by AuldSoul 45 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
SBF, but the disciples did not spread that misinterpretation by organizational edict. Nor were they told that they should spread that message. Nor were they told that it was confirmed by God, as Bible Students were told about the 1925 date.
Respectfully,
AuldSoul
We don't know how the idea got about, it just says that by the end of the first century the idea was widespread.
The key phrase in Rutherford's talk you refer to says, I think,:
These are, we believe, God's dates, not man's...
Or something like that. There seems to be enough wiggle room in the "we beleive" part to keep JWs happy, I think. Other parts also stress that the date is arrived at by Bible interpretation, and readers/hearers are encouraged to look at the proofs for themselves and make up their own mind. It is not a "thus says Jehovah" situation.
Plus, to claim that JWs were "prophesying" in a literal sense may be going too far because they were then, as they are now, avowed cessationalists.
Slim
First Draft Title for Drunkaford's talk (A never-before-released glimpse behind the scenes) :
Hilarious!
Hold on everyone! Lets give this Scholar dude a chance to respond. We probably don't have all the facts. There's probably a perfectly good explanation.......
It's my personal belief that MANY people here would love to hear Scholar's response.......
Clyde and I were just talking about the "Millions Now Living" deal a couple of days ago.
When we were new in the "truth" and we heard the Society speak in glowing terms about that talk, we somehow interpreted it as Millions Now Living (during our lifetime) would never die. We didn't realize that they were predicting the end in 1925.
The old light was never light because the new light proved it and as the light gets the brighter the new light that showed the old light to be no light at all will become itself defunct, then when the new light sheeds forth even more light than the defunct light that the new light made defunct will itself become defunct as another brighter light beems down from the tower to sheed a glowing light that has never been seen before and all the old light and the defuct lights will become darker than the orginal old light as we beem me up scotty.
If all the talk title did was cause someone to waste ONE afternoon of their life that they never recovered, the title of the talk was still false. Yes, or no, SBF?
In other words, were the beginnings of real organizational growth spawned by truth or by untruths? You see, if their organizational message wasn't truth even then, why would anyone expect their organizational message to become true at some future point?
I may be wrong but didn't this lecture and book on Millions Will Never Die mean that people who were not International Bible Students would surrive the Big A and that the International Bible Students would be the little flock that would be kings and princes with Jesus and ther rest of mankind would be in lower levels of the heavens.
When the grest influx of people flocked to the Bible Students during the Great Depression and probably hope of really living forever in heaven, eventually created the problem of the little flock growing larger than 144,000, so Rutherford created the new marketing tool of little flock and great crowd, one in heaven and the rest on earth.
I know that I had always thought that the Millions who will Never Die was referring to JW's only. The way "the truth" is presented is with a forked tongue, like the double talk that early bible students understood the importance of 1914 and Jesus' invisible presence both mentioned in the same sentence or paragraph. But only those with knowledge of the history would really understand the double talk was speaking of two very separate understandings of his invisible presence many years apart and man years after "early bible students" understanding 1914 was to be the Big A then changed to 1925. But the unsuspecting faithful witness is amazed at the God Given understanding of this before 1914 to his only people on earth, thus this truly must be his organization/channel, that is until the scales fall from their eyes. (Thank you The Universe, The Internet,The History Channel, Libraries, Books by OTHER PEOPLE).
So new members coming to the Mother Organization were reeled in by "The Untruths" and that has not changed down to this day.
They are M&M&M's (Mother's Masters of Manipulation).
Peace & Love,
Sheri
Why would God's representatives need to have wiggle words or wiggle room in the information they present?
Is it because they are going beyond the things written? Is it because they are speculating?
Either millions now living will never die or they will. Either the ancient worthies will come back in 1925 or they won't. etc etc.
If any of those statements need wiggle room then they do not come from God, but from regular people.
