What did the Watchtower Soceity REALLY say about 1975?

by Elsewhere 60 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  blondie

  After the fact, the WTS tried to show that they tried to prevent speculation...but they kept teasing the rank and file.

  ***

  yb75 p. 256 United States of America (Part Three) ***

  Just think where we are in the stream of time! Its importance was deeply impressed on our minds back in 1966. God’s people then received the absorbing book Life Everlasting—in Freedom of the Sons of God. It did not take long for most of them to note the chronological chart in it that identified 1975 as the "end of 6th 1,000-year day of man’s existence (in early autumn)."

  This certainly raised questions. Does this mean that Babylon the Great will go down by 1975? Will Armageddon be over, with Satan bound, by then? ‘It could’ acknowledged F. W. Franz, the Watch Tower Society’s vice-president, after posing similar questions at the "God’s Sons of Liberty" District Assembly in Baltimore, Maryland (1966). However, he added, in essence: ‘But we are not saying. All things are possible with God. But we are not saying. And don’t any of you be specific in saying anything that is going to happen between now and 1975.

  ***

  w74 6/15 p. 379 Serve with Eternity in View ***

  True, the most accurate Bible chronology available indicates that 6,000 years of human existence will end in the mid-1970’s. So these Christians are intensely interested to see if that will coincide with the outbreak of the "great tribulation" of our day that will eliminate all wicked ones on earth. It could. But they are not even attempting to predict exactly when the destruction of Satan’s wicked system of things will occur. They are content to wait and see, realizing that no human on earth knows the date.—Matt. 24:36.

  ***

  w74 10/15 p. 635 Growing in Appreciation for the "Divine Purpose" ***

  The publications of Jehovah’s witnesses have shown that, according to Bible chronology, it appears that 6,000 years of man’s existence will be completed in the mid-1970’s. But these publications have never said that the world’s end would come then. Nevertheless, there has been considerable individual speculation on the matter. So the assembly presentation "Why We Have Not Been Told ‘That Day and Hour’" was very timely.

  Jehovah’s Christian witnesses are confident that God is going to bring the end of this ungodly system in HIS due time. When the "great tribulation" begins, we will be able to recognize it. So instead of speculating about a certain date, as if serving with that date as a goal, we can concentrate on the important preaching work that Jesus said his disciples would do in this time period.

  And our "sights" for the future will not be on some date, but we will be serving with eternity in view, just as Jude urged Christians to do.

  *** w70 5/1 p. 273 An Ingathering Affecting All Mankind ***

  How close we may exactly be to the end of the present divisive system of things cannot be predicted, as Jesus reported that even he did not know the day or the hour at the time of his earthly ministry. (Matt. 24:36) However, Bible chronology which indicates that Adam was created in the fall of the year 4026 B.C.E. would bring us down to the year 1975 C.E. as the date marking 6,000 years of human history with yet 1,000 years to come for Christ’s Kingdom rule. So whatever the date for the end of this system, it is clear that the time left is reduced, with only approximately six years left until the end of 6,000 years of human history. (1 Cor. 7:29) This corroborates the understanding of Jesus’ words that the generation alive in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I would not pass away until the end comes

  *** w69 2/1 p. 70 The Meaning of Present World Distress ***

  More recently, the book entitled "Famine—1975!" by William and Paul Paddock said concerning today’s food shortages, on pages 52, 55 and 61: "Hunger is rampant throughout country after country, continent after continent around the undeveloped belt of the tropics and subtropics. Today’s crisis can move in only one direction—toward catastrophe. Today hungry nations; tomorrow starving nations. . . . By 1975 civil disorder, anarchy, military dictatorships, runaway inflation, transportation breakdowns and chaotic unrest will be the order of the day in many of the hungry nations."
• 

  Leolaia

  Page 23 is just so, so ironic, isn't it?
• 

  james_woods

  There were also a number of cases where convention speakers went far beyond the official WT line - probably out of the need for self-glorification. Probably some tapes may still exist of these - not much doubt was left that the end was to come in the mid-seventies. Remember the one that made out that if only we knew how long Adam was in the garden before Eve, then we actually would know the date?

  Someone here has also attested to the ridiculous statements made by Schroeder after 1975 that probably Jehovah really planned it for 1975, but put it off so that we could preach from door to door some more...

  Not to say that many faithful JWs today have the slightest notion of any of this, or the ability to admit that it happened.
• 

  cabasilas

  I remember I was studying with the JWs at this time and going out door-to-door with this Awake! Of course, I bought the whole thing hook, line and sinker at the time.

  I remember that when this magazine came out the Los Angeles Times did an article on this issue. I believe that William Cetnar (who lived in Orange County at the time) was the impetus behind the article. I remember reading the article and thinking it was part of Satan's strategy against the truth since it seemed well written against what we were teaching the people. (How deceived I was!) Perhaps someone living in the LA area might be able to find the article from the LA Times from that era. My guess the author of the article was either John Dart, Russell Chandler or William Farr. Might be interesting to read again.
• 

  CaptainSchmideo

  Anybody remember what a crazy year 1968 was?

  Martin Luther King, then Robert Kennedy assassinated.

  The war in Vietnam was white hot.

  The Chicago Democratic convention was turned into a riot in the streets.

  Plus all the other normal bad news for the year.

  You gotta know that Freddy Franz was in ecstacy. All those prophetic hallucinations of his were bearing fruit, and the end just had to be near! Mankind couldn't possibly survive much longer.

  Hmmm. That was almost forty years ago...Guess the times weren't as urgent as they thought....
• 

  William Penwell

  Thanks I remember having to study this crap.

  Will

  .
• 

  atypical

  It's like I keep telling my family - The people who followed the society's words the closest got screwed. The people who paid less attention to what was being said about 1975 came away from it in better shape.

  What lesson am I to learn other than to realize that I am better off trusting my own judgment than following the whims of the governing body?
• 

  Wasanelder Once

  I was there. I saw it come and go. I know that the society whipped up furor over the thought of Maggiededdon in 1975. They are the most pathetic bunch of liars you could ever meet. My circle of friends knew the scripture that says, "No man knows the day or the hour..." and we never beleived it would come in 1975. People were going over the baptism questions in groups there were so many trying to get on the "Ark". Pathetic.

  W.Once
• 

  Leolaia

  It is amazing to compare the dogmatic, black-and-white statements in this Awake! with the weak half-assed wimpy retraction in 1995:

  *** g68 10/8 p. 4 What's This World Coming To? ***

  What does the Bible show as to the meaning of all these world events? It shows that for this unrighteous world time is running out fast! It shows that within a few years at most there will take place a climax in human affairs so gigantic that it will affect every person earth, every man, woman and child. It will without fail, affect you. What is this climax? God himself will take a direct hand in world affiars. He will use his overwhelming power to crush wickedness and wicked people (Rev. 11:18). This act of God is called "Armageddon" in some Bible translations....

  Yes, this violent, crime-ridden world is coming to its end! Time is running out fast for it! It is much later for this world than you may think! Indeed, it has only a few more years of existence left!

  *** g68 10/8 p. 7 How Do We Know We Are in the "Last Days"? ***

  How can we be sure we are living in the period of time called the "last days"? Aside from chronology, what definite proof is there that this era began in the year 1914? How long a time is covered by it? When will it end?

  The phrase "last days" comes from Bible prophecy such as that recorded at 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 1... This time period has a definite beginning and a definite end. It is similar to the last day of a week, which has a definite beginning at midnight and a definite end twenty-four hours later. During the time period of the "last days" certain events would take place, after which God would bring the period to the end by crushing out of existence this present wicked world.

  The events that Jesus, the apostle Paul and other Bible writers bring to our attention were all to take place within the same generation [emphasis theirs] (Matt. 24:34). These events would identify which generation's lifetime would embrace the "last days", much as your fingerprint identifies you...Remember, however, that it is not just one of these events by itself that is crucial, although each is highly significant. All of them must come together in the same generation [emphasis theirs], like the different lines that come together on one of your fingers to form your fingerprint.

  *** g68 10/8 p. 13-14 What Will the 1970s Bring? ***

  The fact that fifty-four years of the period called the "last days" have already gone by is highly significant. It means that only a few years, at most, remain before the corrupt system of things dominating the earth is destroyed by God. How can we be so certain of this?

  One way is by noting what Jesus said when he gave his great prophecy about the "last days". After he listed the many events that would mark the period, he also stated: "Truly I say to you that this generaiton will by no means pass away until all these things occur" -- Matt. 24:34.

  Jesus was obviously speaking about those who were old enough to witness with understanding [emphasis theirs] what took place when the "last days" began. Jesus was saying that some of those persons who were alive at the appearance of the 'sign of the last days' would still be alive when God brought this sytem to its end.

  Even if we presume that youngsters 15 years of age would be perceptive enough to realize the import of what happened in 1914, it would still make the youngest of "this generation" nearly 70 years old today. So the great majority of the generation to which Jesus was referring has already passed away in death. The remaining ones are approaching old age. And remember, Jesus said that the end of this wicked world would come before [emphasis theirs] that generation passed away in death. This, of itself, tells us that the years left before the foretold end comes cannot be many.

  *** g68 10/8 p. 23-24 'Lift Up Your Head' in Confident Hope ***

  The evidence that we are far along in the "last days" can be either good news or bad news to you, depending on the position you take...Still some persons may say: "How can you be sure? Maybe it is later than many people think. But maybe it is not as late as some persons claim [YES, IT IS NOW AT LEAST 30 YEARS LATER, N.B.]. People have been mistaken about these prophecies before."

  The Difference

  True, there have been those in times past who predicted an "end to the world," even announcing a specific date. Some have gathered groups of people with them and fled to the hills or withdrawn into their houses waiting for the end. Yet, nothing happened. The "end" did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying. Why? What was missing?

  Missing was the full measure of evidence required in fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Missing from such people were God's truths and the evidence that he was guiding and using them.

  But what about today? Today we have the evidence required, all of it [emphasis theirs]. And it is overwhelming! All the many, many parts of the great sign of the "last days" are here, together with verifying Bible chronology [INCLUDING THE CHRONOLOGY FOR 1975, N.B.]... Would you still doubt if someone told you that winter was coming very soon? Would you say that he was just guessing or merely expressing his own idea? Or would you acknowledge, on the basis of solid evidence, that he knew the facts and was telling you the truth?...

  As recorded at Matthew 24:33, 34, he [Jesus] added: "Likewise also you, when you see all these things [emphasis theirs], know that he is near at the doors. Truly I saw to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur." We today have all [emphasis theirs] the many parts of that sign, nearly forty of them, being fulfilled within the same generation, and we have God's timetable, his "calendar," showing that the time has nearly run out for the present unrighteous system of things. This is very different indeed from the situation with those who proclaimed an "end to the world" in earlier generations.

  Very dogmatic and ...... very wrong, as history itself as proven. So what kind of an apology do the JWs get when they abandoned this teaching? None...and in fact, it was all just "speculation" (forget about us claiming that it was "the truth" and a "fact" based on "overwhelming" and "solid evidence" that was not merely "[our] own idea" or "just guessing") that "Jehovah's people" in general have had at some time in the past. Jehovah's people, that means you, unfortunately somehow got these speculative ideas not from any F&DS but from your own "eagerness" to see the world end, and you did so without "wisdom".

  *** w95 11/1 p. 17 A Time to Keep Awake ***

  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...

  Is anything to be gained, then, by looking for dates or by speculating about the literal lifetime of a "generation"? Far from it! Habakkuk 2:3 clearly states: "The vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end, and it will not tell a lie. Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late." Jehovah’s day of accounting hastens ever closer.—Jeremiah 25:31-33; Malachi 4:1.

  Does our more precise viewpoint on "this generation" mean that Armageddon is further away than we had thought? Not at all! [NOT TRUE -- ARMAGEDDON WAS SUPPOSED TO BE JUST A FEW YEARS LATER THAN 1968...NOW IT IS 30 YEARS LATER THAN 1975, SO IT IS "FURTHER AWAY" THAN THEY HAD CLAIMED BEFORE, N.B.] Though we at no time have known the "day and hour," Jehovah God has always known it, and he does not change. (Malachi 3:6) Obviously, the world is sinking further and further toward terminal ruination.
• 

  Terry

  
  A tremendous opportunity was missed between 1968 and 1975 to pin Jehovah's Witnesses down and set them up for a huge public shaming.

  Religious leaders from any of the major denominations should have publicly called them out and made them take a stand on EXACTLY WHAT was being preached and what the meaning of it was per 1975.

  It is obvious the Watchtower Society thought they could get away with having it BOTH WAYS simultaneously.

  By hedging and fudging and dropping little cautions here and there they figured they could play innocent if the date failed.

  Somebody somewhere should have really cranked up a high profile campaign that spotlighted the JW madness with a COUNTDOWN TO ARMAGEDDON in the newspaper or on a TV magazine show.

  You bet your life the Governing Body would have squirmed and wiggled and started putting the brakes on the runaway train.

  But, they were allowed to get away with it.

  Some people never learn.

  If they ever are so foolish as to set a date again we have to be ready for them. But, they don't dare in an age of Internet publicity.