Posted by Farkel [Keflar] on October 31, 1999 at 14:27:08 {MDPAlM8llYjc7.1TE24IvhKqcjatLo}:
Just like a consumate scam-artist sets up his mark to get fleeced, the Watchtower Society set up ALL of its 5,000,000 sheep to get fleeced over the change in "this generation."
Most of us know that this sweeping change in doctrine was first announced in the November 1, 1995 Watchtower magazine. The WTS knew full and well in in advance that their sheep would be disappointed and that many would "grumble" at this change. This was no doubt because a full THREE GENERATIONS of JWs were told that the Creator had "promised" that they would not die before the onset of Armageddon. In order to set up the sheep for the fleecing they were planning, and to "inculcate" in their minds that it was THEIR FAULT for believing exactly what the society put in print, the society told them a full FIVE MONTHS before they dropped the bombshell: (caps added are mine)
*** g95 6/22 9 Can You Trust God's Promises? ***
BIBLE STUDENTS, known since 1931 as JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, also EXPECTED that the year 1925 would see the fulfillment of marvelous Bible prophecies. THEY SURMISED that at that time the earthly resurrection would begin, bringing back faithful men of old, such as Abraham, David, and Daniel. More recently, MANY WITNESSES CONJECTURED that events associated with the beginning of Christ's Millennial Reign might start to take place in 1975. THEIR ANTICIPATION was based on the understanding that the seventh millennium of human history would begin then.
Did you notice there was no mention of the Governing Body or Faithful and Discreet slave? Who taught the crap about "this generation" in the first place? The individual members? No! It was the Watchtower society! What was stated in the masthead of Awake! magazine for YEARS? It was that "this magazine builds confidence in the CREATOR'S PROMISE of a peaceful and secure new world BEFORE THE GENERATION THAT SAW THE EVENTS IN 1914 PASSES AWAY?" Did the individual members write that and put in in the Awake! masthead? No! It was the Watchtower society!
The article continues:
"These erroneous views did not mean that God's promises were wrong, that he had made a mistake. By no means! The mistakes or misconceptions, as in the case of first-century Christians, were due to a failure to heed Jesus' caution, 'You do not know the time.'"
Who was it that failed to head Jesus' CLEAR caution, "You do not know the time?" The individual members who would face disfellowshiping for openly criticizing what was on the Awake! masthead and in dozens upon dozens of WTS literature for the past 70 years? The individual members? No! It was the Watchtower society!
The article continues:
"The wrong conclusions were due, not to malice or to unfaithfulness to Christ, but to a fervent desire to realize the fulfillment of God's promises in their own time."
This bit of chicanery presents a false dilemma: as if one could only have a fervent desire to realize a fulfillment of God's promises by making a patently false prophecy in God's name!
Ok, the mark is almost set up for the fleecing, but just to cinch the deal, the society again tosses the burden of blame away from themselves and onto the rank and file. They also self-aggrandize THEMSELVES for noticing how those pesky rank and file have deviated from the scriptures, and that they THEMSELVES are correcting the "wrong thinking" that the R&F had believed for the last seventy years:
*** w95 11/1 17 A Time to Keep Awake ***
Eager to see the end of this evil system, JEHOVAH'S PEOPLE HAVE AT TIMES SPECULATED about the time when the "great tribulation" would break out, even tying this to calculations of what is the lifetime of a generation since 1914. However, WE "BRING A HEART OF WISDOM IN," NOT BY SPECULATING about how many years or days make up a generation, BUT by thinking about how we "count our days" in bringing joyful praise to Jehovah. (Psalm 90:12) RATHER THAN PROVIDE A RULE FOR MEASING TIME, the term "generation" as used by Jesus refers principally to contemporary people of a certain historical period, with their identifying characteristics.
In Brooklyn's Ministry of Truth department, someone must have noticed that the society left some pretty incriminating evidence behind. The most important one was what was still printed on the Awake! masthead. So, starting with the November 8, 1995 Awake! that old masthead mysteriously disappeared. No one could complain that the society had contradicted itself.
That "New Light" was now "Old Light." That belief, which was clearly taught for seventy years in the society's literature was not really taught at all: it was the mis-understanding of it by the rank and file, that's all.
The mark was set up. The scam was pulled off. The sheep were fleeced, and all dreams they had about the society being right THIS TIME about the coming of Armageddon were dashed. And the poor sheep who were so badly screwed for so long are walking around with glazed eyes, tragically fake smiles, and chanting in unison, "We do not serve Jehovah for a date. We do not serve Jehovah for a date. We do not..."
Farkel