How many times did they say armagedon was coming? (page 3)

Beth Sarim

Its just a matter of time before the gb make themselves disappear,,,before Armageddon.

And vanish.

144thousand_and_one

1975 was strongly implied but not definitely claimed as the date for Armageddon, at least in the literature, public talks were reportedly more definite.

I was a born-in kid in 1975, and I remember talks that stated specifically that Armageddon was coming in October of that year. When it didn't happen, the seeds of doubt sprouted in my head.

blondie

Its just a matter of time before the gb make themselves disappear,,,before Armageddon.

And vanish. But the WTS denies that is the rapture, sounds like it is to me.

The 1995 ‘Generation’ teaching was a change in understanding. But, it changed a linchpin teaching. There were Witnesses who felt this belief was carved in stone. When the religion pulled the rug out from under everybody - the religion was over for a lot of people.

I remember that. My husband was a new jw; and one day in 1994, I said, "they will have to change the 1994 date, a generation is supposed to be 70 to 80 years, starting in 1914 that means that the end has to come then. Then when the article came out in 1995 changing that, he said, "how did you know that?" I said I had seen how many times the WTS has changed a seemingly written in stone teaching, to something else. It was time, 1994 is here.

TonusOH

The change in 1995 had a big impact because the WTS depends on a sense of urgency to push its message and control the rank and file. In the years leading up to 1975, the ranks grew quickly because people will hedge their bets 'just in case.' They had long been using the "1914 generation" teaching to show the urgency of the times, even in 1975 (the 1914 generation would have been in its 60s or 70s by then).

They designed that famous cover in 1984 talking about that generation, which would have been 70+ by then. By 1995 the sense of urgency would have been critical; the 1914 generation was now in its 80s and 90s. It is hard to see the "change in understanding" as anything other than a convenience; as a way to get rid of a growing problem. It should also be no surprise that many left around this time, because it's hard to avoid the feeling that you were being pranked.

But the loss of urgency is a problem. That's why they decided to revive the "this generation" teaching and came up with the "overlapping generations" abomination. I'd really love to know who decided that it was a good idea to do that. I wonder how many JWs who held on after 1995 saw this and realized that they were following a bunch of clowns.

WingCommander

Ok, so I know I've stated my background before (over the past 20 years on here, lol), but here I go again since this is an "Armageddon" thread.

I'm going to be 46 this year. Born in 1979. However, growing up in the 1980's was a real treat! The sense of urgency (even 10 years after 1975) can NOT be understated enough. Those 1984 WatchTower magazines were used as PROOF, right at the doors, of how far INTO "The End" we were. That "Generation" was really up there, passing away, and WatchTower's / Awake!'s inside-the-cover proclamation was in full effect. It was God's PROMISE that those old enough would NOT pass away before The End came. PERIOD!

It was drilled into me from the cradle on up. I was told I wouldn't have to worry about graduating school, finding a job, planning for retirement, a home, etc in this "Old System of Things." My parents about had a panic attack driving me to my first day of Kindergarten in 1984. They didn't want me around "worldly kids." My parents were baptized in 1983 at the Grantville, PA Assembly Hall, but were exposed since their youth to WatchTower teachings, and had studied with many older ones who were nearing death, and saw them almost as guiding parents. Book Study night in our home routinely had references to older publications such as: Babylon the Great Has Fallen, God's Kingdom of a 1000 Years, and many more of the "rainbow books." I was so bored as a child, cause Book Study night at my home would go to 10pm or later at times! (crazy to think about, now that I'm an adult with my own kid - it's abusive!)

There was an older fellow and his wife in our old Congregation. (now defunct, imagine that?) When I was 5, he was 95. He was a sweet old man, and a running gag of mine was to ask him, "How many more years to 100?" He'd laugh and tell me and then we'd laugh about how it didn't matter cause we'd both be young in the New Order and he'd be able to play with me and keep up. Him and his wife were darlings, and are also now long since deceased. As an adult, I think back on all that he must have lived and seen as a JW in his life. All of the empty promises and false hope and false prophecies. But I think he was just so old that it was all that he had to hold onto, which is SAD, because Jesus should have been what he anchored his faith upon, not these charlatan false prophets up in New York.

1995, I was 16. I was in High School, working part time jobs. I kind of woke up around age 10, after some abuse from older, fellow JW kids that went unanswered by the Congregation. (no SA, but abuse by an MS's son, all swept under the rug and I was made to HUG my own abuser as forgiveness for having the shit kicked out of me for an entire school year by a manipulative narcissist 3 years older then me) So I kind of missed the entire "1995 Generation Change." If I had known about it then, I'd have hit the ceiling in anger. See, even though I was physically and mostly mentally "out", I still held onto those ingrained beliefs from my young childhood. I still expected the Great Tribulation to break out before the year 2000. I mean, how much longer could it go on? Surely no more than 5 years, right? RIGHT? (how many times have we heard 3-5 years from Elduhs? It's like a running joke by now) 2001 came, and ohhhhhh boy. If 9/11 didn't kick off hatred for religion, didn't make the Governments of the world turn on Islam (then the rest of the religion) and hence kick off the Great Tribulation, NOTHING would. At least, that's what I thought. Now, here we are damn near 25 years later. I'm in great shape, but got some grey hairs. My son graduated high school, 25 years to the month after I did. My grandparents, parents, and all of the older ones we studied with? All of them are DEAD. All of them!! Time has truly shown this cult up as the money-grubbing false prophets that they are. It's amazing to me, but here we are! And the past 10-15 years of watching the new "JWdot.borg" become this huge real estate and multimedia empire with cartoons, JW Broadcasting, and doctrinal and dress/grooming changes and marking time changes out the wha-zoo have been totally WILD. Never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted just how LOW this dumbass cult could fall. That's on TOP OF the child sexual abuse cases that apparently were all around me growing up in the south central Pennsylvania Congregations. (Good thing my parents were over-protective of me) It's like, I couldn't make this shit up! That's how wild observing this crap is. And that's what I feel like sometimes......this weird sort of Observer.

TTWSYF

It was God's PROMISE that those old enough would NOT pass away before The End came. PERIOD!

The problem was, of course, that God never said any of that. Only a group who TOLD YOU that they speak for God….you and yours believed the LIE.

Thankfully, you know better now…🤔

LongHairGal

WING COMMANDER:

I seem to recall the years between 1995 and 2000 in the JW religion. Many were hoping and praying the year 2000 would finally be the End.

When it didn’t happen and 9/11 occurred many Witnesses thought ‘this was it’.. I saw the inactives come back to the hall. Ironically, I was just starting my ‘Fade’ from the religion. I was not swayed by the hysteria.. I was just glad to finally be leaving.. Now it’s all these years later in 2025 and the End hasn’t arrived yet and a much changed JW religion still here although many have left.

How many times did they say armagedon was coming?

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