Here is a compendium of prophetic statements the Watchtower has made and the documentation provided on David Reed’s website. (pp. 284-287)

Statement #1: Jehovah’s Witnesses act as a “prophet” of God. The only way to prove it “is to review the record.” (Source: “They Shall Know that a Prophet Was Among Them,” The Watchtower, 4/1/72, p. 197)

You can say, “This is one reason why I believe it’s perfectly legitimate to investigate what the Watchtower has taught over the years. Several things that they have said trouble me, and I’d like to get your thoughts on them.”

Show the Witnesses each of the following statements and ask them to read them aloud. After each one, ask, “Do you believe this came from Jehovah or from men?”

Statement #2: “…the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God, will be accomplished at the end of A.D. 1914.” (Source: The Time is at Hand (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. II), Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1889, 1908 edition, p. 99)

Statement #3: “…in the year 1918, when God destroys the churches wholesale and the church members by millions, it shall be that any that escape shall come to the works of Pastor Russell to learn the meaning of the downfall of ‘Christianity’.” (Source: The Finished Mystery (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. VII), Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1917, p. 485)

Statement #4: “…we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old, particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews chapter eleven, to the condition of human perfection.” (Source: Millions Now Living Will Never Die! (Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1920), pp. 89-90)

 Statement #5: “According to this trustworthy Bible chronology six thousand years from man’s creation will end in 1975… It would not be by mere chance or accident but would be according to the loving purpose of Jehovah God for the reign of Jesus Christ, the ‘Lord of the Sabbath,’ to run parallel with the seventh millennium of man’s existence.” (Source: Life Everlasting—In Freedom of the Sons of God (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1966), pp. 29-30)

 Statement #6: “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… It may involve only a difference of weeks or months, not years.” (Source: The Watchtower, “Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?”, 8/15/68, p. 499)

Statement #7: “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.” (Source: Our Kingdom Ministry, 5/1974, p. 3)

Study Questions

How might follow-up questions like these be helpful in getting Jehovah’s Witnesses to consider the unreliability of the Watchtower as a guide to Bible truth? (pp. 284-287)

  • “What exactly did the Watchtower say would take place in [year]?”
  • “How certain did they seem that this was truth that had been revealed to them by Jehovah?”
  • “In hindsight, do you believe that teaching came from Jehovah or from men?”
  • “What would have happened to a Jehovah’s Witness who disagreed with that prediction at the time and refused to teach it in the witnessing ministry?”
  • “Once those expectations failed to come to pass, what did the Watchtower do to make it up to Jehovah’s Witnesses who had sold their property or given up their jobs in reliance on those predictions in order to be able to bring that message to people’s doors?”
  • “Given this track record, how can I know that the Watchtower’s current predictions about the nearness of Armageddon truly come from Jehovah and aren’t just the mistaken expectations of fallible men?”