Would the WT$ outright lie? (page 5)

*** w60 11/1 p. 648 Christians—Spectators or Participants? ***
Today, hundreds of thousands of Jehovah’s witnesses have responded to Jesus’ command to preach the Kingdom good news from house to house.

Anyone know the verse where Jesus commands us to preach from house to house??

Actaully, Jesus doesn't say that at all, the only refernce Jesus has of "house-to-house" is :

Luke 10: 5-7

5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

Notice the "DO NOT..." part?

Interesting eh?

peacedog

PSac: Great point. Not only is the statement in the WT magazine a blatant lie (since Jesus never commanded anyone to preach from house to house), but Jesus actually said the opposite!

WT$ said: Jesus commanded us "to preach the Kingdom good news from house to house."

Jesus said: "Do not keep moving from house to house" (NASB)

AnnOMaly

This is one of AuldSoul's favorites (taken from HERE).

"In Golden Age January 4, 1922, we find a grand publicity announcement about Rutherford giving the Millions speech at the Hippodrome in New York City to a standing-room-only crowd. But, uncharacteristically, this time there is a transcribed excerpt of the talk itself included. In this talk Rutherford FLAT OUT LIED."

'For this reason,' it says, 'Bible Students for more than forty years past have called attention to the fact that 1914 would mark the beginning of great trouble and distress on the earth.'

Of course, anyone who knows their BS/JW history knows that for nearly forty years before 1914, Bible Students believed 1914 would mark the end of great trouble and herald in the Millennium of peace.

peacedog

Thanks AnnOMaly.

>> "For this reason Bible Students for more than forty years past have called attention to the fact that 1914 would mark the beginning of great trouble and distress in the earth." (Golden Age, Jan 4,1922)

Yep. Blatant lie.

Forty years prior to 1922 was 1882. At that time (and right up until 1914/15, which proved their prophecy false) the WT$ claimed that 1914 would mark the END of the time of trouble, not the BEGINNING:

"We see no reason for changing the figures – nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God’s dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble." (WT Reprints, 7/15,1894, p.1672)

DrJohnStMark

So I think they would and they do. Perhaps telling outrageous (outrighteous?) lies is intentional tactics. With those obvious lies they smoke out independent-thinking individuals who would be difficult to control and a threat to the mindless flock. Just read your Machiavelli.

TD

Here's one of my favorites:

"If you are inclined to dismiss all of this as pie in the sky, too good to be true, pause again and reflect. In addition to the features of the composite sign of Christ Jesus' presence there is Bible chronology that pointed to 1914 as the beginning of his presence. Jehovah's Witnesses published the date 1914 as a significant year in the development of Jehovah's Kingdom rule of the earth, doing so in the Watch Tower magazine of July 1879. Many historians and observers of world affairs have noted that the year 1914 ushered in an entirely different and significant period in human history, as the accompanying box indicates." --Awake! March 22, 1993 p. 10

There's so much wrong with this quote, that it's difficult to separate the outright lies from the deliberate misdirections. (Which arguably constitute a form of lying.)

Lie #1 Jehovah's Witnesses (With an uppercase W) did not exist in 1914.

Lie #2 The July 1879 issue of Zion's Watch Tower makes no mention of the 1914, or the Gentile Times.

Lie #3 In the period referenced in this quote, (c. 1879) Bible Student chronology never "Pointed to 1914 as the beginning of his presence"

Lie #4 In the period referenced in this quote, 1914 was the point where God's Kingdom would actually be established on the earth, not a developmental point prior to that event.

Misdirection #1 In the period referenced in this quote, the "Composite sign of Christ's presence" was applied to a period prior to 1914.

Misdirection #2 "Jehovah's Kingdom rule of the earth" as Jehovah's Witnesses understand the term, was a concept developed during the years 1922-1925. It would have been an alien concept to the Bible Students prior to 1914.

Misdirection #3 The significance of 1914 as noted by historians and observers actually testifies to a failure rather than the success of Russell's predictions. 1914 was supposed to be the dawn of the Golden Age, not the year when conditions would get worse.

peacedog

Alright check this out. This one comes from the April 1, 1984 WT mag:

*** w84 4/1 p. 16 par. 5 Heed God’s Prophetic Word for Our Day ***

Today, Jehovah’s Witnesses point to the “sign” given by Jesus and look back upon 1914 as the year when his invisible presence in Kingdom power became a reality. But how could they have had advance knowledge of such a momentous event? Not because of extraordinary human wisdom. No, but because they have prayerfully studied the Scriptures, heeded God’s prophetic word and paid more than usual attention to what God’s Son foretold. (2 Peter 1:19; Hebrews 1:1, 2; 2:1) Grateful that Jehovah has ‘told them fresh things before they have appeared,’ the Witnesses are delighted to be spreading this knowledge earth wide.

Here the WT$ claims to have had "advance knowledge" of "1914 as the year when [Jesus'] invisible presence in Kingdom power became a reality".

They go on to say that "Jehovah has 'told them fresh things before they have appeared'".

But if we look at WT$ literature from the pre-1914 era we see that the WT$ had NO SUCH ADVANCE KNOWELDGE OF THIS SUPPOSED EVENT. Rather, prior to 1914, the WT$ taught that Jesus had ALREADY returned (in 1874) and had ALREADY assumed "Kingdom power" in 1978:

The Life-giver is present; and, since 1878, when he took his great power and began the exercise of his authority, none of his members need to sleep. (Thy Kingdom Come, 1891, p.240)

The year A.D. 1878, being the parallel of his assuming power and authority in the type, clearly marks the time for the actual assuming of power as King of kings, by our present, spiritual, invisible Lord–the time of his taking to himself his great power to reign, which in the prophecy is closely associated with the resurrection of his faithful, and the beginning of the trouble and wrath upon the nations. (The Time Is At Hand, 1902, pg.239)

Another blatant lie by the supposed "true religion"....

TD

They go on to say that "Jehovah has 'told them fresh things before they have appeared'"

JW writers are so thoroughly entrenched in the idea that they had advance knowledge, that they create a situation that is actually humorous in a sad sort of way.

For example, according to The Watchtower, who knew about Christ's enthronment in 1914?

"In 1914 was the time for God to give the kingdom to his faithful Son, "whose right it is," and for the Son to come into the kingdom in fulfillment of the covenant with his forefather David." (The Watchtower December 15, 1950 p. 513)

Jehovah and Jesus obviously knew. From a Witness perspective, that's pretty much a no-brainer.

"The angels in heaven were perfectly aware of those events in 1914" (Ibid)

The angels in heaven knew. --Another no-brainer.

"By his acts since A.D. 1914 Jesus Christ could never be accused of being a pacifist. Why not? Because since that date Satan the Devil and his demons have been cast out of heaven and he has come down to our earth with great wrath, knowing that now he has a short time." (The Watchtower February 1, 1951 p. 72)

Satan and his demons couldn't help knowing because Christ's first act as King was to immediately "Show them the door."

"So 1914 was not a time for the Gentile nations to rejoice at Jehovah's assuming of his ruling power over the earth and the birth of the kingdom of his Christ. They became wrathful. The events of history show they became so right at the crucial date of 1914." (The Watchtower, December 15, 1950 p. 514)

All the nations of earth knew about it too. --Made them real mad.

"The chasm pictures God's judgment, which cannot be reversed and which divides the two classes. It forbids any mercy or relief to Christendom. She is abandoned since making her decision following World War I. She then decided against God's established kingdom and favored the international conspiracy for ruling the earth by human agents in defiance of His rightful sovereignty and in opposition to his King Jesus Christ, whom he put on the throne in 1914 to rule amidst his enemies." (The Watchtower March 1, 1951 p. 151)

Christendom was a little slower than the others, but she found out about it right after the Great War.

In this imaginary little world of theirs, the Bible Students were actually the only ones that didn't know about Christ's enthronment in 1914. They didn't figure it out until a decade or so later.

Would the WT$ outright lie?

teel

peacedog

PSacramento

peacedog

AnnOMaly

peacedog

DrJohnStMark

TD

peacedog

TD

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