THEY'VE DONE IT!!!! The WBTS set a new date!

by dmouse 208 Replies latest watchtower bible

• 

  dmouse

  Minimus, this is a study article in a high profile Watchtower issue ? the article introduces the year text for 2004. This information is in this issue for a reason.

  I believe it is introducing a definite new thought. That this is done subtlety does not detract from its reality. Of course the WBTS isn?t going to headline ?Armageddon in 2034!? They just don't work like that, they rely on JW conditioning to fill in the gaps. If you read my post again you will see that I think the message is that they suggest it will come sometime before then.

  What I think happened is that JWs were upset about the 1914 generation change but it took a while to filter through. The new generation teaching gave the impression that the generation could conceivably renew itself ad infinitum.

  I think the WBTS are plugging that gap by making a prophetic link between Noah?s day and our day. In other words the ?generation? is given definite parameters.

  In effect this means that JWs minds are focused on the immediate future because the Faithful and Discrete Slave (who speak for God himself) have said in their ?food at the proper time? that Noah?s account ?clearly provides a warning that we must not ignore? What is that warning? In the days of Noah the end time started in 2490 B.C.E. and lasted 120 years. How is that linked to our day? That the current end time started in 1914 and we have already used up 90 years. JWs will almost certainly jump to the conclusion that the F&DS are indicating that Armageddon should come before the 120 years that are foreshadowed in Noah?s day are up.

  As far as I know this is the first incidence of this kind of connection, and I bet it won?t be the last.

  I believe that this issue of the Watchtower marks an important step in WBTS chronology.
• 

  minimus

  I believe the Noah thing has been expressed before,. My point is that it is nothing new. They have ALWAYS said we should believe it's any day now. If they were trying to make people believe this "imminent destruction" was going to occur within 30 years, I think even Witnesses would say, "Hmmm -----I've got maybe 30 plus years according to the latest information so I think I WILL go to college, get married, work fulltime plus hours, have some fun in this system. Let's see, I'm 40 years old and even if I get myself on track in 20 years, I can have a ball for a few years in the meantime". I tell you, I do not believe for 1 second that the WBTS wants people to think they are subtley putting out a distant date. It's too counterproductive. It's better to give a carrot stick to follow without even suggesting a date because the average Witness will want to go out now and have some fun. It's all about pretend urgency. Hell, everyone knows we could all be dead at anytime, in the current climate so to suggest 30 plus years to a Witness, esp. one that's in their 40's and 50's is way off the mark. Just reason on it.
• 

  simwitness

  dmouse,

  I think you are correct, that this information is in here for a reason, however I disagree that they are trying to point at 2034 specifically...

  I think they are trying to say that the end will happen between now and the maimum 120 year thing...

  Could happen tomorrow, but it definitely should/would/could happen by 2034.
• 

  Stephanus

  Heh, heh,heh! Dmouse, a lot of people here will be amused. Not only did Blondie suggest that, but Kent did too, some years ago. I also thought of 2034 for the same reasons back in about 1996 when I was first beginning to seriously investigate the Dubs. My reasons for never mentioning it on the various boards or in an article: I genuinely did not want to encourage Brooklyn and give them any false hope and a way out of a tight spot! It's very possible that Brooklyn came up with the idea through reading these very boards.
• 

  dmouse

  Yes, the whole tone of the article is that the end could come at any moment. It is imminent. I agree that to suggest that Armageddon is 30 years away would be counterproductive.

  The purpose of this article, IMHO, is to put an absolute limit on the length of the end time ? sort of how they did with the end of the Millennium briefly.

  Just think about the current ?generation? teaching ? that it applies to all those that ?see the signs but fail to mend their ways? How does THAT instil a sense of urgency? It just doesn?t ? the generation by those criteria could go on forever; every new child will grow up, see the signs, fail to mend their way and produce a new child that sees the sign?etc etc.

  THE WBTS HAD TO ANSWER THIS PROBLEM!

  So, in the minds of the rank and file, they have put a cap on the length of the generation ? 120 years. This is new.
• 

  core

  Reading the quotes from the article does not appear to me to show any inference of dates / time periods etc - when the whole '75 thing started it was specific - I just think we may be reading more into this that is actually there ??? Not that anything the WT writers come up with would surprise me - I look forward to the September 2014 issue of the WT and its potential cover title - "Millions now reading will swallow anything we cook up."
• 

  dmouse

  Reading the quotes from the article does not appear to me to show any inference of dates / time periods etc

  1. The average JW is keenly interested in F&DS hints about times when Armageddon might come.

  2. The F&DS know this and use it to their advantage.

  3.The article spells out that Noah's day is a foreshadow of our day. It speaks of parallels between how God acted then and how he will act now.

  4. Definite dates are compared - 2490 and 1914; both stated as beginning the countdown to the end.

  5. The Society drop in the figure of 120 years from the date 2490 to the flood. They also mention that 90 years have passed since 1914. There is a subliminal link established.

  6. The average JW makes the expected speculative leap and adds 120 years from 1914.

  7. BUT 2034 is 30 years away so the article makes sure you know that Armageddon is imminent actually.

  8. 2034 is a 'sell by' date. A limit to the length of the end period. NOT the date of Armageddon itself.
• 

  minimus

  I talked to my mother about the article. I read the excerpt to her and asked if she thought anything new was being suggested. After the 3rd time of my reading, she emphatically said "No". Then she asked what I was driving at. I told her. She said, "Well, I didn't get that at all". I don't think that the "new date" was a thing the average Witness would pick up on----not even some "apostates", either.
• 

  bikerchic

  2034! Wow only 30 years to prepare..........I'm going to start building my ark now!

  Just incase they are right......

  Kate
• 

  dmouse

  I don't think that the "new date" was a thing the average Witness would pick up on

  I find that difficult to believe Minimus. Your mum must have smelled a rat. I know if I try and talk to my wife about such things she denies any change automatically. She denied for a long time, as did many elders I spoke to, that there had been any change in the generation teaching. And we all know that there WAS a change. Apostates knew it before the 'average' JW did.

  I admit that I may be overstating things from just one occurance but I just feel it in my bones that this is important, my WBTS spider sense is tingling like mad!

  Anyway, I thought it might be a good idea to post the whole article, it might give folks a different perspective.

  Here is the start of the study article on page 14: