Posted by Gedanken [Gedanken] on October 28, 1999 at 05:36:41 {BrTq3yWfsYHdgEG/iekYGxDfYXLgH2}:
In Reply to: ***"Serious Mistake" posted by Friend crtn II on October 27, 1999 at 20:51:00:
Friend,
The book said that it would be a serious mistake to conclude that the parable did not apply now, i.e., "then." This was from the supposed start of the conclusion of the system in 1914. It is true that the present teaching is as you say but absolutely ridiculous to reinterpret what was meant by the Society at the time. I'd suggest that you consult some unbiased grammarians and ask them what the plain english meaning of the somewhat convoluted wording means.
What matters is how the phrase was intended to be understood by its readers at the time it was written. To try to reinterpret what it said in light of present "understanding" is to launch an attack on the very foundations of language and communication. The Society then allowed no leeway for constriction when it wrote those words. One teaching contradicts the other as even the Society admitted.
Let me put it this way; how would your argument have gone down if you then had answered the question to paragraph 15 with the statement Jesus' parable applies within the time known as the conclusion of the system but it is not necessarily in force right now. The phrasing of the paragraph allows for the possibility of constriction. Thus the parable may not be in force right now. All we can say is that the parable will be fulfilled before end of the period known as the "conclusion of the system." Serious mistake to answer like that or not?
The Society threatened anyone who disagreed with its interpretation that the parable was in force then by accusing such ones of making a serious mistake.
Gedanken