What happened in 1975?
WHY WAS THE 1975 DATE SET?
In 1959 the Society had enjoyed a membership increase of 12%. But it then began to rapidly decline. In 1966 it reached 2.4%, and it was in that year the decision was made to set the 1975 date for the End. This resulted in an immediate increase in activity and by 1974 the membership increase was 13.5%. It had worked!
Expecting the End to come in 1975 caused the greatest increases in membership that the Watchtower Society had ever known. When the time passed, the resultant disappointment caused its greatest losses. How and why did it happen?
In 1959 the Society had enjoyed a membership increase of 12%. But it then began to rapidly decline. In 1966 it reached 2.4%, and it was in that year the decision was made to set the 1975 date for the End. This resulted in an immediate increase in activity and by 1974 the membership increase was 13.5%. It had worked!
Expecting the End to come in 1975 caused the greatest increases in membership that the Watchtower Society had ever known. When the time passed, the resultant disappointment caused its greatest losses. How and why did it happen?
Predictions that never happened in 1975:
1. According to this trustworthy Bible chronology six thousand years from man's creation will end in 1975.
2. 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 wicket system of things at battle of Armageddon. Rev 16:14.
3. One should be keenly aware that the end of this system of things is rapidly coming to its violent end…
4. "If you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things
5. "Very soon the world empire of false religion, will come to its destructive end." ( Armageddon.)
6. Bible prophecy, written under the direction of God's powerful active force,
7. The destruction of the entire present system of things. This includes the political, economic and religious elements that dominate the peoples of the earth today.
DATE 1966:
The date 1975 was set according to this trustworthy Bible chronology:
1. According to this trustworthy Bible chronology six thousand years from man's creation will end in 1975.
2. 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 wicket system of things at battle of Armageddon. Rev 16:14.
3. One should be keenly aware that the end of this system of things is rapidly coming to its violent end…
4. "If you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things
5. "Very soon the world empire of false religion, will come to its destructive end." ( Armageddon.)
6. Bible prophecy, written under the direction of God's powerful active force,
7. The destruction of the entire present system of things. This includes the political, economic and religious elements that dominate the peoples of the earth today.
DATE 1966:
The date 1975 was set according to this trustworthy Bible chronology:
Life Everlasting - In Freedom of the sons of God,
(1966) p.29:
Read Below.
...twentieth century an independent study has been carried on that does not blindly follow some traditional chronological calculations of Christendom, and the published timetable resulting from this independent study gives the date of man's creation as 4026 B.C.E. 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.
Life Everlasting - In Freedom of the sons of God,(1966) p.29:
The idea that 1975 would witness the end of the world was first introduced in 1966.
Awake! 1966
"Does God's rest day parallel the time man has been on earth since his creation? Apparently so. In what year, then, would the first 6,000 years of man's existence and also the first 6,000 years of Gods rest day come to an end? The year 1975. It means that within a relatively few years we will witness the fulfilment of the remaining prophecies that have to do with the "time of the end"."
Awake! 1966 Oct 8 pp.19-20. ( Read photo copy below.)
Awake! 1966
"Does God's rest day parallel the time man has been on earth since his creation? Apparently so. In what year, then, would the first 6,000 years of man's existence and also the first 6,000 years of Gods rest day come to an end? The year 1975. It means that within a relatively few years we will witness the fulfilment of the remaining prophecies that have to do with the "time of the end"."
Awake! 1966 Oct 8 pp.19-20. ( Read photo copy below.)
The Awake Magazine. Special Issue
October 8 1966
Does God's rest day parallel the time man has been on earth since his creation?
In what year then, would the first 6,000 years of man's existence and also the first 6,000 years of God's rest day come to an end? The year 1975. This is worthy of notice, particularly in view of the fact that the "last days began in 1914, and that the physical facts of our day in fulfillment of prophecy mark this as the last generation of this wicket world.
It means that within relatively few years we will witness the fulfillment of the remaining prophecies that have to do with the "time of the end."
Below is the Watchtower, May 1, 1968.
THE SEVENTH DAY.
THE WATCHTOWER
May 1 1968
The Watchtower 1st May 1968. Page 271.
According to reliable Bible chronology Adam was created in the year 4026 B.C.E. likely in the Autumn of the year, at the end of the sixth day of creation... Pg 271.
Thus eight years remain to account for a full 6,000 years of the seventh day. Eight years from autumn of 1967 would bring us to the autumn of 1975, fully 6,000 years into God's seventh day, his rest day.
After 6,000 years of misery, toil, trouble, sickness and death under Satan's rule, mankind is indeed in dire need of relief, a rest.
Hence, then Christaians note from God's timetable the approching endof 6,000 yearof human history, it fills them with anticipation. Particularly is this true because of the great sign of the "last days" has been in the course of fulfillment since... (Continues to page below)
According to reliable Bible chronology Adam was created in the year 4026 B.C.E. likely in the Autumn of the year, at the end of the sixth day of creation... Pg 271.
Thus eight years remain to account for a full 6,000 years of the seventh day. Eight years from autumn of 1967 would bring us to the autumn of 1975, fully 6,000 years into God's seventh day, his rest day.
After 6,000 years of misery, toil, trouble, sickness and death under Satan's rule, mankind is indeed in dire need of relief, a rest.
Hence, then Christaians note from God's timetable the approching endof 6,000 yearof human history, it fills them with anticipation. Particularly is this true because of the great sign of the "last days" has been in the course of fulfillment since... (Continues to page below)
continues from above
...the beginning of the "time of the end" in 1914. And Jesus said "this generation will by one means pass away until all these things occur. Matt 24:34.
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 wicket system of things at battle of Armageddon. Rev 16:14.
The immediate future is certain to be filled with climactic events, for this old system is nearing its complete end. With 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 years reign. Pg 272.
The Watchtower
August 15 1968.
The Watchtower pointed to 1975 and encouraged their members to be active as the time is short. Even the cover said
"Announcing JEHOVAH'S KINGDOM"
Read more below:
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 toy-
-ing with the words with Jesus that "concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens not the Son, but 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…
Hence, there was a ring of alarm and a cry of urgency in all their writings. (Acts 20:20. 2Tim 4:2.)
In the previous two articles the truthfulness of the Bible's ancient history as far back as Adam's creation has been tested and proved.
Awake, October 8, 1968, pp.13-16 below. |
Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away unit all these things occur. Matt 24:34.
Jesus was obviously specking about those who were old enough to witness with understanding what took place when the "last days" began. Jesus was saying that some of those persons who were alive at the appearance of the "sign of the last days" would still be alive when God brought this system to its end.
Even if we presume that youngsters 15 years of age would be perceptive enough…
...to realize the import of what happened in 1914, it would still make the youngest of "this generation" nearly 70 years old today. So the great majority of the generation to which Jesus was referring has already passed away in death. The remaining ones are approaching old age. And remember, Jesus said that the end of this wicked world would come before that generation passed in death. This, of itself tells us that the years left before the foretold end comes cannot be many.
6,000 Years Nearing Completion.
There is another way that helps confirm the fact that we are living in the final few years of this time of the end...
How fitting it would be for God, following this pattern, to end man's misery after six thousand years of human rule and follow it with His glorious Kingdom rule for a thousand years!
When do 6,000 Years End?
According to reliable Bible chronology Adan and Eve were crested in 4026 B.C.E...
This would leave only seven more years from the autumn of 1968 to complete 6,000 full years of human history. That seven-year period will evidently finish in the autumn of the year 1975.
6,000 Years Nearing Completion.
There is another way that helps confirm the fact that we are living in the final few years of this time of the end...
How fitting it would be for God, following this pattern, to end man's misery after six thousand years of human rule and follow it with His glorious Kingdom rule for a thousand years!
When do 6,000 Years End?
According to reliable Bible chronology Adan and Eve were crested in 4026 B.C.E...
This would leave only seven more years from the autumn of 1968 to complete 6,000 full years of human history. That seven-year period will evidently finish in the autumn of the year 1975.
The Watchtower March 15, 1969. Read below. |
This world has very little time left! Any "future" this world offers is no future! Wisely, then, let God's Word influence you in selecting a course that will result in your protection and blessing. Make pioneer service, the full-time ministry, with the possibility of Bethel or missionary service your goal. This is a life that offers an everlasting future!" Watchtower 1969 Mar 15 p.171. |
Awake May 22, 1969. Again telling their members that time is short and only a few years left before Jehovah would return. Read below. |
"If you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things. Why not? Because all the evidence in fulfillment of Bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years. Of the generation that observed the beginning of the "last days" in 1914, Jesus foretold: "This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur."-Matt. 24:34. Therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers. If you are in high school and thinking about a college education, it means at least four, perhaps even six or eight more years to graduate into a specialized career. But where will this system of things be by that time? It will be well on the way toward its finish, if not actually gone!"
Awake! 1969 May 22 p.15.
The Watchtower June 1,1970 Again telling their members that Christians do not have to wait long before Armageddon. Read Below |
Very soon the world empire of false religion, Babylon the Great, will come to its destructive end. (Rev 17: 16-18:8.) Christians do not have long to wait thereafter for the "war of the great day of God the Almighty," Armageddon, when "the kings of the earth and the top-ranking ones and the military commanders and the rich and the strong ones" and others opposed to God's kingdom will vainly seek refuge from the "one seated on the throne. [Jehovah God] and from the wrath of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. Wicked ones will then meet crushing defeat in their hopeless encounter with the "King of king and Lord of lords," Jesus Christ, who rids the symbolic white horse to certain and eternal victory over them. (Rev 16:14, 16, 6:1517, 19:11-21. )
Watchtower 1970 June 1. Pg.339.
Awake. 8 October1971. The members were told below... When we examine carefully Bible prophecy, written under the direction of God's powerful active force... NOTE: This powerful active force got it wrong. |
When we examine carefully Bible prophecy, written under the direction of God's powerful active force, we find that the year 1914 was indeed a "watershed" in history. It marked the start of a period the Bible called the "last days" 2 Tim 3:1.The "last days"? What does that mean? Well, when you hear about the "last days of Pompeii" or the "last days of the Roman Empire," what does it bring to your mind? You think of a system nearing its end, soon to be destroyed or replaced by another.
That is also what the Bible means by the phrase the "last days." It signifies that mankind has entered a specific period of time that will end the destruction of the entire present system of things. This includes the political, economic and religious elements that dominate the peoples of the earth today. They will all be replaced by an entirely new system of God's making. 2 Peter 3:13.
"As we near the end of 6,000 years of human history in the mid-1970's there is the thrilling hope of a grand relief."
Year 1974.
"Today there is a great crowd of people who are confident that a destruction of even greater magnitude is now imminent. The evidence is that Jesus' prophecy will shortly have a major fulfilment, upon this entire system of things. This has been a major factor in influencing many couples to decide not to have children at this time." They have chosen to remain childless so that they would be less encumbered to carry out the instructions of Jesus Christ to preach the good news of God's kingdom earth wide before the end of this system comes. Matt 24:14.
Year 1974. December.
"Back in 1960, a former United States Secretary of State, Dean Acherson declared that our time is "a period of unequaled instability, unequaled violence" And he warned: "I know enough of what is going on to assure you that, in fifteen years from today this world is going to be too dangerous to live in.""
The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life
Pg 9. 1968 edition
"Back in 1960, a former United States Secretary of State, Dean Acherson declared that our time is "a period of unequaled instability, unequaled violence" And he warned: "I know enough of what is going on to assure you that, in fifteen years from today this world is going to be too dangerous to live in.""
The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life
Pg 9. 1968 edition
The revised edition published in 1981, replaced this quote to read as below:
"Also, as reported back in 1960, a former United States Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, declared that our time is "a period of unequaled instability, unequaled violence." Based on what he knew was then going on in the world, it was his conclusion that soon "this world is going to be too dangerous to live in."
The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life.
Pg 9. 1981
Its is amazing to see how the Watchtower missleads there members above.
Post 1975 Admission of Guilt.
After the failure of 1975, very little was ever said. In 1976, the Watchtower printed an incredulous article chastising those that planned their lives around a certain date.
The Watchtower 1976 Jul 15 pp.440-441 stated:
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."
The Watchtower 1976 Jul 15 pp.440-441 stated:
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."
"11 It may be that some who have been serving God have planned their lives according to a mistaken view of just what was to happen on a certain date or in a certain year. They may have, for this reason, put off or neglected things that they otherwise would have cared for. But they have missed the point of the Bible’s warnings concerning the end of this system of things, thinking that Bible chronology reveals the specific date.
12 What do Jesus’ own words show concerning the proper attitude as to the end to look for a date, or what? He said: “Pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon you as a snare. For it will come in upon all those dwelling upon the face of all the earth. Keep awake, then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that are destined to occur, and in standing before the Son of man.”—Luke 21:34-36.
13 Did Jesus mean that we should adjust our financial and secular affairs so that our resources would just carry us to a certain date that we might think marks the end? If our house is suffering serious deterioration, should we let it go, on the assumption that we would need it only a few months longer? Or, if someone in the family possibly needs special medical care, should we say, ‘Well, we’ll put it off because the time is so near for this system of things to go’? This is not the kind of thinking that Jesus advised. ...
12 What do Jesus’ own words show concerning the proper attitude as to the end to look for a date, or what? He said: “Pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon you as a snare. For it will come in upon all those dwelling upon the face of all the earth. Keep awake, then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that are destined to occur, and in standing before the Son of man.”—Luke 21:34-36.
13 Did Jesus mean that we should adjust our financial and secular affairs so that our resources would just carry us to a certain date that we might think marks the end? If our house is suffering serious deterioration, should we let it go, on the assumption that we would need it only a few months longer? Or, if someone in the family possibly needs special medical care, should we say, ‘Well, we’ll put it off because the time is so near for this system of things to go’? This is not the kind of thinking that Jesus advised. ...
15 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.
16 However, say that you are one who counted heavily on a date, and, commendably, set your attention more strictly on the urgency of the times and the need of the people to hear. And say you now, temporarily, feel somewhat disappointed; are you really the loser? Are you really hurt? We believe you can say that you have gained and profited by taking this conscientious course. Also, you have been enabled to get a really mature, more reasonable viewpoint.—Eph. 5:1-17.
Apologies were made in the Watchtower, March 15, 1980, Pg 17-18. ( See below.) |
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 contrbuted to the buildup of hopes centered on that date.
Page 17-18
THE 1975 DATE FAILS!
In 1977 and 1978 the full impact of the date failure hit the Society. In those years there was a worldwide membership loss of -1% and -1.4%. Hundreds of thousands left the Society, and its effects are still being felt.
In 1977 and 1978 the full impact of the date failure hit the Society. In those years there was a worldwide membership loss of -1% and -1.4%. Hundreds of thousands left the Society, and its effects are still being felt.
Also in 1975 the Watchtower also half apologized for the 1925 great disappointment and putting the blame back on its members who misunderstood what they were being told from the leaders. (Read Below)
MORE APOLOGIES BELOW:
Thousands of Witnesses were without homes, employment, and even an education after 1975 passed. At first the Society blamed the people for “expecting too much”. But eventually some reluctant apologies were made in the 1980 Yearbook, pp. 30-31. Read below.
YearBook of the Jehovah Witnesses.
1980
The bothers also appreciated the candor of this same talk, which acknowledged the Society responsibility for some of the disappointment a number felt regarding 1975.