by God_Delusion 25 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Howdy guys and gals!
Forget the word "Generation", the Watchtower Society has completely spun another word - "Soon".
How many times did you (do you) hear Jehovah's Witnesses tell each other "the end is coming soon"?
I talk about this word spin in our latest article - The Jehovah's Witness Definition of "Soon" - http://www.jehovahswitnessblog.com/jehovahs-witness-beliefs/jehovahs-witness-definition-of-soon/
Let me know what you think.
Regards,
Jaymes
JWs are hardly alone in misusing words like 'soon'. It is a common theme among 'end times' sects, and has been for hundreds of years. These groups thrive on fear-mongering about an impending disaster, which by necessity must always be going to strike 'soon'. It simply doesn't scare people into submission if they say 'big scary things will happen in the distant future'.
When my jw first joined up and we had numerous 'discussions' about the borg I began to use jw terminology to annoy him. Yeah, I know, not nice but..... Anyway, when he would ask when I would do one thing or another or get the kids to do something I would answer with 'soon'. He never got it though
The WT also has an interesting definition of "immediately." it can span several centuries.
From the 12-15-74 WT:
Jesus gave these warnings, which had an application, first, to Jerusalem with her people, and then to Christians during the centuries after Jerusalem’s destruction. Following this warning he used the expression “immediately after the tribulation of those days.” (Matt. 24:29) This expression constituted a division, timewise. What he said from this point on applied only in onesense, namely, in modern times, not to Jerusalem back there. How can this be properly said?
The first-century usage of the term translated “immediately” (Greek, euthéos) was different from our use of the English word today. The Greek expression did not necessarily mean that there was no time lapse. Dr. A. T. Robertson’s WordPicturesintheNewTestament, in explaining this fact, refers to a similar expression (though a different Greek word is used), saying: “The use of entachei [“shortly”] in Rev. 1:1 should make one pause before he decides. Here we have a prophetic panorama like that with foreshortened perspective.” Also, we might note the long lapse of time involved in the expression by the apostle Paul: “The God who gives peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.”—Rom. 16:20.
Actually, Jesus spanned a space of centuries of time by the expression “immediately after,” for the things he thereafter described were not seen in the first century. Historical records do not show that the Roman besiegers of Jerusalem and the other “tribes of the earth” beat themselves in lamentation at any sight of the Son of man coming on clouds and with “power and great glory.”
Rather, the things Christ here foretold find their fulfillment in our time. He predicted the darkening of conditions in the world, as if the sun had gone out and the stars had fallen from heaven, there being no bright outlook ahead. These things have happened since 1914, when World War I marked a turning point in world affairs, introducing the darkest period of mankind’s history.
Liked your Disneyword illustration. . . Had been thinking that myself.
If I told my family in 1992 to 'Get ready guys, we're going to Disneyworld SOON' and repeated this every month for the last twenty years, my family would think I was either delusional or a complete jerk. It's amazing how we let institutions/people we don't see/people who don't actually exist get away with stuff like this, while we would excoriate those closest to us for the same behavior.
Sometimes I think that they meant to have a "space" in there so it should read "So on" instead of Soon.
You know like the comma that was put in the wrong spot when Jesus told the criminal next to him that "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise" It was just a typo.
NJY
I will have to take a dump SOON. That's a prophecy that will come TRUE SOON.
Kojack
Soon? With regards to things like this, "soon" never comes. And every time they try and pick a date, they blow it by a few quintillion light years.
sorry GD that you missed the ONE place WT used the term VERY VERY SOON! to descpribe THE END....my wt conductor dad actually called me and pointed it out and said he researched it and it was the first time they and EVER used it...im guessing 10 years ago or so..it could be 20 as those memories blur together like thousands of nightmares rolled into one............oompa
Haha oompa, if soon means never, very very soon must mean very very never.
