Yes, it appears they are. There seems to be a trend lately for the Watchtower Society to increasingly refer to Habakkuk 2:3 and indicate that we are now in a period of 'delay' before Armageddon. This is peculiar in terms of Matthew 24:45-47 where Jesus warned about a wicked slave who would say in his heart 'My master is delaying' and start to beat his fellow slaves.
Here are two I found (pre-2000):
*** w97 1/1 12 The Greater Glory of Jehovah's House ***
2 From these words of Jesus, we gather that our work today must focus on preaching to others “the glorious good news of the happy God,” with which we are entrusted. (1 Timothy 1:11) The more we happily immerse ourselves in Jehovah’s service, the faster the end will appear to come. At Habakkuk 2:2, 3, we read Jehovah’s words: “Write down the vision, and set it out plainly upon tablets, in order that the one reading aloud from it may do so fluently. For 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.” Yes, “the vision” will come true “even if it should delay.” In this the 83rd year of Jesus’ Kingdom rule, some may feel that we are in a period of delay right now. Should we not be happy, though, that the end has not yet come? During this decade of the 1990’s, restrictions on preaching the good news have been lifted, miraculously it would seem, in Eastern Europe, parts of Africa, and other lands. [b]The apparent “delay” is allowing time for many more “sheep” to be gathered from these territories that have recently opened up [/b].—John 10:16.
*** w98 11/15 16-17 Walking With God-With Eternity in View ***
6 In part, Jehovah answered Habakkuk in these words: “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.” (Habakkuk 2:3) God thus made it known that he would act at “the appointed time.” [b]Though there might seem to be a delay, Jehovah will fulfill his purpose—without fail! [/b]—2 Peter 3:9.
(Sorry unable to format the quotes as use Firefox)
I only have the Watchtowr CD-rom up to 1999. Could someone with the latest CD-rom please, pretty please, do a search on Habakkuk 2:3 from 2000 on to see if they can find any more quotes where the Society are hinting at Jesus 'delaying'.
Is the WTS saying Armageddon is 'delaying' - Matt 24:45-47?
by yaddayadda 10 Replies latest watchtower bible
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yaddayadda
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Leolaia
I count 19 citations of this scripture since 2000, though nearly all of them refer to the latter part of the quote, "It will not be late," and thus in effect deny that there is a delay:
*** km 7/00 p. 4 par. 1 Do You Appreciate Jehovah’s Patience? ***
Hence, the patience of God should not be misinterpreted as a delay in bringing the end to this system of things.—Hab. 2:3.
*** wt chap. 20 p. 183 par. 15 Keep Close in Mind Jehovah’s Day ***
The end of this system will come exactly on time, according to God’s schedule. It will not be late. (Habakkuk 2:3)
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Arthur
Could someone with the latest CD-rom please, pretty please, do a search on Habakkuk 2:3 from 2000 on to see if they can find any more quotes where the Society are hinting at Jesus 'delaying'
I don't think this will be necessary. I have a good feeling that the subsequent articles on this topic will be pretty much the same.
The organization must provide to it's members a somewhat palatable explanation as to why the end has not come yet despite the organization's "end is near" sloganeering for the last century. Witnesses need to have a good reason as to why they did not go to college or prepare for retirement.
Think about this: why would anyone say that there is a "delay"? The only reason why someone would say there is a delay is if someone took it upon themselves to set time tables, predictions; or instill expectations that did not come to pass. Who has done the most pontificating and sloganeering about certain years or future time periods as marking the end of this system of things? The party I am thinking of starts with a W . . .
Jesus said that no one would know the day or the hour. He said his return would be like a theif in the night. How much more obvious can it get? The only reason why any group of people would talk about a delay; is if someone among them instilled a certain expectation in them.
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yaddayadda
Ok, thanks for looking up those quotes Leolaia. So much for that theory. I could've sworn there were more quotes in recent years that alluded to some kind of 'delay' period the Society hints we are in. It may have been a talk I heard around 1999 (something about how we are all sitting in the theatre now, the lights have gone out, and we're just waiting for the curtains to go up.)
Nevertheless, the Society seem to be increasingly acknowledging that many JW's thought the end would have come by now, especially those who have been in the 'truth' for ages. There has been a palpable sense of this in the congregations, particularly since 2000. Everyone except the youth and newly baptized ones is wondering why this system is dragging on for so long.
The irony is the more that JW's puzzle over why the end hasn't come yet, the more they believe it must be ever so close now. The Society has built up so much expectation that the end is near, at hand, close, soon, imminent, that the JW's are all sitting on the edge of their seats now, literally imagining it must be right around the corner now, surely just on the horizon. It's the same mentality as an addicted pokie machine player who has sat at the same machine for hours and hours and hours, but refuses to give up because he is just so sure that he is going to strike the big one any second.
Remember this quote? It really sums up the JW mentality right now:
'You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth', page 32-33, para 20:
20 How should you feel if proof is given that what you believe is wrong? For example, say that you were in a car, traveling for the first time to a certain place. You have a road map, but you have not taken time to check it carefully. Someone has told you the road to take. You trust him, sincerely believing that the way he has directed you is correct. But suppose it is not. What if someone points out the error? What if he, by referring to your own map, shows that you are on the wrong road? Would pride or stubborness prevent you from admitting that you are on the wrong road? Well, then, if you learn from an examination of your Bible that you are traveling a wrong religious road, be willing to change. Avoid the broad road to destruction; get on the narrow road to life!
Most JW's have invested far too much time, money, and emotion in the belief that the end of this system of things is just around the corner. They've been following a road-map that always tells them the end of the road is just up ahead. When the journey has been so long and you've invested so much it's easier to just ignore the doubts and keep going. Too late to turn back now. Cross your fingers and hope for the best. -
Atlantis
Watchtower-1971-January-1-p.29 Remember what Habakkuk said: “For 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.”—Hab. 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1973-April-1-p.195 Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late.”—Hab. 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1975-May-1-p.284 Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late.” (Hab. 2:3) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1976-December-15-p.752 5 In Hebrews 10:37 the apostle Paul makes quotations from the inspired pre-Christian Scriptures. But he does so, not from the original Hebrew reading, but from the Greek translation thereof known as the Greek Septuagint Version (LXX), made during the three centuries immediately before our Common Era. According to the Hebrew, Habakkuk 2:2, 3 reads: “And Jehovah proceeded to answer me and to say: ‘Write down the vision, and set it out plainly upon tablets, in order that the one reading aloud from it may do so fluently. For 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.’” ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1976-December-15-p.756 4 According to those quotations made by the apostle Paul from Habakkuk 2:3 and Haggai 2:6, Jehovah is “he who is coming” and who “will arrive and will not delay.” ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1977-June-1-p.349 Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not belate.” (Hab. 2:2, 3) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1978-June-1-p.20 Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not belate.”—Hab. 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1979-February-1-p.24 Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not belate.”—Hab. 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1979-May-15-p.20 “Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not belate.”—2 Pet. 3:9; Hab. 2:3; see also Revelation 6:10, 11. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1979-June-15-p.3 Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late.”—Hab. 2:2, 3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1982-May-1-p.12 But remember what God’s prophet Habakkuk tells us: “Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late.” (Habakkuk 2:3) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1984-February-15-p.26 We can apply the prophet Habakkuk’s admonition, “Keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late.”—Habakkuk 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1984-March-1-p.19 13 Jehovah’s prophet speaks of the approaching calamity, saying: “Keep in expectation of it . . . It will not be late.” (Habakkuk 2:3) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1985-January-1-p.7 There is nothing that humans can do that will delay it. Jehovah has set an “appointed time” for the battle to start. “It will not be late.”—Revelation 16:14; 11:18; Habakkuk 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1985-May-1-p.3 “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.”—Habakkuk 2:2, 3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1985-May-1-p.7 And wait we will, with this full conviction: “It will without fail come true. It will not be late.”—Habakkuk 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1986-October-1-p.17 The “great tribulation” will also come at the “day and hour” decreed by Jehovah. “It will not belate.”—Matthew 24:21, 36; Habakkuk 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1987-March-15-p.23 How long will it be before the end of Satan’s wicked system? We know the end will not comelate. (Compare Habakkuk 2:3.) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1988-April-15-p.25 Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not belate.”—Habakkuk 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1990-January-1-p.27 Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not belate.”—Habakkuk 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1992-December-15-p.10 And as we endure, we are assured: “The vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end . . . It will not be late.” (Habakkuk 2:3) ******************************************************************** Watchtower-1993-January-1-pp.21-22 The situation is urgent. The end of this system approaches fast. Habakkuk 2:3 states: “The vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end, and it will not tell a lie. . . . It will without fail come true. It will not be late.” ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1993-February-15-p.32 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time . . . Keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late.” (Habakkuk 2:3) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1995-April-15-p.25 Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not belate.” (Habakkuk 2:3) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1995-November-1-p.19 8 Yes, the complete triumph of the Messianic Kingdom is at hand! 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. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1997-January-1-p.12 For 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 notbe late.” ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1997-April-15-p.17 Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not belate.” (Habakkuk 2:3) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1997-August-15-p.17 Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not belate.” (Habakkuk 2:3) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1997-August-15-p.31 It will not be a nuclear apocalypse or a disaster provoked by humans. No, it is God’s war to end all human wars, to annihilate all those who promote such wars, and to bring in true peace for those who love peace. It will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1997-September-1-p.22 So if the fulfillment of God’s promises seems to delay, we need to accept the admonition of God’s prophet: “Even if [the appointed time] should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late.”—Habakkuk 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1997-October-1-p.25 We need to keep in expectation of Jehovah, as the prophet Habakkuk wrote: “Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true.”—Habakkuk 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1998-January-1-p.11 We do not know when that day will come. But God’s Word assures us that come it will! Jehovah says it will not be late. (Habakkuk 2:3; 2 Peter 3:9, 10) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1998-September-15-p.20 18 We can confidently leave the times and seasons in Jehovah’s hands. The fulfillment of his promises “will not be late” according to his time schedule. (Habakkuk 2:3) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1998-October-1-p.20 Consequently, he has set a “day and hour” to end wickedness, and he assures us that this event “will not be late.” (Matthew 24:36; Habakkuk 2:3) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1998-November-15-pp.16-17 “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 belate.” (Habakkuk 2:3) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1999-October-1-p.5 At the same time, they are convinced that Jehovah’s announced execution of judgment, “even if it should delay, . . . will without fail come true. It will not be late.”—Habakkuk 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1999-October-1-p.21 Yet, God’s Word assures us that the end will come. Jehovah says it will not be late. The end is in sight.—Habakkuk 2:3; 2 Peter 3:9, 10. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-1999-December-15-p.21 First, he assured the prophet that the end would come right on time. “It will not be late,” God said, even though from a human standpoint, it might appear to delay. (Habakkuk 2:3) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-2000-January-15-p.10 : “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 belate.” (Habakkuk 2:3) ********************************************************************* Watchtower-2000-February-1-p.14 Jehovah Will Not Delay “Even if [the vision] should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It willnot be late.”—HABAKKUK 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-2003-January-1-p.21 And our faith keeps us in eager expectation of Jehovah’s day, certain that “[the prophetic vision] will without fail come true. It will not be late.”—Habakkuk 2:3. ********************************************************************* Watchtower-2003-December-15-p.18 “Yet Jehovah’s day will come as a thief,” states the Bible. (2 Peter 3:3, 4, 10) Come it will at the appointed time. It will not be late. (Habakkuk 2:3) How wise we are to keep on the watch! ********************************************************************* Watchtower-2005-December-1-p.5 Since Armageddon is “the war of the great day of God the Almighty,” there is nothing that humans can do to postpone it. Jehovah has set an “appointed time” for that war to start. “It willnot be late.”—Habakkuk 2:3. ********************************************************************* Nevada-
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BluesBrother
w00
1/15p.10par.6"KeepontheWatch"***So Jehovah had an "appointed time" for bringing an end to injustice and oppression. If there seemed to be a delay, Habakkuk was not to be discouraged, nor was he to slow down. Instead, he was to "keep in expectation," living each day with a sense of urgency. Jehovah’s day would not be late!
So you see ! if it has not come by the time we said it would, and you are facing retirement on a basic pension, and your old bones ache instead of having regained the vigour of youth ...It is all your fault for expecting too much ....
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logic
I Think a lot of the delaying thing comes from individual JWS. We even went through a period of many commenting as such at the meetings. Thier reasoning was that Jehovah was delaying so as to alow more righteous people to come into the truth. Of course the bible says the end would delay not or something to that effect. The society even says it would not delay. As i told my wife , if Jehovah was delaying to alow more to come into the truth, then the end would never come, because you could keep bringing more in. It is typical of JWS reasoning , which of course isn't.
I think they may have got the idea from the "keep on the watch brochure" quote "Gods temporary permission of hardship has allowed time for others to embrace the truth" and "He will end wickedness at the time that is best for the settling of the issues forever...." The society being ambiguous as usual.
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SirNose586
Two Thursday meetings ago, there was a sisters' part entitled, "Is Armageddon a Violation of God's Love?" One of their arguments stated that it was loving for God to do this because "what if God had brought Armageddon a year ago, before you knew Da Troof?"
The longer Jehober delays, the more people have to die. Their argument doesn't work because the human population is always increasing; if the earth's population were capped right at this second, then the argument would be valid under the assumption that there will always be an increasing number of converts.
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Arthur
The longer Jehober delays, the more people have to die. Their argument doesn't work because the human population is always increasing; if the earth's population were capped right at this second, then the argument would be valid under the assumption that there will always be an increasing number of converts.
Yeah, LOL. This line of reasoning that they use is nothing more than special pleading. God could have easily brought about Armageddon centuries ago when the earth's population was a third of what it is now. That means that he would have had to slaughter billions less with his hail stones and balls of fire.
Oh, but wait! If he had done that, then the illustrious prophecy of 1914 would never have been fulfilled! Shame on me for my worldly independent thinking!
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LanDi
Its a little odd, because as we saw on a previous post, approximately 80 million people are born each year, and to be fair and just everyone has to have the chance to know the truth. So the longer it drags on, more and more potential customers come your way. So you have to lengthen the stay of execution of Gods day of anger, it is the only loving thing to do. When would be a just time to bring the end. According to the WT (sorry dont have date issue) God only destroyed his enemies at the very last moment, and with their wickedness, archaeologist couln't believe he waited so long, may have been the caananites.