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c. God helps them to understand the Bible through The Watchtower magazine
d. That God will vindicate them as His ‘prophet’
-- Just as Mormons look to Joseph Smith as a prophet, so JWs look to their
organization as a prophet of God today. Do they pass the test of a prophet (cf.
Deu 18:20-22)?
Mark A. Copeland
C. REVIEW PROPHETIC FAILURES OF THEIR AUTHORITY
1. What was supposed to happen to churches in 1918?
a. “Until 1878 the nominal church had been in a sense God’s sanctuary or Temple; but He
was from then on, culminating in 1918, to remove it with a stroke or plague of
erroneous doctrines and deeds Divinely permitted.” (The Finished Mystery,
Watchtower Bible And Tract Society, Brooklyn, NY, 1917, p. 484-485)
b. “Also, in the year 1918, when God destroys the churches wholesale and the church
members by millions, it shall be that any that escape shall come to the works of Pastor
Russell to learn the meaning of the downfall of ‘Christianity’.” (ibid.)
2. Who was supposed to be resurrected in 1925?
a. “That period of time 1575 before A.D. 1 of necessity would end in the fall of the year
1925, at which time the type ends and the great antitype must begin. What, then,
should we expect to take place?” (Millions Now Living Will Never Die,
Watchtower Bible And Tract Society, Brooklyn, NY, 1920, p. 88-91)
b. “The chief thing to be restored is the human race to life; and since other Scriptures
definitely fix the fact that there will be a resurrection of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and
other faithful ones of old, and that these will have the first favor, we may expect 1925 to
witness the return of these faithful men of Israel from the condition of death, being
resurrected and fully restored to perfect humanity and made the visible, legal
representatives of the new order of things on earth.” (ibid.)
c. “Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will remark the return of Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, and the faithful prophets of old, particularly those named by the Apostle in
Hebrews chapter eleven, to the condition of human perfection.” (ibid.)
3. What was supposed to happen in 1975?
a. “According to this trustworthy Bible chronology six thousand years from man’s creation
will end in 1975, and the seventh period of a thousand years of human history will begin
in the fall of 1975 C.E.” (Life Everlasting - In Freedom Of The Sons Of God, p.
29)
b. “That millennium will bring a sabbathlike rest to the earth and all those then inhabiting
it.” (AWAKE, 8 October 1968, p. 14)
c. “Are we to assume from this study that the battle of Armageddon will be all over by the
autumn of 1975, and the long-looked-for thousand-year reign of Christ will begin by
then? Possibly, but we wait to see how closely the seventh thousand-year period
coincides with the sabbathlike thousand-year reign of Christ...It may involve only a
difference of weeks or months, not years.” (Why Are You Looking Forward To
1975?, The Watchtower, August 15, 1968, Brooklyn, NY, p. 499)
d. “Reports are heard of brothers selling their homes and property and planning to finish
out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service. Certainly this is a fine
way to spend the short time remaining before the wicked world’s end.” (Kingdom
Ministry, May 1974, p. 3)
4. How do JWs try to deflect criticism for such mistakes?
a. By saying they admit their mistakes, while false prophets do not
b. That early Christians in Acts made mistakes, yet were spoken of with approval
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