hope” according to the Watchtower. The Watchtower magazine shows that this group numbered 9986 in 2008, 10,857 in 2009 and 11,202 in 2010. Surprisingly, this number has been growing each year over the past decade, while according to Watchtower doctrine it should be shrinking each year. (See Watchtower 1/15/2000 Page 13 Paragraph 18) This remnant “faithful and discreet slave” has absolutely no input as to the beliefs and policies of the Watchtower organization. The organization is controlled entirely by the Watchtower’s governing body (7 men at the time of this writing January 2011) while allowing no input from the remnant of the 144,000 or anyone else. I may talk more about this in another discussion.
Please consider the following. What did Jehovah and Jesus observe when they examined all of Christendom in 1918? What set the Bible students, as Jehovah’s Witnesses were then known, apart from the rest of “false religion”? Especially when you consider that the following points were taught as “truth” by the Watchtower organization in 1918:
1) Jesus’ parousia (or invisible presence as taught by the Watchtower) began in 1874
2) Tobacco use was permitted
3) Originally, the year 1914 was derived from measuring the great pyramid in Egypt (See Watchtower publication The Divine Plan of the Ages pages 82-83)
4) Jesus died on a cross
5) Serving in the military was permitted as a conscientious objector
6) It was okay to celebrate Birthdays
7) All righteous go to heaven
8) It was okay to celebrate Christmas and Easter
9) Jesus was worshiped
10) 666 was the Papacy
11) All Christians were the faithful and discrete slave, not just 144,000
12) Blood transfusions were permitted
13) Jubilee for mankind begins at the beginning of the 1000-year reign of Jesus and lasts through the 1000 years.
14) Voting was not wrong
15) The Flag salute was not wrong
These are but a few of the doctrines formerly taught by the organization though the list is much longer. A reasonable question for the Jehovah’s Witness is, how could Jehovah accept the worship of these Christians and appoint them over all of His belongings in 1918? What makes this a pertinent question is the fact that if you are a JW and you make known that you believe any of these things today, you will be disfellowshipped, (Completely shunned) for believing them unless you keep these thoughts to yourself.
The fact is, if the founder of the JW organization Charles Taze Russell were alive today, he wouldn’t even recognize the organization that Jehovah’s Witnesses say in their own publications was and still is the only religion accepted by Jehovah God and Jesus Christ, otherwise known to JW’s as “the truth”.
Has Jehovah changed? Malachi 3:6 says “For I am Jehovah; I have not changed.” Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.” You and I both know that Jehovah has NEVER approved of or accepted false worship nor will He ever!
The Watchtower’s Revelation book page 209 paragraph 10 says: “By the 1870’s anointed Christians began to make determined efforts to disassociate themselves from the whorish ways of Babylon the Great. They abandoned false doctrines that Christendom had brought in from paganism and boldly used the Bible in preaching that the times of the Gentiles would end in 1914. The chief instrument of Babylon the Great, the clergy of Christendom, opposed these stirrings of restoration of true worship."
How could this be called “true worship” when you consider the aforementioned list which was still being taught in 1919 and especially when you compare it to what is taught now? The fact is, in the early 20th century before 1914 it was taught that the world would end and all Christians would be taken to heaven in October of 1914! (See Proclaimers book chapter 6 pages 61-62 under headings “Great Expectations” and “Brother Russell, Were You Not Disappointed?”) Obviously this “truth” did not turn out to be the truth after all. The doctrine that all righteous would go to heaven for the 1000 year reign of Christ didn’t change until the mid 1940’s. This was also when the doctrine of only 144,000 going to heaven and the no-blood doctrine was introduced. Fortunately the organization rid themselves of the use of tobacco in the 1970’s.
It’s interesting to note that the Watchtower had a few of these things in the list right in the early 20th century but left those truths during J.F. Rutherford’s Regime and never recovered them. (For more information on the false teachings of J.F. Rutherford just read his books in the Kingdom hall library. See a red book entitled Salvation pages 311-313)
If you have a copy of the Watchtower CD library then I’m sure you have noticed that it only goes back to 1950 for the Watchtower magazine and 1970 for the Awake magazine. This is by design! There are too many embarrassing changes which the governing body would rather not address. They have a tendency to sweep their mistakes under the rug, so to speak. If the Watchtower has had the truth through the years, then why the secrecy?
If you know someone in a very high position and can get a behind the scenes tour of the Brooklyn Bethel branch writing department as I have had on numerous occasions, then you may be able to see the CD that is available for the writing department, and the writing department only, which has every publication of the organization from 1879 to present. This is guarded very well. Why is this not available to you? Because the governing body knows that this would raise many unanswerable questions from the rank and file witnesses if they had these old publications at their disposal.
As of 2004 most congregations had started to purge some of the old C.T. Russell and J. F. Rutherford publications from their libraries at the governing body’s request through the Circuit overseer. A few of these books may still be in your Kingdom hall library. If so, I encourage you to read through them. Prayerfully examine the history of the organization and see what you find. If the organization is the truth, then you have nothing to fear. If you find that it’s not, then my prayer is you will be willing to make whatever changes are necessary.
It’s unfortunate that the majority of JW’s will never look into the old Watchtower publications (Pre-1950) to get the actual truth of what used to be taught and how some of the doctrines were developed. For example, where did the doctrine teaching that 1914 started the time of Christ‘s presence come from, and how was the year 1914 chosen? How did they come up with 607 B.C.E. as the destruction of Jerusalem when all historical evidence proves that this occurred in 587-586 B.C.E? Where did they get the doctrine that Jesus’ return is invisible instead of literal and visible as the Bible teaches? (Acts 1:11, Revelation 1:7.)
(Also see, “Is Jesus' Return Visible or Invisible?” within this blog.)
The answers to these questions are very interesting. Over the years, (even as recently as 2010) the Watchtower has had many, many changes of doctrine, particularly prior to the year 1950. JW’s call the old publications “old light” as opposed to “new light” or “brighter light” which is what they say the organization is teaching today. They base this statement on Proverbs 4:18 which says; “But the path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established” (NWT) While I do believe the light of truth gets brighter as time goes on, I have never seen in the Bible where truth changes. In other words, if you have truth, the light getting brighter does not negate what you knew before, but it adds to it. It actually sheds more light or more understanding upon the subject. The problem with the Watchtower is that they have abandoned many of their teachings all together and are teaching things now that are diametrically opposed to what they taught originally, yet they are still calling it “truth!”
An example of this can be seen in the Watchtower’s Revelation book entitled, “Revelation - It’s Grand Climax At Hand!” Following is a quote from chapter 6 page 31 paragraph 17 of this Revelation book:
“In his parable of the wheat and the weeds, Jesus foretold the time of darkness that would exist while Christendom reigned supreme. Nevertheless, through all the centuries of apostasy, there would exist individual wheatlike Christians, genuine anointed ones. (Matthew 13:24-29, 36-43) Thus, when the Lord’s day dawned in October 1914, there were still true Christians on earth. (Revelation 1:10) It appears that Jehovah came to his spiritual temple for judgment about three and a half years later, in 1918, accompanied by Jesus as his “messenger of the covenant.” (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 13:47-50) It was time for the Master to reject finally the false Christians and to appoint ‘the faithful and discreet slave over all his belongings.’—Matthew 7:22, 23; 24:45-47.”
In laymen’s terms this is saying that Jehovah and Jesus examined all Christian denominations for a period of three and one half years beginning in October 1914 and concluding in the Spring of 1918. During this period of “Judgment” they found only Jehovah’s Witnesses (then known as the Bible Students) doing God’s will. So at this time, Jehovah and Jesus - being pleased with what they saw in the organization - appointed the “faithful and discreet slave” over all “true” Christians.
As a side point, It’s interesting to note that today this “slave class” is known to JW’s as the remaining ones of the anointed remnant or the 144,000. These (144,000) are the only ones that have a “heavenly hope” according to the Watchtower. The Watchtower magazine shows that this group numbered 9986 in 2008, 10,857 in 2009 and 11,202 in 2010. Surprisingly, this number has been growing each year over the past decade, while according to Watchtower doctrine it should be shrinking each year. (See Watchtower 1/15/2000 Page 13 Paragraph 18) This remnant “faithful and discreet slave” has absolutely no input as to the beliefs and policies of the Watchtower organization. The organization is controlled entirely by the Watchtower’s governing body (7 men at the time of this writing January 2011) while allowing no input from the remnant of the 144,000 or anyone else. I may talk more about this in another discussion.
Please consider the following. What did Jehovah and Jesus observe when they examined all of Christendom in 1918? What set the Bible students, as Jehovah’s Witnesses were then known, apart from the rest of “false religion”? Especially when you consider that the following points were taught as “truth” by the Watchtower organization in 1918:
1) Jesus’ parousia (or invisible presence as taught by the Watchtower) began in 1874
2) Tobacco use was permitted
3) Originally, the year 1914 was derived from measuring the great pyramid in Egypt (See Watchtower publication The Divine Plan of the Ages pages 82-83)
4) Jesus died on a cross
5) Serving in the military was permitted as a conscientious objector
6) It was okay to celebrate Birthdays
7) All righteous go to heaven
8) It was okay to celebrate Christmas and Easter
9) Jesus was worshiped
10) 666 was the Papacy
11) All Christians were the faithful and discrete slave, not just 144,000
12) Blood transfusions were permitted
13) Jubilee for mankind begins at the beginning of the 1000-year reign of Jesus and lasts through the 1000 years.
14) Voting was not wrong
15) The Flag salute was not wrong
These are but a few of the doctrines formerly taught by the organization though the list is much longer. A reasonable question for the Jehovah’s Witness is, how could Jehovah accept the worship of these Christians and appoint them over all of His belongings in 1918? What makes this a pertinent question is the fact that if you are a JW and you make known that you believe any of these things today, you will be disfellowshipped, (Completely shunned) for believing them unless you keep these thoughts to yourself.
The fact is, if the founder of the JW organization Charles Taze Russell were alive today, he wouldn’t even recognize the organization that Jehovah’s Witnesses say in their own publications was and still is the only religion accepted by Jehovah God and Jesus Christ, otherwise known to JW’s as “the truth”.
Has Jehovah changed? Malachi 3:6 says “For I am Jehovah; I have not changed.” Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.” You and I both know that Jehovah has NEVER approved of or accepted false worship nor will He ever!
The Watchtower’s Revelation book page 209 paragraph 10 says: “By the 1870’s anointed Christians began to make determined efforts to disassociate themselves from the whorish ways of Babylon the Great. They abandoned false doctrines that Christendom had brought in from paganism and boldly used the Bible in preaching that the times of the Gentiles would end in 1914. The chief instrument of Babylon the Great, the clergy of Christendom, opposed these stirrings of restoration of true worship."
How could this be called “true worship” when you consider the aforementioned list which was still being taught in 1919 and especially when you compare it to what is taught now? The fact is, in the early 20th century before 1914 it was taught that the world would end and all Christians would be taken to heaven in October of 1914! (See Proclaimers book chapter 6 pages 61-62 under headings “Great Expectations” and “Brother Russell, Were You Not Disappointed?”) Obviously this “truth” did not turn out to be the truth after all. The doctrine that all righteous would go to heaven for the 1000 year reign of Christ didn’t change until the mid 1940’s. This was also when the doctrine of only 144,000 going to heaven and the no-blood doctrine was introduced. Fortunately the organization rid themselves of the use of tobacco in the 1970’s.
It’s interesting to note that the Watchtower had a few of these things in the list right in the early 20th century but left those truths during J.F. Rutherford’s Regime and never recovered them. (For more information on the false teachings of J.F. Rutherford just read his books in the Kingdom hall library. See a red book entitled Salvation pages 311-313)
If you have a copy of the Watchtower CD library then I’m sure you have noticed that it only goes back to 1950 for the Watchtower magazine and 1970 for the Awake magazine. This is by design! There are too many embarrassing changes which the governing body would rather not address. They have a tendency to sweep their mistakes under the rug, so to speak. If the Watchtower has had the truth through the years, then why the secrecy?
If you know someone in a very high position and can get a behind the scenes tour of the Brooklyn Bethel branch writing department as I have had on numerous occasions, then you may be able to see the CD that is available for the writing department, and the writing department only, which has every publication of the organization from 1879 to present. This is guarded very well. Why is this not available to you? Because the governing body knows that this would raise many unanswerable questions from the rank and file witnesses if they had these old publications at their disposal.
As of 2004 most congregations had started to purge some of the old C.T. Russell and J. F. Rutherford publications from their libraries at the governing body’s request through the Circuit overseer. A few of these books may still be in your Kingdom hall library. If so, I encourage you to read through them. Prayerfully examine the history of the organization and see what you find. If the organization is the truth, then you have nothing to fear. If you find that it’s not, then my prayer is you will be willing to make whatever changes are necessary.
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