Good Thread!
First of all, here are some Watchtower Quotes that show that they did claim to be a PROPHET:
The Watchtower June 1st 1917 Issue, Page 6091:
....Truly there lived among us in these last days a prophet of the Lord.... his works remain an enduring witness to his wisdom and faithfulness!
The Watchtower April 1st 1933 Issue, Page 99:
"The Lord makes clear in his due time. And he usually reveals the same to his people by having them performing something in fulfillment of the prophecy and then discloses to his faithful the meaning thereof."
"CHILDREN" Book (1941), Page 214:
John, dear, don't you think we should have The Watchtower and study it regularly, that we might be informed of the unfolding of Jehovah's prophecies?
The Watchtower April 15th 1952 Issue, Page 253:
Aids for Understanding Prophecy
19. When may prophecies be understood? The Lord said to Daniel, "O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end." (Dan. 12:4, AS) This indicates that the further fulfillments of the prophecies are sealed until the physical facts appear that begin to fulfill them. So the rule seems to be reasonable and certain that prophecies cannot be understood until they are in the course of fulfillment or until they have been fulfilled. Jehovah as the great Interpreter makes known the meaning of his revelations in his due time, and speculation by men cannot bring to light the true meaning of prophecy before time. Jehovah has provided a channel, the "faithful and discreet slave" class, who are given spiritual "food at the proper time", and this spiritual food includes among other things the understandings of the prophecies in the course of their fulfillments. (Matt. 24:45, NW) Jehovah's witnesses themselves are not nor can they be interpreters of prophecies. But as fast as the "superior authorities" Jehovah and Christ Jesus reveal the interpretations through their provided channel that fast do God's people publish them the world over to strengthen the faith of all lovers of righteousness.
PROPHESYING TODAY
20. Since Joel 2:28, which has its complete fulfillment after 1919, foretells that God will pour out his spirit upon people of all kinds and "your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions", in what sense then do Jehovah's witnesses prophesy today? Jehovah's people confess no powers of inspiration today. However, they do pray continually for more of God's holy spirit to understand the many prophecies already uttered and preserved for the final preaching work which Jehovah's witnesses are now undertaking. They know that the inspired infallible Scriptures of prophecy will be fulfilled toward them correctly. They diligently study the visions and dreams of God's faithful men of old. They can quote and copy the Scriptures of God's inspired men and can apply them according to the facts. They can observe how God interprets them by Christ Jesus through the events and facts that he causes to appear. They are then faithful in publishing and preaching the revealed prophecies to the utter ends of the earth. The twentieth-century preaching prophets of Jehovah are the ones who are running to and fro over the Bible to gain knowledge of the divine pronouncements which is on the increase.-Dan. 12:4.
The Watchtower January 15th 1959 Issue, Pages 39 to 41:
Down with the Old - Up with the New!
....but, Who will be Jehovah's prophet to the nations, to speak to them everything that He should command? Who will be the modern Jeremiah? .... So who will prophesy with his message in this time of the end of the nations of this world? .... How was the question answered? .... The fact that decides the answer to the question is, not, Do all the clergy of Roman Catholicism and of Protestantism agree that Jehovah's witnesses have been and are God's prophet to the nations? but, Who discerned the divine will for Christians in this time of the world's end and offered themselves to do it? Who have undertaken God's foreordained work for this day of judgment of the nations? Who have answered the call to the work and have done it down till this year 1958? Whom has God actually used as his prophet?
14. By the historical facts of the case Christendom is beaten back in defeat. Jehovah's witnesses are deeply grateful today that the plain facts show that God has been pleased to use them. .... It has been because Jehovah thrust out his hand of power and touched their lips and put his words in their mouths....
The Watchtower June 15th 1964 Issue, Pages 365-366:
THE KINGDOM'S ESTABLISHMENT
22. As Jehovah revealed his truths by means of the first-century Christian congregation so he does today by means of the present-day Christian congregation. Through this agency he is having carried out prophesying on an intensified and unparalleled scale. All this activity is not an accident.
Jehovah is the one behind all of it.
The abundance of spiritual food and the amazing details of Jehovah's purposes that have been revealed to Jehovah's anointed witnesses are clear evidence that they are the ones mentioned by Jesus when he foretold a "faithful and discreet slave" class that would be used to dispense God's progressive revelations in these last days. [....]
23. The holy spirit of Jehovah is working mightily today! How thankful we should be for the provision God has made of this slave class, the modern spiritual remnant, as they faithfully dispense the revealed truths of Jehovah! With these rich truths to light the way, Christians do not grope in this dark, jungle-like world as do the masses of people in Christendom and heathendom alike. To the contrary, Jehovah's faithful witnesses have been progressively brought to an understanding of Jehovah's purposes, which are clearer now than ever before in history. Their organization, being patterned after the first-century Christian congregation, is blessed by Jehovah. He has prospered their work of preaching "this good news of the kingdom" in 194 different lands to date. Each year they gather into the organization tens of thousands of new ministers, clearly a product of Jehovah's spirit operating through his invisible King-Son and his angelic representatives, then through his faithful slave class on earth today.-Matt. 24:14.
The Watchtower October 1st 1964 Issue, Page 601:
Pay Attention to Prophecy
....for God has on earth today a prophetlike organization, .... Jehovah's anointed witnesses on earth.
"The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah" Book (1971 Edition), Pages 56-59:
"Ezekiel was not raising himself up as a prophet and presuming to speak in the divine name. He was really a prophet sent by the Most High God...Not alone were the inspired words of Ezekiel prophetic, but he himself was a prophetic figure in his action, as is later shown on occasions. (Ezekiel 24:24) Since Ezekiel himself was a 'portent,' or 'sign' (AV), of someone to come, and since he was not a type or prophetic figure of Jesus Christ, whom did the prophet Ezekiel typify in carrying out his divine commission?"
"Here, then, since 1914, and particularly since the year 1919, after World War I had ended, we should look for the modern-day counterpart of the prophet Ezekiel. Who is Ezekiel's present-day counterpart, whose message and conduct correspond with that of that ancient prophet of Jehovah? Of whom today was he a 'sign' or 'portent'? Not of some individual man, but of a group of people. Being made up of a unified company of persons, the modern Ezekiel is a composite personage, made up of many members, just the same as the human body is."
"So it is with the modern-day counterpart of Ezekiel: it is, not one person's body, but a composite body, made up of many members. All the members were together to do the will of Jehovah, who is the Creator of this modern 'Ezekiel.' Who, then, are the group of persons who, toward the beginning of this 'time of the end,' were commissioned to serve as the mouthpiece and active agent of Jehovah? In order to determine this, check the history of 1919, the first postwar year after the first world war."
Page 62:
"They were a small minority group of men and women who had dedicated themselves to Jehovah as God by following in the footsteps of his Son Jesus Christ. To give public evidence of this dedication to Jehovah, they had undergone water baptism just as their Leader Jesus Christ had done when he was immersed in the Jordan river by John the Baptist."
Pages 70-71:
"At the time, they might not view or appreciate him as a prophet of Jehovah. But whether they heard him as such or refrained from hearing and paying attention to him, the occasion was to come when these rebellious people would 'know also that a prophet himself happened to be in the midst of them.' Jehovah would confirm him as a prophet before them by causing what Ezekiel prophesied to come true...Likewise it was a trying mission upon which the modern Ezekiel class was sent, to religious people of the same type as those in Ezekiel's day.
But regardless of how Christendom views or regards this group of anointed witnesses of Jehovah, the time must come, and that shortly, when those making up Christendom will know that really a 'prophet' of Jehovah was among them...Since the year 1919 C.E. the anointed remnant of Jehovah's witnesses have found it to be just like that as they have spoken fearlessly the word of Jehovah in the midst of Christendom."
The Watchtower August 1st 1971 Issue, Page 467:
"Then we should expect them to have Gods prophetic truths. Does the evidence show this? Let us examine what Jehovah's witnesses have been saying down through the years and compare it with what has been said by the political, religious and commercial leaders of this system of things. Who has told the truth? Who today deserve our confidence as they tell of events to come in the very near future?"
The Watchtower March 15th 1972 Issue, Page 189:
Wanted - a Messenger
WHAT IS REQUIRED OF GOD'S MESSENGER
....More accurately, was there any group on whom Jehovah would be willing to bestow the commission to speak as a "prophet" in His name, as was done toward Ezekiel back there in 613 B.C.E.? .... It is of importance to every individual on earth to identify the group that Jehovah has commissioned as his "servant" or messenger. We must recognize and understand the warning that he brings. We need to take action on the warning to safeguard our lives, for they are in a danger as grave as that of the lives of Jerusalem's citizens as that city neared destruction. For this reason forthcoming issues of The Watchtower will further discuss the identity and work of Jehovah's commissioned messenger as revealed in His vision to Ezekiel.
The Watchtower April 1st 1972 Issue:
Page 197:
'They Shall Know that a Prophet Was Among Them'
People today can view the creative works. They have at hand the Bible, but it is little read or understood. So, does Jehovah have a prophet to help them, to warn them of dangers and to declare things to come?
IDENTIFYING THE "PROPHET"
These questions can be answered in the affirmative. Who is this prophet? ... This "prophet" was not one man, but was a body of men and women. It was the small group of footstep followers of Jesus Christ, known at that time as International Bible Students. Today they are known as Jehovah's Christian witnesses. ... Of course, it is easy to say that this group acts as a "prophet" of God. It is another thing to prove it. The only way that this can be done is to review the record.
Page 200:
"This would indicate that Jehovah's Witnesses today make their declaration of the good news of the Kingdom under angelic direction and support...."
"....the nations will see the fulfillment of what these witnesses say as directed from the heaven"
"Holy Spirit -- The Force Behind the Coming New Order!" Book (1976), Page 148:
Chapter 8: "Spirit of Life from God Entered into Them"
"The holy spirit, which Jehovah prophesied that he would pour out in the last days, has not ceased to operate, for the remnant are still baptizing disciples of Christ in the name of that spirit...The announced purpose behind God's pouring out of his spirit upon all sorts of flesh was that the recipients thereof might prophesy. The facts substantiate that the remnant of Christ's anointed disciples have been doing that prophesying to all the nations for a witness in favor of God's kingdom."
The Watchtower October 1st 1982 Issue, Page 27:
Be as Men Who Are Facing Har-Magedon Unafraid
8. In behalf of such individuals who at heart seek God's rule instead of man's rule, the "prophet" whom Jehovah has raised up has been, not an individual man as in the case of Jeremiah, but a class. The members of this class are, like the prophet-priest Jeremiah, wholly dedicated to Jehovah God through Christ and, by the begettal of Jehovah's holy spirit, they have been made part of "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for special possession."
Here is what the Society says about False Prophets:
"Prophecy" Book (1929 Edition), Page 22:
"Therefore their speech shows them to be false prophets. While they claim to speak in the name of the Lord, their predictions neither come true nor tend to magnify Jehovah's name. According to the divine rule they prove to be false.... If these prophecies have not been fulfilled, and if all possibility of fulfillment is past, then these prophets are proven false."
The Watchtower May 15th 1930 Issue, Pages 154-155:
"If he is a false prophet, his prophecy will fail to come to pass"
"The difference between a true and a false prophet is that the one is speaking the word of the Lord and the other is speaking his own dreams and guesses"
"The true prophet of God today will be telling forth what the Bible teaches, and those things that the Bible tells us are soon to come to pass. He will not be sounding forth man-made theories or guesses, either his own or those of others"
"This text proves again that those men who foretell things out of harmony with the Bible statements are false prophets. In 1914-1918 these same three classes told the whole world that the great World War would end all wars and make the world safe for democracy; and that the young men who died on the field of battle would die sacrificial deaths as did Jesus and would go to heaven. Their prophecies did not come true. Therefore they are false prophets; and the people should no longer trust them as safe guides."
The Watchtower February 1st 1956 Issue, Page 88:
Cautious as Serpents Among Wolves
45. We dare not lie against God's Word, adding to it or taking away from it, reading into it what it does not say and denying, passing over or explaining away what it does truthfully say. "Every word of God is tried:.... Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." (Prov. 30:5, 6, AS) We may not tell untruths in his name, for that puts God in the light of a liar. "Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar." (Rom. 3:4, NW) In Jeremiah's day the false prophets prophesied lies in Jehovah's name and lied against his purpose, foretelling in his name what he had not foretold. Therefore Jehovah was against them. He executed judgment against them at Jerusalem's destruction in 607 B.C. (Jer. 23:25; 27:15) Religious liars like them today cannot escape a like judgment but will meet a like end at Armageddon.
The Watchtower October 15th 1958 Issue, Page 613:
"'Sometime between April 16 and 23, 1957, Armageddon will sweep the world! Millions of persons will perish in its flames and the land will be scorched.' So prophesied a certain California pastor, Mihran Ask, in January 1957. Such false prophets tend to put the subject of Armageddon in disrepute."
Awake! October 8th 1968 Issue:
"True, there have been those in times past who predicted an end to the world', even announcing a specific date. Yet nothing happened. The end' did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying. Why? What was missing? ....Missing from such people were God's truths and evidence that he was using and guiding them."
"Paradise Restored To Mankind By Theocracy" Book (1972), Pages 353, 354:
"Jehovah, the God of the true prophets, will put all false prophets to shame either by not fulfilling the false prediction of such self-assuming prophets or by having His own prophecies fulfilled in a way opposite to that predicted by the false prophets. False prophets will try to hide their reason for feeling shame by denying who they really are."
Awake! June 8th 1986 Issue, Page 9:
"Would That All Were Prophets!"
You will be interested to learn that God has on earth a people, all of whom are prophets, or witnesses for God. In fact, they are known throughout the world as Jehovah's Witnesses.
Here are some of the Watchtower's replies to being a False Prophet:
The Watchtower January 1st 1969 Issue, Page 2:
Ever since 'The Watchtower' began to be published in July of 1879 it has looked ahead into the future.... No, 'The Watchtower' is no inspired prophet, but it follows and explains a Book of prophecy the predictions in which have proved to be unerring and unfailing till now. 'The Watchtower' is therefore under safe guidance. It may be read with confidence, for its statements may be checked against that prophetic Book.
The Watchtower November 1st 1972 Issue, Page 644:
"Does this admission of making mistakes stamp them (the Watchtower Society) as false prophets? Not at all, for false prophets do not admit to making mistakes."
The Watchtower May 15th 1976 Issue, Page 297:
They (the Governing Body) do not claim infallibility or perfection. Neither are they inspired prophets.
Reasoning From the Scriptures Book (1985 and 1989 Editions), Page 136:
False Prophets
Have not Jehovah's Witnesses made errors in their teachings?
Jehovah's Witnesses do not claim to be inspired prophets. They have made mistakes. Like the apostles of Jesus Christ, they have at times had some wrong expectations.-Luke 19:11; Acts 1:6.
Awake! March 22nd 1993 Issue, Pages 3-4:
"Why So Many False Alarms?"
Jehovah's Witnesses, in their eagerness for Jesus' second coming, have suggested dates that turned out to be incorrect. Because of this, some have called them false prophets. Never in these instances, however, did they presume to originate predictions 'in the name of Jehovah.' Never did they say, 'These are the words of Jehovah.' The Watchtower, the official journal of Jehovah's Witnesses, has said: "We have not the gift of prophecy." (January 1883, page 425) "Nor would we have our writings reverenced or regarded as infallible." (December 15, 1896, page 306) The Watchtower has also said that the fact that some have Jehovah's spirit "does not mean those now serving as Jehovah's witnesses are inspired. It does not mean that the writings in this magazine The Watchtower are inspired and infallible and without mistakes." (May 15, 1947, page 157) "The Watchtower does not claim to be inspired in its utterances, nor is it dogmatic." (August 15, 1950, page 263) "The brothers preparing these publications are not infallible. Their writings are not inspired as are those of Paul and the other Bible writers. (2 Tim. 3:16) And so, at times, it has been necessary, as understanding became clearer, to correct views. (Prov. 4:18)"-February 15, 1981, page 19.
