Many of us have pounded the Watchtower publications a lot for their 1975 predictions, and the general attitdue among JWs as the Society pushed the last few months or even weeks before Armageddon - as 1975 approached. What we have not mentioned too much is what the JW culture was like, and how we all saw world events lining up to bring forth the War of the Great Day of God the Almighty at Har-Megeddon!
Late 1960s: As we wrapped up the decade of the 60s, we had witnessed three major political assassinations, the stepping up of the endless Viet Nam War, the social rebellion of the Hippies, the loss of USA national and international respect, declining economy, irrelevancy in many mainline churches, the drug culture, college riots everywhere, and civil rights movement -- all of these -- nearly splitting our nation apart. Communism was advancing on many popular fronts, and then the 1970s breaks forth ...
The Start of the 70s: The Watch Tower Society was rockin and rollin with excitement. The Truth Book had been out a couple of years, and JWs could pick up Bible Studies very easily. Placing 20 to 30 or more magazines on a Saturday morning was fairly easy and common. People were waking upo to the Truth! Then ... things really looked promising!
Look out for 1973! What, 1973? Why, yes! Nathan Knorr, then Preseident of the Society came out to the San Francisco bay Area and gave a 'Special' talk where he was tied in to every Kingdom Hall by phone. These were exciting times. JWs were abuzz with conviction, concern, and the reality that we did indeed have the Truth!
As Nathan Knorr spoke, we all sat in the Kingdom Hall listening to every word, ever sound coming out of this Holy man's mouth - and then with the oil crisis creating endless lines to get gasoline all over the USA, and heavy inflations and recession as Nixon took us off of the gold standard ... Nathan Knorr said to 'look of for 1973!' - What, could he possible mean that this old system might wrap up even before 1975! The brothers, even long time JWs were saying that they just didn't see how thjis old system could last beyond 1972 or 1973. It just can't go on much longer!
9-11-2001: Again, I hear reports of JWs hunkering down, muttering in a waiting whisper and welling with new excitement that at long last this old system is about to end. Yes, Jehovah's mercy allowed another quarter century to pass so that even more people could be saved by hearing the Truth! And surely, now is the time! Kingdom Halls must be filling with JW people in eager expectation, just as they were in 1914 (WWI), 1929 (Great Depression), 1940s (WWII), 1950s (Korean War), 1960s (A whole bunch of stuff), 1970s (oil Crisis), 1980s (Onslaught of Apostasy with signs of Peace and Security), early 1990s (Persain Gulf War), late 1990s (Peace and Security and the curse of the Internet Apostate), and now ...
2001 - Terrorism and the World Trade Center: What could be more promising than a major financial collapse coupled with the "World" banding together for a common cause approved with the now not so bad UN, to fight Terrorism! Those visual aids of watching the Trade Towers burning are still on the Watch Tower's media news page. Surely NOW is the time --- and the GB have yet another 'world event' to milk and exploit for all its worth, and totally convince yet another young JW generation, and ...
ALL of this just in time to thwart the evil apostate effort that would have caused the NBS Dateline Story to air and embarass the Society more than any times in its history. Yes, Jehovah is good to save the Society from itself ... for who else could have made such loving political and public iomage protection of His organization than Jehovah God himself!
IN the Year 2031: I will be 80 years old. Will I still be on the Internet, typing away to yet another ex-JWs generation about the glory days of Terrorism of 2001? Why, YES!!!!! - G'Day mates. - Amazing