Shortly within our twentieth century, the "battle in the  day of Jehovah" will begin against the modern anti type of Jerusalem, Christendom.
The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah -  How? 1971 p. 216

To a JW the "battle in the day of Jehovah" is the same as Armageddon. It is the destruction, by the forces of nature, divided humankind, and angels of God, of all non-JW people and property. This implies the death of over 99% of the human race by 2000 AD.

The prophecy of Armageddon by 2000 AD began in 1945 in The Watchtower (February 15 pp. 51-60) in the article The Kingdom Sabbath and Its Lord.

Virtually the same material was repeated in the two editions of Let God Be True (1946; 1952) in the chapter The Sabbath: In Shadow and Reality.

Let's follow the 1946 reference.

Chapter 7 of Let God Be True (1946) says that each of the seven days of  creation was 7,000 years long.

In particular:

Man being created toward the close of  the sixth day, he was put on earth toward the end of 42,000 years of earth's preparation. (p. 155)

Also the 1,000 year reign of Christ (the Millennium) corresponds to the last 1,000 years of the 7,000 years of God's rest. (pp. 167-169)  So when did the 7,000 years of rest begin?

On page 165 it is claimed that the 7,000 year rest, "began applying over 4,000 years before Christ."

Ignoring the minor question of there being no year "0" it follows that 6,000 years will be completed by or before 6,000 - 4000 = 2000 AD.

Page 166 says that the 1,000 year reign of Christ will start "immediately" after Armageddon. Therefore Armageddon will also have to be over by/before 2000 AD.

When Let God Be True was published the JWs believed that Adam was created in 4028 BC. This date is not given in Let God Be True but does appear in The Truth Shall Make You Free (1943 p. 152). In the 1950s the year of Adam's creation was corrected to 4026 BC.

Adding 6,000 years to 4,026 BC and allowing for there not being a year "0"  results in 1975 exactly.

However, the 7,000 year rest started, according to JWs, after Eve was created. But 4,026 BC is the year of Adam's creation. If, for example, Eve was created two years after Adam then 6,000 years into God's 7,000 year rest would end in 1977. But Armageddon had to be over before the end of 6,000 years of God's rest - but we are not told how long before.

Because of these unknowns - how long Eve's creation  delayed  after Adam's and how long before end of 6,000 years from Eve's creation Armageddon would strike - JWs did not at first predict the world's end (Armageddon)  for 1975  with  certainty. A usual phrase and estimate used at conventions was "the mid 1970s."

Then The Watchtower (1968 May 1 p. 271) and Awake! (1968 October 8 p. 14) announced that Adam and Eve were created in the same year that is in 4,026 BC. This was confirmed in the book Aid To Bible Understanding (1971 p. 538) This removed one of the two uncertainties. From this new information it followed that Armageddon had to be over, and paradise introduced in, or earlier than, 1975.

The Watchtower 1968 May 1 p. 271

Thus, Adam's naming of the animals and his realizing that he needed a counterpart would have occupied only a brief time after his creation. Since it was also Jehovah's purpose for man to multiply and fill the earth, it is logical that he would create Eve soon after Adam, perhaps just a few weeks or months later in the same year, 4026 B.C.E. After her creation, God's rest day, the seventh period,immediately followed. Therefore, God's seventh day and the time man has been on earth apparently run parallel. 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 B.C.E. From the autumn of that year to the autumn of 1 B.C.E., there would be 4,025 years. From the autumn of 1 B.C.E. to the autumn of 1 C.E. is one year (there was no zero year). From the autumn of 1 C.E. 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 B.C.E. 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.

When the deadline came and  all the prophecies failed, it was announced that Adam and Eve were not created in the same year. (The Watchtower 1975 October 1 p. 579)
 

This however left intact the prediction for, "within our twentieth century".

In  1965 The Watchtower had an article titled, Our Own Twentieth-Century Generation and the Resurrection which said in part:
 

A "great crowd"...will never go to Ha'des or Sheol and need to be resurrected. However, it will not be so with the "goat" class of our twentieth-century generation. At the destruction of Babylon the Great and in the Battle of Armageddon they will be executed with an everlasting punishment and will never be resurrected from the dead, for they will go into the "second death." Consequently, at the beginning of Christ's millennial reign, there will be no "goat class" on hand to interfere with that righteous rule.
The Watchtower(1965 March 15 p. 177)

Furthermore to a JW of the 1950s to 1980s the phrase "our generation" referred to people old enough to witness with understanding the outbreak of World War I in 1914. "Our generation" and "this generation" therefore meant people born 1900-1905 or earlier. A few references to "this generation" meaning pre-World-War I people are:

Awake! 1966 October 8 p. 18
Awake! 1968 October 8 pp. 13-14
The Watchtower 1969 February 15 p. 101
The Watchtower 1974 June 15 p. 359
Awake! 1981 July 22 p. 4

 The prophecy of Armageddon in our twentieth century continues as a firm and definite prophecy:

The Watchtower 1984 March 1 pp. 18-19

Some of that "generation" could survive until the end of the century. But there are many indications that "the end" is much closer than that!

How many will accept the invitation? John's vision recorded in Revelation 7:9 had to become a reality. He saw "a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in  their hands." With confidence in the vision's complete fulfillment during the decades of this 20th century the anointed remnant of the bride class have never let up in saying "Come!" Every effort has been made to broadcast the message to all nations.

The apostle Paul was spearheading the Christian missionary activity. He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be concluded in our 20th century. See the scanned copy of 1/1/89WT

The 1989 Watchtower quote is from the single-issue printing of The Watchtower. In the bound volume reprints the quote was changed to:

He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our day.

The final generation of this world was first clearly linked to 1914 in 1953. That was in the booklet Basis for Belief in a Righteous New World (p.51). An earlier booklet Evolution Versus The New World (1950 p.53) discussed "this generation" in a 1914 context but didn't clearly link the two ideas together except by implication.

Later there were quotes like:

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.
(Awake! 1968 October 8 p. 13-14)

This doctrine and prophecy was taught as "the Creator's promise". From January 1982 Awake! magazine had the claim:

Most importantly, this magazine builds confidence in the Creator's promise of a peaceful and secure new order before the generation that saw the events of 1914 C.E. passes away.

Most important, this magazine builds confidence in the Creator's promise of a peaceful and secure new world that is about to replace the present wicked, lawless system of things.
(Awake! 1995 November 8)

Does our more precise viewpoint on "this generation" mean that Armageddon is further away than we had thought? Not at all! ( 1995 November 1 p. 20)

That only leaves two years from the present - 1998.

JW leaders claim that their organization is, "the only organization on earth that understands the 'deep things of God'!" (The Watchtower 1973 July 1 p. 402)

They call their propaganda "true religion" and say of true religion, "its teachings must all be in harmony with God's word." (The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life 1968 p. 130)

The official position is well expressed in The Watchtower of 1931:

The Watchtower recognizes the truth as belonging to Jehovah, and not to any creature. The Watchtower is not the instrument of any man or set of men. No man's opinion is expressed in The Watchtower. God feeds his own people, and surely God uses those who love and serve him according to his own will. (November 1 p. 327)

To such remnant of faithful servants of  Jehovah God Christ Jesus has entrusted all "his goods", or earthly interests of the Kingdom. This does not signify that the faithful remnant or society of Jehovah's anointed witnesses are an earthly tribunal of interpretation, delegated to interpret the Scriptures and its prophecies. No; Christ Jesus the King has not entrusted that office to them. THE SUPREME COURT STILL INTERPRETS, thank God; and Christ Jesus, the Court's official mouthpiece of interpretation, reserves to himself that office as head of Jehovah's "faithful and wise servant" class. He merely uses the "servant" class to publish the interpretation after the Supreme Court by Christ Jesus reveals it. (p. 203)

Jehovah's prophetic word through Christ Jesus is: "This generation [of 1914] will by no means pass away until all things occur." (Luke 21:32) And Jehovah, who is the source of inspired and unfailing prophecy, will bring about the fulfillment...
(The Watchtower 1984 May 15 pp. 6-7)

JW prophecies are known to have failed for many other dates. These include 1878, 1881, 1906/1907, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1924, 1925, 1928, 1930s, 1935/1936, 1942, 1940s, 1970s.

Generalizing from this trend of failure the prophecy of "within our twentieth century" should prove to be false.
 

INVESTIGATOR Magazine (September 95)
P O Box 3243
Port Adelaide
SA 5015
Australia
 
 

Awake!

*** g70 4/22 30  Watching the World ***
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, room must be found for about 100,000,00 more Americans by the year 2000. The paper says: "In light of already severe environmental problems, such figures have prompted some scientists to circle a date on the calendar for an Armageddon sometime in the middle or latter years of this decade."

*** g72 7/22 10  Will the "Green Revolution" Be Enough? ***
India's present population of some 570 million increases by about 14 million each year. Concerning this the New York Times says: "Unless the rate is reduced significantly India will have a billion people by the year 2000, far outstripping any increase in food output."

*** g74 11/22 19-20  How Serious Are Shortages? ***
 And a government official estimates that this deficit will reach 31 billion dollars by 1985, and 64 billion by the year 2000. All that must be made up by imports. And these estimates were made before the rampant inflation of prices in 1973 and 1974!

*** g75 11/22 30  Watching the World ***
Wood scarcity also has necessitated greater use of dried cattle dung for fuel—diverting much-needed nutrients from the soil—at a rate of 300 million tons per year in India. "Even if we somehow grow enough food for our people in the year 2000," worries one Indian official, "how in the world will they cook it?"

*** g76 11/22 14  Habitat Conference-A Hope for Mankind? ***
By the year 2000, if present trends continue, there will actually be more city dwellers than rural in a world population of between six and seven billion. This startling change in human habitat gives rise to many gigantic problems.

*** g79 10/22 14  World Population-Is It a Problem? ***
By the year 2000, a population of between six and eight billion is expected at present increase rates. The year 2000 is not so far away, is it?

*** g79 11/22 21  Amazonia-Center of Controversy ***
"BRAZIL is on fire," exclaimed the Brazilian Special Environmental Secretary. Others join in his outcry. Reports about the possibility of the vast Amazon region being transformed into a "red desert" by the year 2000 have alarmed scientists, the common man and the Brazilian government.

*** g80 1/22 23  What's Wrong with Nuclear Power? ***
Another deterrent to the growth of nuclear power is the fact that the supply of uranium is not unlimited. If the projected doubling of present capacity by 1985 is realized, the U.S. will be running short before the year 2000.

*** g80 2/22 16  Are Christendom's Churches Losing Their Grip? ***
World War I struck the world like a lightning bolt. The Orthodox Church in Russia crumbled under the onslaught of Bolshevism. Communism lapped up other countries, determined to eliminate religion, which it called "the opium of the people." In view of all of this, Pope John Paul II recently raised these questions: "What is the destiny Our Lord has in store for his Church in the coming years? What direction will Mankind take while nearing the year 2000? These are burning questions and the only answer is: 'God knows.'"

*** g80 6/8 7  The Unthinkable-Could It Happen? ***
For several days in May 1978, 30 scientists, military men and government advisers from 10 nations met in closed sessions in Toronto, Canada, to consider seriously the theme "The Danger of Nuclear War by the Year 2000."

*** g80 6/22 8  "I Am Putting You in Charge" ***
Amazon are now being exploited, and, if this continues, hundreds of thousands of species of plants and animals will be lost by the year 2000. On and on the death list goes, all because man has failed to guard the earth and its plant and animal life.

*** g82 12/8 3-4  The Fight Against Sickness ***
Although escaping death, many victims of disease become permanently disabled. In 1981 former UN secretary-general Kurt Waldheim warned that the present 400 million disabled people in the world could rise to 500 million by the year 2000. Does this mean, then, that science, with all its marvelous discoveries and progress, is actually losing the fight against sickness? What do the facts of our times show?

*** g83 2/22 29  Watching the World ***
· Today six countries, the United States, the U.S.S.R., France, Britain, China and India, have produced nuclear weapons. But by the year 2000 that number could grow to 31, claim U.S. military analysts in a special report to The New York Times.

*** g83 4/8 3  How Can You Tell? ***
"If things go on as they are, by the year 2000 the world will be . . ." PREDICTIONS of this sort have now become commonplace.

*** g83 8/8 3  Our "Jewel in Space"-Is It in Trouble? ***
· FAMINE. In some cities of underdeveloped countries, on many mornings street sweepers have to clean dead persons out of the gutters. Yes, starvation and malnutrition lead to death for millions each year. And the demand for food worldwide is expected to double by the year 2000, less than 17 years from now!

*** g84 9/22 29  Watching the World ***
· In 1977 a special United Nations conference mandated a program to halt the spread of deserts by the year 2000. But after six years, little progress has been made.

*** g85 3/8 5  'Signs From Heaven'-A Cause for Gloom? ***
"Terribly effective weaponry could well be deployed in space by the year 2000, weaponry that can attack both satellites and space stations as well as targets here on Earth."
 

*** g85 3/22 26  When Money Talks ***
By the year 1930, however, drastic changes could be seen in my purchasing power. My value had eroded to exactly half of what it was in 1908. As a one-dollar bill, I was now worth 50 cents. The inflation that concerned me and the deflation of my value that worried you was by now on an unstoppable course. By the year 1960, I had deflated to 28 cents. By 1982, nine cents. And by the year 2000, I am expected to shrivel to a mere four pennies.

*** g86 3/22 11-12  The Marching Deserts-Will They Really Blossom as the Rose? ***
 In 1980 UNEP estimated that it would cost about 90 billion dollars (U.S.) over 20 years, or about 4.5 billion dollars per year, to stop the spread of deserts by the year 2000. How serious do the experts consider this marching world of sand to be? "If the present march of desertification continues," said a representative of UNEP, "by the year 2000 the situation will have become a global catastrophe."

*** g86 11/8 4  Hopes and Fears of Today's Youth ***
Do hopes today stand a better chance of fulfillment? How do youths the earth over view their future? Will the year 2000 dawn bright or dismal? Branch offices of the Watch Tower Society around the world conducted interviews with youths. As you consider the comments of these youths, see if you do not have similar hopes and fears.

*** g86 10/8 31  Watching the World ***
Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN warns that "if present rates of deforestation continue, much of the world's tropical forests could be destroyed." If this trend continues, an estimated 10 to 20 percent of earth's plant and animal life could be wiped out by the year 2000 unless deforestation can be stopped and reversed.

*** g86 11/8 7-8  A Sure Hope for the Present Generation ***
Carole, from France, has a "marvelous hope" and foresees, for the near future, "something marvelous—not at all like the world we live in." Samuel, a 15-year-old youth from the same country, also believes in a complete change: "For the year 2000, I visualize a world transformed into a beautiful paradise! But I don't think that either the present world or its rulers will live to see that day. . . . We are living in the last days of the system of things." Ruth, a German girl of 16, also expresses her confidence in these changes: "I know I'm not smart enough to change the world and make things run right. Only Jehovah, our Creator, can and will do that soon." But why are the last youngsters interviewed so sure of beneficial changes in the near future? Simply because they have come to know about God's promises through his Word, the Bible. As Jehovah's Witnesses, they are confident of something better—a world of justice and peace where, according to God's promise, even illness and death will be no more.—2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:3, 4. A close examination of Bible prophecies showed these young Witnesses that we are now living in a privileged period of history, for the time has come for God to intervene in human affairs and rid the entire earth of unrighteousness. The Scriptures call this short period preceding God's intervention "the time of the end" and specify that it will not last longer than a "generation." It would also be distinguished by wars, earthquakes, epidemics, fear, and rising insecurity— all of which have marked the world since 1914. Since the "generation" of 1914 is now well advanced in years, God's promise is really up-to-date news for young people today.—Daniel 12:4; Matthew 24:3, 7-14, 34.

*** g86 11/22 10  Warning! This Water May Be Hazardous to Your Health ***
A person does not have to put his ear to the ground to know "how big the bang will be." Already the world shudders in fear of the coming explosion. For example, it has been estimated that by the year 2000 a fourth of the world's water supply could be unsafe for drinking.

*** g87 3/8 5  Why Can't Africa Feed Itself? ***
Not surprisingly, Africa has the highest population growth rate in the world. Undeniably, this aggravates the problem of hunger. Some estimate the present population to be 553 million. By the year 2000, according to current trends, there could be an additional 324 million mouths to feed!

*** g87 5/8 4  Health for All-A Basic Need ***
WHO's regional office for Europe has foreseen not health by the year 2000 but a possible crisis by then

*** g87 7/22 7  An Earth Without Forests-Is That What the Future Holds? ***
By the year 2000, according to some experts, about 12 percent of the tropical rain forest that remained in 1980 will be gone—no small accomplishment for man, even with his reputation for destruction. Gone, too, will be the exotic birds, the animal wildlife, and the varieties of plant life that cannot be found in any other climatic areas of the earth.

*** g88 10/8 5  AIDS Carriers-How Many Could Die? ***
 An article in Politiken of Denmark said: "Uganda's chief AIDS official states, 'Unless something changes, every second adult in this country will be HIV-positive in the year 2000.'

*** g88 11/8 8  The Reason for the Cult ***
As has been said, according to the pope's intentions, the revival of the figure of Mary will help to prepare for the year 2000. In the face of the fears and the anxieties caused by the "symptoms of malaise that pervade this generation," the pope has placed his trust in the "Madonna" so that she may intercede with God and solve the world's problems. But does the Bible direct us to Mary for a solution to these "symptoms of malaise"? In whom should we really trust in order to witness the realization of the "hope of a new era, of a new world"?

*** g89 7/22 29  Watching the World ***
Studies predicts that "by the year 2000, water, not oil, will be the dominant resource issue of the Middle East."

*** g89 9/22 28  Watching the World ***
The World Health Organization has predicted that AIDS cases worldwide will jump tenfold by the year 2000, raising the total to 5,000,000 from the present 450,000. The number of those infected with the virus that causes AIDS is expected to rise threefold.

*** g90 2/8 20  No Money for the Blind ***
But WHO predicts gloomily that, at the present rate, the world will have 84 million blind and partially blind persons by the year 2000.

*** g90 2/22 28  Watching the World ***
By the year 2000, AIDS may kill six million people.

*** g90 9/22 4  The Garbage Glut-Will It Bury Us? ***
It is estimated that by the year 2000, this garbage pile will "tower half again as high as the Statue of Liberty and fill more cubic feet than the largest Great Pyramid of Egypt." It is expected that by the time the landfill closes, within the decade, it will have reached a height of 500 feet.

*** g91 1/22 29  Watching the World ***
In its first report on the impact of AIDS on children, the World Health Organization said that the virus is striking many more children than had been previously thought and that some ten million children would probably be infected  with it by the year 2000. "The vast majority of these will have developed AIDS and died by the year 2000," said Dr. Michael Merson, director of the agency's global AIDS program.

*** g91 6/8 26  A Visit to the Great Barrier Reef ***
Some take the alarming view that the entire Barrier Reef is at risk, and they issue warnings such as 'No Reef by the Year 2000.'

*** g92 6/8 7  The Bitter Price of Gambling ***
Experts are also noting a significant increase in the number of housewives who are compulsive gamblers. In the United States, for example, women now represent about 30 percent of the total number of compulsive gamblers, but it is estimated that by the year 2000, this will have risen to 50 percent.

*** g93 3/22 3-4  Why So Many False Alarms? ***
The World's End—How Near?
THE story is told of a boy who watched the sheep of the villagers. To stir up a bit of excitement, one day he cried out, "Wolf! Wolf!" when there was no wolf. The villagers rushed out with clubs to drive off the wolf, only to find that there was none. It was such great fun that later on the boy repeated his cry. Again the villagers rushed out with their clubs, only to discover that it was another false alarm. After that a wolf did come, and the boy sounded the warning, "Wolf! Wolf!" but the villagers dismissed his cry as another false alarm. They had been fooled too often. So it has become with those who proclaim the end of the world. Down through the centuries since Jesus' day, so many unfulfilled predictions have been made that many no longer take them seriously. Gregory I, pope from 590 to 604 C.E., in a letter to a European monarch, said: "We also wish Your Majesty to know, as we have learned from the words of Almighty God in Holy Scriptures, that the end of the present world is already near and that the unending Kingdom of the Saints is approaching." In the 16th century, Martin Luther, progenitor of the Lutheran Church, predicted that the end was imminent. According to one authority, he stated: "For my part, I am sure that the day of judgment is just around the corner." Concerning one of the first Baptist groups, it is reported: "The Anabaptists of the early Sixteenth Century believed that the Millennium would occur in 1533." "Edwin Sandys (1519-1588), Archbishop of York and Primate of England . . . says, . . . 'Let us be assured that this coming of the Lord is near.' " William Miller, generally credited with founding the Adventist Church, is quoted as saying: "I am fully convinced that sometime between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844, according to the Jewish mode of computation of time, Christ will come." Does the failure of such predictions to come true convict as false prophets those who made them, within the meaning of Deuteronomy 18:20-22? That text reads: "The prophet who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded him to speak or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die. And in case you should say in your heart: 'How shall we know the word that Jehovah has not spoken?' when the prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah and the word does not occur or come true, that is the word that Jehovah did not speak."  There are some who make spectacular predictions of the world's end to grab attention and a following, but others are sincerely convinced that their proclamations are true. They are voicing expectations based on their own interpretation of some scripture text or physical event. They do not claim that their predictions are direct revelations from Jehovah and that in this sense they are prophesying in Jehovah's name. Hence, in such cases, when their words do not come true, they should not be viewed as false prophets such as those warned against at Deuteronomy 18:20-22. In their human fallibility, they misinterpreted matters. Undeterred by previous failures, some seem to have been spurred on by the approach of the year 2000 and have made further predictions of the end of the world. The Wall Street Journal of December 5, 1989, published an article entitled "Millennium Fever: Prophets Proliferate, the End Is Near." With the year 2000 approaching, various evangelicals are predicting that Jesus is coming and that the 1990's will be "a time of troubles that has not been seen before." At the time of this writing, the latest occurrence was in the Republic of Korea, where the Mission for the Coming Days predicted that on October 28, 1992, at midnight, Christ would come and take believers to heaven.
Several other doomsday groups made similar predictions. The flood of false alarms is unfortunate. They are like the wolf-wolf cries of the shepherd boy—people soon dismiss them, and when the true warning comes, it too is ignored. But why has there been such a tendency through the centuries and down to our day for false alarms to be sounded, as Jesus said they would be? (Matthew 24:23-26) Jesus, after telling his followers about different events that would mark his return, said to them, as we read at Matthew 24:36-42: "Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father. For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. . . . Keep on the watch, therefore, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." They were told not only to be on the watch and to be prepared but also to watch with eagerness. Romans 8:19 says: "For the eager expectation of the creation is waiting for the revealing of the sons of God." Human nature is such that when we fervently hope and yearn for something and wait in eager expectation of it, a powerful temptation arises within us to see it at the door even when the evidence is insufficient. In our eagerness false alarms may be sounded.

*** g93 4/22 24  Where Have All the Quaggas Gone? ***
Unlike the quagga, many species do not stand a similar chance of retrieval. Chilling predictions indicate that by the year 2000, as much as 15 to 20 percent of all living species on earth may be extinct.

*** g93 5/22 18  Why Do I Have to Suffer With a Disability? ***
Do you likewise have some sort of physical disability? Statistics show that by the year 2000, the number of young people with disabilities will reach about 59 million worldwide.
 

The Watchtower

*** w73 11/1 646  The Best Time to Be Alive ***
And now, particularly, many serious students of government and of world conditions— statesmen, scientists and others—are saying that mankind will not even be able to survive to the year 2000 C.E. They base their outlook, not on the Bible, but on the hard facts of today and upon the now irreversible trend of things that involve all of us. The Bible tells of these hard times that we are experiencing as a sign of the nearness of the end of this system.—2 Tim. 3:1-5.

*** w76 5/15 300  Insight on the News ***
A Query into the Quarter Century" is the title of a message issued recently by twenty experts from various fields who met under the sponsorship of the Charles F. Kettering Foundation and the Wright-Ingraham Institute. They concluded: "Famine, social unrest and possible political chaos may not be far away. . . . By the year 2000 the problems in food production, storage, transportation and distribution will make today's problems appear as child's play." Humans themselves can never solve such problems, for "it does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step." (Jer. 10:23) God alone will end social unrest, assure adequate food and remove man's other difficulties. Jehovah soon will 'make a banquet for all the peoples' and bless godly persons abundantly. (Isa. 25:6-8; Rev. 21:4) With those pleasant prospects in view, appreciative ones wisely pursue a course of dependence upon the Creator, as did David, who prayed to God: "Let my steps take hold on your tracks, in which my footsteps will certainly not be made to totter."—Ps. 17:5.

*** w78 10/1 16  "Keep on the Watch" ***
That day of Jehovah's "burning anger" is drawing perilously close. Jesus' own great prophecy concerning "the conclusion of the system of things" has now had its remarkable fulfillment in our 20th century since 1914. We clearly see militaristic elements of that "disgusting thing," the UN organization, poised to wreak havoc on the realm of Christendom.

*** w79 10/15 12-13  Sustained by the Millennial Hope ***
 In foretelling events, the "things happening" in our 20th century, Jesus Christ compared them to the fig tree when "its young branch grows tender and puts forth its leaves"—a proof that summer is at hand. (Mark 13:28, 29) This corresponds with Jesus' coming to execute judgment. Then will follow "the thousand years," during which the Devil will not mislead the nations anymore.—Rev. 20:2, 3.

*** w80 2/1 26  Serve the "King of the Nations" and Survive ***
13 Does all that ancient history have any relation to our 20th century? Yes! About two lunar months after the calamity upon King Zedekiah, his realm, the land of Judah, became totally desolated. There the "seven times" of the nations, "the times of the Gentiles," began their run of 2,520 years, to end in 1914 C.E. (Dan. 4; Luke 21:24, Authorized Version) Today that which was foreshadowed by Jerusalem of King Zedekiah's day is nearing its destruction, according to the judicial decision of Jehovah, the "King of the nations." (Jer. 10:7) How fitting it is, then, that there should be on earth at this critical time a class of worshipers of Jehovah God who were prefigured by the prophet-priest Jeremiah! In the light of this we properly ask, Is there also on earth a class that was prefigured by the Ethiopian eunuch who befriended Jeremiah, namely, Ebed-melech the servant of King Zedekiah? Modern facts indicate that there is.

*** w80 4/1 19-20  Creation's Hope-Awaiting Its Realization ***
Today, after all the wars and other catastrophes besides sickness and natural death, there are more than 4,200 million of us alive, and it is predicted that by the year 2000 C.E. there will be 6,000 million humans on earth. Has this all been in vain? Evidently not! 16 Of course, man cannot 'pull himself up by his own bootstraps.' Yet the case of the human creation is not hopeless, in spite of the unpromising look of things. This is not due to anything that man himself can do, but is solidly based on what God has already done and will yet do according to his unbreakable promise. Because God permitted some 70 generations to be born to Adam and Eve, it allowed for his Son from heaven to be born as the man Jesus Christ. On earth this Son of God carried out God's will for the benefit of all mankind. This marked a turning point in history for us humans!

*** w80 10/15 10  Insight on the News ***
A special 800-page document titled "Global 2000 Report to the President" from the U.S. State Department and Council on Environmental Quality illustrates the accuracy of Jesus' words. It warns that there is "potential for global problems of alarming proportions by the year 2000." The New York "Times" states that, according to the report, "time is running out for international action to prevent a starving, overcrowded, polluted, resource-poor world."

*** w83 2/15 3-4  Are Our Times Really Different? ***
Other factors further complicate the situation on a worldwide scale. France' scientific monthly Science et Vie (Science and Life) had this to say on the subject of population growth and the expansion of deserts: "The world population will increase from four to six billion by the year 2000, whereas arable ground will possibly be reduced by 30 percent over the same period, due to over cropping . . . and urbanization. The simultaneous character of these two tendencies is preparing the way for an explosive situation."

*** w84 11/15 3  Our Age of Despair ***
Even if nuclear annihilation could be averted, human existence is being imperiled by the sheer mass of mankind. "Global population grows inexorably and at a rate so prodigious that by the year 2000—only 16 years from now—the world, with its added billions, will be unable to provide adequate food and energy, let alone jobs, housing, education and health care," reports Parade magazine. "And what could happen by the mid-21st century (when babies born in this decade approach old age) defies imagination."

*** w87 7/1 10  'No Peace for the Wicked Ones' ***
 A Russian schoolgirl describes the results of a nuclear war: "All living things will perish—no grass, no trees, no greenery." What a terrible prospect! Yet, people feel this could really happen. In a recent survey 40 percent of the adults interviewed felt that there was a "high chance" of nuclear war before the year 2000.—See Luke 21:26.

*** w89 1/1 12  "The Hand of Jehovah Was With Them" ***
 The apostle Paul was spearheading the Christian missionary activity. He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our time. (The Watchtower as published originally had the words "in our 20th century". The reprints of The Watchtower and the CD-ROM had the words deceptively changed to "In our time" without any explanation!)

*** w92 10/1 16-17  The Messiah's Presence and His Rule ***
 When Jesus' disciples asked him: "What will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?" Jesus responded by giving them a detailed description of that future time. (Matthew, chapter 24; Mark, chapter 13; Luke, chapter 21; see also 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Revelation, chapter 6.) This sign amounts to a detailed portrait of a troubled era. It is a time marked by international wars, rising crime, deteriorating family life, disease epidemics, famines, and earthquakes—not as localized problems but as globe-embracing crises. Does this sound familiar? Every passing day confirms that the 20th century perfectly fits Jesus' description.

*** w94 4/15 10  Helpful Teaching for Our Critical Times ***
The events of this 20th century overwhelmingly prove that we are now living in the conclusion of this present wicked system.
 

Books

*** The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah - How? 1971   216 ***
Shortly, within our twentieth century, the "battle in the day of Jehovah" will begin against the modern anti type of Jerusalem, Christendom.

*** God's Kingdom Of A thousand Years Has Approached 1973  14  ***
 For one thing, the end of six thousand years of human existence on earth and the beginning of mankind's seventh millennium of existence may come many years sooner than the year 2000 C.E. It is well that this is so. Today, with the world of mankind in such a deplorable condition and being threatened with destruction from so many angles, there are many students and investigators of these threats to human existence who express substantial doubts that mankind will be able to survive till the year 2000 C.E. They do not base their gloomy outlook for our future on any timetable in that most widespread sacred book, the Holy Bible. They base their outlook upon the hard facts of today and upon the now irreversible trend of things that involve all of us. These men who speak with authority give our human race far less than a thousand years to live on into the future. What reason have you, the reader, for not believing them?

*** Let Your Kingdom Come 1981  11  ***
…now in our 20th century, we have come to the time for harvest—"a conclusion of a system of things, and the reapers are angels"!—Matthew 13:24-30, 36-39.

*** Mankind's Search For God 1990 373  ***
A situation approaching global ruin has existed only in the 20th century. All the more reason, then, to believe that soon Jehovah will take action to protect his property, his creation.— Revelation 11:18; Genesis 1:27, 28.