[If this post seems off-topic, it’s here because it shows just how illogical Watchtower doctrine can get. There are those who would claim that 1914 might be right because even if it doesn’t make sense, it’s only one part of an entire set of doctrines that are Bible-based and all those doctrines are interconnected. By commenting on other doctrines that are clearly non-sensible, we hope to disabuse those who follow any doctrines without due consideration to truth, logic and Biblical precedent.]

The Watch Tower claims to suck the breasts of kings. And it also claims — seriously — to be “milking” fellow JWs who voluntarily contribute.

Nope. Not kidding at all.

And this isn’t from one of those old absurd doctrines that you can find on almost every page of the “The Finished Mystery” or “Pyramid Schemes for Dummies”  (aka, “The Divine Plan of the Ages”).

No, this is current teaching, It’s in the July 1, 2002 Watchtower (and the book, Isaiah’s Prophecy, too.).

A little background: A comment came to the site a couple days ago about how, in the midst of all the stated “urgency” surrounding 1975, the Watch Tower Society was beginning to take on more and more  long-term projects.  Even now, projects in Warwick, NY for example, are scheduled for many years out into the future. This has even struck a lot of JWs as contradictory, and the Society sometimes has directed answers toward those raised eyebrows, explaining how it expects to continue operating even into the new system.

However, it turns out that these building projects –even the  contributions of money that Jehovah’s Witnesses are giving to the Society– this is all proof that God’s organization is “sucking the breasts of kings.” 

The idea behind the “milk” theme, here, is much older, but we’ll start in 1985. The Watchtower of March 1, 1985 contains material incorporated later into the “Isaiah’s Prophecy” book.

(Isaiah 60:1-4) “Arise, O woman, shed light,…..From far away your sons keep coming, And your daughters being supported on the hip.

Then Isa. 60: 14-16 says:

14 The sons of those who oppressed you will come and bow down before you;…And they will have to call you …Zion…  16 And you will actually suck the milk of nations, and the breast of kings you will suck;

It’s explained by saying that the earthly part of God’s organization makes practical use of communication, transport and printing facilities.

*** w85 3/1 p. 15 par. 14 ***
“In a figurative way the earthly representatives of God’s organization thus use all available resources in advancing true worship. They make practical use of modern facilities of communication, transport, and printing to get the good news preached. Jehovah’s watchcare and guidance have been with Jehovah’s Witnesses in this work.”

You might wonder about that claim of “Jehovah’s watchcare and guidance” if you worked at Brooklyn Bethel while they threw away literally millions of dollars on outdated press technology. (See Randall Watters experience.)  [Editor’s note: My roommate at Bethel and one of my best friends, who roomed a couple doors down from us, were both called to Bethel to work in the new Computer Department. Frustrations ran high in that department, and the primary complaint was the many millions of dollars lost because uneducated and untrained “Bethel Elders” in charge, claimed they should override the decisions of IBM consultants regarding computer projects, due to their own higher seniority and “spiritual qualifications.”]

The Isaiah’s Prophecy book updated the list of “milk products” to include modern technology for translation of books and Bibles:

*** ip-2 chap. 21 p. 316 par. 21 ***
His people have sucked “the milk of nations,” using resources from the nations for the advancement of true worship. For example, wise use of modern technology has made possible the translation and publication of Bibles and Bible literature in hundreds of languages.

Then the July 1, 2002 Watchtower pushes this idea almost to point of “lactose intolerance” by adding just one more milk product to the list:

*** w02 7/1 p. 16 par. 6  ***
How does Zion feed on “the milk of nations” and suck “the breast of kings”? In that anointed Christians and their “other sheep” companions use valuable resources from the nations in order to advance pure worship. Freely given financial contributions help to make possible a great international preaching and teaching work.

The Watch Tower interpretation schema for Hebrew prophecies is certainly strange, but there is often a perceptible method to its madness. In the above quoted articles and books, however, the usual methods become more tangled than ever. We don’t need to take the space to go into it all of it here, but the Watchtower makes a complete mess of it: Even though it’s the “mother” in heaven (Zion, mother, heavenly Jerusalem) who is sucking, the article (1985) uses words apparently designed to divert attention to the idea the “sons and daughters” sucking, to move this application from God’s heavenly organization in this case to God’s earthly organization. Those ambiguous words evidently triggered the need for a clarification in a “Questions from Readers” four months later. In 2002, they clumsily add the great crowd into the mix as a contributing conduit of milk from those nations. But the kings of those nations in the same (1985 article) are pagan kings who “aptly” represent Jehovah and Jesus, and might even “moreover” represent the prospective anointed kings on earth, who serve with “foreigners” from nations all around, which picture the “great crowd” while those nations –at the same time– also picture Babylon the Great in the same chapter.

The Watch Tower Society has gotten much better at printing without losing millions of dollars of hard-earned donations from the “great crowd” (At least 99.99% anyway). And the improvements in their website indicate initially expensive, but strategically wiser decisions about technology. So it’s ironic, that no matter how good they get, it was somehow prophesied that they would still “suck….the breasts of kings.” (Isa 60:14, NWT, 1984)