If you were truly convinced that Armageddon and Christ’s millennial kingdom were coming in the next couple of years—because “the faithful and discreet slave” told you so—what radical changes would you make in your life?

For the Watchtower organization, it meant increased meeting attendance, increased revenue, increased witnessing activity, and increased membership.

But what was the impact on ordinary Jehovah’s Witnesses?

 1. Foregoing marriage and children

Many Jehovah’s Witnesses followed this advice of the Watchtower:

1938: “…mark the words of Jesus, which definitely seem to discourage the bearing of children immediately before or during Armageddon….It would therefore appear that there is no reasonable or scriptural injunction to bring children into the world immediately before Armageddon, where we now are.” (The Watchtower, November 1, 1938, p. 324)

1938: “Would it be scripturally proper for them to marry and begin to rear children? No, is the answer, which is supported by the scriptures….I will be far better to be unhampered and without burdens, that they may do the Lord’s will now, as the Lord commands, and also be without hindrance during Armageddon. … Those… who now contemplate marriage, it would seem, would do better if they wait a few years, until the fiery storm of Armageddon is gone.” (“Face the Facts”, 1938, p. 46, 47, 50)

1941: “Armageddon is surely near, and during that time the Lord will clean off the earth everything that offends and is disagreeable… We can well defer our marriage until lasting peace comes to the earth.” (J. F. Rutherford, Children, 1941, p.366)

2. Foregoing education and careers in order to witness more.

1968: “Just think, brothers, there are only about ninety months left before 6,000 years of man’s existence on earth is completed… The majority of people living today will probably be alive when Armageddon breaks out, and there are no resurrection hopes for those who are destroyed then. So, now more than ever, it is vital not to ignore that spirit of wanting to do more.” (Kingdom Ministry, March 1968, p. 4)

 A number of ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses have told me that the following 1969 article ruined their lives.

Where would you be if you had heeded this advice more than 50 years ago?

1969: “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…” (Awake!, May 22, 1969, p. 15)

1969: “… 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 towards its finish, if not actually gone!… which is really practical: preparing yourself for a position in this world that soon will pass away? or working toward surviving this system’s end and enjoying eternal life in God’s righteous new order?” (Awake!, May 22, 1969, p. 15)

Former Jehovah’s Witness elder David Reed sums up: “Strong JWs regard higher education as the devil’s classroom, as well as a sinful waste of time.” (How to Rescue Your Loved One from the Watchtower, 1989, p. 8)

3. Foregoing job opportunities in order to witness full time (“pioneering”)

If you were a fully committed Jehovah’s Witness, here is what you would do:

1974:                      

By carefully and prayerfully examining our own circumstances, we also may find that we can spend more time and energy in preaching during this final period before the present system ends. Many of our brothers and sisters are doing just that. This is evident from the rapidly increasing number of pioneers. Yes, since the summer of 1973 there have been new peaks in pioneers every month. Now there are 20,394 regular and special pioneers in the United States, an all-time peak. That is 5,190 more than there were in February 1973! A 34-percent increase! Does that not warm our hearts? (Kingdom Ministry, May, 1974, p. 3)

David Reed and his wife Penni are examples: “Although we were not able to continue ‘pioneering’ after our marriage, Penni and I… put ‘the Kingdom’ first in our personal lives by keeping our secular employment to a minimum and living in an inexpensive three-room apartment to be able to devote more time to the door-to-door preaching activity.” (How to Rescue Your Loved One from the Watchtower, 1989, p. 8)

4. Foregoing homes, property, and retirement planning

The Watchtower wrote, “Reports are heard of brothers selling their homes and property and planning to finish out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service. Certainly this is a fine way to spend the short time remaining before the wicked world’s end.” (Kingdom Ministry, May, 1974, p. 3)

A number of ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses have told me that they unexpectedly grew old “in this system of things” and had no resources saved up for their retirement.

Why would they?

The “end” was so close, they wouldn’t need to.

5. Foregoing needed health care

Reed states that when the Watchtower promoted 1975 as a likely date for Armageddon and the beginning of Christ’s millennial reign, “Having already served some years in ‘pioneer’ work, I had no home or property to sell. But I did neglect having needed dental work done, figuring it would be better to devote my time and funds to ‘spiritual things,’ since the end was so near and my body would be restored to perfection shortly after 1975.” (How to Rescue Your Loved One from the Watchtower, 1989, p. 55)

6. Being blamed and abandoned by the Watchtower

When the Watchtower was promoting the nearness of the end, Jehovah’s Witnesses who held back from making the sacrifices listed above were considered spiritually weak, lacking in faith.

On the other hand, Witnesses who did make those sacrifices were praised for their high level of dedication to Jehovah.

But what happened when the end did not arrive as predicted?

The Watchtower blamed the Witnesses for failing to take care of their day-to-day responsibilities and left them to pick up the pieces:

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.. 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. (The Watchtower, July 15, 1976, pp. 440-441)