Unofficially, I have heard a few JWs use that reasoning. But the WTS says only the anointed are spiritual Israelites. How does it apply to the great crowd who are gentiles?
I hate chronology...it can be twisted so easily.
Blondie
1975 "Explained" by a JW
by Honesty 35 Replies latest jw friends
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Arthur
When we study science, however, we find that the end of 6,000 years of human 9hono-sapiens) existence happened over 170,000 years ago.
Yes, but Watchtower doctrine is more in line with the intellect of Homo Erectus.
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VM44
"I hate chronology...it can be twisted so easily." blondie, I have a quote that you will really like! "Finally, it would not be amiss to conclude that Biblical chronology is the play dough of millenarians. It can be stretched to fit whatever time-table is needed, or it can be reduced to a meaningless mass of dates and figures so that future predictions can be molded out of the original lump." page 183, "Jehovah's Witnesses: The Effects of Millenarianism on the Maintenance of a Religious Sect", Melvin D. Curry, 1980, PH.D. Dissertion, The Florida State University. --VM44
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fullofdoubtnow
If the wts ever did use that reasoning, the dubs, or most of them, would buy it, and probably start getting excited about 2015.
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smellsgood
Or how about what was said by Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the WorldWide Church of God, and his sidekick, Garner Ted Armstrong said in 1956 which was built up in the proceeding years about '75 ('72-'75)
"1975 In Prophecy," Armstrong wrote; "But now you're going to peek into the surprising future, exactly as it will happen! Not what men PLAN - but what GOD SAYS! ... very soon - of this very present generation - of all people you know now - ONLY ONE THIRD of them will be left alive!" He went on to say that this surviving third would be "uprooted from their homes like cattle as slaves to Europe, and probably some to South America," and "Yes, millions of lukewarm, inactive professing Christians will suffer martyrdom - and before the anticipated push-button leisure year of 1975 draws upon us!"
Also::
"This seven years of national trouble takes us-if the dates which appear so definitely indicated by these prophecies are correct-from 1965 to 1972!" (The Plain Truth, Herman Hoeh, April 1956, p. 22.)
"Two years ago, Mr. Herman Hoeh showed in this magazine how God's word prophesied disease epidemics would strike the United States in two short years! Those epidemics are beginning now! And they will grow much worse! God prophesies that finally, within the next fifteen years, fully one third of our whole population will die of disease and famine!" (The Plain Truth, Garner Ted Armstrong, Dec. 1957, p. 23.)
"Bible prophecy indicates that the final attack on the U.S. and Britain by this coming 'Beast' power could easily be launched perhaps as early as the spring of 1972-or earlier ...." (The Plain Truth, Rod Meredith, May 1965, p. 45. )
"The 'Day of the Eternal'-a time foretold in more than thirty prophecies-is going to strike between 5 and 10 years from now!... I am not writing foolishly, but very soberly, on authority of the living Christ!" (The Plain Truth, Herbert Armstrong, Feb. 1967, p. 47.)
And in 1967
"Right now, just prior by not more than five to seven years, to the coming terrible Day of the Lord, the living Christ has moved swiftly to open the all-important door that has been closed since the days of the original apostles!
"...Almighty God has opened to The World Tomorrow [broadcast], exclusively, the gigantic door of superpower radio from Jerusalem!... We have signed with the Hashemite Government of Jordan, a five year binding contract...." (Co-worker letter, Herbert Armstrong, April 17, 1967, pp. 3-4.)
For just a glimpse at what was Prophesied....and then, for just a "glimpse" at how it was explained when it did not come to pass::::
"[We prophesied in] fifteen years the U.S.A. will no longer be a nation, and 15 years has come and gone. Was that a mistake or not" ? Yes! But why get violently emotional about it? We were utterly sincere at the time it was said! We all believed it, and furthermore that kind of copy never caused anybody to lose out on salvation, or drop out of church, or make a wrong move in their personal lives, or to throw the word of God to the ground...."
"Only moments later Ted all but contradicted himself by offering justifiable reasons for a person to "get violently emotional" about a prophecy that failed. He began to name a few of the "wrong moves" that had been made in personal lives:"
"But '72 was the date that, you know, everything hinged on that. Nobody saved any money, nobody bought any property, nobody thought about laying up for his children's children.... We [thought we] were all going to flee or be taken away to a place of safety and everything would be left behind so [we thought]: "Why put any roots down?"
http://www.ondoctrine.com/1armsh04.htm
a bit similar,,,but also a bit more forthcoming than the WatchTower, eh?
smellsgood -
badboy
COME TO TINK ABOUT IT,WHERE DID BOTH ARMSTRONG AND WT GET THEIR 1975 DATE FROM?
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badboy
COME TO TINK ABOUT IT,WHERE DID BOTH ARMSTRONG AND WT GET THEIR 1975 DATE FROM?
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luna2
That is what is so cool about the Bible, you can find something to justify or "explain" just about anything you want to in there and, if you get it wrong, its your fault for misinterpreting it....or if you are the WTS, the light wasn't bright enough. So, after 2015, what could the dubs use? Hmmmmm
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Mary
luna asked: So, after 2015, what could the dubs use?
They'll use this of course:
Habakkuk 2:3 For [the] vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end, and it will not tell a lie. Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late.
In fact, they've been using this for ages already:
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w 19711/1 p.29 Have YouEntered the Great Contest of Faith?*** Remember what Habakkuk said: "For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end, and it will not tell a lie. Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late."?Hab. 2:3.***
w 1973 4/1 p.195 Does theGod of Justice Care?*** Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late."?Hab. 2:3. This gives us confidence that Jehovah God has an "appointed time" for taking action. Even if there should appear to be a "delay" from the human standpoint, this does not mean that God does not care about us.***
w 1975 5/1 p.284 How Are You Affected by Not Knowing the "Day and Hour"?*** From a human standpoint, it may, to some persons, appear that it has delayed. Nevertheless, it is just as was revealed to the Hebrew prophet Habakkuk: "The vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end, and it will not tell a lie. Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late."***
w 1976 12/15 p.752 The Promise Fulfilled to Doers of Gods Will*** For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end, and it will not tell a lie. Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late".............. What is "a very little while" for the Eternal God could be a very long time for us.***
w 1978 6/1 p.20 Share Joyfully with Jesus Christ in Jehovahs Work*** Should we not be glad that Jehovah has held off the "great tribulation" to this hour so that these precious "sheep" might be gathered? But make no mistake! That day of reckoning with the nations is hastening ever closer! "For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end, and it will not tell a lie. Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late."?Hab. 2:3.***
w 1982 5/1 p.12 Gods Kingdom Comes?? When?***JUST when can we expect the Kingdom promises to come to grand fulfillment? To some who have served Jehovah faithfully for 20, 30, 40 or more years, "the end" may seem to have been delayed. But remember what God?s prophet Habakkuk tells us: "Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. Itwillnotbelate***
w 1990 1/1 p.27 Happy Are Those Who Have Endured*** Very soon, the present system will be no more! As Habakkuk states: "The vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end, and it will not tell a lie. Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late."***
w 1995 4/15 p.25 The Day That Burns Like a Furnace?*** The end is close! Jehovah knows that day and hour and will not change his timetable. Let us endure patiently. "For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end, and it will not tell a lie. Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late." ***w 1997 1/1 p.12 The Greater Glory ofJ ehovah s House*** For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end, and it will not tell a lie. Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late." Yes, "the vision" will come true "even if it should delay." In this the 83rd year of Jesus? Kingdom rule, some may feel that we are in a period of delay right now. Should we not be happy, though, that the end has not yet come? During this decade of the 1990?s, restrictions on preaching the good news have been lifted, miraculously it would seem, in Eastern Europe, parts of Africa, and other lands. The apparent "delay" is allowing time for many more "sheep" to be gathered from these territories that have recently opened up....... Does our updated understanding of his words mean that our preaching activity is not so pressing? ***w 2000 1/15 p.10 "Keep on the Watch"*** "The vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end, and it will not tell a lie. Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late." -