The growing irrelevance of the Watchtower message (page 8)

Mickey mouse

In my experience, nobody under 40 even believes there was a "1975 issue".
"Oh, that was just some individuals running ahead of the congregation", or even "Oh, that's just apostates making up lies".

Yep, you just described me before I came here.

james_woods

wha happened - what indeed happened?

2035? Maybe I have just missed it, but is there anything to it?

Quirky1

Yeah, I've not heard the 2035 issue either.

Also, this is a good thread Drew.

Quandary

I believe some have construed statements like the following from W12/15/03 to suggest the GB is toying with 120 year period of preaching from 1914 which would bring us to 2034.

Warned

of"ThingsNotYetBeheld"

6

In Noah’s day, Jehovah declared: "My spirit shall not act toward man indefinitely in that he is also flesh. Accordingly his days shall amount to a hundred and twenty years." (Genesis 6:3) The issuance of this divine decree in 2490 B.C.E. marked the beginning of the end for that ungodly world. Just think what that meant for those then living! Only 120 years more and Jehovah would bring "the deluge of waters upon the earth to bring to ruin all flesh in which the force of life is active from under the heavens."—Genesis 6:17.

7

Noah received the warning of the upcoming catastrophe decades in advance, and he wisely used the time to prepare for survival. "After being given divine warning of things not yet beheld," says the apostle Paul, "[Noah] showed godly fear and constructed an ark for the saving of his household." (Hebrews 11:7) What about us? Some 90 years have passed since the last days of this system of things began in 1914. We are certainly in "the time of the end." (Daniel 12:4) How should we respond to warnings we have been given? "He that does the will of God remains forever," states the Bible. (1 John 2:17) Now is therefore the time to do Jehovah’s will with a keen sense of urgency.

Q

james_woods

Wow, Quandary - and in 2003. So they are still pounding forth on the 1914 chronology.

And notice the clever way that this was put forward - without actually saying anything. I can just imagine some watchtower doing the post 2035 explanation in about 2040 - "some brothers and sisters, because of course they were anxious for the end of this system of things, may have somehow gone beyond the strict words that were written, and jumped ahead of Jehovah's organization to imagine that the year 2034 or 2035 might bring about all those things that they expected..."

It kind of brings back that old Deja Vu for the 1975 frenzy.

Quandary

I know- The JWs will ALWAYS be an eschatological religion. It's in their genes!

elder-schmelder

I am 31 years old and I can remember going to a door all by my self when I was about 14, and the man at the door asked me what happend in 1975 with the JW's. I said that I dont have any idea but I will ask my dad. So I went back to the car and asked him about 1975. He told me the standard anwser that some brothers sold there homes thaught that the end was coming then. So I never looked into it until about 1 year ago. Now I understand !!

M.J.

:So they are still pounding forth on the 1914 chronology.

Still coming up in the publications. "What Does the Bible Really Teach?" (2005) has a whole appendix section on 1914.

drew sagan

Still coming up in the publications. "What Does the Bible Really Teach?" (2005) has a whole appendix section on 1914.

Yes, and it is by far the weakest presentation of the "facts" regarding their 1914 teaching ever put forward by the WTS.

I believe that the appendix (which amounts to nothing more than a few pages and a dozen or so paragraphs) is an example of the Watchtowers growing tendency to retreat into isolation. It used to be that paragraph upon paragraph was provided with numbers, figures, references, ect to prove their date is true. Now they throw out a few generic sentences and leave it at that. Just look at how full of content their books were in the 50's and 60's. They have been in a steady progression of saying less and less. It is this kind of behavior that suggests to me that the title of this thread has meaning, they continue to grow irrelevant and have no strategy to dig themselves out of the hole.

Quirky1

Drew, I feel that their publications have turned into more of a Dick and Jane reading book. Very child like imitations.

The growing irrelevance of the Watchtower message

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