Posted by Marquis [Marquis] on November 09, 1999 at 16:38:26 {4Hfg918T5gHSG.vl05doc9QpzHSPFY}:
This is from the new Watchtower News page, the offocial site - as anyone can see.
Jehovah's Witnesses and the Year 2000
Jehovah's Witnesses are known worldwide for their missionary activity of telling
people about God's future role in eliminating the problems facing mankind today.
However, Jehovah's Witnesses do not point to the year 2000 as the specific year in
which God will act.
Billions of people today, perhaps the majority of the world's population, see no
significance to the year 2000. For example, Jews, Muslims, and Hindus all have their
own religious calendars that do not coincide with the Western one. For religious and
traditional dates, the Chinese follow a lunar calendar.
Still, many await with curiosity the approaching threshold of the next millennium as
marked by the Gregorian calendar. For some it is more than just curiosity. They view
the year 2000 as ushering in a new era—a turning point in history. Many associate the
fulfillment of Bible prophecies with the year 2000. Some expect a spiritual
manifestation of great proportion. Others fear a cataclysm—the end of the world.
Jehovah's Witnesses do not share these dramatic hopes and fears for the coming year.
Bible prophecy speaks of "the time of the end," "the conclusion of the system of
things," "the last days," and "the day of Jehovah." (Daniel 8:17; Matthew 24:3;
2 Timothy 3:1; 2 Peter 3:12) However, the "end" prophesied in the Bible is not
connected in any way to the year 2000, nor is there is anything in the Scriptures
ascribing special significance to the end of the second millennium as calculated by the
Gregorian calendar.
Jehovah's Witnesses firmly believe that God will accomplish his purposes for the
future at his own predetermined time, on a day and hour that he has not revealed to
humans. (Habakkuk 2:3; 2 Peter 3:9, 10) And they believe that these events will take
place in the not-too-distant future. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) However, they do not speculate
on the significance of the year 2000. There is no evidence whatsoever that either the
year 2000, the year 2001, or any other date set by humans has anything to do with
God's timetable.
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We all know the writings saying "within this century" - and now they have started the "explain-away-the-embarrasing-facts" game again....
Marquis