"Alice -
The Witchtower applied all these scriptures to the world situation in the late 19th century.
They said Armageddon would come before 1914, that the millennium would begin in 1914 (hence : "The World Has Ended. The Golden Age has begun. Millions now living will never die." This means what it says it is a FACT" 1922 Cedar Point convention.)
They change their doctrines over time as each one becomes an embarrassment to them.
The downplaying of dates is a relatively recent thing, and is largely because people are seeing what they said about dates, and showing them up.
Just as they are now claiming they never said anything about 1975 they will soon claim they never put great store by dates.
Remember that all the stuff you spouted above can be changed at the stroke of a pen, and you will have to learn another pile of meat in due season.
HB"
The “faithful and discreet slave” published the following in clear language in 1968.
w68 8/15 p. 494 Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?
WHAT about all this talk concerning the year 1975? Lively discussions, some based on speculation, have burst into flame during recent months among serious students of the Bible. Their interest has been kindled by the belief that 1975 will mark the end of 6,000 years of human history since Adam’s creation. The nearness of such an important date indeed fires the imagination and presents unlimited possibilities for discussion.
But wait! How do we know their calculations are correct? What basis is there for saying Adam was created nearly 5,993 years ago? Does the one Book that can be implicitly trusted for its truthful historical accuracy, namely, the Inspired Word of Jehovah, the Holy Bible, give support and credence to such a conclusion?
One thing is absolutely certain, Bible chronology reinforced with fulfilled Bible prophecy shows that six thousand years of man’s existence will soon be up, yes, within this generation! (Matt. 24:34) This is, therefore, no time to be indifferent and complacent. This is not the time to be toying with the words of Jesus that “concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matt. 24:36) To the contrary, it is a time when one should be keenly aware that the end of this system of things is rapidly coming to its violent end. Make no mistake, it is sufficient that the Father himself knows both the “day and hour”!
There's never been any refinements to doctrinal truths or prophecy to be embarrassed about. You may want to consider the world Charles Taze Russel was living in when Jehovah's Organization began developing in the latter part of 19th century. There was Christendom's churches and religions that branched off from mainstream Christianity that for the most part carried the same theme as their counterpart...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh-day_Adventist_Church
Much of the theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Church corresponds to Protestant Christian teachings such as the Trinity and the infallibility of Scripture.
...and other religious movements during that time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy
Theosophy is a doctrine of religious philosophy and mysticism. Theosophy holds that all religions are attempts by the "Spiritual Hierarchy" to help humanity in evolving to greater perfection, and that each religion therefore has a portion of the truth. The founding members, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831–1891), Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907), and William Quan Judge (1851–1896), established the Theosophical Society in New York City in 1875.
Charles Taze Russel and his contemporaries drew on the only ideas in the world around them before the early Bible students established universal truth. Critics of Jehovah's Witnesses often analyze the early development of Jehovah's Witnesses under a microscope without looking at the big picture. You will not receive a medal if you discover a clerical error. There's not worldview (comprehensive view of existence) that even makes any sense outside of the truth about what the Bible teaches, nor is there any real evidence that supports alternate views of reality.
If you think you have the right viewpoint you should start your own little church or organization. In all honesty, I would call the new movement “mass confusion” as people here believe so many different things, yet they only criticize Jehovah's Witnesses.
