JW’s are generally afraid to discuss prophecy with each other. They are reluctant to express their
feelings because they don’t want to look like they are doing “independent thinking”. Occasionally
late hours at a social gathering or perhaps a couple of drinks will open the door to an open
exchange of opinions on prophecy. A little encouragement by a renegade is all that is needed to
get things going. I must confess this has gotten to be one of my favorite pastimes at JW’s social
gatherings.
It is simply a matter of asking some of the same questions JW’s use to get a conversation going
with a householder in field service. “So, what do you make of current events?” “Do you think
you are going to see the end in your lifetime?” “Do you think we will ever give a thorough
witness to Moslems and Chinese?” “
Half the people I talk to, ( in their late mid to late 40's) figure they will probably die before the
end gets here. Most of the people figure the work is fairly advanced in China although
underground. As for the Moslems, they figure they have had their chance and have rejected the
truth as a community. The really strange conversations center around trying to fit world events
into the Watchtower prophetic paradigm. What’s going to get the governments to turn on false
religion? Some feel its going to be a worldwide economic collapse that will make the
governments raid the Church treasuries. Others feel that religious sponsored terrorism such as
September 11 will eventually bring all the governments together to ban religion. Another
question that generates endless speculation is the identity of the King of the North. No one
believes its Russia. A lot of witnesses think its China. Quite a few think its Iraq. Still others
speculate that it will be a United Europe.
What is strange is that the conversation always ends up the same. We just have to wait ‘til the
faithful slave reveals what’s going to happen. Does it occur to them that the Watchtower writers
are just as confused as they are? If the “slave” really has special insight and the end is “really
close” why is the vision so fuzzy?