HELLO FRIENDS!
I would like to welcome you to a special room.
It is called the WIGGLE ROOM.
Look over there on that table in the Wiggle Room--there is a magazine.
Let's open it up and read it:
The Watchtower, May 1, 1975, said of a Watchtower Bible School of Gilead graduation held on March 2, 1975:
"F. W. Franz, the Society's vice- president, forcefully impressed on the audience the urgency of the Christian preaching work. He stressed that, according to dependable Bible chronology, 6,000 years of human history will end this coming September according to the lunar calendar... "we should not think that this year of 1975 is of no significance to us," for the Bible proves that Jehovah is "the greatest chronologist" and "we have the anchor date, 1914, marking the end of the Gentile Times." "So, he continued, "we are filled with anticipation for the near future, for our generation."
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WOW, that was mysterious and exciting, wasn't it?
But, friends, this is the WIGGLE ROOM and you know what that means?
It means no matter what you say here and no matter how sure you are or how important your claims---you can WIGGLE out of it!
Sure! Just look on this other table at this book. Notice anything familiar in the wording and the certainty?
Studies in the Scriptures Vol. 2, 1906 ***
"Six Thousand years from the creation of Adam were complete in A.D. 1872, and hence that since A.D. 1872, we chronologically entered upon the seventh thousand or the Millennium."
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Huh?
Already ended in 1872 but is going to end later in 1975? Good thing this is the WIGGLE ROOM, right?
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In the early years of the Watchtower absolute statements were revised as they wore out. These wiggles happened regularly. So, naturally a room had to be built where you could confidently state absolutely this or that and later change it without looking like a liar or a fool!
Compare, for example, these two statements for content and observe the changes made.
*** The Time Is at Hand, page ii, (foreward) 1916 ***
"The Bible chronology herein presented shows that the six great 1000 year days beginning with Adam are ended, and that the great 7th Day, the 1000 years of Christ's Reign, began in 1873."
Did you catch that itty bitty wiggle?
See any difference? Oh, just one year? No big deal, right?
The 1986 book, Worldwide Security Under the “Prince of Peace” starting on p. 182, indicates that Satan’s final test upon mankind arrives at a time when “Seven thousand years previously, Satan the Devil was able to induce the perfect Adam and Eve to sin by taking a self-seeking course of action.”
This was the last time the Watchtower Society even alluded to the creation day being 7000 years long. This teaching has never been denied outright, but, is not considered to be worth promoting anymore.
Right after 1975 came and went without Armageddon the fallback (wiggle room) position was that there was an unknown interval between Adam's creation and that of Eve herself. This unknown time period would account for the seeming pause between 1975 and the beginning of the 7th day (set up by the Watchtower to correspond with the 1,000 year reign of Christ).
This "creation of Eve" theory died abourning and hasn't been mention in a long, long time. It floats in a kind of doctrinal limbo along with the 7,000 year creation day.
Older members who have long been faithful can hang on to these beliefs and feel not much has changed. New members aren't exposed to these teaching because they are too vulnerable to falsifiability.
*** The Time Is at Hand, page ii, (forward) 1916 ***
The Bible chronology herein presented shows that the six great 1000 year days beginning with Adam are ended, and that the great 7th Day, the 1000 years of Christ’s Reign, began in 1873.
The generation of Jehovah's Witnesses who believed these things has long died off and aren't here to complain.
There is no mechanism of complaint in the first place! Nobody can stand up at then end of the Watchtower Study and proclaim:
"I was wondering what happened to the 6,000 years of human existence doctrine and the interval between Adam's creation and that of Eve. Why don't we hear anything about it anymore? What gives??"
It would be silly to think Adam has been walking around the Garden of Eden since 1975 (in a metaphoric parallel) and remains celibate for 33 years without a mate!
Shouldn't this be a headline in a Watchtower somewhere with a big clock ticking? "ADAM STILL WAITS FOR WIFE!"
Or has the wiggle gone out of the room?
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Chapter 7 of Let God Be True (1946) says that each of the seven days of creation was 7,000 years long. Adam was put on earth toward the end of 42,000 years of earth's preparation. (p. 155)
So when did the 7,000 years of rest begin?
On page 165 ( it is claimed that) the 7,000 year rest, "began applying over 4,000 years before Christ."
(Ignoring the minor question of there being no year "0") It follows that 6,000 years will be completed on or before 6,000 (minus) 4000 = 2000 AD.
Doh!
Page 166 says that the 1,000 year reign of Christ will start "immediately" after Armageddon. Therefore Armageddon will also have to be over by/before 2000 AD.
Woh! and doh!
Since you woke up this morning to a calendar date of 2013 A.D. we must be standing in the WIGGLE ROOM.
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WIGGLE wiggle continues with the Generations teaching...
(Awake! 1968 October 8 p. 13-14)This doctrine and prophecy was taught as "the Creator's promise". From January 1982 Awake! magazine had the claim:
" Most importantly, this magazine builds confidence in the Creator's promise of a peaceful and secure new order before the generation that saw the events of 1914 C.E. passes away. "
In 1995 this promise was revised to:
"Most important, this magazine builds confidence in the Creator's promise of a peaceful and secure new world that is about to replace the present wicked, lawless system of things."
Wiggly wiggly wiggly!
(Awake! 1995 November 8)
In discussing this revision The Watchtower said:
"Does our more precise viewpoint on "this generation" mean that Armageddon is further away than we had thought? Not at all!" ( 1995 November 1 p. 20)
Standing in the Wiggle Room you have to wonder if the Governing Body is confused because the teachings of the bible are too deep for them.
NOPE! Read on:
"the only organization on earth that understands the 'deep things of God'!" (The Watchtower 1973 July 1 p. 402)
Okaaaay...but, maybe the generation teaching was just the Governing Body expressing a human opinion, right?
NOPE! Read on:
The Watchtower of Nov.1, 1931:
"The Watchtower recognizes the truth as belonging to Jehovah, and not to any creature. The Watchtower is not the instrument of any man or set of men. No man's opinion is expressed in TheWatchtower. God feeds his own people, and surely God uses those who love and serve him according to his own will." (November 1 p. 327)
The Watchtower (1943 July 1 p. 202) says: "Jehovah God is therefore the only Supreme Court of interpretation of His inspired word." The subsequent page adds:
Jesus Christ " the Court's official mouthpiece of interpretation, reserves to himself that office as head of Jehovah's "faithful and wise servant" class. He merely uses the "servant" class to publish the interpretation after the Supreme Court by Christ Jesus reveals it." (p. 203)
So, we may well have to scratch our head and ask who made the awful mistakeof pinpointing the "This Generation" doctrine as applying to persons alive to witness events in 1914??
Read on!
(The Watchtower 1984 May 15 pp. 6-7)
" Jehovah's prophetic word through Christ Jesus is: "This generation [of 1914] will by no means pass away until all things occur." (Luke 21:32) And Jehovah, who is the source of inspired and unfailing prophecy, will bring about the fulfillment..."
Ahhh, the Watchtower Society is not responsible because ....(drum roll please......they lay the blame Jehovah instead!!!!
So, now you know what the Wiggle Room is.....do you want to know where it is built?
INSIDE YOUR HEAD!
Only you can can renovate and replace it with a bathroom so that you can flush Watchtower shit down the toilet where it belongs.