Sorry, I forgot I have to log in with Mozilla Foxfire if I want to post.
The WT teachings about hell, soul and trinity are not unique to JWs, as well as Michael/Jesus.
The one unique WT teaching that has persisted through Russellites, Bible Students and Jehovah's Witnesses from the beginning is the "Gentile Times ended in 1914" teaching. Originally the Gentile Times end was supposed to be Armageddon in 1914, with Christ's parousia having occurred in 1974 (40 years earlier--a generation). When Armageddon didn't occur, the teaching remained that the Gentile Times had ended in 1914 as evidenced by "the Great War" (WWI). It was not until 1943 that the teaching about Christ's parousia was officially moved from 1874 to 1914 according to the 1973 book by Fred Franz, "God's Kingdom of a Thousand Yeas Has Approached," pg.209, para.55, where he refers to the 1943 book "The Truth Shall Make You Free" as officially revising their chronology of Christ return. However, either way, it remained that the Gentile Times had ended in 1914.
The claim was that only the Russellites/Bible Students/Jehovah's Witnesses "witnessed" Christ's return and was therefore appointed by Christ to be his "Faithful and Discreet Slave" to spread that "good news" that Christ had returned and set up his Kingdom and that generation would see the end of this "old world" (last generation). The "good news of the Kingdom" was that Christ had returned in 1914, set up his kingdom, and if you joined them and preached the "good news" you would never die. You would very soon "survive Armageddon into God's new world." THAT WAS "the good news of the Kingdom" to preach.
JWs now claim they are the only ones preaching "the good news." Ask them now what the "good news" is and they are generally stumbled to give a good answer. They don't know. In earlier years JWs were well aware of what the WT "good news" teaching was. Not any more. They don't even have a good definition of a "generation."
Nevertheless, the reason they have resisted the evidence that refutes their flawed historical chronology (607BC-1914AD) is that their primary teaching of having been appointed by Christ as His F&DS is tied to it being because they "witnessed" His invisible return in 1914 and were found preaching that "good news." All these years later, no Armageddon, they haven't figured out how they can change the root 1914 Gentile Times doctrine and still claim to have been Christ's F&DS all these years. The new generation of JWs would probably never notice, but there are still a lot of older ones who would remember.
~Binadub
