by JimmyPage 73 Replies latest jw friends
I cant ever see then giving up the preaching work. It is the channel by which they move books. It is the loyal dubs giving donations for the literature they give out on the field misery that keeps the the coffers full (ish).
Contributions for the worldwide work would have no meaning if there was no worldwide work.
Tithing may come in, quite easy to justify using principles from the mosaic law, but there will be resistance from the ever increasing complacent class.
It will be even less than what it was when I was born (1968). It is nothing like it was when I was baptized (1986). I wasn't baptized into the WT the way it is now.
The religion I was baptized in taught that those who saw and understood the events in 1914 would not pass away until the Great Tribulation would come. "Millions now living will never die" was a great comfort to me and others then.
My hope was dashed to pieces when my great grandmother, 96, died in 2001. She was born in 1904 so she saw what happened in 1914. "These things that are destined to occur" didn't, and "those who saw the events of 1914" did indeed pass away.
The WT called down evil on the U.N. yet used it's services and became an NGO with it. They made it even harder to become baptized and not to Christ anymore, either, but to a corporation publishing company. Those were the deal breakers for me.
So, from the point of my baptism in 1986 to 2015, that religion will have not existed for a while.
What do you guys mean that JW's don't do book studies anymore ?
PSacramento
The "book study" meeting has been merged into the the theocratic ministry school/service meeting in an abbreviated form. Instead of meeting on three days a week, the Witnesses only meet two. The "extra" day is set aside for private "family worship" time.
donuthole,
But they still have bible studies with people interested, right?
I mean, I know my Mom does studies with a few people she is trying to "bring into the truth" and I know that elders are always available to answer questions in their homes or other peoples.
"Book studies" in my post above refer to congregation meetings. Of course they still conduct "home Bible (sic) studies" with "interested sheeplike ones".
Sorry for any misunderstanding.
WTS will soon recognize that they need an end date to motivate members. 2014 is too soon, the current GB members will know they have to be accountable for it's failure in 2015. I see them pushing for comparing the last days to the last days when God gave Noah 120 years before the flood. That would be 120 years past 1914 to arrive at 2034. I can see that.
They will lose members over the next several years and will want to keep the smaller faithful with a tight rule, then convince them how they really need to give all their belongings to WTS in their wills. WTS will stay afloat like that past 2034 but on the decline, not even getting enough recruits from that campaign to make a positive growth. After 2034, they will break up and splinter.
Hmmm, the 2034 end date sounds familiar:
*** w03 12/15 p. 15 pars. 6-7 Our Watchfulness Takes On Greater Urgency ***
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.
Does anyone know if they've alluded to 2034 since this '03 Watchtower?
I can't wait until this fails.
Passwordprotected nicely sums up how the Watchtower will probably respond to the twin tensions of 1) keeping the rank and file "true" to the essence of the Watchtower's message and 2) making it a warm and inviting place to attract newcomers and backsliders. A difficult balancing act at the best of times.
Also, keep in mind that, if someone had speculated 100 years ago about the future of the then-named Bible Students, a reasonable forecast, should the end not come in 1914 as Russell had predicted, would be the Bible Students would lose their zeal and go elsewhere. But look what happened instead!
Never underestimate the capacity of a religious group to re-brand itself and begin a fresh round of marketing. People's memories are notoriously short, and oftentimes people also have a shockingly poor grasp of the historical picture at the best of times (who among the current rank and file went through the disappointment of 1914 - or even 1925 for that matter? All dead and gone - or pretty close to it!). We sometimes erroneously conclude that because we have been through a major disappointment that others will also have a similar memory years later. sadly, not true: people re-write or re-construct memories all the time - especially when religiousd beliefs are involved.
Does anyone know if they've alluded to 2034 since this '03 Watchtower?
I think I conducted that study at the Hall and I am pretty sure there was another in 2005 that did the same thing.
I don't look things up in the WT Library anymore, so I don't know for sure.
I have read the theory (that I believe is true) that they float many ideas past the JW membership in the magazines, often in the study articles, then see what kind of letters and responses they generate. If many JW's were getting excited over the possibility that 120 years makes up the last days, then WTS wouldn't be afraid to run with it after they knew about the support they would receive.
