Confused: What does the overlapping generation really mean?

by MicaSmith 57 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  freddo

  Hi MicaSmith I can tell you WHY the WT came up with the overlapping generation in 2010.

  It is because it suits their purpose. The purpose of keeping followers hanging on and justifying their existence as leaders.

  The previous explanations of the generation were so obviously wrong that they had to change it for fear of even more people querying their explanation.

  The explanation that got everyone who is a witness hooked was the one that told us that the generation that "saw 1914" (originally "with understanding" e.g a minimum age of ten - fifteen years old in 1914; but the "with understanding" got dropped as time ran out) would not pass away.

  Even when this explanation was dropped in 1995, some folk clung to the hope that it was still true by telling themselves that a few million round the globe who "saw" 1914 would by no means pass away.

  Now we live at a time where those born in 1914 are 102 years old it is obvious to virtually everyone that the old explanation cannot be sustained any longer. Hence the latest new, new one! (Several explanations since 1995)

  edited to add: Actually Xanthippe, although the long held explanation was dropped in 1995 the overlapping crap wasn't brought out until 2010. There were two or three other crappy explanations in between!
• 

  OUTLAW

  Yeah my brother happened to phone me in '94 because he had heard I was pregnant. I asked him about the generation teaching as it was eighty years since 1914 and he said 'we're not serving Jehovah to a date'.

  ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,A JW Explaining..

  ,,,,,,,,,,.,,,,,,,Overlapping Generations..

  ...........
• 

  Xanthippe

  Thanks Freddo I am only going by what I've read on here!
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  MicaSmith

  Hi Finkelstein:

  So it is basically a fill in? What you wrote makes sense. You are right they put so much into the whole 1914 thing that they are trying to hold onto it. I really appreciate your response. Thank you.

  Hi Xanthippe:

  Thank you so much!

  The thing is the only persons who brings up these dates or anything relating to when Jesus Christ is coming is the GB. No other organization dwells on that issue but everyone knows its importance. So when you really look at it, we are being urged to serve Jehovah to a date. It's implied.

  What I know is the bible says that Jesus Christ will come like a thief in the night, and no human will know when he will come. So they need not present theories as if they have new light from God, that's deceptive.

  Cheers.
• 

  tornapart

  MicaSmith, you might find this of some help from jwfacts overlapping generation
• 

  slimboyfat

  It's the biggest load of nonsense the WT have ever produced. The more you try to understand it the less sense it makes. It's as if they formulated pure nonsense as a test just to discover who would accept it and pretend it makes sense. Really, trying to understand the overlapping generation "teaching" will only result in a sore head.
• 

  Village Idiot

  Why? They could no longer hold on to the 1914 + a human lifetime and they could not come up with anything more imaginative.

  I once thought, before this change, that they would simply extend the generation to either the oldest person alive (currently 116 years old - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susannah_Mushatt_Jones) who was born on or before 1914 or the account in Genesis about 120 years being the time limit before the flood.

  So the overlapping generations not only shows how desperate they are but how unimaginative they've become. If Freddie the wizard were alive today he would have cooked something up much better than the overlapping generations.

  By the way, has anyone on this forum calculated the date in which this overlapping generation is limited to before it becomes falsified or can you have a third overlapping generation?

  
• 

  MicaSmith

  Freddo:

  WOW!!!

  Thank you very much for your explanation. Based on what you wrote it appears that for a very long time they have been toying with the heads of sincere persons. They are basically exploiting the human condition and our collective desire to live under more peaceful conditions.

  Wow that really stings. It's unkind. Jesus was kind and loving. They are not.

  Thank you.
• 

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• 

  Finkelstein

  If it hasn't been discovered yet by observers that the WTS was founded upon false inaccurate interpretation of the bible derived mostly from late 19th century Adventist Dispensationalism theology, meaning the return of Christ and a new world order is about to come into prophetic fulfillment.

  All these alluring pronouncements and derived proclamations did wonderful things for the Watchtower's literature proliferating agenda but it wasn't really strongly supported by the bible or the instructions given by Jesus himself to how his Gospel was to be spread or preached around the world,