“Love Jehovah, all you who are loyal to him! Jehovah protects the faithful.”—Psalm 31:23
[From ws 10/19 p.14 Study Article 41: December 9 – December 15, 2019]
Paragraph 2 states that the following important questions need answers.
- What will happen during the “great tribulation”?
- What will Jehovah expect us to do during that time?
- And how can we prepare ourselves now to stay faithful through the great tribulation?
Let us examine if these questions are answered with facts or speculation.
| Para | Quotes | Comments |
| 1 | Talking about the Nations “they may boast”, | Speculation. “they may” or they may not. A 50/50 choice. |
| 1 | “the nations will want us to think” | Speculation. “the nations will want us”. Can the Organization read minds? No. |
| 4 | Referring to the Nations “They might say ..” | Speculation. |
| 4 | “Or they might say” | Speculation. |
| 4 | “Rather, it seems that the nations will get rid of the religious organizations” | Speculation. “it seems”. Yes, it may be so, but equally it could be taking over religions because of their money and real estate or for any other reason |
| 5 | “Jehovah has promised he will “cut short the days” of the tribulation so that his “chosen ones” and true religion will survive. (Mark 13:19, 20)” | Speculation. The cutting short the days clearly applies to the first century destruction of Judah and Jerusalem. However, to apply it to Armageddon is implying a second greater fulfillment which is not warranted. |
| 6 | “Jehovah expects his worshippers to separate themselves from Babylon the Great” | Misleading. He does not “expect.” Revelation 18:4 says “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues” takes place after the fall of Babylon the Great (Revelation 18:2). It is also a simple choice. We can stay or we can leave. If we stay there are consequences. We are requested to get out of her, so we are not punished with Babylon the Great. It is also noteworthy that God’s people are found in Babylon the Great. See Matthew 13:27-30. Why would this be necessary if there was one true religion at that time? |
| 7 | “we must continue worshipping with our fellow Christians” | False. John 4:23 and James 1:27 give us no instructions to worship in a Kingdom Hall nor even in company with fellow Christians. Rather it is on a personal basis “in spirit and truth” and by personal actions towards others. |
| 7 | “We need to meet together” [in formal meetings] Hebrews 10:24-25” | False. Hebrews 10 encourages us to gather together, to associate with like-minded ones, not mandate attending formal meetings according to a prescribed time and format. |
| 8 | “During the great tribulation, the message that we proclaim will likely change” | Speculation, “will likely”. However, Galatians 1:8 reminds us “However, even if we or an angel out of heaven were to declare to you as good news something beyond the good news we declared to you, let him be accursed”. |
| 8 | “we may well deliver a message as hard-hitting as hailstones. (Rev. 16:21)” | Speculation. 50/50 chance we “may well” and we may not. Also, speculation is the interpretation that the hailstones are a hard hitting message. Yet more speculation is the fact that the Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses will somehow receive a communication from Jesus or Jehovah to deliver such a message. |
| 8 | “We may proclaim the impending doom of Satan’s world” | Speculation. “we may proclaim” or we may not! |
| 8 | Will we use the same methods we have used for over a hundred years | Speculation. “Will we use”. Who knows? No one. Your guess is as good as theirs! |
| 8 | “it seems that we will have the privilege of boldly proclaiming Jehovah’s judgment message” | Speculation. “it seems”. If the Organization is incapable of preaching the Good news today without twisting it, then why would God entrust the Organization with a warning message, if indeed one is to be given. |
| 9 | “Quite likely, our message will provoke the nations into trying to silence us once and for all” | Speculation. “quite likely” . This is the culmination of speculation upon speculation. If the Organization is God’s Organization? if there is meant to be a judgement message delivered? Will it be delivered differently? Will the Organization get the privilege of delivering a possible warning message and possibly provoking the nations? |
| 10 | “Because we remain no part of the world,”we may suffer some hardships. | Speculation. “we may suffer”, equally we may not. It is also dependent on the Organization being God’s Organization otherwise any hardships will be no different to anyone else. |
| 10 | “We may have to go without certain necessities.” | Speculation. “we may have to”, equally we may not have to. (As immediately above) |
| 11 | “people whose religions were destroyed may resent the fact that Jehovah’s Witnesses keep practicing their religion” | Speculation. “people … may resent”. People may not resent it. Equally Jehovah’s Witnesses may not be able to keep practicing their religion because they too are part of Babylon the Great by their actions such as being part of the UN. |
| 11 | They will not have attained their goal to eliminate all religion from the face of the earth. So we will become the center of their attention. At this point, the nations will take on the role of Gog of Magog. They will band together to make a vicious, all-out attack on Jehovah’s people. (Ezek. 38:2, 14-16) | Speculation has been built upon speculation. The understanding given by the Organization about Gog of Magog is based on interpreting it as having a modern-day fulfilment. Yet there is no precedent in scripture for this understanding. A brief review of the latest teaching on Gog of Magog by the Organization can be found here. |
| 11 | “It can be somewhat unsettling to think about those possibilities when we cannot be certain of the exact details” | Speculation is admitted. The scaremongering caused by the speculation has no basis in facts and is therefore totally unnecessary and to be abhorred. |
| 11 | “Jehovah will give us lifesaving instructions. (Ps. 34:19)” | Speculation once again. Nowhere does the Bible say we will be given lifesaving instructions at Armageddon. Jesus has already given us all the warning instructions we need to heed. He did this back in the first century, including not allowing ourselves to be misled by so-called anointed (christs) ones. Matthew 24:23-25. |
| 12 | The faithful and discreet slave” has been preparing us to stay faithful through the great tribulation. (Matt. 24:45 | Falsehood. Reading Matthew 24 shows that the appointment of faithful and discreet slaves comes after Jesus coming as a thief in the night. The appointment is at or immediately after Armageddon. The Governing Body of the Organization only claimed they were the sole appointed FDS in 2013. This was nearly a hundred years after the year when the previous teaching claimed Jesus had appointed the FDS. |
| 13 | “At some point, all anointed ones who are still on earth will be gathered to heaven to share in the war of Armageddon. (Matt. 24:31; Rev. 2:26, 27)” | Falsehood, Speculation. These cited scriptures do not say that the chosen / anointed ones are “gathered to heaven,” (neither does any other scripture for that matter.) |
| 14 | “following their God-given direction” [referring to the direction of the Governing Body] | Falsehood and Speculation. Is all the above speculation and falsehood actually God-given direction? How can it be? That is a blasphemous suggestion saying that God gives speculations instead of certainties in his instructions. How does God give them direction? This is never spelt out clearly in the publications of the Organization. Also, why if Jesus is the head of the Congregation and has all authority is God giving them directions? |
| 17 | “we also have the prospect of living through the great tribulation” | Speculation. Prospect commonly is understood to mean a good likelihood that the event will occur. How can we have a good likelihood when Jesus said only God knows when the great tribulation would be brought? A slim prospect of seeing the great tribulation would be far more truthful. |
The table above shows 25! of the major speculations or falsehoods in this Watchtower study article. Actual solid facts and provable statements are thin on the ground.
The Organization should heed Jesus words to the enquiring disciples recorded in Acts 1:7 where “He said to them: “It does not belong to you to know the times or seasons that the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction.”.
1 Samuel 15:23 warns against speculating or pushing ahead trying to guess things that it is not for us to know when it says, “pushing ahead presumptuously [is] the same as using magical power and idolatry”.
Let us heed the warnings of Jesus and remain faithful to him rather than a man-made and man-directed Organization. Let us by our actions rebuke the Organization as Jesus rebuked Peter for contradicting scripture “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you think, not God’s thoughts, but those of men.” (Matthew 16:23).
Archived Comments
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Comment by Theextremebiblicist on 2019-12-08 18:48:08
Thanks for sharing this information. I can only offer my current understanding for your consideration.
1. Gog of Magog is not involved with the great tribulation of Armageddon, only the great tribulation of the Holocaust. When seeing the "holy city" surrounded by the encamped armies of Gog of Magog, then is the time to flee to the mountains. Literally. Ask yourself what difference would it make for a woman with small children if this wasn't literal. The "holy city" would represent the highest concentration of the Jews in exile. The great tribulation is aimed at the Jews. Two-thirds were to be exterminated. In the fall of 1939 Warsaw, Poland, by far the largest Jewish ghetto in Eastern Europe was literally surrounded by the Nazi army by huge canons that were removed from the Western front. Shortly after conquering Warsaw, the Jewish ghetto was blocked in. But for a short time, you could escape into the hills, which many did. But if you had small children you couldn't take them with you. They were a hazard to others hiding out in the forests.
Furthermore, the days were "cut short" to save some of the holy ones, meaning a remnant of the holy ones. Will Armageddon kill even one righteous person? No. But in this case, most of the holy ones are getting killed by this tribulation with women without children having an advantage. That works for the Holocaust. It doesn't work for Armageddon. Furthermore, Matthew 24:29 clearly says, "Immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days... the sign of the son of man will appear in heaven..." So this first tribulation is not Armageddon and it happens before the second coming.
Another scripture states that he is "near at the doors" after the fig tree becomes tender. The fig tree represents the State of Israel. Thus the messiah appears shortly after the State of Israel is set up in the Spring of 1948. You must realize, therefore, that the "great tribulation" of Matthew 24 is a separate tribulation than the one that culminates in Armageddon, which occurs after Christ returns and after he seals his elect.
In addition, this first tribulation, which was the Holocaust was said to be a unique event, an event that "never happened before nor would happen again." In relation to Armageddon, the Bible says specifically that it will seem to be delayed but it will not be late. Habakkuk 2:3 "Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it, for it will without fail come true. It will not be late." Peter says God is not "slow" but "patient." Basically, it turns out that the longer Armageddon is delayed, the more potential righteous people just coming of age can be saved. It be painful that so many potential righteous ones will miss out by just a day or a week after the cut-off. But it has to happen. So by contrast, the tribulation was to last for 7 years from 1940-1947 but by the Fall of 1944 two-thirds of the Jews were already exterminated. So WWII ended in the Spring of 1945, cutting short those days. 1947 saw the end of the exile when the Jews came out of exile and regained control over their promised land on November 29, 1947.
If the final tribulation leading into Armageddon can be applied to "Jehovah's Day" then we can expect a delay. It doesn't appear the days will be cut short in exactly the same way as they were cut short during WWII. Furthermore, the elect with Christ are said to conquer the nations gathered under the 8th king, meaning the nations supporting the UN. So they don't appear to be threatened as much as they are threatening.
Right now, the WTS is part of Babylon the Great. Babylon the Great is linked to Freemasonry and the so-called Illuminati with secret societies like the Council of 300 and the Trilateral Commission influencing the UN. The UN will completely destroy the Illuminati and take over world government. That might be the same time a world religion is set up and all religious expression will be banned just as Russia banned JWs! This will fulfill what the Bible says about the 666-trinity-believing Christendom beast and the false prophet-WTS being cast into the lake of fire "while still alive." The false prophet and lamb-dragon beast out of the "earth" represent the GB of the WTS. Sio for a while it will be Christ and his followers vs. the UN. I suppose there will be some kind of confrontation but Christ and his chosen ones will conquer the UN. As I said, Gog of Magog will be nowhere to be found.
Gog of Magog, the disgusting thing causing desolation, is a reference to Nazi Germany and white supremacy. Gog of Magog is destroyed after its attack on the "holy ones," meaning the Jews. But it reappears after the 1000-year reign of Christ, which only means Satan will re-inspire white supremacist ideologies among the people after the millennium. Magog was the white son of Japheth and thus represents Germans. Gog of Magog = Nazism/white supremacy.
WHO IS THE FAITHFUL AND DISCREET SLAVE? The Bible clearly says the faithful and discreet slave is the slave that returned 5 talents. Ten slaves were sent out, each with a certain responsibility. All of them did well except for one, the evil slave, who buried the money and returned it to his master. The master took that money and gave it to the slave with the most increase. That evil slave is the slave organization of the WTS. The "little flock" of faithful anointed ones still associated with JWs was taken from the WTS and transferred to the organization of the 5-fold slave, which is the largest of all the organizations chosen to gather sheep.
Revelation 12 speaks of these followers of Christ being part of a woman who is hidden in the wilderness. Thus most of Christ's true followers are hidden in secret places and underground organizations. Except for one. One organization would serve as the public temple. That organization is the WTS. As Revelation says, it goes off and wages war with the "remaining ones of her seed." So a remnant of her seed is public and in the open, not hidden in the "wilderness." So the transference of the "little flock" and the "wise virgins" from the WTS into the organization of the "faithful slave," which is the largest of the underground private organizations ends up adopting the faithful anointed ones of Jehovah's Witnesses. Which basically means, it is invisible. So technically, you could be an active anointed one in the congregation and be chosen and become aware of the secret underground sect and still be an active witness. As the Bible notes, two will be in the field, one will be taken and the other abandoned. So you can't tell who has been chosen to transfer to the fold of the largest secret sect. Thus that large secret sect is actually the "faithful and discreet slave."
I suppose we can presume at some point that the large secret sect will absorb all the others and become in charge of all of Christ's followers. So shortly after the UN takes over world government, they will appear to take over world rule preceding Armageddon.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to work out these details with you. It doesn't appear this will benefit anyone but myself. But I appreciate offering clarification. Have a beautiful day.
Comment by Frankie on 2019-12-09 17:08:42
Hello Tadua.
Good idea with this table. It is brief and transparent. So many speculative and uncertain statements used by GB to show the right path!
Looking at that table, I thought of one parable.
We are walking on the path and suddenly there is a glen in front of us. But we want to move on. There is only single rope bridge there. And on the opposite side there is a man and he calls us:
"Come on, don't worry. These ropes may be solid. Those boards could hold you. The wind can be dangerous, but probably not today. Maybe you won't fall down.”
Will we trust him and go?
Oh, I forgot. The man has a T-shirt and a blue JW.ORG sign on it.
Frankie
Comment by wish4truth2 on 2019-12-09 18:23:12
great study coverage! All speculation and falsehood. I remember when I was still a JW, I would overhear some anointed claimants saying "They are at it again, making statements with no scriptural backing". there is another Christian non ex JW guy reviewing the WT study articles, and he is saying same thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-hNpz7YzGw&feature=em-uploademail