“Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded YOU.. . .” (Mt 28:19, 20)
Short of the command to love one another as he loved us, is there a more important commandment from Jesus for Christians today than that found at Matthew 28:19, 20? Jehovah’s Witnesses no longer baptize their disciples in the name of the Father, Son and holy spirit, if the two baptismal questions asked of all candidates are anything to go by. But what about the commission to make disciples? They would answer that more than any other religion, they are doing this work in what they claim—without evincing even a shred of irony—is the greatest preaching campaign in history. (w15/03 p.26 par. 16)
Are Jehovah's Witnesses making disciples of Jesus or proselytes of JW.ORG? Are they like the scribes and Pharisees?
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you travel over sea and dry land to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him a subject for Ge·henʹna twice as much so as yourselves.” (Mt 23:15 NWT)
Or are they truly making disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ? If JW.ORG is anything to go by, it would seem the former is the case.
After decades of resisting the use of modern technology, the Governing Body did an about face recently and embraced the internet as a tool for proselytizing. To what use have they put it? Are they imitating the first century Christians and making the declaration of the Good News about Jesus their foremost mission? What is the core message of JW.ORG?
Speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus said: "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (Mt 12:34) JW.ORG speaks with a very loud and far-reaching voice. But it is the abundance of the heart of its producers that it speaks. What is its message?
A quick scan of the video portion of the site would indicate that the Governing Body have seriously dropped the ball when it comes to proclaiming the Good News. If you go to the Video on Demand section, you’ll see 12 categories. As you drill down into each, you will find that even those which promise to teach you Bible truths turn out to be more about Organizational activities or counsel on how to behave. Children, teenagers, and family members are taught what to do and what not to do. Now there is nothing wrong with helping people to learn good manners, respect for others and good, neighborly conduct. Learning what God wants of us from a moral perspective is also beneficial. But all that is a by-product of the good news of the Christ. It shouldn’t be the main subject of our teachings. What is increasingly evident is that the target audience for the video portion of JW.ORG are the rank-and-file members. The Governing Body is preaching to the converted. Its main message is one of obedience, but not obedience to Jesus Christ who is rarely mentioned except as an exemplar; someone to imitate. No, it is obedience to the Governing Body which is core to the message.
So meagre is the offering relating to actual Bible instruction that it is reduced down to two videos. Click on The Bible under the Videos on Demand Section to see for yourself. The first section is “Apply Bible Principles”—more self-help and “dos and don’ts” videos. The section labelled “Bible Teachings”, which one would expect from an evangelical organization to be the largest of all, consists of only four—that's right, 4!—videos. Even then, two of them relate to why we should study the Bible, not actual Bible teachings. In fact the only valid teaching in the entire section is the video, “Does God Have a Name?” The other offering is not really a Bible teaching at all: “A Tool to Help Us Explain Our Beliefs About 1914”.
What about the quality of the Bible instruction? The aforementioned video is an excellent case in point.
A Tellingly Weak Effort
An interesting choice of title, don’t you think? Not, “A Tool to Help Us Explain the Bible Teaching About 1914”. The producers give tacit acknowledgement that these are only “our beliefs” about 1914.
It is a short video; only 7:01 minutes. Not enough to adequately explain the 1914 teaching you might say, and you’d be right. The first half gives an abbreviated rundown of the application of the dream as it played out in Daniel’s day. The brother teaches that the seven times were seven years. This may be true, although there’s an argument that the seven times refer to seasons rather than years. What a “time” meant to a Babylonian or Jew in those days is not entirely clear. However, that is a small point.
It is at the 3:45 minute mark that the brother, in an attempt to prove that the prophecy has a secondary fulfillment, states something that is so totally untrue that it is hard not to come out and call it a blatant lie. I’m not imputing a bad motive to the actor, but that doesn’t mean what he says isn’t any less damaging to his credibility and that of the Organization producing the video.
What he states is “We know there was a larger fulfillment because Jesus himself spoke about it.” He then goes on to point to Luke 21:24 as proof. It reads:
“And they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations until the appointed times of the nations are fulfilled.” (Lu 21:24)
Do you see anything in those words to indicate Jesus is referring to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar some six centuries earlier? Read the context of Luke 21. What destruction is he referring to? One far in his past, or one yet to come? Even his choice of verb tense is future. He does not say that Jerusalem will "continue to be trampled", only that it "will be". Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus say Jerusalem was trampled on before his arrival, nor does he ever again speak of the "appointed times of the nations". So there is no indication as to when these appointed times began nor when they will end. There is no link whatsoever in Jesus' words to the Jerusalem that Nebuchadnezzar conquered.
Using Luke 21:24 to support the gross falsehood that Jesus spoke of a secondary fulfillment of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is pure fabrication. Additionally, this is the only scripture used in an attempt to support “our beliefs about 1914”. The video ends there with a promise by the brother to return. So like the household in the video, we are all left holding our breath and waiting for a real explanation of this strange doctrine.
There is still one more very odd thing about this video. Its title contains the promise that we are going to learn of 'a tool to help us to explain 1914'. Viewing the video, it is obvious that the brother is using a publication, but he never shows the cover nor reveals the title of the publication. I did a search on JW.ORG using 1914 as the search parameter but couldn’t find the publication he was using. So we have an instructional video to teach Jehovah's witnesses how to use "a tool" to help them explain 1914, but we never reveal the name of the tool, nor where to find it.
This video is such a weak attempt to prove the JW belief surrounding 1914 that one can't help but wonder if the publishers even believe it anymore. It would appear that they want to stay in the game, but don't want to show their hand so that they don't reveal they've been bluffing all this time.
For an in depth review of the doctrine, check out 1914—A Litany of Assumptions and Are You Able to Separate Scripture from Doctrine?
Archived Comments
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Comment by Buster on 2015-07-01 22:05:23
Brother I really believe Luke 21:24 explains everything and shows the way to 1914 ...... Wait I can't even joke about this, it makes no sense how the organization puts these two versus together, and wait I thought the whole dream was fulfilled at Daniel 4:28, I guess that was a long dream. I love if you look up jw and the whole Daniel tree thing, it says
In the Bible, trees are sometimes used to represent rulership.
So we are using Sometimes as all the time now, ah yes I see the light it all makes sense. :)
Comment by Buster on 2015-07-01 22:57:37
Great writeup as always
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2015-07-01 23:11:39
Thanks!
Comment by Claudelle on 2015-07-02 00:23:29
The whole thing is starting to look and sound so crazy and desperate, so utterly lost in stubbornness that they have gone beyond anything sounding remotely credible.
This surely can't go on. Can it?
Comment by Buster on 2015-07-02 06:02:28
I am this week gonna re-watch (yikes) all the jw broadcasts and see his many times they mention each name Jehovah, Jesus and The Governing Body, I am gonna make a chart. Yeah things might get real interesting real fast
Reply by eyeontorah on 2015-07-02 07:40:22
It wouldn't surprise me if the word organization is used more than any of those.
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2015-07-02 08:17:36
That's quite a task you've set for yourself. My hat's off to you. Please send us the chart to share with everyone.
Reply by Buster on 2015-07-06 14:21:36
I just put up the topic in discus the truth today, I re watched. Cutover and November in the past few days a number of times.
Comment by miken on 2015-07-02 06:39:24
The WTBS position is that the seven times of the dream are meant to represent 360 years each.
In Dan 4: 16, 24 the Aramaic word for "times" is Iddan . In the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (2900) Iddan is defined as time (general), period, span, year, era. Two basic meanings are equally a "point" in time or a "span" of time. The Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon as a definition of moment, situation, time, times. This word is also used at Daniel 2:, 8, 9, 21; 3:5, 15. So we cannot say with certainty how long the "seven times" were. The NASB translates seven times more accurately as "seven periods of time". The same would also apply to Dan 7:25 with reference to "time, times and one half of a time".
At Dan 4:34 "end of the days". the Aramaic is Yom "time" which is the equivalent to the Hebrew Yowm meaning day, or period of time. So to insist that the seven times of the dream are meant to represent 360 years each does not have a secure scriptural foundation. Clearly In Dan 4 the dream and it's fulfillment scripturally are seen to apply just to Nebuchadnezzar with the intent of demonstrating that , as he acknowledged in verse 37 that "those who are walking in pride he (God) is able to humiliate" among other things he also acknowledges.
With reference to Jesus words recorded at Luke 21:24 "Jerusalen will be trampled on by the nations" the "will be" in the Greek is esomai, meaning will be or shall come to pass, future tense, not a continuation of an already existing condition. So this can have nothing at all to do with the "seven times" of Dan 4 as believed by the WBTS.Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2015-07-02 08:19:41
Thanks for sharing that research with us, Miken.
Reply by Dawn Ann on 2015-07-02 13:19:23
This is a doctrine that doesn't make any sense at all, yet they continue to support it. Thanks Miken for the points made!!!
Reply by Edward Leach on 2018-07-15 19:46:00
Wow! Real Deep! I got to look into this and see it myself what you saying...
Comment by eyeontorah on 2015-07-02 07:54:46
Matt. 7:26-27.
" Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell-and great was its fall."
It's so weird seeing it now because I had so much faith in 1914. It made so much sense to me for so many years. But looking at it realistically, we see that the 1914 doctrine is based on the speculations of men. It isn't a doctrine based on the solid Word. It is a doctrine built on sand. As a result, it will fall. They're trying their best to keep the house standing. Sadly, the WT sticks to the speculations of imperfect men who are now dead and gone. But they have to. The organization's claim to be God's channel is cemented in the 1914-1919 time line. So if the 1914 doctrine falls, the house may follow.
Comment by noblemindedthinker on 2015-07-02 10:08:37
The WTBS rarely admits they were wrong. 1914 can't be spun into a new teaching in "new light" fashion like they do with other bible verses and, 'ahem, parables. When they got rid of the generation teaching in 1995 it had such a drastic effect on growth that they decided to bring it back, in overlapping form! Admitting they were wrong got people thinking about what else they might be wrong about. For a high control group that tells you to shun your own son and daughter that is the last thing they want!
Now that they are going full digital they can change their teachings year by year with no record and no accountability. Instead of admitting they were wrong about 1914 they will divert attention to something else while 1914 is increasingly ignored over time. Eventually they will have a new set of 'proofs' that they are the true religion and the control over their members will continue for the next generation of followers. In 10 years time 1914 will not be relevant to the indoctrinated. It's deceptive and dishonest.
Comment by Buster on 2015-07-02 12:35:37
I mention in the discus the truth forum, that I have a feeling , i mentioned to few brothers and friends that I feel in the next feel years they are gonna do change with something huge,. I mean with the last five years with the whole over lapping shenanigans , the whole we ARE now the faithful and discreet slave,, this year so far it seems about about almost ever mouth asking for money, in my heart of heart I feel something is brewing up With the Big O.
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2015-07-02 13:48:19
There does seem to be something in the air, doesn't there, Buster?
Comment by on 2015-07-02 14:23:47
I cringe when I get to the KH and see brothers wearing JW.ORG buttons. It's as if we've made this website our new electronic mascot. The comments of the friends at the meetings show where their spiritual priorities are, and Jesus isn't high up on the list. Jesus said that he was given "all authority in heaven and on earth", but we've somehow changed that to read, "some authority in heaven and on earth". The GB now seems to be in the driver's seat and they're taking us for a ride.
Reply by bobcat3 on 2015-07-02 16:45:02
I floated the idea of wearing a "Jesus saves" button to the KH (based on Mt 1:21; Ac 15:11; 16:31; Rom 10:9; 1Ti 1:15) to a few of the friends at the hall. I asked what kind of response they thought I might get. In each case there was an uneasiness. One MS simply walked away. I'm still thinking of the idea just for the reaction. I imagine such lapel pins could be nicely made somewhere (for less than an arm and a leg).
Its almost unreal, the attitude towards Jesus.
BobcatReply by Buster on 2015-07-02 17:11:32
That would be awesome. And I believe the reaction would be not so awesome. Jesus is the way, John 14:6 , so I don't know why people would gent bent out of shape, but you know they would, we had our convention bof jesus, so I assume another convention of him will be another 10/years from now.
Reply by Buster on 2015-07-02 17:12:45
I meant to say convention of Jesus, man typing on phones is horrible
Comment by brendaevans32 on 2015-07-02 17:16:12
Hello everyone
Thank you Meleti for another piece which encourages people to read, reason and think more.
I have been reading some of the links you kindly put into pieces, and of course, there is the overlapping message throughout, namely the interpretation of Scripture, interpreted by men.
I cannot count the times that I have heard the phrase, letting Scripture explain and define Scripture. Here is the best and clearer interpretations of Scripture, and how many times does it happen - it never lets you down.
On the other hand, our interpretation of Scripture is curtailed by our knowledge and bias. The example of 1914 serves as an example.
Which one would we follow reasoning on? Oh, hang on, let's just go and do a BSc in Rocket Science! Then we can answer this simple question.
But, more than anything, I would like to get back to your opening thoughts on the potential messages of a website that promotes the love and care and support of Jehovah, and His Son, Jesus. And, in one of the pieces I read, I opened up the Scripture at Matthew24:44-47. The priceless piece opens with those wonderful, beautiful but important words (and, let's face it, all that Jehovah and Jesus share with us are important, priceless and timeless) which I want to share with you: "On this account YOU too prove yourselves ready, because at an hour that YOU do not think to be it, the Son of man is coming."
How do you prove yourself ready? Is there a warning in there for those who are not Witnesses, like me? Is the Scripture just available for a select group of people?
When you consider that people out there are looking for eg End Times stuff on the net, and come across JW.Org, would they be satisfied with what they find if they just spend a fleeting moment one evening? Or is there something there which will hold them, encourage them to enter in and peer round, probe for information, help and find the supporting evidence so discernible in the Bible?
Scriptures like this can, should and help to encourage us to think about the Scripture and about questions such as - how do I do that? (Rather than when will the Son of Man come?)
I am not a Witness, and I certainly don't have the experience and know-how of the countless Scriptures which I regularly hear Witnesses refer to at the drop of a hat, but a few do stick in my mind these days - and one which I constantly think of is the encouragement to refine and reprove yourself. I know I am talking stuff which all of you will know and teach me about (which I am grateful) - but, following simply the words that Jesus shared with us, to prove yourselves (and ourselves) ready, obviously means taking in knowledge, and more and more knowledge which is proper, and accurate, then such work will keep us busy, on our toes, teaching us, constantly refining us to reveal so much more about what Jehovah is giving to us - that when Jesus does come, at the time appointed by Jehovah (and not by us), then can you even imagine just what and how we could please Him?
With that lovely and loving thought, I shall say cheerio for now.Reply by Skye on 2015-07-02 18:12:47
Rev 3:3 "Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you." So for those who are unprepared, the events leading up to Jesus return will be UNEXPECTED.
Taking in knowledge, therefore, is vital. 2 Peter 1:19 "We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." Without prophecy we would be in darkness - prophecy allows us to see what the future holds.
The prophet Hosea warned us not to be "destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hos 4:6)
John 8:12 "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'"
Comment by Kyp on 2015-07-02 20:19:51
Dear Meleti,
The brother uses the 11-01-2014 Watchtower. As far as I remember, you wrote an article about this Wachtower article and its strange fictive dialogue :)
Link to the Watchtower including the chart: http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/wp20141101/nebuchadnezzar-dream/
Brotherly Greetings in Lord Jesus
KypReply by Meleti Vivlon on 2015-07-03 07:41:30
That's right, I did. Two posts actually. (See Part1 and Part2) Thanks for reminding me. I hadn't made the connection because all I saw in the video was the chart, and that didn't ring a bell. My memory isn't waht it used to be.
It's odd, isn't it, that the video gives the viewer no hint as to the source of the material, even though the title promises that a tool will be revealed to help JWs explain this doctrine? Even if we went with a safe doctrine that we can agree is Scriptural, like the JW belief concerning the condition of the dead, the video is still baffling. I mean, if the subject were "A tool to help us explain the condition of the dead", I'd expect to watch it and learn what the tool was and where to get my hands on it. I'd expect to see scriptures that prove what the Bible says about the condition of the dead. I'd expect to watch the entire video and be convinced by the end of it as to exactly what we believed regarding the condition of the dead. I wouldn't expect a virtually scripture free, half-hearted attempt that left the viewer, as well as the actor playing the role of doubter, scratching his head in uncertainty come the end.
For an organization that boasts of its educational prowess, this video is a disgrace.Reply by mken on 2015-07-03 07:48:44
Perhaps they are expecting everyone to believe that the "tool" is the teach book itself containing its appendix explanation of the 1914 doctrine.
Reply by Kyp on 2015-07-03 17:31:08
Well, in fact one can see two clues what the tool is: The brother uses a Watchtower with a red cover - it's the 11/01/14 issue. At the end you see him visiting the puclications section of jw.org and again you see the red covered WT issue :)
But yes - if someone is not so much into details, it will be difficult to get where the chart is taken from.
Comment by on 2015-07-03 04:46:25
At best the 1914 doctrine is a "type/anti type" teaching by inferring the tree dream has a greater fulfillment in connection with Jesus kingship, but yet again we have had the floodlight of new light shone upon this method of analysing scripture as debunked, clearly placing the 1914 dogma in a untenable position by the societies own admission.
"Oh! what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!"
Comment by Hamilton Grey on 2015-07-03 05:01:20
At best the 1914 doctrine is a "type/anti type" teaching by inferring the tree dream has a greater fulfillment in connection with Jesus kingship, but yet again we have had the floodlight of new light shone upon this method of analysing scripture as debunked, clearly placing the 1914 dogma in a untenable position by the societies own admission.
"Oh! what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!"Reply by Wild Olive on 2015-07-05 05:14:54
@ Hamilton grey, my old man used to use that quote a lot, especially when talking about JW teachings,he had the pleasure of meeting judge Rutherford when he was touring Australia in the early 30s,he could see all that time ago that the judge was a fraud,and fitted the above quote.
As for JW.org it truly is a missed opportunity, all the time,resources and money that must have gone into it have been wasted as it does preach to the converted,I even notice that a lot in the cong are not in a rush to look at the broadcasts,maybe they hear too much of the same thing,ie love the GB and love the organization, that's getting harder to do when they do ABSOLUTLY NOTHING to help those in need and there are more of them than ever before.
Comment by rennydiokno2015 on 2015-07-16 03:16:49
Reblogged this on My Blog News.
Comment by Anonymous on 2016-01-29 06:36:42
I like jw.org website it does not only teach about the organization but about Jehovah God and Jesus Christ his son.Its a unique website your website is very shallow and it does not say any truth about Jehovah's Witnesses .
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2016-01-29 08:29:45
Fascinating observation, Anonymous. But I fear that you are speaking out of blind loyalty to the Organization rather than from knowledge. "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." (Mt 12:34) Let us apply that Bible principle to those speaking to us through JW.org. Our youngest and most vulnerable ones are those who should received our best teaching, is that not so? What do the instructores of jw.org teach our children about Jesus, the only one through whom we can approach the Father?
In an article that Apollos wrote titled Our Christian Foundation, he made the following point:
...at the time of writing there is one section entitled “Teach Your Children” [on jw.org] that contains two articles that are related to the person of Jesus Christ. One is essentially an anti-Christmas message, and the other uses him as an example of obedience. There appears to be nothing else about Jesus.
In total I counted 163 activities and lessons in the children’s section. Most of this is totally unique content (i.e. not just republished material from the publications), and much of it – videos and graphic art especially – clearly took a lot of time, effort and resources.
It is surely impossible therefore to excuse the absence of this foundational Christian message as being a simple oversight, or as something that could not have found its place somewhere for this primary audience, bearing in mind that they should in theory be ready for baptism prior to moving onto the content targeted at teenagers.
I'm afraid your confidence is misplaced. JW.org does not teach us all we need to know (food at the proper time, as they like to say) about Jesus Christ. For instance, let’s scan jw.org under the Videos -> Teenagers link. There are over 50 videos, but not a single one is designed to help the adolescent contemplating baptism to understand, put faith in, and love Jesus.
So what does JW.org emphasize? If you look at the 14 videos under the "Become Jehovah's Friend" series for children and count the references to Jehovah, Jesus and others we find the following?
Jehovah: 51
Bethel: 13
Governing Body: 4
Jesus and/or Christ: 3 (as a teacher)
Satan: 2
Father (referencing Jehovah): 0
The Governing Body is mentioned more then Jesus Christ. And while there are many mentions of Jehovah, not one of them references him as our Father, yet that was at the core of Jesus' message. (See Orphans)
Emphasis on the Governing Body, emphasis on serving at Bethel, emphasis on obedience to the men of the Governing Body. This is the message of JW.org. This is evidently what abounds in their heart.
Reply by Edward Leach on 2018-07-15 19:36:05
I'm a Jehovah's witness still is one and been one for over 25 years..Just because we like a religious organization shouldn't be the main reason we accept anything it tells us as coming from Jehovah God..Jesus said " worship the father in spirit and truth" John 4:23
Not because " I like jw.org" now don't get me wrong, everything watchtower teach is not a lie, but they are mixing truths from the Bible in with their own interpretation in which cannot be proven scriptural wise..
And this article has done a good job pointing that out...I know it shakes you up and disturbs your conscience but that's what truth does ..
Comment by Edward Leach on 2018-07-15 19:29:06
This really blew my mind! I mean, I read this article over and over again checking the scriptures and looking at the JW video twice.. and I'm really saddened by the Watchtower society mixing in man-made dates and tricking people to believe it's in the Bible...They do it like a magician's mathematic trick! It's so woven like a spider web that you really have to pay attention to Jesus words.. I wanted to thank you for posting this article.. As one of Jws, I'm more confident and determined to reject such doctrine cause it cannot be proven by scripture.