Liberty wrote:"I am curious as to why you would take the Watch Tower Society's word as truth in regards to these being "the End Times" since you are skeptical of the leadership? My family was recruited in the mid 1960's and we were convinced those were "the End Times", we had slightly older JW friends that had been told in the 1940's that those were "the End Times" and we even had a friend who was very old at the time who had been told that the 1914 era were "the End Times". Most of these folks and their converts are now dead.
To me the term "End Times" starts to loose any meaning when generation after generation grows old and dies years before the End ever comes. The Watch Tower Doctrine of "the End times" and its preaching work is time-proven to be meaningless and false. Traditional Christianity (Christendom to JWs) doesn't make the actual start of the "End times" a doctrinal issue but rather they emphasize leading a Christian life regardless of how near or far the End may be.
JWs are primarily convinced that they have the "Truth" because they think they know how close to the "End" we are and are fulfilling their duty by informing everyone about this yet, they have been proven wrong over and over again. They know NO more than the Churches of Christendom about Bible prophecy, NOT because ex-JWs say so, but because it is time-proven over and over again with each dead generation. There is nothing special about the JW Organization. There is none now nor has there ever been any evidence that they have any special insight or extra inspiration from God, so why is it vitale for anyone to associate themselves with the Organization with such a poor track record?
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We need to seperate me form the WTBS when answering my questions- because I look at it like I'm a 'hitchhiker' getting a ride with them! We have many things in common- in fact, the most important things- and yet have things that I don't like- such as some of the goofy views on prophecy!
That said, I believe these are the end times (Please Pay Attention!) NOT because of what THEY say- but because of what CHrist says! Two details bond it to our day alone: 1- "Unless those days were cut short- no flesh would be saved!" (Matt 24, NW), and 2- Rev 11 (vs 11?) says God will bring top ruin THOSE RUINING THE EARTH.
Now in our mad efforts to prove ourselves right, we will try to find a meaning we can paste on those words that will match our view....But just LISTEN to what he says... No flesh. RUINING the Earth. Never happened before- would these details have any meaning at all, if the meaning is so generic that it could be true now- and any time in the future?
Mad
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