One of these was A. H. Macmillan. He later wrote: “Although our expectations about being taken to heaven were not fulfilled in 1914, that year did see the end of the Gentile Times . . . We were not particularly disturbed that not everything took place as we had expected, because we were so busy with the Photo-Drama work and with the problems created by the war.” He kept busy in Jehovah’s service and was thrilled to see the number of Kingdom proclaimers increase to well over a million during his lifetime.

Looking back over his experiences during 66 years with the organization, he said: “I have seen many severe trials come upon the organization and testings of the faith of those in it. With the help of God’s spirit it survived and continued to flourish.” Regarding adjustments of understanding along the way, he added: “The fundamental truths we learned from the Scriptures remained the same. So I learned that we should admit our mistakes and continue searching God’s Word for more enlightenment. No matter what adjustments we would have to make from time to time in our views, that would not change the gracious provision of the ransom and God’s promise of eternal life.”

[Box/Picture on page 637]

A. H. Macmillan

“I have seen the wisdom of patiently waiting on Jehovah to clear up our understanding of Scriptural things instead of getting upset over a new thought. Sometimes our expectations for a certain date were more than what the Scriptures warranted. When those expectations went unfulfilled, that did not change God’s purposes.”