The False Teaching Of 1914 . . . The Good That Comes From It . . . What???
Jehovah's Witnesses, The Teaching Of 1914, And The Great "Sacred Secret [Greek: Mysterion] Of God" ... Revealed! (Revelation 10:7)
The bible tells us, Jehovah in His Almightiness, His Grand Wisdom, can amazingly extract something very "good," from that which is commonly viewed as something quite "bad." Yes, Jehovah is All-Knowing, so He knows how to do this. -- Romans 11:33; Romans 16:27
For example, we recall the ingenious Grand Solution presented at the introduction of "sin" into the "Garden of Eden," as shown by way of the prophecy of Genesis 3:15, after Satan & company introduced the contaminate/stain of "sin" into the sin-free environment of Paradise upon earth. Then too added to that fact, we can note the inexplicable, baffling continued permission, on Almighty God's part, of blatant outright evil and wickedness practiced on earth for millenniums, and yet, what God's Grand Solution will undoubtedly lead to by this mysterious, permissive act on His part. Yes, everlasting peace and happiness for all mankind, by the utilization & spectacular revelation of His Grand Solution of Genesis 3:15, something we call the "Sacred Secret" of God! -- Revelation 10:7
Then too, what about the tolerance and permissive existence of the vile historical personage of wicked Pharaoh of Egypt and his heavenly wicked counterpart, Satan the Devil. Yes Jehovah, the All-Wise One, can amazingly reap "praise" for His Glorious Name, by allowing the continued existence of such vile, wicked ones. (See Exodus 9:15, 16.) And even today, no where has this fact become more apparent, than in the case of the wicked nation of Jehovah's Witnesses themselves, God's Name People, modern-day "Israel" of bible prophecy, numbering over 8 million people on earth today. Yes, Jehovah has the ability to do this amazing feat, yes ... again, with the wicked, "apostate" nation of Jehovah's Witnesses! -- Daniel 2:34, 45 [For instance, the Royal Kingdom "stone" cut out by "God's Hand"]; Isaiah 10:6
Learn To 'Extract The Good From The Bad' ... Like Jehovah!
Indeed curiously, we recall Jehovah's sage advice to the discouraged prophet Jeremiah on one occasion. Yes, we recall Jehovah saying the curious words to this prophet, which proved to be special words to strengthen him. He was told plainly,
"... And if you will bring forth what is precious from valueless things, you will become like my own mouth. They themselves will come back to you but you yourself will not come back to them."
Yes, Jehovah did say this to the prophet, did he not? However, one could ask at this point, what does that mean, exactly? -- See Jeremiah 15:19 New World Translation; the King James Version says "if thou take forth the precious from the vile..."
Well in short, it means we must all learn ... learn to 'extract the good...from the bad' and make the best of our situation, just like Jehovah did back in the "Garden of Eden," no matter how bad the situation may seem to us, at the time. In other words, we must not panic at an UNFORESEEN terrific occurrence, when it happens. No, but we must heed the well-known sage advice as some say, and NOT ... that's NOT "throw the baby out with the bath water," as some say, and thus in this way, we will be imitating Jehovah Himself. (Ephesians 5:1) Yes indeed, we must imitate Jehovah in this regard, since He could have in a fit of rage, destroyed all human life instantly, and acted immediately right after Adam and Eve, led by Satan, decided on a course of sin, in the "Garden of Eden." He could have done this, but wisely, He didn't! And in so doing, He wisely preserved all present-day life on earth today, indeed all human life born from the first original "apostate" couple. (The lives of faithful men such as Abel, Seth, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, Moses, Samuel, King David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and many, many more precious lives, were preserved because of this!) Indeed, this Great "Self-Control" on Jehovah's part, and His Great Endurance too, perfectly demonstrated on His part over these many thousands of years, since that original sin, once again well demonstrates the overwhelming wisdom in taking such a course. -- Proverbs 27:11
Indeed it becomes exactly as Paul described it, under inspiration:
"If now, God, although having the will to demonstrate his wrath and to make his power known [by destroying everyone wicked, instantly], TOLERATED WITH MUCH LONG-SUFFERING vessels of wrath [wicked people] made fit for destruction, in order that he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy [righteous, obedient people], which he prepared beforehand for glory," -- Romans 9:22, 23 New World Translation
Think about it!
Of course today, many would say to those espousing such a viewpoint, how do you know this to be true in our modern-day times? Why do you say "extract the good from the bad," in imitation of Jehovah Our Creator? Why should we do this, in these difficult days?
Well, something strange is about to happen, for all mankind to ponder. Something they didn't expect at all. Yes, as strange as it may seem to the inhabited earth today, one day in the near, foreseeable future, the undeniable link between Jehovah's Witnesses and the teaching of 1914, will prove to be the inescapable fact, that ultimately led to the "revealing," or unraveling of the Greatest Mystery or Secret ever given to mankind, way back since the "Garden of Eden." Yes, it is the Great "Sacred Secret of God," finally "brought to a finish." (Genesis 3:15; Leviticus 16:10; Luke 17:30; Revelation 10:7 New World Translation) Indeed at that time, it will be the final destiny of all repentant Jehovah's Witnesses as God's Name People, to scrape-the-sky with their wings and soar to greater heights of glory, than all others in religious circles of our time. Even today, this could be true of them, if they would simply use their God-given "thinking abilities," (Proverbs 1:4) to unravel a very surprisingly simple biblical dilemma found in Daniel 7th chapter...verse 13 to be exact...coupled with a genuinely investigative, inquisitive view & study of Leviticus 16:10. (Proverbs 1:4) Nevertheless eventually, one day indeed, they (Jehovah's Witnesses) will be honored greatly and appreciated much, for playing a key role in this unique situation, and what the teaching of 1914 actually led to finally, namely the unraveling of the bible itself as the known, understood, and revealed "Sacred Secret of God." (Revelation 10:7) All mankind, at that time, will come to know this and look back with appreciation, because of this strange chain of events that led to this occurrence. -- See Jeremiah 33:3-9.
Even today, we of the YORWW Congregation still say, if individual Jehovah's Witnesses would put such events together in their minds, they could attain to great heights of serious bible understanding of the "Sacred Secret of God." Indeed, a group of Jehovah's Witnesses, called the "Male Child" will do this, "first." (Zechariah 12:7; Revelation 12:5) True, this "heavenly" thought, is in fact, attainable for Jehovah's Witnesses as well as former Jehovah's Witnesses alike, if they had really wanted to know this. Almighty God Jehovah had, even as we speak today, incredibly made this possible for them. -- Jeremiah 33:3; Isaiah 42:16; 2 Corinthians 12:2-4
You see, any serious bible scholar can easily learn from their personal study of the Holy Writings, that Jesus Christ was clearly given the inestimable privilege to "sit upon God's throne," yes, being enthroned in the first century, and upon his resurrection where he was magnificently proclaimed a PERMANENT "SON OF GOD," on an everlasting basis. (See Romans 1:4; Revelation 3:12.) This is an indisputable fact. No one can argue this point. Additionally, key verses such as Matthew 28:18 and Ephesians 1:20-22 remove all doubt so that one, cannot reach any other conclusion other than he gained All Heavenly Authority from His Heavenly Father, in the first century. This fact is irrefutable and need little or if any, defense or explanation at all. Then too, added to that fact would be a correct understanding of Hebrews 10:12, 13 and Psalms 110:1 which shows the reign of Jesus can only last, until one special, glorious event...one event. And this event would be this: Jesus' heavenly reign lasts only until his "enemies" are put underneath "his feet," in destruction. Then, his reign or rule, must end. This is clearly God's Will. -- Please compare 1 Corinthians 15:25.
(Interestingly, Jehovah's Witnesses mistakenly think the beginning and end of Jesus' heavenly reign, is explained and foretold for us in Hebrews 10:12, 13. According to that verse, they think Jesus is "awaiting" to rule. They think he is "waiting" to reign, which begins when he cast down his "enemies" and makes them a "stool" for his feet, upon earth. So, Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus' reign actually begins with this event. [Satan cast out of heaven in 1914.] And they think the "placing" of his "enemies" under his feet, also ends his reign, too. [Inherited Adamic "Death" completely removed at the end of 1,000 reign of peace upon earth.] Of course, this does not make good sense, does it? Namely, that Jesus' heavenly reign would begin and end, with the exact same event, could it??? Think about it.)
But today we are still faced with a special, baffling mystery about Jesus' heavenly reign. Remember, the reign of Jesus, his triumphant, glorious rise to incorruption and immortality is heralded, over and over again in the Greek text, and is something that any elementary student of scripture or novice of scripture, knows ever so well. The heavenly reign of Jesus is accepted and known by just about anyone who reads the bible these days. However, there is a problem. It has to do with Daniel 7th chapter. How do we explain it? Now going back, we note what Jehovah's Witnesses tried to do with the teaching of 1914, is try to figure out just how Daniel 7:13 would be fulfilled, in our modern-day time. You see, Daniel 7:13, 14 (also Revelation 11:15) is indeed a modern-day prophecy, to be fulfilled in the "last days," during the life of the mysterious "Small Horn" of bible prophecy. Therefore, can you figure such a dilemma out, yourself personally, as a critic of the Watchtower Society??? Can you, as a critic, as a bible student or scholar, do better than all Jehovah's Witnesses, world wide in resolving this apparent conflict in biblical prophecy???
It has been said, when one is attempting to solve a mystery:
“…when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” – Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
So on that basis, one thing is for sure, Jesus Christ was enthroned in the first century. That is a fact. Thus, it would be quite impossible for Jesus then, to be enthroned twice, once in the first century and once in our modern day and times. This is also a fact that cannot be refuted.
The Unique Connection Between The Teaching of 1914 And Jamaican "Rastafarian" Beliefs
To be sure, the teaching of 1914, even though it is a weak, feeble attempt of resolving this mentally-challenging, baffling dilemma of the indisputable heavenly enthronement of Jesus Christ in the first century, versus a supposed 1914 one, still nevertheless in itself, unwittingly reveals a Two (2) Messiah Concept, that would not, nor could not, have been made known otherwise. (Strangely enough, the "Rastafarians" of Jamaica similarly hold a unique viewpoint toward deceased Emperor Haile Selassie as the earthly fulfillment of Revelation 5:5, thus making him an earthly "messiah," yet all the while, holding to the viewpoint that heavenly enthroned Jesus is also ... yes, also the grand fulfillment of Revelation 5:5 too, in a much greater capacity. All of which amazingly highlights the fact, that it is entirely possible for the human mind to actually conceive ... yes, mentally-conceive of a Two-Messiah Concept for the first time, by a "Christian" Religion. Yes, the Jamaican "Rastafarians" [1 million world wide] proved it was humanly possible to hold such a viewpoint. Yes, indeed!)
Thus, for the first time, we can learn to "extract" something "precious" from something which is deeded as "vile" or "worthless." Meaning, the "vile" or "worthless" thing becoming the false teaching of 1914, and the "precious" thing being, the magnificent revelation of the "Sacred Secret" of God, the Two-Kingdom/Two-Messiah Concept. Indeed, for this alone, Jehovah's Witnesses will one day be "praised," lauded, and highly honored, the entire earth over, till time indefinite....even forever, as bible prophecy indicates. -- See Revelation 10:7; Jeremiah 33:9.
Praise Jah!
Article written by Donald C. Burney
(For more detail information on the teaching of 1914, please see the article entitled "When Does Jesus' Heavenly Reign Begin & End")
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1. The Core Problem: Jesus Was Already Enthroned in the First Century