Many times cults have similar characteristics with each other.
The Watchtower states: “...compare...the gospel of the Kingdom done by the
religious systems of Christendom during all the centuries with that done by
Jehovah’s Witnesses....They are not one and the same kind.” —The
Watchtower, May 1, 1981, p. 17
FR has the same mentality. Compare what FR teaches over what has been taught
over the past 2000 years, regarding eternal torment, Christ's visible
return, Judgment Day when all give account and the nature of the atonement.
FR gives the alibi of "Well, this is the great unsealing." However, they
have the same mentality as the Watchtower.
The Watchtower states: "At Revelation 14:9-11 (KJ) worshipers of the symbolic
‘beast and his image’ are said to be ‘tormented with fire and brimstone.’ This cannot refer to conscious torment after death....The smoke,
associated with their fiery destruction, ascends forever because the
destruction will be eternal and will never be forgotten.”
—Reasoning, pp. 172-173
FR has the same mentality regarding verses like Revelation 14:9-11. The only
difference is that the Watchtower came up with these delusions first. So,
FR's statement of "This is the great unsealing of judgment" is false. This
delusion has been around for centuries, and is an old lie!!
The Watchtower states: "It is a serious matter to represent God and Christ in one way,
then find that our understanding of the major teachings and
fundamental doctrines of the Scriptures was in error, and then after
that, to go back to the very doctrines that, by years of study, we had
thoroughly determined to be in error. Christians cannot be
vacillating - 'wishy-washy' - about such fundamental teachings. What
confidence can one put in the sincerity or judgment of such persons?
--The Watchtower, May 15, 1976, page 298.
This sounds so much like FR and Open Forum....as they claim that all the
foundational doctrines held for centuries have been "in error."
The Watchtower states: "The Bridegroom came in the Autumn of 1874, and he appeared to the eyes
of faith-seen by the light of the lamp-the Word. (Zion’s Watch Tower
Reprints October/November 1881 p. 289)"
"Pastor Russell...believed and taught that we are living in the time of the
second presence of our Lord, and that his presence dates from 1874...(WT
December 1, 1916 p. 5998)"
"The second coming of the Lord therefore began in 1874...(Creation 1927 pp.
289, 291, 297, 298, 318)"
FR also believes that Christ has "come" in 1988, and also believes Christ
return is invisible. FR and the Watchtower all parablize the Second Coming
of Christ to a non-existent symbolic event.
The Watchtower states: "The world will NOT see Jesus Christ again.” “Reasoning
with the Scriptures” Page 342
This is exactly what FR and LR are now declaring. Just like the
Watchtower!!!
So, the "new great unsealing" according to the FR/LR compound, is an old
lie!!
The Watchtower states:
"The men of Sodom will NOT be resurrected" -- WT, p. 338, June
1, 1952.
The men of Sodom will NOT be resurrected" -- WT, p. 31, June
1, 1988.
FR also declares the same thing as they deny the conscious resurrection of
the unsaved, and go out of their way to say the men of Sodom will not be
resurrected.
So, the "great unsealing" according to FR/LR is an old lie!
The Watchtower states: "Charles T. Russell (1852-1916) founded the Jehovah's Witnesses
movement. As a teenager he rejected his Presbyterian roots"
As the WT has it's foundational leader, FR has the same, as all Bible
studies are centered around one person.
The Watchtower states: "Rutherford (1869-1942) also used the threat of Armageddon to intimidate
Jehovah's Witnesses. He published The Finished Mystery,a book
which predicted that in 1918 God would destroy churches"
The WT, like FR, feels all churches "with the exception of themselves"
are under judgment.
FR feels that God's judgment is upon the churches, but FR has immunity. Same
mentality as the Watchtower.
The Watchtower states: "Despite these setbacks, Russell continued to attract people with his
fantastic prophetic interpretations and dramatic warnings that Armageddon
would strike in 1914. When 1914 came and went, he changed the date to 1915."
FR, like the WT, made numerous predictions on the end of the world. There
was at least 6 different dates by FR from 1994-1996.
The Watchtower states: "'The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is the greatest corporation
in the world, because from the time of its organization until now the
Lord has used it as his channel through which to make known the glad
tidings...'" The Watchtower, 1917, p 22
"Only this organization functions for Jehovah's purpose and to his praise.
To it alone God's Sacred Word, the Bible, is not a sealed book. The
Watchtower; July 1, 1973, pp. 402.
"We all need help to understand the Bible, and we cannot find the
Scriptural guidance we need outside the ‘faithful and discreet slave'
organization." (The Watchtower, Feb. 15, 1981.)
FR and the Latter Rain Group makes the same lame claims that FR is the God
raised organization on earth, and that all truth is revealed through FR.
So, while FR only tries to link themselves with the WT in terms in
annihilation, the fact is, FR and the WT share the same doctrines about the
invisible return of Christ, the idea that the world will not literally see
Christ, the idea of Christ's invisible presence, no resurrection of the men
of Sodom, numerous date settings, and the idea that all fundamental truths
of the past are "in error."
Also, both groups claim to be God's organization where truth is revealed.
So, the similarities of FR to the WT are striking.....
How does it feel that FR is exposed to what they really are?