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Armageddon Predictions by Jehovah's Witnesses


Jesus.defender

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Past tense since the watchtower predicted armageddon so many times?

 

1877 'The End Of This World; that is the end of the gospel and the beginning of the millennial age is nearer than most men suppose; indeed we have already entered the transition period, which is to be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation Dan. 12:3." (N.H. Barbour and C.T. Russell, Three Worlds, and the Harvest of This World, p. 17).
 

1888 "In this chapter we present the Bible evidence proving that the full end of the times of the gentiles, i.e., the full end of their lease of dominion, will be reached in A.D. 1914; and that the date will be the farthest limit of the rule of imperfect men. And be it observed, that if this is shown to be a fact firmly established by the Scriptures, it will prove; Firstly, that at that date the Kingdom of God, for which our Lord taught us to pray, saying, Thy Kingdom come, will obtain full, universal control, and that it will then be set up, or firmly established, in the earth, on the ruins of present institutions." (The Time Is At Hand, 1888, p. 76, 77)
 

1889 "Be not surprised, then, when in subsequent chapters we present proofs that the setting up of the Kingdom of God is already begun, that it is pointed out in prophecy as due to begin the exercise of power in A.D. 1878, and that the 'battle of the great day of God Almighty (Rev. 16:14) which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership, is already commenced. The gathering of the armies is plainly visible from the standpoint of God's word." (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 2, The Time Is At Hand, 1889 Ed., p. 101. The 1915 Edition of this texts changed "A.D. 1914" to read 'A.D. 1915')
 

1894 "Seventeen years ago people said, concerning the time features presented in Millennial Dawn, They seem reasonable in many respects, but surely no such radical changes could occur between now and the close of 1914: if you had proved that they would come about in a century or two, it would seem much more probable. What changes have since occurred, and what velocity is gained daily? 'The old is quickly passing and the new is coming in.' Now, in view of recent labor troubles and threatened anarchy, our readers are writing to know if there may not be a mistake in the 1914 date. They say that they do not see how present conditions can hold out so long under the strain. We see no reason for changing the figures-nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble." (Zion's Watchtower, Can It Be Delayed until 1914? C. T. Russell July 15, 1894, Also in Watchtower Reprints, l894 p. 1677)
 

1894 "A few more years will wind up the present order of things, and then the chastened world will stand face to face with the actual conditions of the established Kingdom of God. And yet the course of the Church is to be finished within the space of time that intervenes." (Watchtower p. 56, 1894)
 

1894 "We see no reason for changing the figures - nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble." (Watchtower July 15, 1894, p 266; p 1677 reprints)
 

1917 'There will be no slip-up...Abraham should enter upon the actual possession of his promised inheritance in the year 1925' (Watchtower Oct. 15, 1917, p. 6157)
 

1918 "Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old, particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews 11, to the condition of human perfection." (Millions Now Living Will Never Die, p. 89)


1920 '...we may expect 1925 to witness the return of these faithful men of Israel from the condition of death, being resurrected' (Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920, p. 88)


1920 '...we may expect 1925 to witness the return of these faithful men of Israel from the condition of death, being resurrected' (Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920, p. 88)
 

1966 "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 Six thousand years of man's existence on earth will soon be up, yea within this generation. The rein of Christ...to run parallel with the 7th millennium ..." (Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God, 1966, p. 29-30)

 

1966 "Discussion of 1975 overshadowed about everything else. 'The new book compels us to realise that Armageddon is, in fact, very close indeed,' said a conventioneer." (Watchtower 15/10/1966, p 629)
 

1968 "Why Are You Looking Forward To 1975?" … "What about all this talk concerning the year 1975? Lively discussions, some based on speculation, have burst into flame during recent months among serious students of the Bible. Their interest has been kindled by the belief that 1975 will mark the end of 6,000 years of human history since Adam's creation. The nearness of such an important date indeed fires the imagination and presents unlimited possibilities for discussion." (Watchtower, Aug. 15, 1968, p. 494)

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Call me Ishmael. For many years I sailed onboard the Pequod with the crazed Captain Rook in his maniacal search for Moby Geddon. "Captain, whale sighting dead ahead!" seawoman Anna shouted out. "

 

There are, of course. There have been several references as late as 1989 that, as Witnesses, we are involved in a work that will end before the end of the twentieth century (before 2000/2001). This ti

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13 hours ago, Gone Away said:

Any thing more recent than 50 years ago?

There are, of course. There have been several references as late as 1989 that, as Witnesses, we are involved in a work that will end before the end of the twentieth century (before 2000/2001). This time prediction became obsolete only about 18 years ago, and the predictions for such a date continued until 1989. "Echos" of that prediction continued until about 1993. -- I grabbed the following from https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/quotes/20th-century-2000.php

The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah p. 216

  • "Shortly, within our twentieth century, the "battle in the day of Jehovah" will begin against the modern antitype of Jerusalem, Christendom."

Watchtower 1984 Mar 1 pp.18-19

  • "Some of that "generation" could survive until the end of the century. But there are many indications that "the end" is much closer than that!"

"Let Your Kingdom Come" (1981) p.102

  • But now in our 20th century, we have come to the time for harvest, "a conclusion of a system of things, and the reapers are angels"!

Watchtower 1989 Jan 1 p.12

  • "He was laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our 20th century."

 

And there is still a more subtle kind of obsession among some brothers who think it is important for us to consider that we are "some 6,000 years" removed from human perfection in Eden. In fact it was the opening line of today's "Text."

*** Text for Friday, September 7, 2018 ***

  • We must consider that all of us are some 6,000 years removed from the human perfection that existed in Eden.

Although the fact might be interesting, what is it that makes this particular number of years something that we "must consider"? There is nothing in the Bible, no evidence anywhere, that this particular number of years has any significance. Yet, most JWs are at least vaguely aware that it is used as a "sign" that we are deep into the end. We are led to believe that there is some kind of gnostic privilege that only Witnesses truly know the significance of. 

Yet there is only one reason why 6,000 specifically is considered. It is because, without any Bible evidence, we have taught that the 7th creative day should be 7,000 years long, and that Christ's millennial reign must punctuate this 7th creative day, and therefore begin 6,000 years after the creation of Eve in Eden.

Using the 6,000 years as a gnostic sign that the end is upon is has been part of the Watchtower's doctrines since the 1800's when the Watchtower first started to be published. The "Photo Drama of Creation" also made a point of showing how each creative day was 7,000 years long, and the 7th creative day would end with Christ's Millennium, and thus the Millennium had "dawned" at the 48,000th year from the start of creation, which had just passed in 1873. The end of the 49,000 years would start a Great Jubilee of perfection. None of this is Biblical, but pieces of it are still echoed in the focus on the idea that we are now "some 6,000" years after Eden, and that this is something we "must consider."

The "Proclaimers" book adds:

*** jv chap. 8 p. 104 Declaring the Good News Without Letup (1942-1975) ***

  • The Witnesses had long shared the belief that the Thousand Year Reign of Christ would follow after 6,000 years of human history. But when would 6,000 years of human existence end? The book Life Everlasting—In Freedom of the Sons of God, released at a series of district conventions held in 1966, pointed to 1975.

The book "Life Everlasting" just mentioned had said on page 28 and 30:

  • 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. . . . 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. . . . 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 as the reign of Christ Jesus over earth for a thousand years, the millennial reign of Christ.

So, for as long as the idea is put out there that we "must consider" the significance of 6,000 years, it will always carry with it this same idea found in one of the Awake! articles leading up to 1975:

*** g68 10/8 p.14 What Will the 1970s Bring?

  • There is another way that helps confirm that we are living in the final years of this "time of the end." The Bible shows that we are nearing the end of a full 6,000 years of human history.

That statement is meaningless unless combined with the non-Biblical gnosis about a conjectured 7,000-year-long 7th day.

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15 minutes ago, A Nice Guy said:

Anybody interested in buying my condo on the lake?

I would, but Jubilee math gets so complicated, as the Insight book shows:

*** it-1 p. 1200 Inheritance ***

  • The sale of land was, in effect, only the leasing of it for the value of crops it would produce, the purchase price being on a graduated scale according to the number of years until the next Jubilee, at which time all land possession would revert to the original owner if it had not been repurchased or redeemed prior to the Jubilee.

I heard that @James Thomas Rook Jr. has a graduated scale that he might loan me, but I think he said it's for measuring urine samples.

 

 

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1 hour ago, JW Insider said:

I would, but Jubilee math gets so complicated, as the Insight book shows:

*** it-1 p. 1200 Inheritance ***

  • The sale of land was, in effect, only the leasing of it for the value of crops it would produce, the purchase price being on a graduated scale according to the number of years until the next Jubilee, at which time all land possession would revert to the original owner if it had not been repurchased or redeemed prior to the Jubilee.

I heard that @James Thomas Rook Jr. has a graduated scale that he might loan me, but I think he said it's for measuring urine samples.

 

 

Look, don't read the fine print. Just sign the contract.

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4 hours ago, JW Insider said:

I heard that @James Thomas Rook Jr. has a graduated scale that he might loan me, but I think he said it's for measuring urine samples.

 

Here is one thing to consider ... the Earth itself is about 3.5 BILLION years old, from the time it became a molten target for what is called "The Great Bombardment" of meteors as gravity sucked up almost all the material in the solar system into piles we call planets.

There are six creative days, and one "Day of Rest".  A total of seven "days".

3.5 billion ..... divided by 7,  is 0.5

That would mean the "Day of Rest" would be 1/2 Billion years long. (  For those in Rio Linda, that is 500 million years...).

This is a theory that agrees with Genesis ( if you view it from the perspective of an observer standing on the Earth, or where it would eventually be .... ), all the Fossil HARD EVIDENCE that exists by the hundreds of thousands of metric tons,  Geology, Physics, and all the sciences that we know ABSOLUTELY to be unarguably true. (If you are sane ...).

Get your calculator, some paper to make sketches on and take notes and re-read Genesis using a creative day being 500,000,000 years, and see how that solves MANY theological quandarys.

.... it even solves the "problem" of who Cain married in the land of exile. ( Although he was the son of "Homo Theocraticus" humans directly created by God, the "Homo Sapians" people who had evolved before that were living all over the Earth by this time ... ).

However, unfortunately for professional theologians of all ilk, It DOES NOT generate an artificial sense of urgency, or scare you out of your wallets.

 

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7 hours ago, JW Insider said:

Although the fact might be interesting, what is it that makes this particular number of years something that we "must consider"?

As I understand it, the emphasis might be on the imperfection rather than a number. That we are so far removed from perfection.

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8 hours ago, JW Insider said:

several references as late as 1989

That's a bit better. 29 years ago.

As for this:

8 hours ago, JW Insider said:

We must consider that all of us are some 6,000 years removed from the human perfection that existed in Eden. (quote from Sep 7 Day text, of course)

Are we not?

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2 hours ago, Gone Away said:
10 hours ago, JW Insider said:

he said it's for measuring urine samples.

Which (with respect)  is what you are taking, judging from some of the comments here.

First of all, it was a joke about a label maker machine. Sssss second, if it had been real, it was MY imaginary graduated pyrex measuring cup, with handle and spout that had the label marked "Urine Sample" in the bottom.

After all .... what's a metaphore?

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