by Francois 13 Replies latest jw friends
OK. I admit I'm clueless, but I haven't been involved with the JWs for years. And I've not heard here what that new light is supposed to be. I've been very busy living a JW-free life and enjoying it very much.
Could someone please tell me exactly what the lastest flip flop on the 1914 generation is?
Many Thanks.
I think it is kinda like when Clinton said first we have to know the meaning of is. What exactly is the meaning of generation. When I was a JW it was a literal generation 80 years or so. Now, that meaning has flown out the window... I mean, been replace by NEW LIGHT!!!!!
Hi Francois,
In 1995 the WT in an effort to save their butts from the 1914 doctrine came out with the "new light" this generation. It is found in the 1995 WT Nov 15 pps, 10-21. The WT identified this generation with the contemporary masses with their blind guides who together make up the Jewish nation.
In paragraph 20 the WT writes: "Those Jews who paid attention to Jesus' prophetic words realized that their salvation depended, not on trying to calculate the lenghth of a "generation' or of some "dated times or seasons," but on keeping seperate from the evil contemporary generation and zealously doing God's will. So, there you have it Francois. By using doublespeak and gobbledegook the WT can keep the masses swallowing all their propaganda while cleverly burying the 1914 doctrine.
Mr. Shakita
Well, The way it was explained to me was something like this:
'A generation' = all those alive at the same time.
Therefore, 'this generation'- meaning the generation who saw the events of 1914, also includes those who aren't even born yet, but if they are born before the last 1914 witness dies, then they are included in that generation.In short 'the End' could still be 100 years away.
But its all pretty silly really.
Hope I've got that correct anyway.
Hi Francois:
Prior to the Nov1/95 WT, the concept of generation was believed to be the average lifespan of people. They used a scripture to point out that "a man's years are 70 years, 80 years if he has special mightiness." I can vividly remember hearing that people alive in 1914 would have had to be of the age of understanding (young adults). That changed in the late 70s/early 80s when the WTS said that "those born in 1914" would be those identified as the generation that would see the Great Tribulation begin.
The November 1/95 Watchtower, page 18, gives a new definition of the term "generation":
Rather than provide a rule for measuring time, the term generation as used by Jesus refers principally to contemporary people of a certain historical period, with their identifying characteristics.
Love, Scully
Which basically means: the people who are alive when Armageddon comes will be the people who are alive when Armageddon comes.
Pretty good prophecy, what?
Expatbrit
Greetings Francois,
I'm not an active JW, but through some close family members including my wife, I am somewhat familiar with this.
I think a point that is sometimes minimized is that redefining the term "generation" requires a redefinition of the term "pass away." You might remember how clearly it had been taught that the "passing away" of "this generation" was death from old age. For example, the publication The Truth That Leads To Eternal Life stated on page 97:
This generation is getting up in years now. A great number of them have already passed away in death.
In true Orwellian/Watchtoweresque fashion the more important of the two changes in terms of impact on JW theology had been slipped in a month prior to the November 1st Watchtower.
In an article entitled "Guard Your Sense Of Urgency", the October 1st, 1995 issue of The Watchtower had stated on page 28:
"Jehovah God in his infinite wisdom has always given his servants enough information for them to keep their sense of urgency alive. He has kindly assured us that we are in "the last days" of this corrupt system of things. (2 Timothy 3:1) We are continually reminded that we must shine as illuminators until the generation in which we live passes away in the great tribulation, its climax being at HarMagedon.Philippians 2:15; Revelation 7:14; 16:14, 16". (emphasis mine)
Notice how the "passing away" of the "generation in which we live" is not linked with death from old age but with death at Armagedon. All that remained to complete the transformation is the claim that the "generation in which we live" is what Jesus really had in mind when he used the term.
Sure enough, one month later, after having argued against defining a generation by its chronological limits The Watchtower stated on page 19:
"Therefore, in the final fulfillment of Jesus prophecy today, this generation apparently refers to the peoples of earth who see the sign of Christs presence but fail to mend their ways."
Together, these two adjustments make for a very strained and unlikely way to interpret Jesus words, one that the majority of Witnesses cannot begin to explain. For example, no matter whether it was right or wrong, the JW interpretation of Matthew 24:34 prior to this article at least made sense when the definitions are plugged in:
Truly I say to you that this generation (those born around 1914) will by no means pass away (all die off from old age) until all these things (the entire sign from parousia to Armageddon) occurs.
However plugging the new definitions into this verse results in a meaningless tautology:
Truly I say to you that this generation (the entire human race living during the fulfillment of the sign who take no note of it) will by no means pass away (be executed by at Armageddon) until all these things (the entire sign including Armageddon) occurs.
If this is really what Jesus meant, you have to wonder why he even bothered to say it. How Witnesses can put up with this type of infantile semantic legerdemain is beyond me. It's a fairly blatant violation of prepositional logic.
To complicate thngs even further, the Witness doctrine of the great crowd who come out of the great tribulation is inseparably tied to the old understanding of this generation. As the Witnesses understand the term, it would be impossible to even be a prospective member of this great crowd if the tribulation is not going to occur at some future point in your lifetime. Therefore, it is impossible to even identify the group known as the great crowd without defining a generation by its chronological limits
Tom
Edited by - TD on 24 December 2002 11:10:8Edited by - TD on 24 December 2002 11:11:27Edited by - TD on 24 December 2002 11:12:42
No No No !!!!!!
A sister should never teach to a brother. Let males answer this question.
JH writes:
No No No !!!!!!
A sister should never teach to a brother. Let males answer this question.
Nobody here is my brother. So there!!
Love, Scully
