Did Armageddon Hold You Hostage?

The wanderer

Did Armageddon Hold You Hostage ?

When my zeal for the “truth” started to slow down and I started
to view the dictations of the Watchtower Society as more work
and responsibility than love and caring it was the fear of dying
at Armageddon that kept me in longer than I should have been in.

Hostage Of An Ideology

Being a convert of this religion, I had no family members that were
of this persuasion. Therefore, it was not the idea of leaving family
behind, but the fear of death that kept me in the ranks.

Did the thought of dying at Armageddon persuade you to stay in or
did the thought of losing close family and friends affect you more?

Respectfully,

The Wanderer

greendawn

"it was the fear of dying at Armageddon that kept me in longer than I should have been in" that explains why the org is, come what may, presenting the big A as a soon to come event, it is intimidation and control. I never really believed in it deep down because it was simply not possible for God to destroy children and people that never had the chance to know the gospel as would be the case if the JW scenario was ever realised.

Honesty

The fear of being annihilated forever at Armageddon kept me imprisoned for about 5 years longer than I should have been.

A born again Christian asked the right questions that got me thinking.

It was only a matter of weeks after that that I escaped from the God dishonoring demonised cult from hell that calls themselves Jehovah's organization.

SacrificialLoon

Yes, Armageddon is a pretty big stick, and living forever is a pretty big carrot.

journey-on

If you're raised a JW like I was, it starts as a little kid. The picture in the Paradise book was burned into our psyche, and it settles in you as this huge fear of the big A. It's part of your mindset and it becomes extremely difficult to let the fear go because it's been there so long and is ingrained into your very nature. So, yes....you are held hostage by it.

chelleadam

I stayed in because of the prospect of Armageddon as well. I wasn't afraid to die, but they portray the manner of death as being very horrific and excruciating. I was very suicidal for a long time because I thought a bullet to the head would be much easier to take. I had a close friend that killed himself. He left a note saying basically the same thing. The witnesses kept his suicide note completely under wraps, but I knew one of the officers that handled the crime scene. He told me basically what it said.

moshe

Yes, for awhile- maybe the first 5 years. Then it was family that kept me in. If my wife back then had said , "let's leave", that would have been the end of it, but fear held her tighter than me and it took her almost 20 years to figure out that Armageddon was just a WT " boogie man" to keep everyone in line.

TopHat

NO NO NO, I always trusted in God and never the Watch Tower....the 3 times I faded over the years when I moved away from the congas...I believed, whatever God wanted to do was OK with me, I just wanted paradise to come and stop the suffering in the world.

The wanderer

Dear Chelleadam:

Usually, I am a positive and optimistic man. However, when I read
your account it broke my heart . Here is a thread written by me The
Wanderer. Take note, of how many individuals fit into this same
category.

Take care love.

Respectfully,

Richard

(The Wanderer)

chelleadam

Hey wanderer,

Yeah, I've heard of this happening to others. I am so grateful that I got out of that mindset, but I worry about former friends of mine that I can't find on the internet, or anywhere at all. I guess I won't know about some of them unless I come across an obituary somewhere. It's a terrible tragedy, and it seems like no one except us ex-JWs knows about it. It's so sad.

Did Armageddon Hold You Hostage?