JW's have made no suggestions about a timeframe for the end of the system of things, since 1975. People seem to think that we made prophesies, but we never did. All we did was suggest time frames for the prophesies that already existed concerning the time of the end. It is quite apparent that God has things under control in his own timeframe. (Matthew 24:36) Having said that, the ones who were disappointed about the failure of things to materialize back then, allowed their disappointments to alter their relationship with God. No one was ever told about a 'day or hour'....there were merely suggestions made that a certain year may be it. I was there in 1975, so I know exactly what was said. It was something to look forward to....to serve as an anchor in a changing world....we had no idea how much it would change in the next 45 years. Those who stumbled over the failure of the Kingdom to come, were sifted out because they proved that they were serving their own interests. When we sign up to serve God, it has no timeframe. We are with him no matter how long it takes.
Having been raised in Christendom and learning about others faiths in my search for God 40 odd years ago, I had never heard of Baha'i until I came to this forum. As there appears to be some disagreement among your members here it became apparent to me that not all were speaking in agreement. That is what drew me to JW's in the first place...their love for Jehovah and his word....their global unity in all accepting the same beliefs, and their desire to follow ALL the teachings of Jesus Christ (though none can do it perfectly) and the fact that all of them are preachers, as Christ instructed. (Matthew 28:19-20) They use the Bible as the basis for all their beliefs.....not the teachings or traditions of men.
Jesus said that he would be 'with' his disciples in a global disciple making work....and I believe he has. It is not something you can do in a sustained way for a hundred years without the holy spirit.
The Bible says that "the whole world lies under satan's power'. (1 John 5:19) From what I see, I do not doubt that for a moment. Corruption is everywhere. Satan himself claimed that 'all the Kingdoms of the world' were his to give to whomever he wished (Luke 4:5-8) Its hard to fight an enemy who has convinced you that he doesn't exist.
We also have the destruction of "Babylon the great" in Revelation and God's people are told to get out of her if we do not want to share in her destruction. Her practices are said to be spiritistic so she is the religious part of satan's system. (Revelation 18:4-5) Her passing is lamented by the two other powerful entities that govern satan's world....politics and commerce.
The Bible never disagrees with true and provable science....it disagrees with scientific theories that are not provable. Big difference.
I think I can safely leave the plausibility in God's hands since he is the one who plans to carry it out. You can believe a self professed prophet but not the Creator of the Universe...? That is for you to determine.
There is no positive way to change the world unless you can change the attitudes of all the people......can Baha'i's do that?
The Bible says that man will never bring about the changes that are needed....humans are too greedy and too selfish. Any efforts by humans to address the problems that they have created are usually too little...too late. Like the firestorm sweeping Australia at present.....failure to manage the bush like the native Australians used to before white settlement, has resulted in a holocaust of unimaginable proportions. The world is breathing our smoke!
The natural Jews today are just as able to respond to the good news of the Kingdom as anyone else. We have congregations in Israel. All of Jesus' first disciples were Jewish. The reason why there is still animosity is because of their denial that Jews were responsible for the death of the Messiah. They still hotly deny it.
Jesus' words in Matthew 23:37-39 express God's feelings on the matter.
