The United Nations is the "scarlet-coloured wild beast" described in
Revelation 17 — a blasphemous human substitute for God's Kingdom. Any
voluntary association with the UN or its agencies would constitute
spiritual unfaithfulness, comparable to the harlot "Babylon the Great"
riding the beast. Jehovah's Witnesses maintain complete separation from
this worldly political system.
- Begin with what the Watchtower teaches about the UN. Most JWs will readily confirm that the UN is identified as the scarlet-coloured wild beast of Revelation 17 — an instrument of Satan designed to replace God's Kingdom. This is not a fringe teaching; it appears in the Revelation Climax book, numerous Watchtower articles, and convention talks.
- Introduce the facts calmly: in 1991, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York applied for and received Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) status with the UN's Department of Public Information (DPI). NGO registration with the DPI required the organisation to support and publicise the aims of the United Nations Charter. The Society maintained this status for ten years.
- Show the evidence trail: during the period of NGO membership, Awake! magazine published multiple articles presenting the UN and its agencies in a positive light — a marked departure from the organisation's usual portrayal. These articles fulfilled the DPI's requirement that associated NGOs disseminate information supportive of the UN's mission.
- Explain the exposure: in October 2001, journalist Stephen Bates of The Guardian (UK) published an article revealing the Watchtower's NGO status. Within days, the Watch Tower Society sent a letter to the UN requesting the termination of their NGO registration. The timing speaks for itself.
- Address the library excuse: the Society later claimed they had registered solely to gain access to the UN's Dag Hammarskjold Library. However, the UN library was open to the general public and to researchers without any NGO affiliation. Library access did not require NGO status.
- Ask the question: "If you or I joined a political party — even just to use their library — what would happen at a judicial committee? Now consider that the organisation itself did something comparable with what it calls Satan's counterfeit kingdom, and maintained that association for a decade. What would you think if you discovered this about any other religious organisation?"
The organisation that tells members the UN is Satan's counterfeit kingdom secretly partnered with it for ten years — and only withdrew when a newspaper exposed the association.
The Society only registered to access the UN library for research purposes.
The UN's Dag Hammarskjold Library was open to the general public and to accredited researchers without NGO status. You did not need to register as an NGO to use it. More importantly, NGO registration with the DPI required the organisation to "support and respect the principles of the Charter of the United Nations" and to carry out "effective information programmes" about UN activities. The Society fulfilled this requirement through favourable Awake! articles. Even if library access were the motive, the commitment they made went far beyond borrowing books.
That is apostate propaganda — the facts have been distorted.
The facts come from three independent sources: the UN's own DPI records confirming the registration dates (1991-2001), The Guardian newspaper's investigation (a mainstream British broadsheet, not an ex-JW source), and the Watch Tower Society's own letter requesting withdrawal in October 2001. The Society has never denied the registration itself — only offered the library explanation. If the facts were distorted, the Society could have issued a clear public rebuttal. They did not.
The Governing Body may not have known about the registration — it could have been a local decision.
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York is directly controlled by the Governing Body. It is not a local branch acting independently. The registration was made in the name of the organisation's legal entity, and the resulting Awake! articles promoting UN activities were published globally. This was not a rogue employee; it was an institutional decision maintained for a decade.
Jehovah's organisation corrected the matter once it came to light.
The correction came not through the Governing Body's own conscience or spiritual discernment, but because a secular newspaper published the story. The Society withdrew within days of The Guardian's article. For ten years, no one at headquarters recognised that formal partnership with what they call the scarlet-coloured wild beast might be a spiritual problem? If the spirit was guiding the organisation, why did it take a journalist to prompt the correction?
NGO association is not the same as UN membership — the Society was not a member of the UN.
The Watchtower's own elders' manual (Shepherd the Flock of God, Chapter 12) says joining a "non-neutral organisation" constitutes disassociation. NGO registration with the DPI required supporting the principles of the UN Charter. The distinction between "membership" and "association" is irrelevant when the organisation's own rules treat any affiliation with a political entity as grounds for expulsion. If a rank-and-file Witness joined an NGO that supported a political party, they would face a judicial committee regardless of whether it was called "membership" or "association."
The criteria for NGO status changed after we joined and we did not notice.
The UN's own NGO Section Chief, Paul Hoeffel, confirmed in a March 2004 letter that the criteria had not changed since 1992. The 1992 acceptance letter already stated the requirements. Furthermore, the Society had to submit annual reports to maintain NGO status — they were actively engaging with the UN year after year, not passively holding a card they had forgotten about. Ten years of annual renewals is not an oversight.
Do not use a sneering or "gotcha" tone. Many JWs will be genuinely shocked by this information, and the natural reaction to shocking news is denial. Present the facts calmly, cite your sources, and give them space to process. Do not compare the Governing Body to the harlot riding the beast — even if the parallel is obvious, stating it will trigger defensiveness rather than reflection. Let them draw their own conclusions. Never accuse the individual JW of hypocrisy; they almost certainly did not know.
Read in your own New World Translation. Note the phrase "scarlet-coloured wild beast." Then ask your elders whether the Watch Tower Society was ever registered with the United Nations. If they say no, check the UN's own DPI records and The Guardian's October 2001 article. If they say yes, ask why rank-and-file members were never informed in any Watchtower article or Kingdom Ministry.