It has been 150 years since C.T. Russell organized his Alleghany Bible Study group. In the century and a half since then millions of hours have been spent reading, studying, and meditating on the Scriptures, Revelation included. Despite all the research on the part of even spirit-anointed Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses still do not understand the book of Revelation. Indeed, they cannot understand it. Of course, the Governing Body pretends to know and everyone pretends that they do too. The reason Jehovah's Witnesses do not understand Revelation is because of a fundamental error that is at the core of the Watchtower Society. Actually, it is not really an error. An error is a mistake. The problem afflicting the Watchtower is a result of an intentional act of deception, not necessarily on the part of any individual human, but it is the foretold machinations of the wicked one, the Devil himself.
The Watchtower is under the influence of an operation of Satan. Paul explicitly warned Christians not to believe official sounding announcements and literature distributed as if from the apostles, declaring that the parousia has begun and the day of Jehovah is here. But there is more.
As is known, the YHWH does not appear in any extant Greek manuscript. Although it is highly unlikely that the original writers of the Christian scriptures omitted the YHWH when quoting from the Hebrew text where the Tetragrammaton appears, and it is unthinkable that Jesus would not pronounce his Father's name when he quoted from the Hebrew or Greek Septuagint, as he did on numerous occasions, we cannot dogmatically say with certainty that Paul and the other writers used the YHWH when not directly citing the Hebrew. And that brings up an interesting issue because the passage I alluded to uses the name of Jehovah but Paul was not directly quoting any Hebrew scripture. Here is the passage: "However, brothers, concerning the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you not to be quickly shaken from your reason nor to be alarmed either by an inspired statement or by a spoken message or by a letter appearing to be from us, to the effect that the day of Jehovah is here." - 2 Thessalonians 2:1,2
It is true, that there are many references in the Hebrew text to the day of Jehovah and similar expressions like "Jehovah's day." However, there is no indication Paul was quoting any specific passage. The Greek, of course, simply says "the day of the Lord." Paul also referred to "the day of the Lord" at 1 Corinthians 5:5. He also used variations of the expression such as "the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" and "the day of Christ Jesus" and "the day of Christ." Last, but not least, John referred to "the Lord's day" in the introduction to Revelation.
All things considered, it is apparent that the inspired apostle intended to warn his brothers not to be deceived by official-sounding proclamations that the day of the Lord has begun, or Lord's day as it is worded in Revelation. And that is why Jehovah's Witnesses cannot understand Revelation for the reason that the Watchtower's inspired statement has declared that the Lord's day is here, having begun in 1914. That this teaching is the operation of Satan ought to be clear since Paul connected this false proclamation that the Lord's day is here to the apostasy fomented by the man of lawlessness. (By the way, the Watchtower used to teach that the day of Jehovah began in 1914. It wasn't until around 1966 that they dropped it.)
Just a quick note to highlight the deception and trickery used to support the lie that the Lord's day has begun I now direct you to the Watchtower article from where the daily text is derived, entitled: Revelation—What It Means for God’s Enemies. The opening paragraph states:
The book of Revelation does not reveal that God's heavenly Kingdom has been established and that Satan has been thrown down. That's a simple card trick that no clear-thinking JW should fall for. To illustrate their deceit, I will make a similar statement: "The book of Revelation indicates that Satan the Devil has been hurled into the abyss and locked away for 1,000 years." Hopefully, you can see the trickery employed. Yes, the book of Revelation reveals that when the Kingdom comes to power Satan and his angels will be cast down. No, it does not reveal that this epic event has already taken place. How could it?
The Watchtower has resorted to all sorts of tricks and hijinks to make 1914 the beginning of the Lord's day. Over the years I have painstakingly examined the Watchtower's tangled mess of prophetic interpretation and debunked all of it. Although some may also do the same since it is more or less a matter of common sense, my work is unique in that I have shown that the falsity of 1914 does not prove the Watchtower is not Jehovah's organization, as advertised; no, just the opposite. It proves that it is!
When is the Lord’s Day?
Jehovah's Witnesses believe the Lord's day began 100 years ago this month, evidenced by the First World War. But a careful consideration of related Bible terms reveals otherwise. The expression “the Lord’s day” only appears one place in the Bible — at Revelation 1:10, where John wrote:
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The Unfinished Mystery of God
In the Revelation the apostle John was transported by inspiration to the Lord's Day not only to witness, but also to directly participate in a dramatic prophetic vision with Christ, similar to his transfiguration experience. In the 10th chapter of Revelation, John witnessed a powerful angel...
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The Lawless One’s Presence Is by the Operation of Satan
Wednesday, August 10 Holy spirit has appointed you overseers, to shepherd the congregation of God.—Acts 20:28. It is important that we show appreciation for God’s arrangement for shepherding his flock. Christian elders are a provision from Jehovah, who always acts in our best interests. The
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