Yes just like in everything written since the inception of
written language, to understand the premise, you need the narrative.
Yes I also knew Fred
and Ray Franz very well.
Watchtower March 15, 1980 pages 17-18
Caption: Hold to Your Choice!
If we remain faithful, God will not let us make
ruinous mistakes. But sometimes he permits us to be in error so that we may see
our need to look always to him and his Word. This strengthens our relationship
with him and our endurance while waiting. We learn from our mistakes that it is
necessary to be more careful in the future. The desire for the new system of
things to take complete charge of the earth has always been very strong in
Christians down through the centuries. And because of their own short
life-span, they doubtless longed for it to come in their particular lifetime.
Those who have tried to keep God’s judgment time “close in mind” have, on more
than one occasion throughout history, become overly eager for that day’s
arrival, in their own minds trying to rush the arrival of the desired events.
(2 Pet. 3:12) In the first century, for example, the apostle Paul found it
necessary to write to Christians in Thessalonica in this fashion, as we read at
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3: “However, brothers, respecting the presence of our
Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we request of you not
to be quickly shaken from your reason nor to be excited either through an
inspired expression or through a verbal message or through a letter as though
from us, to the effect that the day of Jehovah is here. Let no one seduce you
in any manner, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the
man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction.”
5 In modern times such eagerness,
commendable in itself, has led to attempts at setting dates for the desired
liberation from the suffering and troubles that are the lot of persons
throughout the earth. With the appearance of the book Life Everlasting—in
Freedom of the Sons of God, and its comments as to how appropriate it would
be for the millennial reign of Christ to parallel the seventh millennium of man’s
existence, considerable expectation was aroused regarding the year 1975. There
were statements made then, and thereafter, stressing that this was only a
possibility. Unfortunately, however, along with such cautionary information,
there were other statements published that implied that such realization of
hopes by that year was more of a probability than a mere possibility. It is to
be regretted that these latter statements apparently overshadowed the
cautionary ones and contributed to a buildup of the expectation already
initiated.
6 In its issue of July 15, 1976, The
Watchtower, commenting on the inadvisability of setting our sights on a
certain date, stated: “If anyone has been disappointed through not following
this line of thought, he should now concentrate on adjusting his viewpoint,
seeing that it was not the word of God that failed or deceived him and brought
disappointment, but that his own understanding was based on wrong premises.” In
saying “anyone,” The Watchtower included all disappointed ones of
Jehovah’s Witnesses, hence including persons having to do with the
publication of the information that contributed to the buildup of hopes
centered on that date.
7 Nevertheless, there is no reason for us
to be shaken in faith in God’s promises. Rather, as a consequence, we are all
moved to make a closer examination of the Scriptures regarding this matter of a
day of judgment. In doing so, we find that the important thing is not the date.
What is important is our keeping ever in mind that there is such a day—and
it is getting closer and it will require an accounting on the part of all of
us. Peter said that Christians should rightly be “awaiting and keeping close in
mind the presence of the day of Jehovah.” (2 Pet. 3:12) It is not a certain
date ahead; it is day-to-day living on the part of the Christian
that is important. He must not live a single day without having in mind that he
is under Jehovah’s loving care and direction and must submit himself thereto,
keeping also in mind that he must account for his acts.
Jehovah’s Witness Yearbook 1980
Caption: THE “LIVING HOPE” CONVENTION
Many were the fine, up building talks that were
given, but space permits touching on just a few of these. The 100-year record
of The Watchtower and of those associated with it as ‘messengers of hope’
was not only enlightening but most encouraging. The talk dealing with our
conscience directed the pointed counsel to those who blithely say, “It doesn’t
bother my conscience.” That talk showed how important it is to make
certain what God’s Word has to say about a matter, and how it will affect our
brothers as well as what effect it might have on ourselves. And because of the
inroads that the world’s unclean spirit is making among some of God’s people,
other talks stressed the Christian requirements of chasteness, self-control and
“holy acts of conduct.”
Many were the appreciative comments heard on
the symposium dealing with “Soundness of Mind in a Mixed-up World.” These talks
underscored the value of cultivating a realistic view of life; of forming
trusted relations with Jehovah God and our brothers; of strengthening our
Bible-based hope and the will to live, as well as of allowing for variety and
recreation in one’s life. A fine point made in the talk “Choosing the Best Way
of Life” was that Jehovah God will save us from stumbling—even as he did David
in the case of Nabal’s insolence—but we must do our part. The brothers also
appreciated the candor of this same talk, which acknowledged the Society’s
responsibility for some of the disappointment a number felt regarding 1975.
“Christlike Modesty—Evidence of Wisdom” made
the point that modesty means to be aware of one’s limitations. The Bible shows
that God is humble, but since he is without limitations the term modesty does
not appropriately apply to him. Then again, a Christian may be humble and yet
not be fully aware of his limitations, as in the case of the apostle Peter.—Ps.
18:35; Mark 14:27-31, 66-72.
The heartwarming message contained in the
public talk, “Mankind’s Only Hope—God’s Unshakable Kingdom,” also elicited many
expressions of appreciation. And ending the convention on a very positive and
encouraging note was the final discourse, “Spurred on by Our Living Hope.”
