1914 is the set up for the Two-Salvation System taught by the WT. Here's a paper I wrote on this for a class I conducted just the other day:
Just because some believers in
different time periods may have a different position, authority, destination,
reward, function etc.; the scriptures are clear that they are all legally
declared righteous by faith and not by works. The “Great Crowd” takes part of
the New Covenant as is evident from a plain reading of Rev. 7: 14 – “And he said to me, These are
they who come out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood
[covenant] of the Lamb.”
Even though the bible says that, 1.)
“the great crowd” achieves a righteous
standing by the blood of the lamb, and 2.) that blood is only accessed by faith
in Jesus’ New Covenant, and 3.) the New Covenant is for “forgiveness of sins”(Mt.
26: 27&28); modern Jehovah’s
Witnesses DO NOT profess to be a
part of the New Covenant and do not partake of the bread and the wine emblems
at their observance of the Lord’s Supper. They are taught that door was
shut in 1914 and for sure by the expiration of the “generation” thereafter.
They believe their salvation is achieved by association with and obedience to
the “faithful & discreet slave class” aka – Bride of Christ, aka – 144K
“spiritual Israelites”; which is now the leaders of the Watchtower – the last
remnant of true church age Believers.
Watchtower leaders thus position themselves as
co-mediators with Christ. Official church doctrine is that Christ is only a
Mediator for Church Age Believers (of which leaders are the last true remnant)
and Jesus
in not the Mediator for the “Great Crowd”. – WT 4/1/79 p.31
The great weakness in Watchtower
theology is that most JW’s are not aware that Jesus is not their Mediator, according
to official WT doctrine. Most have not stopped to consider that the Great Crowd
is made “white” by the “blood of the lamb” – the New Covenant. JW’s are also completely unaware of a personal judgment after death(Hebrews 9:
28), and hence a personal savior seems unnecessary, if not ought right silly. When a personal judgement is pointed out to
them, they are unable to provide an explanation of how they will personally
escape judgment, while positioned outside of the New Covenant…. especially
after Mt. 26: 27& 28 is read to them where it plainly states in their own
bible that the New Covenant is specifically for “the forgiveness of sins”.
The (UN) Importance of 1914
The “Generation of 1914” was
bedrock Watchtower doctrine for nearly 100 years and explains much of
Watchtower error. The doctrine stated unequivocally that the generation that
saw 1914 would not pass away until Jesus returned all the way to the earth to
wipe out his enemies at the battle of Armageddon. As time marched on further
and further away from 1914, with no earthly return; the Watchtower changed its
definition of “generation” many times in an attempt to explain the failure. At
first, the term was applied to those old enough to understand the events of
1914 (WW 1). Then it was applied to those born
in 1914 or before. Then it was changed from “70 or 80 years” to a maximum
length of 100 years. Since it has now been over 100 years, the Watchtower has
once again changed the definition of “a generation” to mean, “over-lapping
generations” indicative of an undetermined period of time. Most Jehovah’s
Witnesses admit this is nonsense, even if they do not publically acknowledge
it. Yet, this is still the basis for
their personal rejection on the New Covenant.
In light of the embarrassing
manipulation of the term “generation” to fit a failed prediction; doesn’t it
make more sense that: it is the 1914
date of “Christs’ Arrival/Presence” that is wrong? Consequently, common
sense dictates that that we are all still living in the Church Age/Age of
Grace/Gentile Times.
Here's a link for downloading and printing if anyone finds this useful.
