I don't know what your point is R6 lazer but you weren't there - I BLOODY WELL WAS I SUFFERED AND STILL SUFFER . I know what I was told and what the wtbts ENCOURAGED .
A LIE !
Let's just get something straight about 1975.
by WTFBBQPWNT 170 Replies latest jw friends
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undercover
And how is this proof that the wts actually was the one who said this. Where is the written proof? Once again we are going by what someone said or what the PO's said. That's the whole point. That's what current beleivers would tell you, you were following what someone said not wha was written down by the wts. Once again just because someone is up in the front preaching doesn't mean a thing, I was there and I made much of the stuff I said from the platform. It wasn't really what the wts had outlined me to say. So its not really proof.
And that's how insidious the WTS is...a lot of the "rules" and "policies" and even doctrines are not placed in the publications. They rely on the word of mouth to spread their teachings, especially when it's something that could come back to bite them in the ass later.
"New Light" is often presented to traveling brothers at their schools in NY...and then they share it with the elders in the congregations who then share it to the congregations. Along the way, some things get blown out of proportion and elders make up crazy shit just because they can.
But in the case of 1975...there is enough evidence to show that even though the WTS never said in so many words, "Armageddon is coming in 75" it was hinted at, alluded to and whispered about enough to get the rank and file believing it. Think about it...how can so many people from all over the world all come up with 1975 as the date of Armageddon? It had to come from somewhere. So it wasn't spelled out in so many words...but the underlying message was there in the books, the mags, the talks, the conventions...it was everywhere.
Then when 75 came and went without a whimper, the followers looked to Brooklyn for answers and in typical fashion, the WTS blamed the publishers for believing it...except this time there were enough people to call bullshit on it that the WTS had to issue and apology of sorts in 1980.
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Liberty
Sorry for any confusion but Lady Liberty & Liberty are two different people. I am Liberty. I just don't want Lady Liberty to be blamed for anything stupid I might write.
I am still confused by your comments R6Laser because I and most of the board know exactly where your Uncle got his belief that you would not graduate, straight from the Watchtower Society's publications. I saw almost the exact wording in print from an old Watchtower publication in this very thread. It has been official Watchtower policy for years to discourage young people from going to university and a reason often sighted is that such a "worldly" education will do you no good because the end is so near so you should be a Pioneer instead. Your Uncle did not come up with this on his own, this is Watchtower policy and not just a local congregational opinion.
Are there JWs who ignor even "strong" suggestions from the Society? Sure, there are JWs who are smarter than others and know how to play the game. Elders in my old congregation kept building their businesses, buying houses, and having children they later sent to college all the while telling the rest of us not to do these very same things because the big "A" is any day now. They were smart enough to mouth the Society words but apparently didn't put much faith in it themselves. I find these "smart" JWs the most dispicable because their own religion is obviously a joke to them. I feel sorry for the true believers who really sacrificed.
The Society did the same thing at a higher level as they invested in property and built their infrastructure just as if they knew that the big "A" was infinitely postponed. The excuse that they would need this massive physical plant to administer things in the "New System" flies in the face of their own doctrine since they believed the UN would destroy all religion and take their assests before the big "A" there would be no assurance that all these Watchtower owned material holdings would be available for their use anyway in Paradise since any and all remaining buildings, factories, or goods would be available for their use regardless of pre-destruction ownership.
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Warlock
I think R6 is saying because it was not written down as "Armageddon will come in 1975", then anyone who fell for the speculation need only blame themselves, but he's trying to be a bit decent about it.
Warlock
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youcanhaveago
They inferred it they pointed to it they insinuated it they encouraged it they wanted everyone to believe it they did all they could to make everyone to believe in it . They said they were Gods chosen ones they said they were the faithful and discreet salve they said they were appointed over Gods organisation at the most important time in human history they said - believe us we know better . They said we are the channel of all that comes from God in this the last days .
So what didn't they say ?
They lied .
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Dismembered
Greetings again R6,
To think that, even if it were in print, boldface, 24 pt true type fonts. To consider that it would change an active dubs mind one iota is nothing short of frivolity.
What one needs to remember, is that, (dubs, relative or not) unless they've come to the realization they've been hood wanked, they won't change their mind. As another poster (James Free) put it so eloquently inside another thread, is they are trained to believe that the slightest of resistance or challenge is from the devil himself.
When their faith is "challenged", their brains are as sensitive as a GFCI circuit breaker. They shut down with/for almost no reason.
Dismembered
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parakeet
The ONLY reason the WTS did not directly say that Armageddon was coming in 1975 is that they knew from previous experience with multiple failed predictions that they would be wrong yet again.
But they still wanted all the extra books sold, all the extra money donated, and all the extra power to make millions of their puppets dance on their strings.
So they hyped it up as much as possible without committing themselves clearly in print. And when 1975 came and went without incident (as expected), they could turn around and say, "You greedy r&f JWs. We never said 1975 was the year. No one knows the day or hour." How is this not a scam?
Like many other posters here, I lived through the 1975 debacle. Only the most braindead apologist would defend the WTS's blatant manipulation and abuse of its followers' credulity. -
skyking
My dad was an Elder at this time and I was still living at home. My dad gave talks saying that oct 75 was it. I can remember the PO getting up and telling us in the summer of 75 that we had to only cover the territory one last time.
So yes they did say 75.
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AlanF
Certain posters want to see definite statements from the Society that 1975 was to bring Armageddon. While it seems that the Society never made a direct statement like "Armageddon will definitely come in 1975", it certainly made definite statements like "Event A will come in 1975" and "Event A will bring Armageddon". Putting both of the latter statements together results in the first one, so the Society most certainly did teach that Armageddon would come in 1975.
The Society is a bit too clever, though, to say things as simple as the above, or as "If A, then B. If B, then C" when assertion C is too strong even for the gullible JW community to swallow. Rather, it says, "If A and B and C, then D. If D, then E. If E and F and G, then H. If H, then X." This comfortably buries the offending clear conclusion in obfuscating logic. In the case of 1975, it most certainly did the equivalent of making such asserions. Therefore, by this simple chain of logic, it also asserted that X (namely, Armageddon will come in 1975) is true. I'll fill in the blanks below, and prove that the Society most certainly claimed that Armageddon would come in 1975.
This post is derived from my much more extensive articles:
Speculations About 1975 As the End of the World
http://corior.blogspot.com/2006/02/part-3-statements-concerning-1918-1925.html#a19751975 New Info
http://corior.blogspot.com/2006/02/1975-new-info.htmlThe 2nd article shows how many Kingdom Ministry articles kept hammering on the 1975 date. It reminds readers of the Society's six-month Bible Study program, where Bible Studies were terminated if after six months the Student wasn't making "progress in the truth" due to "the short time remaining".
The Society has a long tradition of setting false dates for Armageddon. The worst offense was its setting of 1925 as the date of Armageddon. It was royally burned by this, with J. F. Rutherford even being forced to admit, "I made an ass of myself." Some 3/4 of the Bible Students quit the movement by the end of 1928. By the mid-1960s the Watchtower Society had apparently forgotten much of what it had learned about setting dates. The 1966 book Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God said, on pages 26-30:
The time is fast drawing near for the reality that was foreshadowed by the Jubilee of liberty to be proclaimed throughout the earth to all mankind. . . Most certainly the near future would be the most appropriate time for it. God's own written Word indicates that it is the appointed time for it. . . In this twentieth century an independent study has been carried on that does not blindly follow some traditional chronological calculations of Christendom, and the published timetable resulting from this independent study gives the date of man's creation as 4026 B.C.E. According to this trustworthy Bible chronology six thousand years from man's creation will end in 1975, and the seventh period of a thousand years of human history will begin in the fall of 1975 C.E. . . So in not many years within our own generation we are reaching what Jehovah God could view as the seventh day of man's existence.
How appropriate it would be for Jehovah God to make of this coming seventh period of a thousand years a sabbath period of rest and release, a great Jubilee sabbath for the proclaiming of liberty throughout the earth to all its inhabitants! This would be most timely for mankind. It would also be most fitting on God's part, for, remember, mankind has yet ahead of it what the last book of the Holy Bible speaks of as the reign of Jesus Christ over earth for a thousand years, the millennial reign of Christ. . . It would not be by mere chance or accident but would be according to the loving purpose of Jehovah God for the reign of Jesus Christ, the "Lord of the sabbath," to run parallel with the seventh millennium of man's existence.
Although the writer had not said flat out that 1975 would see the start of the millennium, he intimated it in the strongest of terms. It is reasonable that if he said that it was "fitting" for God to do certain things, then he must have a good measure of certainty. If he was not certain then he was dishonest and presumptuous. By saying "it would be according to the loving purpose of God" that the two millennia would coincide, does he not assure the reader of its certainty? Especially since all the suggestions of the "faithful and discreet slave" are to be accorded great weight? And especially since he says that this would not be by mere chance or accident but according to the loving purpose of Jehovah God?So this is a definite statement that the two millennia coincide, and it makes a number of other seemingly indefinite statements definite. It overrides any seemingly cautionary statements.
The October 8, 1966 Awake! considered the topic "Why Does God Permit Wickedness?". It contained the article "How Much Longer Will It Be?" in answer to the question "when will God bring an end to wickedness?". Under the subheading "6,000 Years Completed in 1975," it reasoned that the millennium would be the last 1,000 years of a 7,000-year rest day of God. On pages 19-20 it said:
The Bible shows that when God began to shape the earth for human habitation, he worked for six "days," or time periods. From the indications in God's Word, each was apparently 7,000 years in length. Then Genesis 2:22 states, Jehovah "proceeded to rest on the seventh day from all his work that he had made." This seventh day, God's rest day, has progressed nearly 6,000 years, and there is still the 1,000-year reign of Christ to go before its end. (Rev. 20:3, 7) This seventh 1,000-year period of human existence could well be likened to a great sabbath day, pictured by the sabbath day God commanded ancient Israel to keep after working for six days. (Ex. 20:8-10; 2 Pet. 3:8) After six thousand years of toil and bondage to sin, sickness, death and Satan, mankind is due to enjoy a rest and is in dire need of a rest. (Heb. 4:1-11) Hence, the fact that we are nearing the end of the first 6,000 years of man's existence is of great significance.
Does God's rest day parallel the time man has been on earth since his creation? Apparently so. From the most reliable investigations of Bible chronology, harmonizing with many accepted dates of secular history, we find that Adam was created in the autumn of the year 4026 B.C.E. Sometime in that year Eve could well have been created, directly after which God's rest day commenced. In what year, then, would the first 6,000 years of man's existence and also the first 6,000 years of God's rest day come to an end? The year 1975. This is worthy of notice, particularly in view of the fact that the "last days" began in 1914, and that the physical facts of our day in fulfillment of prophecy mark this as the last generation of this wicked world. So we can expect the immediate future to be filled with thrilling events for those who rest their faith in God and his promises. It means that within relatively few years we will witness the fulfillment of the remaining prophecies that have to do with the "time of the end."
So, what definite statements do we have from the Society at this point, in view of the above and its known teachings as of 1966?
(1) The creative days were 7,000 years long.
(2) Adam was created in 4026 B.C.E.
(3) Eve was created the same year as Adam, in view of (10).
(4) God's rest day of 7,000 years commenced immediately after the creation of Eve.
(5) 6,000 years from Adam's creation will end in the autumn of 1975.
(6) The 7th 1,000-year period of human history will begin in the autumn of 1975.
(7) Jehovah could view the period after 1975 as the 7th day of man's existence.
(8) Jehovah could make this 7th day of man's existence a 1,000 year sabbath of rest.
(9) Revelation speaks of a coming 1,000 year reign of Christ.
(10) The 1,000 year reign of Christ runs parallel with the 7th 1,000 year period of man's existence (in view of the claim that this "would not be by mere chance or accident").Obviously, the Society's reasoning is circular, but that's part and parcel of Watchtower arguments.
As time went by, the Society threw caution to the wind and caused its representatives to make statements about 1975 that made no bones that 1975 was going to be the year of Armageddon. Typical of such statements by traveling representives is the following, taken from a talk entitled "Serving with Everlasting Life In View," given at a circuit assembly in the spring of 1967 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin by Charles Sunutko, a traveling representative of the Society. Sunutko emphasized the nearness of Armageddon and specifically said that it would come before 1975. Speaking of the world to come after Armageddon, he said:
Well, now, who will be there, of us here tonight? For the Society has made application of this scripture, in pointing out that those of us among Jehovah's Witnesses that are not regularly associating with his people, without good cause, such as being flat on our back, will not be in the new order. And we're the ones that are going to come around when the doors close, and say 'I want in now. Sir, open to us!' And Jesus will have to say, 'I'm sorry, I don't even recognize you.' Now wouldn't that be an awful thing. Do you see now why the Society implores us, year in and year out, the same old thing, 'Brothers, get in the flock. Don't let any excuses get in our way. Nothing of any nature. There's only one thing that's going to count when that time comes, and that's that we are inside.' And we hope that all of us here tonight are going to listen to the Society's imploring. We're going to listen to the agonizing entreaty, 'Brothers get in!', because they know what's coming. And it's coming fast -- and don't wait till '75. The door is going to be shut before then.
The March 1968 Kingdom Ministry (KM) contained an insert titled "An Opportunity to Increase Your Happiness" (pp. 3-6) that encouraged "vacation pioneering" in April. It contained some statements that were electrifying to many JWs:
Since we have dedicated ourselves to Jehovah, we want to do his will to the fullest extent possible. Making some special effort to do more than the usual helps us live up to our dedication. In view of the short period of time left, we want to do this as often as circumstances permit. Just think, brothers, there are only about ninety months left before 6,000 years of man's existence on earth is completed. Do you remember what we learned at the assemblies last summer? The majority of people living today will probably be alive when Armageddon breaks out, and there are no resurrection hopes for those who are destroyed then. So, now more than ever, it is vital not to ignore that spirit of wanting to do more.
It is obvious that the Society was now strongly encouraging "the friends" to believe that Christ would begin his millennial rule very soon, likely by about the beginning of autumn 1975. The "Dear Publishers" letter in the June 1968 KM continued this theme:
Yes, Jehovah has surely filled our mouths with song, and as we move on into June's activities, expressing gratitude in a practical manner, we shall, in effect, be sharing in a victory procession--the joyful march toward mankind's grand millennium of deliverance!
Among the strongest of encouragements about the urgency of 1975 was the article "Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?" in the August 15, 1968 Watchtower. Note that the question was not, "Are You Looking Forward to 1975" but "Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?" This is a clear indication that the Society told JWs that they ought to have been looking forward to 1975. Many JWs fully took this signal to heart.
The October 8, 1968 Awake! was a special issue on the topic "Is It Later Than You Think?" It contained the article "What Will the 1970's Bring?", which on page 14, under the subtitle "When Do 6,000 Years End?", said definitely: "According to reliable Bible chronology Adam and Eve were created in 4026 B.C.E." Note how this bolded statement is definite, in contrast to a similar bolded statement in the above-quoted paragraph from the October 8, 1966 Awake!. With this statement, the ten points I listed above are fully justified: the Society was definitely claiming that Armageddon would come by 1975.
The May 1, 1968 Watchtower also was quite definite about when Adam and Eve were created. Under the subtitle "The Seventh Day" (p. 271) the study question for paragraph 4 asked, "When were Adam and Eve created?" Paragraphs 4 through 6 answered and said:
Thus, Adam's naming of the animals and his realizing that he needed a counterpart would have occupied only a brief time after his creation. Since it was also Jehovah's purpose for man to multiply and fill the earth, it is logical that he would create Eve soon after Adam, perhaps just a few weeks or months later in the same year, 4026 B.C.E. After her creation, God's rest day, the seventh period, immediately followed.
Therefore, God's seventh day and the time man has been on earth apparently run parallel. To calculate where man is in the stream of time relative to God's seventh day of 7,000 years, we need to determine how long a time has elapsed from the year of Adam and Eve's creation in 4026 B.C.E.
The seventh day of the Jewish week, the sabbath, would well picture the final 1,000-year reign of God's kingdom under Christ when mankind would be uplifted from 6,000 years of sin and death. (Rev. 20:6) Hence, when Christians note from God's timetable the approaching end of 6,000 years of human history, it fills them with anticipation. Particularly is this true because the great sign of the "last days" has been in the course of fulfillment since the beginning of the "time of the end" in 1914.
The 1969 edition of Aid to Bible Understanding (the equivalent of the Insight volumes) indicated that Adam and Eve were created in the same year. On page 333, under the subject "Chronology," it said that the time from Adam's creation to the birth of Seth was 130 years, and on page 538, under the subject "Eve," it said that at the age of 130 Eve gave birth to Seth.
The 1969 booklet The Approaching Peace of a Thousand Years was absolutely definite about 1975. On pages 25-26 it said:
More recently earnest researchers of the Holy Bible have made a recheck of its chronology. According to their calculations the six millenniums of mankind's life on earth would end in the mid-seventies. Thus the seventh millennium from man's creation by Jehovah God would begin within less than ten years. . .
In order for the Lord Jesus Christ to be "Lord even of the sabbath day," his thousand-year reign would have to be the seventh in a series of thousand-year periods or millenniums.
Note the language: for Jesus to be Lord of the sabbath, his Millennial reign would have to be (not "it might be") the seventh in a series. This is an absolutely definite statement.Taken in conjunction with points (1) through (10) above, no one could come to any conclusion but that the Society was teaching with certainty that Armageddon would come by 1975.
The 1974 book God's "Eternal Purpose" Now Triumphing for Man's Good shows that the idea that the 7th "creative day" began in 4026 B.C.E. was by this time a well-established doctrine. Without reticence, page 51 displays the subtitle "'Evening' of Seventh Creative 'Day' Begins, 4026 B.C.E." If the 7th of the 7,000-year creative days began in 4026 B.C.C., then it must end in 1975, and the new millennium of Christ's 1,000 year reign must begin.
So to summarize, we have the following chain of claims by the Watchtower Society that lead to but one definite conclusion: Armageddon would arrive by 1975:
(1) The creative days were 7,000 years long.
(2) Adam and Eve were created in 4026 B.C.E.
(4) God's rest day of 7,000 years began in 4026 B.C.E.
(5) 6,000 years from mankind's creation will end in the autumn of 1975.
(6) The 7th 1,000-year period of human history will begin in the autumn of 1975.
(7) The 7th 1,000-year period of human history corresponds with the 1,000-year reign of Christ.
(8) The 1,000 year reign of Christ begins immediately after Armageddon.Conclusion: Armageddon begins in 1975.
As 1975 approached, the Society backed off a bit from the earlier dogmatism. Sometimes, when commenting on the "Adam and Eve gap", the Society or its representatives would say that it was not known for certain how long this "gap" was, but would then turn around and imply strongly that it had to be "a short time." For example, Fred Franz gave a talk at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on February 10, 1975. In his address, "Time in Which We Are Now Interested," Franz stated that 6,000 years of human history would definitely end at sundown, September 5, 1975. He also disclosed what many Witnesses were expecting in 1975:
Now [in] our inquiries around the world with brothers as to what they're expecting to occur between now and the end of 1975, it is revealed, that some, are very sanguine about matters in the near future, and they're expecting the great tribulation to occur and the destruction of Babylon the Great and the annihilation of all the political systems of this world and then the binding of Satan and his demons and their abyssing to occur before this year is ended. This year 1975. And immediately thereafter the thousand year reign of the Lord Jesus Christ to begin. So they expect a great deal. And they're venting their views to their brothers and sisters in the congregations and raising their expectations very, very high indeed. Well now, we're not saying that by the end of this year 1975 all these things cannot take place. That God cannot bring all these things about! He can! He's almighty. And this omnipotent One can bring this about in a hurry if He wants to do so. But, in view of what the Scriptures inform us, are we warranted in expecting so much to occur by September 5, 1975? . . .
Franz then explained again the significance of the "Adam and Eve gap", that there was a time interval between Adam's creation and Eve's, and that the 6th creative day ended only after Eve's creation. So, while September 5, 1975 would mark the end of 6,000 years of man's existence, it did not necessarily mean that mankind would be 6,000 years into the 7th day. This view was later presented in the October 1, 1975 Watchtower. If this time interval were one month, then things could terminate in October, if two months, November, and so on. Franz stated, "Well, since that is the case, then we do not necessarily have to insist or even expect that everything is going to be through and over with by September 5 of this year. . ."
Despite such ambiguous words of caution, Franz lapsed into producing the usual sense of urgency:
. . . After September 5, things could happen, and it looks very likely they're going to happen, according to the way that affairs are going in the world . . . So it could come, quickly, within a short time after the terminal day of the lunar year 1975. And we should not jump to wrong decisions on that account and say, well, the time after September 5, 1975 is indefintely long and so it will allow for me to realize my human aspirations, getting married and raising a family -- kids; or, going to college for a few years and learning engineering and finding a fine position as an engineer . . . or some other prominent, fine paying job. No! The time does not allow for that dear friends . . . Evidently there is not much time left. . .
So, according to Franz, who was in practice the head theologian of the Society, Armageddon and the millennial reign of Christ could take place almost immediately -- or at some time during the next few years.
The Watchtower of May 1, 1975, said that Franz soon addressed a Watchtower Bible School of Gilead graduation held on March 2, 1975, and said much the same as at the Los Angeles Sports Arena:
Another speaker, F. W. Franz, the Society's vice-president, forcefully impressed on the audience the urgency of the Christian preaching work. He stressed that, according to dependable Bible chronology, 6,000 years of human history will end this coming September according to the lunar calendar. This coincides with a time when "the human species [is] about to starve itself to death," as well as its being faced with poisoning by pollution and destruction by nuclear weapons. Franz added: "There's no basis for believing that mankind, faced with what it now faces, can exist for the seventh thousand-year period" under the present system of things.
Does this mean that we know exactly when God will destroy this old system and establish a new one? Franz showed that we do not, for we do not know how short was the time interval between Adam's creation and the creation of Eve, at which point God's rest day of seven thousand years began. (Heb. 4:3,4) But, he pointed out, "we should not think that this year of 1975 is of no significance to us," for the Bible proves that Jehovah is "the greatest chronologist" and "we have the anchor date, 1914, marking the end of the Gentile Times." So, he continued, "we are filled with anticipation for the near future, for our generation."
If this is not building anticipation without quite saying specifically what the anticipation should be based on, I don't know what is.
The Society was even more direct in its private communications with its own officials. The following excerpt is taken from a letter from the Society to District Overseer Lester Duggan, apparently sometime in 1975, in answer to a question regarding the subheading on page 51 in the "Eternal Purpose" book (this subheading was mentioned above).
While the beginning of the "seventh day" is admittedly tentative, the end of the six thousand years of man's history in the fall of 1975 is not tentative, but is accepted as a certain date. So in good faith and with right motive to enhance Bible education, the date 1975 has been presented with confidence, as one of considerable significance. While some outsiders have come to be quick in denouncing the Society, yet we calmly wait for the completion of this Biblical year of 1975, as we continue to strengthen ourselves spiritually. From Jehovah's viewpoint and his eternal purpose for the earth, the completion of six thousand years of man's residence on this earth is bound to be important.
Even the year texts for the early 1970s reflected the sense of urgency the Society was building:
1974: "Although the fig tree itself may not blossom, . . . I will exult in Jehovah himself." -- Hab. 3:17, 18.
1975: "I will say to Jehovah: 'You are my refuge and my stronghold'" -- Ps. 91:2
The sense of urgency continued to be built, through 1974 and on into 1975. Note how the following excerpt from the December 15, 1974 Watchtower (pp. 764-66) does so:
. . . now, as the critical year of 1975 enters, it may well be asked: Has the Most High God of prophecy made a name for himself? The answer is self-evident, Yes! By whom? Not by Christendom or by Jewry, but by Jehovah's Christian witnesses!' . . .
Only from the end of the year 1928 was the prospect opened up to the spiritual understanding of the anointed remnant of the "Israel of God" to survive the "war of the great day of God the Almighty" at Har-Magedon and enter here on earth into Jehovah's righteous new order. . . And now, as the year 1975 opens up, some thousands of the anointed remnant, still alive on this earth, look ahead to realizing that joyful prospect. The increasing "great crowd" of their sheeplike companions look forward with them to entering the New Order without interruption of life. In the New Order Jehovah God will add to the "length of days" of the anointed remnant on earth to the point of satisfying the members thereof. It remains to be seen whether they will be yet retained here on earth to see the start of the resurrection of the earthly dead and to meet faithful witnesses of ancient, pre-Christian times. They would enjoy that, before being taken off the earthly scene to the heavenly reward with Christ.
Note how the above-quoted article emphasized "the critical year of 1975." If, as some apologists today claim, the Society only suggested 1975 as a possible date for "the end," then why did the article call the year "critical"? What was "critical" about it, except that it was probably going to be the year of "the end"?
In December 1975 a revised version of the book The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation (Edmond C. Gruss, Presbyterian and Reformed, 1972, 1975) was published. On pages vii-viii it quoted from the London religious newspaper Evangelical Times of January 1975, which printed an article "Will the World End This Year?" (by ex-Witnesses Richard E. Cotton and George Terry). It said:
The year 1975 has dawned, and with it comes the question: Could this be the year of Nemesis, of retribution, for Jehovah's Witnesses? Could it be the year of yet another dashed hope?
To many of the rank and file within the Watchtower Movement, 1975 has meant only one thing -- the long awaited year of Divine Wrath. The time of judgment, when God would destroy the wicked and restore this old earth to a paradise state. Eternal life in the restored earth has been the hope of most Jehovah's Witnesses.
For almost ten years 1975 has hung over the heads of the faithful like a chronological carrot. True, very little has been written about it in official Watchtower publications, but a great deal has been said at grassroot level. And when Witnesses are taught to believe that God is using the Watchtower organisation to the total exclusion of all other churches or bodies (for this is their claim) it only requires a hint of a date to begin a wave of speculation. This is very understandable in a group maintaining that we are living at the very end of the Bible's "time of the end."
A date like 1975 had a fine apocalyptic ring when it was still ten years or so ahead. In 1966 a publication called Life Everlasting -- in Freedom of the Sons of God announced that independent research into Bible chronology had established that 6,000 years of human history would come to an end in the autumn of 1975. As Jehovah's Witnesses believe that there will be a millenium to complete a divine cycle of 7,000 years, it was clear that the long awaited period would begin around the autumn of 1975.
When the date was made public in 1966, the present writer was a Witness and was able to see what happened. Very little apart from that statement was ever published, but things began to be said and great was the speculation. No doubt many can recall the famous football star who stated on television that the Bible taught that the end would come in 1975. He was so certain of this, viewers were told, that if the expected results did not materialise, he would throw his Bible away.
In the months and years that followed overseers and visiting speakers of the cult were known to speak to the congregation about the "short time left." Some of the more convinced would total up the number of days to October 1975. When told by indignant householders, "You people are always round at our doors," one full time worker would answer: "We shall not be calling many more times."
Bible Studies with the unconverted were limited to a certain number of weeks because of the nearness of the end. Some Witnesses never bothered to increase their mortgage repayments as interest rates shot upwards. They were hoping for a permanent settlement on the amount outstanding in 1975. Some were so convinced the world was on its last legs that they speculated the system could not last until 1975.
D.I.Y. fans in the movement were known to remark in the early '70s that the house would not need repainting ever again. There was even the JW in need of surgery who preferred to live with the condition until the healing rays of the Millenium restored all to perfect health.
How many Witnesses, we wonder, will be suffering from loss of memory this year about their expressed hopes of only a year or so back? But these things were said and no amount of forgetting can unsay them.
To add to the fires of speculation some Witnesses got hold of typed copies of a talk which it was claimed was given by one of the Watchtower Directors in some far away country. This explosive material indicated that soon calamities and even flesh-consuming plagues of a cosmic nature would befall the world of men. Yet members of the Watchtower Movement would be untouched by these manifestations of divine anger.
How sure everyone seemed. Yet now 1975 is here and the dilemma of the Witnesses continues to increase. . .
But this is not all. Other problems now arise for the Witnesses' world view. They no longer have the luxury of being able to extend their time of waiting for still further years. For decades now the publications have emphasised that the second coming or presence of our Lord began in the year 1914. Using this year as a chronological anchor for the plan of the "last days," they confidently state ("from" Matt. 24:34) that in less than the passing of one human generation from 1914 all will be completed.
The honest observer may well be asking what many thinking JWs are asking. How long is a generation? From 1914 to 1975 is 61 years, a rather long time. If we think in terms of 40 years as a reasonable and scriptural figure then the cult has lost out. Even if we stretch the post-1914 period to its full limit by giving it a full biblical "threescore years and ten", we still find problems.
As stated before, the Movement stresses that it is the generation that is alive and witnessed 1914 that will still be around when the final end comes. So we are dealing with a time period years less than a full 70 years.
Time is no longer on the side of the Watchtower. Their prophetic hourglass is empty, but for a few grains of sand. As the critical year progresses, it may well be that pressure will be eased by diversionary tactics. We do not doubt the ability of the "men at the top" to make fresh calculations for the future, but the fact remains that this year may well be a critical one for the movement.
It's interesting from the perspective of 2006 to read the above words from 31 years ago. Clearly, astute observers in 1975 knew exactly what the Watchtower Society was saying about 1975, and they confirm everything I've written above.
In view of the above information from various Watchtower publications -- from The Watchtower, Awake!, Kingdom Ministry, Yearbooks and from various books and booklets that have not been quoted here -- it does no good for any of Jehovah's Witnesses to try to say that the Society never encouraged belief that 1975 would bring Armageddon. It is a documented fact that they did.
AlanF
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OUTLAW
AlanF..That was Friggin Cherry!..I replyed to this thread so the information go`s on my post history..Thanks...OUTLAW