Did Any Of You Ever Believe In The Explanations Of JW Prophecy? (page 3)

minimus

"A day for a year" was supposed to be the catalyst that made it all so reasonable. I never fully bought that one either. At least the Society ONLY concentrates on 2 dates now-----1914 and 1919......(less problems)

SealingSalamander

Oh yes, of course I did. I didn't have any other choice! (Unless I could appreciate the environmental benefits of being the birdcrap on the ground of the New System when the birds of heaven tore apart my 8 year old body, etc...)

Anyway, one I always had trouble with was the much awaited cry of 'Peace and Security'! It never made sense that just when people started to get it together that God would pull the rug out from under them...

jws

Prophecy? Maybe. But I started to get sick of hearing the greater this, greater that, modern fulfillment of this or that, modern so-and-so class. Every week another comparison. Really got me fed up, thinking "Do I have to remember this crap?" That's when I really started thinking they were just pulling this stuff out of thin air to make things they did seem like they were part of some divine plan.

plmkrzy

Yes. Although I always had mixed feelings about many beliefs. For example, I could never completely swallow the idea that only baptized JWs or un-baptized JW minors would survive Armageddon. I swallowed the whole Armageddon time-line to a point. I figured I would have to live to experience it, but I never believed it was right around the corner in the same sense most JWs believe.

One of the things that turned me away was all the dates and figures they were always coming up with. CONSTANTLY estimating the time of the end. I got fed up with it.

Francois

Believe in them? Are you nuts? Most of the elders I knew couldn't explain them without extensive notes and a blackboard the size of Rhode Island. Going to the KH on Friday nights while I was little was only a convenient way to get a ride to my grandfather's farm 35 miles west of town, and that was it. I was only playing a game. The game continued until I couldn't in good conscience fake it any more. Then I quit.

badolputtytat

As far as the prophecies and teachings I dont think so... I remember being a very gud reeder at eight years old, and everytime they talked about 144,000 or birthdays, or just about anything... I would think "but that it IS NOT what it says!!! You just added up three scriptures from two ends of the bible and MADE it say that". Plus the elders gave me the creeps... I dont go for the "aura mumbo jumbo"... but something about that look in their eye.. dont know, just "sensed" it.

About the only thing that got me was the fear tactics. I have been out for fifteen years, and up until about three or four years ago, I would lie in the darkness and ... worry? The continuous gloom and doom. I think the imagery got me more than the prophecies. The whole fire from the sky thing... shook me up. ooh dat was creepy.

onacruse

Did Any Of You Ever Believe In The Explanations Of JW Prophecy?

Yep, absolutely, front to back, no questions asked. What's worse (or better, depending on your viewpoint), I could explain them all. 1914? Piece of cake. The Elisha/Elijah work? Easy. The antitypological application of so many prophecies to 1919? Made all the sense in the world.

I didn't just swallow the bait...I took down the line, sinker, rod, and boat.

Craig

heathen

maxwell----------Maybe there never was a point. Just something to keep you impressed that the GB had some kind of direct line with God.

I can certainly relate to this . The king of the north and south are very obscure as far as being able to say without a doubt their identities . To make matters more difficult was the belief that the identities continue to change , the king of the north could turn around and be the king of the south .What really facinates me is the way the WT tries to take on this kind of challenge and insist they are right so without question the rest of the jw accept it as undisputable truth . I think that is one of the reasons I find these discussions so interesting .

Mary

I never really believed the whole "Jesus returned invisibly in 1914" stuff, even though at that time, I knew nothing of their shoddy 607BCE date. To me, it simply made NO sense and I conveyed that to the sister I was studying with when I was 14 or 15 years old. I was due to get baptized and she casually asked me if I had any questions about any of the doctrines. When I told her I didn't understand how Jesus "returned invisibly" in 1914, when the bible says "every eye will see Him", I'll give you three guesses as to what her reaction was:

"That's okay Mary, we're free to question our doctrines and to come to different conclusions";
"I never thought of that before. Let me phone Bethel and tell them they've made a mistake";
"DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THIS IS GOD'S ORGANIZATION MARY??? WE GO BY WHAT THE FAITHFUL & DISCREET SLAVE CLASS SAYS!!! IF YOU'RE HAVING DOUBTS, THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T BE GETTING BAPTIZED!!!"

blondie

Mary, I only need one guess, #3.

Because of statements like these, I always took what they said about prophecies with a grain of salt. I was never a 1975'er. Of course, I recognized it would not be a healthy idea to proclaim that too loudly.

*** w97 8/15 16 Living for Today or for an Eternal Future? ***

As events develop, though, our understanding of prophecy has become clearer. History shows that rarely, if ever, are divine prophecies fully understood before their fulfillment.

*** w81 3/1 29 The 'Faithful Slave' Gives "Food at the Proper Time" ***
The "slave" is not divinely inspired but continues to search the Scriptures and carefully scrutinize world events, as well as the situation of God’s people, so as to understand the ongoing fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Because of human limitations, at times there may be an incomplete or incorrect understanding of some matter that may require correction later.

Did Any Of You Ever Believe In The Explanations Of JW Prophecy?

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