Jesus became King of God's Kingdom in 1914.

by TooBad TooSad 18 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  TooBad TooSad

  When I think back on the last 45 years of my life as a JW, it truly is remarkable

  how I as an intelligent person could have believed all of the things that the WTBTS

  taught as doctrine and then for myself to teach others the same doctrine.

  We could all give examples of this, however I was just sitting here drinking my coffee

  when I began to wonder what has Jesus been doing since 1914? This is the year

  that the WTBTS said that God enthorned his Son to rule the world. In a few short years

  it will be 100 years that God put his Son on the throne and what have the benefits or

  results been? 100 years is a long time. Let's see now----we still have the wicked in

  the world, people still are getting old or sick and die, there are millions of people who

  are starving, there are plenty of wars in the world, etc. If Jesus was put on His throne

  in 1914 what has He been doing? Oh, I forgot, He is directing the preaching work and

  directing the angels to find the honest hearted ones and perhaps He is helping in

  holding back the winds of Armageddon until every last deserving sheeplike person

  is contacted and brought into the Truth. Today when the US elects a president, there

  are immediate impacts felt not only in America but all over the world. We may not

  like what each president does about taxes, social programs, or involement in war,

  but we see the results of his Presidency in a matter of months. After almost 100 years

  of Jesus being King of the Kingdom the world is not a better place. Maybe in due

  time there will be new light from the WTBTS about what is going on in heaven. They

  will probably wait until the 100 year anniversery of the 1914 event.
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  Zico

  It's sort of funny that the WT uses 'worsening world conditions' as proof of Jesus' enthronement. It makes him seem pretty inept!
• 

  Homerovah the Almighty

  But you have to admit it, it was dam good marketing though and gee to have god endorse your products

  And isn't it interesting that the leading constructor of the organization was a professional salesman.....just a thought
• 

  Carl_Hernz

  I know how you feel when you ask the question on how we as intelligent people could have fallen for
  the trappings of the Watchtower Society and its odd doctrines, such as the invisible presence of Christ
  in 1914.

  To illustrate, I learned upon my coming out of the Witnesses that I score very high in IQ and aptitude
  tests like the WAIS. Technically speaking, scoring on these tests generally place me in the “superior”
  range of the Gaussian bell scale, ranging between 3 and 2 percent of the highest scores. While I was
  completely unaware of this while I was a Witness (and hated by them for the natural talents that came
  as a result—an entirely different story), it does make one wonder how intellect plays in an individual’s
  entrance into cults or authoritarian religions.

  I have done a little research that tends to suggest that we might be letting the Watchtower still affect
  us when we think: “Wow! How could I have fallen for that!” In reality we didn’t “fall” for anything, and
  neither were we not thinking or emotionally weak and searching for a clutch. Remember, the Watchtower is
  a proselytizing machine. It is designed to make converts, and it does this much like a virus attacks a
  person, without regard to education, social status, race, gender, national origin, or intelligence quotient.

  Recall that none of us could “join” the Witnesses, even if we begged to be admitted. We were “recruited.”
  To blame the recruits for not knowing everything about the Organization is exactly how the Watchtower
  would like us to think. How can one expect a “newbie” to know all the hidden details of a religion that
  fails at so many of its predictions? Not possible.

  Everyone wants answers to life’s most puzzling questions, and the Witnesses claim to see all things
  clearly, offering clean cut answers for almost everything. This is both empowering and isolating, as
  the mainstream historical religions do not have answers for everything. Judaism, Christianity, Islam,
  Buddhism, etc. all have a mystical aspect as the pinnacle of achievement in their faiths. The Witnesses
  convince their members that accepting answers that “transcend” basic human reason are ridiculous. They
  are very good at convincing us that the way to really know the “truth” is through scholastic study and
  research. This does seem reasonable, at first. Eventually it leads to emptiness because it makes their
  religious experience nothing more than dry research. Unlike some cults that bend the minds of their
  recruits by means of keeping protein out of their diets, the Witnesses do their mind bending by keeping
  spirituality out of their recruits’ souls, so to speak.

  So we shouldn’t be upset at ourselves for having believed in the Witnesses false doctrines like the
  invisible rule of Christ. If we had suspected that they were hiding a history of errors from us, they
  would not have worked so hard to recruit us in the first place. Remember, it isn’t the person that suspects
  something is wrong that makes a good recruit for the Witnesses, rather it is the unsuspecting person
  that is the prime target.
• 

  TooBad TooSad

  Carl,

  I appreciated your well thought out comments. You know how to

  express yourself. Maybe we believed all of the WTBTS doctrines

  because we wanted to live in a fairy tale of the earth being transformed

  to a beautiful park, growing young again, living forever, and seeing our

  dead loved ones through the resurrection. If something is too good to

  be true and it usually is.
• 

  oompa

  Too Sad, I like your post and am in sooo much agreement. I actually stated two threads yesterday involving this date and the things going on before and after it. As a 4th gen razed in (yes razed in), I too can not believe I ever accepted this BS. But actually, I started to have major doubts at age 19 or at least started expressing them, so I am a little proud of that. I have doubted very strongly for at least 15-20 years, which is also probably why I found the dtd ministry and conventions pure hell. Marriage, kids, and interaction with (what you think are) friends around you, you are distracted from acting on your doubts, and when you do, we know the consequences....I have few friends now and I am not even DA or DF (yet)....but I am starting to get a feeling inside I have never felt before, and I like it....oompa
• 

  confused and lost

  This whole 1914 thing has been based on the fall of Jerusalem in 607 BCE,however I have been researching this date recently and after several headaches am no where near understanding how the WTS can use this date.After a recent visit to my "million pound state of the art library" and reviewing several books on Bible history and archaeology the date givin is never 607BCE but 586/7 BCE.Interestingly in the book "The Bible Gods word or mans" on p 48 reference is made to the Babylonian Chronicle to show that archaeology supports the biblical fact that Judah was subjugated by the Babylonians and Jehoiachin captured.What isn't stated is the date givin in this chronicle namely 598/7 BCE.The chronicle then mentions the appointment of Zedekiah as king.As Zedekiah reigned for 11 years untill the overthrow of Jerusalem simple maths shows that this must have taken place c.587/6 BCE not 607 BCE.Also it has to be noted that the WTS accepts some dates from these chronicles i.e. 539 BCE as the date of Cyrus defeat over Babylon but conveniently rejects other cuneiforms that do not fit in with their date setting theories.Is it any wonder that genuine truth seekers are questioning the claim of the WTS to be the "faithfull and discreet slave"
• 

  TooBad TooSad

  Oompa,

  I am a faithful follower of your posts.

  TBTS
• 

  Sunspot

  Recall that none of us could “join” the Witnesses, even if we begged to be admitted. We were “recruited.”
  To blame the recruits for not knowing everything about the Organization is exactly how the Watchtower
  would like us to think. How can one expect a “newbie” to know all the hidden details of a religion that
  fails at so many of its predictions? Not possible.

  Stop and think too, that what we "first heard" was then followed up with many months (sometimes years) of clever indoctrination procedure that avoided any mention of the WTS hideous past and its behavior towards its OWN, such as the Mexico/Malawi fiasco, the REAL reason for the "Donation Arrangement", the Tacoma Dome parking lot lies, the UN involvement, etc, etc.

  Everyone wants answers to life’s most puzzling questions, and the Witnesses claim to see all things
  clearly, offering clean cut answers for almost everything. This is both empowering and isolating, as
  the mainstream historical religions do not have answers for everything. Judaism, Christianity, Islam,
  Buddhism, etc. all have a mystical aspect as the pinnacle of achievement in their faiths. The Witnesses
  convince their members that accepting answers that “transcend” basic human reason are ridiculous. They
  are very good at convincing us that the way to really know the “truth” is through scholastic study and
  research. This does seem reasonable, at first. Eventually it leads to emptiness because it makes their
  religious experience nothing more than dry research. Unlike some cults that bend the minds of their
  recruits by means of keeping protein out of their diets, the Witnesses do their mind bending by keeping
  spirituality out of their recruits’ souls, so to speak.

  When the WTS had our attention, it managed to convince US that they were indeed "special", they had insights that NO OTHERS had, were God's mouthpiece and only channel today, that THEY were the ONLY path to attain salvation....and that even THINKING about leaving THEM..... would be tantamount to leaving God to pursue one's OWN selfish path.

  How wonderful it IS to finally be free of this mindset!
• 

  TooBad TooSad

  I still go to some of the meetings to keep peace in the family,

  however I do not go from door to door, do not have a family study, and I feel free.

  I just sit at the meetings off to the side in the giggle weeds as I get entertained

  by the comments made during the meetings. Sometimes I almost bust out

  laughing and at other times I get so pissed off as everyone nods their heads in

  agreement when stupid impossible comments are made. The WTBTS no longer has

  control of me. I truly think that many in attendance see the doctrinal conflicts but they keep

  hoping that this has got to be the truth. The generation of Russel's time has

  passed away, the generation that saw 1914 has passed away, and before you

  know it, the generation that believed in the 1975 Watchtower teaching will pass

  away.