1984 WT cover -- Watchtower's Final Failed Prediction?

by FatFreek 2005 97 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  FatFreek 2005

  The infamous cover of that 1984 Watchtower (27 years ago) was perhaps the last prediction / prophecy of the Watchtower Society.

  Will there be any more or have they finally learned their lesson? Some think they are like a race-track junkie and are addicted to predictions. Any thoughts?

  Len

  ps: Based on recent threads here on that Watchtower cover it is the consensus that all have passed. If I see evidence that any on that list of 14 are alive today I will quickly and certainly apologize to that person and update my Photobucket illustration.
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  therevealer

  I was just thinking too as I read that post - it clearly shows that the present explanation of generation is new, not what they thought all along. Those pictured would fit the understanding promulgated all along of the ones of a knowing age or have the ability to perceive conditions in 1914 constituting the generation, not some overlapping or contemporaries of others nonsense.
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  dgp

  This is very good historical evidence. Thanks for posting.
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  moshe

  This is pretty embarrassing for JWs and hard to dismiss, but most JWs don't care about facts. I have pulled out this WT cover before and showed it to JWs in field service- it just made them run away, rather than stand and discuss this obvious failed WT prediction. The last time I used it was this past Thanksgiving on a JW sister I was out in FS with- here is what happened-

  -I had my Bible and before I left home I took the copy of the May 15-1984 WT and cut it down and folded it up. As we were waiting for the car to turn around and come down the block I "accidentally" let it fall out of my Bible. "Look at this- I got this a few months ago from a brother- 1914 - the generation that will not pass away. "I still am confused about the new understanding on the 1914 generation- does everyone understand it in your KH? "Oh yes", she said- "nobody has any problems with accepting it-

  "The explanation does seem a little convoluted to me"- I let her get a real good look at the picture of all those 80 year old JWs on the cover, then I folded it up and put it back in my Bible.

  In this case, I let the picture do the talking, as it is proof enough that the GB and the no-name F&DS are full of BS-
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  Mary

  Wow! I've never seen anyone put all the names to the faces before. Thanks for doing that Fatfreek. I just might be printing a few dozen of them off in the near future.

  As for the Society being addicted to dates, well---I've have to agree. The WTS grew out of the Adventist and Millerite religions whose sole purpose in life was to come up with a date for The End using various ingenious methods of picking and choosing scriptures they pulled out of their asses. Charles Russell simply followed suit and passed the torch on. With the advent of the internet though, they have at least curtailed naming a specific date. Instead, they simply beat their drums and loudly proclaim at how "near" The End must be, blah, blah, blah without naming a specific time. Their bizarre attempt at 'overlapping' the generation was pathetic and I'm sure it caused more than a few eyebrows. However, these idiots have got the bear by the tail: they can't let go and still save face.

  It should be interested to see what bullshit excuses they come up with in 50 years as to why The End isn't here yet.
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  FatFreek 2005

  Good experience, Moshe. Sounds like I don't want to run into you in door2door.

  The year 1984 was only 9 years following the 1975 fiasco. You would have thought they had finally learned their lesson about predictions. Yes, the Society had kept teasing the flock with that date, never actually predicting it. They realized they had gone too far in their language and in their public talks, however, and at the very least regretted (not apologized or said they were sorry) what they had said. Here's the closest to an apology that I could find.

  ... regarding the year 1975. There were statements made then, and thereafter, stressing that this was only a possibility. Unfortunately, however, along with such cautionary information, there were other statements published that implied that such realization of hopes by that year was more of a probability than a mere possibility. It is to be regretted that these latter statements apparently overshadowed the cautionary ones and contributed to a buildup of the expectation already initiated. Watchtower, 1980, 3/15 p. 17 par. 5

  The poor flock deserved more than that disclaimer. It was cliché of a thief getting caught stealing, then asked if he was sorry. Sure he was sorry, the story goes -- sorry that he got caught.

  Len
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  FatFreek 2005

  Hi Mary,

  Actually, 10 of the names had already been revealed some 4 weeks ago in one of our JWN threads. Then, several days ago, our friend Barb Anderson completed the other 4 for us in this thread.

  I was very happy to be able to create the indexed Photobucket graphic that I hope will help us all never to forget that foolish, and undeniable, WT prediction.

  Len
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  steve2

  BTT
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  moshe

  I was able to find some of these names on the Freeminds guestbook for former Bethel workers-

  Hello to everyone! My name is Bobby A., and I was in Brooklyn Bethel from 1992-2000. I was first assigned to clean towers for a short time then was reassigned to the Brooklyn Infirmary, when I along with five other brothers took 24/7 care of the senior members of the governing body. Wherever they went we went, governing body meetings, regular meeting, shopping, special talks, field service, circuit assemblies, district conventions etc. People like Fred Franz, George Gangas, John Booth, Babette Herlinger, John Erichetti, Bob Hatzfeld, Quill Zook, Karl Klein, Monsell Hershey, Crystal Swingle, Dorothy Kramer, Milton Henschel, Unn Roundholm, Yvonne Jones, Brother and Sister Howlett and innumerable others.
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  ziddina

  Marking this for future reference - and thanks for posting this!!