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The Watchtower has some rather unique teachings regarding the Devil. Perhaps foremost, is the teaching that Satan and his angels were hurled down from heaven in 1914 and have been on a maddened rampage ever since. Secondly, but no less insidious, is the notion that the Devil does not influence the inhabitants of spiritual paradise. Both of these peculiar teachings are demonstrable lies.Jehovah God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are the cursed one.”—Gen. 3:14.
The characters in the account recorded at Genesis 3:14, 15 include a “serpent” and the “offspring” of the serpent. A literal snake could not have understood what Jehovah said in the garden of Eden. So the object of Jehovah’s judgment must have been an intelligent creature. Who? Revelation 12:9 leaves no doubt on this matter. There “the original serpent” is clearly identified as Satan the Devil. When the Bible speaks of offspring in a figurative sense, it is referring to those who think and act like their symbolic father. So the offspring of the serpent is made up of spirit creatures and humans who, like Satan, resist Jehovah God and oppose His people. That would include the angels who abandoned their assignments in heaven in Noah’s day as well as wicked humans who behave like their father the Devil.—Gen. 6:1, 2; John 8:44; 1 John 5:19; Jude 6. w22.07 14-15 ¶4-5
As regards the latter, the suggestion that Satan has no influence, it is important to understand that Paul wrote to the Corinthian congregation expressing his concern that as the serpent seduced Eve by its cunning, their minds might be corrupted away from the sincerity and chastity due the Christ. And what was the problem? They were putting up with false teachers in their midst, men who were merely pretending to be Christian ministers, even apostles, which is why Paul dubbed them the "superfine apostles."
The Watchtower claims that these infiltrators of the anointed congregation, who were operating under the influence of the Devil who disguised himself as an angel of light, typify the clergy. But that cannot be true. The superfine apostles were the most prominent men in the congregation of anointed Christians. Obviously, the Watchtower is infiltrated by the same sort of men -- liars and deceivers who have cunningly disguised themselves as anointed servants of Jehovah. The same serpent is still slithering around and as in the first century, he is most intent on misleading those who have been called into the Kingdom of Christ. This brings us to the other false teaching -- the lie that the Kingdom has come to power and that Satan and all of his demons have been thrown down from heaven. It is a very clever ruse. Jehovah has allowed an operation of Satan, backed by every powerful work and lying signs and every unrighteous deception, to deceive true Christians. Did not Jesus warn that there would be many false prophets who would mislead many people?
We might say that everything going on in the world and within the Watchtower right now, is being orchestrated by the Devil for the purpose of deceiving the chosen ones when the critical hour arrives. Do not allow yourself to be deceived. Jesus did not in any sense begin ruling in 1914. There is no such thing as an invisible presence. Satan and his angels have not been cast down. And no, the Watchtower will not be the place of refuge. Christ's brothers are going to have to see their way through this labyrinth of lies. But there is more to come. Jesus was even more specific in his warning: "Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will perform great signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the chosen ones. Look! I have forewarned you. Therefore, if people say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it." -- Matthew 24:23-26
We do not know what the false prophets will do exactly, or how they "will perform great signs and wonders." We do have Jesus' warning though and that is good enough. But why will it not be possible for the chosen to be misled by these deceptive wonders? Because ultimately they will see the wonder of wonders in the manifestation of Christ to them. Just as the Devil could not prevent Jehovah from resurrecting Jesus from the dead, nor could the demons interfere when the risen Christ appeared to his disciples over the course of 40 days before he ascended into the sky, neither will the serpent nor his offspring be able to hinder the Son of man from coming alongside the chosen to minister to them. (See Luke 12:37)
Jehovah will even give Satan the opportunity to thwart his grand purpose at the very end after the calling and choosing have ceased -- after Christianity has concluded. That is why God has disclosed the exact number of persons called into union with Christ, they being 144,000. And that is why God has revealed the number of those who will be on earth during Christ's parousia, they being 7,000.
Satan made great boasts that he could flip God's sons and cause them to curse God. He is the accuser who accuses them night and day. So, all he has to do is mislead one of the remaining ones or cause one of them to become unfaithful and God's purpose for 144,000 fails.
That is why the Bible focuses everything on the concluding confrontation between the serpent and the offspring of God. Imagine, Jehovah God will entrust his name and reputation on the faithfulness of a few thousand sinful men and women whom he is going to have to subject to severe discipline beforehand. I say, wow! Simply, wow! What a God and Grand Savior!
What about the 7,000 who are killed?
QUESTION: An article in the January, 2016, Watchtower, on paragraph 14, states that the Bible does not say how many of the anointed will be left at the time that the tribulation begins. However, I have understood from previous podcasts and articles of yours that there will be 7000.
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“After the tribulation in those days” – Then What?
In the previous article in this series on Micah, the concluding comments made the case that divine intervention will be necessary to save mankind from extinction. What else could Jesus have been referring to except nuclear war when
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You do not know on what day your Lord is coming
There is a little snippet on JW dot org posing the question When Will the World End? The Watchtower goes on to explain that while some translations use the expression “end of the world” it can also be translated as
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