*** w84 5/15 p. 7 1914—The Generation That Will Not Pass Away ***
The nearness of God’s Kingdom today spells the end of the present divisive political, religious and commercial systems. It means the ushering in of a righteous new government for all obedient mankind. You can choose everlasting life under this arrangement of “new heavens and a new earth.” (2 Peter 3:13; John 17:3) Yes, you may live to see this promised New Order, along with survivors of the generation of 1914—the generation that will not pass away.
Notice that the last sentence of the paragraph is a prophetic promise:
Yes, you may live to see this promised New Order, along with survivors of the generation of 1914—the generation that will not pass away.
This prophetic promise was changed 5 1/2 years later by none other than the Watchtower Society.
What does the Bible say about ones who make promises in the name of God that fail to materialise?
Deut 18:21-22 You may say to yourself, ‘How can we recognize a message the Lord has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the Lord’s name, and the message does not come true or is not fulfilled, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
Is it possible for a JW to explain how the Watchtower can not be a false prophet when their promises fail and God's Word is consulted for clarification?
Is this really what the WTBTS taught as Truth?
by Honesty 6 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Honesty
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AlmostAtheist
>>Is it possible for a JW to explain how the Watchtower can not be a false prophet when their promises fail and God's Word is consulted for clarification?
Sure they can! See, the Watchtower isn't a prophet, and has never claimed to be. Phrases like "God's dates" and others that might lead an ignorant reader to believe they were saying they were prophets were simply misunderstood. In reality, the Governing Body humbly acknowledges that they are only men, serving God, and using His word to guide His organization. True, their current set of acknowledged beliefs is called "The Truth" and any JW that doesn't submit to it is expelled from the congregation as an "apostate", but that shouldn't be interpreted to mean they believe they speak for God.
(Yeah, I feel a little sick spewing that onto the page...)
Dave
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OpenFireGlass
What a Gem...
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Mary
You're right Honesty......and how many times were Witnesses told that?:
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w61 4/15 p. 236 The Sacred Bible and Our Problem of Survival *** We, then, are the generation that will not pass away till there is fulfilled that "great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again." Survival is the problem of us of this generation***
w67 12/15 p. 753 What Now Distinguishes the Good News to Be Preached ***This generation of human society that has seen and experienced the world events since the Gentile Times closed in 1914—this is the "generation" that will not pass away until all the things foretold have happened***
w74 2/1 p. 74 Earthquakes Affect Everyone ***If so, remember, we are almost sixty years into ‘the generation that will not pass away until all things occur.’ Its time must be running out!***
w84 5/15 p. 5 1914—The Generation That Will Not Pass Away *** These definitions embrace both those born around the time of a historic event and all those alive at that time. If Jesus used "generation" in that sense and we apply it to 1914, then the babies of that generation are now 70 years old or older. And others alive in 1914 are in their 80’s or 90’s, a few even having reached a hundred. There are still many millions of that generation alive. Some of them "will by no means pass away until all things occur.***
w50 1/15 p. 27 Who Will Share in the Final Witness? ***The Devil uses the short time remaining as a wild, raging, roaring lion seeking to prove his challenge (this was written over half a century ago)***
w67 3/1 p. 142 A God of Loving-Kindness *** Satan is doing all he can to counteract the kindness of Jehovah, knowing that he has only a short time remaining to blind the minds of the people to the good news.***
w69 2/1 p. 93 They Feel the Urgency ***The spirit of wanting to do all they can in the short time remaining is moving them to augment their activity.***
w69 6/1 p. 337 Be a Good Listener! ***During the short time remaining for this old system of things, we need strong faith as well as the knowledge that permits us to give a fine testimony to the people of this old system of things and its rulers***
w73 5/1 p. 284 Gilead Sends Out More Missionaries for the Harvest ***The second Bible drama was called "The Zeal for Your House Will Eat Me Up." This too was a very moving presentation, for it covered many events in the dynamic ministry of Jesus Christ. It certainly made everyone present ask whether he, too, could follow a similar course of full-time service in the short time remaining.***
w74 10/15 p. 631 How Are Jehovah’s Witnesses Different? ***Although Jehovah’s witnesses are no part of the world, they have loving concern for fellow humans. They feel a sense of urgency as they talk to people, for they look upon the short time remaining for this system of thingsIt goes on and on and on.........I'm going to post the latest bullshit from the July 15th WT study in a different thread.........now they're once again trying to justify their pathetic behaviour....
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Seeker4
As I was fading, I had a visit from a CO and one of my congregation's elders - one of my closest friends who I had personally trained to be an elder.
I showed them this change in the WTS's teachings, which deeply disturbed me. They made the usual argument about the WTS not being "divinely inspired," etc. One of the advantages I had was that I'd been an elder for a long time - I'd used every argument they knew, plus a few they were not too well informed on. I made it clear to them that when I began questioning the WTS and its reasonings, I STARTED from where their arguments to the contrary ENDED. Unless they had something totally new and earthshattering in WT teaching to show me, they had NOTHING for me.
I told them, "The WTS claims to be directed by Holy Spirit, yet when things go contrary to what they say, they fall back on the fact that they state that they are not divinely inspired but are simply sinful men who make mistakes. But you can't have it both ways. Either Jehovah is directing you, in which case what you say will be absolutely true, or you're making your best but imperfect guess. To present this both ways is incredibly dishonest."
They had no answer for me. They were pathetic.
S4
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A Paduan
Yes - in about 1983 they came to my door with this teaching as urgent and central to their impetous for my attention.
At the time I thought "This'll be good - I'll get to see the end of a religion".
It's disappointing to later find out that to save face they will tell lies intentionally, as well as in ignorance.
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under_believer
They had no answer for me. They were pathetic.
Just makes me feel sorry for them. I was there once... so were you.