Jan...what can I say other than it was the spirit of the times. WW1 had galvanized the minds of many that the end was near. The efforts of the League of Nations for example were condemned by a number of millenarians as a ruse of dark forces to blind believers to the truth, that peace was impossible. Any text that could be, was interpreted as confirming this mindset.
Dates and times
by jhine 40 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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jhine
So did the 1975 date come from as far back as then. ?
Jan from Tam
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carla
Jan, check this out it may help you to understand and a refresher course for those who might have forgotten.
https://jwfacts.com/watchtower/1975.php
1975 Watchtower Quotes
The idea that 1975 would culminate in the end of the world was introduced in 1966.
"The published timetable resulting from this independent study gives the date of man's creation as 4026 B.C.E. According to this trustworthy Bible chronology six thousand years from man's creation will end in 1975, and the seventh period of a thousand years of human history will begin in the fall of 1975 C.E. So six thousand years of man's existence on earth will soon be up, yes, within this generation. So in not many years within our own generation we are reaching what Jehovah God could view as the seventh day of man's existence. How appropriate it would be for Jehovah God to make of this coming seventh period of a thousand years a sabbath period of rest and release, a great Jubilee sabbath for the proclaiming of liberty throughout the earth to all its inhabitants! This would be most timely for mankind. It would also be most fitting on God's part, for, remember, mankind has yet ahead of it what the last book of the Holy Bible speaks of as the reign of Jesus Christ over earth for a thousand years, the millennial reign of Christ. It would not be by mere chance or accident but would be according to the loving purpose of Jehovah God for the reign of Jesus Christ, the 'Lord of the Sabbath,' to run parallel with the seventh millennium of man's existence." Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God 1966 pp.26-30
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Diogenesister
Peaceful PIt's like my doctor telling me there are no warnings for cancer to occur, it can happen when least expected, so I interpret my lack of symptoms as a sign of cancer.
🤣🤣👍🏻
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Diogenesister
Jan is the TamTamworth?
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Listener
The Watchtower has done it in order to gain followers to them. It’s to make people ‘captive of a concept’.
They become the guard dog even though they might bark, without cause in the middle of the night as Jackson put it. But they get to call the shots and have people look to them for instructions and obedience.
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peacefulpete
Jan... Carla answered your specific question well. All I was referring to was the 1 Thess 5 interpretation. Many were disappointed the Great War hadn't brought on Armagedón, unable to accept their error and embrace peace, they became effectively critical, dismissive of efforts for peace. Some would say they opposed peace, preferring for the world to be destroyed.
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jhine
Dio , yes it is Tamworth in Staffordshire are you close?
Jan from Tam.
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jhine
Thanks Carla , l will read through this .
When the question was asked at my study group my answer was that it ( setting dates ) is about control .
Saying to followers that you dare not leave us now because Armageddon is coming . You don't want to chance being on the wrong side.
Is that too simplistic ?
Jan from Tam
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TonusOH
I think that's accurate. Fear is an effective means of control. Someone who is having doubts might decide to stay in, if only because they fear that they will leave just before the end and lose out.