Need Hard Evidence of 1914 Embarassment

by Eyes Open 17 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Gopher

  EO asked why a 1929 publication mentioned 1874 as the beginning of the end -- because I flubbed and said that date was dropped in 1925. Actually the 1874 date wasn't dropped until 1933.

  For more details, go here and scroll down to the chart called "History of Eschatological Doctrine".
• 

  cabasilas

  The paper "Historical Idealism and Jehovah's Witnesses" goes into detail on this:

  http://www.catholic-forum.com/members/popestleo/Historical%20Idealism%20and%20Jehovahs%20Witnesses.pdf
• 

  Eyes Open

  The simple truth is, I was never that up on what we believed and when we were told we believed what. I just believed. My personal research knocked the bible on its head.
  
  Now I'm trying to help certain other people see that the WTS is dishonest/flawed without having to work on the basis of the bible being only man's work. And to do that I have to cover new ground myself.
  
  Thanks for your information and pointers. Will read the PDF soon.
• 

  Doug Mason

  Eyes Open,
  
  Trying to hide the change from 1874 to 1914 was not the first time they acted in this way.
  
  There are numerous examples of such deceptive practices in SS/MD by Russell. For example, when their expectations about 1914 failed, they altered expressions such as "before 1914" to "after 1914", and kept on selling the books.
  
  Somewhere on the www you might be able to find "The Seven Thunders of Millennial Dawn" by Shadduck. (The copy I have is from the 1920's.)
  
  They also go out of their way to rewrite the history of the splintering of Russell's movement following his death.
  
  And they cannot prove that there was an examination in 1918 of Christians nor that Jesus selected Rutherford's crew as having the only true light. Very little of the ideas that Rutherford held at that time is believed today by his successors, anyway.
  
  Doug
• 

  AnnOMaly

  Only spotted this thread today ...

  Hi Eyes Open.

  What I have is more to do with 1918/19, but it's still related to 1914 (obviously). It was a 1936 WT (March 15) that I had in mind in the PM to you, not the 1935 one. Thought I'd post the scan of the preamble (next post, hopefully) to the punchline in paragragh 22 -

  "Even the "faithful servant" class, the remnant, did not discern the coming of the Lord to the temple at the time it occurred. Those faithful ones were fully trusting in the Lord and waiting upon him, yet it was not until 1922 that the Lord revealed to them that he was at the temple for judgment."

  Contrast that with the comments in God's Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached (1973):

  *** ka 352-3 17 The "Slave" Who Lived to See the "Sign" ***

  
  Similarly, in the year 1919, Jehovah did "turn [his] hand back upon those who are insignificant." (Zechariah 13:7) Jehovah’s Shepherd-King, Jesus Christ, did begin regathering the scattered "sheep." Like the slave’s master in the illustration, the Lord Jesus did return to his house and inspect the situation within it. He did find there a "faithful and discreet slave" class that was striving, in spite of world conditions, to do as commanded, give the Lord’s "domestics" at the proper time their spiritual food, food taken from the inspired Word of God. So the Lord showed his favor by regathering them into a well-organized body of "domestics" in his house. The eight-day general convention held at Cedar Point, Ohio, on September 1-8, 1919, was a notification to all the world that the invisibly present Lord Jesus Christ was regathering his faithful "sheep." It indicated to the world who it was that the returned Lord Jesus had found to be his "faithful and discreet slave" class. This made the "slave" class happy. It meant their being retained in the service of their heavenly Master.
• 

  AnnOMaly

  

  
• 

  Leolaia

  Yeah, the PDF is excellent, it should give you good examples of what you are looking for.
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  Justitia Themis

  Thanks for the PDF Ann.