ahhhhhh another great read.. a portion of the live forever brochure circa 1993
http://www.watchtower.org/library/pr/article_08.htm
looks like they'd share the new light on the generation change with the public.. and not have all this " old light" on the website. soon soon.. this is what? 13 years ago? gaaaaaa this stuff makes me so mad lol..i think i'm gonna barf
Have those things that Jesus and Paul foretold taken place in our time? Yes, they certainly have. World War I was by far the worst war up to that time. It was the first world war and was the turning point in modern history. Along with that war went food shortages, disease epidemics, and other calamities. Those events from 1914 onward were, as Jesus put it, "a beginning of pangs of distress." (Matthew 24:8) They began the foretold period of time called "the last days," the beginning of the last generation when God would permit wickedness and suffering.
Likely you are familiar with the events of the 20th century. You know the chaos that has arisen. Some 100 million people have been killed in wars. Hundreds of millions of others have died from hunger and from sickness. Earthquakes have taken countless lives. Disregard for life and property grows. Fear of crime has become part of everyday life. Moral standards have been shoved aside. The population explosion poses problems that are not being solved. Pollution is spoiling the quality of life and is even endangering it. Truly, we have been in the last days since 1914 and are nearing the culmination of Bible prophecies involving our time.
How long a time period would these last days prove to be? Jesus said regarding the era that would experience the "beginning of pangs of distress" from 1914 onward: "This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur." (Matthew 24:8, 34-36) Thus, all the features of the last days must take place within the lifetime of one generation, the generation of 1914. So some people who were alive in 1914 will still be alive when this system comes to its end. That generation of people is now very advanced in years, indicating that there is not much time left before God brings this present system of things to an end.
Another prophecy showing that the end of this system is very near was given by the apostle Paul, who foretold: "Jehovah's day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. Whenever it is that they are saying: 'Peace and security!' then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them . . . , and they will by no means escape."—1 Thessalonians 5:2, 3; see also Luke 21:34, 35.
Today the Cold War is over, and international war may no longer be a major threat. So the nations may feel that they are well on the way toward a new world order. But when they feel that their efforts are succeeding, it will mean the opposite of what they think, for that will be the final signal that this system's destruction by God is imminent. Remember, political negotiations and treaties are not making any real changes in people. They are not making people love one another. And world leaders are not putting a stop to crime, nor are they eliminating disease and death. So do not put your trust in any development of human peace and security and think that this world is on its way to solving its problems. (Psalm 146:3) What such a cry will really mean is that this world is very near to being on its way out.
Preaching Good News
Another prophecy that shows we have been in the last days since 1914 is one that Jesus gave: "In all the nations the good news has to be preached first." (Mark 13:10) Or as Matthew 24:14 renders it: "This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come."
Today as never before in history, the good news of this world's end and of the incoming Paradise new world under God's Kingdom is being preached all over the earth. By whom? By millions of Jehovah's Witnesses. They are preaching in every country on earth.
In addition to their preaching about God's Kingdom, Jehovah's Witnesses are behaving in the manner that identifies them as Christ's true followers, for he declared: "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves." Thus, Jehovah's Witnesses are united in a global brotherhood by an unbreakable bond of love.—John 13:35; see also Isaiah 2:2-4; Colossians 3:14; John 15:12-14; 1 John 3:10-12; 4:20, 21; Revelation 7:9, 10.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe what the Bible says: "God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him." (Acts 10:34, 35) They view their fellow Witnesses in all countries as spiritual brothers and sisters, regardless of race or color. (Matthew 23:8) And the fact that such a global brotherhood does exist in the world today adds to the evidence that God's purpose will soon be realized.