I think people want to believe in an Armageddon

by dgp 34 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  donuthole

  I clipped something that someone wrote about the appeal/fascination of the 'zombie apocalypse'. I think some of these thoughts are equally revelant to armageddon hopes/fears:

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  People are delusional in thinking that then end of civilisation would end their problems. It's like the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Part of the fall of the classical Roman Empire is related to the proliferation of the Christian religion. People no longer felt a need to fix things about their society that were broken, because: "Fuck it! There is life after death!"

  It's the same thing in modern times. People are unhappy with their lives and have a "fuck it... it's all gonna burn anyway" attitude.

  Apocalypse might end your first world problems, but the new problems would be a bit more intense. Being cold, wet and filthy all the time, scratching in the dirt to find food, starvation, no clean water, fighting off other starving hoards of humanity (aka zombies), getting sick easily, finding out how weak and out of shape you really are, and it goes on and on. -- I believe that at this point of societal breakdown people would go back on their primitive instincts. Rather than look for the "pretty" people which this current society has designated as desirable, strong people with a leadership mentality would ultimately become the sought after partner. Rather than look for that skinny pretty girl, take the girl that is a little plump and has some sort of physical trait that is desirable (ie. Fast, strong, etc..). She is most likely going to survive over some scrawny little women who was used to being given anything (No offense just trying to state my pseudo-facts) --

  Well that or else they want to feel special, and being a last survivor would give them that. Rather than one among billions, they'd be one of only a few, and the survival of the species would be tied to their fate. Basic hero stuff, really.

  In fact I would argue that it is the preferred hero fantasy of those who realize that they are not so special. The apocalypse provides a plausible way for them to become special without any special skill or effort, just dumb luck. It's also a favorite of those who feel that their particular talents are unappreciated or underutilized in the modern civilized world.
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  dgp

  Perhaps different people have different reasons to believe in an Armageddon, such as child indoctrination, a feeling of not being appreciated, et cetera-. The idea is essentially one, but the reasons why we believe in it are different. And they are all powerful enough for us to prefer to deny the basic fact that all prophecies regarding the end of the world have been proven false.
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  King Solomon

  Most people would feel uncomfortable considering (yet alone hoping for, or even preaching about (!)) unspoken horrors being experienced by others; ironically some feel not the slightest twinge of guilt when they harbor the same wishes in the name of God.

  The first goal of convincing people to engage in horrific acts is to dehumanize the victims: it happened with the Holocaust, and with all other genocidal campaigns.

  God is dehumanizing to members of all out-groups (i.e. gentiles/heathens), in the most allegorical and the most-literal sense.
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  pontoon

  Lady Lee hit the nail on the head. Swallowing the whole kool aid package ending in Armageddon relieves them of all present responsibility as far as contributing any extra to society. It means no contributions to worthwhile causes, no volunteering for causes or fire depts...ect..no politics.......all without a twinge of conscience for being a community deadbeat because they are already doing a "life saving work." Years ago I was working a regular return visit, a retired state trooper, thought I was making good progress with him. In a disscussion with him I said there were 5 million of us around the world. He said that was a good number, enough to have a goal and actually make a difference in the world in some type of charitable or noble area. Of course my response was we're doing the preaching work. He said what about right now, make a difference right now, don't stop preaching but help people now. That return visit conversation stuck with me because in my heart I knew he was right.
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  BluesBrother

  I used to find that , when I used to do the Field Misery, that lots of people believed in a World destruction,- eventually some time, but it was not a real current fear..

  The dubs I know are , I think, the oposite. They want to have a New World but they do not want to face a real Armageddon. Despite what the WT prints about it, they secretly think that the "good" people will survive and then "turn to Jehovah" afterwards, if they want to.
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  jgnat

  Although I reject Armageddon thinking as I don't think it's good for people, as fantasy it is one of my favorite genres. This, coming from a girl who can't sit through a horror movie. Violence is real, and I've come close enough to it in real life, thank you very much.

  But a safe fantasy is imagining starting over on a fresh world. The ultimate survivalist tale. I theorize that the fear of world anihallation is buried deep in the most primitive part of our dinosaur brain. World destruction WAS real for them, and the precious few survivors are the ancestors of us all.

  I was watching National Geographic the other night, and the fascinating sub-culture of the preppers. The closest I'll get is keeping my 72 hour kit handy in case of, you know, real disaster. Like power outages, fire or flood.
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  pontoon

  I want to add dubs are puffed up always being reminded that they are "model citizens" paying their taxes and obeying the law like they have a monopoly on that. Well, lots of people pay their taxes, obey the law, volunteer for fire, ambulance, coach little league, town boards, money drives for causes........list goes on and on. No, JW's are not model citizens.
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  King Solomon

  Pontoon said:

  "It means no contributions to worthwhile causes, no volunteering for causes or fire depts...ect..no politics.......all without a twinge of conscience for being a community deadbeat because they are already doing a "life saving work."

  I suspect that twinge of a guilty conscience from understanding they are freeloaders explains the motivations behind publications like, “Defending and Legally Establishing the Good News”. If they can point to the court cases they're fought to protect the organization's freedom of speech, and freedom of religion, they feel that counts as civic duty.

  Of course, the exquisite irony is they actually don't care about any INDIVIDUAL'S freedom of speech or religion: in fact, they believe in the OPPOSITE, such that individuals who dare speak any message counter to theirs is shunned as an apostate, persona non grata. So they believe in the rights of the WTBTS to engage in free speech, just not anyone else....
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  pontoon

  King Solomon
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  Cold Steel

  One of the biggest problems with the Jehovah’s Witnesses is that they have no understanding of what Armageddon is or what the prophets have said about it.

  First of all, Armageddon is not a worldwide conflagration, but a local event that takes place just north of Jerusalem. According to the prophets, a powerful warlord identified as “Gog” will sweep down from the countries of the north. He also will be strongly allied with the nations “round about” Israel. At the time these prophecies were written, Jerusalem wasn’t surrounded by nations that hated them. But now it is.

  Ezekiel records the word of the Lord to Gog in chapters 37-38. It’s a personal warning and based on the language, it’s clear that Gog will be familiar with the prophecy. He just won’t believe it. Zechariah also chronicles the battle of Armageddon in chapters 12-14. He prophecies that in the latter days that Jerusalem will be a “burdensome stone” to all people. Even so, He will strengthen Israel and the Jews and will miraculously deliver them. As the city of Jerusalem is on its last leg, Christ will descend from the heavens fulfilling the prophecy of Acts 1. His feet will touch down on the Mount of Olives on that day and an earthquake will split the mount, creating a great valley. The Jews will flee into the valley and will be delivered, but when they see the wounds in his hands they will say, “What are these wounds in thy hands,” and He will reply, “Those are the wounds I received in the house of my friends.” They will then realize their Messiah is Jesus, and Zechariah says the nation will go into deep mourning and lamentation.

  Chances are, most Jehovah’s Witnesses are totally ignorant about these prophecies. They’ve had so much false doctrine drilled into their heads that they are completely unaware of these prophecies. They think Armageddon will be all the forces of good arrayed against all the forces of evil. In Nordic mythology, this battle was called Ragnar ö k and it would end with the complete destruction of both good and evil. But in Hebrew theology, Armageddon is the final battle of this age. And it will have nothing to do with the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

  Again, read Ezekiel 38-39 and Zechariah 12-14. The battle of Gog and Magog described in Ezekiel will be repeated at the end of the Millennium and will be named after the conflict at the beginning of the Millennium. Ezekiel describes only the conflict at the beginning of the Millennium, not the one at the end. How do we know this? Because the Lord said “it shall be in the latter days,” a reference to the days preceding the Lord’s Millennial reign. Also, after the premillennial battle, it will take the Jews seven years to clean up the weapons and fuel left over from the battle. That will NOT happen at the battle at the end of the Millennium. That conflict will be very brief and will spell the end of Satan and his angels.