In a recent post, Journey-on had some very very interesting observations. I am taking them a little deeper.
Journey on said: I think they WILL go sort of mainstream if they see the slow leak has turned into a full blown rupture....but it will happen gradually and over time. It is very apparent that you have given this a lot of deep thought. You are very alert and intuitive. I think you are absolutely correct. The mainstreaming will happen gradually, yes, just as you said, but in a sense "speeded up". Some changes will come soooo fast and there will be so many changes from week to week, that the JWs heads will spin like Linda Blair . There will be no time to "think" about the changes as there will be so many new ideas implemented all at once. (This has all been elaborately planned. It is not happenstance.) The new changes will be a relief and a joy. Why? Because these changes will be preached as "sharing the table", "preparing for the marriage supper" and "bringing in the Paradise". JWs will be ecstatic! These themes will also serve as a great distraction because the world will be in great chaos and economic upheaval during this time. J.O said: Most JWs don't pay that much attention to the incremental changes preceding the major ones. I am sure you have learned from your years of involvement, and even now in hindsight, see more clearly how the operation of distraction works. Those changes are quietly "slipped in" without fanfare while undue attention is focused on something trivial. The Tower is very skilled at this sleight-of-hand deception. Your observations are valid. J.O.said: mega KHs will be erected, complete with Youth centers, and Programs for Children. I think volunteer participation in certain types of ministries, such as some type of field service calls, visiting the sick and poor, assisting the elderly and infirm, etc. will be implemented. I think you are right on the money here. This is one aspect where they will give an "appearance" of mainstream. These programs are right in line with agendas that are being set forth by the United Nations and all the other organizations such as world church councils, etc. etc. It is all for appearances sake to show a "unified" front. All religions will have these programs. It will be homogenized and sanctioned by UN affiliate programs. J.O.said: The COs, DOs, and some exceptional POs will be provided specialized training that will lead to certification in marriage and family counseling,mental and psychological health issues. The certification will allow each (incorporated) mega hall to be insured against liability. They will still have to follow "Mother" as far as the basic doctrinal beliefs go, but will have a certain amount of autonomy to ensure their status as a separate legal entity. You are very astute in your observations. You are seeing a lot of what is to come. Why, if you had no conscience, you could even be on their team! Your ideas of reform are so on target! The certified people may come from other "denominations" as the tower will not spend the money to put anyone through training. They may send out some of their head honchos to train some r and f for minor positions. But accredited documentation will be the order of the day for anyone with rank. J.O. said: Most JWs cling to only three core beliefs that they feel truly set JWs apart as having the Truth: 1) Jesus is God's son sent to earth....He is not God Himself; 2) No hell fire where you burn forever for your sins; 3) No Trinity doctrine; 4) No immortal soul that goes to heaven for the earthly class. They await in death for a resurrection to a paradise earth.. As long as they believe JWs are the only ones teaching these, they will cling fast to the "Truth". Ahhh, but what if christendom itself begins to morph and accept these principles taught by the tower? It has already begun. Eventually JWs will take the credit for having helped to shape the world in "accepting these truths". Already the churches of christendom are/have been phasing out the steeples, the cross, and the other icons. I could show you many churches that no longer use steeples. Look around you. Search images. You will see that all these things have already taken place. There is much talk now of the "emerging church"...singular. One body; one church. There is a new umbrella encompassing all of the protestant churches now. If you go to google images and search "catalyst, catalyst church, catalyst church logos" you might find a few surprises....like this church logo.... Don't you think it's rather eerie to see the watchtower in the foreground? And the two red crosses which are on the seal of the Knights Templar ? (what does the phrase "double cross" mean to you?) Christendom will be gradually moving away from their "rapture" theory to embrace the paradise earth. Even now, the christian churches are moving away from the idea of a "personal rapture" (where those who think they are special to god are lifted to heaven out from among the chaos of tribulation) to a new meaning of "rapture" . They will soon tell the parishioners that "rapture" means the "raising" of the church itself by renewal in thinking. No one is "going" anywhere. The new earth is right here being directed from the "heavens". Actually, this is no more than the agenda of the UN one world united to restore the earth. (They have no intention of ever really accomplishing this. It is just a story put to the people to convince them of their altruistic motives. Once the people are convinced they can make world unity/world peace a reality, those misguided people will be slaves to the entity behind all of this.) Unity must be restored in order to bring peace. Unity will bring everyone together for a common effort; the goal-- to save the planet. And religious and political differences must go in order to achieve that unity. It will be preached from the scripture that "this is the new earth coming down from heaven", as in being directed from heaven. Like, from god's mouth to the ears of the FDS. In actuality, this will be the word "coming down" from the Sons-of-God nephilim. They are deceivers. They are the ones who have planned these things for many years and are now bringing it all to fruition. In christendom the leaders are currently beginning to establish a "neutral ground" for all religions. Buzz words like "all paths lead to god". "All wisdom comes from the same source." One of the aspects of this neutrality is no more proselytizing. No dominant religion. Even your major protestant divisions are now establishing new churches and getting away from the labels of "lutheran", "methodist", etc. They are under the umbrella of denomination still, at this point, but the names of the church institutions are changing as are the creeds and the beliefs. Soon, they will all look the same. Uniformity. Bee-hive mentality. The JWs will gradually give up field work as the neutral ground becomes more established. All these years the JWs thought they were the only ones who studied the same lesson world wide each week. How many times was it said "we are all on the same page". Go anywhere in the world and the lesson will be the same that week whether its Africa or the UK? Well, other churches have been doing the very same thing on an international scale for quite sometime. But being involved in the WTS, many constituents have not noticed this because they have been no part of "christendom". Back to your basic truths... While some protestant organizations have taught that Jesus is god...that faulty logic within christendom is surfacing. (Just like the faulty logic of watchtower is surfacing for many of you here.) The "jesus is God" and the "trinity" misconception is gradually being done away with in the world of christendom. Jesus is going to have to ride in the back seat. Why even the tower has further demoted him by now simply adding him in as an extra in the 144,000. Soon, Jesus will be left out. That is why those who go along with these new world teachings will be called the "anti-christ". It's not that they are against Christ, they just will no longer recognize him as being anyone too important or special. J.O. said: No hell fire. Christianity comes to terms with that also.There will probably be a pit for burning the bodies of the dead who have not taken the "mark". They will be viewed as "opposers" to the new Paradise Kingdom. This is the Great Deception because this "paradise" is to be brought about by man's effort, even though they are being told that it is "being directed from above." This will be a lie and many will believe it. Since these people without the "mark" will be cut off from society, many may die of starvation, crime killings, lack of medical care. Because they have no wherewithal (money, goods) to participate in the new society their bodies will be gathered and dumped. Thus, "the birds will feast on them" and also these designated pits may burn a long time to keep down the spread of disease and contamination. God does not "kill" anyone. We will be "peacefully annihilated" by our fellow man. This direction does not come from above; it comes from behind. It is being directed by an element behind the UN. It's direction is ultimate power and control, with the agenda of de-population of objectors and the rest will be slaves to those powers until they become a burden or unnecessary. Shunning will be re-vamped, and "the godly hate" will be preached; thus making shunning more personal in nature rather than dictated by an organization. These people who do not go along with establishing this (false) Paradise will be hated and promoted as those who do not love God (because they actually do not bow to the dictates of man and can see through this sham.) J.O.said: Doctrines I think will either be slowly done away with or modified to be conscience decisions and not frowned upon: 1) Celebration of birthdays and holidays 2) Voting 3) Blood Transfusions 4) Door-to-door preaching Journey-on, I am so glad that you are seeing so much of what is to come. This is very accurate. The celebration of holidays will definitely change. Celebration will still occur, but the type of holidays will be new. They will be "global holidays" and will begin to phase out the old standards like xmas. Some new holidays have already become established, but will gain in popularity. They are called UN recognized holidays and include "earth day" "world environment day" "world maritime day"...and "all saints day" for halloween! I am sure there will be more to come. The door-to-door will be totally done away with. I expect this within a year or so. Voting will be a thing of the past. Offices will be "appointed" and will adhere to specific credentials for the job. The way things are now, any joe blow can run for a city , county, gov office with only the qualifications of popularity, money, connections. In other words....we got into a lot of this mess by allowing people with no brains and no heart to take positions of leadership. Blood transfusions... Each sect or "denomination" will hold onto little nuances that are specific to its creed. That's why the "neutrality" aspect will be enforced in major areas of doctrine. There will be so much else going on during that time that I am sure some of these things will no longer be the focus or cause an issue.