To the lurkers: Realize that you will not be destroyed at Armageddon for researching your religion. Move past the fear. Things are either true or false. If something is true, you can lay all the evidence on the table and consider all of it. It will still be true.
If, upon closer observation, the evidence does not support the fact that something is true, then it can't be true. It's just that simple.
(1) Either Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 BCE or 587 BCE. It has to be one or the other. You need to know the truth. Because if 607 BCE is wrong, then so is 1914 and 1918 and 1919. Very simple.
(2) Either Jesus chose this organization in 1919 or he didn't. Why would Jesus have chosen this organization? If Jesus chose an organization, would its members have to be following the scriptures, and spreading the truth with others? Or could they be believing things that weren't true, and preaching false prophecies and beliefs to others? If christams and birthdays are so wrong, how could Jesus approve of them in 1919 and consider these people so righteous that he would appoint them over all his affairs on earth?
(3) Next - what was this organization teaching in 1919? Do you know? Can you make a list of the 40 or so common teachings that they were preaching to others? Are you aware that if people believed today what those brothers believed in 1919, they would be disfellowshipped and destroyed at Armageddon? How did Charles Taze Russel rise to heaven in 1918 if most of the things he believed were false? Very simple. Think about it.
(4) 7 million Witnesses, wow that's a lot. That's impressive. But there are 12 million mormons, who are ready to die for their belief just like you are because they are convinced they have the only truth. There are over 1 billion muslims, some estimate as many as 1.5 billion. To them Allah is REAL. They are ready to die for him. Does this mean he is real? Of course not.
(5) If you think that you are "in the truth" presently, then what was Charles Taze Russell in? What was Rutherford in? They certainly didn't believe the same things that you believe. If what you have is the truth, then Russell and Rutherford died and never knew the truth. Did you know that Russell never knew anything about Jesus becoming king in 1914. Even though he died in 1916. Russell wrote many things about people of the world "being in darkness". He also said that one would be a fool not to accept his "so called truths". But his "truths" were merely the imaginations of somebody's mind. They all failed and every prediction he made never came true. After spending much time reading Russell's writings - I can assure you that the person who was in darkness was Charles Taze Russell himself.
(6) Is God really going to destroy millions of Chinese children any day now at this "Armageddon"? What did these children do? All they did was being born on the other side of the world, a long way from Brooklyn. They have never heard of a Watchtower organization. They have never heard of Jehovah. Is God really going to slaughter them and leave thier bodies in the streets for the birds to eat? Some suggest that God will not destroy all of these chinese children, because he will read people's hearts. If this is true, then we arrive at a new fact: It is NOT necessary to be a Jehovah's Witness to survive Armageddon. Now there is a dilema: Either a person has to be a Jehovah's Witness to survive Armageddon, or they don't. Which is it? It can only be one way or the other! If Jehovah is gonna read hearts, then we can throw out the "have to be a witness" teaching. Think about it.
(7) What really is "this generation" that Jesus talked about? It's already changed completely 6 different times, the latest being in the April 2010 WT magazine. Surely it will change again. Why would it not, if it changes every few years? Why believe this new explanation, why not just wait a couple of years and get the newer definition? Remember in 1995, when we got "new light" and we changed it to mean "the wicked and twisted" generation? Oooops, Jehovah had nothing to do with that teaching, because it was wrong. I don't think Jehovah reveals false teachings to people. He certainly wouldn't have us knock on doors all over the world and insist that people have to believe this in order to survive Armageddon. When my family joined in the early 1980's, this generation meant the people alive in 1914. Ooops, that was somebody's wild imagination also, because there is no way the God of truth would reveal and allow false teachings to be carried around for decades. Think about it.
I love the expression Judge Judy uses here on American TV: If something doesn't make sense, it's probably not true.
Let go of your fear, if you are lurking out there. If you have the one and only true religion, looking at hard facts will not change the one and only true religion. It will only support your beliefs more fully. Go to the library and look up these terms: Jerusalem, Israel, Jews, Zedekiah & Nebechadnezzar. Scan the articles until you see the section talking about the destruction of Jerusalem. What does it say? When did it happen? Look through every encyclopedia they have if you have time. If you can, go to a large library in a larger city. Check it out for youself. Check EVERY encyclopedia they have. Facts are facts. The destruction of Jerusalem was a pretty big deal in history. It is WELL DOCUMENTED.
Seven million people in the WT organization believe that the destruction of Jerusalem happened in 607 BCE. Does this make it true? No indeed. Seven million people believed since 2008 that "this generation" simply meant the anointed ones. Was this true? Not since a few weeks ago. So seven million people were wrong. When my family came in around 1984, several million Witnesses believed that "this generation" was the people alive in 1914. Did this make it true? No it did not. It was presented as "the truth" and we had to accept it. What changed? The men in brooklyn simply changed their mind. As they have done hundreds of times over 130 years.
Best of luck to you all! And welcome to the forum if you are new!
-mentallyfree31-