Posted by AF [AF] on November 01, 1999 at 14:42:36 {2gTL9dbN6kDjRmAxB/kMdaOt1gg/Zk}:
In Reply to: ******Discussion summaries posted by Friend on November 01, 1999 at 11:59:40:
:: “it is true that the parable applies now”
: Yes, that is true,
Good!
: but here is the problem that you avoid. The “serious mistake” addresses the issue of after which its application would be in error not whether the parable applies now.
Here is the problem you avoid: virtually all JWs in 1984 would have understood “after which its application would be in error” to mean “after today”.
The opposite of “the parable applies now” is “the parable does not apply now”. That could in principle mean that the parable applies before or after now. Since the former alternative is excluded for obvious reasons, the Society was saying “the parable does not apply later than today”. That includes tomorrow (from 1984’s timeframe), 1995 or during the Millennial reign.
Why you avoid commenting on this simple point is beyond me. You cull out only the one meaning, i.e., “during the Millennial reign” but never justify or even attempt to argue that time periods before the Millennial reign must be excluded. You simply claim so. And you keep ignoring what we say about it.
AF