Truth Magazine

By Mark Mayberry

Those who preach the whole counsel of God, must not only emphasize divine love, but also divine wrath. The splendor of heaven should be proclaimed, as well as the repugnance of hell. The horrors of eternal punishment must be clearly communicated, so that we will realize the urgency of obeying God.

Many would deny the reality of hell. Materialists, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, reject the biblical doctrine of eternal punishment. They claim that hell is nothing more than the grave. Notice the following quotation from the Watch-tower Society literature: “The doctrine of a burning hell where the wicked are tortured eternally after death cannot be true, mainly for four reasons: (1) because it is wholly unscriptural; (2) because it is unreasonable; (3) because it is contrary to God’s love; and (4) because it is repugnant to justice.”‘

Is the concept of hell contrary to God’s love? Remembering that God’s ways are infinitely superior to ours, let us not force our thinking on him (Isa. 55:8-9; Jer. 10:23). To say that eternal punishment is incompatible with the love of God is to play God ourselves. God is love, but he is also just. If there is a paradise for the righteous, there must also be a punishment for the wicked. This is guaranteed by the justice of God. Hell reveals the terribleness of sin! Jesus taught that sin will lead to eternal punishment (Matt. 10:28). The inspired apostles also emphasized the same truth (2 Thess. 1:7-9). Those who deny the reality of hell reject the word of God!

There are three distinct Greek words which are translated “hell” in the KJV. Recognizing the different meanings and usage of these terms will eliminate the confusion that exists on this subject. As we shall see, the concept of a place of suffering and punishment beyond the grave is clearly taught in the Bible.

Sheol

The Old Testament word for “hell” is sheol. This Hebrew word occurs 64 times. In the KJV, it is translated “grave” 31 times, “hell” 30 times, and “pit” 3 times. The NASV translates all of these passages as “Sheol.”

The word is used in two senses: First, it refers to the state of death, the grave, the final resting place of all men. Second, it also describes the realm of the dead, the place of conscious existence after death.’ Gesenius defines this word as “a subterranean place, full of thick darkness (Job 10:21-22), in which the shades of the dead are gathered together.”‘

Sheol is used with reference to the righteous (Psa. 16:10; 30:3; etc.) and also the wicked (Job 24:19; Psa. 9:17; etc.). While the Old Testament describes the afterlife much less clearly than does the New, it does indicate that there will be punishment for the wicked beyond the grave (Isa. 33:14; 66:24; Dan. 12:2; etc.).

Hades

The Greek word Hades appears 11 times in the New Testament (Matt. 11:23; 16:18; Lk. 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27,31; 1 Cor. 15:55; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13-14). In the KJV, it is rendered “hell” in every case except in 1 Corinthians 15:55, where it is translated “grave.” More recent versions substitute “Hades” for “hell” in these passages, and use the word “hell” as a translation for the Greek word Gehenna (RSV, ASV, NASV, NIV).

As the New Testament equivalent of Sheol, its meaning and significance are quite similar. Hades refers to the grave, the underworld, the region of departed spirits, the unseen world of the dead. In ancient Greek literature, this word was originally the proper name of Hades, or Pluto, the god of the lower regions and the under-world. Thayer defines Hades as “the netherworld, the realm of the dead . . . the common receptacle of disembodied spirits.”0 Arndt and Gingrich define this Greek word as “the underworld as the place of the dead.”‘

Hades is the intermediate state where departed souls go to await the resurrection and the judgment. Ac-cording to God’s Word, Hades is composed of two realms: Paradise and Torment. While the body of Jesus lay in the tomb, his soul went temporarily to Hades (Acts 2:27,31), or more specifically Paradise (Lk. 23:43). We understand this place to be distinct from heaven because of the statement of Jesus that is recorded in John 20:17. The resurrected Christ said unto Mary, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father… ” Hades is a place of bliss for the righteous, but a place of torment for the wicked. In Luke 16:19-31, the rich man died and went to Hades where he was tormented in flame (vv. 23, 25, 28). When Lazarus died, he was carried to Abraham’s bosom (v. 23) where he was comforted (v. 25). Notice also that both men continued to have a conscious existence beyond the grave, although neither could cross into the other realm (v. 26).

Gehenna

This Greek word gehenna appears 12 times in the New Testament and is uniformly translated “hell” (Matt. 5:22,29,30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mk. 9:43,45,47; Lk. 12:5; Jas. 3:6). The word is a transliteration from the Hebrew “Valley of Hinnom.” The name is derived from the Hebrew Ge-Hinnom, which refers to a ravine which lay south and east of Jerusalem, spoken of in Scripture as “the valley of the son of Hinnom” (Josh. 15:8; 18:16; etc.).

This valley had once been the site of idol worship. During the darkest days of their apostasy, the Israelites had sacrificed their children to the idol Molech in this place (Jer. 32:35). The cries of infants echoed through this valley as they were thrown into the fiery arms of Molech, an idol which had the form of a bull. King Ahaz and Manasseh both engaged in the horrid practice of child sacrifice (2 Chron. 28:3; 33:6). Because of the atrocities committed in the valley of Hinnom, Jeremiah prophesied that the wrath of God would fall there (Jer. 7:28-34).

After good king Josiah desecrated and destroyed this idolatrous site, it became a place of abomination (2 Kgs. 23:10-14). The Jews developed such an abhorrence for the place that “they cast into it not only all manner of refuse, but even the dead bodies of animals and of unburied criminals who had been executed.”` “Later the valley seems to have been used for burning the corpses of criminals and animals, and indeed refuse of any sort.”‘ Over time the valley of Hinnom became a garbage dump where fires were constantly burning. That the rubbish and refuse of Jerusalem was collected there only helped make the valley of Hinnom synonymous with extreme defilement. In time the place came to symbolize terrible wickedness, filth and rottenness, pain, anguish and loathsomeness. Understandably, the Jews came to believe that the final judgment would occur at that site. Because of the horrible history associated with this valley, its name became a symbol of that place where the wicked after death suffer eternal punishment.’

The distinction between Hades and Gehenna is important. The former refers to that intermediate state between death and the resurrection, while the latter refers to that place of eternal punishment. Ultimately, death and Hades shall be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. And anyone whose name is not written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14-15). Jesus urged his disciples to avoid the fires of Gehenna at all costs (Mk. 9:43-47).

Tartarus

Tartarus occurs only in 2 Peter 2:4. It is also referred to in Jude 6 though not mentioned by name. It stands for the place of punishment for fallen angels. There are angels that sinned who are “reserved unto judgment.” This region is referred to as “pits of darkness” (NASV). According to Greek mythology, the departed spirits of the extremely wicked men were punished in this place. Similar ideas were found in Jewish apocalyptic literature as well. Strong defines Tartarus as “the deepest abyss of Hades.’ Arndt & Gingrich say that Tartarus was thought of by the Greeks as “a subterranean place lower than Hades where divine punishment was meted out.”

Thayer says that it is “the name of a subterranean region, doleful and dark, regarded by the ancient Greeks as the abode of the wicked dead, where they suffer punishment for their evil deeds; it answers to Gehenna of the Jews.””

Conclusion

Christ said, “And these (i.e., the wicked) shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matt. 25:46). However, the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation says, “And these will depart into everlasting cutting-off, but the righteous ones into everlasting life.”

Words such as “destroy” (Matt. 10:28) and “destruction” (2 Thess. 1:7-9), do not imply “annihilation” as Witnesses claim. Rather, the thought is one of total loss and ruin. Thayer defines these words as “to devote or give over to eternal misery” and “the loss of a life of blessedness after death, future misery.”” Those who are lost in hell are cut off from God, with no hope, no joy, no love, no goodness, or blessings of any sort.

Hell might be tolerated if it lasted a day, a week or a year. Not so! Hell is eternal. Finite minds can hardly conceive of eternity, and yet hell is a place of everlasting punishment and destruction (Matt. 25:46; 2 Thess. 1:9). The Greek word aionios, which is translated “eternal” or “everlasting,” occurs 71 times in the New Testament. It describes both heaven and hell (Matt. 25:46), God the Father (Rom. 16:16), the Holy Spirit (Heb. 9:14), etc. Hell will last just as long as heaven. Hell will endure as long as God endures: Forever and ever!

Without doubt, the Bible plainly teaches that there is a place of eternal punishment. Thankfully, we can escape this horrible fate through faithful obedience to Christ. Are you ready to face the judgment? (Heb. 9:27; Rom. 14:12; 2 Cor. 5:10-11)

Footnotes

‘Let God Be True (The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society), p. 80.

‘Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985), s.v. “Hell: Sheol” (H7585).

‘H.W.F. Gesenius, Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament, translated by Samuel P. Tregelles (1847; Apt. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1979), s.v. “sheol” (H7585).

‘Joseph Henry Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, s.v. “Hades” (686).

`William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich & Frederick W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2nd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), s.v. “Hades” (G86).

‘Joseph Henry Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Tesatment, s.v. “Gehenna” (G1067).

‘The New Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Hinnom, Valley of.”

‘Joseph Henry Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, s.v. “Gehenna” (G1067).

`James Strong, Dictionary of the Greek Testament, s.v. “Tartaroo” (G5020).

0William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich & Frederick W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2nd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), s.v. “Tartaroo” (G5020).

“Joseph Henry Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, rev. ed., (Wheaton, IL: Evangel Publishing Co., 1974), s.v. “Tartaroo” (G5020).

‘”Joseph Henry Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, s.v. “Apollumi” (G622).

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 8, p. 5-6
April 15, 1993

By Ron Halbrook

Introduction

The Church in West Columbia, Texas has a newspaper column called “New Testament Christianity.” We ran the following article to let people know that we are ready to help them. An honest Jehovah’s Witness would agree to the proposed study and the proposal helps people get dishonest Jehovah’s Witnesses off their doorsteps.

When talking with a “Jehovah’s Witness” at your door or anywhere else, be kind, considerate and courteous. Treat them as you wish to be treated (Matt. 7:12). Do not curse at them or persecute them in any way. Losing control of your temper or tongue only rein-forces prejudice in their heart. “Let your speech be always with grace” (Col. 4:6). “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men” (Gal. 6:10). Remember with compassion that the “Jehovah’s Witness” has an eternal soul, though his doctrine denies it, and that he will spend eternity in heaven or hell (Matt. 25:46).

Give them this article to explain a proposal for a fair and balanced study. Dear friend of the “Jehovah’s Witness” religion, the person handing you this article wants to study with you in a format of open discussion. Ron Halbrook will be invited into our home to share in the study sessions. He will be present at each study with the representatives of the “Jehovah’s Witness” religion, so that both sides of each subject or issue can be fairly presented. Ron Halbrook and the “Jehovah’s Witness” representatives must agree to conduct each study directly from the Bible, rather than studying the literature of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Everyone agrees to be patient and courteous in these studies.

The subjects for study are: (1) The full deity of “the word” who came in the flesh as Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:1-14; Heb. 1:1-14). (2) Did God give his people in the gospel age the name “Christian” or “Jehovah’s Witness”? (Acts 11:26) (3) Is God’s only name “Jehovah”? (Isa. 9:6; Matt. 28:19) (4) What must I do to be saved? (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38) (5) Does the soul or spirit survive death? (Matt. 10:28; Lk. 16:19-31) (6) Will all Christians go to heaven or must some stay on earth forever, and is punishment in hell eternal? (Matt. 25:46; 1 Pet. 1:1-5) (7) Did God ordain the “Jehovah Witness” organization and has it made false prophecies? (Deut. 18:21-22; Phil. 1:1)

When the true prophets of God pled, “Come now, and let us reason together,” they invited their opponents, “produce your arguments” (Isa. 1:18; 41:21, NWT). God’s true people are interested in the same open study today.

Dear friend of the “Jehovah’s Witness” religion, the person handing you this article believes it would be fair and helpful if a public discussion could be held on the subjects listed above. Such public study is approved by Elijah, Isaiah, Jesus, Paul and Ron Halbrook (1 Kgs. 18; Isa. 43:9; Matt. 22; Acts 17:17; 1 Pet. 3:15).

If the “Jehovah’s Witness” wants to leave some literature, say you will take it if he will be fair enough to read something you have. If our readers will contact us now, we will supply them with tracts to keep on hand to exchange with a “Jehovah’s Witness.” If he wants you to pay or make a donation for his literature, point out that you are not asking any pay or donation for what you are offering in ex-change. If they offer a larger book and want money on that basis, tell them to come back later and you will make an even exchange. Let us know and we will supply what you need.

If they refuse this clipping, refuse a private study of both sides, refuse public discussion, and refuse to exchange literature, kindly close the conversation and gently close the door. You have done what is right and fair, your conscience is clear. You will know they are unfair and dishonest in asking you to examine your beliefs because they will not ex-amine theirs. “The legs of the lame are not equal” (Prov. 26:7; Rom. 2:21).

Clip and save this article for future use. Make copies — distribute them far and wide. Contact us for free tapes and tracts on “Jehovah’s Witness” doctrine.

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 8, p. 3-4
April 15, 1993

By Terry F. Sanders

On the morning of February 27, the kind and gentle spirit of Goldie May Plum left its tabernacle of flesh to return to God after a sudden illness. Sister Plum was a faithful member of the Marrtown Road church in Parkersburg. She spent the majority of her 92 years in faithful service to God in every capacity.

She was born December 14, 1900 in Gilmer County, the daughter of Charles and Frances Bell Henderson. In 1917, she was married to the much beloved faithful gospel preacher Chaflen Dewey (CD.) Plum who preceded her in death in 1977. To this union were born three children: Wilma, who became Mrs. Cad Parsons and who passed away in 1965; Russell, now 71, who is crippled due to an illness in his youth and still lives at home; and Charles, who passed away in 1976 and was a faithful gospel preacher and the Chief of Police in Parkersburg at the time of his death. Sister Plum also leaves behind five grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren. A sister, Mildred Kreaps, survives and lives in Perrysville, OH. I should also mention that her son Charles’ widow, Lillian, has lived with Sister Plum since Charles’ death and has helped with the care of Russell and with other duties that age slowly prevented sister Goldie from being able to do. I have often thought that not only did sister Goldie serve as a splendid example of all that a Christian, wife and mother should be, hut that also sister Lillian has served as a “Ruth to her Naomi.” Two more excellent examples of womanhood would be hard to find in our present society.

The funeral services were conducted by this writer at the Lambert Tatman Funeral Home on March 2, 1993. 1 spoke of how sister Plum had mirrored the words of Proverbs 31:10-31 in being devoted to God, husband and children. Sister Plum served her God soberly, righteously and faithfully. She cared for her husband and children in their illnesses without complaint. The manner in which she went about caring for her family in this quite and humble fashion gained the respect of all who truly knew of it. The loving care this fine lady has given in her lifetime is a monument to her and speaks well of the lady that sister Plum was. Her kind is rare and we are fortunate to have been blessed by being acquainted with her for even a short period of time. It is my wish that her tribe might increase.

Her body was placed to await the resurrection by the side of her husband and son in the Chapel of Peace Mausoleum, Sunset Gardens, Parkersburg.

Friends may send cards and letters to Lillian Plum, 2503 Liberty Street,

Parkersburg, WV 26101.

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 7, p. 20
April 1, 1993

By Leonard White

To find the roots of the modern-day Jehovah’s Witness organization we need only go back 140 years. On February 16, 1852 Charles Taze Russell was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. His parents were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, but at an early age Charles joined a nearby Congregational Church because of its “more liberal views,” While still a teenager, Russell became troubled and confused by the teaching and preaching he heard, particularly the idea that God would create human beings which he foreknew and predestined to be eternally tormented. According to Russell’s own account, a turning point in his thinking came at the age of 18 when he chanced to hear a ‘Second Adventist” preacher named Jonas Wendell. About this same time Russell organized a Bible class in Pittsburgh. Six years later, at the ripe age of 24, he ‘vas elected ”Pastor” of this group, a title which he wore until the time of his death. Russell was fascinated by the prophetic speculations and chronologies of the Adventists. For a brief time he joined with Adventist N.H. Barbour in the publication of a magazine called The Herald of the Morning. Though this collaboration did not last long, there is little doubt that Russell’s later penchant for date-setting and his views on such things as biblical chronology, the soul of man and eternal punishment were largely influenced by these early associations with heirs of the ”Millerite” movement.

In 1879 Russell began publication of a magazine which he called Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence, known today as The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom, with an initial circulation of 6000 copies. In 1884 he incorporated Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society, followed in 1896 by the formation of The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, the name still used today. It could perhaps be said that this marked the time of the founding of the Jehovah’s Witness organization. Russell served as president of the Society and for a time personally owned 99 percent of its capital.

Russell’s life was very colorful, to say the least. He was a dynamic (some would even say charismatic) leader who had proven his abilities as an entrepreneur by establishing, with his father, a chain of clothing stores. Now he was able through his writing and lecturing to promulgate his aberrant religious views and at the same time build a vast financial empire. The career of the organization’s founder and first president was a turbulent one indeed. He was involved in numerous legal battles, publicly exposed as a perjurer, charged by his wife and others with immoral conduct, implicated in fraudulent business schemes — all of which were viewed by his devoted followers as simply signs of the persecution which was to be expected from the wicked enemy, “organized religion.”

Russell’s greatest contribution to the movement’s theology came in a serious of seven books, known collectively as Studies in the Scriptures. The first volume appeared in I 886 and the seventh was added in 1917, after his death. It is somewhat of an embarrassment to modern Jehovah’s Witnesses that the “Pastor” encouraged the study of these books as being of greater value than reading of the Bible alone (Watchtower, Sept. 15, 1910).

In 1908 the Society purchased property in Brooklyn, New York and established headquarters there. Under the name Bethel, this continues today to serve as the hub of their world-wide operations.

Upon his death in 1916 Russell was succeeded as president by (Judge) Joseph Franklin Rutherford, who had previously acted as legal counselor for the organization. Rutherford was quick to take complete control, eliminating those who might be a threat to this authority. He proved to be a more prolific writer than his predecessor, producing over 100 books and pamphlets.

During World War I Rutherford’s outspoken denunciation of war made the Society very unpopular in the United States and even created suspicion in the minds of many as to whether he and his organization were loyal to this country. In 1918 Rutherford and several other leaders of the organization were brought to trial, found guilty of violation of the Espionage Act and sentenced to twenty years in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. Although they actually only served less than a year of this sentence, the Brooklyn head-quarters was temporarily closed and the activity of the Society was curtailed for several months. This episode made Rutherford a hero and martyr to his followers. Thereafter he served as a model for others in the organization who might be called upon to suffer for their faith.

In 1920 Rutherford followed in Russell’s footsteps by at-tempting to prophesy the time of the end. In a booklet en-titled Millions Now Living Will Never Die, he boldly pro-claimed that in 1925 faithful Old Testament worthies would be resurrected, and the existing world order would come to an end. Needless to say, Rutherford’s predictions about 1925 failed to materialize, just like those made earlier by Russell. Seemingly unwilling to admit the failed predictions, in 1929 the Society purchased a mansion in San Diego, California, ostensibly for purpose of providing a residence for the Old Testament “princes” when they returned to earth. While awaiting their arrival. Rutherford lived in the house, which came to be called Beth Sarim. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the others never made the promised appearance, and the house was finally sold after Rutherford’s death.

One significant development which took place during Rutherford’s tenure was the adoption of a new name for the individual members of the movement. Based upon the statement in Isaiah 43:10, “Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah,” in 1931 they became officially designated as “Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

When Judge Rutherford died in 1942 he was followed in the presidency by Nathan H. Knorr. Though never the highly visible autocrat the first two leaders had been, Knorr was a powerful and effective administrator. He soon established a thorough program of training for those members who would devote time to spreading the Society’s message to the world. In 1946 a new magazine, Awake!, was begun as a companion to The Watchtower.

For a long time the Witnesses had struggled to answer the charge that their peculiar doctrines were in disagreement with the Bible. They had found some help in the use of the Emphatic Diaglott, an interlinear text produced by Christadelphian Benjamin Wilson. What was really needed, however, was a new translation that harmonized with Watchtower theology. In 1950 the first volume of The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures came from the press. In 1961 the translation of the entire Bible (The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures) was completed. Witnesses claim that previous English translations had been corrupted in order to uphold traditional religious errors, but that with the introduction of the NWT fidelity to the original text was at last achieved. Much can be, and has been, written to show- the fallacy of such claims. The NWT is a transparent attempt to bring the Bible into conformity with Watchtower doctrine. One reviewer aptly observed, “A close examination, which gets beneath the out-ward veneer of scholarship, reveals a veritable shambles of bigotry, ignorance, prejudice, and bias which violates every rule of biblical criticism and every standard of scholarly integrity.” The Society has consistently refused to reveal the names of the “scholars” who worked to produce the NWT. However William Cetnar, who was employed at Bethel when the translation took place, has given their names as: Nathan H. Knorr, Fred W. Franz, Albert D. Schroeder, G.D. Gangas and M. Henschel. None of these men had the training to quality them to undertake such a work. Fred Franz is said to have been the best qualified member of the team, but it was he who was embarrassed before a Scottish court by being forced to admit that he could not translate Hebrew into English.

In the early 1960’s Witness leaders became concerned over declining growth. Something had to be done to rejuvenate the movement. The decision was made to employ the technique used so successfully by Russell and Rutherford: prophetic speculation and date-setting to create great expectation of momentous events looming on the horizon. A series of books and articles (beginning in 1966 with Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God) rolled from the Brooklyn presses announcing that September 1975 would mark the end of 6000 years since the creation of Adam. It was clearly suggested time and again that the seventh millennium of mankind’s existence could be expected to run parallel with the millennial reign of Christ. Readers were assured that they were living in the “last days.” The book, The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life (containing a chapter entitled, “The Last Days of This Wicked System of Things”) stated that these “last days” began in 1914 and will end with-in one generation. The warning is then given, “this means that only a short time is left before the end comes!” (p. 95)

The result of these startling pronouncements was a phenomenal increase in activity and conversions. The number of world-wide baptisms went from 58,904 in 1966 to 295,073 in 1975. During those same years the number of “publishers” (Witnesses involved in preaching activities) rose from 1,058,675 to 2,062,449.

But just as had happened with 1874, 1914 and 1925, the year 1975 came and went without the climactic events that had been predicted. As might be expected, disappointment and disenchantment swept through the organization. By 1978, the number of baptisms reported was back down to 95,052. Since 1975 the Society has been denying that they ever made any definite statements to the effect that the end would come in that year, claiming that “there has been considerable individual speculation on the matter.” There can be no doubt, however, that the expectations for 1975 were the result of the published statements of the Watchtower Society.

The current president of the Jehovah’s Witness organization is Fred W. Franz, who succeeded Knorr at his death in 1977. In spite of glaring errors in doctrine and a long trail of failed prophecies, the organization still boasts millions of active workers, enormous holdings world-wide and an incredibly prolific publishing enterprise.

The Watchtower Society likes to point with pride to the uniformity of doctrine among its members around the globe. However, they usually fail to mention how this is achieved. Jehovah’s Witnesses are absolutely bound to accept without question the pronouncements handed down from Brooklyn. In recent years the Society has seen the defection of many of its members, some of whom were leaders. One notable example of this is Raymond Franz, nephew of Fred Franz. A former member of the Society’s top policy-making “governing body,” Raymond Franz has written a book, en-titled A Crisis of Conscience, which tells how he became increasingly disillusioned by observing the machinations and blatant dishonesty of the organization’s top leadership. As the title of the book suggests, Franz ultimately found himself in a crisis of conscience which led him to resign his position and sever all association with the Witnesses. Many others who have left the Society in recent years describe their experience as brainwashing and total domination by a heavy-handed organization which demands blind loyalty. Stories are told of members being disfellowshiped for such things as sending a birthday card or voting in an election. It is not difficult to see why those who remain in the organization are careful to adhere to what they are told by those above them.

This article has obviously been only a brief overview of the history of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, but even a cursory look at the activities and doctrines of this organization are sufficient to establish it as one more modern example of that concerning which the apostle John wrote long ago: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (I Jn. 4:1).

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 8, p. 2
April 15, 1993