The apostle wrote; “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  He received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’  We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” (2 Peter 1:16-18)

 

As I have already said, though the J.W’s now distance themselves from their true beginnings by the hand of Charles Taze Russell.  And even though the prophesies of Mr Russell have been proved false, and subsequent variations on those prophesies have also proved false, the J.W’s continue to “follow cleverly devised stories” about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.  They still cling to Mr Russell’s doctrines (even if they are altered versions).  A classic example of their folly; is their insistence that the Lord Jesus Christ actually returned in the year 1914. 

 

 “‘We have already learned that “the appointed times of the nations” began in the year 607 B.C.E.   So by counting 2,520 years from that date, we come down to 1914 C.E.  That is the year these “appointed times” ended.  Millions of people still living remember the things that happened in 1914.  In that year, World War I began a period of terrible trouble that has continued to our day.  This means that Jesus Christ began to rule as king of God’s heavenly government in 1914.  And because the kingdom has already started it’s rule, how timely it is that we pray for it to come and wipe Satan’s wicked system of things from the earth.  Yet a person may ask:  ‘If Christ has already returned to rule in his kingdom, why do we not see him?’’ (page141 ‘You can live forever in paradise on earth’. 1982, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania,)

 

In their 'Awake' magazines; as recently as 1991, the J.W’s were telling people that there would be ‘a peaceful and secure new world before the generation that saw the events of 1914 passes away.’  However, the ‘millions of people’ spoken about in the above passage, who saw the events of 1914, have now passed away.  The J.W’s have simply altered their teaching, to minimise the importance of the passing of that generation.  They now claim that the Lord’s “return” is not literal - they are no longer publishing a date for their secure and peaceful new world to start.  Instead, they tell people that the 'return' of Christ was in 1914, and it was an 'unseen'.   

 

This is what the Lord himself had to say about claims of an ‘unseen’ return;  “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out, or, ‘Here he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.  For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt. 24:26-27).  Jesus Christ himself tells us that his return will be clearly visible to all; as lightning from the east is visible even in the west.

I shared this scripture with a couple of J.W’s who once visited my house.  Their response was simple; they said, 'We don’t believe that.'

When a scripture clearly contradicts J.W. doctrine, they generally deal with it by telling people that the scripture simply doesn’t mean what it says.  In this case, they tell us that people will not really see the Lord’s return. 

They argue one scripture against another in an effort to defend their doctrines.  For example; In an effort to convince us that Christ’s return will be invisible to the world, they misquote John 14:19.  Jesus said to his apostles (the true witnesses), “Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.  Because I live, you also will live.”  They claim that this proves the Lord’s return will not be seen.  However, when Jesus said this to the apostles, He was not talking about His return from heaven.  He was talking about His resurrection from the dead.  One of Christ’s true witnesses explains this clearly when he says, “He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen - by those of us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.  He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:41-42).  As the Lord had told them, “the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.”  After the resurrection, the world did not see the Lord, but His true chosen witnesses did. 

 

In contrast to this, when the Lord is speaking about His return to earth for the judgement of mankind, he says, “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and all the nations of the earth will mourn.  They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.  And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” (Matt. 24:30-31)   I don’t think this scripture could be any clearer - “all the nations of the earth will mourn.  They will see the Son of Man”. 

 

In their book, ‘You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth’, the J.W’s distract the reader by arguing about what sort of body the Lord had after the resurrection and about the meaning of the word ‘return’.  I will not go into detail about that now because it is irrelevant to the topic (and frankly, it is nonsense).  The only question is:  Will we see the Lord when he returns?  The answer is yes!  It will be obvious and “all the nations of the earth will mourn”.   Are the nations of the earth mourning now?  No, they are still boastful and full of pride!  They are still convinced that all of mankind’s’ problems can be solved by mankind.

 

This is what the Lord Jesus had to say about his return.  “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.  Therefore keep watch.” (Matt. 24:37-42)   

 

The Lord compared his return to 'Noah's flood'.  Were the people of Noah's time unaware of the floods arrival?  Even as they were being swept away?  Yet the Lord tells us, “That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”   Has anyone noticed the Lord’s elect disappearing?  It says, “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.”  And again, “And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”  In spite of these things, the J.W’s insist that Christ has already returned.  

In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes to warn us about such claims:  "Concerning the day of our Lord Jesus and our being gathered to him, we ask you brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying the day of the Lord has already come.  Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way.” (2 Thess. 2:1-3)

In the first letter to the Thessalonians, the believers had already been told, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore, encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thess. 4:16-18)

 

How do the J.W’s get around all these scriptures?  They simply play with words.  (Again; they are not the only ones who use such tactics).

They say this; 

“To return does not always mean that one goes to a literal place.  Thus sick persons are said to ‘return to health’.  And a former ruler may be said to ‘return to power’.”   “Christ’s return does not mean that he literally comes back to this earth.  Rather, it means that he takes Kingdom power towards this earth and turns his attention to it.  He does not need to leave his heavenly throne and actually come down to earth to do this.  As we have seen in the previous chapter, Bible evidence shows that in the year 1914 C.E.  God’s time arrived for Christ to return and begin ruling.”  “Since Christ’s return is invisible, is there a way to confirm that it really occurred?” (‘You can live forever in paradise on earth. 1982, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, pages 146-147)

 

The J.W’s completely ignore the Lord's own teaching on this topic.  What they write on the subject is not merely a misunderstanding, but a complete contradiction of Scripture.  The Lord clearly said his return will be visible to all: “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”  And  “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.”  But the J.W.’s insist, ‘Christ’s return is invisible’.   Scripture tells us that, “the Lord himself will come down from heaven”, but the J.W’s tell us that, “He does not need to leave his heavenly throne”.

 

We are told in Scripture to expect a literal return of the Lord: “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.  They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  ‘Men of Galilee’, they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky?  This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’” (Acts 1:9-11)  Yet the J.W's tell us, “Christ’s return does not mean that he literally comes back to this earth."

There is no need to ‘explain’ the meaning of this passage.  It is clear enough.  It is clear to all (except the J.W's) that Christ has not yet returned.  The J.W’s poor use of the Scriptures is nothing more than a vain attempt to deny their mistakes.  Such stubborn attitudes deserve no respect whatsoever.