Returning to the Watchtower Society's brochure Keep on the Watch—in view of the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses have been taught that the sign of Christ's presence has been evident since 1914, what exactly are we to keep on the watch for? According to the Watchtower's brochure, Christians are to remain in expectation of the destruction of Babylon the Great. Specifically, on page 12 the Society states:

"What confronts us today? Another and more far-reaching "day of Jehovah." Divine judgment has been pronounced upon "Babylon the Great." According to Revelation 14: 8, an angel declares: "Babylon the Great has fallen." That has already taken place. No longer can she restrain worshipers of Jehovah. Her own corruption and involvement in war have been widely exposed. Now her final destruction is near." 

In what sense has Babylon the Great already fallen? The brochure merely states that she can no longer restrain Jehovah's worshippers. But is that really true? Although the brochure does not offer any details as to how Babylon the Great may have restrained Jehovah's worshippers in the past, elsewhere the Society offers the following explanation:

"…anointed Christians—unwittingly broke Jehovah's law because they did not properly understand true Christian neutrality. Losing divine favor, they came into spiritual captivity to "Babylon the Great," the world empire of false religion. (Revelation 17:5) Their condition of being in slavery climaxed in June 1918 when eight staff members of the Watch Tower Society were imprisoned on false charges, including conspiracy. At that point the organized preaching of the good news virtually stopped. In 1919, however, a clarion call to spiritual wakefulness was sounded forth." (Isaiah's Prophecy volume II, page 181)

It is not clear exactly how the Watchtower Society may have gone into "spiritual captivity" in 1918. Does the mere state of incarceration constitute spiritual enslavement to the captor? If so, then that means that the apostle Paul himself was in "spiritual captivity" in the 1st century, and yet he evidently wrote several of his epistles while a prisoner in Rome. That would mean, also, the crowning book of prophecy—Revelation—was written by John while he languished in "spiritual captivity" on the island of Patmos.

In Revelation, Jesus warned his followers in advance that the Devil would 'keep on throwing some of you in prison.' Clearly then, physical captivity does not necessarily mean that a Christian has lost God's favor. On the contrary, Christian witnesses of Jehovah deem it a privilege to suffer for Christ in that manner.

Besides, the arrest and incarceration of eight officers of the Society did not even stop the Watchtower from publishing its message back then. In fact, the Watchtower has never missed a single issue—even during the time when its leading men were in prison. So, how was the Watchtower put under "restraint"? In reality there were no restraints put on the Bible Students that prevented them from preaching publicly. Any slowdown in their activity was apparently self-imposed. Perhaps some Bible Students at the time became frightened or even demoralized; but how is that comparable to the Jews' enslavement to Babylon?

Not only that, but since 1919, after the time when Jehovah's Witnesses were supposedly permanently set free from all restraint, certain segments of Christendom have most certainly used their influence in the political sphere in certain parts of the world to impose very real restraints upon Jehovah's Witnesses. Moscow is the most recent and noteworthy example. According to the Watchtower's 16-page media release documenting the banning of Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow, it would appear that the Russian Orthodox Church has been quite successful in imposing restraints upon the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses.

In reality the Watchtower was not put under restraint in 1918—as is commonly supposed. And contrary to the notion that Christendom does not have the power to restrain Jehovah's Witnesses, reality insists otherwise.

The truth is that Jehovah's mighty angels have not announced the fall of Babylon the Great and the commencement of Jehovah's awesome hour of judgment. How do we know that? By reasoning on the Scriptures and putting such seemingly 'inspired expressions' to the test—as Christians are under obligation to do—and in doing so, it becomes undeniably apparent that the Society's prophetic teachings are nothing but "an operation of error."

Consider more closely the context of the 14th chapter of Revelation—which the Society insists is already undergoing fulfillment:

"And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, and he had everlasting good news to declare as glad tidings to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, saying in a loud voice: 'Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of the judgment by him has arrived, and so worship the One who made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters.' And another, a second angel, followed, saying: 'She has fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen, she who made all the nations drink of the wine of the anger of her fornication!' And another angel, a third, followed them, saying in a loud voice: 'If anyone worships the wild beast and its image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he will also drink of the wine of the anger of God that is poured out undiluted into the cup of his wrath, and he shall be tormented with fire and sulphur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, and day and night they have no rest, those who worship the wild beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name."

The fall of Babylon the Great is linked to the arrival of the hour of judgment by God. According to Revelation, there are two aspects of God's judgment. One facet is that people are called upon to worship and give glory to God. Conversely, in order to acceptably worship God a person must avoid worshipping the wild beast or its image. The judgment of each individual is based upon whether they worship Jehovah or the beast. The crucial question is whether the judgment has already begun or whether it is still future? Not surprisingly the Watchtower insists that the hour of judgment has already begun. In fact, the Society teaches the hour of judgment commenced on two different occasions! The following is an excerpt from Jehovah Himself Has Become King, which discusses this topic: (Page 240)

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"Mankind has been put under compulsion to accept the mark of the wild beast, with the intent that "nobody might be able to buy or sell except a person having the mark, the name of the wild beast or the number of its name." But there is a price to pay for this! Jehovah regards those who accept the mark as being stricken with "a hurtful and malignant ulcer." Since 1922 they have been marked in public as having rejected the living God."

Now consider what the October 1st, 1983, Watchtower magazine had to say in regards to the scarlet-colored beast ascending from the abyss:

"That symbolic "wild beast" was known at first as the League of Nations. It descended into the abyss of inaction during World War II of the years 1939-45 and then ascended out of the abyss in the form of the United Nations after that war. So since 1945 a perilous situation prevails that might affect the seeker after life eternal on a Paradise earth. He may be deceived into taking a course that will disqualify him for having his name written on "the scroll of life."

Incredibly, because the Watchtower has two different interpretations for the beast from the abyss, they also have assigned two different dates for the beginning of the judgment—1922 and 1945!

But regardless of the contradiction, if either date is correct the real question is why God's judgment is so capricious! Does the impartial Judge of all the earth callously blot a person's name out of the book of life simply because they were once casual supporters of the political system?

Moreover, is it reasonable that God's everlasting condemnation should come upon those who might have "wondered admiringly" over the political system in the aftermath of WWI; or that some may have regarded the United Nations with admiration since 1945?

If the Watchtower's interpretation is correct, it would mean that everyone who even supported the now-defunct League or the United Nations since 1945 has already been doomed to everlasting death! In reality, the Watchtower's teaching is blasphemous because it makes Jehovah's judgments arbitrary and petty. But as Paul might say: Never may that happen!

Given that the symbolic mark of the beast is permanent and results in God's irreversible condemnation, it is not possible for anyone with the mark of the beast to ever repent and gain Jehovah's approval. Clearly, then, no one has the mark of the beast yet. Otherwise, it would be impossible for anyone who has ever supported the political system in the past to repent and receive salvation. But the fact is that large numbers of Jehovah's Witnesses were formerly quite active in supporting the present political system, even serving in the military, thus proving that the Watchtower's interpretation is in error.

Jehovah is the God of Justice. His judgments are not random. His judicial decision decrees the sentence of permanent death for everyone that worships the wild beast or its image after the point at which the beast revives and its image miraculously comes to life—because doing so at that time will demonstrate an unequivocal rejection of Christ as ruler.

The notion that the Anglo-American head of the beast suffered the prophetic death-stroke during the First World War is simply not based in reality. Likewise, the Watchtower's assertion that the mere formation of the United Nations after WWII was somehow the beginning of the awesome judgment of Jehovah is similarly unrealistic and unscriptural. Furthermore, it is unreasonable that God would judge mankind based upon their attitude towards the relatively powerless and insignificant UN.

The ramifications of the Watchtower's interpretive error should not be underestimated. If the beast of Revelation has not been dealt the foretold sword-stroke yet, as it most assuredly has not, then obviously, neither has the beast miraculously revived and ascended out of the abyss. The significance of that is that the beast from the abyss wars against God's servants and conquers them.

After foretelling how the beast's death-stroke got healed, Revelation 13:7-8 says: "And there was granted it to wage war with the holy ones and conquer them, and authority was given it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. And all those who dwell on the earth will worship it; the name of not one of them stands written in the scroll of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered, from the founding of the world."

The Watchtower insists that the prophecy was fulfilled when the beast conquered the holy ones in 1918—citing the same circumstances surrounding the arrest of Brother Rutherford and company, which supposedly also amounted to spiritual captivity to Babylon the Great.

However, the Society's 'inspired utterances' simply do not pass the test as being authentic and reliable teachings from God. Contrary to the expectations of Jehovah's Witnesses, what confronts us today is the engineered collapse of the Anglo-American dual world power and the imposition of a non-democratic, totalitarian world government. That is what the prophecies point to. And it is in that context that the judgment upon the house of God commences; immediately followed by the hour of judgment for the world.

The operation of error that permeates all of the Watchtower's prophetic interpretations insures that the unveiling of Jehovah's judgments will come as suddenly and unexpectedly as a thief in the night for those who imagine themselves to be most enlightened. That is because the Society's elaborately-woven prophetic exegesis is intended primarily to insulate itself from the brunt of Jehovah's judgments. It will prove wholly inadequate in that regard. Isaiah aptly illustrated it best— "For the couch has proved too short for stretching oneself on, and the woven sheet itself is too narrow when wrapping oneself up."