They do lie because in 1914 they were expecting armageddon and not within a generation after 1914 taking us up to 1995. The invisible presence of 1874 was transposed to 1914 and the armageddon of 1914 (after many changes) to an unknown point in time to occur within a period ending in 1995.
The very same failed prophecies were taken and carried forward in time. How sleazy. If Russell had been in ancient Israel he would have been stoned to death for false prophecies.
making 1914 crumble
by googlemagoogle 33 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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greendawn
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PoppyR
Thing is.. they dont understand and it doesn't make them question. They just feel that you are an apostate and should not listen to this sort of reasoning, and should 'trust' the faithful and discreet slave. I am very new to all this, but quickly realising that no-one who is not ready to listen, will listen, and I was just the same, so I cant criticise. Now I have started to see the hypocrisy I feel like the floodgates are opening. tonight we had the book study at our home, it's the last vestige! I have asked for it to be moved but it's taking time. Anyway, we studied the daniel book and suddenly all the quotes like "one famous historian said" and this means this, and this means this... suddenly I had an urge to run upstairs log on and see if anyone else had a different view, because why should I accept that means that???? Who SAYS it does! I'm just reading Crisis of Conscience, and realising how the books are written is quite eye opening, I dont know if I thought Jehovah personally oversaw them, but when you realise that they are just the works of one person often... scary! Very interesting too that one of my all time favourite society books was 'Commentary on the letter of James' and if I was down I used to get it out to study.. now I find the brother that wrote it was disfellowshipped for apostasy!! But it was obvious to me even then it was written by someone with a real deep spirituality.
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greendawn
Poppy after you carefully study some WTS texts you will see how calculated, manipulative and cunningly formulated everything is in their writings. A lot of subtle deception.
We don't even know who works in their writing department who writes all these things and what credentials they have. Are there some specialists in mind control techniques? -
heathen
They even lied about their credentials when translating the bible . They did not have degrees in ancient greek or hebrew . The best they had were sophmore dropouts . Try to get them to admit that one . You are right alot of the writing is just some psycho babble that is worded in ways where they shirk responsibility for falsehood yet hold you responsible for accepting it as truth , it's just dogma but they even deny they are dogmatic . WTH
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greendawn
And then who writes all this doctrinal ideas and the life controlling commands to the R&F let's remember only the annointed are supposed to write these things. The rest don't have the Spirit.
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Kaput
Very interesting too that one of my all time favourite society books was 'Commentary on the letter of James' and if I was down I used to get it out to study.. now I find the brother that wrote it was disfellowshipped for apostasy!!
One of the many publications that have been twisted and tweaked. Originally written prinicipally by Ed Dunlap, it was later "revised" by certain GB members who objected to certain passages in the book. Incidentally, according to Ray Franz, hundreds of thousands of these "original" Commentary books were printed and then destroyed before getting into the hands of most R&F JWs. Versions appearing after these "originals" were the "revised" editions.Take note, also, of a substantial change in the wording of a crucial sentence in the January 1, 1989 Watchtower on page 12. In the SINGLE COPY issue, the last sentence of the paragraph relating the apostle Paul's preaching activity reads, "He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our twentieth century." Notice how the same sentence reads in the January 1, 1989 BOUND VOLUME, "He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our day." A small (only a couple of words) but certainly significant change.
This has continued on, unabated, from the time of Russell. Greendawn expressed it best:
Poppy after you carefully study some WTS texts you will see how calculated, manipulative and cunningly formulated everything is in their writings. A lot of subtle deception.
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heathen
He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our twentieth century." Notice how the same sentence reads in the January 1, 1989 BOUND VOLUME, "He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our day."
Yah that would have fueled us with more false prophesy .LOL They now can't even get it down to the right century .
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onacruse
With all due respect,
I've never known one, not a single one, of the many many hundreds of Jehovah's Witnesses I've known, including many of the "anointed" ones, who either understood, or even gave a whistling hoot, about all this chronological calculation, much less the fact that the mythical year "0" magically disappeared, some 60 years ago.
If they had really cared about such convoluted matters, then why wouldn't they have been bothered that the WTS suddenly shifted from 'the great tribulation started in 1914, and was temporarily suspended,' to 'the great tribulation is just ahead of us'? (circa early 70s). And how could they so quickly forget the "70-80 years" expectations of the "generation" that began in 1914? Or, that that "generation" quietly shifted from "those born early enough to understand the meaning of those events" to "those born in that year," and then to "those who have read enough history books to know what happened in that year?"
The Seventh-Day Adventists had it all figured out long before the WTS, and the WTS is plodding down the same path...we are now in an undeterminate "judgmental period."
However, there's always the "1914+120 years" formula to consider.
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Cygnus
"no JW would deny that the bible students expected the end of the world in 1914"
This assumption is wrong, as they would. Yes, they would.
And why? Because the WTS lies today about what they believed then.Well they don't come clean enough about their history, for sure. And there are plenty of examples even in recent WT material that suggests the Bible Students recognized Jesus' parousia in 1914 even though the reality is they already believed he was "present." But it's unfair to say the WTS has been completely dishonest regarding this point of fact. Notice:
*** w74 8/15 pp. 506-507 No Spiritual "Energy Crisis" for Discreet Ones ***
In 1877, Russell joined Nelson H. Barbour in publishing the book Three Worlds, and the Harvest of This World. It indicated that the end of the Gentile Times in 1914 would be preceded by a forty-year period to open with a three-and-a-half-year harvest beginning in 1874 C.E. According to Bible chronology thereafter adopted, it was understood that 6,000 years of man’s existence on earth ended in 1872, whereas six millenniums of human sin concluded and the seventh millennium began in 1874. Christ’s presence was thought to have begun in October 1874, at the start of the great antitypical Jubilee.—Lev. chap. 25; Rev. 20:4.
From that understanding, it was thought that the "chaste virgin" class began going forth to meet the Bridegroom in 1874. (2 Cor. 11:2) Hence, when C. T. Russell began publishing a new religious magazine in July 1879, it was called "Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence." It was heralding Christ’s presence as having begun in 1874.
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ka chap. 11 p. 187-188 "Here Is the Bridegroom!" ***The year 1874 was calculated as being the end of six millenniums of sin among mankind. From this latter date mankind was understood to be in the seventh millennium... Charles T. Russell began publishing his own religious magazine in July of 1879[;] he published it under the title "Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence." He had already become familiar with Wilson’s The Emphatic Diaglott, which translated the Greek word pa·rou·si´a as "presence," not "coming," in Matthew 24:3 and elsewhere. The new magazine was heralding Christ’s invisible presence as having begun in 1874. This presence was to continue until the end of the Gentile Times in 1914, when the Gentile nations would be destroyed and the remnant of the "chaste virgin" class would be glorified with their bridegroom in heaven by death and resurrection to life in the spirit... However, with that end of the Gentile Times there did not also come the anticipated glorification of the remnant of the church in the heavens. It was first on October 31, 1916, that Russell himself died, leaving the Society’s presidency to another. Something must have been miscalculated.
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jv chap. 5 p. 47 Proclaiming the Lord’s Return (1870-1914) ***Barbour succeeded in convincing Russell that Christ’s invisible presence had begun in 1874... Russell wrote the pamphlet The Object and Manner of Our Lord’s Return. It was published in 1877. That same year Barbour and Russell jointly published Three Worlds, and the Harvest of This World. This 196-page book discussed the subjects of restitution and Biblical time prophecies. Though each subject had been treated by others before, in Russell’s view this book was "the first to combine the idea of restitution with time-prophecy." It presented the view that Jesus Christ’s invisible presence dated from the autumn of 1874.
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yb75 p. 37 United States of America (Part One) ***In 1877, Barbour and Russell jointly published Three Worlds, and the Harvest of This World. This 196-page book combined information about Restitution with Biblical time prophecies. It presented the view that Jesus Christ’s invisible presence and a forty-year period opening with a three-and-a-half-year harvest dated from the autumn of 1874.
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sl chap. 16 p. 287 Awaiting the "New Heavens and a New Earth" ***According to an inaccurate chronology that had been worked out from the King James Authorized Version Bible, Russell calculated that Christ’s "presence" had begun in the year 1874 C.E., unseen to human eyes and seen only by the eye of faith. This was why, when he began publishing a new religious magazine in defense of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Russell entitled it "Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence."
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Kaput
However, there's always the "1914+120 years" formula to consider.
That would seem to be the direction now (or at least until saaaayy 2032, 2033 or so).One has to remember that the JW R&F are, by and large, captives of a concept, and the over-riding fact is that the WBTS is a very large publishing corporation (and, through kingdom hall osmosis, soon to be a very large real estate corporation) with substantial revenues, thanks to the efforts of the captivated dubs. Granted, R.R. Donnelley still blows 'em away, but the Boys from Bethel are more than happy with their slice of the pie and the accompanying benefits. If necessary, the puzzle pieces will be MADE to fit.