Jehovah's Witnesses: False Prophecies

[We_Are_VENOM]

.

First off, let me preface this by saying the following..

1. As mentioned on another thread, I have many years invested in dealing with Jehovah's Witnesses (JW's), from family, to friends, to strangers. I am very familiar with them and their theology.

2. I am beginning a series of threads attacking their "Christian" theology and doctrine. This one, as titled, deals with Jehovah's Witnesses and their false prophecies.

3. I have beef with, not only JW's, but ANYONE of whom I believe to be spreading false Christian doctrine. This includes, but not limited to...

A.) Mormons
B.) Catholics
C.) World Mission Society Church of God
D.) Hebrew Israelites

Jehovah's Witnesses are just one of many false Christian denominations. But, we are talking about Jehovah's Witnesses for now.

So, the question is ultimately; Why do I feel as if Jehovah's Witnesses are false teachers? There are many reasons, and one of those reasons is their many failed attempts at predicting prophecy.

Before I continue on post #2, keep in mind that future threads in this series will go straight to the gusto, with no preface.

Just FYI.

[Miles]

Yeah. I asked because We_Are_VENOM wrote, "Jehovah's Witnesses are just one of many false Christian denominations." Implying that some are not false.

I also wrote something along the lines of..

".....but we are talking about Jehovah's Witnesses for now".

Did you catch that part?

Yup.


.

[onewithhim]

[Replying to We_Are_VENOM in post #1]
I am familiar with all the objections about things that JWs have said would probably happen but did not. My outlook is this: JWs never claimed to be prophets. They merely took prophecies that were already in the Bible and presented their own understanding of them. They have always consulted the Scriptures and then set forth their understanding. It is commendable that they have admitted their mistakes and have not ignored them or tried to cover them up.

Judge Rutherford built a house for one of the ancient forefathers because he thought that the resurrection would come in his day. He didn't claim to get the idea straight from God, did he? That is what a prophet does. Not Rutherford or Russell or any of the other leaders of the WTS.

They set 1975 as the year most probably that Armageddon would come. I was baptized in that year, and I, along with everyone else in my congregation, took it as a possibility but not a fact written in stone. Why could we feel that way? Because the WTS didn't blow a foghorn and announce that the Great Tribulation would definitely start in 1975. If you look in literature from 1974, even December, there is nothing about 1975 being the year. 1975 came and went, and I was fine with it. It would've been nice, but oh well.

Every other so-called prophecy was just an educated GUESS, revealing a current understanding of certain texts, but then finding out that further research into the matter should be done. Not a prophet's stand.

Im sure you know that other religions have made their own guesses. The important thing to observe, however, is what are the various religions DOING? If you can find any deceit or actions contrary to what the Bible teaches, then that religion is not of God. It's easy to see the faults of other religions. But how are JWs to be condemned for what they do when it is what the Scriptures tell us to do or not do? We are the only ones who, for instance, follow Christ's commands to the letter.

[onewithhim]

[Replying to We_Are_VENOM in post #2]

1914? They expected to go to heaven in that year. They understood that something big would happen that year, but their opinions went too far. They DID get one thing right.....something big did happen; it was the end of the "times of the nations," that is the time that Jerusalem (or God's people) would be mercilessly bullied by the nations. According to Bible chronology, that year would be 1914, the year that God's own Kingdom would once again interfere with what the nations were doing and guide His people in an unprecidented work of preaching the Kingdom to all the nations. In this, the Lord's Day, the end would come, but we don't know exactly when. If you want to argue with this, have someone show you the Bible chronology. Or I will if you've stopped talking to JWs.

[Checkpoint]

[Replying to onewithhim in post #13]

We are the only ones who, for instance, follow Christ's commands to the letter.

As time has continued and the Lord has not returned, that claim has, sadly, become hollow.

The specifics and the reasonings you know far better than I do.

When I think of it, I feel so sad for the millions who have been affected.

Love y'all anyway, somehow!

[JehovahsWitness]

... the question is ultimately; Why do I feel as if Jehovah's Witnesses are false teachers?

Is this the question of debate?

I don't see how anyone can tell you why you feel as you do. We cannot debate feelings, much less the feelings of someone else.

[JehovahsWitness]

... Jehovah's Witnesses ... many failed attempts at predicting prophecy.

ARE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES "FALSE PROPHETS"?

Jehovahs Witnesses have never "predicted" prophecy. What we have done is given their interpretation of existing prophecy. It is a matter of historical fact that sometimes we have been right and sometimes...wrong.


Infallibility is not a scriptural requirement for true Christians, if it were most of the Apostles including Peter would not have had Jesus approval.


I believe past interpretational errors were simply part of the learning experience Gods people have always had to go through. There is no scriptural basis for concluding that errors, even misunderstanding about prophecy, mean people cannot be God's chosen people.






JW





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JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES , FALSE PROPHETS and ...FAILED PREDICTIONS,

[onewithhim]

[Replying to onewithhim in post #13]

We are the only ones who, for instance, follow Christ's commands to the letter.

As time has continued and the Lord has not returned, that claim has, sadly, become hollow.

The specifics and the reasonings you know far better than I do.

When I think of it, I feel so sad for the millions who have been affected.

Love y'all anyway, somehow!

Which millions are you referring to? The 8+ millions of Jehovah's Witnesses? None of us find anything sad about our position in God's organization. We know what is about to take place, as the Bible is clear and there is no guessing about it, e.g., the cry of "peace and security" and the destruction of Babylon the Great. We have a wonderful spiritual paradise even now, with all brothers and sisters united in thought and deed. We look forward to an awesome paradise on Earth that God purposed from the beginning. I think we're more anxiety-free than any other people on Earth.

[Tcg]

Which millions are you referring to? The 8+ millions of Jehovah's Witnesses? None of us find anything sad about our position in God's organization.

How could you possibly know that about a group that includes 8+ million people? You couldn't have talked to more than an infinitesimally small fraction of the group.


Tcg

[Eloi]

Which millions are you referring to? The 8+ millions of Jehovah's Witnesses? None of us find anything sad about our position in God's organization.

How could you possibly know that about a group that includes 8+ million people? You couldn't have talked to more than an infinitesimally small fraction of the group.


Tcg

All persons who are part of this people, do it of their own free will. They have chosen the only real alternative to serving Jehovah God, outside of the religious hypocrisy that exists throughout the world. If the people who are Jehovah's Witnesses weren't happy, they wouldn't be here, but with some of the groups or subgroups of people who waste time opposing a happy people ... which is a total waste of time.

Jehovah's Witnesses have never said that we are prophets in the style of predicting events by any special capacity or authority that we have. To find people who claim they are prophets, look for them in Christendom out there. We have been away from that religious world for more than 100 years.

[Tcg]

[Replying to Eloi in post #20]

To spend only 5 minutes talking to each of the reported 8+ million individuals would take 75 years. That doesn't include time out for sleep or the logistical effort of determining how to contact these individuals. It would take more than a century. At that point you'd have to start over because those you interviewed early on would be dead and presumably others would have joined to JWs. It is a logical impossibility for one individual to know the opinions on a given subject of each individual in a group of 8+ million.


Tcg