JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES or MILLENARIES

HISTORY

Founder of the movement is Charles Taze Russell (1852 - 1916), a merchant from Allegheny, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

He was brought up in a Presbyterian Church. When he was 14 years old he joined the Congregationalists whom he left in 1869. A year later he came in contact with an Adventist group (Second Adventists), who were awaiting the Second Coming in 1872. When that year passed with nothing happening, 1874 was set as a new date. When that date also passed with the Lord … forgetting to come, Russell remembered the interpretation of the Adventists of the Seventh Day and together with N. H. Barbour declared that the Second Coming "took place" in 1874 "invisibly"!

Russell became co-editor to Barbour's magazine "Herald of the Morning" and funded the publication of the book "The three Worlds or the Plan of Redemption" (1877).

In 1877 Russell went solo and started a new publication. His own magazine was entitled "Zion's Watchtower and Herald of the Christ's presence" (1879). Six tomes of "Biblical Studies" that followed the above publications were entitled "Dawn of the Millennium" (1886-1904).

Russell's basic teaching was that the latter days started in 1799, that Christ's Second Coming took place in 1874 invisibly and that the heavenly kingdom was established "invisibly" in 1878. The dead in Christ were resurrected in 1878. Therefore what remains now is the collecting of the elect who live on earth.

Russell did not want to establish a new church or some organisation. The readers of the magazine "Watchtower of Zion" would gather to study the "Watchtower" and the other publications of Russell. They would elect their "presbyters" according to the Congregationalist Church's format and would recognise Russell as "pastor".

Charles Russell created various businesses. One of them was the "Watchtower" company; initially as a private business (Watchtower 1955, p.193), and later on (1884) as a stock firm ("Pamphlet Firm Watchtower of Zion"). Anyone could give ten dollars and buy a stock (Watchtower 1955, p.241). Russell was the biggest shareholder. For this reason he could afford to be president of the company for life. His wife was secretary - treasurer of the company and his friend Rose Ball was a member of the Council of Managers ("body of governors"). For the propagation of his publications, Russell appointed colporteurs whom he named "heralds".

According to the opinion of the founder of the "Watchtower", the work of the "Harvest" would last 40 years, from 1874 to 1914. In 1914 the "Armageddon" would take place, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would be resurrected and the thousand-year long Jewish dominion would be established. Peace would be established everywhere on earth.

However, 1914 did not bring the much desired peace but … war. Russell was proved a false prophet once and for all. Nevertheless, the company "Watchtower" today supports that all those things Russell had prophesied for 1914 came true! (Watchtower, 1.1.1986, p.24). Russell himself, preached, after the disproval of his false prophecy, that World War I would end with the "Armageddon", which would end by the establishment of the "kingdom" on earth, around 1918 (GM, tome 7 English edition 1917, p.485).

But Russell died in 1916 and did not live to taste a new disappointment.

In the meantime, the pseudo-Ecumenist counterparts of the time could not ignore this very useful business that would prove so useful to paving the way to the establishment of the "Ecumenist Christ" one day, viz. the Antichrist.

After the death of the founder of the "Watchtower", the Zionist solicitor and executor of Russell's will Joseph Rutherford managed with legal tricks to overpower any opposition and thus take hold of the company, by kicking out even Russell's closest friends.

In 1917 Rutherford published the 7th tome of the "Biblical Studies" and gradually started to alter and denature Russell's teachings. What Russell was supporting for 1874 and 1878, Rutherford now shifted to 1914 and preached that:

The Second Coming "took place" in 1914 "invisibly" and the kingdom was established "invisibly in the heavens". The "first resurrection" took place in 1918. This "new revelation" for the established kingdom of 1914 reached Rutherford with some … delay: in the year 1925.

Rutherford started an unscrupulous defamation campaign against the state, the church and religion. According to him, the political, religious and mercantile elements constitute "the evil status quo". Church was in fact characterised by Rutherford as a "Whore Babylon". This slanderous campaign no doubt became the reason for his imprisonment, under the accusation of "unlawful and malign incitation to disobedience, non-conformity to the law, and refusal to offer service to the military and navy of the United States … and this at a time when the USA are in a state of war".

After his discharge, with the end of the war, Rutherford continued his activities against the Church with fury. Central point for his new campaign became the assembly of 1919 at Cedar Point, OH, and central "message" became the year 1925: it was then that he was awaiting "with great certainty that the present sorrow [according to Mt. 24:21 et al.] … will reach its zenith in the Fall of 1925 and will then come to its conclusive fulfilment" (Golden Aeon, German edition 15 March 1924). On the same year he was awaiting the return of Abraham, Isaac and of the other great figures of the Old Testament, who would then undertake the governing of the earth (Millions of living people will never die, p.77). In fact, Rutherford did not hesitate to even prepare a special house for these "rulers", under the name of "Beth Sharim" (Sovereigns' House) in San Diego, CA.

Rutherford proceeded to make some outrageous leadership changes to the movement. He preached that the company "Watchtower" is the only channel that God uses in order to offer to the world spiritual food and continued to proclaim it as a "Theocratic Organisation". In the year 1938 he forced all assemblies to sign the following proclamation text:

<<We, the group of God's people … acknowledge that Jesus Christ is in the temple and completely took over the governing and control of both the visible and of the invisible organisation of Jehovah and that the COMPANY is the visible representative of the Lord on earth, and therefore we beseech the Company, to organise this ministry group and to appoint its various servants …>> (Watchtower 1955, p.321).

The new company president forced all of its followers to become active in the "ministry" of propagation of its publications. In fact he even supplied them with gramophones with special five-minute-long sermons that they could use to help them offer the pamphlets of the company - and in fact without getting paid for this. This was mainly done on Sundays, as a type of "worship", something that caused the reaction of the Police because it was done without the necessary peddler's licence.

In order to break off all connections with the movement's past (Russell), and in order to boost the confidence of his followers as regarded the propagandistic work going from house to house, Rutherford changed the name of those devoted to his company: he named them "Jehovah's Witnesses" (1931).

After Rutherford's death, Nathan Knorr (1905-1977) became the third in order president of the company. Knorr contributed to an even more absolutist organising of the company and forced upon its followers the opinion that "the will of the servant [i.e. of the company] is the will of Jehovah" and that "rebellion against the servant is rebellion against God" (Watchtower 1956, p.270).

Knorr also introduced a special educational system as well as methods to spy upon the "performance" of the followers in the propagation of the books, booklets and magazines of the company. He identified their degree of participation in this ministry with the degree of their "maturity". This "ministry" was characterised as "pure worship of Jehovah".

In the meantime, the belief on Abraham becoming the Prime Minister was abandoned and "Beth Sharim" was sold. It was preached that the "rulers" that will rule on earth already live and they are the dignitaries in the hierarchy of the movement!

Knorr imitated his predecessors in the issue of dates and chronologies. In 1966 he preached that in the year 1975, 6000 years of human history would be completed. By a fixed belief of the company, every day of the creation of God lasted 7000 years. Of equal duration will also be the Seventh Day, the day of God's rest. At the end of that day everything will become "very good" and God's wish will be fulfilled (Gen. 1:31). This will be the millenary kingdom of Christ on earth [hence the nickname of the movement MILLENARIES], which starts with the completion of 6000 years of human history, in order for 1000 years to remain left from the 7th day.

Russell calculated when these years would be and based upon the "Biblical witness" preached that they were completed in 1872 and that since then we have been in this final millennium. Knorr corrected Russell's "Biblical" calculations and preached that based on the Bible, the 6000 years would end in 1975, something that filled the company's followers with renewed hope.

When the year 1975 passed with nothing happening, the company entered a period of great crisis. In the meantime, more than a million of its followers abandoned it. Amongst these followers were included top managers such as R. Franz, a member of the "Governing Body" of Brooklyn.

It seems that this crisis has not been over yet and for this reason the "Watchtower" company has not dared yet to define a new chronology. In order to "pique" the "zeal" of its followers it continually repeats: the time is nigh, until Armageddon. But the so-called 6000 years are long past!

Today president of the company is Frederick W. Franz.

TEACHING

A basic dogma of this group is the so-called "vexed question": Satan challenged "Jehovah" claiming that he can remove the sovereignty from Him and that people can govern themselves, without "Jehovah's" aid. God could have destroyed the Devil. But He was … exposed because Satan's challenge became known to the angels. For this reason He gave Satan 6000 years in order to prove his assertion.

The "Watchtower" concludes that today there are two sides: "Jehovah's" and Satan's. Only "Jehovah's Witnesses" belong to the first one, whereas all governments, churches etc. belong to Satan's team. Basic aim of the team of "Jehovah", says the company, is to prove Satan wrong and for God to be proven right. This is done by having people on earth who reject "Satan's organisation" and enter "Jehovah's organisation" whole-heartedly.

Thus according to this view, it is not God who saves man, but man is called to "save God", viz. prove God right and Satan wrong; here lies the true meaning of man's existence!

Whoever is placed among the members that serve the "Watchtower" company enters the "only shelter". Those who are situated outside this "shelter" will be "slaughtered" at the Armageddon, whose time is "nigh". For this reason "Jehovah's Witnesses" must visit as many households as they can in order to warn people and motion them to enter this "only shelter", carrying out thus "Jehovah's work", viz. distributing the pamphlets and the other publications of the company to people's doorsteps.

The people who enter this organisation end up totally dependent upon the company (who will often try to lure them by helping them out initially), and are soon transformed into unquestioning stooges, pawns that propagate their publications. Absolute authority upon people is a basic aim of this organisation.

Another important aim of the company has a financial origin. If we suppose that the "Watchtower" publishes two fortnightly magazines, the 3,800,000 members (1988) "consume" for their "spiritual" food a proportional number of copies, which they buy directly from the company. If each member also buys 10, say, copies for their "work", then the company sell 3,800,000 x 4 x (10 +12) = 334,400,000 copies. The company also publishes two or three new books every year. Every member is committed to buy a copy for their personal use and also buy a few for the "work". If we assume each member buys on average 10 copies, then the company sell each year at least 3,800,000 x 3 x (1 + 10) = 125,400,000 books. Taking into consideration that the net profit from sales (of magazines or books) are at least 80% on sales price, we arrive at astronomical profits!

The naive followers believe however that the propagation of the company's publications leads them to participate in "Jehovah's work", so they can prove Satan wrong and participate in "Jehovah's pure worship".

Today, the Company's leadership fully rejects the contents of the Christian faith: the Triune dogma, the God/man nature of Christ, Christ's resurrection (they claim that Archangel Michael was "resurrected" in Christ's stead!), the salvation in Christ, the immortality of the soul and eternal hell. It separates followers in two types and introduces a new form of racism; the "crowds" of the followers are not saved "in Christ" but via the "work" and via the "organisation" of the "confirmed 144,000 followers of Christ". God's worship is substituted by the selling of "Watchtower's" publications, a new form of idolatry. Whoever does not obey Brooklyn's commands blindly, is announced as a "rebel against Jehovah" and is kicked out of the "shelter", into "Satan's organisation".

CRITICISM

As far as the tip of the "pyramid" in the "Watchtower" is concerned, the organisation is not a heresy or new religion but simply financial and political business. The use of the adjective "political" can be justified without the need to try and find specific examples of the "Watchtower's" dealings in the politics scene, which may or may not be true. The justification comes by examining its own politics and the exercise of absolute power that it has over millions of souls. Its "religious" beliefs do not really matter: they form part of a methodical plan which aims to transform its members into spineless beings that will be ready to execute any command they are given with religious fanaticism.

"Vexed issue"

As far as the Holy Writ is concerned, there is no "vexed issue". The Devil had already been kicked out at Christ's time (Luke 10:17-18, Jn. 12:31). He is not a ruler of the world of God, but "of this world" (Jn 16:11); he does not have power over anyone "by right", but only through sin (1 Kings / 1 Sam. 16:14. Luke 22:3.22. Jn 12:6. Mt. 26:14-16).

It is not the Devil that gives power to the rulers; this power is granted by God (Proverbs 8:15. Ezek. 29:19-20. Dan. 2:21.37-38).

The Trinitarian Dogma

We have already discussed the Dogma of the Holy Trinity. The Son is not a creation, but Creator; through Him, all things were created, and there is no thing created that was not created by Him (Jn 1:3). For this reason He is characterised as firstborn "of the whole of creation", because "through Him all things were created" (Col. 1:15-16). In this sense is He "the beginning", viz. the reason, the Creator of "God's creation" (Revel. 3:14).

The Holy Spirit is not some impersonal power, but a particular person, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity! (see our discussion on the Dogma of the Holy Trinity).

The Christian Hope

As we have already discussed, with man's falling, our nature got sick. Everyone inherits this sickness, which is "rooted" deep within us. For this reason man needs a new "root", ridden of the consequences of the fall, viz. death.

Through the "new Adam", the new patriarch, who is our new "root", we return to a communion with God, who is holy and eternal. This way, we win over not only sin, but also over death (Rom. 5:15-21. 1 Cor. 15:22-23. 45-49). Christ is this new "root", for He is true God, not one of the creations. With our entry into the Body of Christ, His own communion with God gets transferred to us too, who thus become true sons of God "by adoption". This is Christ's Gospel, this is our Christian hope.

The Holy Writ assures us that we can all become "God's children", "through the faith in Jesus Christ" (Gal. 3:26. Jn 1:12) and in fact we can become such "now" (1 Jn 3:2). We enter this new family through baptism and we all become "one in Christ" (Gal. 3:26-28). Outside this unity in Christ's Body there is no salvation (Acts 4:12.10:43. 1 Tim. 2:5-6), but only the spirit of slavery, and the enslaved man cannot call God as his Father (Rom. 8:15-17).

As we see, the teaching that refers to our salvation (soteriology) coincides with the teaching about Jesus Christ (Christology). If Christ is God and man, then man can be saved "in Christ", for a real communion between the mortal man and the immortal God was realised in the face of Christ - and with Christ's resurrection the pre-eternal enemy of man, viz. the Devil, was defeated.

Had Christ been a mere creation, He could have been able to save no one, for then in His person there would have been no real union between God and man. Whoever therefore denies the divine nature of Christ denies salvation itself and annuls the Christian hope. But the hope of the Christians is certain: "Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory." (1 Tim. 3:16).

The company "Watchtower" do not accept this Christian hope. They claim that Christ offered His life forever and never took it back again; He offered it as αντίλυτρον, (viz. ransom in the Christian sense) which in fact, according to the older view of the "Watchtower", was not given for the "church of our present age of evangelism" but only "for the world" (GM 1, p. 239. GM, 5, p. 180).

To make this view better understood to the public, we must stress that until the 1920s, the Company would preach that during the "eon of evangelism" (which spans Christ's past time on earth, the present and reaches a supposed time in future when Christ will reign on earth for a thousand years) the "harvest of the holy men" begun, whose number is 144,000. This class will be "glorified" before the establishment of the "kingdom" on earth and then the road for the "gospel" of the world's salvation will be opened, under different, more favourable, conditions.

It is then that the αντίλυτρον will come into effect!

According to this view, the "church of the present age" will not be on earth during the term of the thousand-year reign, but will have been glorified in heaven. Therefore this must be done before the application of the "αντίλυτρον"! Thus the "church" class is not saved according to Christ's sacrifice, and Christ is not the "saviour of the body", as the Bible underlines (Acts 4:12. Eph. 5:23).

The church of the "present age", viz. the confirmed 144,000 ones, receive a "different kind" of justification based on the "Lord's commission". The Lord "credits" them a perfect human life.

This means salvation "through faith" (GM, 6, p. 85-88, GM, 2, p. 180). However the Jehovah's Witnesses themselves give this up, or, as Russell phrases it, they "sacrifice" this perfect human life. Then God offers them in exchange another existence; He makes them into spiritual beings (GM, 2, p. 180-181. GM, 1, p. 239). This way, salvation does not constitute grace any more, but reward. The Company in fact likens this "sacrifice" of the 144,000 "saints" with Christ's sacrifice, the meaning of Whose sacrifice however it distorts. It claims that Christ sacrificed His human life forever, with the result of his human hypostasis becoming "nullified", annihilated. For this reason God rewarded Him with a spiritual existence! (GM, 1, p. 221-222)

The above theory of the "Watchtower" clearly rejects salvation in Christ. The class of the 144,000 confirmed "saints" does not receive the salvation in Christ, but it is "credited" to them, so that they can "sacrifice" it. This very sacrifice becomes "part of the sacrifice of his beloved Son, Jesus Christ … When the sacrifice of the members of the body ends, Jesus Christ, the Great Archpriest, again shows the value of his sacrifice" (Creation, p. 213).

Thus, Christ is not the saviour of the 144,000 ones, as the Holy Writ underlines (Eph. 5:23), but one of the "144,000 confirmed ones" (Watchtower 1963, p. 760).

This belief exists to this day. The class of the "144,000 confirmed" "sacrifices" the right of human life and God accepts this "sacrifice" and rewards them with the "hope of heavenly life" (Έστω ο Θεός αληθής, edition 1948, p. 298. Watchtower 1948, p. 265. Watchtower 1955, p. 206). The 144,000 "saints" are not any more humans, like they used to be on earth, but they become "spiritual beings", i.e. different beings, and at the same time, "saviours", like Christ. They are not saved by God, because they are created by God already "saved", spiritual "sons of God", and this as a "reward" for giving up their right they had to live as human beings!

However the following question arises: who "sacrificed" this right of life in a human hypostasis? We ask this question because the "Watchtower" supports that man is annihilated after death. Who was it then that "offered" the "αντίλυτρον" of their lives? Was it perhaps the "spiritual beings"? But these appeared later, after the "offering", as a "reward"! As a reward to who? To "nothing"?

We also notice that the above teaching opposes the Holy Bible, which underlines that there is only one mediator and only one sacrifice, and nothing can stand beside them (1 Tim. 2:5. Heb. 9:12.26.28. 10:12).

The Company preaches that all 144,000 of the "confirmed" become "as Christ", and together with Christ constitute the "saviour consisting of many members" (GM, 1, p. 91-92. 254). It also teaches that the 144,000 offered a "sacrifice" and that this sacrifice constitutes part of Christ's sacrifice, "part of the sacrifice of his self" (GM, 1, p. 239. Watchtower 1916, p. 494-495). They became "parts of the root, which will become strong during the reign of a thousand years and preserve the reborn human race" (GM, 5. p. 174).

According to this view, Christ is not "one member, but many"; Christ also is those "who were sacrificed, mediated and moderated together with him" (GM, 1, p. 89. GM, 5, p. 604-605. GM, 6, p. 97).

This blasphemy brings confusion and it seems that confusion rules the "servant's" thoughts too, viz. the Company's, because it also underlines the exact opposite thing; that the only mediator is Christ and all those who come to God will be saved "through him [Christ] … without any other sacrifice - any other such sacrifice being an abomination in the eyes of God" (GM, 3, p. 111). The Company oscillates so much in this issue, that it alters its own texts, depending on the opinion it is trying to support each time.

It claims that the blessings of the New Covenant "were confirmed by God in Christ, who sealed the covenant by his own blood" (GM, 1, p. 124. edition 1886). However, in the same book, edition 1923, it mentions the exact opposite: "μέλλει να σφραγίσει την διαθήκην ", i.e. the covenant is to be sealed in the future. It continues by saying that the "covenant" cannot be sealed before the "sacrifice" of the 144,000 "co-sacrificing, co-mediating, co-moderating and co-sacrificed" ones is offered!

This is also today's teaching: salvation "through faith" means that the 144,000 get "credited" based on Christ's sacrifice and the value of human life is "credited" to them, which life however they finally "sacrifice", in the same way that Christ did. Then God "bears them with his holy spirit and they become spiritual children of his" (Watchtower 1955, p. 227. Watchtower, 1 Feb 1985, p. 13).

"Those who will reign together with Christ in his heavenly kingdom, must similarly be baptised in death (Mark 10:37-40. Col. 2:12). In their death, they put down their human life forever, just like Jesus did, and during their resurrection they unite with him in the heavenly governance" (United in the worship of the only true God, p. 98).

However, as regards the future fate of the "world", the Company changed opinion and cancelled Russell's "joyful gospels". It does not teach any more that the "judgment" will take place during the thousand-year reign, but that this has already started in 1918 from "God's abode" and expands to the whole world. Today, they claim, the "sheep" are being separated from the "yeanlings", and there won't be another chance during the "thousand-year reign", as Russell used to preach.

We do not therefore need to await the "receiving" of the 144,000. The "evangelical age" is not only for the selection of the "saints". After all, their number was completed in 1935! Those who enter the "organisation of Jehovah" now, they enter another "class", the class of "sheep" who do not belong in the New Covenant. This class does not receive God's spirit of adoption but becomes adopted by the 144,000. Those who belong to this class will be in a position to become "grandchildren of God" during the "thousand-year reign"! (God be true, edition 1948, p. 146. Watchtower 1955, p. 5).

For those who belong to the class of the "grandchildren of God" it can be said that they have a "token forgiveness" because "since the time of the Pentecost, only those who belong to the body of Christ are announced as just, and this is done through faith … The rest of the obedient members from the human race will be justified to life eternal after it goes through the trial of the thousand-year reign of Christ to the end" (Watchtower 1955, p. 277).

This "token forgiveness" is based upon "their faith in Christ" the Company claims (Watchtower 1955, p. 227). However they must express this "faith" of theirs. In what way? By applying the house-to-house "work". The Company continues: "That they have faith in Jesus' sacrifice, which is also expressed by their paying a holy service to God, leads to keep them alive during the greatest part of the times of disaster on earth" (Watchtower 1 March 1986, p. 24).

Here we see once again that "salvation" stems from "works", not from "faith"; and that this "salvation" is not final. Those who express this "faith", through their house-to-house "work" of the "Watchtower", will be "kept alive" through the Armageddon. But they must go through another trial at the end of the "thousand-year reign". This teaching was given in 1930 (Challenge, 3, p. 83): they would surely survive the Armageddon "alive".

However, in 1936 the Company declared that "it is possible that they are lost during the day of Jehovah's wrath" (Riches, p. 109. Theocracy, p. 80). In 1960 the Company changed opinion once again and declared: "None of those who received the sign will be murdered. Only the people who did not let themselves be marked, i.e. be identified with the class of the faithful and sensible servant, will be murdered" (Awake, 8 Dec 1960, p. 29). But three years later, instead of "murdered" we have "they may be preserved" (Awake, 8 April 1963, p. 28). In 1975 the Company mentioned that they will be preserved as a "class", but "individually some may die … during the time of the great sorrow" (Watchtower 1975, p. 570. Things…, p. 369). And in 1986: they will be "preserved alive" (Watchtower, 1 March 1986, p. 24)!

For this … uncertain hope the followers of the "Watchtower" organisation must stay united with the "confirmed" ones, by doing the Company's work (Watchtower, 15 Feb 1980, p. 27).

Generally, one can point out that the "gospel" of "salvation from works" is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christ told the Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee for those who said they themselves claimed that they were righteous (Luke 18:9-14). Apostle Paul calls them "fools" (2 Corinth. 10:12), because, as the Holy Writ teaches, "all of them went astray" and "were corrupted" (Ps. 14:3. 53:1. c.f. Rom. 3:10-12). "All righteousness of ours is like a filthy cloth" (Is. 64:6. Jer. 2:22).

Salvation is not fruit of man's efforts but fruit of God's love and mercy given to the faithful, for faith is counted to him as "justice" (Rom. 4:5) and this way man is saved "by grace" (Eph. 2:4-6), through the "one mediator", Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5), "not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (2 Tim. 1:9). "You are saved through faith by grace; and this is not from us; it is God's gift; not from works" (Eph. 2:8-9. Gal. 3:11-14. Tit. 3:3-7).

The new life is a gift from God in Jesus Christ, fruit of the rebirth, it does not depend on our non-existent "sacrifice", but on God's mercy (Rom. 9:16. Is. 53:4-12). "God's gift is life eternal through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 6:23). There is no salvation away from Christ (Jn 14:6. Acts 4:12).

The conclusion is that the Company threatens eternal life, because it teaches salvation "from works" and not "from faith".

The "authenticity" of the "Watchtower"

We shall not examine here other dogmatic issues with a critical eye because we believe the above will suffice.

After all, we already discussed the immortality of the soul, the Biblical teaching on Ecclesia and we underlined that she constitutes one flock.

What we still need to do (and we had promised it when talking about the Seventh Day Adventists) is discuss in detail the Orthodox position on Eschatology. We shall do so in the near future (Advanced Comparative Notes).

We would like to close our analysis with a vital issue, which proves that the whole construction of the "Watchtower" Company is based on sand: its claims that it represents an "instrument" through which God interprets the Holy Writ!

Let us begin to describe this cacodoxy.

The company "Watchtower" claims that it is the "only channel" of God (Watchtower 1960, p. 471) and that its publications are God's words (Watchtower, 1 Oct 1987) and "revealed truth from Jehovah God" (Watchtower 1967, p. 667). For this reason the word of the "Watchtower" is considered necessary for salvation (Watchtower 1955, p. 22); it is the "most important thing" (Awake 22 Sep 1963, p. 30) and we must "read and digest all articles of the Watchtower" (Awake 8 Mar 192, p. 30). If we doubt its "divine" authenticity, we become "rebels against Jehovah" (Watchtower 1956, p. 270). Moreover, the company "Watchtower" is considered as a "prophet of God" in our times (Watchtower 1973, p. 342).

"Jehovah's Witnesses" are in no position to understand the holy Bible outside the "organisation" (Watchtower 1968, p. 11): "God is the Interpreter, and the company Watchtower is the medium" (Theocratic help, 1945, p. 40). To even think that the Watchtower can be wrong is a characteristic of "imperfect people" (Watchtower 1959, p. 349) and proof of "immaturity" (Watchtower 1960, p. 476).

How can a company which started out as a "private business" and was developed into a stock company make such a claim?

How can a "Council of Managers", who are elected by the stockholders of a company (Watchtower 1972, p. 149), be considered as a "channel of God"?

The Company states that "Jehovah" is an "unchanging God" who "cannot be wrong", because he is "reliable, credible and true to his word" (Watchtower 1954, p. 327, c.f. Mal. 3:6, Jer. 4:27-28. Is. 14:24, verses to which the Watchtower itself refers the reader to).

However we notice that the Company does not stay true to its word.

As we saw above, in the past it happened that it sometimes preached something as "divine", for many years, and later on claim that it was something "evil". This did not stop them from returning to the "old light" of its "truth", or rather the "old vomit", as the holy Writ calls such "truths" (Proverbs 26:11). Furthermore, in the name of God it taught many false prophecies (we shall give more information on the false prophecies of the Company in the future).

The authenticity therefore of the "Watchtower" is non-existent; it is proved a false prophet (Deut. 18:20-22) according to the Biblical "canon", to which the Company itself refers to (Talk Projects, p. 59), and this because it has often preached things in the name of God that were neither confirmed nor constituted the "word of God".

FOOTNOTES

religion = Elsewhere we write that the Bible does not use the word θρησκεία in the modern sense of the word religion and that Orthodoxy is thus not a religion. This biblical quote might seem to contradict our previous statement as it talks about religion, although there is no real problem since Orthodoxy is the true religion, in the Orthodox sense, and one could claim that the word is used here in that sense. However the translation was taken from the KJV, where the translators decided to replace the word piety (ευσέβεια) with the word religion. The original speaks about the "mystery of piety".