Do you believe that we are living in the last days, and why?

by new light 31 Replies latest jw friends

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  LisaRose

  People naturally have a me centric point of view. If you lived during the time of the crusades or the bubonic plague you might think you were in the last days also. Charles Russel though he was in the last days. People tend to worry and focus on the bad, so it's easy to things couldn't get much worse. The reality is that some things are bad, some things are pretty good. Your chances of dying from disease or war are probably fairly low right now. Crime is decreasing in many areas.

  Don't say that to a JW though, they have been brainwashed to believe life is hopeless and things are terrible. Of course if you are a JW your life probably is terrible.
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  NAVYTOWN

  If a JW asked me the question: 'Do you believe we are living in the last days?'. I would answer 'Oh, do you mean the same 'last days' that JWs were preaching about back in the early 20th Century??? Why should I believe it now when all those previous predictions never came true???'. Then I would tell them to get lost.
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  kaik

  Every generation believed that they lived in the last days. Every single one. When Alaric sacked Rome in 410, Christians throughout the known world thought that the end was imminent and Jesus will return to replace defeated imperial power. Augustine wrote City of God, and Jerome was figuring out what to do. 1600 years later, some obscure cult claims the same. The end is comming, but individiually for every one of us.
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  Crazyguy

  I have noticed that what keeps many of them in and not thinking is the social club. I mean this is all these people have for friends and people to hang out with and do things. They know deep down inside that if they were to use their brains and the lights would come on they would lose it all. So they just go on telling themselves all is good and there in the best place on earth. I think the only way to break the cycle is getting people to be among others, but the Borg tell them that all other people are worldly so stay away. Its a tough fight...
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  Pete Zahut

  Things have got to get a lot worse....before they get worse.
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  steve2

  Kaik and LisaRose have it right, but I would extend their astute observations by noting that humans are innately narcissistic ( only for the main part we channel this self-centredness into prosocial endeavours.)

  Hence, we bestow upon ourselves, generation after generation after generation, the privilege of being awake to what is really going on it the world, drawing upon signs of all kinds that "things ain't what they used to be" and that we have learnt what it all means.

  Show me someone who believes these are the last days, and I will show you someone who believes truth is in very scarce supply and, hey! s/he knows who possess that short supply and who may even be inclined to share it with you - regardless of what you believe or don't believe. Evidence and even truth are irrelevant to this discourse. What is relevant is the ego-soothing specialness of knowing something the vast majority either don't know or deliberately ignore or worse, repudiate. The ultimate narcissist was Noah, a man every bit as odious as Russell Crowe. A lesser narcissist was Christ. Which one? Any of the untold number who have trod the weary planet with their missions to save. Predictably, whenever someone tells you these are the last days, look closer for a bruised ego that needs to get hold of a soothing balm that gives the fingers to an ungrateful world.
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  new light

  Looks like most of you did not read the post. It was about WT mind control through leading questions, not the merits of last days propaganda. DATA-DOG, zeb, and Crazyguy: Thank you for taking the time to understand my post.
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  Vidiot

  I had come to the conclusion that the current era couldn't be the Last Days before I even faded, in no small part because the geopolitical lansdcape was such that the WTS's eschatology was increasingly untenable (not to mention that many things about the present day contradicted what even general End-Times interpretation claimed was happening or would happen).

  x

  That being said, I do think the WTS is experiencing its Last Days (for a variety of reasons).
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  Gustv Cintrn

  Hi,

  According the Biblical accounts, we've been living in the last days ever since this fine writing has been in existence.

  This is why many years ago, around the 'Generation' new light (mid-90s?), we had a large family/extended-family meeting in one of our homes in New England (funny, looking back it seemed so similar to a large thanksgiving gathering seeing in movies) where we feasted in tasty caribbean food; there, while enjoying this fine meal, one of our elders (in age and JW title as well) called to order and silence and stated that in light of this new development we as JWs and family as well should pay full attention to what the book of Revelation 4:11 said. From that point forward, although it should've been like this all along, we shall continue to serve our God for his wonderful creations, and not with 'anxious expectation of the end'.

  His emphatic and self-assured words gave me goose bumps, but put into practice have brought a much better atmosphere to us all as a family and in our everyday lives. So, we went on forward to study secularly, travel, embarq in business ventures, etc., all as applicable, and continued on our JWism; all from a fresh perspective.

  The 'end', whether by man's doing, by divine intervention or some natural cosmic event who really knows, will happen or just by merely dying as so many millions have experienced already. Our present reality is "Life ends"; so, while alive, enjoy it and keep moving forward in the goal you set for yourself and brings you happiness.

  If the "end" as we JWs expect it happens, then, wonderful! It's about damn freaking time! But, since it hasn't and it seems that God himself is in no rush, is astoundingly foolish to live life just waiting for that event.

  GC
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  new light