According to a new "Bible Questions Answered": " The wild beast with seven heads introduced at Revelation 13:1 represents the worldwide political system."
I know that they have quietly been backing away from the UN identification for awhile. Is this feature on jw.org a new official teaching, or just a spin for the sake of the public?
Seven Headed Wild Beast officially no longer represents UN?
by donuthole 45 Replies latest jw friends
-
donuthole
-
galaxie
There can be no more "world wide political system" than the united nations. The clue is in the name, they can't really recant on that or; can they???
-
Gopher
In the quote box below I pasted what the WTS had taught about the 7-headed beast. It is from page 235 of the "Revelation Climax" book. It says that the UN is an "eighth king" that springs from and derives its power from the 7, the 7 representing the motley collection of world rulerships currently in existence.
I see no change from that in the jw.org quote you posted.
"And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also itself an eighth king, but springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction.” (Revelation 17:11) The symbolic scarlet - colored wild beast “springs from” the seven heads; that is, it is born from, or owes its existence to, those heads of the original “wild beast . . . out of the sea,” of which the scarlet-colored wild beast is an image. In what way? Well, in 1919 the Anglo-American power was the ascendant head. The previous six heads had fallen, and the position of dominant world power had passed to this dual head and was now centered in it. This seventh head , as the current representative of the line of world powers, was the moving force in establishing the League of Nations and is still the major promoter and financial support of the United Nations. Thus, in symbol, the scarlet-colored wild beast—the eighth king—“springs from” the original seven heads. Viewed in this way, the statement that it sprang from the seven harmonizes well with the earlier revelation that the wild beast with two horns like a lamb (the Anglo-American World Power, the seventh head of that original wild beast) urged the making of the image and gave it life.—Revelation 13:1, 11, 14, 15.
-
DesirousOfChange
Double-speak.
UN -- a rose by any other name -- represents 192 political nations (worldwide political system).
Sounds less alarming to finger point at "politicians" than a "peace-keeping" organization.
Political correctness, WTS style.
Doc
-
ldrnomo
Yes they must now be careful. They don't want the United Nations turning on them.
-
heathen
I agree with DOC , they are still trying to cover up their UN NGO affiliation and are not condemning the UN as they did as being the disgusting thing causing desolation , a false hope of peace , I wonder if they still use the library and UN ships for relief in disaster regions . I thought they toned it down just prior to being found out . Granted the eighth king is probably the crown in britain anyway , the common view of what's going on is that the brits run the banking and money system whilst the US is the military backing of what the bankers want to do and the vatican is there for a spiritual center of which there are a billion catholics in the world so they get big support from that . In reality tho the RCC is involved in drug money laudering with the royals and the US politicians . I actually thought they were on to something there but so far the RCC or whore of babylon and it's affiliates are still allowed members of the UN and there has been no attempt to destroy it on the grounds of organized crime or anything else ...
-
snare&racket
And so it begins....... next district assembly..... "it isnt the UN its world governments", eveytime one attacks them, they can claim it is fulfillment of prophecy.
-
KateWild
The teaching is deliberately convoluted. There is the wild beast and the image of the wild beast
Wild Beast = political powers
Image of the wild beast = league of nations then UN
Wild Beast = Rev 13:1,2
And it* stood still on the sand of the sea. And I saw a wild beast+ ascending out of the sea,+ with ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns ten diadems,* but on its heads blasphemous names. 2 Now the wild beast that I saw was like a leopard, but its feet were like those of a bear, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon+ gave to the beast its power and its throne and great authority.+
Image of the wild beast = Rev 13:14,15
It misleads those who dwell on the earth, because of the signs that it was permitted to perform in the sight of the wild beast, while it tells those who dwell on the earth to make an image+ to the wild beast that had the sword-stroke and yet revived.+ 15 And it was permitted to give breath* to the image of the wild beast, so that the image of the wild beast should both speak and cause to be killed all those who refuse to worship the image of the wild beast.
-
SAHS
You have to understand that there are two beasts involved here: (1) the “Seven-Headed Wild Beast,” and (2) an “image of the wild beast,” which is the bright-red, scarlet-colored beast that has seven heads and ten horns, the “eighth king, but springs from the seven,” and which supposedly represents the UN organization.
According to the WT’s unique eschatology, the seven heads of the worldwide political conglomerate will give their power to this “image” of the beast (the “eighth king,” or “scarlet-colored wild beast,” the UN), enabling it to turn on Babylon the Great through its political member nations. In reality, this seven-headed, scarlet-colored “image” of the seven-headed political wild beast are in effect really the same thing – the UN (“image”) is just a representation of the collective world powers/governments. It’s just a matter of semantics.
Although, of course, it’s rather ridiculous to predict that all the world’s governments will completely get rid of their religions. By far most of the world’s population is religious, and the USA itself, which is currently considered the greatest superpower, is by far comprised of Christian citizens. And what do all the US presidents say at the end of their speeches? . . . “And may God continue to bless America.” And what does it say on US currency? . . . “In God we trust.” So now matter what kind of Harry-Potter-like beasts anyone speaks of, I don’t think worldwide religion is going anywhere soon. (If anything, just more melding and morphing in the great human cauldron of childish nitwittery.)
-
sir82
Yeah, you got to keep your wild beasts straight!
As far as I recall, the "7 headed wild beast" has always been "political powers" in general, and the "image of the wild beast" has always been the UN.