Jehovah's Witnesses, Please enlighten me as to the meaning of this Awake article of 5/22/69 (page 15)?

The Awake! article quoted is genuine. It may not be in print now, but it was in print in 1969 when I was a Jehovah's Witness. I guess those persons who are questioning its existence are much younger than you or me. I'm just going to dig out my files and see if I can produce some corroboration and more comments from Society literature on this fascinating subject.

While I continue my search, here is more information on 1975 from the keynote speaker at a 1967 convention: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toVQh0mlolQ

I attended the 1967 district convention (in my country) and can confirm that what is said on the video clip is the same message Jehovah's Witnesses heard all over the world that year. The Society literature also had much to say about the significance of 1975 and how they were anticipating the start of the battle of Armageddon:

Life Everlasting (1966) – “According to this trustworthy Bible chronology 6,000 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.”

Watchtower 1 May 1968, pp 271-272 from the annual year book – “To calculate where man is in the stream of time relative to God’s seventh day of 7,000 years, we need to determine how long a time has elapsed from the year of Adam and Eve’s creation in 4026 BCE. From the autumn of that year to the autumn of 1 BCE there would be 4,025 years. From autumn of 1 CE to the autumn of 1967 is a total of 1,966 years. Adding 4,025 and 1 and 1,966 we get 5,992 years from the autumn of 4026 BCE to the autumn of 1967. Thus eight years remain to account for a full 6,000 years of the seventh day. Eight years from the autumn of 1967 would bring us to the autumn of 1975, fully 6,000 years into God’s seventh day, his rest day… the great sign of the ‘last days’ has been in the course of fulfillment since the beginning of the ‘time of the end’ in 1914. Some of the generation that discerned the beginning of the time of the end in 1914 will still be alive on earth to witness the end of this present wicked system of things at the battle of Armageddon.”

When I was a J.W. in 1969 we said 1975 was a prediction based on chronology. We were Jehovah’s sole channel of communication, and the information came from the Faithful and Discrete Slave, so we accepted it as new light from Jehovah. Since then, I believe there has been further new light to explain why Armageddon failed to turn up as anticipated. Since then, Jehovah’s Witnesses hotly deny that they were ever prophets.

Edit: The first link I posted to the video clip didn't work - it works now!

Here is what I think:

You are not a JW.

And 1969 was a very long time ago. I wonder how old you were back then.

So why would you try to dig up something from so long ago, and try to discredit JWs with it? Is it any of you business? And how would your own life be judged if a spotlight was put on it? Are you pleasing your God, by hounding a religion which you don't belong to, when you could be welcoming people to your own? And how would your religion fare, if the spotlight were shined on it?

The Bible says "No one knows the day or hour." So we always are anticipating it and have had some premature expectations. Just like first century Christians who asked Christ: "Are you restoring the Kingdom at this time?"

That said, JWs never said the end would come in 1975, and I talked to people who were alive in that time. Also the Wiki article admits that we never "dogmatically said it would end" that year. We said it was possible and some jumped to conclusions.

People have told me that at the time, it was not as big of a deal, until years later when apostates blew it out of proportion. I even see them doing this with things that I have lived through. One opposer that thought I was younger than I am, told me: "Do you know what they did back in the 80s?" It was something yawnworthy which I knew firsthand and was absolutely no big deal at all.

These things are true and even though I knew about them whilst I was a JW, I thought that they were sorry they printed those things even though they never said it. That is what helped me to reason it was all okay. But after the 90's and adjustments made since I started to understand what was actually happening here within the WT; they were just covering up. Of course once I understood that I had to act; I saw that the only motive in the changes was to save face in front of the followers and the organization was more important than the lost followers. I had to ask myself how can this be? Why not just admit that the whole lot is a mistake? And then it dawned on me...........It is all about the organization and the concept of Christ's presence leading them since 1914!!! And then I thought; Why the heck would Christ or the Almighty God do this??? It was only then that I realized how stupid I was to accept the idea and the cover ups for so long.

Christ's followers are important to him and not something he would want to play around with as to give them the run around. I guess they think there is no accountability but I think they guess wrong.

Obviously conundrum and other JWs of the Org do not know why the Watchtower Library CD will only go back to 1950 for Watchtower and 1970 for Awake! magazines. This is something that these poor gullible ones were not prepared for...a lying organization hiding away their false prophesies right in the middle of the system of things!

it's absolutely true. the watchtower only preaches truth. look, no young person from 1969 will live to be as old as methuselah, so it is true that they will not live to be old. and this system will end in a few years, if by few we mean at least 40. so therefore, this article clearly shows that

ahh screw it. i'm trying to see it how a witness would see it, but too many mental gymnastics.

it's false.

everywhere the watchtower can be checked on, it turns out false.

but people have free will to put their faith in this bunch of men in brooklyn. cue the mental balance beam, and mental parallel bars. you'll need them.

one day they might get something right.

(see me turning purple holding my breath?)

I was getting the Awake Before 1968 so It was definitely a false prophecy and an "EPIC FAIL"

I was cautioned not to spend much time on school work a c average was good enough and no collage or trade school for me we were working towards the" alive in 75'

We were also cautioned not to have children in that pregnant women and children would be vulnerable to persecution.

That's truly shocking! I never knew of that article before. You're right, if that's not a prophecy, what is? People, and YOUNG people, easily influenced by the society's teachings, would read that and believe it! Appalling! And the JWs deny they ever prophesied anything. I'm truly shocked.

EDIT: Sadly, conundrum is wrong. The Awake! was printed well before 1970 - my parents started studying in 1967 and they received the magazines regularly. Also, to Sheltie, it's not a case of they were 'sort of' wrong, they WERE wrong! At least admit it!

EDIT: A Zebra Striking obviously can't answer the question and instead resorts to insulting the asker. Typical.

Absolute false prophecy, on the edge of endangering the lives of minors as well. I wonder how many teenagers during those years did not go to college because of what they read and were taught. I wonder how many of them are struggling to live or are on the edge of or in poverty because they could not get a decent paying job because of a lack of education. Makes you wonder, doesn't it.

it's just a strong suggestion, at least this is what we were told to believe when yet another of their sayings did not come to pass. Oh, and it was all our fault for believing such a thing, I mean, how could any JW think they may not grow old in "this system of things" by reading the article you posted?

by the way, I remember reading this. the only liars are the ones saying this was not written. I understand the reaction, though, it's disturbing to the psyche to have to explain away something so blatant. Cognitive dissonance, it is.

.

I believe Conundrum is wrong.

I started studying in 1968, and I believe I got Awake magazines at the time.

As for what you have posted, I don't know for sure if this is word for word, but I do recall advice to that effect.

Were they wrong? I'll say "sort of". -- IE: The end didn't come when they were concerned it would. But it is getting closer all the time.

As for your obsession with WT amd JW stuff...... any reason you'd like to share?

.