Those who saw 1914...

OldSoul

Let's do a little exercise:

If the generation that saw 1914 will not die before Armageddon, as specifically stated by the Prophet Class (the Faithful and Discreet Slave, per current understanding), how many are left?

I'll be generous and say that a nine year old could grasp the sharp 1914 changes JWs cleave to...well, cleave to religiously, I suppose.

According to the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision, accessed online at esa.un.org/unpp, Sept. 1, 2005, there are about 265,000 persons age 100 or older (that is, who were alive in 1905) in 2005. In other words, world-wide there are fewer from the "generation" that saw 1914 than many city populations in the U.S. alone.

Now, suppose for the sake of ludicrous forebearance, we say that the Prophet Class is allowed a Mulligan (a concept flatly disallowed by Deuteronomy 18:20-22 and 1 John 4:1). Let's say it is the identifying characteristics of the generation that would not pass away.

How much do you have in common with those 50 years older than you, when it comes to "identifying characteristics?" Gender, perhaps. Likely you both have hair, although it probably grows from differing places. You might even both enjoy the occasional candied yam.

What about those who are 9 years old today? How much do they really have in common, in the way of "identifying characteristics" with someone 90 years older?

I'm sure you can probably guess the point. Aside from traits that are common to all humans no matter which point in time you look to, a 9-year-old has nothing whatsoever in common with a 90-year-old.

So, the generation that saw 1914 is dead no matter which way you shave the hairs. That "generation of identifying characteristics" has been dead for longer than the physical generation. Technology killed it. Television killed it. NASA nailed the coffin shut. MTV buried it. Thought some might benefit from this.

Respectfully,
OldSoul

Leolaia

That's all well and good, but the Society hasn't used "1914" and "generation" in the same sentence since 1995.

OldSoul

Leolaia,

Very true. Much like the GB referring to the FDS as a prophet class hasn't been done in a long time. However, neither have they recanted their former assertions. Which means, according to their dogma, the old light is still current. Thankfully for me.

Otherwise, I might be speaking abusively of glorious ones. As it is, I am speaking abusively of "false prophets" at best, in imitation of Christ.

Respectfully,
OldSoul

TD

But Old Soul,

When do they actually "recant" anything? The most they ever admit to is, "refinement" or "adjustment"

In 1995, they didn't just redefine the word "Generation," they redefined the meaning of the term, "Pass away" as well.

To JW's, "Passing Away" no longer means dying of old age; it means execution at armageddon. (This happened exactly one month before the word, "Generation" was redefined.) Therefore "Passing away" no longer has anything to do with human longevity.

OldSoul

Ah. So they lied in 1984. I see. They were false prophets then, but NOW they are true prophets. Refinements on procedure and doctrine I can stomach. Two different meanings of the same prophecy cannot be true, one is false or the other is. Was "present truth" in 1952, 1972, and 1994 actually false? Were those who proclaimed based on that untrue message "false prophets?"

TD

Ah. So they lied in 1984. I see. They were false prophets then, but NOW they are true prophets

LOL....They have lied every single day of every single year for a long, long time. Their "New" understanding of Matthew 24:34 practically destroys their "Great Crowd" doctrine it its current form. (e.g. If a final generation before the "End" cannot be identified, then neither can their "Great Crowd" be identified either.)

What lie in 1984 do you have in mind?

OldSoul

1984 marks the last year that they printed a specific statement that "generation" meant...er, um...how do I put this delicately? That was the last year they published that "generation" means what "generation" means. After that, they invented a definition and completely overturned their 81-year-old prophecy.

That 1984 understanding actually went back prior to 1914, so it was older than 81.

Ingenuous

"Passing Away" no longer means dying of old age; it means execution at armageddon.

TD, I missed this. Do you have the reference?

TD

Prior to 1995, the JW's had clearly 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.

However the redefinition of the word, "Generation" that they were planning required a redefinition of the term, "Pass Away" as well. This was slipped in

one month prior to the November 1st Watchtower dealing with the word "Generation."

In an article entitled "Guard Your Sense Of Urgency", the October 1st, 1995 issue of The Watchtower 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 this transformation is to claim that the "generation in which we live" is what Jesus really had in mind when he used the term at Matthew 24:34.

Sure enough, one month later, after having argued against defining a generation by its chronological limits The November 1, 1995 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 reduce the sentence to nonsense.

For example, no matter whether it was right or wrong, the JW interpretation of Matthew 24:34 prior to this article at least made grammatical 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.

It's impossible to do this with the new definitions and come up with a coherent sentence.

Ingenuous

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 this transformation is to claim that the "generation in which we live" is what Jesus really had in mind when he used the term at Matthew 24:34.
Sure enough, one month later...

And this is how they do it: subtly, one part at a time, until they've built up an entirely new doctrine without anyone noticing. That explains why the change created by introducing the "Nethinim" bothered me but didn't stay stuck in my craw. The pieces are far enough apart that you can't see the whole picture unless you're looking for it.

Some have argued that the GB is so convinced by their own flavor of "logic" that they don't realize what they're doing. But this seems too deliberate to be unconscious. It's almost malicious.

Those who saw 1914...

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