This generation will--not pass away"? but according to the WT it has to!--

by prologos 5 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  prologos

  wt writers have decreed, that "this generation" are the partaking anointed, not the general population.

  According to the fresh light of july 15 2013, sealed anointed, FADS& partakers all, will die and go to heaven BEFORE Armageddon.

  Is the great tribulation including Armageddon, not part of the end times prophecy, the WT hallmark?-- therefore:

  the generation, the anointed, HAVE to die BEFORE the end , but

  Jesus said that they* will NOT! pass# away!. as reported in Math 24:34.

  * the generation, period, not the partakers.

  #pass away like being raptured from here to eternity, heavenly.

  IF you take the "talking snake tale" too seriously, you get mired deeper&deeper, finally stuck.
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  aquafrenta

  Revelations relates the to the destruction of Israel by the Roman army. The generation spoken of did witness the desolation of desecration, and the temple was laid down so that no stone stood atop another. (The wailing wall was not part of the temple structure.) The Roman empire was the "Whore of Babalon"

  Christs earthly reign began when he ascended, all of history is changed because of it. The snake was bound and Gods Kindom is established.

  The Olivete discourse describes an eternal singular event. Christ gathers the saints to himself in the heavens when they perish. From heavens perspective it is a singular event, from an earthly perspective it is an on going event. The soul does not sleep, to be absent from the body is to be present with Christ.
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  Captain Blithering

  Nice summary aquafrenta, it's interesting to hear what others believe without having to read pages and pages!
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  Bobcat

  A good question to ask might be: 'How was it fulfilled in the 1st century?' The Society is applying it to "anointed Christians" in our time who (they say) will eventually "pass away." But 1st century Christians did not "pass away." It was the disobedient Jewish system that "passed away." Christians, in contrast, kept growing after the Jewish system ended. So in the 1st century, "this generation" could only refer to the Jewish generation that rejected Jesus. So how could "this generation" in our time (supposing it were to have a modern fulfillment) refer to those who accept Jesus? This is completely opposite of how it was fulfilled in the 1st century. If it did have a modern fulfillment, you would at least expect it to parallel its 1st century fulfillment, not be completely reversed.

  Luke's account, with its surrounding context (Luke 21:29-36) especially highlights the difference between "this generation" and "you" (i.e. the disciples). "This generation" is to eventually "pass away" (vv. 29-32), "But" the disciples are to "watch themselves" so that they might "stand before the Son of Man." Note also the definitive nature of what is going to happen to "this generation": it "will pass away." Versus the tentative nature of what Jesus hoped for his disciples: 'Keep awake so that the day doesn't catch you off guard and you might keep standing before the Son of Man.' Jesus knows, in no uncertain terms, what will happen to "this generation." But he only expresses hope for what might happen to his disciples.

  Note also the use of the verb "pass away." Right in the context of "this generation" it is "heaven and earth" that will pass away, "but my words will never pass away." "Pass away" in the context means, 'to come to nothing, be in vain, go out of existence.' The verb (parerchomai; Strong's 3928) is never used in the NT in the modern sense of "to die," as in a natural death. Instead, when used metaphorically, it has the sense of, 'to be destroyed, go out of existence.' (Compare 2 Cor 5:17; Jas 1:10; 2 Pet 3:10; Also compare its synonym (parago; # 3855) at 1 Cor 7:31; 1 John 2:8, 17) The verses at 2 Peter and 1 John 2 are especially interesting (as is also Revelation 21:1), for they show what Peter and John (1st person listeners to the "this generation" discourse) understood to be 'passing away.' They never speak of faithful Christians as 'passing away.'

  Prologos, that is a good point that, according to the wording of the passage, some of "this generation" would be on hand to see "all these things." Contextually, "all these things" refers to the events of Matthew 24:15-22, 29-31. But the WT takes "all these things" to refer to all of Matthew 24:4-31. In either case, if "this generation" were as the WT wants us to understand it, then some of "this generation" would necessarily have to be around to see everything happen. This would preclude a total rapture of "this generation" before all was said and done.

  Fear of disfellowshipping and being labeled an apostate are the glue that holds this nonsensical teaching together.
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  prologos

  Jesus said the generation will NOT pass away ---.

  WT writers say the generation* WILL pass away. period.

  * groups overlapping

  thank you bobcat for adding meat, to show how questionable the modern application is from all angles.
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  Bobcat

  Jesus said the generation will NOT pass away ---.

  My first thought to that was: (Matthew 24:34) . . .Truly I say to YOU that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur. The subsequent "until" clause, modifies what will happen to "this generation."

  But looking at it again, it's not really discussing how long "this generation" will last. Rather, it's saying that "all these things" will necessarily happen while "this generation" is still around. And the subject and focus of the preceeding verse is "all these things," not "this generation." Hypothetically, according to the wording of the verse, "this generation" could go on for some time after "all these things" take place.

  That is another interesting angle: The WT has changed the focus of the passage from "all these things" to "this generation."

  Thanks for pointing that out. I have to look at what I said above again.

  Just as a side point for those lurking, "all these things" happening before 'this generation passes away' nicely ties together the whole discussion which originated with Jesus polemical remarks starting in Matthew 23:33, including the fact that divine judgment ("all these things") would befall "this generation." (23:36) This leads to the disciples question of "when will these things be?" in 24:3. This literary harmony of the passage also argues that "this generation" could not refer exclusively to Jesus disciples, the ones who would supposedly escape this judgment.

  Take Care