Adjustments for the Book Revelation​—Its Grand Climax At Hand!

Listed below are the key adjustments to the book Revelation​—Its Grand Climax At Hand! which was published in 1988. This list does not include, for example, certain statistical adjustments, which can be found in the latest Yearbook and in other publications.

CHAPTER 4

p. 19, ¶4, delete last citation: Matthew 25:31-33

CHAPTER 5

p. 24, ¶3, replace footnote with: * For a detailed explanation, see the book What Does the Bible Really Teach? pages 88-92, 215-18, published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

CHAPTER 6

p. 30, ¶11, lines 8-9, replace “2 Peter 3:1-3” with: 2 Peter 2:1-3

p. 30, ¶12, replace sixth sentence with: Finally, Roman Emperor Constantine gave state approval to the “Christian” religion, and this led to the development of Christendom, where Church and State joined forces in ruling for a thousand years.

p. 32, box, replace first paragraph with: Jesus was baptized and anointed as King-Designate at the Jordan River about October 29 C.E. Three and a half years later, in 33 C.E., he came to Jerusalem’s temple and threw out those who were making it a cave of robbers. There appears to be a parallel to this in the three-and-a-half-year period from Jesus’ enthronement in the heavens in October 1914 until his coming to inspect professed Christians as judgment began with the house of God. (Matthew 21:12, 13; 1 Peter 4:17) Early in 1918 the Kingdom activity of Jehovah’s people met with great opposition. It was a time of testing earth wide, and fearful ones were sifted out. In May 1918 Christendom’s clergy instigated the imprisonment of officials of the Watch Tower Society, but nine months later these were released. Later, the false charges against them were dropped. From 1919 the organization of God’s people, tried and refined, moved zealously forward to proclaim Jehovah’s Kingdom by Christ Jesus as the hope for mankind.​—Malachi 3:1-3.

CHAPTER 8

p. 40, ¶8, line 6, replace “125 errors” with: 130 errors

p. 40, ¶10, replace last sentence with: In the United States Supreme Court alone, Jehovah’s Witnesses have won 50 victories.

CHAPTER 10

p. 50, ¶11, replace footnote with: * See, for example, the article “Faithful Christian Women​—Precious Worshipers of God” in the November 1, 2003, issue of The Watchtower.

CHAPTER 11

p. 56, ¶9, replace second half of paragraph with: In this connection, the Watchtower magazine has given encouragement by discussing topics such as “Keep Proving What You Yourselves Are” and “Living No Longer for Ourselves.”* Having such Scriptural help, let us probe our innermost selves as we try to walk humbly and prayerfully in integrity before Jehovah.​—Psalm 26:1-3; 139:23, 24.

p. 56, ¶9, replace footnote with: * See The Watchtower, July 15, 2005, and March 15, 2005.

CHAPTER 12

p. 61, ¶14, replace footnote with: # The Watchtower magazine, published by the John class, has continued to highlight the urgency of seizing this opportunity and sharing as fully as possible in the preaching work; for example, see the articles “Let All Declare the Glory of Jehovah” and “Into All the Earth Their Sound Went Out” in the January 1, 2004, issue of The Watchtower. In the June 1, 2004, issue, in the article “Blessed Are Those Who Give Glory to God,” emphasis was placed on entering an “opened door” into full-time service. There was a peak of 1,093,552 pioneers reporting such service during one month in 2005.

CHAPTER 13

p. 69, ¶11, replace last sentence with: Almost 40 years ahead of time, they pointed to 1914 as the year marked in Bible prophecy as the end of the times of the Gentiles, accompanied by startling developments on earth.​—Revelation 1:10.

p. 69, ¶12, column 2, line 10, replace “El Paso, Texas,” with: Pampa, Texas,

p. 71, ¶14, line 3, replace “in 1988 of more than 20 million” with: in 2006 of more than 59 million

p. 73, ¶23, lines 12-13, delete citation: Matthew 25:31

CHAPTER 16

p. 90, ¶4, replace second footnote with: * For detailed proof that Jesus came into his Kingdom in 1914, see pages 215-18 of the book What Does the Bible Really Teach? published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

p. 90, ¶6, replace paragraph with: Why, though, must the newly crowned King ride forth to war? It is because his kingship is established in the face of bitter opposition from Jehovah’s chief adversary, Satan the Devil, and those on earth who​—knowingly or unknowingly—​serve Satan’s ends. The birth of the Kingdom itself calls for a major war in heaven. Fighting under the name Michael (meaning “Who Is Like God?”), Jesus overcomes Satan and his demons and hurls them down to the earth. (Revelation 12:7-12) Jesus’ ride of conquest continues through the opening decades of the Lord’s day while sheeplike humans are being gathered. Though the whole world still lies “in the power of the wicked one,” Jesus lovingly continues to shepherd his anointed brothers and their companions, helping each to achieve the conquest of faith.​—1 John 5:19.

p. 92, ¶9, replace last sentence with: Growth has been outstanding in Catholic lands and in countries where persecutions were most bitter​—such as Germany, Italy, and Japan, in which the Witnesses are now reporting a total of well over 600,000 active field ministers.​—Isaiah 54:17; Jeremiah 1:17-19.

p. 94, ¶18, replace paragraph with: Could we call this a triumph for military technology? It is, rather, a testimony that the merciless red horse is at the gallop. And where will that gallop end? Some scientists speak of the possibility of an accidental nuclear war​—let alone a planned nuclear conflagration! But happily the conquering Rider of the white horse has other thoughts about this.

p. 97, ¶28, replace paragraph with: Of current importance here is “deadly plague.” Following in the wake of the ravages of World War I, the Spanish flu reaped over 20 million human lives in just a few months of 1918-19. The only territory on earth to escape this scourge was the small island of St. Helena. In places where the population was decimated, funeral pyres were lit to burn the piles of bodies. And today there is the frightful incidence of heart disease and cancer, much of which is caused by tobacco pollution. In what was described as “the ugly decade” of the 1980’s, a way of life that is lawless by Bible standards added the scourge of AIDS to the “deadly plague.” In the year 2000, the U.S. surgeon general was reported as calling AIDS “probably the worst health epidemic the world has ever known.” He said that 52 million people around the world had contracted HIV/​AIDS, and of them 20 million had died. How thankful Jehovah’s people are that the wise counsel of his Word keeps them away from fornication and misuse of blood, through which so many diseases are transmitted today!​—Acts 15:28, 29; compare 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

CHAPTER 17

p. 100, ¶2, line 14, replace “1 Chronicles 23:4” with: 1 Chronicles 24:4

CHAPTER 18

p. 106, ¶7, replace paragraph with: World War II brought another wave of upheavals. And smaller wars along with international terrorism continue to shake the earth. The fearful threat of terrorists or states using weapons of mass destruction has many people wondering.

p. 106, replace question numbered 7-9 (b) with: The upheavals in human society during Jesus’ presence would eventually include what situation among mankind?

p. 107, ¶9, replace third sentence with: The dark days that followed were surely a part of the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy about his presence, which would include “anguish of nations, not knowing the way out . . . while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth.” (Luke 21:7-9, 25-31)*

p. 107, ¶9, replace footnote with: * For more than 35 years, from 1895 to 1931, the words of Luke 21:25, 28, 31 were quoted on the cover of the Watchtower magazine against the backdrop of a lighthouse illuminating stormy skies over raging seas.

p. 107, ¶11, replace fourth sentence with: Satan’s world system has been put on notice by this global warning.*

p. 109, ¶17, delete second sentence following quote of Revelation 6:12b, 13: It represents the culmination of the catastrophic situation that Jesus had earlier prophesied about at Matthew 24:29.

CHAPTER 20

p. 123, ¶11, replace fourth sentence with: At the time of this printing, various forms of MEPS are used in more than 125 locations around the earth, and this has helped to make possible publication of the semimonthly journal, The Watchtower, in over 130 languages simultaneously.

p. 128, ¶30, replace last sentence with: Only a minority of mankind, including any of the sealed 144,000 who might still be remaining in the flesh and a great crowd of other sheep who will “stand,” that is, survive with them.​—Jeremiah 35:19; 1 Corinthians 16:13.

CHAPTER 22

p. 143, replace subheading with: The Locust Plague Today

p. 146, ¶16, replace sentences following quote of Revelation 9:10 with: What could this mean? As they go about their Kingdom work, Jehovah’s Witnesses, using the spoken word and printed publications, issue authoritative statements based on God’s Word. Their message has a scorpionlike sting because they warn of Jehovah’s approaching day of vengeance. (Isaiah 61:2) Before the present generation of spiritual locusts lives out its life span, its divinely ordained work of declaring Jehovah’s judgments will be completed​—to the hurt of all stiff-necked blasphemers.

p. 147, ¶17, replace footnote with: * This magazine was renamed Consolation in 1937 and Awake! in 1946.

p. 147, ¶19, replace lines 7-11 with: (Matthew 24:3-14; Revelation 12:1-10) Thereafter, it quoted the manifesto published in London in 1917 and signed by eight clergymen, who were described as being “among the world’s greatest preachers.”

CHAPTER 24

p. 160, ¶21, line 11, replace “goatlike people” with: opponents

p. 160, ¶21, line 16, replace “Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46” with: Philippians 1:27, 28

p. 160, replace question numbered 21 (b) with: Why is the good news bad news for opponents?

CHAPTER 25

p. 162, ¶4, replace footnote with: * For a full discussion of this great spiritual temple, see the articles “Jehovah’s Great Spiritual Temple” in the July 1, 1996, issue of The Watchtower and “The One True Temple at Which to Worship” in the December 1, 1972, issue.

p. 162, ¶5, replace third sentence with: In the Hebrew Scripture prophecies, such measuring provided a guarantee that justice would be rendered on the basis of Jehovah’s perfect standards.

p. 162, ¶7, replace second sentence following quote of Revelation 11:2 with: As we shall see, the reference here is to the literal 42 months extending from December 1914 to June 1918, when all professing Christians were put to a severe test.

p. 164, ¶12, replace third sentence with: Additionally, at the beginning of the Lord’s day, there was a marked period of three and a half years when the hard experiences of God’s people matched the events prophesied here​—starting in December 1914 and continuing to June 1918.

p. 165, replace picture caption with: The rebuilding work by Zerubbabel and Joshua indicated that in the Lord’s day small beginnings would be followed by great increase among Jehovah’s Witnesses. Facilities such as the ones shown above, which are in Brooklyn, New York, have had to be greatly expanded in order to help meet their needs

p. 165, ¶15, line 8, replace “(Matthew 17:1-3; 25:31)” with: (Matthew 17:1-3)

CHAPTER 26

p. 175, ¶12, replace footnote with: * Roman historian Tacitus reports that when Jerusalem was captured in 63 B.C.E. and Cneius Pompeius entered the temple sanctuary, he found it was empty. There was no ark of the covenant within.​—Tacitus History, 5.9.

CHAPTER 27

p. 185, box, replace sixth paragraph with: In Spain homes were invaded and Christians fined and imprisoned for the “crime” of talking about God and holding Christian meetings. This persecution finally ended in 1970, when, as a result of the government’s change of policy toward non-Catholic religions, Jehovah’s Witnesses were allowed to become legally registered.

p. 185, ¶28, replace first two sentences with: This vicious flood of persecution reached a high point during World War II. In Europe some 12,000 Witnesses were incarcerated in Nazi concentration camps and prisons, and about 2,000 died.

CHAPTER 28

p. 187, ¶4, replace footnote with: * For further details, please see pages 165-79 of the book Pay Attention to Daniel’s Prophecy! published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

p. 190, ¶15, replace first three sentences with: For the dominant seventh head of the wild beast, that war was a major disaster. Along with other European nations, Britain lost its young men in traumatic numbers. In one battle alone, the Battle of the River Somme in 1916, there were 420,000 British casualties along with some 194,000 French and 440,000 German​—more than 1,000,000 casualties!

p. 192, ¶22, column 2, replace line 1 with: Their trials came to a climax in June 1918,

CHAPTER 29

p. 202, ¶14, replace lines 1-3 with: The 144,000 are “bought from the earth,” “bought from among mankind.” They are adopted as sons of God, and after their

CHAPTER 30

p. 206, ¶3, replace second sentence with: Well, what resulted after 539 B.C.E. when ancient Babylon fell?

p. 209, ¶10, replace line 1 with: By the 1870’s anointed Christians began

p. 209, replace question numbered 10 with: What took place by the 1870’s, and how did Babylon the Great react to this?

p. 212, ¶23, replace third, fourth, and fifth sentences with: Immediately, Jesus obeys. First, from 1919 on, he has his angels complete the harvesting of the 144,000. (Matthew 13:39, 43; John 15:1, 5, 16) Next, the harvest ingathering of the great crowd of other sheep takes place. (John 10:16; Revelation 7:9)

CHAPTER 32

p. 231, ¶27, replace last section of paragraph starting from citation “Matthew 24:42, 44” with: (Matthew 24:42, 44; Luke 12:37, 40) Echoing this warning, the apostle Paul said: “Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. Whenever it is that they are saying: ‘Peace and security!’ then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them.” Satan is behind any such false proclamation of “Peace and security!”​—1 Thessalonians 5:2, 3.

CHAPTER 33

p. 243, ¶21, replace second to last sentence with: Significantly, the pope gave very little attention to Jesus Christ or to God’s Kingdom in his speech.

p. 245, ¶25, line 6, replace “(Revelation 14:8; 17:2)” with: (Revelation 14:8; 17:4)

CHAPTER 34

p. 246, ¶1, replace second to last sentence with: But the vision becomes a startling reality in our day.

p. 249, ¶10, replace fourth sentence with: According to a report by the International Peace Research Institute, as many as five million people were killed as a result of wars during 1986 alone!

p. 250, ¶12, footnote, replace “1981” with: 1993

p. 251, ¶14, replace paragraph with: In recent years, politicians have used the phrase “peace and security” to describe various human schemes. Do such efforts by world leaders constitute the beginning of the fulfillment of 1 Thessalonians 5:3? Or was Paul referring only to a specific event of such dramatic proportions that it will claim world attention? Since Bible prophecies are often completely understood only after they are fulfilled or in the course of fulfillment, we will have to wait and see. Meanwhile, Christians know that whatever peace and security the nations may appear to have achieved, basically nothing will have changed. Selfishness, hatred, crime, family breakdown, immorality, sickness, sorrow, and death will still be here. That is why no cry of “peace and security” needs to mislead you, if you remain awake to the meaning of world events and heed the prophetic warnings in God’s Word.​—Mark 13:32-37; Luke 21:34-36.

CHAPTER 36

p. 259, ¶4, replace last two sentences with: In 1914, Jesus became a heavenly King, and since that time he has been exercising authority over the earth as Jehovah’s associate King and Judge. It is fitting, then, that he should announce the fall of Babylon the Great.

p. 260, ¶9, replace first four sentences with: Ancient Babylon’s fall in 539 B.C.E. was the start of a long decline that ended in her desolation. Similarly, since the first world war, the influence of Babylonish religion has declined remarkably on a global scale. In Japan, Shinto emperor worship was proscribed following the second world war.

p. 265, ¶22, delete last citation:​—Compare Matthew 24:15, 16.

p. 266, ¶28, replace third and fourth sentences with: She is to receive twice as much as she gave out. There will be no mercy shown because Babylon the Great has shown no mercy to her victims.

CHAPTER 38

p. 277, ¶17, replace last two sentences with: If any anointed ones still survive on earth, they will doubtless enter into their heavenly reward soon after Christ completes his conquest and will join their fellow members of the bride class. Then, at God’s due time, the marriage of the Lamb can take place!

p. 277, ¶18, replace first sentence with: The prophetic account in Psalm 45 describes the order of events.

CHAPTER 39

p. 281, ¶10, replace last two sentences with: Further, “all the angels” will attend upon Jesus as he sits on his glorious throne and proceeds to judge the nations and people of earth. (Matthew 25:31, 32) Surely, in the decisive war, when God’s judgments are executed to a finality, Jesus will again be accompanied by his angels.

CHAPTER 41

p. 296, ¶5, replace first three sentences with: Who are left to be judged after the old earth and the old heaven flee away? Not the anointed remnant of the 144,000, for these have already been judged and sealed. If any of the anointed are still alive on earth after Armageddon, they must shortly thereafter die and receive their heavenly reward by resurrection. (1 Peter 4:17; Revelation 7:2-4)

CHAPTER 43

p. 311, ¶19, replace sentences after citation “Revelation 11:15; 12:10” with: During the time of the end, the spirit and the bride have been inviting rightly disposed ones to take life’s water free. Water from this river will continue to be available to such ones right up to the end of this system of things and, thereafter, on into the new world, when New Jerusalem ‘comes down out of heaven from God.’​—Revelation 21:2.

p. 312, ¶26, replace first two sentences with: Those trees, well watered by the river, may include the 144,000 members of the Lamb’s wife. While on earth these also drink of God’s provision for life through Jesus Christ. Interestingly, these spirit-begotten brothers of Jesus are prophetically called “big trees of righteousness.” (Isaiah 61:1-3; Revelation 21:6)