SO, What happened to : "the generation will not pass away" idea ??????? (page 4)

Warlock

"Does our more precise viewpoint on 'this Generation' mean that Armageddon is further away than we had thought? Not at all."

THEN WHY DID YOU CHANGE IT??????!!!!!!!!!!

Warlock

JH

THEN WHY DID YOU CHANGE IT??????!!!!!!!!!!

They shouldn't have changed it, because some born and living in 1914 are still alive today !!!

Warlock

JH

The way it was presented was those who were at the "age of understanding" or the "age of awareness", which was understood to be, the way I was told, about 12 years old.

It was never presented as "those BORN in 1914", unless someone can find a quote that says different.

Warlock

candidlynuts

this is the main thing that bugs me when jw family say new light about things come up but doctrine never changes.

is this considered " doctrine"? it certainly was a big belief all my life till 95. i felt like a cannon ball had dropped into my stomach during that watchtower study.

Leolaia

Warlock....By the 1980s, they did resort to referring to "babies" born in 1914:

***

w84 5/15 p. 5 1914—The Generation That Will Not Pass Away ***

The Greek word rendered "generation" in the Bible has been defined as, "Those born at the same time . . . Associated with this is the meaning: the body of one’s contemporaries, an age." (The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology) "The sum total of those born at the same time, expanded to include all those living at a given time generation, contemporaries." (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from Walter Bauer’s Fifth Edition, 1958) These definitions embrace both those born around the time of a historic event and all those alive at that time.

If Jesus used "generation" in that sense and we apply it to 1914, then the babies of that generation are now 70 years old or older. And others alive in 1914 are in their 80’s or 90’s, a few even having reached a hundred. There are still many millions of that generation alive. Some of them "will by no means pass away until all things occur."--Luke 21:32.

This was a change from the position stated as late as 1978:

*** w78 10/1 p. 31 Questions From Readers ***

Also, it is evident that by the word "generation" Jesus did not mean just the Jewish children born in 33 C.E. Luke relates that after being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom was coming, Jesus told his disciples: "[The Son of man] must undergo many sufferings and be rejected by this generation." (Luke 17:20-25) That rejection certainly was not by newborn babies. Likewise, the way things worked out shows that the "generation" he spoke of in Matthew 24:34 included his listeners and others who could discern the fulfillment of his words from 33 C.E. onward until Jerusalem’s destruction.

stevenyc

Warlock, they change the view of awareness in the eighties.

W84 5/15: If Jesus used "generation" in that sense and we apply it to 1914, then the babies of that generation are now 70 years old or older. And others alive in 1914 are in their 80’s or 90’s, a few even having reached a hundred. There are still many millions of that generation alive. Some of them "will by no means pass away until all things occur."—Luke 21:32.

steve Edited: Damn Leolaia, you quick !

Warlock

She's smart, too.

Thank you both for the clarification.

Warlock

kid-A

I dont know about elsewhere, but I can assure you it was most definitely announced at the DC that year. And not only in my district,

but in at least 2 other districts that same summer, as I learned from attendees at those. It was in Hamilton, Ontario and I remember the announcement

clear as a bell. It was a major topic of conversation in my neck of the JW woods.

TD

There most certainly was.Im glad aniron remembered it.It certainly stuck in my mind.Was the biggest reason i gave up the religion.

I don't doubt you guys at all. Could this be something that happened in the U.K. and not the U.S.?

As a UBM, I've attended (and recorded) JW conventions here in America with a very critical ear for a long, long time. Admittedly, it's been 11 years now, but I don't remember the "new understanding" being mentioned, at least not at the Tucson convention that I attended

james_woods

Just a couple of thoughts on this subject: Maybe the things said at the conventions vary from one convention to another. Having been gone a long time ago, I don't know anything about "generation" statements at the conventions - but -

When the 1975 thing was going hot and heavy in the early seventies, some speakers really came down on it hard; as if it was written in stone like the ten commandments. Even assigned speakers from Bethel did this in some cases. Others would kind of soft-soap it as if they were kind of ashamed that this was being put out - maybe they suspected that it was going to blow up in their faces. Remember when Schroeder more or less said that Jehovaha really had it planned for 75, but must have changed his mind?

Could it be that this was true of the generation thing as well?

Second point - the other night I was watching a history channel about supersonic test aircraft. The commentator stated that the X planes were used "a couple of generations ago". The time frame referenced was the late 40's to late 50's, approximately. The witnesses not only watched most all their oldsters even alive in 1914 pass away, but they also had to completely redefine what any normal persons means by "generation". To most anybody else it means whatever crop of children are born to normally aged parents at some time. Like - postwar baby boom, generationX, vietnam generation, etc. I guess they stretched out "generation" as long as they could before admitting that it was too long ago.

SO, What happened to : "the generation will not pass away" idea ???????

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