Is anyone else completely astonished that they're drawing attention to 1914/2014 - 100 years

by jambon1 33 Replies latest jw friends

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  DATA-DOG

  They are getting out in front of the issue. Sure there is an Elephant in the room, but it's no biggie. The GB say, " Hey, we are not worried. Don't sweat it!" They know that by ignoring it, 1914 will become an issue. They are attempting to deflect long enough to scheme their way around it. They just need time. Time for some more dubs to die off, and new dumb-dumbs to join up.

  Just think how difficult it was for each of us to confront our doubts. I think there are millions of doubters, they are just placated enough so they keep going. Just a little longer, right? The END must be close, right?? Next thing you know it's been 5 or 10 years and the ORG has morphed again. The JW population will be vastly different in 10 years. The older dubs are gone. Middle aged burn-outs are old and inactive. The young brainwashed Eldubs of the JW.org persuasion are leading the charge with Sanderson and Co. Who would really question them when they ditch 1914 then??

  They are masters of deception. They play on Jws emotions and on the fear of death. Jeehoober is gonna kill ya if you don't do what we say. That and DF'ing are powerful weapons. They know just how to drag things out. I think they are hedging their bets. Even the GB don't know what is going on. They MUST be hoping that something happens! They put all their eggs in one basket. They need the big "A" or a major military event. Something to point to and say, " This COULD be the GT, but we won't say!" Doubting dubs will cling to MOTHER's skirt for just a little longer.
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  kneehighmiah

  They are rebranding 1914. It will now mark the beginning of Christ ruling in heaven. They will eventually drop 1914 as the date of jesus invisible presence. jesus presence will be moved into the future to coincide with the great tribulation. They will then say that Jesus used his kingly power to select them as the FDS. actually that is exactly what they said in the WT. did you notice there was no mention of Jesus presence in the article?
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  transhuman68

  LOL, it certainly seems to be 'brazen conduct' by the GB, but they are all ambitious 'company men', so keeping the Borg going is No. 1 priority. The younger dubs will think it is exciting, and the older dubs have already lost faith but still attend meetings and donate money so it won't hurt if the GB just state the obvious. It is something to break the mind-numbing monotony of being a dub- God knows there is nothing else for them to look forward to...
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  Xanthippe

  did you notice there was no mention of Jesus presence in the article? - kneehighmiah

  Hard to believe because when I was in they never stopped banging on about Christ's parousia and the ins and outs of the Greek word, blah blah. Yes jambon I was surprised they even have the audacity to draw attention to it being a hundred years that these poor guys have been waiting for that new system.
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  FlyingHighNow

  I'm sure a lot of jws will think about it. It will twist their brains in knots, trying to reconcile the time span with the generation doctrine and the so called immediacy of their message.
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  Dismissing servant

  They are rebranding 1914. It will now mark the beginning of Christ ruling in heaven.

  Hmm, I think you are on to something important, Kneehigh. Didn't he start ruling in 1918 according to earlier theology? The invisible return was supposed to be in 1914, but not the ruling.
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  metatron

  This concerns the fundamental problem with trying to figure out the future of the WTS: being a rational person trying to judge an irrational organization.

  Yes, from a marketing perspective emphasizing over 100 years of abject prophetic failure sounds crazy but that's not how the Organization works.

  metatron
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  cha ching

  This is what con men commonly call the .... "razzle dazzle"

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW3MIixEps4
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  Island Man

  "They are rebranding 1914. It will now mark the beginning of Christ ruling in heaven."

  But that IS what they already long claimed christ's presence to be - his invisible presence in kingdom power. They already clam his presence refers to his royal presence as king in heaven. To JWs, christs ascending the throne in heaven is one and the same with his presence. They have even stated in the literature that the Greek word is sometimes used to refer to a king's royal reign or something like that. Didn't you know that?

  But of course what the bible says makes it evident that what they claim about christ's presence is bogus, as I mentioned in answering this YA question:

  " The JWs do this by twisting the meaning of scripture to separate christ 's presence from his final coming. They say that his presence begins before his final coming. But that's ridiculous. A person has to come first in order to be present, and this is exactly what the scriptures indicate.
  
  The JWs came up with their twisted invisible presence reasoning as a means of saving some face when their initial predictions about 1914 failed. They initially taught that the end of the gentile times in 1914 would mean the end of the present system of things. When that failed to materialize they eventually advanced the reasoning that 1914 marked the invisible enthronement of Jesus in heaven and the start of his invisible presence . This is one of the typical tactics that false prophets resort to when their date predictions don't bring the visible events they predicted. They resort to spiritualizing the event, saying it did take place but in a spiritual sense or invisibly.
  
  According to the bible, christ's presence starts with his final coming to destroy the wicked. Multiple texts indicate this. Here's some examples:
  
  At 2 Peter 3:3,4 mention is made of ridiculers coming in the last days and asking where is the promised presence. According to JWs the last days started with the start of christ's presence in 1914. So here is what JW doctrine would have us believe:
  
  1. That that text is saying ridulers living during christ's presence would foolishly ask where is his presence, and this great irony is completely lost on the inspired bible writer since he does not address it.
  
  2. That Peter also does not address the error of the ridiculers for their expecting christ's presence to start visibly. Instead he seems to corroborate their expectations of a visible presence by drawing a parallel with the destructive flood of Noah's day and by speaking of the destructive "day of Jehovah" that is to come, i.e. christ's final coming to execute the wicked. He makes no mention of an invisible presence as a prelude to the destruction.
  
  If the JWs are correct in their teaching, how could the inspired bible writer have missed these glaring errors of understanding implicit in the ridiculers' question? More than that, how could he have condoned their misunderstanding by going on to speak about the day of Jehovah, thus implicitly teaching bible readers that christ's presence is synonymous with the destructive "day of Jehovah"?
  
  It is obvious that the JWs are wrong. Peter and the ridiculers correctly understood that the start of christ's presence would be marked by climactic and destructive divine intervention. 2 Peter 3:9 proves this. It says (NWT):
  
  "Jehovah is not slow respecting his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with YOU because he does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance."
  
  The implication of this text is inescapable, when you carefully analyze it. The ridiculers were arguing that the promised presence isn't coming. Peter responds by implying that the ridiculers regard Jehovah as being slow respecting his promise - the *promised* presence. Then notice that he gives the reason for the apparent delay to the presence: Jehovah does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance! Do you see it? Peter's words here necessarily imply that when the presence starts there would be no time left for any to repent. This proves that the promised presence will not start with a century of invisible rule - which will afford time for repentance - but rather will start with christ's final coming to destroy the wicked. So 2 Peter 3:3,4,9 totally debunks their century long invisible presence doctrine.
  
  There are other texts too. James 5:7 is one. That text tells christians to exercise patience *until* the presence of Jesus. The use of "until" means that when the presence starts they would no longer need to exercise patience as they will then receive their heavenly reward. (2 Thessalonian 2:1) The JWs' century long invisible presence teaching invalidates the words of James 5:7 because according to their teaching an anointed christian alive in 1914 as to continue exercising patience his whole life - a whole century after the start of christ's presence!
  
  Matthew 24 shows that Jesus used "presence" and "coming" interchangeably because he knew that his coming will mark the start of his presence. Matthew 24:36-44 shows this. And when you think about it, it's basic common sense that an absent person has to come in order to be present. He is not present before he comes. Matthew 24:33 shows that the events Jesus predicted would not indicate that his presence is here, as the JWs falsely claim, but that his presence is *near*. Jesus used the expression "near at the doors" meaning outside the figurative house and just about to enter. His presence would be figuratively denoted by being inside the house.
  
  The JWs have allowed their prideful refusal to admit that they were totally wrong about 1914, to throw their eschatology completely out of whack!"
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  Gypsy Sam

  cha Ching, perfect timing on the ole razzle dazzle. Love it.