Are Jehovah's Witnesses False Prophets Because They Said the World Would End in 1975?

Question

The Watchtower, October 15, 1969 pages 622 and 623

"More recently earnest researchers of the Holy Bible have made a recheck of its chronology. According to their calculations the six millenniums of mankind's life on earth would end in the mid-seventies. …… Would not, then, the end of six millenniums of mankind's laborious enslavement under Satan the Devil be THE fitting time for Jehovah God to usher in a Sabbath millennium for all his human creatures? Yes, indeed! And his King Jesus Christ will be Lord of that Sabbath."

The is the definite article. The time not “a” time.

The Awake, Oct 8, 1968, pg 23:

“True, there have been those in times past who predicted an 'end' to the world, even announcing a specific date. Yet nothing happened. The 'end' did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying. Why? What was missing? Missing from such people were God's truths and the evidence that He was using and guiding them. .. But what about today? Today we have the evidence required, all of it. And it is overwhelming! All the many, many parts of the great sign of the last days are here, together with verifying Bible chronology."

The Watchtower, December 1, 1984, page 1618:

“True, some expectations that appeared to be backed up by Bible chronology did not materialize at the anticipated time. But is it not far preferable to make some mistakes because of over eagerness to see God’s purposes accomplished than to be spiritually asleep as to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy?”

The Watchtower of November 1, 1972, pg 644:

"Does this admission of making mistakes stamp them [Watchtower] as false prophets? Not at all, for false prophets do not admit to making mistakes."

I was a witness for 50 years, I'm now 56. JW's do believe that Jesus was the Son of God.

I like the first answer "No". Profound. No proof, or defense of their blatently false predictions, but if your stuck in Witness psyco mind prison, console yourself.

Linedancer, it most certainly did. Read your own literature, By the way, I lived it "Buddy". They said it many places, in fact in The Watchtower of March, 15, 1980, they excuse and issue a "kinda, sorta" apology, "Buddy"

Look up "Beth Sarim" where, in 1935 they predicted the prophets of old would return to earth. They even bought two houses for them in California. Chew on that "Buddy".

To all the JW defenders. They did prophesy falsely. They admit it in the above articles and several more.
As far as being a ridiculer, that would be me. You cannot possibly defend the Witnesses if they indeed prophesy wrongly and nothing happens. If the above quotes aren’t enough, than continue to delude yourself. God’s “mouthpiece”, an organization directed by God could not possibly prophesy falsely. Don’t give me in “imperfect” man defense. If being imperfect is an excuse for all the BS the Watchtower spews, than Myself and other non JW’s should be fine. At Armageddon we’ll just say, “Hey, we’re imperfect!” Works for the Society. By age 50, I got tired of defending the indefensible. They did prophesy falsely. Why the above lame excuse “You’re not a false prophet if you admit you were wrong” Why would they say that? Because they were WRONG. Admitting it is irrelevant. God is not ever wrong.

NMB: The Watchtower, October 15, 1969 says it would be "the" fitting time, not "a" fitting time. You know, the old "definite article" argument that JW’s use to say that John 1:1 says “a” god, not “the” God. It’s not “a” time, they say “THE”. Using your John 1:1 logic it would be “the” time, excluding all others, while “a” time would be possibly inclusive of all others. They say it and you suck it up.

TRK, again more witness blather and smoke screen. The apostles expectations of things, was due to Jesus not revealing anything to them. Neither they nor Jesus predicted anything that didn't happen. It's like them asking "Is Armaggedon coming in 1975?" Not a prophesy. The Witnesses said it was coming. Get out your little CD and check it out. Because the Apostles had questions in no way justifies the 1975 falsehood. More delusion.

TRK: you said "It is true that the Witnesses have made mistakes in their understanding of what would occur at the end of certain time periods". Did God know what was going to happen? So either he didn't tell hid mouthpiece or they are not his mouth piece.

You are tripping all over yourself on this one. Why don't you really read what you wrote.

Answer 1

No they are false prophets because they said that Armageddon would come in 1874,1878, 1881,1914,1915,1920,1925 and implied strongly 1975.

In 1972 the Jehovah's Witness Watchtower claimed to be the prophet of God.


IDENTIFYING THE "PROPHET" -- "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...Of course, it is easy to say that this group acts as a ‘prophet' of God. It is another thing to prove it." The Watchtower, 4/1/72, p. 197. (See Deut. 18:21)


1897 "Our Lord, the appointed King, is now present, since October 1874," Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 4, page 621.

1899 "...the ‘battle of the great day of God Almighty' (Revelation 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership, is already commenced." The Time Is at Hand, page 101 (1908 edition).

1916 "The Bible chronology herein presented shows that the six great 1000 year days beginning with Adam are ended, and that the great 7th Day, the 1000 years of Christ's Reign, began in 1873." The Time Is at Hand, page ii, (forward).

1918 "Therefore 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 11, to the condition of human perfection." Millions Now Living Will Never Die, page 89.

1922 "The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures than 1914." The Watchtower 9/1/22, page 262.

1923 "Our thought is, that 1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures. As to Noah, the Christian now has much more upon which to base his faith than Noah had upon which to base his faith in a coming deluge." The Watchtower, page 106 4/1/23.

1925 "The year 1925 is here. With great expectation Christians have looked forward to this year. Many have confidently expected that all members of the body of Christ will be changed to heavenly glory during this year. This may be accomplished. It may not be. In his own due time God will accomplish his purposes concerning his people. Christians should not be so deeply concerned about what may transpire this year." The Watchtower, 1/1/25, page. 3.

1925 "It is to be expected that Satan will try to inject into the minds of the consecrated, the thought that 1925 should see an end to the work." The Watchtower, Sept, 1925 page 262.

1926 "Some anticipated that the work would end in 1925, but the Lord did not state so. The difficulty was that the friends inflated their imaginations beyond reason; and that when their imaginations burst asunder, they were inclined to throw away everything." The Watchtower, page 232.

1931 "There was a measure of disappointment on the part of Jehovah's faithful ones on earth concerning the years 1917, 1918, and 1925, which disappointment lasted for a time...and they also learned to quit fixing dates." Vindication, page 338.

1941 "Receiving the gift, the marching children clasped it to them, not a toy or plaything for idle pleasure, but the Lord's provided instrument for most effective work in the remaining months before Armageddon." The Watchtower, 9/15/41, page 288.

1968 "True, there have been those in times past who predicted an ‘end to the world', even announcing a specific date. Yet nothing happened. The ‘end' did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying. Why? What was missing?.. Missing from such people were God's truths and evidence that he was using and guiding them." Awake, 10/8/68.

1968 "Why are you looking forward to 1975?" The Watchtower, 8/15/68, page 494.


I think the question they are asking themselves gives good reason that they made much ado about nothing about something in 1975. The implication was that 6,000 years of man's rule had come to an end in 1975 THEREFORE jesus 1,000 year reign was due to begin and for that to begin Armageddon had to take place. But of course they used the same calculations,chronology and implications for the date 1878.

A true prophet of God won't err in prophesying. Only a false prophet does. The Jehovah's Witness organization, that claims to be a prophet of God, is really a false prophet. Jesus warned us by saying, "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect -- if that were possible" (Matt. 24:24).

Answer 2

TRK: You must do some research. Jehovah's Witnesses DO claim to be inspired prophets:

Watchtower 4/1/72, pages 197-198

They shall know that a Prophet was among them.

"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....Of course, it is easy to say that this group acts as a "prophet" of God. It is another thing to prove it."

If they are the only true church and are the only true voice of God's word, then what they say should prove to be true, especially in prophecy. When it comes to predicting the future, the Watchtower organization fails miserably. See Agustin's list of the FALSE false predictions made over the years by the Watchtower organization. If you present these to a JW, he will probably say something like, "Those are taken out of context," or "They didn't claim to be the prophet of God," or "The light is getting brighter and we are understanding Bible prophecy better now," etc.

Remember Deut. 18:22, "If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him."

If someone makes a false prophecy, and they have claimed to be a prophet of God, then they are false prophets and are NOT to be listened to.

Answer 3

Lots and lots of people and religions have predicted the so called end of the world, and when it has not happened they have to change their minds, it is not just the JW's that have predicted Armageddon and got the date wrong. I guess it just goes to show that men cannot interpret God's will and plan, so we'll just have to wait and see, I;d spend more time worrying about your own salvation rather than picking holes in a belief that you do not follow yourself, so you think your religion is right, that's all you need worry about.

Answer 4

No they arent prophets first of all and according to the Bible pagans Romans "He who believes in me as the scriptures says out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water" Jesus is Gods Son perfect and righteous and JW's dont believe he was Gods Son but a mere prophet and even tho the Bible says He is our prophet and Priest He is our Fathers Son sent to reckon us back to the Father because we are lost sheep. The only things that flow from JW's are lies from the tounge and false doctrine and deceit and if you dont take my word for it take Gods word the BIBLE. Peace and God bless

Answer 5

Today, there are many ( you included) who belittle the evidence that Bible prophecies are in the course of fulfillment and because your kind refuse to heed evidence that should be convincing to any reasonable person that the end of this system is near. Yet, the Bible even foretold their attitude,( like yours) saying: “In the last days there will come ridiculers with their ridicule, proceeding according to their own desires and saying: ‘Where is this promised presence of his? Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, all things are continuing exactly as from creation’s beginning.’”—2 Peter 3:3, 4.
Count Yourself amongst Those Ridiculers..

Answer 6

Can any JW say that Jesus is come in the flesh? Or do they believe there is a hell? Or can any of them say: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost and these three are one?

Answer 7

Are Jehovah's Witnesses false prophets? Some are convinced of this beyond a decimal of a doubt. For them, as in the present case, there is no defense. Because that is so, I find it curious that they bother to ask the question in the first place.

Before your question can be properly answered, it is necessary to get a full understanding of the word "prophet" before it can be applied to an individual or an organization. It is also necessary to understand the meaning of the verb "prophesy" as well as the definition of a "false prophet" in order to assess your concerns.

Certainly to prophesy can mean to reveal future events but prophesying is by no means limited to such. Prophecy is an inspired message; a revelation of the divine will and purpose of something to come, a moral teaching or an expression of a divine command or judgment. To illustrate, the account at Luke 22:63, 64 shows that Jesus' face was covered over so that he could not see. He then was struck and spit upon and the religious leaders commanded him to "Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?" Were these ones asking Jesus to reveal future events? Hardly. They were demanding that he, as the son of God, use divine revelation to identify who struck him even though his face was covered over. From this we can see that to prophesy does not necessarily mean to reveal future events.

Most people have one well-known definition in mind to which they point with dependable regularity: it is found at Deuteronomy 18:20-22. A closer examination of this scripture, however, compared with the other reference at Deuteronomy 13, shows that false prophets can give signs that actually come true. That is a profound statement. Why? Well, if false prophets tell things that come true, HOW DOES A TRUE PROPHET MAKE A SHOWING?

If the above were the sole criterion by which to measure the trueness of a prophet, Nathan the prophet would have been put to death because according to the account at 1 Chronicles 17: 1-4, 15, Nathan plainly stated to King David something that God had NOT commanded him to say – something that did NOT come to pass. Indeed, Nathan was wrong. Did God put him to death? No, God directed Nathan return to David and correct matters. If a false prophet can give you a sign that comes true, how do you recognize a true prophet?

Consider the words of God found at Deuteronomy 13:1-5: “In case a prophet or a dreamer of a dream arises in your midst and does give you a sign or a portent, AND THE SIGN OR THE PORTENT DOES COME TRUE of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us walk after other gods, whom you have not known, and let us serve them,’ YOU MUST NOT LISTEN to the words of that prophet or to the dreamer of that dream, because Jehovah your God is testing you to know whether you are loving Jehovah your God with all your heart and all your soul. After Jehovah . . . you should walk, and him you should fear . . . , and him you should serve . . . And THAT PROPHET OR THAT DREAMER OF THE DREAM SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH, BECAUSE HE HAS SPOKEN OF REVOLT against Jehovah your God . . . and you must clear out what is evil from your midst.”

Did you notice? He was to be put to death DESPITE THE FACT THAT HIS SIGN CAME TRUE! Why? Because he spoke of outright revolt against the Most High God. Clearly, then, a false prophet is one who is trying to turn us aside from worshiping the true God. If they are attempting to subvert our faith and cause us to stop serving the true God, of necessity they must be the false prophets!

Are Jehovah's Witnesses false prophets? Many say yes. Why? Well, because of some oft-mentioned so-called erroneous sayings concerning the end. Interestingly, the first century apostles were keenly interested in this as well. They asked Jesus point blank when these things would occur and he provided them with a sign. Jehovah's Witnesses also keenly watch for the outworking of this sign. Admittedly they have made errors. It should be noted, however, that some so-called predictions of the end (such as the strong assertion that Jehovah's Witnesses said the end would come in 1975) were never made. Still, this canard continues. Indeed, there's a camp that says it was never "prophesied" and there's a camp that says it was. I was around then too. I never read one word that 1975 would bring the end. I saw a lot of Witnesses who believed it. And I constantly heard the question presented to us: Why are you getting all excited? The end may or may not come in 1975. But why are you looking toward 1975 as if it is guaranteed? I guess you did not hear those voices. But I did. All the way up to 1975.

Be that as it may, the truth is (this point being made by another respondent above), the same thing has been done over the centuries by both Protestants and Catholics. Does that justify it? Of course not. But any honest-hearted person should find it alarming that those other religious people are never mentioned. Never. Only Jehovah's Witnesses.

In truth, those who long for the deliverance Jesus promised are keenly interested in when these things will happen. This can lead to wrong expectations. But wrong expectations are not synonymous with false prophets. In the final analysis, a false prophet is one trying to subvert the true faith and turn worshipers away from the true God. So before we point the finger at an individual or an organization and state in a clear, strong voice: "False prophet! False prophet!" we need to carefully consider all of the above.

If you were a Witness for 50 years and you are 56, that means that you stopped being one in about 2001. So in 1975, you were about 24. Which means you remained a Witness for approximately 26 years. You say you got tired of defending the indefensible. It took you 26 years to get tired of defending all these lies? Lies that date back to, according to your supplied data, 1935?

In the final analysis, since you have found emancipation from such speciousness, you should be glad and, patently, you are. Now you can worship God as he was meant to be worshipped – free of error and in total perfection and uncanny accuracy. But since in your mind and heart, the Jehovah's Witnesses are hopelessly, eternally, false prophets, the true God will take care of them, won't He? And He will do a better job than any ridiculer. Why, then, do you feel compelled to get it started on Yahoo?

Hannah J Paul

Answer 8

And yet not one of your quotes explicitly states that Armageddon WOULD occur in 1975 do they?

So no, no false prophecy here, therefore no false prophet.

Answer 9

Jehovah's Witnesses do not claim to be inspired prophets. They have made mistakes. Like the apostles of Jesus Christ, they have at times had some wrong expectations.

Luke 19:11 "While they were listening to these things he spoke in addition an illustration, because he was near Jerusalem and they were imagining that the kingdom of God was going to display itself instantly."

Acts 1:6 " When, now, they had assembled, they were asking hm: "Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?"

John 21: 22-23 "Jesus said to him: " If it is my will for him to remain until I come, of what concern is that to you? You continue following me." In consequence, this saying went out among the brothers, that that the disciple would not die. However, Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but: "If it is my will for him to remain until I come, of what concern is that to you?"

The apostles and other early Christian disciples had certain wrong expectations, but the Bible does not classify them with the "false prophets."

The Scriptures provide time elements related to Christ's presence, and Jehovah's Witnesses have studied these with keen interest. (Luke 21:24, Dan 4: 10-17) Jesus also described a many-featured sign that would tie in with the fulfillment of time prophecies to identify the generation that would live to see the end of Satan's wicked system of things.
(Luke 21:7-36) Jehovah's Witnesses have pointed to the evidence in fulfillment of this sign. It is true that the Witnesses have made mistakes in their understanding of what would occur at the end of certain time periods, but they have not made the mistake of losing faith or ceasing to be watchful as to the fulfillment of Jehovah's purposes. They have continued to keep the fore in their thinking the cousel given by Jesus: "Keep on the watch, therefore, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." Matt 24:42

Matters on which corrections of viewpont have been needed have been relatively minor when compared with the vital Bible truths that they have discerned and published. Among these are the following: Jehovah is the only true God. Jesus Christ is not part of a Trinitarian godhead, but the only-begotten Son of God. Redemption from sin is possible only through our faith in Christ's ransom sacrifice. This spirit is not a person but Jehovah's active force, and it's fruitage must be evident in the lives of true worshipers. The human soul is not immortal, as the ancient pagans claimed; it dies, and the hope for future life is in the resurrection. God's permission of wickedness has been because of the issue of universal sovereignty. God's Kingdom is the only hope for mankind. Since 1914 we have been living in the last days of the global wicked system of things. Only 144,000 faithful Christians will be kings and priests with Christ in heaven, whereas the rest of obedient mankind will recieve eternal life on a paradise earth.

Another factor to consider regarding the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses is this: Have these truly uplifted people morally? Are those who adhere to these teachings outstanding in their communities because of their honesty? Is their family life beneficially influenced by applying these teachings? Jesus said that his disciples would be readily identified because of the love among themselves. (John 13:35) Is this quality outstanding among Jehovah's Witnesses? Yes they are!

By the way, I was 14 in 1975 and all I remember being said was that it was 6000 years since Adam was created, which is true. Any other speculation, was just that speculation if there would be any significance to the 6000 years. Those who put more into it then that were only serving Jehovah for a date, that is why they are no longer serving Jehovah. You have to realize that as Jehovah's Witnesses we truly believe we are living in the last days and the end could come anytime. No one knows the day or the hour, but we know the we are living in the "season" of the last days.

As Luke 21: 28 states:

"But as these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near."

Answer 10

This false religion has predicted several times when the second coming would happen, even though Christ HIMSELF did not know the hour. Can anyone say cult?