As of Friday, April 10th, 2026, JW.org has reposted an article on the home page from a few years ago entitled: Global Food Crisis Fueled by War and Climate Change—What Does the Bible Say?
As we have come to expect, they quote the UN Secretary-General. It is not even worth repeating. Another quote from a Spanish-language site from three years ago blames Russia for blocking Ukraine’s exports.
But why cite something that happened in 2023, when the conflict in the Middle East has led to the closure of the vital waterway, the Straits of Hormuz? Although the US has reopened the Strait to all traffic except Iranian inbound or outbound, the supply chain has already been disrupted. To be sure, the Persian Gulf nations not only produce oil and liquefied natural gas, but also urea for fertilizer. And urea is not getting to market. And now there is a price spike and a fertilizer shortage just as farmers in the Northern Hemisphere are preparing for spring planting. And even if available, some farmers who are already operating on the margin may not be able to afford the extra cost of fertilizer and diesel.
It is mind-boggling that the Governing Body did not take the opportunity to discuss a more immediate threat to the food supply than something that happened three years ago. Even the Watchtower’s beloved United Nations is monitoring the Straits of Hormuz crisis. “From gas to grain: Fertilizer disruptions raise risks for food security and trade.”
But this blog post is not about the potential for food shortages resulting from the closure of the Strait. It is about the Watchtower’s lack of…well, watchfulness.
Ironically, the Watchtower article is part of a series called KEEP ON THE WATCH. Considering the iconic magazine’s implied meaning, we might presume that the publishers of the Watchtower are vigilant. However, that no longer seems to be true.
Given that those who call themselves watchmen are focused on the past, even a century past, how can they possibly be forward-looking and on the watch for the coming of something that they are cocksure has already come? And so the vaunted watchmen on the wall have been proclaiming we are in the last days for longer than anyone has been alive, and food shortages are just part of the sign.
But as I have repeatedly pointed out over the years, no one alive now has personally seen or experienced all of the things Jesus foretold, about which Jesus said: “When you see all these things.”
For example, if you live in America, you have never seen a war. You have never experienced food shortages. True, people in the US are going hungry, but it is not because there is no food. It is because millions of people don’t have enough money to get by. You may be sure that the leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses have never missed a meal.
Gradually, the Watchtower is going out of business. No, that is not true. They are getting more and more into business—the business of making money. As for the things of the spirit, it no longer seems to be their primary focus. Certainly, they are gradually closing the book on prophecy. It is rarely even considered, and when it is, the Masters only use the books of the prophets to impart behavioral lessons to the Learners.
The organization’s publishing arm, presumably the reason for the Watchtower’s existence in the first place, has drastically cut its production. For example, for years, the Watchtower was published bi-monthly. Now it is monthly. The AWAKE Magazine was also published twice a month. Now, merely once every year, along with a single Watchtower for the general public. Why even bother?
At this critical moment, when the world is inexorably drawn into conflict and talk of global war and attendant food shortages is growing louder, the Watchtower has the resources to be a real-time voice that millions would surely listen to. Instead, the watchmen appear to have all nodded off.
In the military, a sentry who falls asleep at his post is liable to be executed for endangering the lives of those whom he is supposed to be guarding. Sadly, the watchers at Bethel fit the description God spoke of centuries ago: “His watchmen are blind, none of them have taken note. All of them are speechless dogs, unable to bark. They are panting and lying down; they love to slumber.” – Isaiah 56:10
