by Sunspot 32 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
As JWs, we used to be told that "when they are crying Peace and Security, the END will come". Nothing indicates that this will be happening any time in the near future, but the "new" tract would seem to make people think the "end" will be soon.
Has the WTS changed this "Peace and Security" teaching over the past few years?
IF they have changed their thinking, how have they worked their way around that one?
Any ideas on this?
Annie
i would like to know that too. i remember the first time the revelation book was studied , it was said at the study that every prophecy has been fulfilled except the peace and security one. ( elder said that. dunno if it was in the publication)
They will bring it to the forefront if the UN or a policital figures mention it enough in the media. I remember back 20 years ago in 1986 how wild they went when the UN declared 1986 to be the internation year of peace. They even updated the Peace and Security book and issued Watchtowers with a clockface at 3 minutes till armageddon, LOL.
On page 251 of the old Revelation book, at paragraph 14 it used to say:
"What form will the significant cry of "Peace and Security" take? It is here mentioned as being outstanding just before the sudden destruction of those making the cry.It will have to be something more pronounced than any previous declarations by world leaders. No doubt it will be on a world-wide scale. Yet, it will be no more than a facade. Underneath, nothing will really have changed."
BUT! Now we have those Kingdom Ministry revisions, and now this paragraph is meant to read:
"In recent years, politicians have used the phrase "peace and security", to describe various human schemes. Do such efforts by world leaders constitute the begining of the fulfillment of 1 Thes. 5:3? Or was Paul refering only to a specific event of such dramatic proportions that it will claim world attention? Since Bible prophesies are often completly understood after thay are fulfilled or in the course of fulflillment, we will have to wait and see. Meanwhile, Christians know that whatever peace and security nations may appear to have achieved, basically nothing will have changed."
Is this what you were looking for?
The best part about this change, is that in the original statement, they wrote their prophecy, with 'No doubt' and then changed it!
Candidlynuts,
It was really stressed back in the 70's, I remember the buzz all over the KH when President Carter was signing some pact with a foreign dignatary at Camp David and we were SO SURE it was THE beginning of the cry of Peace and Security back then!
I looked at the 2004 WT CD and found this article.
*** w94 8/1 pp. 6-7 The Nuclear Threat—Removed for Good! ***
The Nuclear Threat—Removed for Good!
LIVING in morbid fear is not what God wants for mankind. As “the happy God,” he wants them to enjoy peace and live in security—in short, be happy. (1 Timothy 1:11) In a world full of nuclear threats, this is clearly impossible.
“Peace and Security”—A Counterfeit
It should be obvious that the nuclear threat is far from gone. Still, despite political, economic, and social unrest, the nations seem in the main to be optimistic. A steady endeavor to defuse the danger has been apparent since the UN International Year of Peace in 1986.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has in the last decade turned its doomsday clock—its method of indicating the probability of nuclear war—from 3 minutes before midnight back to 17 minutes before midnight. In 1989 the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute noted that “hope for peaceful conflict resolution is better founded than in any other year since the end of World War II.”
In recent years the United Nations has been strengthened to deal with international trouble spots. Its success, while not total, has been sufficient to contribute to a general spirit of optimism. The future will likely bring additional breakthroughs. Cries of “peace and security” will probably become louder and more intense. They may even gain in credibility.
But beware! “Whenever it is that they are saying: ‘Peace and security,’” warns the Bible, “then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them just as the pang of distress upon a pregnant woman; and they will by no means escape.” Thus, cries of “peace and security” will signal God’s time “to bring to ruin those [who through pollution, nuclear and otherwise, are] ruining the earth.”—1 Thessalonians 5:3, 4; Revelation 11:18.
Note that the Bible does not say that the nations will achieve “peace and security.” They will apparently be talking about it in a unique way, expressing an optimism and a conviction not hitherto felt. The chances of achieving peace and security will appear to be closer than ever before. Despite a continuing nuclear threat, the nations will be lulled into a false sense of security.
True Christians, however, will not be deceived. With keen interest they will look beyond human peace and security to something better!
Peace and Security—The Real Thing
According to Psalm 4:8, true peace and security is to be found only within Jehovah God’s arrangement: “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for you yourself alone, O Jehovah, make me dwell in security.” Any cry of “peace and security” expressed outside the context of Jehovah’s Kingdom arrangement can only be counterfeit. It cannot achieve anything of lasting value.
Halfway measures are not good enough for God’s Kingdom under Christ. Divine government will do more than reduce the number of nuclear weapons; it will totally eliminate them and all other weapons of war. Psalm 46:9 promises: “He is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth. The bow he breaks apart and does cut the spear in pieces; the wagons he burns in the fire.”
Likewise, nuclear threats posed by malfunctioning nuclear reactors or by radioactive waste will be things of the past. Otherwise the words would be untrue: “They will actually sit, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one making them tremble; for the very mouth of Jehovah of armies has spoken it.” God cannot lie. We have no reason to doubt his words.—Micah 4:4; Titus 1:2.
Would you enjoy having the prospect of living in a world in which the nuclear threat has been removed for good? You can, for God’s Word clearly sets down the requirements. By learning about them and by living accordingly, you may one day have the joy of saying with a sigh of relief: “The nuclear threat—over at last!”
[Picture on page 7]
Peace will reign in God’s new world without any nuclear threats
[Credit Line]
M. Thonig/H. Armstrong Roberts
[Picture Credit Line on page 6]
U.S. National Archives photo
Sunspot is correct, it was really stressed in the past that the cry of Peace and Security would be well pronounced.
I studied in the late 80's and it was still stressed. That said, good post Zico.
You show us that the GB is ready to go any direction they want to with the cry. They will use printed words to
say it DID happen if that fits their needs. They will use them to say it DID NOT happen yet if that fits their needs.
It's not been talked about much lately, but I'm sure it's still a belief.
Actually, Matt. 24:14, preaching the good news worldwide, is still a major glitch with the Witnesses. China, India, North Africa, Pakistan, the Middle East - probably two-thirds of the world's population has never heard of JWs, and the other third really knows nothing of the JW "kingdom" message.
Someone pointed out on here recently that every day JWs get a little further behind in preaching worldwide, with very little growth among the Witnesses and another 200,000 people to preach to!
Don't let anyone tell you all of the prophecies have been fulfilled except the "peace and security" cry.
S4
(ooops--a couple of you snuck in when I wasn't looking LOL!)
I remember back 20 years ago in 1986 how wild they went when the UN declared 1986 to be the internation year of peace. They even updated the Peace and Security book and issued Watchtowers with a clockface at 3 minutes till armageddon, LOL.
Little Rock Guy,
I aslo remember that big flap about the International Year of Peace! Of course that was years after the pact-signing in the 70's.....so that the WTS could cash in on the "excitement" and whip the JWs into yet another frenzy of expectation.
"In recent years, polititians have used the phrase "peace and security", to describe various human schemes. Do such efforts by world leaders constitute the begining of the fulfillment of 1 Thes. 5:3? Or was Paul refering only to a specific event of such damatic proportions that it will claim world attention? Since Bible prophesies are often completly understood after thay are fulfilled or in the course of fulflillment, we will have to wait and see. Meanwhile, Christians know that whatever peace and security nations may appear to have achieved, basically nothing will have changed."
Zico,
WOW! How sneaky of them! I don't recall readng that!
Is this what you were looking for?
I didn't know WHAT I was looking for, LOL! I just kind of wondered what had happened to the hype we listened to (and taught) years ago!
The best part about this change, is that in the original statement, they wrote their prophecy, with 'No doubt' and then changed it!
It's up there with their "undeniable truths"......that weren't.
Annie
Annie, They issued a 4-page insert in this years September Kingdom Ministry with 'new light' about the Revelation book. They detailed... I think, 70 changes to the Revelation book. The one I posted about 'Peace and Security' was included in that list. That's where I got it.
