“True, there have been those in times past who predicted an “end to the world,” even announcing a specific date…. Yet nothing happened. The “end” did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying. Why? What was missing? … Missing from such people were God's truths and the evidence that he was guiding and using them.” Awake! 1968 Oct. 8 p.23
See, I've never taken this as you have. While the first part certainly indicts them when taken alone, I think the latter part attempts to save them. The JW position is basically... 'The F&DS does not claim to have full knowledge of all things, but only that they are being borne along by Jehovah's Holy Spirit. Mistakes can and do occur, but adjustments are made in Jehovah's due time. While errors are made, the living, vital truths presented by Jehovah's organization cannot be denied. They have freed millions from the bondage of Babylonish religion and taught them God's grand purposes, which involve the sanctification of His sovreignty and an ushering in of human perfection in a paradise earth. And any mistakes formerly made do not detract from the abundance of evidence that the one and only true God is using the F&DS as His special instrument.'
Is it complete BS? Of course, but it is their way of excusing errors and failed predictions. Reminds me of the quote Ray Franz attributed to Nathan Knorr. 'I'm not so sure about 1914, but of one thing I am: that Jehovah is using this organization.' So it amounts to gratuitous assertions that their "body of truths" or their "spiritual environment" is obviously the result of divine blessings. But when other religions experience failed predictions, well, that's different--because they do not have "The Truth." So they're just false prophesying bastards.
