WT Flip-Flops on Jesus’ Inspection… Was it in 1918 or 1919?... Did the WT PASS or FAIL?

by Alfred 78 Replies latest watchtower bible

• 

  Alfred

  This is utterly ridiculous…

  The more I research this particular subject, the more flip-flops I uncover. It seems the FDS can’t even make up their minds regarding what happened in 1918 (or should I say 1919?). As a matter of fact, they can’t even decide what year Jesus’ alleged “Inspection” took place or even what the immediate outcome of said inspection turned out to be.

  Here’s a quick list of references I looked up early this year when I was trying to sort out all the contradictions regarding this inspection:

  Watchtower May 15, 1951 page 303

  Inspection year : 1918 Result: Failed Inspection

  Watchtower November 1,1955 page 633

  Inspection year : 1918 Result: Passed Inspection

  Watchtower January 15, 1960 page 47

  Inspection year : 1918 Result: Passed Inspection

  Watchtower February 1, 1972 page 79

  Inspection year : 1918 Result: Failed Inspection

  God’s Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached (1973) page 231

  Inspection year : 1919 Result: Failed Inspection

  Yearbook 1975 page 87

  Inspection year : 1918 Result: FailedInspection

  Watchtower September 15, 1983 page 20

  Inspection year : 1919 Result: Passed Inspection

  Watchtower March 15, 1990 page 14

  Inspection year : 1918 Result: Passed Inspection

  Watchtower May 1, 1993 page 17

  Inspection year : 1918 Result: Passed Inspection

  Isaiah’s Prohecy II (2001) page 396

  Inspection year : 1918 Result: Failed Inspection

  Watchtower March 1, 2004 page 17

  Inspection year : 1918 & 1919 Result: Passed Inspection

  Watchtower January 15, 2008 page 24

  Inspection year : 1918 Result: Passed Inspection

  Now, assuming the FDS finally decided to stick with 1918 as the actual year of this inspection and assuming they PASSED this inspection. It would behoove JWs to research exactly what was “spiritual food” the FDS was dispensing that year so they can decide for themselves whether or not the FDS in fact passed this so-called inspection. The following link would be a good start in this research…

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/206938/1/Finished-Mystery-1917-The-book-that-Jesus-approved

  I look forward to your comments on this subject as I believe this is one of the most significant doctrines that the FDS has contradicted themselves on…

  Thanks

  Alfred
• 

  sir82

  Is there anything in their wording which states or implies there were 2 inspections?

  Like, around here, if a restaurant fails when the health inspector comes thru, they get a 2nd chance.

  Maybe Jesus found raw chicken being stored above an uncovered pot of soup in 1918, but when he came back in 1919, all was well?
• 

  NVR2L8

  marked
• 

  Think About It

  Anyway, if anyone is interested in knowing the actual contents of this book (Finished Mystery), here are some bullet points I (Alfred) put together from some of the notes I took as I read the book:

  1. Charles Taze Russell is the faithful and wise servant (p.4)

  2. Jesus gave Russell the key to understanding God’s mysteries in the last days (p.6)

  3. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega in Revelation 1:8; 21:6 and 22:13 (p.15, p.318, p.336)

  4. The Adventist Nelson Barbour showed Russell Biblical proof that Jesus was present since 1874 and Russell found this evidence satisfactory (p. 54)

  5. As per Russell, there’s no need to learn the Hebrew or Greek languages to gain a correct understanding of the Bible since the Presbyterians and Methodists have good versions of the Bible at reasonable prices (p. 55)

  6. The remnant will be taken to heaven in 1918 (p. 64)

  7. The 7 messengers in Revelation are Paul, John, Ario, Waldo, Wycliffe, Luther and Russell (illustration after page 64)

  8. The 7 trumpets in Revelation 8:2 are the trumpets of the Lutherans, the Anglicans, the Presbyterians, the Baptists, the Methodists, the Evangelical Alliance and The Bible Students (chart after page 64)

  9. Jesus began his reign officially in 1878 (p. 66)

  10. 3-page list of Biblical texts which prove that Jesus’ second advent occurred in 1874 (p.68 – 71)

  11. The behemoth mentioned in Job 40: 15-24 is the stationary steam engine (p. 84)

  12. The leviathan mentioned in Job 41:2-19 is the locomotive (p.85)

  13. The valiant men in Nahum 2:3 are the locomotive conductor and the fireman (p.93)

  14. According to Exodus 28:1 and Numbers 4:46-48, the number of the great crowd will be approximately 411,840,000 (p.103)

  15. The horseman on the white horse in Revelation 6:2 is the personal representative of Satan: the bishop of Rome (p. 106)

  16. The stars that fell from the heavens in Revelation 6:13 refers to the meteor shower on November 13, 1833 which covered 11 million square miles. The symbolic fulfillment occurred when the bishops and priests lost their influence over the minds and conscience of the people (p.120)

  17. There is evidence that proves that the Palestine will be re-established in 1925 (p.128)

  18. The demons will invade the minds of the members of Christianity and will bring them to their destruction in 1918 (p.128)

  19. The earth was created 48,000 years ago (p.139)

  20. The “angel” mentioned in Revelation 8:5 is the Watchtower Society and the “incense vessel” is the book “Finished Mystery” divinely provided to humanity (p.145)

  21. According to Revelation 9:15, all of the 177,300,000 protestants on earth, who represent 1/3 of all Christians, will be destroyed in 1918 (p.164)

  22. The “Time of the End” started in 1799 (p.171)

  23. The “Great Tribulation” started in 1914 (p.178)

  24. Michael the Archangel is the Pope of Rome (p.188)

  25. The 2 wings of the woman in Revelation 12:14 are the Old Testament and the New Testament (p.191)

  26. England is a satanic country because it forcefully exports 5 million pounds of Opium to China each year (p.202)

  27. The Great Pyramid of Egypt confirms the fact that the time of Harvest has come (p.226)

  28. Revelation 14:20 provides us with the precise distance between Scranton, Pennsylvania (where this book was written) and Bethel in Brooklyn (where this book was printed) … 137.9 miles (p.230)

  29. The clergy are like dumb dogs because they prefer to remain silent rather than accept one single “Truth” from Russell’s precious writings (p.238)

  30. The republics will disappear in the Fall of 1920. Every nation will cease to exist as they get swallowed up by anarchy (p. 258)

  31. The “glory” of the angel mentioned in Revelation 18:1 enlightened to earth resulting in such great discoveries and inventions such as the electrical motors, airplanes, the Panama Canal, vacuum cleaners, the books from the Watchtower, etc. (p.273)

  32. The “voice out of heaven” mentioned in Revelation 18:4 is the voice of the Watchtower (p.276)

  33. According to Revelation 18:14, during the millennium, the clergy will have to work for a living. This means that each preacher in Christianity will have to spend 65 cents for an alarm clock (p.285)

  34. The God sitting on the throne in Revelation 19:4 is Jesus (p.290)

  35. God assumes full responsibility for the entire volume of Studies in the Scriptures (p.295)

  36. The Kingdom of a thousand years started in 1874 with the second coming of Jesus (p.301, p.386)

  37. According to Revelation 21:17, the number of sheep at the end of the thousand-year reign will be approximately 20.7 Billion (p.323)

  38. When Russell understood the full import of God’s Word, he took a firm stand. The spirit, power and influence of God entered him, never to leave (p.377)

  39. Ezekiel 5:2, 12, 16, 17 refers to the way in which Jerusalem was destroyed in 606BCE and 70-73EC and it also refers to the way Christianity is being destroyed between 1914 and 1918 (p.398)

  40. God’s Day of Vengeance started in 1914 and will culminate in 1918 (p.404)

  41. The literal fulfillment of Ezekiel occurred in 1898 when a miller, who publicly thanked the Virgin for dear bread, literally threw gold and silver at a crowd in the streets in a vain attempt to pacify them. But they demanded his life and took it (p.407)

  42. According to Ezekiel 11:9, Christianity will literally fall in the hands of labor unions, socialists and anarchists (p. 425)

  43. The preachers of Christianity say things that originate in their own imagination (p.432)

  44. According to Ezekiel 17:22 and 20:42, Zionism and Judaism will proper on Earth as their leaders will be Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and others upon their resurrection (p.450, p.462)

  45. The congregation mentioned in Ezekiel 23:46 are union workers, socialists, democrats and anarchists (p.480)

  46. In fulfillment of Ezekiel 24:15-19, God took away Russell’s desire for his wife by putting a spiritual plague over her which made her “dead” in the eyes of Russell (p.483, p.484)

  47. God will destroy all of the churches on earth including all of its millions of members in 1918. It is expected that this will occur on or around April 27, 1918 (p.485, p.513, p.530)

  48. All Jews will return to their native land according to God’s promise. Russell has been preaching the message Zionism since October 1910 (p.536, p.554, p.555)

  49. In 1878, during the First Resurrection, God raised up the members of the Body of Christ, the “stem of David” (p.539)

  50. According to Ezekiel 40:1, the establishment of the Kingdom on earth will occur 13 years after 1918 (p.569)

  This was great. This nutty stuff from 1917. No wonder the WTS wants to hide it's past teachings. Helps prove it is a false Prophet. The only thing Jesus would have found if he inspected the WTS back then was that they were bat-shit crazy.

  Think About It
• 

  MrMonroe

  I encountered the same problem when I was writing material for the Wikipedia article on the FDS. There was an additional problem too, in that Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, (1959, page 22) claimed the Bible Students were "tested" and "found fit" in 1879 to run a campaign leading up to expected events in 1914! Who tested Russell then? How do we know? If he and his magazine passed the test in 1879, why did Jesus inspect all religions in 1918?

  Here's the quote from that book:

  "... in many ways the evidence was beginning to accumulate that, of all the early voices heard, Jehovah had chosen the publication we now call The Watchtower to be used as a channel through which to bring to the world of mankind a revelation of the divine will and, through the words revealed in its columns, to begin a division of the world's population into those who would do the divine will and those who would not. For this reason 1879 was a turning point in the work. This little group, headed by C.T. Russell, had now been tested and had been found fit to undertake the great preliminary campaign leading up to the climax expected in 1914."
• 

  Alfred

  @sir82... no... according to every publication i've read thus far, there was just the one inspection (not 2)... and the fds has put themselves in a position where they can't even keep track of their own bs when trying to explain what supposedly happened during this alleged inspection. the march 1, 2004 watchtower might give the impression that there were 2 inspections (in 1918 ??and 1919) but it is merely referring to the 1 inspection which they claim (in this particular article) to have spanned those 2 years...

  @mr monroe... thanks for reminding us that 1874 was yet another year the fds claims as the year jesus inspected the watchtower... not only is this laughable doctrine is completely void of any biblical basis, it has been presented with so many continuously contradicting statements that the fds is finding it increasingly difficult to maintain it as a credible doctrine... i think this belief about jesus' inspection will eventually fade simply by mentioning it less and less.
• 

  the-illuminator81

  Awesome thread, I will keep this one in mind whenever the subject of GB authority comes up!
• 

  wobble

  They have hinted, I believe, that Rutherford and gang being banged up was because they were not fully approved by Jesus , but they cleaned up their act in some way just after release so Jesus thought "these guys are the dog's bollocks, I'll use them, as opposed to the Christadelphians who right now fit the bill far better".

  Have I got that right ?

  Thanks to all for the thread, maybe someone who has more ability than me could pull it all together in a little article that we could print off and give to JW's, no need for interpretation by ourselves, just the quotes really.

  And then ask them to explain the doctrine from the beginning, i.e from the scripture which mentions an inspection, how "coming to the Temple" can without doubt mean what they say, why that event should be placed in 1918 or 1919 etc etc.

  This is in fact their "foundation" doctrine, if they cannot prove it beyond doubt, then ALL the teachings and directives of the WT have no foundation and no meaning or power.
• 

  MrMonroe

  Much of Don Cameron's Captive of a Concept book deals with the problem of Jesus supposedly selecting the Bible Students when they were teaching as "truth" doctrines that were firmly rejected within a decade or two. They would say that Jesus saw past their failings and realised he could lead them to the truth. But why would he?

  Cameron argues it thus: (p.23)

  1. If Jesus did return in 1914, neither Russell nor Rutherford ever knew it. What are the chances that God would select such prominent men for his sole "channel of commuinication" but then never communicate to them that his Son had returned?

  2. The title of the Watchtower magazine (the magazine that had already passed the test, remember!) included the words "and Herald of Christ's Presence." Yet according to what they teach today, Christ wasn't present when the magazine said he was! Why why would God choose a magazine as his channel that lied even in its title?

  3. Since they believed Jesus had returned in 1874, it means they weren't watching for his return in 1914. Yet in Luke 12:37 Jesus said they would be "happy" only if "on arriving he found them watching for his return." But they weren't watching for his return in 1914 because they thought he'd returned 40 years earlier! In fact they were the only Christian denomination not waiting for his return.

  4. Luke 12:36 says "At (Jesus') arriving and knocking they mat at once open to him. But if he arrived and started knocking in 1914, how long did he have to knock before they realised he'd turned up in 1914?

  I wonder if they'd answer a Question From Readers on this one?
• 

  ProdigalSon

  This is what happens when you just make shit up as you go along. The Truth can expire or be retroactive.