We are Jehovah
This week I'm going to do a review of the new watchtower publication "Pure worship of Jehovah restored at last." This publication is billed as a deep dive on the bible book of Ezekiel and the visions he reportedly experienced.
The first thing you'll notice when you start in on this book is the stunning artwork. The painter of the images is obviously talented and devoted to presenting vivid and high-quality illustrations.
The next thing you'll find is a letter from the governing body. This is a common occurrence for Watchtower publications however, it begs a closer look in relation to this particular book and the prophecies therein.
The letter begins by attempting to reframe past failed bible interpretations.
imagination.” Concerning one of those new
Because it contained updated explanations
They go on to summarize the things they once claimed were indisputably true, yet are now given the dubious distinction of "old light."
from Jesus’ illustrations. Many of those lessons
have now become crystal clear in our minds and
hearts. A number of those illustrations refer to
events that will soon take place during the fast approaching
great tribulation. In a similar way, our
understanding of certain prophecies found in the
book of Ezekiel has been clarified. Included among
these are the prophecies concerning Gog of
Magog (chapters 38 and 39), the work of the man
with the secretary’s inkhorn (chapter 9), and the
valley of dry bones and the symbolic joining of the
two sticks (chapter 37). All these clarifications likewise
update what was written years ago in the
‘Know Jehovah’ book."
This letter is telling the reader how they should process any changes that they will encounter. It's making sure they never see them as flaws or failures, and that these things must be "exciting." They even go as far as presenting doctrinal inconsistency as an expected outcome.
It seems spin is an essential component to indoctrination. If you can get a person to a place where they must believe anything you say is true, even after you've admitted that you've been wrong in the past then you can basically get them to believe anything and obey, no matter what.
Further, the member's of the governing body seems to have a firm understand of their authority to guide the minds of their members away from any potential ideological rabbit holes and that is really what this book is all about. Streamlining allegiance while indexing failure.
The writers have been careful to cloak the Watchtower's disastrous prior assertions as "in the past." This gives the reader the impression they are progressive and open, when in fact they still stubbornly cling to many outdated and demonstrably false doctrines such as the now infamous 607 B.C.E., a date that has been debunked ad nauseum throughout all exjw'dom.
For those who are unaware, historians place the date of Jerusalem's destruction at 587. As it turns out the Watchtower painted itself into a corner almost from the beginning, by asserting that 607 feeds into another date "1914". The date they claim is the beginning of the last days. 607 B.C.E. is referenced 19 times in this new publication. 1914 is referenced 23 times and finally, the most ridiculous of them all "1919" the date the Watchtower claims their leaders were handpicked by an invisible Jesus Christ to be the faithful and discreet slave, is listed an astonishing 48 times!
For the sake of transparency, I pulled these numbers using the above-mentioned dates as keywords. This may seem like a crude way to conduct research, however, if you consider what the goal appears to be in releasing this book, it might make sense. As we previously discussed, there is a need to control the narrative related to changes in doctrine and in doing so there is an additional need to align themselves with the ultimate authority figures in their reality. So by invoking Jesus and the fact that he chose them, they are able to siphon the respect their members have for him and supplant it upon themselves. In the 3 page "Summary of Clarifications" 1919 is 5 times. As I read through these "clarifications" something interesting occurred to me. These are not things that any active JW thinks about or is waiting to have clarified. These changes are arbitrary and are in no way any more clear than their previous iterations. They are in fact changes for the sake of changing things.
Diving deeper, I've come to believe they have weaponized doctrinal changes. They are nothing more than a chance to invoke higher levels of commitment and belief in the dear leaders' ability to think for their members. Take a look at the final clarification below
Did Ezekiel see and
tour the great spiritual
temple that the apostle
Paul later explained?
Previous understanding: Ezekiel’s visionary temple is the same as the
spiritual temple that the apostle Paul explained.
Clarification: Ezekiel saw, not the spiritual temple that came into existence in
29 C.E., but an idealized vision of how the pure worship outlined in the
Mosaic Law would be restored after the exile. Paul’s inspired explanation of
the spiritual temple focuses on the work that Jesus, as the Greater High
Priest, accomplished from 29 to 33 C.E. Ezekiel’s temple vision, which never
mentions the high priest, focuses on the spiritual restoration that began in
1919 C.E. We therefore do not look for antitypical meanings in all the detailed
features and measurements of Ezekiel’s visionary temple. Rather, we ought to
focus primarily on the lessons that Ezekiel’s vision teaches about Jehovah’s
standards for pure worship.
Reasoning behind the change: Ezekiel’s visionary temple differs from the
spiritual temple in important ways. For instance, Ezekiel’s temple featured
many animal sacrifices; at the spiritual temple, only one sacrifice is offered,
“once for all time.” (Heb. 9:11, 12) In the centuries before Christ came, it was
not yet Jehovah’s time to reveal deep truths about the spiritual temple.
Here you can see that Ezekiel and his vision is nothing more than a prop in a story about them. It's another opportunity to insert the triggering date 1919 into the sedated mind of a Jehovah's witness.
This is why I've brought my readers to the bowels of this Watchtower publication. I want everyone to understand that their rhetoric about God, Armageddon and Paradise are nothing more than filled in spaces on a triplicate.
We tend to get bogged down with trying to make sense of what they teach, as if there is sense to be made; as if there is a reform that could occur that would finally cause this entity to make sense in the world. The Watchtower started out as a joke and has grown into bigger, richer and more dangerous joke.
To date, they still have no scholastic clout in the religious or secular world and instead of actually trying to become something better, they seek new ways to paint the same old shanty. This publication is a homage to the demogogery of Joseph Rutherford and his predecessor Charles Russell. It is disengenious and disgusting in so much as it's playing to the most underhanded types of fear mongering.
It's proclamations are baseless and made with an understanding that getting things wrong simply does not matter.
"I AM AGAINST YOU,
O GOG”
Gog was once Satan, now he's a group of unamed goverments. It seems that legal fees and a nationwide ban were all that were needed to disappear the devil himself from one of their core doctrines. I'm sure they made this determination after much "prayerful thought and meditation."
Forget about Satan, the soldiers are coming!
It appears that as the information age continues to expose the Watchtower as an institution of religious quakery, they are choosing to use their bully pulpit to reiterate just how important they think they are. Their authoritarian sensibilities are on full display in their literature.
They have in fact written themselves into the story as deputy executioners.
The first thing you'll notice when you start in on this book is the stunning artwork. The painter of the images is obviously talented and devoted to presenting vivid and high-quality illustrations.
The next thing you'll find is a letter from the governing body. This is a common occurrence for Watchtower publications however, it begs a closer look in relation to this particular book and the prophecies therein.
The letter begins by attempting to reframe past failed bible interpretations.
Dear Lovers of Jehovah:
The year was 1971. Those who attended the “Divine
Name” District Assembly held that year were
thrilled to receive several new publications. The
publications were described as “just beyond anyone’simagination.” Concerning one of those new
releases, a brother said: “It’s the most exciting preview
of things to come that we have ever had!”
What was he referring to? It was the book entitled
“The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah”
- How? But why did this book create such excitement?Because it contained updated explanations
of the prophecies found in the Bible book of Ezekiel -
prophecies that affect the future of all
mankind.
In the years since the release of the ‘Know
Jehovah’ book, the number of God’s people has
mushroomed—from some 1.5 million to well over
8 million. (Isa. 60:22) These millions of servants of
Jehovah collectively speak over 900 different languages.
(Zech. 8:23) Many have never had an
opportunity to study a book that explains in detail
the inspired prophecies recorded by the prophet
Ezekiel.They go on to summarize the things they once claimed were indisputably true, yet are now given the dubious distinction of "old light."
"In recent years, the light has continued to
grow brighter still. Consider the lessons learnedfrom Jesus’ illustrations. Many of those lessons
have now become crystal clear in our minds and
hearts. A number of those illustrations refer to
events that will soon take place during the fast approaching
great tribulation. In a similar way, our
understanding of certain prophecies found in the
book of Ezekiel has been clarified. Included among
these are the prophecies concerning Gog of
Magog (chapters 38 and 39), the work of the man
with the secretary’s inkhorn (chapter 9), and the
valley of dry bones and the symbolic joining of the
two sticks (chapter 37). All these clarifications likewise
update what was written years ago in the
‘Know Jehovah’ book."
This letter is telling the reader how they should process any changes that they will encounter. It's making sure they never see them as flaws or failures, and that these things must be "exciting." They even go as far as presenting doctrinal inconsistency as an expected outcome.
"No wonder, then, that many of Jehovah’s people
have asked, “When will we get a book that provides
an updated explanation of Ezekiel’s
prophecies?” The book Pure Worship of Jehovah
—Restored At Last! is such a publication"
have asked, “When will we get a book that provides
an updated explanation of Ezekiel’s
prophecies?” The book Pure Worship of Jehovah
—Restored At Last! is such a publication"
It seems spin is an essential component to indoctrination. If you can get a person to a place where they must believe anything you say is true, even after you've admitted that you've been wrong in the past then you can basically get them to believe anything and obey, no matter what.
Further, the member's of the governing body seems to have a firm understand of their authority to guide the minds of their members away from any potential ideological rabbit holes and that is really what this book is all about. Streamlining allegiance while indexing failure.
The writers have been careful to cloak the Watchtower's disastrous prior assertions as "in the past." This gives the reader the impression they are progressive and open, when in fact they still stubbornly cling to many outdated and demonstrably false doctrines such as the now infamous 607 B.C.E., a date that has been debunked ad nauseum throughout all exjw'dom.
For those who are unaware, historians place the date of Jerusalem's destruction at 587. As it turns out the Watchtower painted itself into a corner almost from the beginning, by asserting that 607 feeds into another date "1914". The date they claim is the beginning of the last days. 607 B.C.E. is referenced 19 times in this new publication. 1914 is referenced 23 times and finally, the most ridiculous of them all "1919" the date the Watchtower claims their leaders were handpicked by an invisible Jesus Christ to be the faithful and discreet slave, is listed an astonishing 48 times!
For the sake of transparency, I pulled these numbers using the above-mentioned dates as keywords. This may seem like a crude way to conduct research, however, if you consider what the goal appears to be in releasing this book, it might make sense. As we previously discussed, there is a need to control the narrative related to changes in doctrine and in doing so there is an additional need to align themselves with the ultimate authority figures in their reality. So by invoking Jesus and the fact that he chose them, they are able to siphon the respect their members have for him and supplant it upon themselves. In the 3 page "Summary of Clarifications" 1919 is 5 times. As I read through these "clarifications" something interesting occurred to me. These are not things that any active JW thinks about or is waiting to have clarified. These changes are arbitrary and are in no way any more clear than their previous iterations. They are in fact changes for the sake of changing things.
Diving deeper, I've come to believe they have weaponized doctrinal changes. They are nothing more than a chance to invoke higher levels of commitment and belief in the dear leaders' ability to think for their members. Take a look at the final clarification below
Did Ezekiel see and
tour the great spiritual
temple that the apostle
Paul later explained?
Previous understanding: Ezekiel’s visionary temple is the same as the
spiritual temple that the apostle Paul explained.
Clarification: Ezekiel saw, not the spiritual temple that came into existence in
29 C.E., but an idealized vision of how the pure worship outlined in the
Mosaic Law would be restored after the exile. Paul’s inspired explanation of
the spiritual temple focuses on the work that Jesus, as the Greater High
Priest, accomplished from 29 to 33 C.E. Ezekiel’s temple vision, which never
mentions the high priest, focuses on the spiritual restoration that began in
1919 C.E. We therefore do not look for antitypical meanings in all the detailed
features and measurements of Ezekiel’s visionary temple. Rather, we ought to
focus primarily on the lessons that Ezekiel’s vision teaches about Jehovah’s
standards for pure worship.
Reasoning behind the change: Ezekiel’s visionary temple differs from the
spiritual temple in important ways. For instance, Ezekiel’s temple featured
many animal sacrifices; at the spiritual temple, only one sacrifice is offered,
“once for all time.” (Heb. 9:11, 12) In the centuries before Christ came, it was
not yet Jehovah’s time to reveal deep truths about the spiritual temple.
Here you can see that Ezekiel and his vision is nothing more than a prop in a story about them. It's another opportunity to insert the triggering date 1919 into the sedated mind of a Jehovah's witness.
This is why I've brought my readers to the bowels of this Watchtower publication. I want everyone to understand that their rhetoric about God, Armageddon and Paradise are nothing more than filled in spaces on a triplicate.
We tend to get bogged down with trying to make sense of what they teach, as if there is sense to be made; as if there is a reform that could occur that would finally cause this entity to make sense in the world. The Watchtower started out as a joke and has grown into bigger, richer and more dangerous joke.
To date, they still have no scholastic clout in the religious or secular world and instead of actually trying to become something better, they seek new ways to paint the same old shanty. This publication is a homage to the demogogery of Joseph Rutherford and his predecessor Charles Russell. It is disengenious and disgusting in so much as it's playing to the most underhanded types of fear mongering.
It's proclamations are baseless and made with an understanding that getting things wrong simply does not matter.
"I AM AGAINST YOU,
O GOG”
Gog was once Satan, now he's a group of unamed goverments. It seems that legal fees and a nationwide ban were all that were needed to disappear the devil himself from one of their core doctrines. I'm sure they made this determination after much "prayerful thought and meditation."
Forget about Satan, the soldiers are coming!
It appears that as the information age continues to expose the Watchtower as an institution of religious quakery, they are choosing to use their bully pulpit to reiterate just how important they think they are. Their authoritarian sensibilities are on full display in their literature.
They have in fact written themselves into the story as deputy executioners.
This idea in the image above is one of the most nefarious of Watchtower's entire fallacious empire. It is one of the greatest cons and cleverest misdirections they ever pulled off. In this image and central to their ideology is the idea that the bible was always talking about them. Before christianity existed, prophets and scribes were writing about them. Yes, before the birth of the man they claim to be in subjection to occured, they were envisioned and foreshadowed by the prophets of old.
In this way, Jesus too has become a prop in a story about them and in a broader sense, so has Jehovah. If we strip away any supernatural implications and deal strictly with the earth bound trajectory of this organization, we see the only heroes of their stories are themselves.
Their cunning and committment to making their members incapable of thinking critically are the mechanisms that led to the building of Kingdom halls, Convention halls, and Bethels. The sinister ability to decry the end of the world while building a regal compound in upstate New York is all theirs. They are the indocrinators and the stealers of lives and time. They have not recieved a calling or a commission. They are operating on an agenda that is written in invisible ink and their mandates are contrived.
Their laywers are the angels who delivered them from captivity and allowed them to expand into other lands and to gag the voices of countless victims of their wretched policies. Their doctors and apologists are the reason their blood policy has been allowed to extinguish the lives of countless members.
This is all on them.
They teach that the Satan longed for worship, but they too long. They long and they work dilligently toward attaining such stature. From the first time the Governing body decided to show their faces on their own television network, up until their most aggregious act of Jonestownsy pith, we see exactly what they want.
You see, as they as they watched the world grow smarter and more aware, they too became more aware and in 2013 they showed their hand.
"All of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may received, whether these appear sound from a human standpoint or not"
This quote is 5 years old now, yet its impact on JWs and Exjws alike still resonates. This was the moment they eclipsed their own God and told their members once and for all "we are the only ones who can save you."
This kind of verbiage does not simply go away once it's been read. This is now indelibly etched in Watchtower canon and when coupled with the final two paragraphs of this new publication, you start to understand the message they are sending is "They, are Jehovah"
“Know That I Am Jehovah”
30 Throughout the book of Ezekiel, the declaration “they
will have to know that I am Jehovah” recurs like a drum beat.
(Ezek. 6:10; 39:28) For God’s enemies, that declaration will
mean war and death. They will be compelled to do more than
acknowledge that Jehovah exists. They will learn the hard
way the meaning of his great name—“He Causes to Become.”
“Jehovah of armies” will become “a powerful warrior” who
will fight against them. (1 Sam. 17:45; Ex. 15:3) Too late, they
will understand an essential truth about Jehovah: Nothing
can stop him from fulfilling his purpose.
31 To God’s people, the declaration “they will have to know
that I am Jehovah” will mean peace and life. Jehovah will
cause us to become what he originally intended us to be
—sons and daughters who perfectly reflect his qualities. (Gen.
1:26) Already, Jehovah has become to us a loving Father and
a protective Shepherd. Soon he will become our conquering
King. Before that day arrives, let us take to heart Ezekiel’s
message. Let us prove by our words and actions each day
that we know who Jehovah is and what he stands for. Then,
when the destructive winds of the great tribulation are released,
we will not be afraid. On the contrary, we will lift our
heads up, for we will know that our deliverance is near. (Luke
21:28) In the meantime, may we help people everywhere to
know and love the only God worthy of worship, the One
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