Matthew 24:12 never applied by the WTS to jws.
*** w84 10/1 p. 31 Questions From Readers ***
Do Jesus’ words that “the love of the greater number will cool off” mean that this will occur among true worshipers now?
With good reason we believethat Jesus was not foretelling a large-scale loss of love among Jehovah’s people.
The apostles had asked for ‘the sign of Jesus’ presence and of the conclusion of the system of things.’ Jesus foretold wars, earthquakes, food shortages and persecution of Christians. He added: “Because of the increasing of lawlessness the love of the greater number will cool off.”—Matthew 24:3-12.
Much of that prophecy found a fulfillment between then (33 C.E.) and the great tribulation on Jerusalem that the Romans caused in 70 C.E. (Compare Luke 19:41-44; 21:5-28.) During that interval, did the love of most anointed Christians cool off? No. Those who fell away from Christianity during that generation evidently were in the minority. Most Christians experiencing persecution from the Jews kept up “declaring the good news of the word,” displaying love for God, for unbelievers and for fellow Christians. (Acts 8:1-25; 9:36-42) But love did cool off among the Jews, who claimed to be true worshipers. The greater number of them ignored Jesus’ warning, revolted against Rome and resorted to a violent defense of their nation.
Jesus’ prophecy extends beyond the first century and has its major fulfillment today. (Revelation 6:2-8) As with the Jews back then, people have less and less effective love. Millions have turned atheistic. Even in Christendom people tend to show less neighbor love, and church attendances and knowledge of the Bible generally are declining. Many who seem to be religious try to rectify human problems through political causes. So it apparently is among such claimed worshipers of God that love is cooling off.
True Christians, though, must not become complacent. Since some Christians in the first century lost their first love or were distracted from it by problems, we could find our love cooling off. (2 Timothy 2:16-19; Revelation 2:4) While, if that happened, we would be exceptions to most of Jehovah’s people, the fact that it could happen to us individually emphasizes our need to ‘endure to the end’ so as to be saved.—Matthew 24:13.
*** w67 12/1 pp. 735-736 Questions From Readers ***
Does Jesus’ prophecy at Matthew 24:12 about the cooling off of the love of the greater number find fulfillment in Christendom or among Jehovah’s Christian witnesses?—P. A., U.S.A.
The things that have occurred in this generation show that both Christendom and God’s true servants are involved in the fulfillment of this prophecy. In the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew Jesus Christ was describing to four of his disciples different aspects of the composite sign that would be observed during his second presence. After mentioning wars, food shortages, earthquakes and persecution of true Christians, he added: “Many false prophets will arise and mislead many; and because of the increasing of lawlessness the love of the greater number will cool off.”—Matt. 24:11, 12.
The various aspects of this composite sign have been in evidence since the establishment of God’s kingdom in 1914, including the leading of people away from the Bible and fundamental Christian beliefs. The clergy of Christendom joined the trend to label the Bible as mythological; then they mixed in among their teachings human theories such as evolution, and now they spread the “God is dead” idea. Whereas people in Christendom claiming to be Christian used to read the Bible and view it as God’s inspired Word, many have now been led away from it by their ‘false prophet’ religious leaders. And some of the leaders have as much as admitted this. One clergyman told a Baptist convention: “A spirit of lethargy has overcome the people . . . and it is our fault.” Another minister told the same group: “We have drifted away from the practice of scriptural Christianity.”—Houston Post, December 5, 1964, page 15.
With millions of persons in Christendom rejecting the Bible as the standard to follow, morals have been adversely affected. There has been an increase of lawlessness. Some think that if there is a God he is not concerned with what they do. The people in general are frightened by the resulting crime and lawlessness, but, instead of their turning to God, they drift farther away from Him. As the aforementioned clergyman noted, they become lethargic and what love for God and fellowman they had diminishes; it cools off.
Some wonder how these can be the “greater number” referred to in this text, since they are not even true Christians. But they claim to be so. Of all the people professing to be Christians, these having little love for God and neighbor constitute the majority, the greater number.
However, those who are actually Christians can also be involved in this prophecy. For a time following the setting up of the Kingdom in 1914 Jehovah’s servants were in a state of spiritual captivity. There was persecution from the outside, and even within the organization of true Christians there were problems. Some had allowed their love for God to grow cold and they tried unlawfully to seize control of the organization. When they failed, they fell away and became an “evil slave” class, opposing those who continued to show true love for God. (Matt. 24:48-51) And over the years others have been influenced by the lawlessness of the world or have let their love die down for some other reason. The cooling off of their love caused them to abandon true worship and to join the imitation Christians, thus adding to the “greater number.”
Yet there appears to be no reason to conclude that the greater number of those in Jehovah’s organization of Christian witnesses now are going to lose their love for God in the future. The lawlessness and lack of love in the world is already well advanced, but most of Jehovah’s witnesses are remaining devoted to God and with strong love. Even so, we each need to be concerned with our own spirituality so that our love for God remains strong. (Matt. 22:37) If that is the case with each one of us, Jesus’ words in the next verse of Matthew chapter 24 will be fulfilled in us: “He that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved.”—Matt. 24:13.
*** yb78 p. 32 1978 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses ***Kingdom preaching activity from 216 countries under the supervision of 96 branches reached a peak of 2,223,538 publishers. This was a decrease when compared with the year 1976. There are various factors contributing to this. With a decrease in the number of those reporting, it is understandable that the hours spent (321,424,305) of those reporting would be less.
*** yb79 p. 23 1979 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses ***There has been an overall 1.4-percent decrease in the number of Kingdom publishers. This has had a bearing on the decline in other features of the work as far as the totals are concerned. There are individual countries where increases continue, whereas other lands show a leveling off or a drop in activity. While 95,052 new ones were baptized in expression of their faith, thus declaring themselves to be disciples of Jesus Christ, this has not resulted in a proportionate increase in the number of Kingdom publishers. On the contrary, there were 2,086,698, on the average, who shared in making known the “good news” compared with 2,117,194 the year before. The peak number of publishers came to 2,182,341, which is also below that of last year. It is obvious that for one reason or another a number did not share in giving a witness each month, and others became inactive.
KOREA
*** yb88 p. 190 Korea ***However, the first few months of the 1976 service year began with a marked decrease in publishers and home Bible studies. This downward trend was to continue for over three years, bottoming out in a 26-percent decrease in publishers, from 32,693 in August 1975 to 24,285 in November 1978. Memorial attendance dropped too, from over 68,000 in 1975 to 49,545 in 1978.
“We hope the brothers are careful in their teaching. Evidently some were very strong on the 1975 date, and so a good foundation was not laid. The foundation, of course, should be faith in Christ Jesus and the ransom sacrifice, and the dedication should be with understanding.”
A very candid observation indeed! Too much emphasis was placed on a date by some Bible teachers. Many newly baptized ones took up the truth on a wave of emotion. Even some elders had their hopes pinned to 1975. In addition, materialism seeped into the land as a result of the rapid economic growth in Korea, and nationalism was on the rise. The effect: apathy among the brothers.
CHILE
*** yb82 pp. 103-104 Chile ***As in 1978, the 1979 service year saw a further decrease as those who had not taken steps to nourish their faith regularly from the Word of God tired out. Apparently a sifting work was being accomplished among Jehovah’s people,