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Have you ever looked at in what kind of context the name Jehovah's witnesses is in the Bible?

Isaiah 42:18-25 (NWT)
18 Hear, YOU deaf ones; and look forth to see, YOU blind ones. 19 Who is blind, if not my servant, and who is deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as the one rewarded, or blind as the servant of Jehovah? 20 It was a case of seeing many things, but you did not keep watching. It was a case of opening the ears, but you did not keep listening. 21 Jehovah himself for the sake of his righteousness has taken a delight in that he should magnify the law and make it majestic. 22 But it is a people plundered and pillaged, all of them being trapped in the holes, and in the houses of detention they have been kept hidden. They have come to be for plunder without a deliverer, for pillage without anyone to say: “Bring back!”

23 Who among YOU people will give ear to this? Who will pay attention and listen for later times? 24 Who has given Jacob for mere pillage, and Israel to the plunderers? Is it not Jehovah, the One against whom we have sinned, and in whose ways they did not want to walk and to whose law they did not listen? 25 So He kept pouring out upon him rage, his anger, and the strength of war. And it kept consuming him all around, but he took no note; and it kept blazing up against him, but he would lay nothing to heart.

Isaiah 43:8-12 (NWT)
8 “Bring forth a people blind though eyes themselves exist, and the ones deaf though they have ears. 9 Let the nations all be collected together at one place, and let national groups be gathered together. Who is there among them that can tell this? Or can they cause us to hear even the first things? Let them furnish their witnesses, that they may be declared righteous, or let them hear and say, ‘It is the truth!’” 10 “YOU are my witnesses,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “even my servant whom I have chosen, in order that YOU may know and have faith in me, and that YOU may understand that I am the same One. Before me there was no God formed, and after me there continued to be none. 11 I—I am Jehovah, and besides me there is no savior.” 12 “I myself have told forth and have saved and have caused [it] to be heard, when there was among YOU no strange [god]. So YOU are my witnesses,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “and I am God.

20 The wild beast of the field will glorify me, the jackals and the ostriches; because I shall have given water even in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to cause my people, my chosen one, to drink, 21 the people whom I have formed for myself, that they should recount the praise of me.

22 “But you have not called even me, O Jacob, because you have grown weary of me, O Israel. 23 You have not brought me the sheep of your whole burnt offerings, and with your sacrifices you have not glorified me. I have not compelled you to serve me with a gift, nor have I made you weary with frankincense. 24 For me you have bought no [sweet] cane with any money; and with the fat of your sacrifices you have not saturated me. In reality you have compelled me to serve because of your sins; you have made me weary with your errors.
25 “I—I am the One that is wiping out your transgressions for my own sake, and your sins I shall not remember. 26 Remind me; let us put ourselves on judgment together; tell your own account of it in order that you may be in the right. 27 Your own father, the first one, has sinned, and your own spokesmen have transgressed against me. 28 So I shall profane the princes of the holy place, and I will give Jacob over as a man devoted to destruction and Israel over to words of abuse.

It seems that the WT-society blindly took the name Jehovah's witnesses, in 1931?, not remarking the negative context, just to fullfill the prophecy. They had predicted things about 1914, but after failing they did not reject the idea of 1914.
Also the severe persecutions that followed of the Jehovah's witnesses before and during and after the Second World War fits well on the verses in the context.

Is it not amazing how Jehovah can turn things out? I mean make his erring servants blind to make decisions that will expose them later?

With christian love
Jan

Hi Jan,

Very well put and you are entirely correct. In typical WT fashion I have given your quote the ellipses (...) so often used in quoting out of context to see what it looks like IN context!

Love,

sw

Ironic, isn't it? :D

yes indeed--and very sad too. at lest it makes me feel that way :(

Hi dear sister Wolfie :heartbeat:, I'm sad that my post caused you more sadness. But there is a way for the Jehovah's witnesses to come away from it, it is to correct the matters wich are wrong and change the name. When they could call themselves christians and that they belong to the Way. Then they would follow closely to the first centry pattern.

With much brotherly affection Jan

To smoldering wick and Interpretum, I'm glad you enjoyed this post.:D

You can see where Joseph Rutherford was heading with his choice of naming his religion.

The Bible Students had been considered the Consecrated of the Lord, yet there were doctrinal, social and evangelical issues to be dealt with. So in an attempt to fashion themselves after the Jewish Nation who had gone astray but within whom there was a Faithful Remnant these new Witnesses were seeking a better religion.

Didn't quite work out that way but I think we all get the effort.

Well now a better Reformation has begun :grouphug: We have our own history to sift thru and avoid the old land-mines :ok:

Ain't it grand :friends:

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