Let's just get something straight about 1975.

by WTFBBQPWNT 170 Replies latest jw friends

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  VM44

  I have to disagree.

  The Watchtower allowed the promotion of the year 1975 in several ways.

  * By having special talks given, such as in 1970, "Who will Conquer the World in the 1970's",

  * By publishing many Awake! and Watchtower articles with titles such as "Why are you looking forward to 1975",

  * By allowing Circuit Overseer's to say things such as "Stay Alive 'till '75" in their public talks.

  With all the above (and much more that I did not list) one would have to say that the Society was strongly implying that this old system of things would be swept away by 1975, or at least by some time in the 1970's.

  --VM44
• 

  BlackSwan of Memphis

  wtf: when I did my research when writing my da letter, the publications said it would only delay by months NOT years.

  That's as good as saying 1975/6 was the due date.
• 

  slimboyfat

  He then said, "Could the end come in 1975? It could, but we don't know." (or something like that)

  You gotta love these apologists for their deep research and hard work.

  Slim
• 

  minimus

  "STAY ALIVE TIL 75"....that was the mantra sung by the CO's in the 70's. Randy has the tape of the CO's talk. So, yeah, YOU better get it straight! ....You say you were a ministerial servant, pioneer and you gave public talks.
• 

  TD

  Nobody ever said that the end was coming in 1975.

  Nobody ever said it quite like that...... The assertion that the end would come in 1975 was invariably expressed as the greater meaning of multiple statements

  JW's for example will deny that it was ever stated that they alone will survive Armageddon. They will say, "Show me where we said that only JW's will live!" Well, there are many more complex ways to make a statement besides a simple and direct assertion thereof. Consider the following two statements:

  A. Only those that speak the pure language will survive Armageddon.

  B. Only Jehovah's Witnesses speak the pure language

  Unless one has some serious reading comprehension problems, the assertion that only JW's will survive is clear and undeniable when these two statments are taken together.

  With 1975 it was similar because two or more simpler statements, when taken together would add up to a greater meaning. For example (And I'm paraphrasing here because I'm away from my library, but I can get you references if you want.) it was stated:

  A. In order for Jesus to be Lord of the Sabbath his millennial reign would have to be the seventh in a series of 1000 year periods

  B. 1975 will mark the end of 6000 years since Adam was created

  C. Eve was created in the same year as Adam and it was at that point when God's Sabbath Day began.

  Since Jesus himself is the one that declared that he was "Lord of the Sabbath" this series of statements, which were all contemporary with each other, directly align the honesty and integrity of Jesus himself with the notion that the end would come and his millennial reign would begin in 1975.

  I had a JW upbringing (Even though I'm not a JW) and like Big Tex, I was there too. This method of indirectly making a statement was not lost on the JW audience especially given the fact that comments made from the platform at assemblies were much more frank and to the point. A few speakers even flatly asserted that the "Door" would be "Closed" before 1975.
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  AK - Jeff

  I remember vividly all the hype. It was far more than just a little idle speculation. It was engineered to steer us into accepting the year.

  With each successive article/talk we found ourselves rivetted to the speaker/magazine looking for that elusive clue that would confirm that is was about to be finished. I watched Freddy and Nathan speak for hours on the subject in Yankee Stadium in 1973. No one said " We know the end is coming in October 1975", but the intensity of implication was just that.

  And then there was the Watchtower - date I do not recall - that had printed across the cover, in 3" Bold letters - 1975? -

  And what of this article?

  Why

  AreYouLookingForwardto1975? in the 8-15-68 Watchtower that spent 37 detailed paragraphs defining the chronology that supported 1975 as a 'special year in Biblical history'?

  Paragraph 35 stating this absurdity;

  One thing is absolutely certain, Bible chronology reinforced with fulfilled Bible prophecy shows that six thousand years of man’s existence will soon be up, yes, within this generation! (Matt. 24:34) This is, therefore, no time to be indifferent and complacent. This is not the time to be toying with the words of Jesus that "concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matt. 24:36) To the contrary, it is a time when one should be keenly aware that the end of this system of things is rapidly coming to its violent end. Make no mistake, it is sufficient that the Father himself knows both the "day and hour"!

  That article used the date 1975 fifteen times, more than any other Watchtower article ever mentioned the date. Those of us who were there expected the winds of Armageddon to blow in at any moment believe me.

  It was every bit as real as the fear of nuclear war was during the 50's and early 60's, only our bomb shelters were Kingdom Halls.

  Jeff
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  TD and Parakeet both have said it in their last posts. TD did a wonderful job of connecting
  their statements that are made purposely then allowing the elders and publishers to make
  the logical connections to the conclusion. IF A = B, B = C, then we must stay alert in these
  remaining months just in case we discover the value of C resembling A.

  I would add that now, as far as the "end" goes, recruiting is down, donations and activity among
  active JW is down, so they started focusing on "the end is right around the corner" to keep
  us focused distracted. Are they going to have to tread carefully more than ever, yes.
  That means that they will not name a year, but will hint at various things. I suggest more
  comparisons to the days of Noah. The length of time from Noah's warning to the actual flood
  will be used.
• 

  bennyk

  If memory serves, in one of the the Oct. 1966 Awake! 's, it was clearly stated that the millenium would have to begin no later than 1975. So the big white bird is correct (sorta). The statements of the forementioned Awake! implied that Armageddon could begin earlier than 1975. Of course, the Society was proven a False Prophet by the non-events preceeding 1976.
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  VM44

  "A few speakers even flatly asserted that the "Door" would be "Closed" before 1975. "

  I remember that being said! It was likened to when Jehovah closed the door to the ark!

  The preaching work would shift from gathering sheeplike ones to proclaiming a message of Jehovah's Judgement.

  It was said that when Armageddon started people would be running to the Kingdom Hall's but it would be too late for them!

  Also because "The End" was so close, a new policy was implemented in the early 1970's. Bible Studies were limited to 6 months in length. If the student was not taking steps to become baptised at the end of the six months, the study was to be discontinued.

  --VM44
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  it was clearly stated that the millenium would have to begin no later than 1975.

  But they never said it "in Jehovah's name."