The 144,000 only going to heaven doctrine is very deeply rooted in the JW religion. I just don't see how the GB could toss that belief after all these years and anyone remaining believe anything they say afterwards. Of course, this new GB put out "over-lapping" generation.
AlphaMan ...
The "Generation that saw 1914" was also deeply rooted in JW land. These long-held beliefs don't get reversed or changed overnight. It simply requires articles over time that begin to put doubt in it as originally thought.
Just saying somthing like "the 144,000 has been a literal number but of course we will have to wait and see .... blah blah blah".
The "doubt" could be introduced over a number of years and then the sheeple convince themselves that the current understanding at that time is the way it has always been.
Rub a Dub