For those that have seen this stuff before, I’m sorry for the redundancy.
But I needed to do this for me. I needed to see it with my own research from the tools provided by the Borg.
The word generation receives this many hits:
1995=149 hits
1996=16 hits
1997=67 hits
1998=18 hits
1999=34 hits
*** w95 11/1 17 A Time to Keep Awake ***
6 Not only must we pay attention to the inspired prophecies concerning these final days of a wicked system but we must anchor our faith primarily on the precious sacrifice of Christ Jesus and God’s marvelous promises based thereon. (Hebrews 6:17-19; 9:14; 1 Peter 1:18, 19; 2 Peter 1:16-19) Eager to see the end of this evil system,Jehovah’s people have at times speculated about the time when the “great tribulation” would break out, even tying this to calculations of what is the lifetime of a generation since 1914. However, we “bring a heart of wisdom in,” not by speculating about how many years or days make up a generation, but by thinking about how we “count our days” in bringing joyful praise to Jehovah. (Psalm 90:12) Rather than provide a rule for measuring time, the term “generation” as used by Jesus refers principally to contemporary people of a certain historical period, with their identifying characteristics.
*** w95 11/1 21 A Time to Keep Awake ***
20 “The time left is reduced,” said the apostle Paul. It is time, therefore, to keep ever awake and busy in Jehovah’s work, as we endure trials and hatreds imposed by a wicked generation of mankind. (1 Corinthians 7:29; Matthew 10:22; 24:13, 14) Let us keep on the watch, observing all the things foretold in the Bible to come upon “this generation.” (Luke 21:31-33) By escaping these things and by standing with divine approval before the Son of man, we may at last attain to the prize of everlasting life.
*** w95 11/1 31 Questions From Readers ***
Yes, in the initial fulfillment, “this generation” evidently meant the same as it did at other times—the contemporaneous generation of unbelieving Jews. That “generation” would not pass away without experiencing what Jesus foretold. As Williamson commented, this proved true in the decades leading up to Jerusalem’s destruction, as an eyewitness historian, Josephus, described.
In the second or larger fulfillment, “this generation” would logically also be the contemporaneous people. As the article beginning on page 16 establishes, we need not conclude that Jesus was referring to a set number of years making up a “generation.”
*** w95 11/1 31 Questions From Readers ***
On the contrary, two key things can be said about any time implied by “generation.” (1) A generation of people cannot be viewed as a period having a fixed number of years, as is the case with time designations meaning a set number of years (decade or century). (2) The people of a generation live for a relatively brief period, not one of great length.
*** w97 6/1 28 Questions From Readers ***
Questions From Readers
“The Watchtower” of November 1, 1995, focused on what Jesus said about “this generation,” as we read at Matthew 24:34. Does this mean that there is some question about whether God’s Kingdom was set up in heaven in 1914?
That discussion in The Watchtower offered no change at all in our fundamental teaching about 1914.
*** w97 6/1 28 Questions From Readers ***
So the recent information in The Watchtower about “this generation” did not change our understanding of what occurred in 1914. But it did give us a clearer grasp of Jesus’ use of the term “generation,” helping us to see that his usage was no basis for calculating—counting from 1914—how close to the end we are.
Let the reader use discernment.
-Zev, honourary member, The hurling class
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Zev
The greatest consistancy of the WTBTS is their INconsistancy.