What definiton of generation would you use for the anointed living today?

truthseeker

From Feb 15, 2008 WT

15 Today, people who don't have the spiritual understanding think that there is nothing of "stunningly observable" as to the signs of Jesus' presence. They reason that all continues as before. (2 Peter 3:4) On the other hand, the faithful brothers of Christ, the present class of John, recognize this sign as if it was a lightning and understand its real meaning. As a group, those anointed comprise the present "generation" of comtemporaries who won't pass away "until all the things come to pass".* This indicates that some of anointed brothers of Christ will still be alive on earth when the foretold great tribulation begins.

How can it be that all the anointed today comprise a "generation?"

From this list of 14 defintions for generation, what would you choose to describe the anointed today?

1.	the entire body of individuals born and living at about the same time: the postwar generation.

2.	the term of years, roughly 30 among human beings, accepted as the average period between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring.

3.	a group of individuals, most of whom are the same approximate age, having similar ideas, problems, attitudes, etc. Compare Beat Generation, Lost Generation.

4.	a group of individuals belonging to a specific category at the same time: Chaplin belonged to the generation of silent-screen stars.

5.	a single step in natural descent, as of human beings, animals, or plants.

6.	a form, type, class, etc., of objects existing at the same time and having many similarities or developed from a common model or ancestor: a new generation of computers.

7.	the offspring of a certain parent or couple, considered as a step in natural descent.

8.	the act or process of generating; procreation.

9.	the state of being generated.

10.	production by natural or artificial processes; evolution, as of heat or sound.

11.

Biology .

a.	one complete life cycle.

b.	one of the alternate phases that complete a life cycle having more than one phase: the gametophyte generation.

12.	Mathematics . the production of a geometrical figure by the motion of another figure.

13.	Physics . one of the successive sets of nuclei produced in a chain reaction.

14.	(in duplicating processes, as photocopying, film, etc.) the distance in duplicating steps that a copy is from the original work.

ldrnomo

At first I was thinking number 4

But it could be number 6

AK - Jeff

Several matters became of significant embarrassment in the '90s. "The Generation", and "The Partakers" not dying off are among the most notable, and of course duly connected in the minds of Witnesses.

This erasure of doctrine [the eraser began to be applied in 1995] has now completed the circle of 'under the carpet doctrinal clean up for them.

Witness recollection is short term by design. New Light makes sure of that. Ten years hence most [or all ] Jw's will not even recall the 'older understanding', and will defend the correction. Such is the case when an organization has massive input from an ever changing Holy Spirit.

Jeff

hamsterbait

"GEN er a tion"

Gen - short for genital (ie "Dick brained" - the taxidermists are doing a grand job)

er - a word whisker uttered when fishing for the next piece of crap to say.

A - first letter of ASS as in A$$emblies where all this noo light is spewed out of theirs.

tion - what witlesses do - we should SHUN the Witchtower Babble and Trick Society.

I reckon that all is in place now for the "RUG PULL" where anybody who believed their "old Shite" will be told they had raised their own false expectations.

Damn - even my own mother said a while back "they never said anything about 1975."

HB

JeffT

Number 4 works if you define "the same time" as "the period of time from 4BC until the end of the world, whenever that is."

neverendingjourney

How can it be that all the anointed today comprise a "generation?"

This is an easy one to answer. The anointed comprise the generation of Matthew 24:34 because the faithful and discreet slave says they do. What? You do recognize that Jehovah appointed the faithful and discreet slave over his domestics to give them their food at the proper time, do you not?

Brother truthseeker, two other elders and I would like to have a word with you after the meeting is over. Please stick around. We're concerned for your spiritual well-being...

OnTheWayOut

Number 4 works if you define "the same time" as "the period of time from 4BC until the end of the world, whenever that is."

The last change didn't really make sense. It broke down to saying that there will be
people alive in the last days who can see the sign, until the last days are over and
people are destroyed. So "people" will not pass away until all those things occur.

Why should this new light be much better or worse?

If they narrowly defined it as the anointed in the last days (which they might now that
I suggested it), then maybe number 4 or even 3, Most are the same age when they realize
they are anointed- older. But not all are.

I don't like sneaking in "present" with "generation" and "contemporaries." Those are not
part of what was said. Soon, they will be part of a phrase. "The present generation of
Jesus' contemporaries, the anointed." Yuck.

garybuss

They just changed the Bible. It used to say "this generation will by no means pass away", now it says, "the anointed will by no means pass away".

They changed two words in the Bible. Big deal! They've changed a lot more than that. Look at all the "Jehovah's" they added to the New Testament.

The underscore is, they can do whatever they want with impunity.

neverendingjourney

OTWO,

My recollection of the 1995 change is that the society tried to have their cake and eat it too. They seemed to be deliberately ambiguous. The article could be read to provide exactly what you described above, that the "people," whomever they may be, who are alive whenever the great tribulation gets here comprise the generation that will not pass away. However, I remember the society then going on to reinforce that the generation was still a group of people living during a relatively short period of time. If I recall correctly, they used a few examples to show that this or that group of people couldn't be considered to be part of the same generation as people that lived a long time before. I wish I had access to the 95 WT so I could re-read it and refresh my memory.

Although I haven't read the 2/15/08 WT yet, it seems this new teaching completely divorces the term "generation" as used in Matthew 24:34 from any restrictive time element. They seem to want to dump any association between "generation" and a particular time period. They seem to finally be getting away from viewing the term generation as being a particular time frame indicative of how much time would pass between Jesus' invisible enthronement in 1914 and the arrival of the great tribulation. Is this how you read it?

What definiton of generation would you use for the anointed living today?

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