This is from the Jan 1st 2008 Watchtower - "The First Resurrection Now Under Way ?"
10 Can we say more precisely when the first resurrection begins? An interesting clue is found at Revelation 7:9-15, where the apostle John describes his vision of "a great crowd, which no man was able to number." The identity of that great crowd is revealed to John by one of the 24 elders, and these elders represent the 144,000 joint heirs with Christ in their heavenly glory.* ( Luke 22:28-30; Revelation 4:4 ) John himself had a heavenly hope; but since he was still a man on earth when the elder spoke to him, in the vision John must represent anointed ones on earth who have not yet received their heavenly reward.11 What, then, can we deduce from the fact that one of the 24 elders identifies the great crowd to John? It seems that resurrected ones of the 24-elders group may be involved in the communicating of divine truths today. Why is that important? Because the correct identity of the great crowd was revealed to God's anointed servants on earth in 1935. If one of the 24 elders was used to convey that important truth, he would have had to be resurrected to heaven by 1935 at the latest. That would indicate that the first resurrection began sometime between 1914 and 1935. Can we be more precise?* For information on how we know that the 24 elders represent anointed Christians in their heavenly position, see Revelation—Its Grand Climax At Hand! page 77, published by Jehovah's Witnesses.
The real reason why this is important, is nothing to do with 1935 - it has to do with the demotion of the anointed to a group with "no special insight" and the promotion (or reaffirmation) of the Governing Body to having inside info from the dead!
Communication with the dead has always been a part of the Watchtower religion:
Clayton Woodworth claimed that Pastor Russell was still directing the Watchtower Society from beyond the grave:
"Pastor Russell was a man of unusual modesty. Great men usually are modest. The examination of the contents of this book will disclose the fact ... that the earthly creature made prominent therein above all others is the messenger of the Laodicean Church -- 'that wise and faithful servant of the Lord' -- CHARLES TAZE RUSSELL. ...[T]hough Pastor Russell has passed beyond the veil, he is still managing every feature of the Harvest work. 'The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society is the greatest corporation in the world, because from the time of its organization until now the Lord has used it as His channel through which to make known the Glad Tidings' " (Finished Mystery, 1917, pp. 5, 144).
But after Rutherford died, Woodworth denied believing the same thing with respect to him:
"Q. Do you subscribe to the doctrine that Mr. Rutherford is still supervising this organization? A. That Mr. Rutherford is still supervising this organization? Q. Yes. May I just supplement that and ask you if you agree with this doctrine as put forth by the Society, and correct me if I misstate it, as to the resurrection. A. I believe that Mr. Rutherford has been resurrected, but as far as his having control over the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, that would be silly" (Moyle Trial Transcript, 5/21/1943, p. 963).
It's good to know that there were still a few things that Woodworth found too "silly" to believe, even if it happens to be something he had believed earlier.
8 comments:
Along the same line, it is reported that Rutherford encouraged the flock to purchase a certain book written by an avowed medium. Supposedly this medium had been approached by a “repentant demon” who willingly divulged the conditions that existed on earth at the time of the flood. Does anyone remember the title of this book?
The title of this article is very misleading, to say the least.
Millions of people believe the Bible is inspired. God has used various ways to communicate with humans in the Bible record..
Why is it such a stretch to believe that Jehovah is using angels nowadays? Or that the head of the Christian congregation, Jesus, might be using resurrected holy ones.
I would say that GBL now has serious doubts about the Bible itself.
Sheeplike asks:
Why is it such a stretch to believe that Jehovah is using angels nowadays? Or that the head of the Christian congregation, Jesus, might be using resurrected holy ones.
It's a stretch to believe that Jehovah is using angels in light of the lengthy history of false prophecies that the JW organization has amassed. Dates such as 1914, 1918, 1925, 'within a few months' in 1941, 1975, within the lifetimes of those who saw 1914, within the 20th century, etc. have been advanced as the time for Armageddon, yet it has failed to come about. If Jehovah is using angels to provide information through his organization, why can't they get it right? If the organization is really getting information from angels, an impartial observer can only conclude that they must be fallen angels or demons - the only sort of angels who would deliver false prophecies.
And as far as Jesus using resurrected anointed ones for such a purpose, numerous Scriptures forbid any sort of communication with the dead - Deut. 18:10-12 comes right to mind, but there are others. And even if Jesus were using resurrected anointed ones to convey truths to the organization, the same question as above applies - why would the information they deliver be so grossly inaccurate?
Never mind, I found it. The title of the book was “Angels and women “It was recommended by the watchtower society in 2 Golden Age magazines. They endorsed the book and said it shed some "light" on the subject since it came from an 'honest' fallen angel who was there at the time. They therefore claimed to receive new "light" from a demon according to their own statements. I wonder how many of the flock ended up spiritually and / or mentally damaged by following this advice by God’s “mouthpiece”.
No matter how you look at it, we are in the last days.
The Watchtower articles I have seen mentioned the year 1975 as a possible time.
Concerning the day or hour, no one knows except the Father. Not even Jesus!
Good points,NeonMadman.
Sheeplike says:
The Watchtower articles I have seen mentioned the year 1975 as a possible time.
Very true, and the 1980 Watchtower acknowledged that that date was presented as 'more of a probability than a possibility'. Other predictions were actually advanced as certainties, such as the generation that saw 1914 mentioned in Awake magazines for many years as being the same generation that would see God's new order, presented as "the Creator's promise" and "Jehovah's prophetic word". The original 1914 chronology was presented by C.T. Russell as "God's dates, not ours." The "angels" who presented information such as this to the JW leadership for publication certainly could not have originated with God.
Even if we were to acknowledge that these dates were presented as mere possibilities (though the evidence is otherwise), it makes it obvious that what is presented in Watchtower publications is only the opinions of fallible men, and not "spiritual food" from God.
Sheeplike also said:
Concerning the day or hour, no one knows except the Father. Not even Jesus!
It's too bad the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses has been probably the worst violator of this text in modern history by their nearly incessant date-setting.
Wow, that gives new meaning to the word they use to describe themselves so often...."channel."
Dictionary.com: Channel: The medium through which a spirit guide purportedly communicates with the physical world. "
Post a Comment