DefenderOTT

No, I actually meant friends in the truth.
I understand, but maybe you did not read my other post to you* where I mention that I haven't seen you presenting any valid counter arguments which could convince an unbiased observer to side with your explanation. What I said was that your arguments would not stand up in trial.  It's like the opposition is talking about apples and you are talking about oranges. The opposition is talking about dates (not the fruit ) and numbers, and you are talking about feelings and motives and evidence on the ground....
How is that? As far as I know, probably more than 90% of the friends (Jehovah's Witnesses) do not understand 1914, or to be more specific, do not understand how we arrive at 1914, and don't even try.
Yes. Us simple folks need numbers. Numbers are nice. People like numbers and dates. They help to tangibly anchor ideas or situations in the stream of time. Without dates it's just not the same. Try reading a biography or a report without them. And of course not to mention the fact that dates are essential for establishing time periods in history and a billion other things. Jehovah is the arbiter of time, and is the great timekeeper. BUT that does not mean the dates and numbers and lengths of periods we simple folks put together are always correct are they? What has happened to the millions that were not supposed to die? (they did). What has happened to the generation that was not supposed to pass away? (they have, practically) What has happened to the children that were not supposed to even finish school in this system? (they did, and they have children of their own). What has happened to the world that can't get any worse? (it did, and still might) As you say, the proof is in the pudding.
So that is why, when the rubber hits the road, we need to have faith in Jehovah, not man.
(*I wish the posts were numbered so that they could be easily referenced @admin @The Librarian)

Good, full transparency is important.  I will give you my real name, if you like.
I erased my answer I was working on, since it is obvious you are sold on “organization” as salvation and believe I “hate” God’s Nation, of which I am part of it.  That is an incredible thought – to hate my own fellow servant. (Isa 43:10; 1 Pet 2:5,9; Eph 2:20-22)  Rom 12:9-21
 I have caused you quite a bit of distress, a sign that we are facing the “great tribulation”; when lies and truth are both revealed.  I am here because the “good news” involves the redemption of “Jacob”/spiritual “Israel”. Jer 31:10,11; Isa 27:6;48:20,21;49:5  
 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.
Any anointed one as well as all who leave the organization to follow Christ experience the above. They leave 1914 behind, false prophesies, idolatry, and “false christs”.  Jesus continued,
“Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”  Matt 10:21-23
The Son of Man is soon to come, and the “towns of Israel” are the target of the “preaching work”.  (“Spiritual Israel” is defined in the Insight book). 
Take a look at 2 Thess 2:2
 “not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.”
This letter/teaching/prophesy was made by anointed ones  - “as if from us”.   I’m sure you agree that the GB are anointed ones; all the major leaders of the Wt. were anointed ones.  1914 has carried on relentlessly since it gave birth in Russel’s calculations using pyramidology.  It is proclaimed as God’s Kingdom ruling “in the heavens”/ Christ’s Kingdom established.
In verses 3,4 – the man of lawlessness is found in God’s Temple.  Can you tell me where God’s Temple is?  1 Cor 3:16,17; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:20-22
Verse 8  How is the “lawless one” revealed?  Rev 11:1-3 (John 20:22); Mal 3:1; Matt 10:40,20; Luke 21:15; Rev 22:16,6
Verse 9:  What does Satan use to “serve the lie”?  Rev 13:1,2,5-8;16:13-16; 20:7-9
Verse 10:  What “truth” is it that people refuse to love, which causes them to perish?  John 14:6;17:17;14:17; Heb 4:12
Verse 11:  What is the delusion?  Rev 13:1,2,5-8;16:13-16; 20:7-9; 13:11-17
Verse 12:   “and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”
This wickedness is found where the Temple of God resides; where the “man of lawlessness” is found.  When we can identify the “man of lawlessness”, the “abomination standing in the holy place” (Matt 24:15)……when the anointed ones can discern the “lawless one” standing over them (the elder body)…… the scriptures tell us Christ is near; “even at the door”  Rev 3:20; Luke 12:37  If we open this door, he gives us assurance that he will “feed” us with spiritual abundance.
Rev 2:7; Isa 29:18; Ref 22:10,14; Eph 5:14; John 6:27,33,40,57; 14:21; 2 Pet 1:19; Matt 25:10
This is why I’m here – to tell you these things.  Rev 18:4-8
 
 
 
 

It is mine. I never found them again. They were students and students come and go.

Aw, how awful for you, suffering this way. Why don't you de-stress by ignoring all threads on this topic and start some new engaging and thought-provoking ones of your own? 

We are talking about lack of scientific evidence for these dates  and how most of the humanities sciences are not worth much any more. Here is another example: 
Sciences for Middle Eastern studies and those sitting on the UNESCOs UN committee have already issued a ruling which stipulates that Israel has NO history in Jerusalem.!  How historically correct is that? Can one call this science? ..... When there is ample proof that Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE ?
So I would say it is relevant to the topic..... unless you have tunnel vision and cannot relate to anything else which puts more light on the subject by widening it out.  If you put your trust in these departments and their professors - you are going to be misled!  
 
 

Trying to stretch this to 607BCE's scriptural support but it is eluding me. Perhaps you are showing how current world disorder fits what started in 1914CE, enabling a retrofit of 2520 yrs back to 607BCE?  Please clarify to stay on topic.

Many true words spoken about science.  This is why the so-called evidence for evolution is such a joke.... and they call it a 'science'.   Many of the assumptions have not been thought through properly.
The universities are in BIG trouble at present.  Many scholars worth their salt are saying so.   Young people are paying mega bucks for generic degrees and have insurmountable debt (that is never forgiven) and they sit with humanities degrees that is not even worth the paper they are written on. 
The Humanities usually carry universities but gender politics and social warriors for women studies and gender (which are not sciences) have taken over all the departments at great institutions.  Most of the middle east departments have been taken over by Islam apologists (most of whom I think have not even read the Quran because their commentaries are sooo silly... and based on unrealistic assumptions (a better word for politically correct lies).  
The world is in trouble because the freedom of speech is oppressed at most schools of higher education at present and many of the humanities students get "triggered"  by anything that is controversial.  By the way, these philosophies are also taught in schools....
Universities have special rooms where 'gender raped' students can receive support for anything said (not done) which may emotionally trigger them to go crazy... and lecturers are losing their jobs for the simplest things.  These departments are run by transgender professors who are now running the show and most of them are  non-binary "gender-fluid".  They do look very gender fluid to me - caricatures! .... and they have NO morals. They are teaching the youth that there is NO right and wrong; the Bible must be thrown in the garbage because patriarchal thinking is the cause of all the problems on earth.!
Canada now has a law which recognizes more than 2 genders and this includes the 57 different genders identified by state departments ......and they say that "biology" has nothing to do with gender.... lol - very scientific!!
People can lose their jobs if they do not recognize the request of a fluid person to be called by one of these transgender pronouns. (doctors, nurses, legal people, teachers etc).  There is a legal battle on at the moment about this because the law organization wants to force every legal person and citizen to accept this.  It is in one state at present but is ready to be introduced everywhere!
These students will get out of university soon ( they are also part of ANTIFA and similar very  militant organizations which remind me of the bolsjeviks in Russia and Robespierre of the French revolution (very dangerous)  - they want all those in power to go - be eliminated - well this is how some of their leaders talk!  They want a revolution ... because anyone with power (mostly men) represent oppression!  If I recall how many people died in the French revolution and the Russian revolution (This was 40 million alone  when one includes the people killed by Stalin). I can see where this is heading if the authorities do not get a grip on it.
We are facing extreme times..... close to the end. Within a few years we can really be facing the  biggest crisis the earth has ever seen because this time round the technology for killing is bigger than ever before and the different revolutionaries are sitting at the heart of almost every country and pulling strings.
Wicked organizations and bad people (with billions) who benefit by chaos are also putting large amounts of money into these revolutionary organizations.  It is  crazy what is going on and the governments cannot contain this wild thinking and actions.
 
 

Let's get things back to perspective. You're making several assertions that are NOT by my comments. I'm no longer looking at the author's reasoning, but rather the dates set before secular history, and how VAT4956 agrees with any post-ideology.

Then your observation would be a provocative one just like ANN’s. You are supporting your conclusion from another source of the same author. Your opinion is based on the author’s book: The Fourth Day: Why the Bible Is Historically Accurate, while Foreigner’s question is on the same author’s book: Why the Bible Is Historically Accurate (2nd Ed.)


 
The author is not looking at VAT4956 on the posted question, by foreigner. Then, the author’s opinion runs independently from you’re observation. The author then makes a calculation for VAT4956 that would be “separate” from that theory. I believe, we all know where secular history stands with VAT4956, but that’s not what the author implies in the first title of the book posted. Meaning, making an observation from 605BC minus the 19 years to conclude in 586BC. Now, isn't 604/5BC and 586/7BC standard dates?

Then I would have to ask the same question the poster, (Foreigner) made. These pages show a preference not associated with his earlier claim of 605BC-586BC.

The author doesn’t seem to link the two. However, you are correct. VAT4956 is not that important, unless the research being made, considers 568BC to 587BC while excluding 567-586BC. Then, the dilemma for secular chronology continues.

Then, according to this author, it shouldn’t matter how one views the 19 years. If it should be read as the hypothetical has become for VAT4956 to be 568BC-587BC, 567BC-586BC, and 569BC-588BC. Wait!!!
The author, even though doesn’t believe secular “facts” are interpreted, correctly? He does make a distinct observation with the 19 years.
1.       605-586-567BC possible date for VAT4956
2.       606-587-568BC possible date for VAT4956
3.       607-588-569BC off one year from a possible date for VAT4956. Providing 588BC is not adjustable.
Unless we use the ancient calendar of Lunar/Solar!
1.       606/7BCBC-586/7BC-567/8BC. Then, we can apply the 19 years, correctly as indicated by VAT4956 37th year of Nebuchadnezzar as indicated by secular history. With the WT being off 1 year from the proposed secular chronology. So, where’s the famous “gotcha” moment? VAT4956 then actually agrees with all possible dates from 606/7BC to 568/9BC.
Is this why skeptics, are now leaning more toward 567BC rather than 568BC as originally applied?

LOL!! more of the same.
Such as the claim VAT4956 is supposed to be read to coincide with 587BC instead of 588BC
Are you a published scholar to make this claim?

It seems it has taken 6 pages to admit, everyone is entitled to their opinion published or not. Scholars do that every day without so much as scrutiny from outside sources, which the WT has had to endure.

Actually, you must have misunderstood. Your claim is “false” if you think I was referring to the 1st edition of the book. Your own link shows where the author was going with the idea.


I understand the author’s adjustment, however, that doesn’t explain why you and ANN have assumed this interpretation of events no better than any other interpretation given out there. That’s the point, that has been alluded by the remarks given. Everyone is entitled to think and have faith in whatever standard they wish to apply without having it scrutinized by interpretations that have "faults" of their own by secular reckoning. Even "Grayson" readjusted some mistakes in his earlier work. BM21901 etc have unreadable areas. The Babylonian Chronicles don't tell a "complete" story. Was the scribe with Nebuchadnezzar when writing those events? or were they dictated after as a matter of history? NONE of these hypotheticals have a 100% certainty.

So, does Darren Thompson. But thank you for agreeing with everyone is entitled to their opinion. The theory still stands as to why this person came to this conclusion since he obviously wasn’t looking at VAT4956 as it is normally seen. Yet, finds the 19 years accurate for 586BC to 605BC.

Have not completed all of them yet. Just all of "Samaria" and "Jerusalem." Portions of all the others.
It seems very probable. But, no, I can't simply agree. He's very likely right but I believe he took a shortcut. There is another methodology which is slightly better in my opinion. It takes a lot longer, is less practical, but might be rewarding. It makes use of the decision table, not just to filter out one hypothesis or another, but to go ahead and calculate all the reasonable possibilities (including changes in data) that the decision table makes available.
The calculations will then result, not in specific answers, but in the possible range of each answer with a terminus on each end. It's not an unknown method, but few would have the patience to test it against the entire king lists of of Israel and Judea, for example, and also throw in about a dozen pieces of Babylonian evidence into the mix. In this method, which makes use of ranges (terminus ante quem, terminus post quem, terminus ad quem and terminus a quo) you can even test what might appear to be unreasonable possibilities along with the reasonable ones, such as testing if Xth year could mean x, x-1, x+1, or even x+3 or x+20. If there is a questionable text that is different in the LXX or MT or DSS you could test special ranges here too. Believe it or not the possibilities will start resolving themselves much earlier than you might guess if you merely set limits to the number of inconsistencies you are willing to test for. Or you could test for a nearly infinite set of possibilities and keep only the solutions that produced the least inconsistencies.
I am not at all worried about that. From what I can surmise so far, the range for when Jerusalem's Temple was burned falls on either the fifth month and 7th day of 587 or 586. These two dates can be potentially 13 months apart, and that is therefore the range that fits the most evidence, the most data, and therefore the most reasonable hypothesis.
As you know, it shouldn't even matter if you could pinpoint a specific day or year. The siege started as much as two years earlier. The wall was broken in the fourth month, about three months earlier. The famine lasted for months. In fact, the judgment itself was announced to come through Babylon decades earlier. There were several deportations going all the way back to a time when Nebuchadnezzar had just taken over as the official king. According to the "Insight" book:
*** it-2 p. 480 Nebuchadnezzar ***
Historical notices in cuneiform inscriptions presently available about Nebuchadnezzar somewhat supplement the Bible record. They state that it was in the 19th year of Nabopolassar’s reign that he assembled his army, as did his son Nebuchadnezzar, then crown prince. Both armies evidently functioned independently, and after Nabopolassar went back to Babylon within a month’s time, Nebuchadnezzar successfully warred in mountainous territory, later returning to Babylon with much spoil. During the 21st year of Nabopolassar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar marched with the Babylonian army to Carchemish, there to fight against the Egyptians. He led his forces to victory. This took place in the fourth year of Judean King Jehoiakim . . . .—Jer 46:2. The inscriptions further show that news of his father’s death brought Nebuchadnezzar back to Babylon, and on the first of Elul (August-September), he ascended the throne. In this his accession year he returned to Hattu, and “in the month Shebat . . .he took the vast booty of Hattu to Babylon.” . . . in the first official year of his kingship, Nebuchadnezzar again led his forces through Hattu; he captured and sacked the Philistine city of Ashkelon. (See ASHKELON.) During his second, third, and fourth years as king he conducted additional campaigns in Hattu, and evidently in the fourth year he made Judean King Jehoiakim his vassal. (2Ki 24:1) That's always been our "holy grail" to see if we could find a reputable sounding title that allows for 607 as a possible date for Nebuchadnezzar's 18th or 19th year. So, I don't even have to look it up to know that either you or Faust are completely wrong. But if you can quote the evidence I'll read it and give it a benefit of the doubt if it's true. Of course, it's best, as you said to someone else, to read the entire book before judging specific points made in it.
It looked like you were talking down to this audience when you implied that no one here could understand decision tables when you said "...Young's use of Decision Tables or Analysis . . . Try explaining that to this audience. Must keep things simple!!!"
I've seen this "so-called" methodology hundreds of times, and I think you know it doesn't stand up, or else you would probably have had a response to its weaknesses after all these years. Defending someone else (Rodger Young) who uses a methodology that gets him to a very reasonable 587 is hardly evidence that the WTS used a methodology to reach 607.
Who's pretending now. Several others DID originate such challenging ideas. Russell even dealt with some of them prior to 1916. Rutherford dealt with them especially from 1922 to 1925 -- several of the very same issues. This includes the so-called 20 year gap, too. Jonsson is a latecomer to this.
Also, you should understand that my interest is not about the chronology itself, but because we need to clean up all forms of dishonesty. The primary point should be keeping the congregation clean. We also have the direct statements of Jesus that we should not be looking for signs in order to try to understand the times and seasons. In times such as this we could all be better Christians if we followed the counsel of Paul, Peter, and Jesus.
(Luke 21:8, 9) 8 He said: “Look out that you are not misled, for many will come on the basis of my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The due time is near.’ Do not go after them. 9 Furthermore, when you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified. For these things must take place first, but the end will not occur immediately.” It has resulted in dishonest scholarship about the "parousia" the "synteleia" among many other doctrines. Bible chronologies depend directly upon genealogies:
(1 Timothy 1:4-7) nor to pay attention to false stories and to genealogies. Such things end up in nothing useful but merely give rise to speculations rather than providing anything from God in connection with faith. 5 Really, the objective of this instruction is love out of a clean heart and out of a good conscience and out of faith without hypocrisy. 6 By deviating from these things, some have been turned aside to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of law, but they do not understand either the things they are saying or the things they insist on so strongly. Really, the reason Jesus gave us these instructions was clearly so that we would be better Christians at all times not because we knew the about the times and seasons. That's what all the illustrations of Matthew 24 and 25 are about. Peter summed it up well too:
(2 Peter 3:8-18) 8 However, do not let this escape your notice, beloved ones, that one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. 9 Jehovah is not slow concerning his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance. 10 But Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, but the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works in it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, consider what sort of people you ought to be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion, 12 as you await and keep close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah, through which the heavens will be destroyed in flames and the elements will melt in the intense heat! 13 But there are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell. 14 Therefore, beloved ones, since you are awaiting these things, do your utmost to be found finally by him spotless and unblemished and in peace. 15 Furthermore, consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you according to the wisdom given him, 16 speaking about these things as he does in all his letters. However, some things in them are hard to understand, and these things the ignorant and unstable are twisting, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 You, therefore, beloved ones, having this advance knowledge, be on your guard so that you may not be led astray with them by the error of the lawless people and fall from your own steadfastness. 18 No, but go on growing in the undeserved kindness and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. And of course one of the most famous lines that the apostle Paul wrote about the "times and seasons" is this:
(1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2) 5 Now as for the times and the seasons, brothers, you need nothing to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. Please don't mix up the reasons why this discussion is important from a "Christian" perspective. All this so-called knowledge about chronology and Bible genealogies, and the resolution of what king ruled when, it's all foolishness. It's disrespectful to the very claim in the Bible that:
(2 Timothy 3:16, 17) 16 All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work. How disrespectful it must be to Jehovah who tells us that the Bible makes us fully competent and completely equipped, but then be told that we must also understand that 539, a secular date never mentioned in the Bible, is something like an absolute date, a touchstone that is necessary to understand an important doctrine for our day. These secular dates like 607, 539, 537, are somehow required to be fully competent about our doctrines, and required to set things straight about the final generation, to pinpoint important events that must have happened in 1914, 1919, 1922 -- all secular dates, too. Then there are the dozens of problems with related doctrines, such as the need to make wicked Nebuchadnezzar represent God's righteous kingdom. etc. etc. etc.

This person doesn’t seem to imply VAT4956 to be substantial to the calculations, given. VAT 4956 seems to be a concern to other aspects, not driven by your assertion. But, the latter portion of your comment, becomes a matter of opinion, does it not? I could very well include COJ, Doug Mason, Max Hatton, etc. as poor resources to cite, wouldn't it?

I still don’t see the relevance of your claim. This person started his creative date at 3969BC, 57 years from the WT. 35 years from the infamous Ussher starting point of 4004BC.
The board claim of the “Exodus” Date: 1659BC- 1301BC seems to agree with secular chronology
The only difference I see with that opinion? The starting date of 605 BC Nebuchadnezzar’s reign minus the 19 years to 586 BC. The majority of secular chronology “accepts” this time frame does it not? Or are you now suggesting the year’s 605/4BC and 5867/6 are incorrect? Then, the methodology being used of inductive and deductive has no massive exclusion to the timetable.

Anne
I agree with you. There is no evidence that Max Hatton had any influence on either Raymond Franz' research or that of Carl Jonsson for both carried out their own independent research.
scholar JW

This statement ...
... is considerably different to ...
So we agree now that Jehoahaz was appointed by his own people. Pharaoh Necho appointed Jehoiakim in Jehoahaz's stead (2 Kings 23:30-35).
Josiah died in 609 BCE. Regarding Jehoahaz's and Jehoiakim's succession, you said:
               "There’s a good indication that happened in the latter part of the year 610 BC."
Therefore, you must be arguing that Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim ascended the throne before their father died. Or do you have a different scenario?
On what basis do you 'not doubt' that R. Franz and Jonsson were directly influenced by Hatton?

?
Josiah became king of Judah at the age of eight, after the assassination of his father, King Amon, and reigned for thirty-one years, from 641/640 to 610/609 BCE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josiah


This would be a matter of interpretation just like the first part. However, my statement included the phrase “I don’t doubt” which can lead to scrutiny.


Scholar JW

Rightfully so. However, I find it, coincidental that none of the previously published treatises would, not have been available or known to others. Especially, when that research is part of a subject matter.

That's not what you initially said, contributing to the confusion.
You mean, BEFORE Josiah died?
Raymond Franz said that while he was researching the Aid book, he couldn't find evidence for 607 BCE being the destruction of Jerusalem so worked on undermining the evidence for 587/6 BCE instead. Jonsson did his own independent research and submitted it to Watchtower HQ. It was then that R. Franz became aware of just how bogus the WT chronology for the NB era was.
 

Foreigner
The facts are that Raymond Franz had already carried out research in WT Chronology and this published in the Aid book 1969, 1971, later Carl Jonsson in Sweden conducted his own independent research and submitted his treatise to Brooklyn in 1977. Long before this,  Max Hatton in Australia conducted his own research during the sixties and was probably influenced by the research of a G. Rogerson in Australia who produced a treatise on the subject of some 60 pages. It would seem that the  first or earliest criticisms of WT Chronology originated in Australia influenced by at that time scholarly research beginning in the forties carried out by the Seventh Day Adventist Church.scholars.in the USA.
scholar JW

Thanks for the underwriter of the word *speculation* and its relevant point of view. The fuller view if we can call it, the complete picture was a simple *adjustment* made to Ussher’s creation timetable of 4004BC to 4026BC as it was *explained* in detail. Serious Bible Students wouldn’t have gone beyond that speculation of adjustment to include armageddon in 1975 as indicated by opposer’s that have *readjusted* that sequence to read something else.

However, the breakaway evidence makes an assumption that the Watchtower articles don’t. This is why it’s important for any serious Bible student to read everything fully in its proper context.


 
*** w68 8/15 p. 501 par. 37 Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975? ***

37 So too with Jehovah’s faithful witnesses in this latter half of the twentieth century. They have the true Christian point of view. Their strenuous evangelistic activity is not something peculiar to this present decade. They have not dedicated their lives to serve Jehovah only until 1975. Christians have been running this way ever since Christ Jesus blazed the trail and commanded his disciples, “Follow me!” So keep this same mental attitude in you that was in Christ Jesus. Let nothing slow you down or cause you to tire and give out. Those who will flee Babylon the Great and this Satanic system of things are now running for their lives, headed for God’s kingdom, and they will not stop at 1975. O no! They will keep on in this glorious way that leads to everlasting life, praising and serving Jehovah for ever and ever!


 
Then, if no one was coerced to speculate as indicated by ex-JW’s point of view; those that speculated did so out of their own volition….

This observation could conceivably be true *IF* 99.8% of Witnesses disobeyed the FDS spiritual food about speculation, and only 0.2% didn’t, out of their own volition. That would have indicated a mass exodus that wasn’t covered by social media and is not in evidence.

World evidence doesn’t seem to support such a theory. If it had, then social media would have made a larger contribution to that prospect. There was no stigma or notoriety attached to 1975 to conclude mass hysteria by witnesses if they knew the world was coming to an end, in 1975.


 
Peoples Temple (1978), Solar Temple (1994–97), Heaven's Gate (1997), Adam House (2007)

Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God (2000)

What the evidence does prove by the time period that is provided, 1968-1973, show that the Watchtower had no definitive STOP measure that wouldn’t go beyond 1975. The Awake! And Watchtower Magazines attest to that.

*** w62 6/15 p. 381 Avoid Unprofitable Questions ***

UNPROFITABLE USE OF TIME

Handling God’s Word of truth aright requires that we discern between profitable and unprofitable questions. Naturally we have questions about the past, present and future. In the Bible Jehovah has provided authentic answers to the questions that properly concern us at this time. Sometimes secular history can fill us in on details not given in the Bible. But there are other questions to which neither the Bible nor profane history provides an answer. It is not wise or safe for us to speculate about questions of that nature.

For example, in all good faith one might ask, What was Jehovah doing before he created Jesus, by whom he made all other things? If Adam and Eve had repented, would God have forgiven them? What happened to the bodies of those who perished in the Flood? Did the expensive gifts brought to the babe Jesus make Joseph and Mary rich for the rest of their lives? What did Jesus do between the ages of twelve and thirty besides his carpentering? How would Jehovah have redeemed the race if Jesus had not proved faithful? Exactly how long did Jesus’ trip to heaven take? Much time could be spent conjecturing on such matters.

Likewise it is possible to spend valuable time speculating on matters concerning the future. One might ask, In what year will Armageddon begin? Will the faithful angels eventually receive immortality? Will there be factories and machines in use after Armageddon? Will men wear beards again? What will be the medium of exchange in the new world? Will women now past the age of childbearing share in the procreation mandate? If dedicated parents and children happen to die before Armageddon, which parent will raise the resurrected children, since resurrected mates will not remarry? (Luke 20:35) These are typical questions to which Jehovah has not provided answers at this time. Do you think it wise for Christians to take time from more profitable Bible study to speculate on the answers? Consider the dangers involved.


 
*** w63 5/1 p. 288 Questions From Readers ***

Abel’s offering was accepted because it was both of the right kind and offered in faith. Cain lacked faith, but this fact came to the fore only when he found that his sacrifice was not being accepted by God. So we read: “By faith Abel offered God a sacrifice of greater worth than Cain, through which faith he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness respecting his gifts; and through it he, although he died, yet speaks.” Just how God indicated that Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable and Cain’s was not the Bible does not say and it would be idle to speculate.—Heb. 11:4.

 

*** w68 8/15 p. 494 Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975? ***

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.

2 But wait! How do we know their calculations are correct? What basis is there for saying Adam was created nearly 5,993 years ago? Does the one Book that can be implicitly trusted for its truthful historical accuracy, namely, the Inspired Word of Jehovah, the Holy Bible, give support and credence to such a conclusion?

 

*** w70 5/1 p. 263 Why the Clergy Are Quitting ***

Is it significant that many of the “best men” are leading the exodus? Yes, it is. For as former Catholic priest Alex MacRae explains: “Most priests aren’t equipped to do anything outside, and this is what is keeping many of them in.”

Now, however, a number of agencies have been set up to help former priests and ministers get adjusted and obtain secular employment. Thus, the exodus is gaining momentum. Why, just one of these agencies now handles about 165 new priest-clients a month—2,000 a year! John Wesley Downing, director of another such agency, predicts that more than half of the 450,000 Protestant ministers and Catholic priests in the United States will quit by 1975.

REASONS FOR QUITTING

But why are so many quitting? The celibacy law that forbids priests to marry is most frequently cited as the reason.

However, it would be wrong to conclude that the celibacy requirement is the only or fundamental reason for priests quitting. As Monsignor Myles Bourke of New York city observes: “Most of them get out because they’re frustrated in their work. Many of the young people are treated like adolescents and feel restricted.”

 

 

*** w75 10/1 p. 579 The End of 6,000 Years of Man-Rule Approaches—What Has Been Accomplished? ***

The End of 6,000 Years of Man-Rule Approaches—What Has Been Accomplished?

SINCE a new Jewish lunar year began in September 1975 a significant point in human history was reached. What was that? According to the Bible’s count of time, mankind then completed 6,000 years of existence on earth. Yes, the first man Adam, if he had chosen to remain obedient under God’s rulership, would have still been alive and 6,000 years old in September of this year.

Does this mean, then, that mankind has now reached 6,000 years into the 7,000-year period that God ‘blessed and made sacred’ as his great “rest day”? Does it mean that Christ’s millennial Kingdom rule, as the final 1,000 years of that “rest day,” is to be reckoned from September 1975?—Gen. 1:27, 31; 2:2, 3; Rev. 20:1-6.

No, it does not mean that. Why not? Well, the Bible record shows that God’s creations on the “day” just preceding that 7,000-year “rest day” did not end with Adam’s creation. It shows a time lapse between the creation of Adam and that of his wife, Eve. During that time, God had Adam name the animals. Whether that period amounted to weeks or months or years, we do not know. So we do not know exactly when Jehovah’s great “rest day” began, nor do we know exactly when it will end. The same applies to the beginning of Christ’s millennial reign. The Bible provides us no way to fix the date, and so it does us no good to speculate when that date may be.—Gen. 2:18-25; Matt. 24:42, 44.

However, the Bible’s time clock does indicate to us that 6,000 years of human history end in this year 1975. Early in God’s “rest day” Adam became a rebel against God-rule. Thus, for the most part, the first 6,000 years of man’s history have been marked by man-rule. What did man’s independent rulership accomplish during those six millenniums of time, or six spans of 1,000 years each? Let us take a panoramic view of those millenniums, each in its turn.

 

 

*** g71 10/8 The Greatest Pressure of All Time Begins ***

Building Toward Climax

Authorities in every field generally agree that the pressures of today are building up to some sort of climax.

Not long ago scores of respected scientists, economists, historians and philosophers met in the United States to discuss mankind’s problems. There was much disagreement on various points. But on one thing they all agreed: “All insist that the human family is approaching an historic crisis which will require fundamental revisions in the organization of society.”—The New York Times.

On another occasion, television commentator Walter Cronkite said: “The scientists themselves disagree on the schedule of disaster. Each specialist counts the time to his own special catastrophe. But we found not one scientist who disagreed that some disaster portends.”

Authorities were asked how long they thought it would take for the current problems to reach “crisis” proportions. And a problem was said to have reached that point when it caused the deaths of at least a million people a year, or severely affected their health, welfare or standard of living. A chart was drawn up based on their opinions. Some of the items listed were as follows:

Note that the problem of overpopulation was considered as already having reached crisis proportions. One reason for this is that about 10,000 people a day now die as a result of malnutrition, an estimated 3,500,000 a year. Also, instead of slowing down, the rate of population increase has actually risen in recent decades. The world’s population is now doubling every thirty-five years!

Any one of the problems in the chart could have catastrophic effects on all earthly life. And they do not even include the threat of nuclear war. Combine all of these and you can understand why experts are so pessimistic about the future. They see mankind moving swiftly and certainly to some sort of disastrous climax.

God’s Word, the Bible, foretold this time of unprecedented pressures. The events experienced since 1914 fulfill Bible prophecy with amazing accuracy. However, while bringing about huge pressures, those events, of themselves, are not the basic causes of the pressures. And unless these are eliminated, nothing can be done to relieve the heavy pressures on humankind today. What, then, are the basic causes?

[Graph on page 17]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

ESTIMATED MINIMUM DATE OF CRISIS

                    1970   1975   1980   1985

Overpopulation

Famine

Ecological Collapse

Urban Air Pollution

Waste Heat

Water & Land Pollution

Oxygen Deficiency


 
There seems to be some indication of this *minimum dates of crisis* comment, that the Watchtower had perceived social crisis’s BEYOND 1975. That was the extent of the message, Between 1966-1975, with periodic follow-up, thereafter.

*** G71 4/22 pp. 20-21 Can Man Solve the Problem? ***

Can Laws Do It?

Can new laws, or better enforcement of laws, stem the tide? Without doubt, they can help. But late in 1970 U.S. News & World Report noted that air and water pollution in the United States was increasing “in spite of stricter regulations and substantial expenditures by government and industry.”

A much-publicized new law in the United States affects automobiles. After January 1, 1975, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons in exhausts from new cars must be reduced by at least 90 percent compared to 1970 models. After January 1, 1976, nitrogen oxides must be reduced at least 90 percent also.

While that is encouraging, note what Russell Train, presidential adviser on environment, says: “We do project that pollution from automobile exhaust will be on a downward curve until about 1985. After that, even with the most pollution-free internal-combustion engine that we can now foresee, the sheer growth in numbers of cars will start the curve going up again.”


 
*** W66 2/1 p. 72 “How Will They Hear?” ***

“How Will They Hear?”

“How, in turn, will they hear without someone to preach?”—Rom. 10:14.

WHEN was the last time your minister called on you at your home? How long has it been since he made a call on you and your family? If it was a recent visit, did you enjoy what he had to say on this occasion? Were you spiritually uplifted? Were you encouraged by his words? If it has been some time since he has made such a call, have you ever asked yourself why this is so? Why is he so busy? Why does he not find the time to make calls on his parishioners as ministers in past times did?

2 Actually, despite the so-called loud cry of a “resurgence of religion” in postwar years, there seems to be one of the most strange and serious paradoxes in modern-day religion occurring before our eyes, namely, a rising church membership roll and a declining ministerial seminary enrollment existing parallel to each other. To illustrate, by 1975, if three Protestant spokesmen are correct in their estimates, North American Protestant churches will experience a clergy shortage of up to 50,000. Moreover, according to the same source of information, “If the churchgoing percentage of the population rises more sharply than the total population gains, as it did in the 1950’s, the shortage will be even more severe. But since the increase has diminished during the past year or two, the estimated shortage may not be quite so serious. Taken on any terms, however, it is obvious that millions of people will soon be sheep without shepherds unless a crash program of ministerial training is undertaken.”—The Christian Century, April 26, 1961, page 509.

*** W69 10/15 p. 614 pars. 5-6 The Approaching Peace of a Thousand Years ***

5 The settling of minor wars, as in Vietnam and in the Middle East, cannot change the overall picture. The hostility of the two great political groups still remains. In discussing the “Nation’s Business,” the New York Times of December 6, 1968 (page 96, paragraphs 4, 5), said: “ . . . the cold war, though vastly changed, is far from over. Its perils are not diminishing. If anything they’re on the increase.” It expressed the fear that continued disintegration of the Soviet bloc of nations may tempt the Russians into new and desperate measures. This reminds us that the Soviet Union’s next-door neighbor, Communist China, is a big problem for her, yes, and for much of the rest of the world. Added to the awesomeness of her tremendous population is the disquieting fact that Communist China is now a nuclear power with the capacity of launching long-range missiles. By continued success in the missile field and by beginning to stockpile her weapons in the year 1972, and then keeping this up, the Communist Chinese “should be in a position to deploy 15 or 20 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles by about 1975.”—New York Times, February 3, 1969.

6 Truly the problems that need to be solved for world peace by human means are formidable, and yet there are men who offer themselves to tackle such problems. One such appears to be the thirty-seventh president of the United States of America. In his address following his inauguration on January 20, 1969, he said:

 

*** W70 5/1 p. 270 par. 21 Keep Close in Mind “The Conclusion of the System of Things” ***

21 Time magazine reported that in the previous five years before its issue the world’s population had increased twice as fast as its food production. It has been calculated that it took from the beginning of human history until the year 1800 for the population of the earth to reach one billion, 130 years more to reach 2 billion and just 36 years later the population had jumped to 3.28 billion. In recent years the United States has been feeding one out of twenty persons in Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia. It has been reported that India devoured a quarter of the United States’ wheat crop in 1966 as compared to a fifth the year before and an eighth five years earlier. No wonder the book Famine—1975! reports there will be “a famine that will happen no matter what anyone does.” Certainly a new system of things is needed to overcome the specter of mass starvation as the “black horse” continues its famine-striking course.


http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2009/1109reuss.html


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970s_energy_crisis Once again, what has been proven by ex-JW’s about 1975? The sustainability of their evidence doesn’t support the actions of the watchtower versus the actions of a few. I for one remember the lottery ticket campaign that was implemented after the shortage of gas in the 70’s. Odd and Even addresses could only get fuel at designated times. Some could only put 10 gallons if it was for recreational use.

*** w74 4/1 p. 196 Modern Food Shortage—Does It Fulfill Bible Prophecy? ***

But many persons, perhaps including you, do not now live in obvious famine conditions. You may still have access to an abundance of food, relatively speaking. Nevertheless, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization director-general A. H. Boerma says worse conditions are ahead for the whole world. Biologist Paul Ehrlich believes that actual worldwide famine is approaching. When? Back in 1970 he stated: “I think an estimate of 1975 is still as good as we can make, but it could be anywhere from 1972 to 1985, depending primarily on luck. I think the actual date is a quibble.”

The evidence of worldwide shortage is already evident in most “developed” countries. Have not food prices taken a sharp upward rise in recent months in the U.S., western Europe and elsewhere? Why? The food supply is limited. So the greater demand causes prices to go up.


 
*** w75 1/1 p. 12 Insight on the News ***

Insight on the News

The World and 1975

● Nineteen-seventy-five finds mankind facing as never before the harsh fact that its problems are truly global—and that global problems demand global solutions, nothing less. “Science News” magazine says that the internationally known group of scientists and industrialists called the “Club of Rome” describes the situation as “unique.” Why? Because past crises were usually local, but today ‘only a global solution is now adequate,’ and whereas there was time to search out solutions to previous problems, ‘only rapid action will now suffice.’

In similar vein, editorial writer Anthony Lewis says: “The fear that something fundamental is changing in the relationship of man and nature, the concern that things are out of joint in the world, is not confined to the problem of food. The use of oil as a political and economic weapon, the pressure on other resources, the inflation raging across most of the world—all give rise to uneasiness.” “Oil, food, prosperity, security, everything is connected to everything else.”—New York “Times,” November 10, 1974.

Prominent economist Robert L. Heilbroner believes that ‘the world will move toward a new social order to meet its problems.’

The Bible foretells that the nations will arrive at some kind of global arrangement allowing them to claim they have found the way to “peace and security.” But it shows that such will be short-lived and that only God’s promised new order will bring the desired relief from global distress.—1 Thess. 5:1-3; 2 Pet.


 
The evidence just isn’t there that the watchtower coerced anyone to speculate. But, everyone is entitled to their opinion…

This observation could conceivably be true *IF* 99.8% of Witnesses disobeyed the FDS spiritual food about speculation, and only 0.2% didn’t, out of their own volition. That would have indicated a mass exodus that wasn’t covered by social media and is not in evidence.

World evidence doesn’t seem to support such a theory. If it had, then social media would have made a larger contribution to that prospect. There was no stigma or notoriety attached to 1975 to conclude mass hysteria by witnesses if they knew the world was coming to an end, in 1975.


 
Peoples Temple (1978), Solar Temple (1994–97), Heaven's Gate (1997), Adam House (2007)

Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God (2000)

What the evidence does prove by the time period that is provided, 1968-1973, show that the Watchtower had no definitive STOP measure that wouldn’t go beyond 1975. The Awake! And Watchtower Magazines attest to that.

*** w62 6/15 p. 381 Avoid Unprofitable Questions ***

UNPROFITABLE USE OF TIME

Handling God’s Word of truth aright requires that we discern between profitable and unprofitable questions. Naturally we have questions about the past, present and future. In the Bible Jehovah has provided authentic answers to the questions that properly concern us at this time. Sometimes secular history can fill us in on details not given in the Bible. But there are other questions to which neither the Bible nor profane history provides an answer. It is not wise or safe for us to speculate about questions of that nature.

For example, in all good faith one might ask, What was Jehovah doing before he created Jesus, by whom he made all other things? If Adam and Eve had repented, would God have forgiven them? What happened to the bodies of those who perished in the Flood? Did the expensive gifts brought to the babe Jesus make Joseph and Mary rich for the rest of their lives? What did Jesus do between the ages of twelve and thirty besides his carpentering? How would Jehovah have redeemed the race if Jesus had not proved faithful? Exactly how long did Jesus’ trip to heaven take? Much time could be spent conjecturing on such matters.

Likewise it is possible to spend valuable time speculating on matters concerning the future. One might ask, In what year will Armageddon begin? Will the faithful angels eventually receive immortality? Will there be factories and machines in use after Armageddon? Will men wear beards again? What will be the medium of exchange in the new world? Will women now past the age of childbearing share in the procreation mandate? If dedicated parents and children happen to die before Armageddon, which parent will raise the resurrected children, since resurrected mates will not remarry? (Luke 20:35) These are typical questions to which Jehovah has not provided answers at this time. Do you think it wise for Christians to take time from more profitable Bible study to speculate on the answers? Consider the dangers involved.


 
*** w63 5/1 p. 288 Questions From Readers ***

Abel’s offering was accepted because it was both of the right kind and offered in faith. Cain lacked faith, but this fact came to the fore only when he found that his sacrifice was not being accepted by God. So we read: “By faith Abel offered God a sacrifice of greater worth than Cain, through which faith he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness respecting his gifts; and through it he, although he died, yet speaks.” Just how God indicated that Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable and Cain’s was not the Bible does not say and it would be idle to speculate.—Heb. 11:4.

 

*** w68 8/15 p. 494 Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975? ***

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.

2 But wait! How do we know their calculations are correct? What basis is there for saying Adam was created nearly 5,993 years ago? Does the one Book that can be implicitly trusted for its truthful historical accuracy, namely, the Inspired Word of Jehovah, the Holy Bible, give support and credence to such a conclusion?

 

*** w70 5/1 p. 263 Why the Clergy Are Quitting ***

Is it significant that many of the “best men” are leading the exodus? Yes, it is. For as former Catholic priest Alex MacRae explains: “Most priests aren’t equipped to do anything outside, and this is what is keeping many of them in.”

Now, however, a number of agencies have been set up to help former priests and ministers get adjusted and obtain secular employment. Thus, the exodus is gaining momentum. Why, just one of these agencies now handles about 165 new priest-clients a month—2,000 a year! John Wesley Downing, director of another such agency, predicts that more than half of the 450,000 Protestant ministers and Catholic priests in the United States will quit by 1975.

REASONS FOR QUITTING

But why are so many quitting? The celibacy law that forbids priests to marry is most frequently cited as the reason.

However, it would be wrong to conclude that the celibacy requirement is the only or fundamental reason for priests quitting. As Monsignor Myles Bourke of New York city observes: “Most of them get out because they’re frustrated in their work. Many of the young people are treated like adolescents and feel restricted.”

 

 

*** w75 10/1 p. 579 The End of 6,000 Years of Man-Rule Approaches—What Has Been Accomplished? ***

The End of 6,000 Years of Man-Rule Approaches—What Has Been Accomplished?

SINCE a new Jewish lunar year began in September 1975 a significant point in human history was reached. What was that? According to the Bible’s count of time, mankind then completed 6,000 years of existence on earth. Yes, the first man Adam, if he had chosen to remain obedient under God’s rulership, would have still been alive and 6,000 years old in September of this year.

Does this mean, then, that mankind has now reached 6,000 years into the 7,000-year period that God ‘blessed and made sacred’ as his great “rest day”? Does it mean that Christ’s millennial Kingdom rule, as the final 1,000 years of that “rest day,” is to be reckoned from September 1975?—Gen. 1:27, 31; 2:2, 3; Rev. 20:1-6.

No, it does not mean that. Why not? Well, the Bible record shows that God’s creations on the “day” just preceding that 7,000-year “rest day” did not end with Adam’s creation. It shows a time lapse between the creation of Adam and that of his wife, Eve. During that time, God had Adam name the animals. Whether that period amounted to weeks or months or years, we do not know. So we do not know exactly when Jehovah’s great “rest day” began, nor do we know exactly when it will end. The same applies to the beginning of Christ’s millennial reign. The Bible provides us no way to fix the date, and so it does us no good to speculate when that date may be.—Gen. 2:18-25; Matt. 24:42, 44.

However, the Bible’s time clock does indicate to us that 6,000 years of human history end in this year 1975. Early in God’s “rest day” Adam became a rebel against God-rule. Thus, for the most part, the first 6,000 years of man’s history have been marked by man-rule. What did man’s independent rulership accomplish during those six millenniums of time, or six spans of 1,000 years each? Let us take a panoramic view of those millenniums, each in its turn.

 

 

*** g71 10/8 The Greatest Pressure of All Time Begins ***

Building Toward Climax

Authorities in every field generally agree that the pressures of today are building up to some sort of climax.

Not long ago scores of respected scientists, economists, historians and philosophers met in the United States to discuss mankind’s problems. There was much disagreement on various points. But on one thing they all agreed: “All insist that the human family is approaching an historic crisis which will require fundamental revisions in the organization of society.”—The New York Times.

On another occasion, television commentator Walter Cronkite said: “The scientists themselves disagree on the schedule of disaster. Each specialist counts the time to his own special catastrophe. But we found not one scientist who disagreed that some disaster portends.”

Authorities were asked how long they thought it would take for the current problems to reach “crisis” proportions. And a problem was said to have reached that point when it caused the deaths of at least a million people a year, or severely affected their health, welfare or standard of living. A chart was drawn up based on their opinions. Some of the items listed were as follows:

Note that the problem of overpopulation was considered as already having reached crisis proportions. One reason for this is that about 10,000 people a day now die as a result of malnutrition, an estimated 3,500,000 a year. Also, instead of slowing down, the rate of population increase has actually risen in recent decades. The world’s population is now doubling every thirty-five years!

Any one of the problems in the chart could have catastrophic effects on all earthly life. And they do not even include the threat of nuclear war. Combine all of these and you can understand why experts are so pessimistic about the future. They see mankind moving swiftly and certainly to some sort of disastrous climax.

God’s Word, the Bible, foretold this time of unprecedented pressures. The events experienced since 1914 fulfill Bible prophecy with amazing accuracy. However, while bringing about huge pressures, those events, of themselves, are not the basic causes of the pressures. And unless these are eliminated, nothing can be done to relieve the heavy pressures on humankind today. What, then, are the basic causes?

[Graph on page 17]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

ESTIMATED MINIMUM DATE OF CRISIS

                    1970   1975   1980   1985

Overpopulation

Famine

Ecological Collapse

Urban Air Pollution

Waste Heat

Water & Land Pollution

Oxygen Deficiency


 
There seems to be some indication of this *minimum dates of crisis* comment, that the Watchtower had perceived social crisis’s BEYOND 1975. That was the extent of the message, Between 1966-1975, with periodic follow-up, thereafter.

*** G71 4/22 pp. 20-21 Can Man Solve the Problem? ***

Can Laws Do It?

Can new laws, or better enforcement of laws, stem the tide? Without doubt, they can help. But late in 1970 U.S. News & World Report noted that air and water pollution in the United States was increasing “in spite of stricter regulations and substantial expenditures by government and industry.”

A much-publicized new law in the United States affects automobiles. After January 1, 1975, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons in exhausts from new cars must be reduced by at least 90 percent compared to 1970 models. After January 1, 1976, nitrogen oxides must be reduced at least 90 percent also.

While that is encouraging, note what Russell Train, presidential adviser on environment, says: “We do project that pollution from automobile exhaust will be on a downward curve until about 1985. After that, even with the most pollution-free internal-combustion engine that we can now foresee, the sheer growth in numbers of cars will start the curve going up again.”


 
*** W66 2/1 p. 72 “How Will They Hear?” ***

“How Will They Hear?”

“How, in turn, will they hear without someone to preach?”—Rom. 10:14.

WHEN was the last time your minister called on you at your home? How long has it been since he made a call on you and your family? If it was a recent visit, did you enjoy what he had to say on this occasion? Were you spiritually uplifted? Were you encouraged by his words? If it has been some time since he has made such a call, have you ever asked yourself why this is so? Why is he so busy? Why does he not find the time to make calls on his parishioners as ministers in past times did?

2 Actually, despite the so-called loud cry of a “resurgence of religion” in postwar years, there seems to be one of the most strange and serious paradoxes in modern-day religion occurring before our eyes, namely, a rising church membership roll and a declining ministerial seminary enrollment existing parallel to each other. To illustrate, by 1975, if three Protestant spokesmen are correct in their estimates, North American Protestant churches will experience a clergy shortage of up to 50,000. Moreover, according to the same source of information, “If the churchgoing percentage of the population rises more sharply than the total population gains, as it did in the 1950’s, the shortage will be even more severe. But since the increase has diminished during the past year or two, the estimated shortage may not be quite so serious. Taken on any terms, however, it is obvious that millions of people will soon be sheep without shepherds unless a crash program of ministerial training is undertaken.”—The Christian Century, April 26, 1961, page 509.

*** W69 10/15 p. 614 pars. 5-6 The Approaching Peace of a Thousand Years ***

5 The settling of minor wars, as in Vietnam and in the Middle East, cannot change the overall picture. The hostility of the two great political groups still remains. In discussing the “Nation’s Business,” the New York Times of December 6, 1968 (page 96, paragraphs 4, 5), said: “ . . . the cold war, though vastly changed, is far from over. Its perils are not diminishing. If anything they’re on the increase.” It expressed the fear that continued disintegration of the Soviet bloc of nations may tempt the Russians into new and desperate measures. This reminds us that the Soviet Union’s next-door neighbor, Communist China, is a big problem for her, yes, and for much of the rest of the world. Added to the awesomeness of her tremendous population is the disquieting fact that Communist China is now a nuclear power with the capacity of launching long-range missiles. By continued success in the missile field and by beginning to stockpile her weapons in the year 1972, and then keeping this up, the Communist Chinese “should be in a position to deploy 15 or 20 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles by about 1975.”—New York Times, February 3, 1969.

6 Truly the problems that need to be solved for world peace by human means are formidable, and yet there are men who offer themselves to tackle such problems. One such appears to be the thirty-seventh president of the United States of America. In his address following his inauguration on January 20, 1969, he said:

 

*** W70 5/1 p. 270 par. 21 Keep Close in Mind “The Conclusion of the System of Things” ***

21 Time magazine reported that in the previous five years before its issue the world’s population had increased twice as fast as its food production. It has been calculated that it took from the beginning of human history until the year 1800 for the population of the earth to reach one billion, 130 years more to reach 2 billion and just 36 years later the population had jumped to 3.28 billion. In recent years the United States has been feeding one out of twenty persons in Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia. It has been reported that India devoured a quarter of the United States’ wheat crop in 1966 as compared to a fifth the year before and an eighth five years earlier. No wonder the book Famine—1975! reports there will be “a famine that will happen no matter what anyone does.” Certainly a new system of things is needed to overcome the specter of mass starvation as the “black horse” continues its famine-striking course.


http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2009/1109reuss.html


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970s_energy_crisis Once again, what has been proven by ex-JW’s about 1975? The sustainability of their evidence doesn’t support the actions of the watchtower versus the actions of a few. I for one remember the lottery ticket campaign that was implemented after the shortage of gas in the 70’s. Odd and Even addresses could only get fuel at designated times. Some could only put 10 gallons if it was for recreational use.

*** w74 4/1 p. 196 Modern Food Shortage—Does It Fulfill Bible Prophecy? ***

But many persons, perhaps including you, do not now live in obvious famine conditions. You may still have access to an abundance of food, relatively speaking. Nevertheless, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization director-general A. H. Boerma says worse conditions are ahead for the whole world. Biologist Paul Ehrlich believes that actual worldwide famine is approaching. When? Back in 1970 he stated: “I think an estimate of 1975 is still as good as we can make, but it could be anywhere from 1972 to 1985, depending primarily on luck. I think the actual date is a quibble.”

The evidence of worldwide shortage is already evident in most “developed” countries. Have not food prices taken a sharp upward rise in recent months in the U.S., western Europe and elsewhere? Why? The food supply is limited. So the greater demand causes prices to go up.


 
*** w75 1/1 p. 12 Insight on the News ***

Insight on the News

The World and 1975

● Nineteen-seventy-five finds mankind facing as never before the harsh fact that its problems are truly global—and that global problems demand global solutions, nothing less. “Science News” magazine says that the internationally known group of scientists and industrialists called the “Club of Rome” describes the situation as “unique.” Why? Because past crises were usually local, but today ‘only a global solution is now adequate,’ and whereas there was time to search out solutions to previous problems, ‘only rapid action will now suffice.’

In similar vein, editorial writer Anthony Lewis says: “The fear that something fundamental is changing in the relationship of man and nature, the concern that things are out of joint in the world, is not confined to the problem of food. The use of oil as a political and economic weapon, the pressure on other resources, the inflation raging across most of the world—all give rise to uneasiness.” “Oil, food, prosperity, security, everything is connected to everything else.”—New York “Times,” November 10, 1974.

Prominent economist Robert L. Heilbroner believes that ‘the world will move toward a new social order to meet its problems.’

The Bible foretells that the nations will arrive at some kind of global arrangement allowing them to claim they have found the way to “peace and security.” But it shows that such will be short-lived and that only God’s promised new order will bring the desired relief from global distress.—1 Thess. 5:1-3; 2 Pet.


 
The evidence just isn’t there that the watchtower coerced anyone to speculate. But, everyone is entitled to their opinion…