Thank you Fisherman for your replies I think you give some interesting points for thought.
I understand that you were talking to TD. However as the thread was, Another generation, and the opening paragraph said
Remember those guys? The ones born in 1914 that would still be alive when the end of the system arrived.
I think that my father's accepting the good news preached by Jehovah's Witnesses that included this teaching is relevant to the thread.
In an earlier post on this thread I quoted from the book Man's Salvation Out of World Distress At Hand(1975 Watchtower) and TD mentioned the quote in his following post. In this same book on page 47/48 it talks about Isaiah 52/53 and Romans 10. Where it says on page 47/48
The glorification of Jesus Christ in heaven after his extraordinary sufferings as a man on earth was good news, Gospel, Evangel. "Nevertheless," writes the apostle Paul with special reference to his own people, "they did not all obey the good news. For Isaiah says: 'Jehovah, who put faith in the thing heard [from] us? So faith follows the thing heard. In turn the thing heard is through the word about Christ" - Romans 10:16,17.
It goes on to say
A similar thing can be said today....The good news about the Messianic kingdom of Jehovah's "Servant" is better news today than it was nineteen hundred years ago, in apostolic times. In the face of the relatively small proportion of the world's population that has put faith in the "thing heard [from] us" or proclaimed by us, it can truthfully be said: "They did not all obey the good news."
What was preached was the establishment of God's Kingdom and that millions now living will never die I believe as his quote from the Babylon the great has fallen God's Kingdom rules book shows.
The speaker, J. F. Rutherford, then president of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, quoted to the assembled thousands Isaiah 43:8-12 (AV) and then proceeded to say:
Thus we see that those of the temple class are clearly designated as the Lord's witnesses at this time, to bring a message of consolation to the people, that the kingdom of heaven is here, and that millions now living will never die.
'Watchtower June 1 1968 page 331On the Joyful March to Mankind’s Millennium
And no wonder. What good news they have to tell the people! They proclaim the good news that the millennial rule of Christ will begin with this generation and that it will mean ever so many blessings for the people :..’
Awake April 8 1988
Likewise today, most of the generation of 1914 has passed away. However, there are still millions on earth who were born in that year or prior to it. And although their numbers are dwindling, Jesus words will come true, “this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
My father had faith in the good news that he received when it was prophesied/ preached to him by the mouthpiece of Jehovah as far as I could tell and as a JW he would have understood faith as these Watchtower quotes explain
Watchtower September 1st 1969 page 532.
'Jehovah has made many promises of things yet to occur, One may hope that such things will come to pass, but such expression may only be a whimsical wish, not real faith. Faith is more than just an expectation. It is expectation that is assured to such a degree that it is able to support , uphold and guarantee that what is hoped for will become a reality. This is the meaning of hypostasis, a word common in ancient papyrus business documents in reference to guarantees placed on the transactions.
...Substantially the words [hy.po’sta.sis and e’leg.khos] mean that faith gives to things future, which as yet are only hoped for, all the reality of actual present existence,; and irresistibly convinces us of the reality of things unseen and brings us into their presence.” The Expositor’s Greek Testament, Vol.IV page 352.
Watchtower July 15th 1961 page 423
‘And since faith is also “the assured expectation of things hoped for,” it follows that we must also have knowledge of what are the things we may and should hope for. Again, God’s Word provides us with the needed knowledge. It assures us that paradisiac conditions will be restored to this earth, and that on a world-wide scale, and that this restoration work can be expected to begin within the present generation.’
and you say,
JW are convinced "wt" is God's org, HS is behind the preaching work, the meetings, the publications, the assemblies, ,
Which I have to say I find difficult to see as 'faith is assured expectation of the things hoped for" and the original generation teaching that my father accepted as good news was not what you are explaining or what was preached.
The JW who spoke to me about losing their faith in God talked of the new overlapping generation teaching and 1914. I suggested that they speak to the elders. Which they did and received the same response that I would have given. This didn't help much as they had not experienced the same or similar things themselves.
Paul says, 'So faith follows the thing heard. In turn the thing heard is through the word about Christ' but that was the JW problem (the one who spoke to me) the things he had heard.