Couple of interesting observations from the meeting I attended:
1 - As others have commented, the opening song about the "light getting brighter" was blantant and set the stage. I thought, "wow, they wrote a song to be sung everytime they change something"! Guess it will be sung quite a bit.
2 - The WT conductor was gearing up right at the beginning. When he asked the question regarding the change in generation, no one had their hand up. Reluctantly, one of the elders raised his hand to answer. Stammering, he put it out there. Then, followed up with an illustration of his own. He said, that his grandfather fought in WWI and his life overlapped with his grandfather's for about 15 years. So, he was able to learn from him and knew what type of person his grandfather was and some of what he experienced. Same with the annointed who were old enough to recognize the sign of 1914 and the annointed who came along a little later. It's an accurate description of what the WTS is saying, BUT, would anyone claim to be the same generation as your grandfather???? Uh, it renders the word generation useless.
3. The WT conductor really hammered on the point that was brought out in the CO talk but missing from the explaination in the WT where the WTS is saying that the annointed old enough to witness the events of 1914 and recognize the sign are the beginning part of the "generation". The CO specifically mentioned Franz who was born in the late 1800s and was a young adult when 1914 came around and already baptized and thus "annointed". So, the WTC used the same illustration and held up a piece of paper. Then, he said that many on the GB were annointed prior to Franz dying and personally knew him so that their lives overlapped. A second piece of paper was held up. He made sure to then say that the two parts of the generation didn't run consecutively so that their was two entire lifetimes but concurrently, overlapping for some period and then the final part going on a little longer. He said it was a significant change because it meant the end was closer since some of the annointed will be on earth for the great tribulation.
4. Much was made of the other changes. The number of partakers was discussed at length and the WTC said that that really didn't matter because the overlapping was only for those who were already annointed when the first part of the generation was still here.
5. My wife, who never leaves for the bathroom during the middle of the meeting, left for the discussion?! We haven't talked WTS stuff in a long time but she was clearly uncomfortable because she knew this made no sense whatsoever. I decided to not bring it up but rather let her mull it over for a few days. I would rather her bring it up so it doesn't look like I'm picking on the WTS.
It's obvious that they're grasping at straws. Clearly a direct reading of Matthew shows Jesus said that all this stuff would happen in his disciples lifetimes. And, some of the apostles survived to see Jerusalem destroyed. So, if you think it has a second meaning, logic would dictate a similar pattern. So, instead of admitting that the "composite sign" didn't start in 1914 (thus making the appointment as the faithful and discreet slave in their theology a point in the future and taking away the whole "God's organization" claim), they decide to reword what Jesus said.
They have to revive a sense of urgency because the change in 1995 had the effect of removing the end from something that could happen tomorrow to something that will happen sometime in the future. This change bought them maybe 20 years? Of course, it doesn't make any sense but the WTC did his best to sell it. He's a bright guy and did a good of trying to make it fit. But, there was an air of uneasiness and afterward only one person made metion of it to me and he said he would need to reread it because his head was spinning.
