*** g74 11/8 11 Is This the Time to Have Children? *** Significantly, in the first century Jesus Christ himself gave an ominous forecast regarding a calamity coming upon Judea.
It was in 66 C.E. that the armies of Roman general Cestius Gallus encamped around Jerusalem, but then withdrew, apparently without any reason for doing so. This provided believers in Jesus? prediction opportunity to flee. Those who did so were wise, for shortly afterward the Roman armies returned and the destruction upon those who remained was terrible beyond description.
The circumstance that Jesus foretold proved true: ?Woe to the pregnant women and the ones suckling a baby in those days! For there will be great necessity upon the land.? (Luke 21:23) One can be sure that flight was more difficult for delaying parents with small children. If you had been living prior to that destruction and knew of its nearness, would you have considered that a time to be having children inside the province of Judea?
Today there is a great crowd of people who are confident that a destruction of even greater magnitude is now imminent. The evidence is that Jesus? prophecy will shortly have a major fulfillment, upon this entire system of things. This has been a major factor in influencing many couples to decide not to have children at this time. They have chosen to remain childless so that they would be less encumbered to carry out the instructions of Jesus Christ to preach the good news of God?s kingdom earth wide before the end of this system comes.?Matt. 24:14.
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This article was written in the WT shortly before the 75 fiasco. How many JWs are still not going to have kids in this system? How will they feel, when like thousands before them, they reach old age and realize Armaggedon was not just around the corner? I remember Ray Franz's sadness at the realization that he had reached old age and had missed out on the wonder and comfort of having children, choosing to serve a man-made religion of lies instead.