What Gary said is the way it went. My husband swears it was just gossip by a few small flock.( RIGHT)
1975 - Lest We Forget
by GetBusyLiving 92 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
willyloman
In early 1975, I believe it was February or March, Freddie Franz gave a talk in San Francisco. The daily paper there, the Chronicle, ran it front page with the headline: Best News This Year, and subtitled: End of the World Not Coming in '75.
The story quoted Franz as telling his followers that the end of 6,000 year's of man's existence on earth would end in October, but that expectations that the worldy system would vanish at that time were "not necessarily" accurate. "It depends," the newspaper quoted Franz, "on how long Adam was here before Eve was created." In Franz' mind, the gap between Adam's and Eve's creation would correspond to the gap between October 1975 and the actual "end" date.
I remember this well because there was intense debate at the KH about what this meant (it was the first time they'd heard that argument). The concensus seemed to be that since Adam was perfect, it wouldn't have taken very long to name all the animals so it was probably just a matter of "weeks or months," not years. One respected elder in our congo pointed out that the "service year" that began in September '75 ran until the end of August '76, so there was still plenty of time for the timeline to be fulfilled.
-
Robert K Stock
It is true that many Witnesses thought Armageddon would come in 1975. It is true that the Watchtower Society gave the Witnesses the idea.
I was baptized November 25, 1973 and NEVER thought Armageddon would come in 1975. I was not the only one who thought this. It is false to say that every Witness was looking to 1975. Many were but not me.
-
garybuss
I know Witnesses who sat beside me through it all who deny the Society ever predicted Armageddon in 1975. My dad doesn't deny it, he just says "They have explained all that.".
-
EvilForce
"Service Year" yeah right like that would have mattered to Jehoba
Just like Crazy Russell's interpretation on the # of inches of the main pyramid at Giza would tell us that end of the system of things were happening. Yeah Crazy R the Eqyptians used INCHES back then. -
kls
Was it 1914 when the jws proclaimed the end would be soon? At that time was it printed in their mags or books?
-
garybuss
I think I was more vulnerable to accepting all the Society said because I had been raised in it and I had never really challenged anything of what they said. The 1975 issue was my first real reason to think all was not lining up. Little did I know.
-
love2Bworldly
BennyK--are the rest of us apostates invited to the party?
-
greendawn
If we read JW history carefully we'll see that the WTS did trigger off and then whip up that mass hysteria between mid 1960's and mid 1970's but in a more subtle way than Russell and Rutherford had done previously, they never directly said it will come but very clearly implied it. In addition they obviously knew that the dubs were very thrilled over this, but did nothing to diminish their excitement lower their expectations and prevent the silly things they were getting into in preparation for the supposed end. This shows clearly their deviousness and how they did another clever number on the brainless dubs. The Brooklyn con artists struck again.
-
bennyk
Love2Bworldly:
Everyone who can prove discreet is invited (BYOB). This clearly exempts the GB!