Jehovah's Witnesses And False Prophets
Jehovah's Witnesses freely
admit that they have made failed predictions in the past. Is this enough
to categorize them as false prophets?
Deuteronomy 18:22 states that a false prophet
is one who, in the name of the Lord, makes a prophecy which does not
take place and is not true. How does all of this square with the Jehovah's
Witnesses claim that just because they have made a few errors does not
mean that they are therefore false prophets?
First of all, the Watchtower (which is the
organizational name of Jehovah's Witnesses) claimed to have been acting
as God's uniquely-appointed official, or modern-day prophet, when it
issued its numerous false predictions. This alone, according to Deuteronomy
18, is enough to qualify them as false prophets. But there's more.
The prophecies proclaimed by the Watchtower
were not considered by the organization as "optional." In other words,
to remain a Jehovah's Witness in good standing, you must wholeheartedly
believe in and uphold these prophecies made by the Watchtower. They
were certainly not expendable.
You see, the prophecies themselves concerned
important events holding significant implications. For example, the
Watchtower initially proclaimed that Jesus' second coming happened invisibly
in the year 1874. Today, Jehovah's Witnesses believed this event actually
took place in the year 1914. It's important to note that Paul issued
very strong warnings about those setting false dates concerning Christ's
return (2 Thes. 2:1-3).
Fourth, the Watchtower's false prophecies
have produced nothing but despair and disillusionment, and have caused
many Jehovah's Witnesses to resort to drastic measures which they would
not have taken otherwise. Numbers of Jehovah's Witnesses, for instance,
quit their jobs and liquidated their personal belongings as they anticipated
the world to end in the year 1975. Needless to say, that prediction
never materialized.
Well, when all the facts are considered, it
becomes readily apparent that Jehovah's Witnesses are false prophets
who fill people "with false hopes" (Jer. 23:16).
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