Not content with telling Witness children they may die if they don’t listen at meetings, Watchtower is making sure its doomsday message is heard loud and clear in the latest May 2015 public edition of the Watchtower magazine.
A striking image of disheveled Armageddon survivors clambering over rubble adorns the front cover, accompanied by the question “Is the End Near?”
On turning the cover, readers are greeted by a photoshop mock-up of a lady staring through a car window as fireballs rain down from the sky consuming buildings while terrified people flee the destruction through city streets.
The gruesome imagery is a re-working of another Watchtower front-cover (above), released only as recently as January 2013, in which similar scenes of fireballs raining from the heavens in an urban environment formed the backdrop to the title “Should You Fear the End of the World?”
And Witness children will be only too familiar with the above image from page 242 of their “Learn From the Great Teacher” books in which screaming women are depicted running from (you guessed it) fireballs and burning/collapsing buildings, with angelic forces riding overhead in the fiery sky.
This growing collection of apocalyptic artwork betrays the true nature of Jehovah’s Witness doctrine. Yes, Witnesses are peaceful people, and believe that one day the whole earth will be rid of wickedness – but this “wickedness” from which the planet must be cleansed includes anyone who passes on the opportunity to join the Witness faith.
As I mentioned in a recent article (and in this week’s interview on the David Pakman show) – take a shovel and start digging around in the hypothetical paradise, and you will find it has been built on the corpses of billions of people whose only crime is to not want to be Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that they alone will walk away from the coming apocalypse unscathed, as the above illustration (which has been reworked countless times over the decades in various books and magazines) depicts.
Apparently, without so much as a speck of blood or smear of debris on their clothing, Witnesses will one day stroll in an orderly line with their smiling children straight from the smouldering wreckage of Armageddon into flowery meadows.
Unfortunately, lots of Witnesses who glance at this artwork won’t bother to stop for a moment and consider that the above vision is impossible according to their own teachings. Why? Because disobedient humankind EVERYWHERE will be destroyed. There will be no convenient demarcation between where the good and ‘bad’ people live. There will be no sweeping grassy pastures to walk towards to escape the carnage. The carnage will be everywhere.
As my video below shows, Governing Body Gerrit Losch has even given disturbingly detailed consideration (in multiple talks, no less) to the fact that teams of Witnesses will one day be required to bury the mountains of dead bodies left behind in Armageddon’s wake. There will be no rest for the righteous when it comes to getting rid of the evidence of the earthwide bloodbath.
In case you need me to spell it out for you: Jehovah’s Witnesses are a doomsday cult. But this new magazine has all its bases covered, and tries rather feebly to mount a case for the defense…
The above paragraph offers a classic example of Watchtower denying being (or doing) something by redefining what that thing is. For example, the organization denies that it espouses creationism by redefining creationism to refer only to young-earth creationism.
In the latest JW Broadcasting episode, Governing Body member Sam Herd denies that Jehovah’s Witnesses are brainwashed by implying that brainwashing is essentially tantamount to a group of people all agreeing on the same thing, as in learning algebra in a math class.
In this article, Watchtower is yet again deploying word games in the hopes that its readers are stupid. Apparently “doomsday” doesn’t refer to an apocalyptic religiously-inspired day of judgment, but to the WHOLE planet earth being obliterated as though it has fallen prey to the Death Star.
Watchtower’s vision of the future, in which everyone who doesn’t want to be a JW is slaughtered, is therefore a “positive message,” because at least there will be survivors, and a planet for them to live on.
Basically if the shoe fits, Watchtower doesn’t always like to wear it – especially when it comes to words like “doomsday” or “creationist” that make them look bad.
Thankfully, though, not everyone falls for the subterfuge. Non-Witnesses in particular will balk at these magazines once they start adorning the public witnessing carts, and doubtless even a few Witnesses standing near those carts will wince in shame.
There is simply nowhere to hide if you are a doomsday cult. Your morbid, apocalyptic visions of the future will find expression sooner or later and, if you’re deluded enough, you will depict them front and center on your literature for all to see.
Further reading…
- “Pay attention or die!” – A disturbing glimpse of JW child indoctrination at work
- JW Facts: Salvation Only For Jehovah’s Witnesses
Related videos…
When Jesus’ followers wanted to call down fire from heaven on people who rejected the message, he rebuked them.
The false prophet calls down fire from heaven.
Interesting pre-occupation with fire coming from heaven, coming from an organization known for false prophesies.
Let’s hope there will be no hurricanes , because as proved in the Philippines at Tacloban, even JW’s seeking sanctuary in their kingdom halls died. Where was jehovah for them? How will armagedon be any different? How can people continue to be so deluded as to believe such rubbish…. 8million and falling I hope. It is the witnesses that need saving from the WT cult of oppression and undue influence.
A complete 180 degrees from what the man they claim as their founder taught. He taught that when God stepped in it would be not to destroy people, it would be to save those who were left before all flesh was destroyed. Looking at the way things are going around the world God wouldn’t need to kill mankind off, they are already headed towards that conclusion.
Yes, the images are stark and disturbing. Under Joseph Rutherford they became a sect based on fear. They use fear to help gain converts, but you can bet those images are aimed towards the ones they have just as much if not more towards the public. Fear is a powerful motivator to stay in and do what the Organization tells them to do.
Dave, I never heard about the people dying in the Philippines, I wonder why?? Oh cause it didn’t show that Jehovah saved them in a flood, why it would have been the best testament to show the true religion, wouldn’t it? If the Kingdom Hall was saved, it would have made such the fever, I’m sure they would have mentioned it on JW.org. Sometimes I just have to shake my head at them and their logic.
This article and their stupid statement about NOT being a doomsday cult, makes me want to go up to their stands that I walk by all the time downtown and just question them about. How can they not be a doomsday cult when their magazines show it on the front page???
A number of studies and paper have pointed out that the preoccupation with an “Apocalypse” might be part of psychological “immune system’s” coping mechanism to the injustices and indignities person suffers. Kind of like, “You laugh at me now, but someday you will get yours… at ARMAGEDDON!”. Others point that it might be because real Apocalyptic threats (e.g. Climate Change) are too slow and hard to work out and we need a quick-fix.
For some, movies/tv-shows/books with Apocalyptic visions may provide a safety valve for frustration. But for people who actually believe it (and want it to happen) I think this stuff is mostly revenge porn for the impotent and insecure.
Now, if you will excuse me, I gotta go watch season 5 of “The Walking Dead”.
I guess the growth rate is very low, so they’re ramping up
the fear factor. That was the reason in the 60s for
focussing on the 1975 deadline for Armageddon. The rate
of increase had got below 2%. So I’m expecting many
more “Last Judgement” type doodles. Scary as hell
isn’t it..
Their increase rate as they claim is 2% but in reality much less bc 1/2 are their own young children who they pressure into getting baptized at a young age. Then 2/3 of them grow up and want to leave the WT and JW org and get DF’s for doing so for any reason. I challenge any JW to show me 1 prophecy or prediction the JW’s have uttered in 125years that without a doubt came true and is clear foe anyone to see? The Wt will never admit it’s own mistakes. They blame everyone but themselves.
Ted – “Scary as hell isn’t it…”
Scary indeed. The “Organization” keeps whipping up into a frenzy of fear and constant anxiety. And, many of the Rank & File will eat it up. This is a powder keg waiting to go off. Humans cannot take this type of constant/chronic stress. And people under chronic stress do some very strange and dangerous things.
But no matter. If nothing happens the GB will throw the Rank & File under the bus for having false expectations.
This is like the walking dead show made a religion.
These ‘Mind Monsters’ rely upon fear to survive,I was involved for many years.Better out than in…!
Oh, JW’s aren’t a doomsday prophets (cult) because the earth isn’t going to be destroyed, just all the rats that live in the house will be destroyed. Jehovah isn’t going to burn down the house to get rid of the rats, is he?
If JW’s aren’t a doomsday cult (prophets) I don’t know what is. If it wasn’t a doomsday prophet, the religion wouldn’t exist. That is the reason for the religion, is to prophecy about the doom. Depressing, depressing, depressing.
I am with you Innocent Son. Better to be out than in.
Thank you Cedars for this site,it has helped greatly with my awakening….! Peace upon you.
They have tried all sorts in this last couple of years as they know the world may eventually be onto them. They are well aware that only the very well controlled and sponge minded zombies are going to be subjected to do more and more service and devotion in their ticket lottery to the new system, as they fear DEATH. Fear and Death, wow what a loving religion. Sick minded old men with their thirst for money and adoration holding no bounds.
Thank you anonymous.I was always made to feel that I was never good enough,even though the org. Cost me my wife,friends,house everything.Now I know better and feel valued,respected and needed and don’t have to put a Report Card in.
Innocent Son. I remember an elder telling me shortly before I woke up and was still going to meetings that the reason why people in the world don’t become Jehovah’s Witnesses was because they were lazy because they didn’t want to preach and I bought into that. Now, I can’t even begin to tell you how good it feels not to turn in a report card too. Best feeling in the world.
It suffuses everything they write and spout; the pathetic attempt to spearate their grubby little cult from the crowd.
Doomsday llitter the history of Christendom. Fundie Bibliolatrous sects are all over the United States.
And yet, when JW apologists come on to any website it seems clear they have swallowed the WT bilge whole.
They are unaware that they too are creationists and fundies; they refer to ‘Christendom’ as if it is merely all the Satanic others and not their little Adventist spinoff sect.
And as for ‘The World’ being a place which is way beneath them, where do they think they live? What exactly sustains them?
Let’s not forget about the tsunamis in recent decade or so that have wiped out thousands, and Kingdom Halls. The images portrayed here are “old school” Witness foaming-at-the-mouth Armageddon imagery. You know the kind, when that Baptist slammed the door on your foot and left a ringing in your ears and you thought the demons had jumped on ya, then you got into the car and told your car-mates that there house would be your house in the “new system”. This hyped up imagery was used extensively for the 1975 numbers run-up with Book Study materials like the “Babylon the Great Has Fallen–God’s Kingdom Rules” using graphic images of J*’s cosmic bolts zapping church steeples and stately government buildings like Big Ben toppling into the Thames.
And, the numbers increase because of the deceptive charm and love-bombing of new recruits. It truly is a hypnotizing experience.
https://play.spotify.com/track/43TCMpt2Xm6yFjaHo460x4
I can still remember the dread I felt as a young girl of 4 or 5 when looking at the same pictures of destruction in the old book entitled”from paradise lost to paradise” regained.
Nothing as changed in this religion –they rule with fear.
Awesome John… Thank You!
This is perfectly normal. They are just following their cult manual. They know that the scare factor works. The have made up Armageddon predictions in the past with totally childish interpretations. They are currently heavily investing in real estate and they know that to finance their expansions dreams they need more people to exploit their feelings, hopes, resources and time.
The GB members like Losch and Morris love to speculate how people will die at Armageddon, but I would not be so confident if I was them.
They have promoted a distorted version of Christianity, convinced many people to let their own children die for the blood doctrine. Separated perfectly decent people from their families for not believing their stupid teachings.
Deuteronomy 18:22 If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.
GB, you are not speaking with God authority, you’re scare tactics are useless to informed people.
StrongHaiku. “Chronic stress” is the right description for
what’s put on JWs, minds. Alongside the fear is the guilt
factor.
Are you doing all you can in the ministry? could you do more?
You must be holy like JHVH, are you displaying the fruits of
The spirit? will you survive armageddon? will your children
survive. Not all can cope with this kind of pressure.
It’s plain to see why there’s an above average suicide rate in
this religion. It’s deplorable, those oligarchs in N,Y, are odious.
It is very sad indeed, that this continues on and on. It took a long time to shake the fear from my limbic brain that Armageddon was just around the corner. Even when I was still going to meetings, sometimes a news item would make think, “this is it and I’m still not worthy. I know I’m going to die.” Sometimes I would wake from sleep by a load noise of some sort and my heart would be pounding with fear. I am a victim of indoctrination from the time I was born. Only education, the very thing that WT wants to withhold from you, can provide the cure. For me Hitchens, Dawkins, Harris, Dennett and Krauss let me do the impossible. They let me preform the gross sin of questioning, of applying doubt and inquiry. The have allowed me to see and understand the universe as it is, even if that may mean coming to terms with some harsh realities. IE.. the condition of the world and my certain mortality. No, life is not all peaches and cream. But I’ll chose it every time over a fake paradise dangled over death, destruction, fear and enslavement.
One thing that struck me. The “worldly woman”, fleeing the destruction, is dressed in blue jeans. The women and girls, happily trouping into the New Earth, are dressed in acceptable length dresses and skirts. A subtle message, I think.
When I was growing up, I got very good at metaphor. Of course there’s no grassy line of demarcation. That’s just metaphor. Unfortunately, so was everything else. Even the stuff that was supposed to be literal. It was sooo hard to tell the difference.
I am such a good poet now because of all that metaphor!
Spot on! The fascination with the apocalypse in it’s many guises appears to be a psychological crutch. The zombie-lust of recent times is also likely appealing because, despite the horrors that await one in that scenario, it also hits the RESET button and in a way simplifies life. No mortgage, endless TV series, ridiculous politics, financial inequalities and so on. It’s this desire for a amplified life that not only Hollywood had latched on to but the seriously cunning Governing Body to. They’re advertising masters.
Just recently I marvelled at their advertising machine. Take a look at the brochure designed to appeal to Chinese. The cover is red and the writing is yellow.
These colours represent good fortune in that culture and the Governing Body play on this superstition as much as they play on people’s fears.
hmm, when do we think at some point with all this gloom and doom, especially with the children’s videos, that someone is simply going to snap and rush the headquarters with some sort of Violence?
I want to see the scriptures that support all of this, is what I Always ask. and if that ever happens, Ill let everyone know! lol
Oh Jehovah, shower me with your fiery flames of murderous love. LOL
THAT is why they lack love, they worship a being that is so unkind to his children for guessing wrong about god that he rains down his fire of love all over them. LOL
The JWs fail to see the difference between the OT god, a jealous man made invention filled with rage and vengeance, to the Christ figure, who at a bare minimum the bible claims is a representation of god. These two characters share no resemblance. If Christ was Yahweh then god has a split personality. LOL
Surely its obvious that “turning the other cheek” was NOT what David had in mind as he “smite the Philistines” under the command of his war god Yahweh. Jesus and this guy are “one” as the bible claims. Ha! Lord, this is so easy to see.
So many things like this obvious blunder should clue us all in to the idea that at least some of the bible may be fail able. We should have known it when the snake started talking.
The Watchtower obsession with Armageddon is obscene IMHO. Coming up on the six month anniversary of my Disassociation letter. No more worry about Doomsday for me. :)
With the resent news reports of Jw pedophiles, they must use their biggest tool to gin up the fear, Armageddon. Don’t look at what is really going and have you think and fear about what has failed to happen after many of their false prophecies. Suffer the little children.
“We should have known it when the snake started talking.”
Charles, the thing that angered me most when I first left the “truth”, was that someone who I thought was reasonably intelligent, could be so stupid as to believe this claptrap (I consoled myself with the fact that I had been brainwashed from childhood). I was saying to someone recently that I’ve had plenty of time since then (35 years) to regain my sense of humour.
Because Armageddon and the “New System” have, disappointingly, not arrived, this Cult of the Damned, the Crotchtower, Jehovah’s WitLesses, have resorted to more and more GRAPHIC illustrations & talks (telling you to IMAGINE you are in Paradise, it’s Monday morning, Gardening Day, here comes Noah to work with you, there’s Ruth and Naomi, isn’t it nice they’re still friends?, blah blah blah) to make these events REAL in their sheepish weak-minded followers’ brains (or whatever passes for a brain inside those deluded skulls). This surpasses even the definition of BRAINWASHING!!! It’s more like hypnosis or induced psychosis. They’re actually getting people to IMAGINE themselves INTO a situation that does not exist. It’s like There’s no longer a need to sit and wait ENDLESSLY for a development that we KNOW DEEP DOWN WILL NEVER ENSUE, so let’s mentally place ourselves there NOW. A TRANCE. Zombies. The Walking Dead – for real!
I bumped in to an Elder I know a few weeks ago. He was telling me what a pain his next door neighbor is to him. He went on to say how much he is looking forward to Armageddon because he will be watching him over the yard fence die! And he said it with so much genuine joy, it sent shivers up my spine.
It also always felt so wrong to me on field service in more affluent areas where they would be saying “I’m coming straight up here at Armageddon and living in this big house”!
And where is Christ mentioned putting faith in his ransom, his burden is light, the WT burden is death dealing, based on unchristian teachings and they expect others to believe that depending on where you were born you have more chance of learning about the JW message, the rest its just to bad.
This is the one thing I always seem to be able to get JW on, then they will say well God is the judge of hearts, however the GB are the judge of hearts according to their propaganda on the who will survive and who wont, its always been the reaction to the good news, seeing there are billions that have not heard the message to make that decision they are doomed because of geography and because as the article says the end is nigh!
Wonder if a new announcement is coming for more donations, and with all the bad publicity about the WT as of late seems on going past year, this could very well be political stunt to get any who may know about all the bad news to think of worse news, death at Armageddon if you leave the org.
Before I split with my ex (and honestly even now) she always had a problem with me wanting to be informed on what the latest bs was being spewed from the mother ship.. This is exactly why…. I have a 14 year old daughter that has to go to “the meetings” (why do they insist on calling it that?) I am lucky enough to have gotten away from it, much like a previous commenter through, I lost my house, my things, my wife but I refuse to also lose my child. She is smart enough to know that it is garbage but she got and goes along with it to appease her mother and her grandmother. I feel awful for anyone who gets sucked into the vortex and even worse for the born ins. At least us “converts” know that the real world isn’t completely poisoned and doomed like the believe it to be.
They dont mention a word about 1914 or generation in this watchtower. Is this a new strategy? Must be the firts time they exclude 1914 in an article like this!
@Feloidea . I’ve noticed the same point no mention of 1914 in this Watchtower & no RIDICULOUS definition of ‘The GENERATION ‘ doctrine??? WILL THere be ‘NEW LIGHT ‘!!! ….. AGAIN??? Oh no NOT More .. How does it go now.. Well Brothers ‘The EVIDENCE SHOWS or in the words of The GB when at AGM 2013 new light on F&D Slave ‘WE JUST LOVE THIS IDEA ‘!!! Ohhh PLEASE!! What about FLIPPING HOLY SPIRIT???? & 8 Million Believe these 7 Men who change with the Wind & are one of the Biggest PROPERTY LANDOWNERS in Brooklyn!!
Well the article is for the public, imagine the JW having to try and prove 1914 and the over lapping generation well that is just ridiculous how on earth could they possibly prove that to the HH, all these false teachings are reserved for the WT study articles.
Just recruit them first then give them the rest of the BS.
What scriptures do they use to justify the way they’ve portrayed this scene? Or is it an idea on generalizations of how God destroys?
In french the title is: Should we fear the future ?
In english : Is the end near ?
Not exactly the same thing…
May be an slip of the pen from the translator ?
Here is the false prophet came again. Deuteronomy 18:18-22 to terrify the world and the domestics ranks with the watchtower edition of may/01/2015 & may/15/2015.The may/01 is a threat to the naïve Worley people. If you want life you mast come to our kingdom hall make donations and go out there to bring in more victims. For Jehovah witnesses is a strong psychological mind control for (fear) for obedience, (generosity to watchtower with any type of donations) hard work for construction and pioneer, for paranoid thinking, lost of balance in life, reject higher education, choose watch tower education, our windows cleaner. Believe anything we teach you. don’t reed anything except our publications, don’t go to internet sites you may wakeup, be obedient to your elders (boulis) give to us anything you have, your life, your time, your treasures, your children your wife your husband, your mind. sacrifice everything to watchtower other wise if you don’t do what we prophesied you will be die in Armageddon. listen you people the direct channel from the old testament killer god.