Watchtower Aug. 15, 1968 says to ignore Jesus about tthe time of the end..

by AloneinOh 37 Replies latest jw friends

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  Amazing1914

  Poztate,

  I believe he also gave a talk that expressed the opinion that alough we may not know the day or hour we do know the YEAR..

  Yes, absolutely. I always loved Freddie-isms. It was phrases like this that allowed me to stop toying with Jesus words ... as they put it ... and I became convinced that mature Christians will appreciate the urgency of the times as 1975 was so near.

  The Oct. 8, 1968 Awake! said that 1975 was God's appropriate time to act ... 1975, for JWs at time time, became a deal revealed and sealed in heaven ... God was soon to act in a matter of months or even weeks.

  I remember the summer of 1975 at the District Conventions. They said that perhaps God is keeping the door open a little longer out of his great mercy (soft peddle their failing prophecy) but not to be lulled into thinking this old system could go on another ten years.

  How long ago was that? 30 years?
• 

  The Leological One

  Will Power,

  "They are encouraging the feeling of REVENGE

  all those worldly opposers getting their just reward - A Violent Death !!!

  and they look down on those spending the price of a theatre ticket to watch violence. They spend their whole life for that ticket to paradise!!

  "

  Amen~!
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  gumby

  I remember an article that said Jesus did not know the day or hour when the bible was penned.......but NOW he knows the day and hour. They said when he was installed as king in 1914 Jehovah let him on his little secret. The insinuation was that Jesus passed the news on to the Slave Class.

  Gumby
• 

  steve2

  They said that perhaps God is keeping the door open a little longer out of his great mercy (soft peddle their failing prophecy) .

  Yes, I remember hearing that at a convention. What puzzled me then was that, by that time, there was a perceptible slowing down among the JWs in New Zealand. I couldn't understand why Jehovah would keep the door open longer to allow more people in, whilst others were slipping out the back door. It just sounded like special pleading. Looking back, it is all so clear: They encouraged belief in a totally false prophecy and then lied that they had ever made that prophecy.
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  wiegel

  I swallowed - hook, line, and sinker - and remember it well. Started having a bible study in 72, quit college in 3rd year, quit music lessons, gave away oil paints, upset family with non-celebrations, and started doing the "limbo" for the next 25 years. The best consolation for me was finding this board 5 years ago and learning that I am not alone. I love life and am glad I got out in time to really enjoy what I have left while my family is still alive. Have they EVER said they are sorry about ANYthing? EVER????????????????? Such arrogance is clearly un-Christian, if not immoral.
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  Bonnie_Clyde

  I have to the conclusion that there is a malady in the Organization called "collective amnesia."

  Our circuit overseer in the early 1970's stated from the platform on two separate visits, "The Society was not wrong about 1914 and it will not be wrong about 1975." Now many will say oh well, that was just one circuit overseer. I've since learned that CO's and DO's all over the country (and the world?) were talking about 1975. If they were acting on their own initiative, why didn't the Society call them in and severely chastize them? It was because they got their information from the Society's service department.

  My husband (that's Clyde by the way) says that Armageddon did come in 1975--and it wasn't all bad.
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  Poztate

  I remember the summer of 1975 at the District Conventions. They said that perhaps God is keeping the door open a little longer out of his great mercy (soft peddle their failing prophecy) but not to be lulled into thinking this old system could go on another ten years.

  How long ago was that? 30 years?

  Yeah...I was there too. There seemed to be an air of excitement that year. (or was that excrement)

  We all KNEW that things would be happening very very very soon......

  30 years later we are still on the brink,at the threshold,of the soon,fast aproaching,imminent.....ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
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  steve2

  "The Society was not wrong about 1914 and it will not be wrong about 1975."

  Yes, this may well be a perspective thing. Maybe the world did end in 1914 and in 1975, but we're all just too proud to have noticed it. I will try to humble myself and, in a humbled state of heart, join in with the dedicated throngs as we fill the earth with peace and love. I'm due for my medication about now...
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  The Leological One

  "One thing is absolutely certain, Bible chronology reinforced with fulfilled Bible prophecy shows that six thousand years of man's existance will soon be up, yes, within this generation! (Matt.24:34) This is, no time to be indifferent and complacent. This is not the time to be toying with the words of Jesus that "concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the son, but only the father." (Matt 24:36) To the contrary, it is a time when one should be keenly aware that the end of this system of things is rapidly coming to its violent end. Make no mistake, it is sufficient that the Father himself knows both the "day and hour"!

  Yep; it's another out of many examples of the WT keeping Jesus as low as possible on the totem pole to make its own views seem higher in comparison.
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  paterfamilias

  There's no shortage of irony in how they had to go back to "toying" with Mt. 24:36 when the time came to extinguish the old light concerning the generation:

  5 After prophesying events leading up to a time of "great tribulation," Jesus added: "Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:3-36; Mark 13:3-32) We do not need to know the exact timing of events. Rather, our focus must be on being watchful, cultivating strong faith, and keeping busy in Jehovah?s service?not on calculating a date. Jesus concluded his great prophecy by saying: "Keep looking, keep awake, for you do not know when the appointed time is. . . . Keep on the watch . . . What I say to you I say to all, Keep on the watch." (Mark 13:33-37) Danger lurks in the shadows of today?s world. We must keep awake!?Romans 13:11-13.

  6

  Not only must we pay attention to the inspired prophecies concerning these final days of a wicked system but we must anchor our faith primarily on the precious sacrifice of Christ Jesus and God?s marvelous promises based thereon. (Hebrews 6:17-19; 9:14; 1 Peter 1:18, 19; 2 Peter 1:16-19) Eager to see the end of this evil system, Jehovah?s people have at times speculated about the time when the "great tribulation" would break out, even tying this to calculations of what is the lifetime of a generation since 1914. However, we "bring a heart of wisdom in," not by speculating about how many years or days make up a generation, but by thinking about how we "count our days" in bringing joyful praise to Jehovah. (Psalm 90:12) Rather than provide a rule for measuring time, the term "generation" as used by Jesus refers principally to contemporary people of a certain historical period, with their identifying characteristics.

  Another gem from the same article:

  9 When Christ?s Kingdom rule began in 1914, Satan was hurled down to earth. This has meant "woe for the earth . . . because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time." (Revelation 12:12) That time is short, indeed, compared with the thousands of years of Satan?s rulership. The Kingdom is at hand, and so is Jehovah?s day and hour for executing judgment on this wicked generation!?Proverbs 3:25; 10:24, 25.

  Could they have left the door open any wider? Hundreds of years could be considered short compared to thousands! How are statements like this supposed to instill a sense of urgency in the R&F? Better throw in the standard red herring:

  15 Does our more precise viewpoint on "this generation" mean that Armageddon is further away than we had thought? Not at all! Though we at no time have known the "day and hour," Jehovah God has always known it, and he does not change.