Russell closely followed sixteenth century Protestant Biblical
interpretive methodology, seeing
Bible Prophecy as pointing to modern day fulfilment (where
modern is the time period of the interpreter). Rather than try to determine from the text what the
prophecies of Daniel and
Revelation mean, the Watchtower uses eisegesis to fit prophetic
meanings to current times. This has led to a constant change of
understanding and
interpretation.
A small sampling of prophecy that has undergone complete
interpretive re-
engineering follows, particularly regarding
the significant changes made to the
understanding of the
prophetic days of Daniel and Revelation. Whereas Russell borrowed extensively from the
Adventist movement to prove parallels in the 1800's, Rutherford found fulfilment in twentieth century events.
As will be shown, from
Rutherford onwards
interpretation became less logically consistent. Lack of consistent methodology has
allowed desired explanations to
be squeezed from almost any Scripture.
Franz's imagination knew no bounds; as seen from the 42 types and prophecies that were
supposed to point to the Great Crowd, as listed in You May Survive Armageddon into God's
New World (1955) pages
367-368. This included Rahab the Harlot, Lot and his daughters and "the very great multitude of
fish that come to life in the healed waters of the Red Sea."
Current interpretation lacks consistency in many areas due to combining a matrix of methods
to explain each passage, and arbitrarily choosing what to explain as literal or figurative. For
instance, at times the word 'days' will be said to be literal days, at
other times years and at yet other times be considered figurative. As quoted in detail
later, during the 1800's the 1260 days of Revelation 11:3 were
interpreted as years extending to 1798 A.D. (Three Worlds 1877
p.114); now they are literal days during World War One. And whilst the 1260 days of Revelation 11:3 are currently
interpreted as a literal period of time, six verses later the 3 ½ days are said to be figurative.
(Revelation, Its Grand Climax At Hand! pp.164-168)
Likewise, in the
description of the 144,000 of Revelation 7:4
and 14:1, the number 144,000 is taken as literal but the statement that they are virgins, Jewish, male and standing on Mount Zion are
all explained as figurative.
(Revelation, Its Grand Climax At Hand! pp.116, 117, 198, 199)
This method of
interpretation makes it possible to arrive at
whatever preconceived meaning is desired. That is why it is possible to have a new interpretation created every few
decades.

A book could be devoted to the changing Watchtower
interpretation of Revelation.
Rather than show each change, it is noted that within one century
there were five major
Watchtower publications
attempting to interpret
Revelation, each one substantially
different than the one before. In 1917 The Finished Mystery was
released. Then came Light
(1930), followed by Babylon the Great Has Fallen! God's Kingdom
Rules (1963), Then Is Finished the Mystery of God (1969) and
most recently Revelation, Its Grand Climax At Hand! (1988).
The September 2006 Kingdom Ministry insert,
listed 70 changes to the
Revelation Climax book.
The Watchtower claims that Jesus commenced his inspection of religious groups in 1918, and
chose the Watchtower Society as the sole organization worthy of
representing him, based on the spiritual food being served. Some
of the food at that time is
contained in the 1917 book The Finished Mystery. This was held
up as the fulfilment of prophecy, "God-given
interpretation" (Watch Tower 1917 December 15) and "the first
and only book that makes clear every part of Revelation and
Ezekiel." (Watch Tower 1917 October 1) It continues to proudly be described in the
Proclaimers and Revelation Climax books as a powerful classic.

"Through the close of 1917 and into 1918, the Bible Students
energetically distributed the new book, The Finished Mystery. By
the end of 1917, the printers were busy on the 850,000 edition. The Watch Tower of
December 15, 1917, reported:

"The sale of the Seventh Volume is unparallelled by the sale of any
other book known, in the same length of time, excepting the Bible." Jehovah's Witnesses-
Proclaimers of God's Kingdom p.69

"In 1917 the Bible Students published The Finished Mystery, a
powerful commentary on
Revelation and Ezekiel."
Revelation - Its Grand Climax At Hand! p.165

In reality, almost every page of The Finished Mystery contains
information that a Witness today
would mock if they did not know it was one of their own. The
majority of its teachings were incorrect and discarded in following publications. Some of
the claims in The Finished
Mystery were;

~88 "proofs" that Christ's "Second Advent occurred in the Fall of 1874" (pp.68-71)
~The remaining Anointed would all be taken from earth to heaven
in the spring of 1918. (p.64)

"Also, in the year 1918, when God destroys the churches wholesale and the church members by millions...." (p.485)
"Even the republics will disappear in the fall of 1920....Every
kingdom of Earth will pass away, be swallowed up in anarchy." (p.258)

~The rider on the white horse in Revelation 6:2 is "the Bishop of Rome, the embryo Pope, the
personal representative of Satan" (p.106)
~Michael the Archangel is the pope of Rome. (p.188)
~"Leviathan" of Job 41:2-19 is a locomotive. (p.85)

"The chariots rage in the streets, they jostle one another" of Natham 2:4 are the clanking and
the bumping of railway cars. (p.93)

~The "valiant men" of Nathum 2:3 are an engineer and a fireman.
(p.93)
~Demons will invade the minds of churchgoers in 1918, leading to
their destruction. (p.128)
~"Behemoth" of Job 40:15-24 is a stationary steam engine. (p.84)
~The "voice from heaven" of Revelation 18:4 is the voice of The Watchtower Society. (p.276)
~The glory of the angel of
Revelation 18:1 refers to modern discoveries such as correspondence schools, celluloid, Divine Plan of the Ages,
talking machines, vacuum
cleaners, induction motors, pasteurization, Panama Canal,
shoe sewing machines, subways, skyscrapers, Roentgen rays.
(p.273)
~Revelation 14:20 predicted the
precise distance from the place where The Finished Mystery was produced in Stranton, Pennsylvania to its shipping destination in Bethel in New York
City (p. 230)

New books explaining Revelation have been necessary to replace
preceding wrong interpretations.
Even the latest Revelation book still contains ideas that are clearly wrong and will need to be
changed again over time. The number of contradictory
interpretations that the
Watchtower Society have
presented shows that these are little more than stabs in the dark,not a collection of teachings
directed by God's Holy Spirit. How does the Organization explain
such a major rewrite of the prophetic explanations?
Revelation, It's Grand Climax At Hand! P.8 states;

"As early as 1917, the Watch Tower Society published the book The Finished Mystery. This
was a verse-by-verse
commentary on the Bible books of Ezekiel and Revelation. Then, as world events continued to unfold in fulfilment of Bible prophecy, a timely two-volume work entitled Light was
prepared, being released in 1930. This offered an updated study of Revelation. Light
continued to 'flash up for the righteous,' so that in 1963 the Society published the 704-page
book "Babylon the Great Has Fallen! God's Kingdom Rules!"

The claim is made that these changes signify 'a flash of new light'. But wasn't The Finished
Mystery said to be 'God given'? Can it truthfully be said that God gave the original interpretation if
it was blatantly incorrect? [/b]When there have already been 5 vastly
different attempts to get it right how can people believe a rewrite
is new light from Jehovah and not just more of the same wrong light?
Take as examples the
explanation of what the star named Wormwood is meant to signify, or who Michael the Archangel signifies. This was not
"new light" resulting as "world events continued to unfold".

[b]Wormwood


Revelation 8:10-11
"And the third angel blew his trumpet. And a great star burning as a lamp fell from heaven, and it fell upon a third of
the rivers and upon the
fountains of waters. 11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood. And a third of the waters turned into wormwood,
and many of the men died from the waters, because these had
been made bitter."


There have been three different versions of "God given light" regarding wormwood in Watchtower publications so far:

1. Calvin
"Calvin is entitled to the honor of having at one time been a papal
star .... Is called Wormwood. --
What an ideal name for the doctrine which has caused more bitterness against God than any
other doctrine ever taught, and for the man who roasted Servetus at the stake" Studies in
the Scriptures Series VII- The Finished Mystery p.151

2. Satan
"The 'great star' falling from heaven as a burning lamp was Satan .... The name of this star is
called 'Wormwood', which means bitter. Being cast out of heaven Satan is in the 'gall of
bitterness'" Light I pp.126, 127

3. Clergy of Christedom
"In view of these features about it. what religious class of people could this blazing, falling 'great
star' picture but the apostate Christian clergy of Christendom,
Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant and otherwise sectarian? . . . But
what should have been spiritual 'water' to sustain the spiritual life of the peoples, the apostate
Christian clergy have turned into undrinkable, deadly, bitter wormwood waters false, pagan,
unchristian, unbiblical doctrines"
Then is Finished the Mystery of God pp.224,225

@OP, U've serious problems. why are u troubling urself over a trivial matter? or u don't knw that the issue of changing bible word, removing and adding verses et.c in the bible is a trivial matter?

What u need to do is that, u should collect all the bible that is being used by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestants, Jehovah witnesses, Marmons and other sects. And after that u'll burn them and start writing "Original One and Only New Bible".

And if u knw u can't be able to do that, then u're only wasting ur time here because this can't make any difference. U're only pouring water inside the basket which is as good as sleeping in the daylight.



My candid advice though

Michael the Archangel

Michael the Archangel is
described in Daniel 10:13 as "Mi´cha·el, one of the foremost princes" and at Revelation 12:7 it
says " Mi´cha·el and his angels battled with the dragon, and the
dragon and its angels battled." In the fifty years between 1880 and
1930 there were five changes as to who Michael was.

1. An Angel that worships Jesus "Hence it is said, "Let all the angels of God worship him;" [that must include Michael, the chief angel, hence Michael is
not the Son of God] and the reason is, because He has "by inheritance obtained a more
excellent Name than they.""
Zion's Watch Tower 1879 Nov p.4

2. The Pope and Antichrist
"Michael and his angels"--the papacy and its supporters--fought against the dragon--
pagan rulers, etc.,-- and the great
dragon was cast out of heaven.
Zion's Watch Tower 1879
December p.6

3. Michael was the pre-human Jesus Christ
"Can it be that he who was called Michael--Jehovah's chief-
messenger--was none other than
our Lord in his pre-human
condition? we conclude that HE must have been "chief messenger." " Zion's Watch
Tower 1883 June p.3

4. The Pope again
"Michael.--- "Who as God," the Pope." The Finished Mystery 1917 p.188

5. Jesus in heaven
Since the 1930's Michael is explained to be the heavenly name for Jesus.
"For many years Jehovah's Witnesses have taught that Michael is a heavenly name for
the only-begotten Son of God, who was named Jesus while on
earth." Watchtower 1984
December 15 p.26

The Governing Body of theWatchtower Society demonstrate
that they have no idea as to how to interpret Revelation.

A number of the prophetic interpretations for Daniel show
another classic struggle of
attempting to find a modern day
fulfilment that does not exist,resulting in contradiction,changes, inconsistencies and
little hint of divine guidance. The
current understanding is often quite amusing. The prophecies discussed here are;
~1260 days
~1290 days
~1335 days
~2300 days

2520 days - Seven Times
During the 1800's Russell taught that the 1260, 1290 and 1335
days all started at the beginning
of papal rule in 539 A.D. With 539, 1799 and 1874 no longer being considered relevant the
explanation for these prophecies also have changed.

1260 days

At Daniel 12:7 and Revelation11:3-6 it discusses a period of 3
½ years, or 1260 days. During the 1800's the Watchtower claimed this was prophetic of
1260 years. Now it is said to be a period of days that roughly correspond to 1260 literal days.
There have been at least 11 changes, spanning 9 different periods of time.
TBC