I posted this challenge yesterday to a seasoned JW on "Jesus Witnesses" Forum on Delphi who claims his religion is entirely biblical.
Please quote the full verses if you see biblical support for any of your organization's claims below.
1. Is it written or beyond what is written to say that Rutherford sounded the first trumpet in Revelation by giving a talk in Ohio in 1922?
2. Is it written or beyond what is written to say that the Creator has promised to bring about a peaceful and secure new world before the generation that saw the events of 1914 passes away?
3. Is it written or beyond what is written to say that the apostles went to heaven in the spring of 1918?
4. Is it written or beyond what is written to say that Jesus rejected all churches of Christendom in the fall of 1918?
5. Is it written or beyond what is written to say that Jesus appointed certain Bible Students in Brooklyn New York in 1919 to act as His Faithful Slave?
6. Is it written or beyond what is written to say that the heavenly class was numerically complete in 1935?
7. Is it written or beyond what is written to say that the Great Crowd of Revelation 7 was forming in 1935?
8. Is it written or beyond what is written to say that members of the Great Crowd are associated with an organization with headquarters in New York?
His response:
An answer to that first question can be found in the Watchtower magazine of 4/1/1990, page 31.
*** Questions From Readers
? When did the seven angelic trumpet blasts of Revelation begin to sound?
In Revelation chapters 8, 9, and 11, we read of seven angels who blew seven trumpets, heralding plagues of great intensity on portions of mankind. These represent proclamations of Jehovah’s judgments that have been publicized by Jehovah’s people throughout the time of the end starting notably with the Cedar Point convention of 1922.—See Revelation—Its Grand Climax At Hand!,chapters 21 to 23 and chapter 26.
The first four trumpet blasts expose the spiritually dead state of Christendom’s portion of “the earth” and “the sea,” as well as the fallen condition of the clergy and Christendom’s spiritual darkness.—Revelation 8:7-12.
History shows that the public exposure of these facts actually began before 1922. For example, the lecture “Millions Now Living May Never Die,” first delivered in 1918 and published in booklet form in 1920, told of Christendom’s failure and of the approaching end of this world. The Golden Age of September 29, 1920, plainly exposed Christendom as a fornicator, a lying fraud, and a misleader of the people.
Why, then, does the Revelation Climax book say that these four trumpets only started to be blown at the Cedar Point convention in 1922? Because it was then that the call went forth to “advertise, advertise, advertise the King and the Kingdom,” giving great impetus to the preaching activity. The November 1, 1922, issue of The Watch Tower, says: “The friends . . . took it as the keynote of the convention that the real privilege and duty of the consecrated now on earth is to advertise the presence of the Lord, the great King of kings, and that his kingdom is here, and that this is the most important thing for them to do.”
It should also be noted that while all four of these judgment messages have been publicized by Jehovah’s Witnesses since 1922, each in turn received a powerful impetus from the adoption of four resolutions at conventions held between 1922 and 1925. Tens of millions of copies of these resolutions were subsequently distributed in printed form, effectively exposing Christendom’s spiritually dead state.—See the Revelation Climax book, page 133, paragraph 15.
The final three trumpet blasts involve “woes.” (Revelation 8:13) They are different from the first four trumpet blasts in that they relate to specific events. The fifth trumpet blast is related to the release in 1919 of God’s people from “the abyss.” The sixth has to do with the “cavalry” and the massive international preaching campaign that began in 1922. The seventh is linked to the birth of God’s Kingdom in 1914.—Revelation 9:1-19; 11:15-19.
Each of these events brought woe to Satan and his world. The release of the anointed in 1919 from the abyss of inactivity stung Christendom’s clergy and demonstrated Jehovah’s total rejection of her. From 1922 down to today, the huge cavalry has killed Christendom, spiritually speaking, exposing her dead condition and warning of her coming destruction. And after the birth of the Kingdom in 1914, Satan was cast out of heaven, stirring up ruinous trouble among mankind. Soon the Kingdom will remove the seemingly stable human society Satan has built up (the earth), wiping out rebellious mankind (the sea) at Armageddon.—Revelation 11:17–12:12; 21:1.
At the Cedar Point convention in 1922, all three “woes” became evident to the world at large. The preaching campaign then initiated made it clear that “the locusts” were out of “the abyss” and the charge by the “cavalry” was under way. And the stirring call to advertise the King and the Kingdom was in full harmony with the seventh trumpet blast. The March 1, 1925, issue of The Watch Tower explained that events in 1914, 1919, and 1922 were foretold in Revelation chapter 12. This was a deeper understanding of the birth of the Kingdom, and it was faithfully publicized by Jehovah’s Witnesses. In addition, the announcing of this plaguing information received a major impetus from the adoption and subsequent distribution of powerful resolutions during conventions held from 1926 to 1928.—See Revelation—Its Grand Climax At Hand!, pages 147, 149, 172.
Hence, the blowing of the seven trumpets began in 1922 and got well under way during the 1920’s. Since then, Jehovah’s people have cooperated fearlessly with the angels in telling all mankind that Christendom is spiritually dead, her clergy are fallen leaders, and soon she and the rest of this satanic world will be destroyed.***
