INTRODUCTION

1874 1914 1925 1975

"A PROPHET IS AMONGST US" A discussion of the April 1972 Watchtower article

WHAT IS A PROPHET?

MY CONCLUSION

TO THE TOP

"I paid Mr. Barbour's expenses to come to see me at Philadelphia (where I had business engagements during the summer of 1876), to show me fully and Scriptural, if he could, that the prophecies indicated 1874 as the date at which the Lord's presence and 'the harvest' began"

TO THE TOP

TO THE TOP

TO THE TOP

In my attenpt to give a balanced veiw for readers, I will insert some of the "Quotes" that they use to get their point accross. The following section is taken straight from a site that advicates the above. What I have done is change the colour and added some comments and more of the "qoute" that they use.

"Discussion of 1975 overshadowed about everything else. 'The new book compels us to realise that Armageddon is, in fact, very close indeed,' said a conventioner." (see discution of this article down further)

"...1975 marks the end of 6,000 years of human experience.....Will it be the time when God executes the wicked?....It very well could be, but we will have to wait to see." (Please notice that it was an assumption somethig will happen "It very well could be, but we will have to wait to see.")

"Thus, Adam's naming of the animals and his realizing that he needed a counterpart would have occupied only a brief time after his creation. Since it was also Jehovah's purpose for man to multiply and fill the earth, it is logical that he would create Eve soon after Adam, perhaps just a few weeks or months later in the same year, 4026 B.C.E. After her creation, God's rest day, the seventh period, immediately followed. 'When were Adam and Eve created?' .. After [Eve's] creation, God's rest day, the seventh period, immediately followed. Therefore, God's seventh day and the time man has been on earth apparently run parallel. To calculate where man is in the stream of time relative to God's seventh day of 7,000 years, we need to determine how long a time has elapsed from the year of Adam and Eve's creation in 4026 B.C.E.. The seventh day of the Jewish week, the sabbath, would well picture the final 1,000-year reign of God's kingdom under Christ when mankind would be uplifted from 6,000 years of sin and death. (Rev. 20:6) Hence, when Christians note from God's timetable the approaching end of 6,000 years of human history, it fills them with anticipation. Particularly is this true because the great sign of the "last days" has been in the course of fulfillment since the beginning of the "time of the end" in 1914... eight years remain to account for a full 6,000 years of the seventh day. Eight years from the autumn of 1967 would bring us to the autumn of 1975, fully 6,000 years into God's seventh day, his rest day. The immediate future is certain to be filled with climatic events, for this old system is nearing its complete end. Within a few years at most the final parts of Bible prophecy relative to these 'last days' will undergo fulfillment, resulting in the liberation of surviving mankind into Christ's glorious 1,000-year reign!" { May 1 1968 271-3} [the cautionary "No one can say with certainty what any particular year will bring." clearly being lost in the tumult] .(words in red are not in original article but added by the JW apposer)

Article heading - "WHY ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO 1975?" (see discution of article further down the page)

Now lets go forward a couple of years to 1968 and the we will look at 2 watchtower articles. The first one from May 1 1968 P 271 –273 and the Watchtower August 15 page 499 – 501 from the article "Why are you looking forward to 1975". Notice the warnings in this passage as well as the comparisons to the apostles (Underlining and bold mine; italics original. Scipture text in blue added and quoted from RSV ) (The writing in this colour is what was quoted above.) (Some extra coments by me in this COLOUR) Reading through the original articles hopfully will show the CAUTIONS put into place and why the information was printed. It was not there to "prophecy" but to warn and make readers alleert to the time that we live. There were helping readers "keep on the watch"

THE SEVENTH DAY

4 According to reliable Bible chronology Adam was created in the year 4026 B.C.E., likely in the autumn of the year, at the end of the sixth day of creation. Then God brought the animals to man to name. Yet, of Adam, Genesis states these words of Jehovah: "It is not good for the man to continue by himself." (Gen. 2:18) Adam would realize this lonely condition very quickly, perhaps in just a few days or a few weeks. He would realize he needed another earthling with whom he could communicate, share his experiences, and his life. Nor would his naming the animals take an unduly long time. The basic animal kinds could have been relatively quickly named, for when such basic kinds were taken into the ark in Noah’s day, it did not involve millions of beasts, but perhaps only a few hundred basic kinds. Thus, Adam’s naming of the animals and his realizing that he needed a counterpart would have occupied only a brief time after his creation. Since it was also Jehovah’s purpose for man to multiply and fill the earth, it is logical that he would create Eve soon after Adam, perhaps just a few weeks or months later in the same year, 4026 B.C.E. After her creation, God’s rest day, the seventh period, immediately followed.(Some of these points clarified in the August 15 Watchtower below)

5 Therefore, God’s seventh day and the time man has been on earth apparently run parallel. To calculate where man is in the stream of time relative to God’s seventh day of 7,000 years, we need to determine how long a time has elapsed from the year of Adam and Eve’s creation in 4026 B.C.E. From the autumn of that year to the autumn of 1 B.C.E., there would be 4,025 years. From the autumn of 1 B.C.E. to the autumn of 1 C.E. is one year (there was no zero year). From the autumn of 1 C.E. to the autumn of 1967 is a total of 1,966 years. Adding 4,025 and 1 and 1,966, we get 5,992 years from the autumn of 4026 B.C.E. to the autumn of 1967. Thus, eight years remain to account for a full 6,000 years of the seventh day. Eight years from the autumn of 1967 would bring us to the autumn of 1975, fully 6,000 years into God’s seventh day, his rest day. [COMPARE THIS with PART OF THE QUOTE ABOVE IS PUT IN A DIFFERENT PLACE. I only mention this to demonstrate how oppsers of JWS can try to manipulate the thinking of their readers by the way they put their material together.]

6 After 6,000 years of misery, toil, trouble, sickness and death under Satan’s rule, mankind is indeed in dire need of relief, a rest. The seventh day of the Jewish week, the sabbath, would well picture the final 1,000-year reign of God’s kingdom under Christ when mankind would be uplifted from 6,000 years of sin and death. (Rev. 20:6) Hence, when Christians note from God’s timetable the approaching end of 6,000 years of human history, it fills them with anticipation. Particularly is this true because the great sign of the "last days" has been in the course of fulfillment since the beginning of the "time of the end" in 1914. And, as Jesus said, "this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur." (Matt. 24:34) Some of the generation that discerned the beginning of the time of the end in 1914 will still be alive on earth to witness the end of this present wicked system of things at the battle of Armageddon.—Rev. 16:14, 16.

7 The immediate future is certain to be filled with climactic events, for this old system is nearing its complete end. Within a few years at most the final parts of Bible prophecy relative to these "last days" will undergo fulfillment, resulting in the liberation of surviving mankind into Christ’s glorious 1,000-year reign. What difficult days, but, at the same time, what grand days are just ahead!

8 Does this mean that the year 1975 will bring the battle of Armageddon? No one can say with certainty what any particular year will bring. Jesus said: "Concerning that day or the hour nobody knows." (Mark 13:32) Sufficient is it for God’s servants to know for a certainty that, for this system under Satan, time is running out rapidly. How foolish a person would be not to be awake and alert to the limited time remaining, to the earthshaking events soon to take place, and to the need to work out one’s salvation!

30 Are we to assume from this study that the battle of Armageddon will be all over by the autumn of 1975, and the long-looked-for thousand-year reign of Christ will begin by then? Possibly, but we wait to see how closely the seventh thousand-year period of man’s existence coincides with the sabbathlike thousand-year reign of Christ. If these two periods run parallel with each other as to the calendar year, it will not be by mere chance or accident but will be according to Jehovah’s loving and timely purposes. Our chronology, however, which is reasonably accurate (but admittedly not infallible), at the best only points to the autumn of 1975 as the end of 6,000 years of man’s existence on earth. It does not necessarily mean that 1975 marks the end of the first 6,000 years of Jehovah’s seventh creative "day." Why not? Because after his creation Adam lived some time during the "sixth day," which unknown amount of time would need to be subtracted from Adam’s 930 years, to determine when the sixth seven-thousand-year period or "day" ended, and how long Adam lived into the "seventh day." And yet the end of that sixth creative "day" could end within the same Gregorian calendar year of Adam’s creation. It may involve only a difference of weeks or months, not years.

(Please note the information between the "quotes". If you re read the first quote the impression that the writer was trying to put forward was that the Society said that Armagedon would happen within a few weeks or months and not years of 1975 The Society said COULD The Watchtower article writer was looking at things from a human point of view and a human perspective of time not from Gods perspective of time. He was over excited about what the signs meant. But regardless of that CAUTIONS WERE put in place)

31 In regard to Adam’s creation it is good to read carefully what the Bible says. Moses in compiling the book of Genesis referred to written records or "histories" that predated the Flood. The first of these begins with Genesis 1:1 and ends at Genesis 2:4 with the words, "This is the history of the heavens and the earth . . . " The second historical document begins with Genesis 2:5 and ends with verse two of chapter five. Hence we have two separate accounts of creation from slightly different points of view. In the second of these accounts, in Genesis 2:19, the original Hebrew verb translated "was forming" is in the progressive imperfect form. This does not mean that the animals and birds were created after Adam was created. Genesis 1:20-28 shows it does not mean that. So, in order to avoid contradiction between chapter one and chapter two, Genesis 2:19, 20 must be only a parenthetical remark thrown in to explain the need for creating a "helper" for man. So the progressive Hebrew verb form could also be rendered as "had been forming."—See Rotherham’s translation (Ro), also Leeser’s (Le).

32 These two creation accounts in the book of Genesis, though differing slightly in the treatment of the material, are in perfect agreement with each other on all points, including the fact that Eve was created after Adam. So not until after this event did the sixth creative day come to an end. Exactly how soon after Adam’s creation is not disclosed. "After that [Adam and Eve’s creation] God saw everything he had made and, look! it was very good. And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a sixth day." (Gen. 1:31) After the sixth creative day ends, the seventh one begins.

33 This time between Adam’s creation and the beginning of the seventh day, the day of rest, let it be noted, need not have been a long time. It could have been a rather short one. ( Please note the wishfull thinking of this author. He is NOT being deffinite. He is ASSUMING a time period based on the observations he makes. NOTHING deffinate is stated. Lets continue......) The naming of the animals by Adam, and his discovery that there was no complement for himself, required no great length of time. The animals were in subjection to Adam; they were peaceful; they came under God’s leading; they were not needing to be chased down and caught. It took Noah only seven days to get the same kinds of animals, male and female, into the Ark. (Gen. 7:1-4) Eve’s creation was quickly accomplished, ‘while Adam was sleeping.’ (Gen. 2:21) So the lapse of time between Adam’s creation and the end of the sixth creative day, though unknown, was a comparatively short period of time. (The length of time was unknown. I would assume here that the auther was looking at things from a HUMAN point of view. A mistake we all make especially if we are anticipating an event, say the arrival of long lost relatives... we eagerly look for ANY sign of their arrival ... may even get very excited when we think we pwrcieve them comming do we not. Take a trip to an airport and watch the anticipatiion of realatives and freinds as the eagerly scan the skies and keep their eye on the arrival notices..... When we consider that a Thousand years is but as one day to Jehovah (Psalms 90:4 , 2 Peter 3:8) so 30, 40, 50 or 100 years to us is a comparatively short period of time to Jehovah. Lets continue...) The pronouncement at the end of the sixth day, "God saw everything he had made and, look! it was very good," proves that the beginning of the great seventh day of the creative week did not wait until after Adam and Eve sinned and were expelled from the Garden of Eden.

34 Bible chronology is an interesting study by which historic events are placed in their order of occurrence along the stream of time. The Watch Tower Society over the years has endeavored to keep its associates abreast with the latest scholarship that proves consistent with historic and prophetic events recorded in the Scriptures. Major problems in sacred chronology have been straightened out either due to fulfillment of Bible prophecies or by reason of archaeological discoveries or because better Bible translations convey more clearly the records of the original languages. However, several knotty problems of chronology of a minor nature are not yet resolved. For example, at the time of the exodus from Egypt when Jehovah changed the beginning of the year from autumn time on the secular calendar to spring time on the sacred calendar, was there, in the Jewish calendar, a loss or a gain of six months?—Ex. 12:1, 2.

35 One thing is absolutely certain, Bible chronology reinforced with fulfilled Bible prophecy shows that six thousand years of man’s existence will soon be up, yes, within this generation! (Matt. 24:34) This is, therefore, no time to be indifferent and complacent. This is not the time to be toying with the words of Jesus that "concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matt. 24:36) To the contrary, it is a time when one should be keenly aware that the end of this system of things is rapidly coming to its violent end. Make no mistake, it is sufficient that the Father himself knows both the "day and hour"!

36 Even if one cannot see beyond 1975, is this any reason to be less active? The apostles could not see even this far; they knew nothing about 1975. All they could see was a short time ahead in which to finish the work assigned to them. (1 Pet. 4:7 "The end of all things is at hand; therefore keep sane and sober for your prayers") Hence, there was a ring of alarm and a cry of urgency in all their writings. (Acts 20:20; "how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public places" ; 2 Tim. 4:2 "preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season") And rightly so. If they had delayed or dillydallied and had been complacent with the idea the end was some thousands of years off they would never have finished running the race set before them. No, they ran hard and they ran fast, and they won! It was a life or death matter with them.—1 Cor. 9:24; 2 Tim. 4:7; Heb. 12:1.

37 So too with Jehovah’s faithful witnesses in this latter half of the twentieth century. They have the true Christian point of view. Their strenuous evangelistic activity is not something peculiar to this present decade. They have not dedicated their lives to serve Jehovah only until 1975. Christians have been running this way ever since Christ Jesus blazed the trail and commanded his disciples. "Follow me!" So keep this same mental attitude in you that was in Christ Jesus. Let nothing slow you down or cause you to tire and give out. Those who will flee Babylon the Great and this Satanic system of things are now running for their lives, headed for God’s kingdom, and they will not stop at 1975. O no! They will keep on in this glorious way that leads to everlasting life, praising and serving Jehovah for ever and ever!

"Yes, the end of this system is so very near! Is that not reason to increase our activity?....Reports are heard of brothers selling their homes and property and planning to finish out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service. Certainly this is a fine way to spend the short time remaining before the wicked world’s end."

First of all, notice the ellipses after activity?..... The writer of that quote misses nearly two paragraphs in the article. The impression that has been created by that is that JWs were encouraged to sell up their homes. In fact this is not what they were saying (It is true that some JWs DID sell up their homes, but that was a PRIVATE decition that they made on their own). The article was saying that there were reports of different ones doing so?

Yes, the end of this system is so very near! Is that not reason to increase our activity? In this regard we can learn something from a runner who puts on a final burst of speed near the finish of a race. Look at Jesus, who apparently stepped up his activity during his final days on earth. In fact, over 27 percent of the material in the Gospels is devoted to just the last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry!—Matt. 21:1–27:50; Mark 11:1–15:37; Luke 19:29–23:46; John 11:55–19:30.

By carefully and prayerfully examining our own circumstances, we also may find that we can spend more time and energy in preaching during this final period before the present system ends. Many of our brothers and sisters are doing just that. This is evident from the rapidly increasing number of pioneers

Yes, since the summer of 1973 there have been new peaks in pioneers every month. Now there are 20,394 regular and special pioneers in the United States, an all-time peak. That is 5,190 more than there were in February 1973! A 34-percent increase! Does that not warm our hearts? Reports are heard of brothers selling their homes and property and planning to finish out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service. Certainly this is a fine way to spend the short time remaining before the wicked world’s end.—1 John 2:17.

Circumstances such as poor health or responsibilities in connection with your family may limit what you can do in the field ministry. And yet, the pioneer ranks include many who have health limitations, as well as some persons with families. But these brothers and sisters are able to regulate their lives so that they can care for their responsibilities and still put in the 1,200 hours a year, an average of 100 hours a month in the field ministry, required of pioneers. (Bold and underlining mine; Italics original)

They have always taken their responsibility serious as to staying awake to the times we live in. 1 Corinthians 16:13 NWT "13 Stay awake, stand firm in the faith, carry on as men, grow mighty. " And 1 Thessalonians 5:6-9 NWT "So, then, let us not sleep on as the rest do, but let us stay awake and keep our senses. 7 For those who sleep are accustomed to sleep at night, and those who get drunk are usually drunk at night. 8 But as for us who belong to the day, let us keep our senses and have on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet the hope of salvation; 9 because God assigned us, not to wrath, but to the acquiring of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ"

This means that they do not sit back and admire the Bible from afar, they are very active as they get up close, exploring every facet, to try to determine the "breadth and length and height and depth", of Gods word.  Ephesians 3:18-19 NWT.

TO THE TOP

"So, does Jehovah have a prophet to help them, to warn them of dangers and to declare things to come?

These questions can be answered in the affirmative. Who is this prophet?….. This "prophet" was not one man, but was a body of men and women. It was the small group of footstep followers of Jesus Christ, known at that time as International Bible Students. Today they are known as Jehovah’s Christian witnesses."

Yes, on the surface, just reading that it is understandable why they come to that conclusion. But to the opponents that spread this quote, I would say it is very unfair and uncharitable of them to do so. Why do I say that? They fail to tell their readers the CONTEXT of that statement. This is probably because they do not understand the context. If, on the other hand, they do understand the context, then they are just wanting to cause waves, which again is very unfair. What they should also consider is, How do the Witnesses understand that statement? That is important because they are the ones that this statement affects.

To answer the second part of that first. Jehovah's Witnesses DO NOT view any one or group of persons as "inspired prophets", in the sense of the prophets from the Bible. So how do we view this modern day "prophet". We view this group as acting in the roll of a "prophet" in the sense of giving divine warning according to what is already written in the Bible in relation to events that are happening in the world today. How do we explain that? Lets see by examining the CONTEXT of the quote.

That Watchtower says (emphasis like this are mine)

"A third way of coming to know Jehovah God is through his representatives. In ancient times he sent prophets as his special messengers. While these men foretold things to come, they also served the people by telling them of God’s will for them at that time, often also warning them of dangers and calamities. People today can view the creative works. They have at hand the Bible, but it is little read or understood. So, does Jehovah have a prophet to help them, to warn them of dangers and to declare things to come?

However, Jehovah did not let the people of Christendom, as led by the clergy, go without being warned that the League was a counterfeit substitute for the real kingdom of God. He had a "prophet" to warn them. This "prophet" was not one man, but was a body of men and women. It was the small group of footstep followers of Jesus Christ, known at that time as International Bible Students. Today they are known as Jehovah’s Christian witnesses. They are still proclaiming a warning, and have been joined and assisted in their commissioned work by hundreds of thousands of persons who have listened to their message with belief.

During the World War I period this group, the International Bible Students, was very active in preaching the good news of God’s kingdom, as their Leader Jesus Christ had set this work before them in his prophecy at Matthew 24:14. They took literally Jesus’ words to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate: "My kingdom is no part of this world." (John 18:36) They also took to heart Jesus’ words to his followers: "You are no part of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world." They expected to suffer for living according to that rule, just as Jesus went on to say, "on this account the world hates you." (John 15:19) Hatred toward them grew into violence during World War I.

Accordingly, their magazine The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence, in its issues of August 1 and 15, 1919, encouraged vigorous resumption of the work of preaching the good news free from the fear of men. Under the subject "Blessed Are the Fearless," the following statements were made:

"The League of Nations came into being in 1919 and began really to function when it was ratified by the signatory powers at Paris on January 10, 1920. But Jehovah’s servants continued to proclaim the Messianic kingdom of God. When the ban on The Finished Mystery was lifted, they resumed its circulation and, with it as a textbook, they continued to study the book of Ezekiel. As time went on and further developments fulfilled the prophecy of Ezekiel, a three-volume set of books titled "Vindication" provided an up-to-date understanding, showing more fully the application of the prophecy.

Thus this group of anointed followers of Jesus Christ, doing a work in Christendom paralleling Ezekiel’s work among the Jews, were manifestly the modern-day Ezekiel, the "prophet" commissioned by Jehovah to declare the good news of God’s Messianic kingdom and to give warning to Christendom. It is significant that, in 1931, after twelve years of faithful service despite the opposition of Christendom’s clergy, these followers of Christ embraced the name "Jehovah’s witnesses" at the same convention at which the book Vindication was released.—Isa. 43:10-12, American Standard Version."

The parallel with that is as mentioned above the religions of Christendom supported man rule in the form of the League of Nations and not Gods Kingdom as the Bible students were doing. (That is another subject not to be discussed here due to limitation in space).

They only act as a "prophet" in that they do not claim to be inspired, but interpret what they see in inspired Bible prophecy and from world events.

Note also Ezekiel 3:17-21 (NWT) "Son of man, a watchman is what I have made you to the house of Israel, and you must hear from my mouth speech and you must warn them from me. 18 When I say to someone wicked, ‘You will positively die,’ and you do not actually warn him and speak in order to warn the wicked one from his wicked way to preserve him alive, he being wicked, in his error he will die, but his blood I shall ask back from your own hand. 19 But as for you, in case you have warned someone wicked and he does not actually turn back from his wickedness and from his wicked way, he himself for his error will die; but as for you, you will have delivered your own soul. 20 And when someone righteous turns back from his righteousness and actually does injustice and I must put a stumbling block before him, he himself will die because you did not warn him. For his sin he will die, and his righteous acts that he did will not be remembered, but his blood I shall ask back from your own hand. 21 And as for you, in case you have warned someone righteous that the righteous one should not sin, and he himself does not actually sin, he will without fail keep on living because he had been warned, and you yourself will have delivered your own soul."

 So the CONTEXT of that article is NOT talking about "predicting" or "prophesying" about something new, but "prophesying " or sounding the WARNING of coming destruction upon false religion and those that listen too her just as Ezekiel did to apostate Israel.

 The opening words of chapter 5 of "The Nations Shall Know THAT I AM JEHOVAH - How?" says "A Watchman should be specially appreciated in time of danger. His service by day and night, if appreciated and acted upon, results in protection and life for those over whom he acts as watchman. The people of Christendom have been in great danger ever since the "time of the end " began.."

  TO THE TOP

  WHAT IS A PROPHET?

"The second occurance of nabi (the English equivalent of the Hebrew word with out the accent marks) establishes it's meaning: "And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I will make thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet" (Exodus 7:1 [KJV]) The background of this statement is Exod. 4:10-16, where Moses argued his inability to speak clearly. Hence, he could not go before Pharaoh as God's spokesman. God promised to appoint Aaron (Moses' brother) to be the speaker: "And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God" (Exod. 4:16 [KJV]). Exod. &:1 expresses the same idea in different words. It is clear that the word "prophet" is equal to one who speaks for another, or his mouth." (italics mine).

Originally, the word that we now use to mean "one who foretells the future" meant "one who speaks for another. Generally, the prophets of the Bible that issued "prophecies" for the future, spoke on behalf of the one that did the "prophecying". So the prophets of Jehovah were spokes persons for himself.

It is true that their interpritation of that message has not always been correct, but they are not prepared to hide in the sand and run away from what they have mistaken. They continue to keep on the watch.

TO THE TOP

If people want to view portions of WTBTS literature as being "prophecy", that is their privilege. I personally (along with all JWs that I know) see NO prophecy in any of those words, and JWs DO NOT VIEW the WTBTS as prophets. But I do see them taking the responsibility to "keep on the watch" very seriously (just as the watchman on a Watchtower).

Keep on the watch, therefore, because YOU know neither the day nor the hour.

Mark 13:33-35

Happy are those slaves whom the master on arriving finds watching!

Luke 12:40

YES they are known through out the world for the good, peaceful, law-abiding results they bring to communities Note Matthew 7:16-20 NWT "By their fruits YOU will recognise them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? 17 Likewise every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit; 18 a good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. 19 Every tree not producing fine fruit gets cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Really, then, by their fruits YOU will recognise those [men]."

YES, on the international stage they are known for the Love among themselves just as John 13:35 says: "By this all will know that YOU are my disciples, if YOU have love among yourselves." As an international brotherhood this is particularly true. But note that, even in the days of the apostles, not all congregations showed the same degree of concern. That is why they had to be counselled to take care of orphans and widows (James 1:27). In the book of Revelation we read about one of the seven Congregations that had trouble with showing Love (Rev 2:4).

Also notice what Paul said to the Philippian congregation at Philippians 4:14-16 "14 Nevertheless, YOU acted well in becoming sharers with me in my tribulation. 15 In fact, YOU Phi·lip'pi·ans, also know that at [the] start of declaring the good news, when I departed from Mac·e·do'ni·a, not a congregation took a share with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except YOU alone; 16 because, even in Thes·sa·lo·ni'ca, YOU sent something to me both once and a second time for my need." NWT (italics mine) The apostle Paul even had to reprimand Peter for causing racial divisions as recorded for us in Galatians 2:11-13 "However, when Ce'phas came to Antioch, I resisted him face to face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before the arrival of certain men from James, he used to eat with people of the nations; but when they arrived, he went withdrawing and separating himself, in fear of those of the circumcised class. 13 The rest of the Jews also joined him in putting on this pretense" If these kind of things happened in the first century while the apostles of Jesus were still alive, and involving some of them, should we not expect to see similar things today?

What was the view of the early Bible Students in regard to interpritation? Were they willing to change their minds? Did they think that all knowledge was given to them at one time? Read the following article. This article is as I found it on the internwt except for some points that I highlight in colour.

. The above writer made some interesting points that JWs still hold too. Until absolute knowledge is gained, each ray of light will at least modify former ideas. This is what is stated at 1^st Corinth 13 regarding waiting for Knowledge to become perfect or complete.

Then ....the search for truth . ... Desire, will, energy, determination and faithfulness will be rewarded.

The final point that I would like to point out is ...... (13) The truths concerning the "time of the end" are said to be "shut up and sealed" until that time. Then "knowledge shall be increased," and "the wise shall understand."