"Revelation 16:2
And the first went, and poured out his vial (upon) INTO the earth. -Volume I (*) was distributed among those already under religious restraint.
And there fell a (noisome and) grievous AND NOISOME sore. -The book seemed to ecclesiastics like an evil and malignant ulcer, a painful, running sore, which eats, corrupts and destroys.
Upon the men which had the mark of the beast. -Roman Catholics.
And upon them which worshipped his image. -Protestants affiliated with the Federal Council of Churches.
Rev. 13:11; 13,14,15; 14:9,11; 15:2; 16:13; 19:20; 20:10; Matt. 24:24.
Another view of the book, from the standpoint of the clergy, is afforded by the plague of flies (Ex. 8:20-32.) It seemed to them like an old-time Egyptian curse, with which they were quite familiar, namely, one more of the Evangelistic firms already cursing society, and interfering with the regular clergy business. 'The Scriptural details are as follows: The arab filled the houses of the Egyptians, they covered the ground, they lighted on the people, the land was laid waste on their account. A biting, insidious creature, which comes like a dart, with great noise, and, rushing with great impetuosity on the skin, sticks to it most tenaciously. They boldly beset cattle, and not only obtain ichor (**), as other flies, but also suck out blood from beneath, and occasion great pain. They have no proboscis, but, instead, have double sets of teeth, like wasps, which they infix deeply in the skin; they greatly infest the ears of dogs. This genus is most impudently pertinacious in its assaults, spares neither man nor beast, gorges itself to bursting with blood, infusing an irritating venom at the same time. No idea can be formed of their obstinate rapacity. It is in vain to drive them away; they return again in the self-same moment, and their perseverance wearies out the most patient spirit.' (McC.) These flies, flying a short distance into the heavens, do their work around the dunghill of human tradition, but the collections of one of them recently amounted to $400,000 in eight American cities, so the business can be made a money maker by those willing to cater to the demand for sensationalism, and who have no hesitancy in repeating ancient blasphemies against God's holy name. These flies are called dog-flies, because they infest the ears of dogs; and when it is remembered that the Scriptures refer to the clergy as 'dumb dogs' (Isa. 56:10,11; Phil. 3:2) we can readily see the application. The clergy of an entire city will sit on a platform, facing virtually the whole population, and hear themselves called liars, hypocrites, false-alarms and other villainous names. But because they hope to get a few 'converts,' and therefore a few shekels for the 'sanctuary,' they will take it all meekly, and prefer to take it rather than humbly admit one item of truth in all Pastor Russell's beautiful writings. After the firm has left town, they frequently bemoan the treatment received and think longingly of the wherewithal taken by the fly that was not satisfied with mere ichor, but wanted the real blood. At this point it may be well to explain the plagues of frogs and lice. The former seems to represent the Old Theology Quarterly which Pharaoh found everywhere contaminating his kingdom, but which, at the hand of the Lord, suddenly died out completely. The latter seems to represent The Bible Students Monthly. There is no record that the plague of lice was discontinued, and even yet the Egyptians (people of the world) and Pharaoh (the Devil) and his magicians (the clergy) scratch their heads many a time, wondering how to deal with a plague which they cannot duplicate."
- The Finished Mystery, 1917, pp237-8, a Watchtower publication
Notes by Focus:
* Volume I means Millennial Dawn I / Studies in the Scriptures I, The (Divine) Plan of the Ages, 1886 (also 1891, 1895, 1898, 1901-20, 1923-7), which the Watchtower here claims with typical extreme presumptuousness is directly referred to in scripture.
** ichor is either a fluid that runs in the veins of the gods, or a watery, unpleasant discharge from a wound, growth or ulcer. How appropriate for the Watchtower to be ambiguous and use the term.
The whole text is full of fine "love" (tm Watchtower Society) towards Catholics (parts of the Great Whore, those bearing the mark of the beast), Protestants (daughter harlots) and all varieties of other people who are hated by the Watchtower (i.e. most everyone).
BUT .. who am I to argue that the Watchtower publications ("Old Theology Quarterly" and "The Bible Students Monthly") are as PLAGUES of FROGS and LICE - and the preaching work set out in "The Divine Plan of the Ages" etc. like a PLAGUE of particularly horrible, vicious, unpleasant, persistent FLIES ??
Verily, I tell you, today and yesterday the Watchtower does occasionally speak accurately (as here)! As they have said themselves:-
"A truth presented by Satan himself is just as true as a truth stated by God"
- Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, July 1 1879, p8
"these 'lying spirits' do sometimes tell the truth"
- 1913 Souvenir Notes of the Bible Students' Conventions, Asheville, NC, p275
"even liars will sometimes tell the truth."
- The Golden Age, Feb 2 1921, p260
But the Watchtower goes on to explicitly warn its followers - whose works it has itself likened to plagues of bugs and flies - what awaits them when the Day of Judgment dawns. God will spray the Jehovah's Witnesses with bug-killer, squash and swat and destroy them and not the innocent persons they have plagued and harassed.
Who are we to deny the words of the Faithful and Discreet (LOL!) Slave itself:-
"War from Heaven Brings Peace to Earth.. Men can spray a field with chemicals that kill weeds but spare crops; too bad they cannot spray cities with bombs that blow the bad to bits but leave the innocent (***) intact.. Men have a saying about 'dying with your boots on.' At Armageddon Jehovah God will grant their wish and let them 'die with their boots on.' He will allow them to build up to peak strength and go down fighting.. And what about Jehovah God? Does he prepare for Armageddon? Well, would you prepare to kill a fly (****)? Would you prepare to squash a bug (****)? Would you do calisthenics every morning for weeks to get in condition to swat a fly (****)? Would you train with barbells for months to make your muscles bulge and give you strength to step on a bug (****)? Would that be necessary?.. So let this old world die with its military boots on if it wishes, but let us live with our theocratic boots on, preaching the good news of peace and singing the praises of Jehovah God!"
- The Watchtower, July 15 1955, pp436-8
More Notes by Focus
*** Who gets to enumerate who is innocent and who is bad? Umm, the Watchtower ("exclusive channel" for communicating God's will, etc.)
**** But as we have seen above, the Watchtower has likened its own works to plagues of flies and bugs, the above text is truly indicative of what God has in store for those of the Pervert Class!
--
Focus
(Swine Class, as defined in The Finished Mystery p128)
Edited by - Focus on 10 February 2001 18:47:3