Greetings! My name is R. Jerome Harris and I am the personality behind e-Prophetic.com.
The purpose of this about page is to provide you with some background about myself, the events that led up to that disassociation, and the necessity to start this blog.
There are many Jehovah’s Witnesses who know me through my more than twenty-year association with the Watch Tower Organization and they have known me to be a very studious and serious-minded person. I am fully aware that many of them, to this day, are not aware that I am no longer associated with the organization.
To them, I wish to say from the bottom of my heart: “That I have no issues with you as individual Jehovah’s Witnesses. I am not one of those bitter, vindictive, disgruntled or angry former Jehovah’s Witnesses who have axes to grind. I hold no such feelings towards Jehovah’s Witnesses and I am happy if what I write in my blog does not convey those sentiments. Those who hatefully lash out at any person within any religious system or organization, and who give vent to ridicule and sarcasm, bring me no pleasure whatsoever.
I have personally lived among Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslims, and Buddhist for more than twenty-five years and I have no hesitation in expressing that among all of them are persons who are as sincere in their beliefs as people of any other religion.
I have had worldwide association in many lands with Jehovah’s Witnesses and I know them to be basically kind, sincere, and honest persons, who were simply doing what they believed is expected of them. In their minds and in my mind – when I was one of them – “The Organization” was indistinguishable and inseparable from God and Christ.
I want family members and those who knew me when I was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, that I am not – by Watch Tower definition – an apostate. If there are those who would blindly insist on me being such, then I submit to you that one read the writings of the Watch Tower founder Charles Taze Russell. A lot of this founder’s writings would be – by “Society” definition – would be that of an apostate.
It is interesting that the writings of Charles Taze Russell are not accessible to Jehovah’s Witnesses today, and neither are they in print and disseminated for examination by the average publisher in the congregations. I mention this because one must be careful when bestowing the foul label and stench of apostate upon anyone because of being told to do so by an organization of men or because one has had questions and Scriptural reasoning that do not agree with or line up with Watch Tower teaching.
Disagreement on my part should not be misinterpreted as rebelliousness or unfaithfulness. Yet, I know that it will. My allegiance, loyalty, and love are to The Most High God and His Christ (Messiah) and for a love of truth. Any reverent fear that I have is a fear of that God and not of men and their organizations and what they can do to me.
What I write, I write because I know – I really know – that error has been presented as truth. A great deception has been perpetrated and things vital to ones accessing and knowing the truth have been carefully concealed. Those who are members of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society have not been allowed to access these vital truthful things. Those of the other Christian faiths are no better off either. They too live under the same cloud of deception and distortion of Jesus’ teachings.
The mechanism used to prevent access to those truthful things was “non-use of one’s thinking powers.” What do I mean by this? As a former organization member, there was little encouragement to use one’s thinking powers other than to accept and, in effect, to commit to memory whatever information was supplied by the organization, submitting almost automatically to its directives. Questions, one of the mind’s most powerful tools, were negatively portrayed as a lack of faith, a sign of disrespect for God’s approved channel of communication. Blind acceptance without question or challenge to the Watch Tower teaching and authority – or any expressions from any source – is unscriptural. The Apostle John stated at 1 John 4:1 the following:
Beloved ones, do not believe every inspired expression, but test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God, because many false prophets have gone forth into the world.
Testing and examination imply questioning. This scripture does not say exempt the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. The measure by which we test inspired expressions (teachings claiming to be inspired by God) is the sayings of God Himself. And, who is the bearer of God’s sayings? His only begotten Son and the only one called “The Word of God.” (John 1:1 and Revelation 19:6). This one said of himself at John 14:6:
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
There is no mention of a third entity that is to superimpose itself in between Jesus [the] Christ and God as a channel. No such entity existed in Jesus’ day or during the time of his Apostles. For anyone to say so, lifts out of Scripture what is not there.
Jehovah God did not send an organization to mankind, he sent His Son. It is not to an organization that Jehovah says we are to listen to, He says we are to listen to His Son. Jehovah, at Luke 9:35 explicitly says:
This is my Son, the one that has been chosen. Listen to him.
The Son of God, Jesus [the] Christ does not say that we are to become the disciples of another individual or entity. His call was for discipleship to himself – a person – and to be taught by him. It would be by his teaching and remaining in that teaching is what would make one his disciples. It would be by discipleship to him, that one would come to know the truth and this knowledge of the truth are what will lead to one being free from the heavy yoke that men have always sought to place upon others so as to control them as their own property.
And so Jesus went on to say to the Jews that had believed him: “If YOU remain in my word, YOU are really my disciples, and YOU will know the truth, and the truth will set YOU free.”
This was the previous case of the twelve men Jesus chose to be his disciples. They were all Jews who were in captivity to the powerful Jewish religious system headed up by the powerful Pharisees. Jesus called them out of that system and personally taught them the truth. They, in time, were no longer in fear of the religious system that they were members of.
It should be noted, however, that when Jesus called his twelve disciples out of the Jewish religious system, he did not bring them into another organization or system; instead, Jesus brought them to himself.
Something deep inside the recesses of my heart and mind tells me not to give to any human or human entity what does not belong to them. It was not an organization that purchased me by a sacrificial death. Rather, it was The Son of the Living God who did. He is my Owner, My Master, My Lord, My Teacher, and My Head. His God is my God. I am one of his Sheep.
Sheep, by nature, respond to the voice of their Shepherd. Timid creatures that they are, Sheep do not respond to the voice of one that is not their Shepherd. They will actually run away from a strangers voice. I personally feel that – given what I have learned – to accept and respond positively to all of the current Watch Tower teaching or the teaching of any religious organization – I would be turning my back on my one true Shepherd and giving myself to another owner.
Jesus [the] Christ, not an organization, is the way. He is the doorkeeper whose teachings we must listen to and follow. He is the only one who has the key to open the door that leads us to the life. To enter into the organizations of men, no matter what lofty claims they make for themselves is entering into the sheepfold or life by another way. Rather than going to the only doorkeeper and one who has the key to open the only door, entry is made in the same manner a thief would gain entry into a place that has something valuable in it: by another means other than the door. Notice how Jesus puts it at John 10:1-5:
Most truly I say to YOU, He that does not enter into the sheepfold through the door but climbs up some other place, that one is a thief and a plunderer. But he that enters through the door is shepherd of the sheep. The doorkeeper opens to this one, and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has got all his own out, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. A stranger they will by no means follow but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.
Any human or human entity – namely human organizations – that directs persons to enter into the sheepfold by another means other than through the doorkeeper (who has the key to open the door), is a thief and a plunderer. That thief has entered into another one’s household, plundered it. In other words, changed and removed what the true owner had within his household and replaced it with his own things. Not only that, this thief would take ownership of property he did not purchase; namely, mankind. This thief and plunderer would make himself master over those in the household he usurped, disposing of another one’s Sheep as he sees fit. Moreover, this thief and plunderer would lay down his own rules and regulations so as to control what he has stolen.
I would never have imagined that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society – along with all religious organization – was that thief and plunderer. Since the subject matter here is the WTBTS, I can show how it has, as an organization, entered into the sheepfold by another way other than through the doorkeeper.
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society Claims That It Is The Only Way
How so? Well, all one has to do is look at the baptismal vow they took to become a Jehovah’s Witness. For your convenience, I have faithfully reproduced it below. It comes from the June 1, 1985, issue of the Watchtower, page 30:
On the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will?
The second is:
Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with God’s spirit-directed organization?
It is the second part of the vow I want to direct your attention to. Notice that it says that one’s dedication and baptism identifies them as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with God’s spirit-directed organization.
There is a whole lot in that second part of the vow than meets the eye. Firstly, the vow implicitly states that one is only a servant of Jehovah (A Jehovah’s Witness dedicated to doing God’s will) only if they are in association with the organization. What does this imply then for those not associated with the organization? This: That they are not a servant of Jehovah. Stated simply: The vow is saying unless you are associated with the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, you cannot be a true worshipper and servant of the Most High God. In other words, the organization is the only way. Not Jesus [the] Christ, but the organization. Thus, we have an organization of men deciding who is and who is not a worshiper and servant of Jehovah God. And organization of men that has entered into the sheepfold by another way; entered in and plundered the household of another owner, taken over his property and dictates to that property who they are and who they are not. This plunderer even takes it upon himself to cast out from among himself those he may view as a questioner or challenger of his self-imposed authority.
Too, notice that the vow does not say that one is a Disciple of Christ – something Christ said one must become at John 8:31-32 – but rather a title coined by Charles Taze Russell’s successor, J.F. Rutherford: Jehovah’s Witnesses!
And, lastly notice how in the vow, the Father is mentioned as in doing his will, the Son is mentioned because of his sacrifice, but notice that mention of God’s Holy Spirit is missing. Jesus, at Matthew 28:19-20 commands:
Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded YOU. And, look! I am with YOU all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.
What can be seen in the vow is that the Holy Spirit has been replaced with God’s spirit-directed organization. Wouldn’t it not been much easier to include simply “Holy Spirit” in the baptismal vow? The expression “God’s spirit-directed organization” is not the same as Holy Spirit.
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society Claims To Be The Truth
I need not explain this to my former Brothers and Sisters. The expression “In the truth” is used regularly by all Jehovah’s Witnesses. All know that when the expression is used it means that when one is associated with the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, one is in the truth. Yet, Jesus [the] Christ said that he was the truth. Here is an example of entering into the sheepfold by another way, plundering and claiming (stealing) a title that belongs to only one person: Jesus [the] Christ.
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society Claims That It Is The Life
How so? Jehovah’s Witnesses have been taught that they – even now – exist in a spiritual paradise. That paradise exist now or can exist now is no where to be found in Scripture. This a plundering and rearranging of the true owners things. Jesus promised a condemned man that – one day – he will be with him in paradise. That condemned man was not a disciple of Christ. He did not get baptized in water. The paradise Jesus spoke of was something future: His definite one thousand year reign over the earth. (Luke 23:43 and Revelation 20:6)
Thus, for any human or human entity to place paradise – physical or spiritual – as occurring now and within an organization – makes a claim for itself that is in contradiction with what the Master and true owner has stated. The thief has enter into the sheepfold by another way. Now that he is within the sheepfold, he is an evil slave among the others, and has took over and rearranged the Masters household while he is away.
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society teaches that no one can possibly come to the Father except through the organization.
This is what I take issue with.
There are no religious organizations on earth that Jehovah is using to channel mankind to Him. It is the one He sent – The Son of God, The Word of God, Jesus [the] Christ – that Jehovah uses; and, Jesus confirms this at John 14:6.
One of the biggest evidences that Jehovah has not established an organization on earth is by looking at what the organization has stated would prophetically occur but has not. Logic suggests that if Jehovah was using an organization to channel His truthful information through, then that information would be true and it would come to pass. Yet, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society has had a string of failed predictions relating to 1914, 1918, 1920, 1925, the early 1940’s and 1975. All proved to be without substance.
With regard to 1975, the WTBTS identified the year as the date of the beginning of the seventh millennium of mankind’s history. Well, the year 1975 came and went without event. Many of the “friends” in anticipation of the date, sold property, cashed in life insurance policies, canceled health insurance polices, and so forth. Yet, this is God’s spirit-directed organization? Hardly, because when Jehovah speaks a thing, it comes to pass.
Another major problem the Watch Tower Society has – and it shows rearrangement, disrespect, and plunder of the true owners things – is that it has engaged in affixing dates to things. The true owner – Jesus [the] Christ says that this cannot be done, not by any human or human agency; not by angels; and not by him. In fact, Jesus said at Matthew 24:36:
Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.
Jesus goes on to say at Matthew 24:42:
Keep on the watch, therefore, because YOU do not know on what day YOUR Lord is coming.
And at Acts 1:7 Jesus says:
It does not belong to YOU to get knowledge of the times or seasons which the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction.
Jehovah God is the only one who holds such knowledge of things.
So how can an organization come along and claim it knows of dates – such as 1914 – when Jesus says that even he does not have knowledge of such things? How can an organization know something Jesus does not? And, if Jehovah funnels truth to His Son and His Son, in turn, passes it on to “the organization,” how can Jesus pass on information about something he said he had no knowledge of? Not to mention that Jesus said that “It does not belong to YOU to get knowledge of the times or seasons.” In other words, such knowledge would not be given to us.
How can any human or human agency make such predictions and after they do not come to pass, still claim itself “God earthly organization?” Here is how: If you enter into the sheepfold by another way except through the doorkeeper who has the key to open the door and you enter in as a thief and plunder and change and rearrange the true householders things. That’s how.
None of us, no one among mankind belongs to another human. Our lives and entry into Jesus’ one thousand year reign over the earth was not made possible by men. Our assured resurrections were not made possible by men. These things were made possible by the sacrificial death of The Son of God. That all persons will have a resurrection as a result that sacrifice is stated at Matthew 5:28-29. (Read my articles for a full explanation of this).
What I write in this blog I write because I feel that those who are Jehovah’s Witnesses have a right to know. Even when I was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I could never understand why Elders would announce from the podium that certain ones were disfellowshiped without telling us why? “Aren’t we all one big happy family,” I thought, ” and it is only natural to want to know why your Brother or Sister was disfellowshiped.
I remember sitting in a Kingdom Hall on a Thursday night Service Meeting and an Elder announce that a ling time regular pioneer was disfellowshiped. I was shocked – as were many within the congregation – because I knew this person. S/He would have been the last person I would have imagined disfellowshiped. No reason given as to why?
Even though I was not disfellowshiped, I know now why the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society forbids speaking with disfellowshiped or disfellowshiped ones. In my case, for a Jehovah’s Witness to freely speak with me, they would learn that I am not angry or disgrunted. They would learn that I love God and Christ and have an utmost love of truth. The Watch Tower leadership well knows that if certain information is revealed that causes one to engage in their own investigation into matters, other very valid questions would be raised that the Watch Tower leadership would not be able to answer. It is much easier to threaten disfellowshipment to any Jehovah’s Witness if they are caught speaking with, eating with, associating with or reading information by those disfellowshiped or disassociated. This is fear of what men can do to you. This is precisely the kind of freedom from fear Jesus said one becoming his disciples would have.
Several years have passed since my quiet and voluntary disassociation from the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (WTBTS) of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I have not and will not associate myself with any religious organization again. I am fully content to be what Jesus said I should be: His disciple. No fancy or distinguishing titles are necessary. (John 8:31-32)
To re-submit myself to the authority human religious agency is to re-enslave myself and surrender to the enslaver my God-given freedom to decide for myself whether something is factual, true or false, beneficial or detrimental.
I know the Scriptures well enough to know that no human or human agency can claim to speak for God. Even more than that, claim to be His sole channel of communication to all mankind. I know that only one can rightly make the claim to speak for God and be His sole channel: That one is Jesus [the] Christ. (John 14:6)
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society states that it’s message has life and death importance. That salvation from the destruction that is to come, can only come by being associated with the organization as a baptized Jehovah’s Witness. The Society claims that its message is from God. That the organization is like an Ark.
I cannot help but ask, “Why would an organization make itself a savior of mankind? Is Jesus’ message not to be listened to? Did not Jehovah send His Son with the message? Is not Jesus Gods appointed Savior? Did not Jehovah say listen to this Son of His? (Luke 9:35)
Any claim of such magnitude by anyone, should never go untested. (1 John 4:1) In fact, the greatness of the claim should call for, not less, but more caution, more careful testing. Simple respect for God should move us to make sure that the message is genuinely His, free from additions or alterations. (1 Thess 5:21)
Such testing and examination of the claims made by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society are viewed as ungodliness, unfaithfulness, rebellious, and even as the ramblings of an apostate (by Watch Tower definition of apostate). In effect what the Watch Tower Bible Tract Society has done is say, “Put to the test the inspired expressions of everyone else except us.” This not what Scripture teaches. Scripture teaches at 1 John 4:1:
… do not believe every inspired expression …
All utterances are to be tested to see if they are from Jehovah God. Simply making the claim for oneself that one is God’s earthly organization is not evidence or proof that such is the case. This too, has to be tested. The articles in this blog will show that there is no “God’s earthly organization” and never has been.
This blog will show that to engage in timed-prophecies and establishing dates to events is against what Jesus taught in Scripture. This blog will show that the date of 1914 – a date many of the teachings of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society hinge on – was borrowed and did not originate with the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. This prompts one to think: If the 1914 date did not originate with the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and the claim is that the Society is the only channel God uses, then why would the 1914 date not come out of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society? Was the originating organization – the Second Adventist – the channel God used? Not at all. God did not use neither the Second Adventist – who Charles Taze Russell was associated with before breaking away and forming what came to be known as The International Bible Students – or the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Why? Because according to Master Jesus [the] Christ, it is not possible for humans or angels to know about such things. This knowledge belongs only in the jurisdiction of the Most High God, Jehovah. (Matthew 24:36; Matthew 24:42; Acts 1:7)
Even Jesus did not know.
What I write in this blog are my own thoughts and I believe the information has sufficient factual evidence in support to make it at least worthy of one’s serious consideration. I also feel that what is presented here on e-Prophetic.com have sound support and basis in Scripture.
In Scripture, we do not see some kind of spelled-out, organizational manual and it would be presumptuous – even arrogant – for any human or human entity to speak where God has not spoken, to define and order what the Head of the household, Jesus [the] Christ has not defined or ordered, and expect others to feel obligated to adhere to the thing not spoken or ordered by God and His Christ.
I believe, in all seriousness, that the entire world has been misled in a great way. Taking the lead in this misleading has been religious organization. Those that are Christian have taught that the Christ is within them. Yes, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society is no exemption. It too, teaches that God and Christ is only with them. The truth is that God and Christ is not within any of them; and this is so stated in Scripture.
See my article entitled “Get Outside The Camp” for a full explanation.
B e s t D a r n D V D B u r n e r O n T h e P l a n e t !!!
