Page 4: In view of the prophetic nature and highly symbolic language of this book, the adjective "apocalyptic" came to be applied to a form of literature that began long before the Bible book of Revelation was written. The mythological symbolism of this literature goes back to ancient Persia and even beyond.
Correction: Much of the "apocalyptic" portions of Revelation are found in the Old Testament.
Job 9:6 He shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble;
Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.
Joel 2:30-31 "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD."
Zechariah 14:12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.
Pages 4-5: The Bible book of Revelation speaks of "the war of the great day of God the Almighty," or Armageddon, wherein the wicked will be destroyed, followed by a thousand-year period (sometimes called the Millennium) during which Satan will be abyssed and Christ will judge humankind. (Revelation 16:14, 16; 20:1-4)
Correction: Armageddon is the place where the armies will be gathered against Jesus Christ.
Revelation 16:16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
Page 5: The word "apocalypse" comes from a Greek term that means "uncovering," or "unveiling." What was unveiled, or revealed, in the Biblical Revelation?
Answer: Jesus Christ.
Revelation 1:1-2 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants; things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.
Page 7: Relying on Greek philosophy rather than on the Bible, Origen diluted the wonderful hope of earthly blessings under the Messianic Kingdom into an incomprehensible "event ... in the souls of believers."
Correction: The Watch Tower has no concept of the spiritual kingdom of God.
Romans 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Page 7: Augustine was undoubtedly the Church Father who did the most to fuse Greek philosophy with what was by this time only a semblance of Christianity. Initially an ardent advocate of millenarianism, he eventually rejected any idea of a future Millennial Reign of Christ over the earth. He gave Revelation chapter 20 an allegorical twist.
Note: The Watch Tower has given Revelation chapter 19 an allegorical twist by saying that Jesus Christ will not be returning to the planet Earth.
Revelation 19:11-16 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Matthew 24:29-30 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
Page 7: The Protestant Reformers of the Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican traditions ... remained firmly attached to the views of Augustine." Thus, the members of Christendom's churches were deprived of the millennial hope.
Note: Jehovah's Witnesses have been deprived by the Watch Tower of the true Christian hope.
1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,
Page 7: Moreover, according to Swiss theologian Frederic de Rougemont, "by repudiating his initial faith in the thousand-year reign, (Augustine) caused incalculable damage to the Church.
Correction: True Christians like Augustine place their faith in Jesus Christ.
Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Note: The Watch Tower should listen to the words of Augustine.
Happy is the man whom Truth by itself does teach, not by figures and transient words, but as it is in itself. Our own judgment and feelings often deceive us, and we discern but little of the truth. What does it profit to argue about hidden and dark things, concerning which we shall not be even reproved in the judgment, because we knew them not? Oh, grievous folly, to neglect the things which are profitable and necessary, and to give our minds to things which are curious and hurtful! Having eyes, we see not. The Imitation of Christ, Chapter III.
Page 9: An often cited Scriptural basis for the public ministry of Jehovah's Witnesses is Jesus' statement: "This good news of the kingdom will be heralded in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14)
Note: The Jehovah's Witnesses are not suffering for the name of Jesus.
Matthew 24:9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake."
Note: The good news of the kingdom is about Jesus Christ.
Acts 28:30-31 Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.
Page 9: And what is "this good news of the kingdom"? Many Witnesses would answer by quoting verses from Revelation chapters 20 and 21 that refer to the Thousand Year Reign of Christ and his Kingdom government and the human society, where death, mourning, and pain will be "no more." - Revelation 20:6; 21:1, 4.
Correction: The good news of the kingdom is about Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the good news which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you; unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
Page 9: As heralds of these glad tidings, Jehovah's Witnesses are really the mouthpiece of a symbolic heavenly messenger whose mission is also described in Revelation. "I saw another angel flying in midheaven, and he had everlasting good news to declare as glad tidings to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people." (Revelation 14:6)
Correction: No symbolic language in this verse thus Jehovah's Witnesses are not angels.
Revelation 14:7 saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."
Note: Jesus Christ created everything.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
Page 9: The "everlasting good news" includes the announcement that "the kingdom (or, rulership) of the world" has "become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ" and that Jehovah's "appointed time" has come "to bring to ruin those ruining the earth." (Revelation 11:15, 17, 18) Is that not truly good news?
Correction: The good news is about salvation through Jesus not about destruction.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the good news of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
Page 10: The opening chapter of the book of Revelation presents Jehovah as "the Alpha and the Omega, ... the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty."
Correction: The book of Revelation presents Jesus as "the Alpha and the Omega."
Revelation 1:11 saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,"
Revelation 1:17-18 "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."
Page 10: And it presents his Son, Jesus Christ, as "the Faithful Witness," "the first-born from the dead," and "the Ruler of the kings of the earth."
Note: Jesus Christ is "the Faithful Witness" of Himself.
John 8:18 "I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."
Page 10: "Those who dwell on the earth" will not benefit from the glad tidings brought to them unless they recognize the sovereignty of Jehovah, put faith in the shed blood of Jesus, and believe that Jehovah resurrected him and that Christ is now earth's God-appointed Ruler.
-Psalm 2:6-8.
Correction: People must put their sincere trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
Psalm 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
Page 10: The messages to the congregations usually begin with such words as "I know your deeds" or "I know your tribulation." (Revelation 2:2, 9) Yes, Christ knew exactly what was going on in the congregations of his disciples.
Note: Are you proclaiming the name of Jesus?
Revelation 2:13 "I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells."
Revelation 3:8 "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name."
Page 10: Chapter 4 provides an awe-inspiring vision of the heavenly throne of Jehovah God. It offers a glimpse of the glory of Jehovah's presence and of the heavenly ruling structure he will use.
Note: Jesus Christ is standing in the middle of the throne of Jehovah God.
Revelation 5:6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Page 11: If they want life under the Millennial Kingdom, they must heed what the "angel flying in midheaven" proclaims: "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of the judgment by him has arrived." (Revelation 14:6, 7)
Note: Are you giving glory to the Father and the Son?
Revelation 6:15-16 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!"
Page 11: One of the main purposes of the Bible educational work carried out by Jehovah's Witnesses is to help "those who dwell on the earth" to know and worship Jehovah, recognize his Creatorship, and willingly submit to his righteous sovereignty.
Correction: The Jehovah's Witnesses have missed Jesus Christ.
John 14:7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."
Page 11: This vision teaches that on the basis of Christ's shed blood, certain humans of all origins are called to be with him in heaven and "rule as kings over the earth." (Compare Revelation 1:5, 6) Their limited number is revealed later in Revelation.
Correction: This hope is not limited to just certain humans for there is no partiality with God.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Page 11: In another vision, Christ is presented as the crowned rider of a white horse, going forth "conquering and to complete his conquest." Happily, he will conquer the evil effects symbolized by the three other horsemen of the Apocalypse, whose furious ride has brought war, famine, and death to mankind since the pivotal year 1914. (Revelation 6:1-8)
Correction: This vision is of a future world ruler known as the antichrist.
Daniel 7:21-22 "I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom."
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
Note: 1914 is based on the bogus date of 607 BCE for the destruction of Jerusalem.
Page 11: The unique role of Christ, the Lamb of God, in the salvation of mankind and in the outworking of Jehovah's wonderful purposes is a principal theme of the Bible-teaching work of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Correction: Jehovah's Witnesses do not preach Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:22-24 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Page 11: Chapter 7 contains glad tidings indeed. Only in the book of Revelation do we find the number of those whom Jesus called the "little flock" to whom the Lamb's Father gives the Kingdom. (Luke 12:32; 22:28-30)
Correction: Jesus had twelve disciples or in essence a "little flock."
Luke 12:22 Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on."
Page 11: The apostle John, who received the Revelation, attests: "I heard the number of those who were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand." (Revelation 7:4)
Note: These witnesses are sealed for protection from the wrath of God poured out on the earth.
Revelation 7:2-3 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."
Page 11: This precise number is confirmed in a later chapter as being the total of those "bought from among mankind" to rule with the Lamb on the heavenly Mount Zion. (Revelation 14:1-4)
Correction: This witnesses will rule from the earthly Mount Zion after the return of Jesus.
Zechariah 14:16-17 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain.
Pages 11-12: In verse 9, the apostle John wrote: "After these things I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues." (Revelation 7:9) Who compose this great crowd, what is their present standing before God, and what does the future hold for them?
Answer: Their destiny is heaven since Jesus and the throne of God is in heaven.
Revelation 7:9-10 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
Page 12: The apocalyptic answer is good news for earth dwellers.
Correction: The Watch Tower is giving false hope to people.
Revelation 8:13 And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!"
Page 12: Through faith in Christ's shed blood, they will be protected during "the great tribulation." Christ "will guide them to fountains of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes." (Revelation 7:14-17)
Correction: True Christians will be martyred during "the great tribulation."
Revelation 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
Page 12: These judgments will be executed, first against false religion ("Babylon the Great"), then against the ungodly political systems, symbolized by wild beasts. - Revelation 13:1, 2; 17:5-7, 15, 16.
Correction: The judgments will be first be against the earth itself.
Revelation 8:7 The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
Page 12: These chapters portray the cleansing of the heavens, with Satan and his demons being cast down to the vicinity of the earth. This provides the only logical explanation for the unprecedented world distress since 1914. (Revelation 12:7-12)
Correction: Chapters 8 to 19 mostly portray the judgments coming on earth and its inhabitnets.
Revelation 8:11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.
Revelation 9:18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed; by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths.
Pages 12-13: May such people worship and serve Jehovah alongside his Witnesses, "who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus."
Note: Are you a Jesus Witness?
Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Page 13: The churches of Christendom have rejected the Millennial hope.
Correction: Many Christendom churches teach dispensational eschatology and the millennium.
This thousand-year period will be the best the earth has ever known. There will be no war. Crime will be nonexistent. Satan will be locked up where he can't cause any trouble. People will live with an eternal perspective and won't be so driven by ambition and selfishness. The fear of death will not hang over everyone, because God Himself, in the Person of Jesus Christ, sits on the throne. DATELINE EARTH, Chuck Smith, page 176.
Page 13: Since church dogma has it that the righteous go to heaven and the wicked to hell, it has no place for a paradise earth.
Correction: The Watch Tower is slandering many churches of Christendom.
Note: True Christians will be in heaven during "the great tribulation."
Revelation 19:1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great crowd in heaven, saying, "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!"
Note: True Christians will return to earth with Jesus and reign for a thousand years.
Revelation 19:14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Note: The wicked or those who have put their trust in Jesus will be in the "lake of fire."
Rev 20:15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Page 13: Since "power of judging" is given to those who "rule as kings with him (Christ) for the thousand years," this period is, in fact, a thousand-year "day" of judgment.
Correction: This thousand year reign of Jesus will be a time of rejoicing.
Isaiah 35:5-7 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
Page 13: The dead will be resurrected and, together with the survivors of "the great tribulation," will be judged equitably according to their deeds, or actions, during that time.
Correction: The dead not in Jesus Christ will be resurrected after the thousand years. 1 Th 4:16.
Revelation 20:7 Now when the thousand years have expired,
Revelation 20: 12 And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
Pages 13-14: Humans who pass the test will have their names written indelibly in "the book of life" and will be ushered into an eternity of happy life, serving and worshiping Jehovah on a paradise earth. - Revelation 20:14, 15; Psalm 37:9, 29; Isaiah 66:22, 23.
Note: Are you a overcomer whose faith is in Jesus Christ?
Rev 3:5 "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels."
1 John 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world; our faith.
Page 14: I JOHN ... came to be in the isle that is called Patmos for speaking about God and bearing witness to Jesus." (Revelation 1:9) Such were the circumstances which the apostle John wrote the book Apocalypse, or Revelation.
Note: Are you a Jesus Witness?
Page 15: To put it simply, the actual Source of the Revelation is Jehovah God, who gave it to Jesus, and by means of an angel, Jesus communicated it to John.
Correction: The revelation is from the Father to the Son, to an angel, to John, to His servants.
Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God (theos) gave Him to show His servants; things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,
Page 15: Jehovah still uses his Son, the "head of the congregation," to teach his servants on earth. (Ephesians 5:23; Isaiah 54:13; John 6:45)
Correction: Are you in submission to Jesus Christ?
Ephesians 5:24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
Page 15: Jehovah also uses his spirit to instruct his people. (John 15:26; 1 Corinthians 2:10)
Note: True Christians will have the Holy Spirit with and inside themselves.
John 14:16-17 "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."
Page 15: And just as Jesus used "his slave John" to communicate sustaining spiritual food to the first-century congregations, so today he uses "the faithful and discreet slave," made up of his anointed "brothers" on earth, to give his domestics and their companions spiritual "food at the proper time." (Matthew 24:45-47; 25:40)
Correction: God will use and admonish individuals not organizations.
Matthew 24:44 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
Page 16: (Revelation 2:23) This is at once a warning and an encouragement - a warning that Christ knows our deep-seated motives, an encouragement because it assures us that Christ is aware of our efforts and will bless us if we do what we can. - Mark 14:6-9; Luke 21:3, 4.
Note: Only God can know our deep-seated motives.
Deuteronomy 2:7 "For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing."
Psalm 44:21 Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.
Page 16: Spirit-anointed Christians went through a particular time of testing during and immediately following World War I.
Correction: Judge Rutherford was a conniving attorney.
No sooner had Charles T. Russell died (1916) than there came into play a behind-the-seen tug of war for his mantle. Russell's will left instructions for certain men to succeed him. However, the legal counsel, Judge Rutherford, was able to maneuver proxies of the Corporation in such a way that he emerged President of the Watchtower Society. In order to quiet somewhat the furor which had arisen over the high-handed way in which this subversion was accomplished, he succeeded early in the war to create an issue outside of the Organization through his editorial policy of the Watchtower magazine, the outcome of which was to put him into the position of a hero. 30 YEARS A WATCHTOWER SLAVE, William J. Schnell, page 34.
Page 16: Yet, "the hour of test" is still on. It effects "the whole inhabited earth," including the millions making up the great crowd, who hope to survive the great tribulation.
Correction: The Watch Tower is giving people false hope.
Revelation 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them."
Page 16: Happy we will be if we 'keep what Jesus said about endurance,' namely: "He that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved." - Matthew 24:13.
Correction: True Christians will endure until the end of their life.
Matthew 24:9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake."
Page 17: Our voices should be heard among those that say: "To the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever."
Note: Do you worship the Father and the Son together in the power of the Holy Spirit?
Page 17: In a practical way, this means our being joyfully submissive to Jehovah's will in all things. The apostle Paul wrote: "Whatever it is that you do in word or in work, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, thanking God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:17)
Note: Are you doing everything in the name of Jesus or Jehovah?
Page 17: Our reading of Revelation will make us truly happy if we in the innermost recesses of our minds and hearts recognize Jehovah's sovereignty and take his will into account in every aspect of our lives.
Correction: True Christians are happy since salvation belongs to the Father and the Son.
Revelation 7:10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
Page 17: Joyful submission to Jehovah's sovereignty is the basis for happiness on a personal level and on a universal level.
Correction: Abiding in Jesus Christ is the basis for true Christian joy.
John 15:11-12 "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
Page 17: Their standing before the throne of God shows that they recognize that throne and fully submit to Jehovah's sovereignty. They therefore stand approved.
Correction: True Christians will be in heaven since the throne of God is in heaven.
Matthew 23:22 "And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it."
Page 17: On the other hand, chapter 13 depicts the rest of earth's inhabitants as worshipping Satan's political system, symbolized by a wild beast.
Correction: The wild beast is the future world ruler known as the antichrist.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
Note: This future world ruler will reign for three and a half years.
Revelation 13:5 And he (not it) was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he (not it) was given authority to continue for forty-two months.
Page 17: They receive a mark on their "forehead" or on their "hand," showing their mental and physical support for that system. (Revelation 13:1-8, 16, 17)
Correction: The mark is for economic and identification purposes to enforce conformity.
Revelation 13:16-17 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Page 18: Happy will those be who avoid receiving the mark of the beast and who endure faithfully in submission to Jehovah's sovereignty.
Correction: The Watch Tower is giving people false hope of surviving "the great tribulation."
Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Note: Those not receiving the "mark" will reign with Jesus Christ.
Page 18: The rulers of "the entire inhabited earth" are on a collision course, heading for a confrontation with Jehovah over the issue of sovereignty.
Correction: The wicked are heading for a confrontation with Jesus for judgment.
John 5:22 "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,"
Page 18: The showdown will be Armageddon, "the war of the great day of God the Almighty."
Note: It won't be a contest at all.
2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
Page 18: The message is clear: If we want to survive Armageddon, we must remain spiritually alert and keep the symbolic garments that identify us as faithful Witnesses of Jehovah God.
Correction: True Christians will avoid "the great tribulation" through Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
Pages 18-19: Happy we will be if we avoid spiritual lethargy and continue without letup, sharing zealously in spreading the "everlasting good news" of God's established Kingdom.
Note: The Watch Tower has placed Jehovah's Witnesses under a curse of God. (1 Cor. 15:1-4)
Galatians 1:8-9 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other good news to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other good news to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
Page 19: As the wonderful series of visions closed, the angelic messenger said to John: "These words are faithful and true; yes, Jehovah the God of the inspired expressions of the prophets sent his angel forth to show his slaves the things that must shortly take place. Happy is anyone observing the words of the prophecy of this scroll." - Revelation 22:6, 7.
Note: The Watch Tower mistranslating of these verses is clear due to whose angel was sent.
Page 15: To put it simply, the actual Source of the Revelation is Jehovah God, who gave it to Jesus, and by means of an angel, Jesus communicated it to John.
Correction: It was Jesus who sent the angel.
Revelation 22:16 "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star."
Page 19: He must yet come to execute judgment on Babylon the Great, Satan's political system, and on all humans who refuse to submit to Jehovah's sovereignty, as now expressed by the Messianic Kingdom.
Correction: People who refuse to believe in Jesus expressed by simply trust are condemned.
John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Page 19: Jehovah himself states: "Look! I am coming quickly, and the reward I give is with me, to render to each one as his work is." (Revelation 22:12)
Note: Jesus Christ is the one coming to the earth.
Matthew 24:30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming (erchomai) on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
Matthew 24:42 "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming (erchomai)."
Revelation 22:12 "And behold, I am coming (erchomai) quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work."
Page 21: Early in 1935, Dad wrote the Watch Tower Society and asked a number of questions regarding the Christian hope of everlasting life. (John 14:2; 2 Timothy 2:11, 12; Revelation 14:1, 3; 20:6) He received a reply directly from Joseph F. Rutherford, then president of the Society. Instead of answering his questions, Brother Rutherford invited Dad to attend the convention of Jehovah's Witnesses in Washington, D.C., in May.
Note: True Christians will place their hope in Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 1:2-4 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.
1 Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?
Page 21: For the rest of their lives, the hope of eternal life on a paradise earth motivated Mom and Dad, and they encouraged us children to "get a firm hold on the real life," which for us meant the everlasting life on earth that Jehovah offers.
Correction: The "real life" is found only in Jesus Christ.
Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Page 24: Edwena concluded: "I thank Jehovah for parents who by word and example showed us the happiness that we can have if we build our lives around serving our loving God, Jehovah."
Note: True Christians serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 16:18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
Page 25: When I first engaged in street witnessing, I hid myself in a narrow alley, hoping no one would see me. Finally, I plucked up enough courage to hold out a magazine to a passerby, and only then did I manage to say something.
Note: True Christians are not fearful people since they are filled with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Note: Cowards will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Revelation 21:8 "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
Page 31: Men and women who want to have an approved relationship with God are invited to worship Jehovah with "spirit and truth."
Note: Do you worship the Father by way of the Son?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."