The 2021 Powerful by Faith! Regional Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses concludes in the usual way, with a final talk that gives the audience a recap of the convention highlights. This year, Stephen Lett gave this review, and so, I felt it only right to do a little fact checking of some of the things he says.
From time to time, I get people telling me that I shouldn’t worry about what Jehovah’s Witnesses are doing anymore. They tell me that I should just move on and concentrate on preaching the Good News. I agree. I’d love to move on. I’m sure Jesus and the apostles wanted to move on and no longer deal with the Pharisees and religious leaders of their day, but no matter where they went, they had to deal with the lies those men preached and how they affected others. It is not pleasant to have to listen to them, I can assure you. I mean, we all hate it when we have to listen to someone whom we know is lying. Whether it is a corrupt politician, an underhanded business man, or someone pretending to preach the truth about the gospel, it makes us feel lousy to have to sit there and just listen.
The reason we feel that way is because that is how God made us. Our brains reward us with good feelings when we listen to truth. But did you know that when we know we are being lied to, our brains make us feel bad? Researchers have found that the parts of the brain that deal with pain and disgust are also involved in processing disbelief? So, when we hear truth, we feel good; but when we hear lies, we feel disgusted. That is assuming, of course, that we know we are being lied to. That’s the snag. If we don’t know we are being lied to, if we have been fooled into thinking we are being fed truth, then our brains reward us with good feelings.
For example, I used to love the district conventions. They made me feel good, because I thought I was hearing truth. My brain was doing its job and giving me the feelings it should in the face of truth, but I was being fooled. As the years went by, and I began to detect the flaws in JW teachings, I stopped feeling good. There was a growing disquiet in my mind; a nagging that wouldn’t go away. My brain was doing its job and making me feel disgusted in the face of such falsehoods, but my conscious mind, infused with years of indoctrination and bias, was trying to override what I felt. This is called cognitive dissonance and if not resolved, it can do serious harm to one’s psyche.
Once I resolved that dissonance and accepted the fact that things I thought were true all my life were, in fact, wicked lies, the feelings of disgust grew exponentially. It became torture just to sit listening to a Public Talk or Watchtower Study at the Kingdom Hall. More than any other reason, that was what drove me to stop attending the meetings. But now that I know about all the false doctrines Witnesses are taught, having to listen to a man like Stephen Lett really puts my composure to the test, I can tell you.
Just how do we protect ourselves from being made to “feel good” when we are actually being deceived? By learning to exercise our powers of reason and critical thought. Let the power of your mind guided by holy spirit protect you from the lies of men.
There are techniques we can employ to accomplish this. We will use them in our review of Stephen Lett’s summary of the 2021 Regional Convention.
Stephen Lett clip 1 If our faith makes us powerful, we will fully believe all of Jehovah's promises, no matter how extraordinary they may seem. We’ll do so without doubting whatsoever.
Eric Wilson Lett here makes an appeal to us to believe everything Jehovah says, no matter how extraordinary it may seem. But in reality, he doesn’t mean Jehovah. He means the Governing Body. Since they consider themselves to be Jehovah’s channel of communication, they believe that their interpretation of Scripture is food from Jehovah God. Of course, we know that our Heavenly Father has never failed us, so we should never doubt his word. We also know that he never feeds us rotten food, and lies and failed interpretations are rotten food.
Jesus said: “Indeed, who is the man among YOU whom his son asks for bread—he will not hand him a stone, will he? Or, perhaps, he will ask for a fish—he will not hand him a serpent, will he? Therefore, if YOU, although being wicked, know how to give good gifts to YOUR children, how much more so will YOUR Father who is in the heavens give good things to those asking him?” (Matthew 7:9-11 New Word Translation)
If the Governing Body is, as they claim, God’s channel of communication, then that means that Jehovah has given us a serpent when we were asking for a fish. I know that some will say, “No, you’re wrong. They’re just imperfect men. They can get things wrong. They are not inspired. Even they admit that.” Sorry, you can’t have it both ways. Either you are God’s channel meaning God is speaking through you, or you are not. If they claimed they are just trying to understand the Bible, but are not God’s channel, that would be one thing, but then they would have no basis for disfellowshipping someone for disagreeing with them, so they have to claim to be God’s spokesmen (that is what channelling God is all about) and so as his spokesmen, what they say has to be taken as law.
Yet, look at how many times the predictions of the Governing Body have failed us! So it would be foolish to accord them the same absolute trust which we give to God, would it not? If we did that, wouldn’t we be raising them up to the level of Jehovah God? In fact, the error of doing just that will become manifest to us as we get into Stephen Lett’s talk.
Stephen Lett Clip 2 Able, Enoch, Moses, Jesus’s disciples, and we became more determined than ever to imitate these faithful ones, and not their faithless contemporaries. And we know we can be successful, because we have the same Father, helper, supplier of Holy Spirit as they had.
Eric Wilson Well, let us fact-check what Stephen Lett tells us here. He says that we have the same Father in Jehovah God as the men of old had. Yet, a fundamental teaching of the Governing Body is that Jehovah God is not the Father of the other sheep or of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. So which is it, Stephen? According to you guys, the relationship with God that those faithful men of old had only rises to the level of friendship. You say the same about the other sheep. This is what your own Bible Encyclopedia, Insight on the Scriptures, has to say:
Like Abraham, they [the other sheep] are accounted, or declared, righteous as friends of God. (it-1 p. 606 Declare Righteous)
And a recent Watchtower shows this to still be your belief:
Jehovah declares anointed Christians righteous as his sons and those of the “other sheep” righteous as his friends. (w17 February p. 9 par. 6)
Just to be clear about this, the Bible refers to Christians as God’s children, but never once are Christians called just friends of God in addition or in the place of being His children. The only Scripture in the Christian Scriptures that refers to a faithful servant being God’s friend is James 2:23 which gives the honor to Abraham, and News Flash, old Abraham was never a Christian. So according to the Organization, the other sheep have no spiritual father. They are orphans.
Of course, they never provide any scriptures to back this up. My friends, this is no mere matter of semantics, as if the right words don’t really matter in this instance. This is a life-and-death distinction. Friends don’t have any right to an inheritance. Only the children do. Our Father in heaven will give everlasting life to his children as an inheritance. Galatian 4:5,6 points this out. “But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out “Abba, Father!” (Berean Study Bible)
Let’s be mindful of that fact.
Before going any further, I just wanted to remark that Stephen Lett is known for his unusual and exaggerated facial expressions. It is not my custom or intention to mock someone who has a disability. Nevertheless, it is worthy of note that Stephen has a particular characteristic movement which tends to communicate a message which is the opposite of what he is actually saying, as if he were denying the truth of his own statement. Do you notice how he shakes his head “no” while stating something in the affirmative? You will notice how he does this at the end of this next clip, as if he subconsciously knows that what he is saying is not really true.
Stephen Lett Clip 3 But now we ask will Jehovah answer our pleas for more faith. Most definitely he will and one outstanding way he has done this is by providing us with Bible prophecy. Prophecies in the book of Daniel alone have helped millions to build rock solid faith. For example, the fulfilled prophecies regarding the King of the North and the King of the South have been very faith strengthening.
Eric Wilson He asks, “Will Jehovah answer our pleas for more faith?” He then assures us that Jehovah has done this by providing us with Bible prophecy. He says that “Prophecies in the book of Daniel alone have helped millions to build rock solid faith.” But I would ask him this: “How can a prophecy build rock solid faith, if it is built on shifting sand?” If the Organization’s interpretation of prophecies keeps changing, as it does so often, how can we build faith? Such changes don’t speak of a rock solid foundation for faith at all. Rather, they speak of blind trust which is foolishness. In the Bible, prophets speaking as God’s channel whose predictions failed to come truth were to be put to death.
““‘If any prophet presumptuously speaks a word in my name that I did not command him to speak…that prophet must die. However, you may say in your heart: “How will we know that Jehovah has not spoken the word?” When the prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah and the word is not fulfilled or does not come true, then Jehovah did not speak that word. The prophet spoke it presumptuously. You should not fear him.’” (Deuteronomy 18:20-22 New World Translation)
We are building on sand if we are so gullible as to be misled over and over again with false prophecies, such as the failed prophesies of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. The fulfillment of the prophecies of God do not change. Jehovah does not mislead us. It is the interpretation given those prophecies by men like Stephen Lett and the other members of the GB over the decades that has caused so many witnesses to lose their faith and even, in the case of many, to turn away from God entirely.
Take, as one example, what Stephen Lett is about to introduce to us: the latest reinterpretation of the prophecy concerning the Kings of the North and the South.
Stephen Lett clip 4 For example, the fulfilled prophecies regarding the King of the North and the King of the South have been very faith strengthening. In fact, let's review the video on this topic that appeared in brother Kenneth Cook's May broadcast. Enjoy this powerful video. Daniel received a prophecy about the coming of two rivals, the King of the North and the King of the South. How has it been fulfilled? In the late 1800s, the German Empire became the King of the North. That government brought its power and heart against the king of the south with a large army. In fact, it's navy was the second-largest on earth. Who became the King of the South? The alliance between Britain and the United States. He fought during World War I with an exceedingly large and mighty army. He swept away and humbled the King of the North, but that was not the end of the King of the North. He turned his attention to, and then hurled denunciations against the holy covenant. He removed the constant feature by limiting the freedom of God's people to preach. Imprisoning many, and even killing hundreds of God's anointed ones and their fellow workers. After Germany was defeated in World War II, the Soviet Union became the King of the North. They worked with the King of the South to put in place the disgusting thing that causes desolation, the United Nations.
Eric Wilson Now, bear in mind that the entire reason Stephen Lett is talking about this is because he is putting it forth as an example of how the interpretation of prophecies provided by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses is the basis for his listeners to have strong faith. It follows that if those prophecies are false, even worse if they are nonsensical, there would be no basis for strong faith. Indeed, there would be a strong basis for doubt in the alleged channel of communication Jehovah is using, the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Again, you cannot have it both ways. You cannot tell people that they have reason to have faith in you because of the prophecies you interpret when those prophecies are false.
Okay, with that in mind let us examine the validity of the interpretation of the King of the North and the King of the South as put forward by the organization in this discourse by Stephen Lett.
Before we allow ourselves to be confused by any outside reasoning coming from the interpretations of men, let us go to the source, the Bible, and look at all the references to “the constant feature” and “the disgusting thing” that are to be found there. I’m going to show you how to do this for yourself.
Here is a screen capture of the Watchtower Library which you can download yourself from JW.org. I would recommend you download it and install it. I will put a link to the download page in the description field of this video, or if you prefer, you can simply Google “watchtower library download”.
I’m going to start by entering “constant feature” in the search field surrounding it by quotes so as to limit the search to that phrase alone.
As you can see, it appears three times in the eighth chapter of Daniel. This chapter has nothing to do with the kings of the North and the South. That vision of Daniel occurred in the first year of Darius the Mede, after Babylon had been conquered by the Persians. (Daniel 11:1) The prophecy in chapter 8 was given to Daniel in the third year of Belshazzar’s kingship.
Daniel 8:8 talks about a male goat that exalted itself exceedingly and it is generally accepted, even by the organization, that this is referring to Alexander the great of Greece. He died and was replaced by his four generals which was what was predicted in verse 8 where we read, “The great horn was broken then four conspicuous ones came up, instead of the one. So the things described from verse 9 to 13 of chapter 8 pertain to events occurring long before Jesus day. This is outside the topic of our discussion so I will not get into it, but if you’re curious I would recommend you go to BibleHub.com, then click the Comment feature and get a better idea as to when and how these prophecies were fulfilled.
The reason we are looking at this is because it establishes what constant feature refers to. While we are in BibleHub, I will select the parallel feature to show how verse 11 is rendered in many Bibles.
You will notice that where the New World Translation uses the phrase constant feature, others translate the Hebrew term as “daily sacrifice or daily sacrifices”, or “regular burnt offering”, or in other ways that all refer to the same thing. There is no metaphorical application here nor any application to a future time.
I should state that the Governing Body would disagree. According to the Daniel’s Prophesy book, chapter 10, these words have a secondary or antitypical application. They apply to the time of World War II and Nazi Germany. There are two reasons why that cannot be the case. The first reason is that in making this application, they skip over all the elements of this prophecy which cannot be made to fit with events surrounding the second world war, cherry picking only those parts that seem to fit if one accepts their speculation. Beware of anyone cherry picking verses while ignoring the surrounding context. But the second reason is even more damning to their interpretation. It speaks of gross hypocrisy. Quoting from a talk which Governing Body member, David Splane, gave at the 2014 annual meeting and which was reaffirmed in the March 15, 2015 issue of The Watchtower (pages 17, 18):
“We need to exercise great care when applying accounts in the Hebrew Scriptures as prophetic patterns or types if these accounts are not applied in the Scriptures themselves…We simply cannot go beyond what is written.”
Well, there is nothing in chapter 8 of Daniel to indicate there is a secondary—which means antitypical—fulfillment. It only points to one fulfillment. So in making a secondary application to our day, they are going beyond what is written and violating their own directive.
And arms will stand up, proceeding from him; and they will profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and remove the constant feature.
“And they will put in place the disgusting thing that causes desolation. (Daniel 11:31)
So here we see that the constant feature, which is the daily sacrifice or burnt offerings offered at the temple is removed, and in its place a disgusting thing that causes desolation comes into being. There is one more occurrence of constant feature for us to consider.
“And from the time that the constant feature has been removed and the disgusting thing that causes desolation has been put in place, there will be 1,290 days.” (Daniel 12:11)
Now we know from chapter 8 that ‘constant feature’ refers to the daily sacrifices made at the temple.
In chapter 11, Daniel is told what will happen. The sanctuary, which is the temple in Jerusalem with the holy of holies where Jehovah is said to dwell, will be profaned, and the constant feature of the daily sacrifice will be removed, and they [the invading force] will put a disgusting thing in place that causes desolation. In the next chapter, in verse 11, Daniel is given additional information. He is told how much time will pass between the removal of the daily sacrifice and the placing of the disgusting thing that desolates: 1290 days (3 years and 7 months).
When does this happen? The angel doesn’t tell Daniel, but he does tell him to whom it will happen and that will give us a clue as to the timing of its fulfillment. Remember, there is no indication of two fulfillments, a typical one and an antitypical or secondary one.
Immediately after concluding his description of the two kings, the angel says that “during that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of your people.” (Daniel 12:1 NWT 2013)
Now, you’re going to find what comes next disturbing if you are a trusting Jehovah’s Witness, as I once was. I have just read from the latest New World translation, the 2013 edition. The organization applies the verses under consideration to events in our day as we’ve just seen. How do they get around explaining how the lineage of the two kings seemingly disappears for 2000 years and then reappears in our day? They do it by claiming that this prophecy only has relevance when there is a people for Jehovah’s name in existence. Therefore, according to their theology, when Jehovah’s Witnesses reappeared on the world scene again, there was again a true people or organization for God’s name. Thus, the prophecy of the two kings became relevant again. But that whole line of reasoning depends on us believing that the angel is referring to Jehovah’s Witnesses when he tells Daniel about Michael who is standing in behalf of “your people”. However, the previous edition of the New World translation from 1984 translates the verse this way:
“And during that time Miʹcha·el will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of your people.. . .” (Daniel 12:1 NWT Reference 1984)
When we look at the Hebrew interlinear, we see that the 1984 rendering is accurate. The proper rendering is “the sons of your people”. Since the New World translation has always been touted as an accurate and faithful rendering, why have they chosen to remove “the sons of” from this verse? Your guess is as good as mine, but here’s my guess. If the angel means “Jehovah’s Witnesses” when he speaks of Daniel’s people, then who are the sons?
Do you see the problem?
Okay, let’s put it this way. According to Watchtower theology, Michael will stand up in behalf of Jehovah’s Witnesses, so it would accurate to reword Daniel 12:1 this way using the 1984 edition of the New World Translation.
“and during that time, Michael will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of Jehovah’s Witnesses”.
“The sons of Jehovah’s Witnesses”? You see the problem. So, they had to take “the sons of” out of the verse. They have altered the Bible to help make their theology work. How disturbing is that?
Think now, who would Daniel have understood to be the sons of his people. His people were the Israelites. It would be ridiculous to imagine that he would understand the angel to be referring to a group of Gentiles who would not appear on the world scene for another 2 ½ millennia. By adding in the sons of your people, the angel was telling him that what was to occur would not occur in his lifetime or in the lifetime of his people, but rather to their descendants. None of this requires us to jump through wild interpretive hoops of logic, or illogic, which perhaps would be a more accurate thing to say.
So, as the angel says in verse one, “during that time”, which would be during the time of the kings of the North and the South, Daniel’s descendants would experience everything recorded in chapter 12 including the removal of the constant feature and the placing of the disgusting thing; the span between the two events would be 1290 days. Now, Jesus talked about the disgusting thing that causes desolation, the exact same phrase Daniel uses and Jesus even refers to Daniel while urging his disciples to use discernment.
““Therefore, when you catch sight of the disgusting thing that causes desolation, as spoken about by Daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place (let the reader use discernment),” (Matthew 24:15)
Without getting into a blow-by-blow interpretation of how this prophecy applies in the first century, the point of all of this is to establish only the fact that it did apply in the first century. Everything about it points to a first century application. Everything Daniel describes can be explained with the events of the first century. The wording Jesus uses matches with the wording that Daniel uses. It is quite clear from the historical record that all of this happened to the sons of Daniel’s people, the Israelites who descended from those of Daniel’s time.
If you are not trying to make yourself sound like some great prophet, like someone who knows things others aren’t privileged to know, and you’re simply reading these verses and applying them at face value with the events of history, would you come to any other conclusion than that all of the angel’s prophecy expressed to Daniel in chapters 11 and 12 was fulfilled in the first century?
Now let us see how the organization chooses to interpret these words and as we do, ask yourself if you feel that you now have reason to invest strong faith in the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses as God’s sole channel of communication in our day.
So this first condition of the prophecy—the removing of “the constant feature”—was brought about in mid-1918 when the preaching work was virtually suspended.
22 What, though, about the second condition—the “placing,” or installation, of “the disgusting thing that is causing desolation”? As we saw in our discussion of Daniel 11:31, this disgusting thing was first the League of Nations.
So the 1,290 days began in early 1919 and ran until the autumn (Northern Hemisphere) of 1922.
(dp chap. 17 pp. 298-300 pars. 21-22)
So, the Governing Body is now telling us that the removal of the constant feature was the persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses by Hitler in 1933, that’s what we’ve just seen in the video, and that the placing of the disgusting thing was the creation of the United Nations in 1945. So now we have two fulfillments. One back in 1918 and 1922 and another one in 1933 and 1945 and they don’t match.
The math doesn’t work. Doesn’t anyone at Warwick check the math? You see, 1,290 days equates to three years and seven months between the removal of the constant feature and the placing of the disgusting thing. But if the removal of the constant feature occurred for a second time or actually a third time in 1933 when the persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses occurred under the Nazi regime and the placing of the disgusting thing is the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, you have 12 years, not 3 years and 7 months. The math doesn’t work.
Remember, all of this is supposed to instill rock solid faith in the Organization’s interpretation of Bible prophecy. Of course, they will not word it that way. They’ll talk about Jehovah’s prophecies, but what they really mean is our interpretation. Here’s how Stephen Lett puts it.
Stephen Lett clip 5 Likewise, if our faith makes us powerful, we will fully believe all of Jehovah's promises, no matter how extraordinary they may seem. We will do so without doubting whatsoever.
Eric Wilson Agreed, don’t doubt God’s word, but what about the interpretation men give that word? Aren’t we to apply the same rule to the word of men that we apply to the word of God? When it comes to the word of the Governing Body, the so-called Guardians of Doctrine for Jehovah’s Witnesses, Stephen Lett says, “Yes, we should not doubt them.”
Stephen Lett clip 6 But now talking just a little bit more about apostates. What if an apostate knocked at your front door and said “I’d like to come into your home, I’d like to sit down with you, and I’d like to teach you some apostate ideas.” Why you would immediately get rid of him, wouldn’t you? You would send him down the highway!
Eric Wilson I’m sorry but this is a stupid analogy. It is so stupid. What he saying is, what if someone came to you and said I want to lie to you. Who does that? If someone comes to you with the intention of lying to you, they will tell you that they are speaking the truth. Likewise, if someone comes to you with the intention of telling you the truth, they will say I want to tell you the truth. Both the truth teller and the liar have the same message. Stephen is presenting himself as the truth teller, but he saying that everyone else who says anything different from what he says is a liar. But if Stephen Lett is a liar, then how can we trust what he says? The only way we can know is to listen to both parties. You see, Jehovah God has not left us defenceless. He has given us his word the Bible. We have the map so to speak. When someone gives us directions on how to use the map, as Stephen Lett does, and as I do, it is up to us to use the map to determine which one is telling the truth. Stephen wants to take that away from us. He doesn’t want you to listen to anyone else. He wants you to think that anyone else who disagrees with him is by definition an apostate, a liar. In other words, he wants you to trust him with your life.
Stephen Lett Insert clip 7 2 John 10 says, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching never receive him into your home.” That would mean not through the front door, not through the television or computer.
Eric Wilson Stephen Lett quotes from 2 John to show that we should not listen to apostates, but let’s think on this for a moment. Did he read the context? No. So, let’s read the context.
“. . .Everyone who pushes ahead and does not remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God. The one who does remain in this teaching is the one who has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your homes or say a greeting to him. For the one who says a greeting to him is a sharer in his wicked works.” (2 John 9-11)
“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching.” What teaching? The teaching of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society? No, the teaching of the Christ. Stephen Lett is coming to you and bringing a teaching. How do you know whether his teaching is that of the Christ or not? You have to listen to him. You have to evaluate what he is saying against what you can measure in God’s word. If you can determine that his teaching doesn’t measure up to God’s word, if you can determine that he is not bringing the teaching of the Christ but is pushing ahead with his own ideas, then you must no longer receive him into your homes or say a greeting to him. But first you have to listen to him, otherwise how would you know whether he’s bringing truth or falsehood? A person who tells you the truth has nothing to fear from liars because the truth stands on its own. However, a person who is lying to you has a great deal to fear from the truth because the truth will expose him as a liar. He cannot defend against it. Therefore, he must use the traditional weapons against truth which are fear and intimidation. He must make you afraid of those who bring the truth and intimidate you into refusing to listen to them. He must characterize those who bring the truth as liars projecting his own sin onto them.
Stephen Lett clip 8 Well that is foolish thinking indeed. That would be like reasoning if I eat stinky, rotten food from a garbage can it would really help me in the future to recognize bad food. Not very good reasoning is it? Rather than feed our minds poison apostate ideas we read God's word daily and strengthen and safeguard our faith.
Eric Wilson I will have to agree with Stephen Lett here but not for the reasons he would desire. We know not to eat stinking rotten food because Jehovah has designed us in such a way as to be repulsed by the smell of rotting things and by the sight of rotting things. We are disgusted. In the same way, as I mentioned at the beginning of this video, the same parts of our brain that light up when we are disgusted also light up when we are being deceived. The problem is, how do we know if we are being deceived. I can smell bad food and I see bad food but I can’t instantly recognize that I’m being lied to. To know whether or not I’m being lied to, I have to do some critical thinking and investigate and look for evidence. Stephen Lett doesn’t want me to do that. He wants me to listen to him and accept what he says without listening to anyone else.
He closes off with an exhortation to read the Bible as if this is going to help me to see that he is right. I grew up in the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I pioneered, I preached in foreign territory, I served in three different countries, I did work for two different Bethel’s. But it wasn’t until I read the Bible free of the influence of the publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses that I began to see that the teachings of the organization conflict with the teachings of the Bible. So I would recommend you follow Stephen Letts advice and read the Bible daily, but don’t read it with the watchtower in the other hand. Read it all by itself and let it speak to you. Stephen Lett likes to call anything that disagrees with the teachings of the organization as apostate literature. Well Stephen in that case I would qualify the Bible as the biggest piece of apostate literature there is, and I exhort all of you listening to read it. Thank you for your time and for your support. It is very much appreciated.
Archived Comments
We have moved to the Disqus commenting system. To post a new comment, go to the bottom of this page.
Comment by safeguardyourheart on 2021-10-16 15:33:02
The organization will continue to mislead its members base on eisegesis. No matter how hard they deny it. Most of their teachings that made them what they are, are built on eisegesis. Take for example Malachi 3:1 as it applies to Russell based on eisegesis.
Should they agree that their interpretation is based ON eisegesis. Then the whole organisation crumbles. As 1874, 1878, 1914 goes down the drain. The foundation folds and collapse because in reality Prophet Malachi would never be writing about a man born in the early 1800
Comment by Leonardo Josephus on 2021-10-05 12:55:31
Eric, well done, as always. The 1870s are a fascinating period for Russell and his followers.
They come up with an interpretation of verse 27, which involves a huge jump in time (and a big big leap of faith) to the 1870s. Amazing ! At a time when they were really getting things wrong.
1873 was Barbour's flier at Christ's return. When it did not happen, it was moved to 1874, and then later 1878. Obviously all failed. What a mess !
And Russell accepted at all.
Not to forget, as you have touched on, all those funny prophecies fulfilled around the conventions in the 1920s.
Like so many things since that time, the Organisation simply looks at what is going on in the world and tries to fit the Bible round it. An this will continue as long as people allow themselves to accept it.Reply by Leonardo Josephus on 2021-10-06 12:25:05
I should have said Daniel 11 verse 27.
Apologies for any confusion.
Comment by yobec on 2021-10-05 20:23:27
Good article Eric
Back in the 70's, in Catholic controlled Quebec, I would sometimes meet people at the door that would say that their priests told them not to talk to us.
I was then taught to say " If you have the truth, why then would you be afraid to discuss spiritual matters with us ? "
I also remember agreeing to meet with the householder with their priest beeing present and discuss doctrines. The reason I had no fear of such discussion is because I knew that with certain topics , it would become evident that the truth would stand out.Most of the time however, the priests would not show.
The same could be said today.Why should one be afraid of discussing their religion if they are convinced that their doctrines are solid?
If I may quote from the truth book page 13 "We need to examine... what is taught by ANY religious organization with which we may be associated... If we are lovers of the truth, there is nothing to fear from such an examination"
The Watchtower of July 1st 2001 page 18 says " Religious exhortations to the effect that you should just believe and should doubt nothing are DANGEROUS and DECEPTIVE
On page 19 it says A ... teaching ... might appear to emanate from God. But did it really come from him? Exercising some doubt or suspending belief can be a real protection because... many deceivers have gone forth into the world 2 John 7
I think that the reason the GB keeps reminding its adherents to not listen to us is the same as the old Quebec's priests and the Sanhedrin of bible times. FEAR of beeing exposed
Comment by Leonardo Josephus on 2021-10-06 12:30:17
Only one person has been entitled to compare his sayings to a rock on which we can build faith, and that is Jesus Christ, because he did not twist scripture, and nothing has changed since. This does not mean we are entitled to guess with impunity at the things which await fulfilment. or which we do not understand. Patience is required for those sayings.
Comment by PierrotSud on 2021-10-06 12:59:26
Dear Eric,
I agree with you about is it normal to denonce the false teachings, rules , speechs from Government body while we know now what is the really truth.
To follow the Christ better than before is a really joyce and love and to learn that we are child of God, it's fantastic, marvellous.
To be honest, i thought the same thing.
For me, i think we learned since childhood that we leave in the thruth, the other religions are ignorants or bad. We did pass time to criticise these organisations and, in a same time, we teached the "bible" (in fact the Watchtower teachings).
Today, we understood that this organization lie about the hope to the humanity, for instance, or a lot of things that are nothing to the Christ's love.
Because we loved the truth, we have had the power to raise the curtain.
We can't stop to denocate because we think about our brothers and sisters which serve sincerely and honestly, but they are blinded. Can we stop denoncate? For me no.
Stephen Lett, is for me, very special, since more years.
I remarked an evolution about the grimaces of his face.
Before, they are less marked.
I think it is not a health problem.
That think me about the theocratic school, when we should do "speeches" or the "reading of the bible" respecting about a lot of points, including "expression gesture, or face".
I remember that certain elders says me to do more expression when i talk, but that became ridiculous. The gestures are not became a all naturals, and didn't correspond with the talk.
I think, his comportment impressionne a lot of brothers and sisters which they are sensible to the faces's esprexions.
So Stepehn continues overplayed, year after year.
I thank you about Daniel 12 verse 1. I didn't recall this verse and didn't saw the difference between NWT 1984 and the last translation.
What liers!!
You see Eric, that if we didn't denoncate the lies and the liers, while we can't help us.
Let's strong
PierreReply by Jeremiah on 2021-10-25 05:41:02
Pierre you said "I thank you about Daniel 12 verse 1. I didn’t recall this verse and didn’t saw the difference between NWT 1984 and the last translation.
What liers!!"
It should be noted that a number of other bibles render this verse without 'the sons of', including Eric's favorite version the Berean Study Bible. The latest NWT includes 'the sons of' in the footnote as being the literal translation. Much ado about nothing, and I wouldn't read too much into this.Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2021-10-25 07:58:31
Actually, I don't have a favorite Bible translation. They all have bias.
Comment by Fani on 2021-10-06 05:12:30
Je fais partie de ceux qui ne peuvent plus lire et encore moins regarder les sermons des membres du Collège Central.
C'est devenu épidermique, une vraie allergie...Ça me met dans une colère noire. Parfois je voudrais complètement les oublier, mais c'est impossible.
A une époque, moi aussi, je n'avais pas peur d'exposer ce que je croyais car j'étais convaincue que j'étais "dans la vérité" et que les autres étaient dans le mensonge. La vérité n'a pas peur du mensonge. Eux, ont peur des hérétiques !
La société n'a pas l'humilité nécessaire pour dire clairement qu'elle a pris un mauvais chemin. Je ne peux pas croire qu'ils ne sont pas conscients de leurs fautes, de leurs abus et de leurs incohérences.
Juste avant mon excommunication, les anciens m'ont cité Esaïe 1 : 18 "Venez donc et remettons les choses en ordre entre nous ”, dit Jéhovah. “ Si vos péchés sont comme l’écarlate, ils deviendront blancs comme la neige ; s’ils sont rouges comme de l’étoffe cramoisie, ils deviendront comme de la laine."
Ils peuvent se l'appliquer ! "Toi qui enseignes, t'enseignes tu ?"
Ils préfèrent se protéger et jouent sur le fait que les hommes ont un besoin viscéral d'être acceptés et reconnus.
Comme au 1er siècle la peur de perdre son statut personnel, ses amis, sa famille, sa stabilité bloque beaucoup de chrétiens.
Jean 12 : 42, 43 : "Cependant, même parmi les chefs, beaucoup eurent vraiment foi en lui ; mais, à cause des Pharisiens, ils ne [le] confessaient pas, pour ne pas être expulsés de la synagogue ; 43 car ils aimaient la gloire des hommes plus que la gloire de Dieu."
Honte à tous ceux qui nous ont présentés tous ces faux enseignements comme "la vérité". Le plus grave c'est qu' Ils sont responsables de la perte de la foi de certains chrétiens.
Luc 17 "il est inévitable que viennent des occasions de trébucher. Toutefois, malheur à celui par qui elles viennent ! 2 Il serait plus profitable pour lui qu’on lui attache au cou une meule de moulin et qu’on le jette à la mer, que s’il faisait trébucher un de ces petits".
Merci pour ton dur travail, mon frère.
A tous : salutations fraternelles de FranceReply by Meleti Vivlon on 2021-10-06 08:22:57
Hi Fani,
I'm reprinting a auto-translation of your comment below which I agree with wholeheartedly.
========
I am one of those who can no longer read, let alone watch the sermons of the members of the Governing Body. It has become epidermal, a real allergy...It makes me very angry. Sometimes I would like to forget them completely, but it is impossible.
There was a time when I too was not afraid to expose what I believed because I was convinced that I was "in the truth" and that others were in the lie. Truth is not afraid of lies. They are afraid of heretics!
Society does not have the humility to say clearly that they have gone down the wrong path. I cannot believe that they are not aware of their faults, abuses and inconsistencies.
Just before my excommunication, the elders quoted to me Isaiah 1:18 "Come, then, and let us set things right among ourselves," says Jehovah. "If your sins are like scarlet, they will become white as snow; if they are red like crimson cloth, they will become like wool."
They can apply it to themselves! "You who teach, do you teach yourself?"
They prefer to protect themselves and play on the fact that men have a visceral need to be accepted and recognized. As in the 1st century the fear of losing personal status, friends, family, stability blocks many Christians.
John 12:42, 43: "Nevertheless, even among the rulers, many truly believed in Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not [confess Him], lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God."
Shame on all those who have presented all these false teachings to us as "the truth." The most serious thing is that they are responsible for the loss of faith of some Christians.
Luke 17 "It is inevitable that opportunities to stumble will come. But woe to the one through whom they come! 2 It would be more profitable for him if a millstone were tied around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than if he were to cause one of these little ones to stumble.
Thank you for your hard work, my brother. To all: fraternal greetings from FranceReply by Ilja Hartsenko on 2021-10-07 14:36:03
A wonderful comment, it remains only to trust in God and Christ, so that many who are still in the organization do not lose faith and hope, and soon follow Christ. Inwardly I am glad that I am now following Christ myself, and how joyful it is to see that there are many brothers and sisters on earth who worship the Father in spirit and truth. It's sad, of course, that it took many years and decades to understand the lies and falsehoods, but better late than never.
Reply by Ron on 2021-10-20 11:14:57
I am having a hard time watching the jw broadcasts etc i get frustrated, angry, a variety of emotions. I am finding it very hard to find anyone who will have an open mind to reason on the scriptures (not meaning this site) as i am quite new here. I do like your approach to studying the scriptures as many things that have never made sense are starting to just by clearing my mind of all i have been taught and not going beyond what the scriptures say. I thank you brother Eric for all your hard work and your sharing it with us all.
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2021-10-20 12:23:40
Hi Ron, good to have you with this. It helps to have people to discuss these things with. Check out our meetings at https://beroeans.net/events/
Reply by Ron on 2021-10-20 13:25:34
Thank you, i think i will ?
Comment by making sure on 2021-10-06 15:29:50
Very wise Eric, thank you.
I wonder if the Governing Body are deliberately choosing to deceive? Maybe they are the product of indoctrination themselves? My guess is that truth of the matter lies somewhere between. If only there could be another Ray Franz among them. Given the calibre of men, I think that’s very unlikely.
Too many inconsistencies and changes in teaching render the organisation untrustworthy. Here’s an example: the publications are prepared under the spirits guidance, w92 March 15th p21-2 //16. Holy Spirit cannot be the source of error and will protect from doctrinal falsehood, It-2 p1132 //2.
God is light in whom there is no darkness.Reply by rudytokarz on 2021-10-06 16:23:27
I believe that they, like most all JWs, are 'followers of followers' as Ray Franz put it. Didn't we ALL think that we JWs were correct no matter what, ignore (wait for brighter light) anything that didn't seem to make sense and KNOW that all doctrines from any religion of Christendom was wrong?
It seems that, just as with the GB that Ray Franz was worked with had some concerns, and like the rest of us, were followers of an idea that no matter what else, had no where else to go. Most likely todays GB is the same; following what they have been taught most of their life and thinking that they can't go anywhere else.
Comment by marielle on 2021-10-07 04:36:44
Sachez une chose : Lorsque ce qu’ils auront annoncé ne se réalisera pas, ils vous accuseront d’avoir mal compris.
En témoigne la WT de cette semaine, étude 31.
« Comme il serait dommage de perdre notre foi en Dieu parce que la fin n’est pas venue au moment où NOUS, NOUS l’attendions ! »
Ils s’excluent donc et veulent dire, VOUS. Ils renient ce qui fût leur enseignement (par ex la génération de 70/80 à partir de 1914 qui ne passerait pas avant que vienne la fin) et accusent les frères d’un manque de foi.
Non, ce n’est pas en Jéhovah que nous n’avons plus confiance, mais en eux, les seuls choisis par Christ depuis 1919 pour diriger le peuple de Dieu.
Merci Éric de partager tes réflexions et sentiments sincères et vrais.
Comment by Ilja Hartsenko on 2021-10-07 14:45:38
Hi, Eric,
You said: But did you know that when we know we are being lied to, our brains make us feel bad?
Interesting, when the governing body member lies - how do they are feeling?
Or are their feelings so blunted by the thirst for power that they are ready to drown out the voice of conscience?
Thank you, Eric, for your good work and love of God and Christ.Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2021-10-07 16:46:39
“However, the inspired word clearly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired statements and teachings of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, whose conscience is seared as with a branding iron. They forbid marriage [and higher education] and command people to abstain from [blood transfusions and from] foods that God created to be partaken of with thanksgiving by those who have faith and accurately know the truth.” (1 Timothy 4:1-3)
Comment by Mitch F Jensen on 2021-10-20 20:55:04
Eric, you have no idea how many elders told me in confidence they did not believe the “Dates”, “End Times” or “The GB are God’s only spokesman”. The only reason they attend is fear of being shunned by low information Witnesses who believe everything taught.
You are greatly valued Eric, thank you for fighting against the mind controlling men!Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2021-10-21 11:02:54
Thank you Mitch, let us all keep up the good fight.
Comment by hirdy46 on 2021-10-25 06:32:45
Just thought I would share my experience today when I talked to an Elder as I passed his house ( I’ve known him over 30 years - he is now an elderly man )
I know he only spoke to me because Im not baptised - but I do think of him as a good hearted person
I told him to get out of the organisation and that people that had left wanted to help him
He said nobody else had the answers - Catholic’s etc
So in essence he was saying where would I go
I said stop following the WT and become a Christian and follow the Christ
He said who’s going to go tell the message of everlasting life
I said I’m doing it now to you, we are saved by grace not works
He said the end is coming - the signs ?!?
I pointed out about Matthew referring to that generation- 70CE
How eisegesis and exegesis are applied to scripture when he mentioned 1914 and the calculations leading WT there
Deuteronomy- the false prophet
I said salvation is near but not in the way he had been told
I told him to be more critical of men’s ideas because as Christians we all share in gift of the ransom sacrifice- not a select group of people
I told him i now wanted to work towards being baptised.
Not via the WT baptism plan
I wanted to follow Jesus
I hope I touched his heart ❤️Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2021-10-25 07:56:47
Well done. I also hope you reached his heart. It all depends on whether a person loves the truth enough to "sell all they own" so as to buy it. (Matthew 13:45, 46)
Reply by rusticshore on 2021-11-14 10:09:48
One of the greatest catalyst's utilized by JWs to elevate themselves above other Christian groups (including ourselves at one time), is their blinding belief that they alone are responsible for bringing the message of the gospel ("good news") to the world - often making grandiose claims that they are the only ones doing so.
Such claims ignore critical scriptures, such as mentioned in Luke 16:16, where we are assured that the good news has been preached since John! By whom? Christians of ALL sorts. Of course, the Witnesses have only been around just over a decade, hence, it must have been delivered by Christians the world over through the past 1900 years.
Presently, there are some estimated 500,000-1,000,000 Christians in Iran, with some reported 600 churches. In Iraq, there are reportedly some 500,000 Christians, with Christian camps being set up throughout the country. In Saudi Arabia, there are reportedly 1.8 million Christians!! In China, there are some 80 million professed Christians. The point? How much did the Jehovah's Witnesses have influence in these areas? Almost zero... individually, and collectively!