Is there anything in our modern-day history that, like these Bible accounts, could serve as instruction; helping us to avoid a reoccurrence of some unwanted behavior?
Let us talk of what might be called the Euphoria of 1975. If you are young enough not to have lived through this period of our history, you may find this account enlightening. If you are closer to my age, it will surely bring back memories; some good, and perhaps some not so.
Everything began with the 1966 release of the book, Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God. I don’t know who wrote it, but the scuttlebutt is that it was authored by Br. Fred Franz, not that that should matter since the Governing Body is responsible for everything published. (It is of interest that after he died, there was a noticeable change in the tenor and content of Watchtower articles. There were far fewer of the articles that featured prophetic parallels or which extrapolated prophetic significance from Bible dramas. I should also say that I met brother Franz and liked him immensely. He was a little man with a huge presence and an outstanding servant of Jehovah God.)
Anyway, the relevant passage to our discussion is found on pages 28 and 29 of that book:
"According to this trustworthy Bible chronology, six thousand years from man’s creation will end in 1975, and the seventh period of a thousand years of human history will begin in the fall of 1975 C.E."
So six thousand years of man’s existence on earth will soon be up, yes, within this generation.”
We believed that the millennial reign was the seventh (Sabbath) year of a series of one-thousand-year-long “days”. So since we knew the length of the seventh day and since there were seven one-thousand-year-long days in it—six, of man’s imperfection, and the seventh for the Millennial Sabbath—well, the math was easy. Of course, no one was actively proclaiming that the whole idea of six thousand-year-long days of imperfection had any support in the Bible. We based this speculation on the Bible verse that speaks of a day being like a thousand years for Jehovah. (Of course, the same verse also compares a day for God to an eight-hour guard watch, and the Bible says nothing about six days of human imperfection, but we conveniently ignored all that because we were –and still are—told that “independent thinking” is a bad thing. Besides, in all honesty, none of us wanted to believe it wasn’t true. We all wanted the end to be close, so what the Governing Body was saying just fed that desire very nicely.)
Adding to the support derived from this putative time calculation was the belief—equally unsubstantiated in Scripture—that each of the seven creative days is 7,000 years long. Since we are in the seventh creative day and since the last thousand years of that day correspond to the millennial reign, it must follow that the Christ’s Kingdom of a 1,000 years would begin at the end of 6,000 years of man’s existence.
If the book had left things at what is cited above, it might not have mushroomed as it did, but alas, it had more to say on the subject:
“So in not many years within our own generation we are reaching what Jehovah God could view as the seventh day of man’s existence.
How appropriate it would be for Jehovah God to make of this coming seventh period of a thousand years a Sabbath period of rest and release, a great Jubilee Sabbath for the proclaiming of liberty throughout the earth to all its inhabitants! This would be most timely for mankind. It would also be most fitting on God’s part, for, remember, mankind has yet ahead of it what the last book of the holy Bible speaks of as the reign of Jesus Christ over earth for a thousand years, the millennial reign of Christ. Prophetically Jesus Christ, when on earth nineteen centuries ago, said concerning himself: ‘For Lord of the Sabbath is what the Son of man is.’ (Matthew 12:8) It would not be by mere chance or accident but would be according to the loving purpose of Jehovah God for the reign of Jesus Christ, the ‘Lord of the Sabbath,’ to run parallel with the seventh millennium of man’s existence.”
In hindsight, it was presumptuous for us to have said what would be “appropriate” and “most fitting” for Jehovah God to do, but at the time, no one commented on these phrases. We were all too excited by the possibility that the end was only a few years away.
My wife recalls a discussion that ensued among some brothers and sisters following the release of the Oct. 15, 1966 Watchtower covering the convention of that year and the release of the book.
Here’s what got them so excited.
(w66 10/15 pp. 628-629 Rejoicing over “God’s Sons of Liberty” Spiritual Feast)
“To give aid today in this critical time to prospective sons of God,” announced President Knorr, “a new book in English, entitled ‘Life Everlasting—in Freedom of the Sons of God,’ has been published.” At all assembly points where it was released, the book was received enthusiastically. Crowds gathered around stands and soon supplies of the book were depleted. Immediately its contents were examined. It did not take the brothers very long to find the chart beginning on page 31, showing that 6,000 years of man’s existence end in 1975. Discussion of 1975 overshadowed about everything else. “
(w66 10/15 p. 631 Rejoicing over “God’s Sons of Liberty” Spiritual Feast)
THE YEAR 1975
“At the Baltimore assembly Brother Franz in his closing remarks made some interesting comments regarding the year 1975. He began casually by saying, “Just before I got on the platform a young man came to me and said, ‘Say, what does this 1975 mean? Does it mean this, that or any other thing?’” In part, Brother Franz went on to say: ‘You have noticed the chart [on pages 31-35 in the book Life Everlasting—in Freedom of the Sons of God]. It shows that 6,000 years of human experience will end in 1975, about nine years from now. What does that mean? Does it mean that God’s rest day began 4026 B.C.E.? It could have. The Life Everlasting book does not say it did not. The book merely presents the chronology. You can accept it or reject it. If that is the case, what does that mean to us? [He went into some length showing the feasibility of the 4026 B.C.E. date as being the beginning of God’s rest day.]
‘What about the year 1975? What is it going to mean, dear friends?’ asked Brother Franz. ‘Does it mean that Armageddon is going to be finished, with Satan bound, by 1975? It could! It could! All things are possible with God. Does it mean that Babylon the Great is going to go down by 1975? It could. Does it mean that the attack of Gog of Magog is going to be made on Jehovah’s witnesses to wipe them out, then Gog himself will be put out of action? It could. But we are not saying. All things are possible with God. But we are not saying. And don’t any of you be specific in saying anything that is going to happen between now and 1975. But the big point of it all is this, dear friends: Time is short. Time is running out, no question about that.
‘When we were approaching the end of the Gentile Times in 1914, there was no sign that the Gentile Times were going to end. Conditions on earth gave us no hint of what was to come, even as late as June of that year. Then suddenly there was a murder. World War I broke out. You know the rest. Famines, earthquakes and pestilences followed, as Jesus foretold would happen.
‘But what do we have today as we approach 1975? Conditions have not been peaceful. We’ve been having world wars, famines, earthquakes, pestilences and we have these conditions still as we approach 1975. Do these things mean something? These things mean that we’re in the “time of the end.” And the end has to come sometime. Jesus said: “As these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.” (Luke 21:28) So we know that as we come to 1975 our deliverance is that much nearer.”
Admittedly, Franz doesn’t come right out and say that the end is coming in 1975. But after giving a speech worded this way with so much emphasis on a particular year, it would be disingenuous to suggest that he wasn’t adding a log or two to the fire. Maybe we could paraphrase that old Monty Python sketch. “1975! Significant! Nah! No way! (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, know what I mean, know what I mean, say no more, say no more)
Now there was one note—and I stress “one note”—of caution published in the May 1, 1968 Watchtower:
(w68 5/1 pp. 272-273 par. 8 Making Wise Use of the Remaining Time)
“Does this mean that the year 1975 will bring the battle of Armageddon? No one can say with certainty what any particular year will bring. Jesus said: “Concerning that day or the hour nobody knows.” (Mark 13:32) Sufficient is it for God’s servants to know for a certainty that, for this system under Satan, time is running out rapidly. How foolish a person would be not to be awake and alert to the limited time remaining, to the earthshaking events soon to take place, and to the need to work out one’s salvation!”
But this was insufficient to stem the enthusiasm that was constantly being reinforced by public speakers, including Circuit Overseers on their visits and at assemblies as well as District Overseers and brothers giving parts on the District Convention platform. Besides, this same article undercut its own cautionary note with this little tidbit from the preceding paragraph:
(w68 5/1 pp. 272 par. 7 Making Wise Use of the Remaining Time)
“Within a few years at most the final parts of Bible prophecy relative to these “last days” will undergo fulfillment, resulting in the liberation of surviving mankind into Christ’s glorious 1,000-year reign.”
It was if we were suggesting that while no man may know the day or hour, we had a pretty good handle on the year.
True, there were those that remembered Jesus words that “no man knows the day or hour” and “at a time you think it not to be, the Son of man is coming”, but one didn’t speak up with such a groundswell of euphoric hype. Especially so when something like this is published:
(w68 8/15 pp. 500-501 pars. 35-36 Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?)
“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”!
36 Even if one cannot see beyond 1975, is this any reason to be less active? The apostles could not see even this far; they knew nothing about 1975.”
“Toying with the words of Jesus…”! Seriously! Those that were suggesting that we were making too much of the date of 1975 could now be put down as “toying with the words of Jesus”. The insinuation was that you were trying to dispel the proper sense of urgency we should all be feeling. I seems silly as we sit here almost 40 years later that such an attitude should be prevalent, but most of us were guilty of it. We got caught up in the hype and didn’t want to contemplate that the end might drag on. I was among this crowd. I remember sitting with a friend at the yearend holidays of 1970 contemplating the number of years left to us in this system of things. That friend is still alive, and now we are contemplating whether or not we’ll live to see the end of this system.
Mind you, the belief that 1975 held some special importance was not based solely on the Freedom in the Sons of God book and talks given by C.O.s and D.O.s. No sirree! The publications kept citing works by worldly experts that continued to reinforce the importance of 1975. I recall a book called Famine—1975 that drew some attention in our publications.
Then came 1969 and the release of the book The Approaching Peace of a Thousand Years which had this to say on pages 25 and 26
“More recently earnest researchers of the Holy Bible have made a recheck of its chronology. According to their calculations the six millenniums of mankind’s life on earth would end in the mid-seventies. Thus the seventh millennium from man’s creation by Jehovah God would begin within less than ten years.
In order for the Lord Jesus Christ to be ‘Lord even of the sabbath day,’” the speaker declared, “his thousand-year reign would have to be the seventh in a series of thousand-year periods or millenniums.” (Matt. 12:8, AV) That time is near at hand!”
I did a word search and each of these passages is reproduced separately and verbatim in three Watchtower articles of that time. (w70 9/1 p. 539; w69 9/1 p. 523; w69 10/15 p.623) So we got that information in the Watchtower study in 1969 and 1970 and then again in 1970 when we studied the book in our congregation Book Study. It seems pretty clear that we were being taught by the Governing Body that if Jesus was to be the “Lord of the Sabbath”, he had to bring the end by 1975.
This belief caused many brothers to change their life course.
(km 5/74 p. 3 How Are You Using Your Life?)
“Reports are heard of brothers selling their homes and property and planning to finish out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service. Certainly this is a fine way to spend the short time remaining before the wicked world’s end.”
My father was one of these. He took early retirement and took the whole family to serve where the need was greater, taking my sister out of High School before she finished grade 11. Both he and my mother have long since passed on. Did we do wrong? Did we do the right thing for the wrong reason?
Jehovah is a loving God. He compensates for the error of men, and he blesses faithful servants. All that really matters is that we continue to serve him faithfully. So let’s not make an issue of the hardships some suffered as a consequence of being misled about the importance of 1975. On the other hand, we cannot deny the truth of the Bible when it says that “Expectation postponed is making the heart sick…” (Pro. 13:12) Many were sick at heart, became depressed, even left the truth. We could say that it was a test of faith and they failed it. Yes, but who imposed the test? Certainly not Jehovah, “for with evil things God cannot be tried nor does he himself try anyone.” Jehovah would not test us by using his “appointed channel of communication” to teach us a falsehood.
A young German brother who I knew in the late seventies told me that in 1976, while he was still in Germany, there was a nation-wide meeting. The hype in Germany had paralleled that over here and since nothing happened, there were a lot of disappointed German brothers and sisters who needed encouragement. The general buzz was that this meeting would be a big apology. However, there was no apology, in fact, the issue of 1975 wasn’t even raised. To this day, he feels resentment.
You see, it’s not that we were misled—which we were, though most of us went along quite willingly, it must be said in fairness. It is that there was no real acknowledgment of error on the part of the Governing Body. The effect was devastating for many. 1976 rolls around with no end and everyone is expecting something from the Society on the subject. Enter the July 15 Watchtower:
(w76 7/15 p. 441 par. 15 A Solid Basis for Confidence)
“But it is not advisable for us to set our sights on a certain date, neglecting everyday things we would ordinarily care for as Christians, such as things that we and our families really need. We may be forgetting that, when the “day” comes, it will not change the principle that Christians must at all times take care of all their responsibilities. 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.”
I can only imagine the flood of nasty correspondence this gave rise to. I recall many brothers who were very upset because it appears that the Governing Body was putting the blame on us. Whose “wrong premises” are they referring to? Where did we get the “understanding” about these “wrong premises”?
Some speculated that the Governing Body was afraid of being sued, so could not admit to any wrongdoing on their part.
That there must have been a lot of negative response to the statement from the July 15, 1976 Watchtower is evident from what was printed four years later:
(w80 3/15 pp. 17-18 pars. 5-6 Choosing the Best Way of Life)
“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.”
You will notice the use of the passive tense in paragraph 5. Not “We regret” or even better “We are sorry”, but “it is to be regretted”. The question arises, “Regretted by whom?” Again, there is a perceived shirking of personal responsibility.
Paragraph 6 introduces the thought that they, the Governing Body, really were accepting responsibility back in 1976. How so? Because the “anyone” included the group of “persons having to do with the publication of the information”. Still, we can’t even mention the Governing Body by name in this second, mishandled attempt at an apology.
The paragraph is attempting to say that no one and no group is to blame. We were all deceived by our own understanding based on the wrong premises that magically appeared out of nowhere. At the risk of sounding disrespectful, this is such a pathetic attempt at setting matters right that it would have been better to have not even made the attempt. It gave support to all those saying that the Governing Body was not accepting responsibility for its own mistakes.
A brother I know underwent emergency surgery a few years back. Unfortunately, the operating room to which he was taken had just been used to perform another emergency procedure. It had not been properly scrubbed. As a consequence, this brother developed not one but three different infections and almost died. The doctors involved together with the hospital administrator came to his room as he was recovering and freely admitted their error and humbly apologized. When I heard this, I was shocked. My understanding was that a hospital will never admit it is wrong for fear of being sued. This brother explained to me that they had changed their policy. In circumstances where they are clearly wrong, they have found it advantageous to openly admit to error and to apologize. They have found that people are less likely to sue in the circumstances.
It seems the idea that people only sue to get money is a misconception. Granted this is a significant reason to sue, but there is another reason people put themselves through the expense, trauma and uncertainty of a lengthy lawsuit. We all have an innate sense of justice, and we are all offended when something “just isn’t fair”. Even as young children, we recognize unfairness and are incensed by it.
Many have told me, and I personally concur with this viewpoint, that if the Governing Body would simply admit in humility and openness when they have made a mistake, we would happily accept the apology and willingly move on. The fact that they do not admit mistakes, or make such half-hearted and feeble attempts on the rare occasions that they do attempt an admission; coupled with the fact that they never apologize for any wrongdoing; just keeps feeding that part of our brain that cries out:
“But it’s just not fair!”
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Comment by Shahida on 2012-11-15 13:38:42
I know a brother who says they were led to believe the end would come on 1975,after the disappointment,he left the organization,but was reactivated over a decade later. .how can such brothers be blamed for a failed prophecy? they were following the leading of the ' Slave '.
About apologies and honesty,nothing troubles me more than how matters to do with neutrality were handed.
There were thousands of young brothers who wasted their youth in jail because they couldn't accept alternative non military service ,many have psychological scars, only for the Society to allow alternate service in the '90s. ..with no apology.
Being African,I was disturbed for years by the needless suffering of our Malawian brothers...they were displaced, tortured,raped, murdered ..for a cheap party card. .. in the late '90s, the Society decided that voting was now a matter of conscience ...there are also the forgotten Eritrean brothers who are still languishing in jail for over a decade, over the neutrality issue,the genesis of the problem ,if I'm not wrong, is their failure to vote in a crucial referendum.
A recent WT discussing kingdom hall construction in Malawi, briefly mentioned the persecution the brothers suffered, with no details mentioned...most newer Witnesses have no idea that the Malawian brothers were simply obeying the Society..I doubt that the Society would give the same advice to brothers in the West...the Malawian brothers suffered for nothing, and there was no apology.
I'm yet to see any convincing reason for the needless suffering and loss of life .Reply by thomas on 2016-05-29 20:12:33
Shahida offended me by saying: “I doubt that the Society would give the same advice to brothers in the West,” evidently believing that American Witnesses got preferential treatment like Mexican Witnesses. I live in the United States. I learned about the 1964 and 1967 persecutions in Malawi when I was a teenager. I believed (and still do) that the endurance of persecution by the Malawi Witnesses was a mark of true Christianity. Hopefully they were not “just obeying the Society,” but suffered persecution as a Christian principle. I planned to become a baptized Witness and to become a brave, incorruptible Christian like the Malawi Witnesses. I lived in fear every day for years that I would be drafted because of the Vietnam War. If drafted, I would refuse induction into the armed forces. I would be sent to prison. The WT didn't allow young Witness men to evade the draft in the ways a lot of non-Witnesses did. If you were not physically fit to be inducted you would be classified 4-F and be deferred from the draft. But it was unchristian to eat, drink, or smoke something so as to simulate a chronic medical problem. It was also unchristian to feign mental illness. You could escape to like Canada, but the Watchtower didn't allow it, since it was illegal. I was denied Conscientious Objector status (I forgot the reason.) My mother suggested I claim to be homosexual, but I couldn't consider that because it was lying. You could get a deferment if you went to college, but I couldn't afford to go, and the WT was opposed to college education. Witnesses could escape the draft if the government regarded them as ministers. The Code of Federal Regulations allowed Jehovah's Witnesses who were pioneers a Class IV-D exemption. This was good for young men in well-to-do families who could support them while they pioneered. But my family didn't have money. The WT continually invoked Romans 13:1 and Acts 5:29. So Witnesses had to register at age 18, since to fail to register was illegal. Witnesses had to show up at the place and time appointed for induction, since to do otherwise was illegal. The moment the Witness was asked to step forward (or whatever the procedure was) was the moment the young American Witness was allowed by the WT to break law on the basis of Acts 5:29. I know of cases in which American Witnesses suffered rape and hanging. The difference is one of degree, since few nations on earth are as savage as the citizens of Malawi. I think that the punishment in most countries for a similar offense would be a fine or a day in jail. In contrast, I think that Mexican Witnesses in the U.S. lived a different kind of life during the time I was in a position to know something about them (1976-1991). I know a Mexican Witness who became a U.S. citizen, which requires a loyalty oath. As far as I know the Spanish congregation never took action against him. American Witnesses could have escaped prison by crossing the border to Canada. I think that almost all Mexican Witnesses in U.S. Spanish congregations were illegal. I continued to see them year after year, so they apparently were not sent back or disfellowshipped by their congregations. So I believe preferential treatment was given to Mexican Witnesses even in the U.S., not just in Mexico. If anybody knows differently, let me know.
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2016-05-29 21:34:23
Interesting that such a ridged position demanding obedience for the law except where it conflicted with God's law seems to have escaped the brothers when seeking passports.
http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.ca/2011/09/nathan-knorr-robert-e-lee.html
http://www.nairaland.com/1939359/intl-passport-jw-past-presidentsReply by thomas on 2016-05-30 00:22:38
I got tired reading the arguments about whether the passports of Knorr and the others were forged. But I have comments relevant to it. In 1971 I got a good job working for the U.S. government as a result of a civil service test. Months later, a co-worker asked me if I knew I had signed an oath of allegiance. The next Monday when I went to work, I asked to see my employment papers. Indeed, a loyalty oath similar to the one on Knorr's alleged passport was in my papers. I don't know if the oath was identical, but it had the unforgetable words: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic ...” I was certainly NOT going to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign in domestic. I came uncomfortably close to going to prison for refusing induction during the Vietnam war. I had signed my employment papers in too much of rush and didn't read them carefully. So I quit the job immediately. I expected to be praised when I told an old Witness with a very good job for the federal government. He was angry, and said, “You shouldn't have quit! You're going to make it hard for everybody!” He didn't explain what he meant. A few days later he claimed he had inspected his dossier at work and that there was no loyalty oath. He never explained why the oath in my dossier was acceptable. He seemed to continue to insist that it was not there. About a year later, I overhead a young woman complain to a Witness that the person who was studying with her made her quit her government job because of the loyalty oath. I knew the woman who was speaking, but was not part of the conversation, and never talked to her about it. Somehow an elder who was employed by the federal government found out about my own complaint. He claimed that he inspected his dossier and that there was no loyalty oath. I privately concluded that half of Witnesses were conscientious and rejected loyalty oaths, but half were lying so they could keep their good jobs. But I was never able to establish that ALL jobs with the federal government required the oaths, and I never found anything about the issue in WT literature. Here is another story about obedience to the law, but part of the story is as I remember it from heresay, since I was not present when the controversy began. At Bethel, about August of 1974, a prominent member of the Bethel family reportedly began obeying the New York City pedestrian law while he walked from the Bethel home to the factory a few blocks away. Many hundreds of Bethelites worked at the factory. Enough rank-and-file Bethelites imitated his conduct to cause disruptions. There was not enough room on the sidewalk for so many people waiting for the pedestrian signal. Bethelites were late to work. Supposedly the mayor of New York gave Bethel an exception or exemption so Bethelites could jaywalk on the way to the factory and back. But the mayor did not REVOKE the New York City pedestrian law for all parts of the city, and Bethelites sometimes had destinations other than the factory, where the law still applied. Pressure was reportedly put on the prominent Bethelite to jaywalk so the other Bethelites would start jaywalking. When I was new at Bethel, I met some of the Bethelites who were obeying the law. One of them traveled with me to meetings in the Bronx. They were good people, but gave in to criticism and teasing by the majority of Bethelites. Right at the time everybody else started jaywalking, I insisted on obeying the New York pedestrian traffic laws (I didn't work at the factory and never went there so I couldn't legally jaywalk). It resulted in a lot of teasing, gossip, and arguing, which would take too long to relate. And it helped my my time at Bethel miserable.
Comment by Meleti Vivlon on 2012-11-15 14:14:07
On the matter of an apology, it saddens me that we virtually never apologize for our errors, and those few apologies that we have made have been so half-hearted as to barely qualify as such.
That misinterpretation has lead to much suffering is most regrettable, but inevitable as well, since men are still in charge. King David was responsible for the death of 70,000 at Jehovah's hand. Why? Because they wanted a king. (1 Sam. 8:19) Very well. You want a king. You suffer the consequences. Men are still in charge and Jehovah through Jesus hasn't taken full control. How he guides us; how he directs us; I cannot say with certainty. He allows errors to be perpetrated, yet his word is there to tell us the true course if we're only courageous enough to apply it.
On a brighter note, however, may I just say that no one has died. If a brother or sister took a conscientious stand and was killed for it, even if the basis was flawed, they will be made to stand. (Rom. 14:4) They did not die anymore than Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did. (Mt. 22:32)
We look at it as a loss of life, but to the victim the time from their last conscious thought in this system to the first in the next is so brief as to unmeasurable. To each one of them, their life is one unbroken stream of consciousness.
I'd much rather go that way, even if the basis of my conscientious stand happens to be flawed, then to die of old age or disease, as so many do.Reply by Shahida on 2012-11-16 01:10:06
Meleti..
with all due respect, I have to disagree with you totally on that Malawi issue.
You call it a regrettable misinterpretation...Have you really seen regret expressed anywhere?
We criticise other religions for sacrificing their youth to the altar of war,at times in the name of religion....is that a regrettable misinterpretation?What is the difference?
There is really no 'brighter side ' Meleti...children were orphaned,sisters were raped, brothers were tortured and brutally murdered...there is nothing ,nothing good about that.
The Malawian brothers did not make a 'conscientious' decision, they were following a directive issued by imperfect men, who were in a very safe place far away in New York. .failure to do so would result in disfellowshipping....
I really don't take you seriously when you say you'd rather die a death like that. ..while following manmade rules which are constantly changing..
Jehovah God cannot be behind such bloodguilt.
May I say that the Malawi issue troubled me so much over the years that I decided to research it on the internet....I was utterly shocked when I read of the preferential treatment given to the Mexican brothers over the issue of neutrality around the same time. .how can you ever justify that?Reply by Shahida on 2012-11-16 04:50:17
Actually, on rereading your reply,sorry to say, it sounds like the typical WT answer. .very dissappointing to say the least. People suffered and lost their lives..for nothing. .its not a trivial matter.
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2012-11-18 08:07:51
Purchasing a party card declared the owner to be a member of the political party. This compromised Christian neutrality, and still would. We haven't changed our position in this regard.
"...why, then, all this violent persecution of them in Malawi? One of the main reasons is that the Witnesses refuse to buy membership cards in Malawi’s Congress Party as well as refuse to buy and wear badges with the picture of the President of Malawi, Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda." (w68 2/1 p. 71)
“It is because Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to buy the Malawi Congress Party card. This card declares the holder to be a member of the ruling political party of Malawi. But for Jehovah’s Witnesses to buy a political card and thus join a political party would be an open denial of what they believe and stand for.” (g76 8/8 p.5)
The argument that Joseph was a government official and therefore God approves of Christians taking political office is fallacious. It ignores the fact that there was no law then. Even when God gave a law to men--hundreds of years after Joseph--it allowed, among other things, for a man to divorce his wife for virtually any reason. Christ introduced a new law. (Mt. 19:3-9) Unlike Joselph, we are now under the law of the Christ and therefore the sacrifice the brothers in Malawi made is a praise-worthy demonstration of faith before a Satanic attack.
As for the accusation of a double-standard because we used to allow Latin American brothers to purchase a card or certificate that allowed them to avoid military service, it is based on an incorrect assumption. The Latin American situation did not involve membership in a political party, anymore than owning an official drivers license does. Permitting them to purchase the card or certificate was wrong and we no longer support that method of avoiding military service. Still, buying the card did not make a brother part of a political party, and therefore did not compromise our stand on neutrality. In fact, it allowed him to maintain his neutrality. If the Malawi brothers had been allowed to purchase a card that declared they were not part of any political party--a Non-Party Card, as it were--they would have jumped at the chance.Reply by Eduardo Prado on 2020-04-21 20:50:10
Dear Editor: I've jsut read your mention of the case of Mexico and Malawi. I've never been a Jehovah's Witness but I live in Mexico. I got my Cartilla Militar in the eraly eighties. What happened in Mexico then, and in the previous decades, was this: Every young man in Mexico who turned 18 had to go to a massive gathering in his city. There there was a draw: if you got a "white ball" you were excused to do your "military service" (attend a weekly meeting on Saturdays to do some kind of social service in a MIlitary base and some basic military training) but you had to go to a special Military office to get your "Cartilla" sealed (liberada, as we say in Mexico) after a year had passed. Those who got a "black ball", they had to do the "Military Service". Anyway, all of us were officially registered in the Mexican Army from the moment we iniciated the procedure to obtain the Cartilla, and this comittment continued until you got to the age of 40. So one must be called to serve in the Army in case of war from the age of 18 to the age of 40 because you are officially already part of the army for that period. Then why did Mexican JWs had to bribe military offcials to get a Cartilla? Apprarently they didn't want to run the risk of getting a "black ball". The problem with this is that that document (the "Cartilla") was necessary to get a passport and other important procedures. So, Mexican JWs were avoiding the risk of having to do military service but they needed to get their cartillas anyway, if they wanted to get a passport. Somebody in this situation is called a "remiso", meaning one who didn't attend the draw when it was due. And all "remisos" have no option but to do military service. Mexican authorities are well known for being so corrupt, so the "best way" to avoid military service was bribing the military official who had the psosibility to seal ("liberar") your cartilla as if you had done your service. So the comparison with Malawi is fair and valid. In those years in Mexico everybody who had a Cartilla Militar (and many Witnesses had it), even one gotten through bribery", was officially registered as part of the Mexican Army and ready to be called in case of war. So the level of comintment was probably even stronger than the one a Malawian citizen had with that memebrship card.
You can check this expalnation in the Website of the Mexican Army: "Una vez que cumplen con su deber constitucional, forman parte de las reservas nacionales, para que en caso de una movilización o necesidad del País, se integren a las Fuerzas Armadas legítimamente constituidas para realizar la defensa de la soberanía nacional o el auxilio de la sociedad en caso de que se registren fenómenos perturbadores de origen natural o humano, que generen un desastre de grandes magnitudes."
I suggest you check the entire Webpage: https://www.gob.mx/sedena/acciones-y-programas/concepto-del-servicio-militar-nacional
Comment by Shahida on 2012-11-16 13:35:42
If you were really interested in getting the facts,you could very easily go to JW FACTS....the site doesn't attack,it only presents the facts from our publications just like you do.
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2012-11-17 19:40:13
Sorry, forgot that English is your third language. Easy to do however, since you write it so well. Next time google " definition" (e.g. "vitriolic definition" sans quotes) to get the meaning of a new word.
Now on to other matters. Your comments under this post as well as "The Annual Meeting Report..." indicate you feel we are misjudging you and restricting your freedom of expression.
The fact is, if you wish to comment in this forum, you need to respect its rules. The page "About this Forum" explains our approach and methodology. Consider how all the posts in the forum are laid out. We present our evidence to the reader using excerpts from the relevant sources and providing the reader with reference links so he can view the actual source material to verify whether or not we are presenting the full picture without bias. If that evidence leads us to a critical appraisal of an existing doctrine, it is only after we have laid a solid foundation. And even then, we strive to show due respect to all parties.
Contrast that with this excerpt from your post: "My feeling is that the Malawi brothers were made to provoke the authorities ,allowed to suffer the atrocities by the Society so as to have more proof that Jehovah’s Witnesses are persecuted by agents of Satan. .after all, the poor Africans had nothing much to offer the Society in financial way."
You gave us no proof for this statement and when I asked for proof, you just pointed me in the direction of a web site with the admonition to do the research myself. That will not do here.
You have alleged that the Governing Body is responsible for one of the most heinous human rights abuses of the 20th Century without presenting a shred of evidence to support your statement. That is libelous. If you have proof, please present it. Otherwise, such defamatory statements have no place in this forum and will be removed.
Our goal is to provide an area for honest, unbiased Bible research. Truth comes first. If that means we end up contradicting established doctrine, or even offering constructive criticism in an effort to correct beliefs resulting from human imperfection, so be it. However, unfounded and harsh criticism of anyone has no place here no matter how strongly one might feel about it.
If you can accept that, then we welcome further input from you. If not, then please go in peace.
Comment by Shahida on 2012-11-18 10:08:58
Why delete my comment?
You are obviously an intelligent person and I'm pretty sure you are acquainted with the Malawi/Mexico scandal.
You are clearly pretending to be a loyal to the GB, while you cunningly undermine it's authority.
It's obvious that your aim is to sow seeds of doubt on those who are on the edge.
You can delete this comment as well. .
I'm clearly not your target audience. ..I'm fully awakenedReply by Meleti Vivlon on 2012-11-18 10:30:44
Because it was libel and we want no part of it.
Comment by They’re Doing It Again | Beroean Pickets - JW.org Reviewer on 2016-05-26 17:51:05
[…] away. Having lived through those days, I can attest that this was simply not the case. (See “The Euphoria of 1975”) Nevertheless, the publications were carefully worded to engender belief in the significance of […]
Comment by thomas on 2016-05-27 00:30:17
Mileti, I know that this article is several years old, but I am surprised that nobody supported your statements. I live in the United States. I understand that some people are trying to rewrite history. In 1973 I quit my job because I thought I would never be able to spend my savings. I thought the money would last till Armageddon, in 1975 or thereabouts. I went in field service a lot and finally went to Bethel. One or two people in our congregation sold their houses since Armageddon was about to come. At least 5, maybe 10 publishers moved to preach where the need was greater. When I was at Bethel, probably in 1975, F.W. Franz gave a talk explaining why the WT chronology might be off a few months or even years depending on the lapse of time between the creation of Adam and the creation of Eve (I think this talk was referred to in one of Ray Franz's books). It was not merely an academic talk. He gave the talk because most Bethelites were expecting Armageddon in October, 1975 or thereabouts. I can't find a copy of Crisis of Conscience, but I believe that Ray Franz explains in that book that the doctrinal purge beginning in 1979 or 1980 might have been to take attention away from the pressure the WT was getting over 1975. The number of publishers greatly increased right before 1975 and quickly fell after the failed prophecy. It seems clear that many people were becoming Witnesses because of Armageddon coming in 1975, but became inactive when Armageddon didn't materialize. Anybody who would have said that the date can't be approximated, or that the Society's calculations were wrong, would have been regarded as spiritually weak, and probably “marked,” maybe even disfellowshipped if they didn't keep their thoughts to themselves. I believed at the time that the Society's chronology was reasonable and Biblical. I personally was not bothered much by the failure of the prediction.
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2016-05-27 07:36:27
Seem we went through similar experiences and had a similar reaction to everything, Thomas. My folks and I also went to serve where the need was great because of the belief in 1975. I also wasn't much bothered when it failed, because I still believed through it all that we were the one true religion.
Comment by wally on 2016-06-07 19:04:32
From a letter Ray Franz wrote me, dated December 15, 1989:
"I have seen people very greatly harmed by the false urgency surrounding the 1975 predictions, with some undergoing great stress, families facing enduring economic strain for years, men who had given up good jobs having bouts with alcoholism due to the difficulty of finding new employment, elderly persons who faced a bleak future due to using insurance funds or similar prematurely, persons whose physical health was irreparably scarred due to putting off surgery or other treatment. If the sacrifice had been for truth, for God, for a noble purpose, then it would be worth it. But it was due to the mental concoction originating with one person and then promulgated by an organization and it ended in nothing, proved complete fiction."
Comment by Bret on 2016-10-08 11:36:45
This article is just a reminder of where this organization is today.. Just like their lack of humility and unwillingness to own up to the 1975 debacle, they are now not owning up to the 1914 deciet. 1002 years since 1914 and 6 changes in the understanding of the generation. Now we have a "overlapping generation" how deceiving and due to the fact that it might be the last straw, admitting over 100 years of false prophesy that Christ parousia is now over 100 years and he is ruling in heaven!
What happened in 1954? 40 yr generation?
What happened in 1984-1994 a generation being 70-80 yrs... After those years pass they never said we were wrong, na they just come up with ignorant things like "overlapping", but tell me in the book of Matthew how long were the 42 generations broke down into 14-14-14 from adam to Jesus? Were they 42 or 21??? Ignorrance!!
Its hard to come to this site and the many others where it calls for change in an organization they hold as having truth and all the while "not one of their prophesies have come true"
This is called "COGNITIVE DISSONANCE", its something all the older Witnesses suffer from and I once did also..Reply by Thaddeus on 2017-12-31 12:40:38
What do you mean when you ask were they 42 or 41 generations? I'm not following what point you're making.
Comment by Anonymous on 2017-12-31 12:24:30
I'm still fairly new to the site and particularly enjoy the Archives section. Thanks for the references to the printed statements concerning 1975 and WHY the brotherhood was expecting the end.
Comment by Jehovah Getuigen 1975 - voorspelling wachttorengenootschap on 2018-02-07 05:47:05
[…] Nog een Engelstalig artikel over 1975 en de aanloop van het WTG daar naar toe. […]
Comment by Edward Leach on 2018-07-22 22:42:38
The Watchtower Society is not going to stop trying to predict and change dates..They will keep on doing it all the way up to the Great Tribulation and there will be those that will stay loyal to the watchtower society no matter what...
This is really sad....but the good part is Jesus Christ will set all matters straight with the victims and the perpetratorsReply by Jo Joel on 2019-02-22 17:27:11
Jehovah God is righteous Judge! We all have to “make sure of all things”! By the way, it is not too important how many get through Armageddon! Because just right after it there could be millions of faithful JWs resurrected, who have died in the last about 100 or more years before Armageddon!
Comment by Jo Joel on 2019-02-10 21:54:07
Just an idea: In 1975 was the end of 6000 years from Adam's creation, but not the end of the 6th creative day, since Eve was created after him! It is possible that Adam spent alone about 40 years on his assignment to name the animals and that would bring us to late 2015. Adding 3.5 years (for some as yet not precisely understood reasons) it will bring us to possibly Memorial 2019 and maybe few months more after that (considering fulfilment of 2300, 1260, 1290 and 1335 days).
Reply by Jo Joel on 2019-02-10 21:56:15
So, both years 1914 and 1975 are possibly right, but the expectations were not...!
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2019-02-13 11:16:45
Actually, 1975 was not the end of 6,000 years from Adam's creation. Not even close.
Check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI1yRTC6kGEReply by Jo Joel on 2019-02-18 22:49:44
Please answer my question: If in 1975 was not the end of 6,000 years from Adam, when was it?
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2019-02-18 23:09:44
That video link I gave you shows we have to move the date 650 years farther back. So it's possible that 6000 years ended 650 years before 1975.
Reply by Jo Joel on 2019-02-22 17:19:39
If this is so, than Adam was created about 4675 BCE. Do you accept that? And the destruction of Judea by Babylon before 70 years desolation happened in about 1256 BCE?
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2019-02-22 18:03:56
Yes to Adam, but no to the other. That date is unaffected.
Reply by Jo Joel on 2019-02-22 21:29:51
But if 1914 is unaffected than also 1975.
Comment by Norman Duncan on 2019-08-16 06:53:57
I am glad someone is making it clear the G.B. fuelled the expectations of the many regards 1975 and have tried to wriggle out of their obligations by putting the ownous on the individual, I would say that a whole generation of J.W.'s were left scarred and life were set by that debacle, and it will not be forgotten
Comment by chicho on 2020-02-26 02:48:09
Me llamo la atencion hermano Wilson, que escribiste : "Jehova no nos prueba con cosas malas, el no pudo haber puesto la prueba". Si recuerdas, o lees Hechos 7 (Amos 5:25) cuando apedrean a Esteban, es porque Esteban les dice a los judios "ustedes sirvieron a Moloch y a la reina de los cielos por los 40 años que estuvieron en el desierto"!!!!! Jehova desaprobo a los Israelitas (ezequiel capitulo 20 nos lo dice asi como Romanos 1:28) y les hizo adorar a dioses falsos. Cuando salieron de Egipto Jehova les pidio que dejaran sus dioses egipcios, pero no lo hicieron, y cuabdo Moises subio a la Montaña la primera vez, los israelitas hicieron el becerro de oro, fue ahi cuando Jehova los desaprobo y les hizo adorar a dioses falsos, los entrego a la idolatria, a Moises Jehova le dijo "ya estoy harto de este pueblo idolatra, los matare y te hare a ti Moises otro pueblo nuevo" y Moises contesto "no, porqur que dirian las naciones vecinas que el Dios Verdadero saco a su pueblo para matarlo en el desierto". Al unico pueblo que Jehova bendecia era a la tribu de Juda (Oseas 1:7) porque de esa tribu venia la descendencia de Jesus. Pero al resto de Israel siempre lo desaprobaba porque fueron idolatras, y todos los sacrificios que hacian No valian y eran para Satanas. Esto nos enseña que Jehova puede que haya permitido que la Religion JW de falsos testimonios, falsas profecias, porque los entrega a lo falso (Isaias 8:20) Deutoronomio 18:22 me ha enseñado a No temer de la JW. Me bautice en 2005 y en 2007 fue precursor y me junte con hermanos de tu edad hermano Wilson los cuales me enseñaron muchas cosas de decadas pasadas, "verdades profundas" se le decia anteriormente, y ellos me enseñaron sobre 1975 e incluso tablas que antes se enseñaba que cada dia creativo duro 7 mil años. Se me hace ofensivo que ahora la JW mienta e incluso culpe a "pocos hermanos" de haber esperado esa fecha, cuando Claramente la JW predico desde sus libros y revistas que 1975 seria el dia que llegaria Armagedon. Yo desde 2019 desperte (woke up) y he investigado a la JW h he encontrado mucha falsedad en sus enseñanzas. No son la religion verdadera de Dios, y asi como los Israelitas adoraron a Satanas en el Desierto por 40 años en la Presencia de Jehova, en sus narices, pues la JW tambien adora a Satanas al menospreciar a Jesus, al dar falsas profecias y al encubrir pederastas y contratar abogados satanicos (Massimo Introgvenie no puedo escribirlo bien es italiano y satanico) para evitar pagar las multas impuestas por el Cesar
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2020-02-26 08:09:49
Estoy muy de acuerdo, Chicho.
Comment by Eduardo Prado on 2020-04-21 20:04:57
Muy interesante su descripción y valoración de lo ocurrido en 1975. Estoy investigando con cierto detalle esta parte de la historia de los TJ. Quería preguntarle dos cosas. Sé que en 1968 se lanzó el libro La Verdad que lleva a vida Eterna y aunque ahí, al parecer, no se desarrollaba en detalle la cronología que lleva a 1975 y el concurrente reino milenial de Cristo con los últimos 1,000 del día de 7,000 años desde la creación de Adán, sí había referencias a las predicciones catastrofistas del Club de Roma para 1975. Pero lo más importante es el hecho de que ese libro inauguró una nueva manera de llevar a cabo el "estudio bíblico" con las personas interesadas en el mensaje de los TJ. Según un ex testigo escocés que vi en Youtube, antes de ese año (1968) se llevaban 2 o 3 años estudiando con los prospectos para que después empezaran a asistir regularmente al Salón del Reino y después se bautizaban. Con el nuevo libro se les instruyó que no tardaran más de 6 meses con un nuevo prospecto y si no daba el paso decisivo, se le debía dejar y así empezar un nuevo estudio con una persona nueva que sí mostrara el suficiente interés. Lo importante aquí es que este cambio se justificó con el argumento de que la cercanía del Armagedón exigía este cambio de política. Si esto es correcto, pienso que es un dato muy importante para entender la "euforia" por 1975: El "esclavo fiel y discreto" podría haber estado usando un lenguaje cauteloso sin hacer declaraciones claras y categóricas sobre 1975, pero sus propias acciones en la dirección de la forma de hacer nuevos prosélitos les estaba mandando un mensaje inequívoco de que ellos también estaban convencidos de la urgencia y cercanía del Armagedón. En otras palabras: su discurso verbal era de reserva y a veces incluso de prudencia, pero su discurso práctico era claramente enfático y contundente sobre su convicción de lo importante de 1975. ¿Podría comentar un poco sobre esto?
La otra cosa que quería preguntar era lo siguiente: leyendo a un académico (sociólogo de la religión) que estudió este fenómeno (la decepción de 1975) en los TJ de Holanda, él llama la atención al hecho de que en esta ocasión (la predicción de 1975), el lenguaje de los escritores de la Watch Tower fue muchas veces bastante matizado y no tan categórico, lo cual debió de ser notado inmediatamente por los TJ que conocían bien su propia religión. Esto, porque si hay algo que caracteriza a las publicaciones de la WT es que son realmente muy dogmáticas siempre. Algo que este sociólogo concluye de este hecho es la curiosa paradoja de que esta ambigüedad en la predicción debió causar NO el inmobilismo de los TJ para predicar su menaje sino un entusiasmo por trabajar más que antes en la expectativa de ese gran "fin del sistema de cosas." Mi pregunta para usted es: ¿Cómo recibieron los Testigos de Jehová de finales de los 60s y principios de los 70s todos esos mensajes de libros como Vida eterna - en libertad de los hijos de Dios, los muchos artículos de La Atalaya y Despertad! e incluso recomendaciones de Nuestro Ministerio del Reino que a veces eran prudentes, otras veces más osados e incluso en ocasiones contradictorios (en un artículo se le pedía no jugar con las palabras "del día y la hora nadie sabe" pero en otro se les pedía no darle demasiada importancia al año 1975 precisamente con base en estas mismas palabras "del día y la hora nadie sabe"? ¿Qué decían y comentaban entre ustedes sobre el carácter ambiguo y no definitivo de la predicción de 1975 en la literatura de la WT?
El artículo que le mencioné es el siguiente: "It Separated the Wheat from the Chaff": The "1975" Prophecy and its Impact among Dutch Jehovah's Witnesses by Richard Singelenber (Sociological Analysis 1988, 50:1 23-40) Si no lo ha leído, se lo recomiendo mucho y se lo puedo facilitar.
Comment by Kicking against the Goads - Beroean Pickets - JW.org Reviewer on 2020-09-25 08:44:30
[…] [vi] See “The Euphoria of 1975” at https://beroeans.net/2012/11/03/the-euphoria-of-1975/ […]