I have been working on several charts to help explain things better and I need an early watchtower reference or book reference which shows the WT's teaching that a generation was 30 or 40 years. Any help is appreciated.
PS, if anyone knows how I might come about a copy of the Watchtower Book Shelf CD-ROM from reexamine.org I would be most appreciative. I am willing to pay the price to whoever was selling it originally. I am not looking for a bootleg copy, unless that is the only way I can get it.....I would prefer to get it from who originally was selling it. Hey, let me see how many times I can say that! Anyway you know what I mean.
PM me in you have any info.
PPS, I currently have the 2003 watchtower library installed on my notebook. It seems to only have WT's back to 1970 but I could have swore that earlier versions had them back to 1950, can anyone confirm this without me having to dig out my old earlier copys and see which one it was.
Thanks to all,
-R
Need References for early 30-40 year generations - Please + other questions
by rassillon 5 Replies latest watchtower bible
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rassillon
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jwfacts
Generation teachings
® To end in 1880 - 100 years from 1780
o To end in 1914 – 70 year generation from 1844
§ To end by 1950 – 30 or 40 year generation from 1914
· To end 1975 – 70 year generation from 1914
o To end by 1980’s- life expectancy of 15 year old from 1914
§ To end by 2000 – life expectancy of 10 year old from 1914
· To end sometime – generation unspecified starting in 1914
Originally the idea of a generation was used to prove that the end would come in 1880, with a generation being either 100 years or 120 years.
Studies in the Scriptures Series 4 1897 ed. p.604
“A "generation" might be reckoned as equivalent to a century (practically the present limit) or one hundred and twenty years, Moses’ lifetime and the Scripture limit. (Gen. 6:3.) Reckoning a hundred years from 1780, the date of the first sign, the limit would reach to 1880”
Later a generation was stated to be 70 years as specified in Psalms and so would end in 1914, 70 years after 1844.
Eventually 1914 was settled on as the start of the generation that would see the end. People that saw 1914 would definitely still be alive when Jesus came at Armageddon. As stated;
True Peace And Security p.70
“Prophetic information in the Bible about our day detail the following: ...The survival of at least some of the generation that saw the beginning of "the conclusion of the system of things."
The King Reigns p.140
“In Jesus’ day, some of the disciples who heard his words, and others of his contemporaries, survived to live through the final “tribulation” on the Jewish system of things. They were the “generation” of Jesus’ time. At this writing, in the United States alone there are more than 10,000,000 persons still living who were old enough to observe “a beginning of pangs of distress” in 1914-1918. Some of these may still survive quite a number of years. Yet Jesus assures us that, before “this generation” passes away, he will come as “Son of man” to execute judgment on Satan’s system of things. (Matthew 24:8, 21, 37-39)”
This generation teaching was continually adjusted to keep people thinking that the end was about to occur. To show that the end would occur in the 1940‘s a generation was shortened down 30 years, based on quotes such as in Webster’s unabridged “The average lifetime of man, or the ordinary period of time at which one rank follows another, or father is succeeded by child; an age. A generation is usually taken to be about 33 years.” Or a generation could be 40 years based on Numbers 32:13, “So Jehovah’s anger blazed against Israel and he made them wander about in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that was doing evil in the eyes of Jehovah came to their end.”
As this time period was drawing to a close without incidence a generation was said to be possibly 70 or 80 years.
Watchtower 1952 September 1 pp.542-543
“The Bible does speak of a man’s days as being threescore and ten or fourscore years; but it assigns no specific number of years to a generation.—Ps. 90:10. … Some persons living A.D. 1914 when the series of foretold events began will also be living when the series ends with Armageddon. All the events will come within the span of a generation. There are hundreds of millions of persons living now that were living in 1914, and many millions of these persons could yet live a score or more years. Just when the lives of the majority of them will be cut short by Armageddon we cannot say.”
In 1968 it was somewhat extended by indicating that discerning could mean a 15 year old. That made the generation already 70 years old, so when the end came in 1975 the generation would be between 70 and 80.
Watchtower 1968 May 1 p.272 (also December 1 p.715)
“Some of the generation that discerned the beginning of the time of the end in 1914 will still be alive on earth to witness the end of this present wicked system of things at the battle of Armageddon.—Rev. 16:14, 16.”
In the Watchtower October 1 1978 the generation was further extended to be those who could ‘observe’ it, children. In 1980 it was said this could include people that were 10 years old.
Watchtower 1980 October 15 p.31
“As indicated by an article on page 56 of U.S. News & World Report of January 14, 1980, “If you assume that 10 is the age at which an event creates a lasting impression on a person’s memory,” then there are today more than 13 million Americans who have a “recollection of World War I.” And if the wicked system of this world survived until the turn of the century, which is highly improbable in view of world trends and the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, there would still be survivors of the World War I generation. However, the fact that their number is dwindling is one more indication that “the conclusion of the system of things” is moving fast toward its end.”
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jwfacts
All the libraries including 2003 goes back to 1950 for the WT and 1970 for the Awake.
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rassillon
Thanks for the ref's, I will look them up!
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All the libraries including 2003 goes back to 1950 for the WT and 1970 for the Awake.
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I must me stuck on stupid..... Yeah I had the Awake radio button ticked.
THANKS. LOL. Yes I am a retard. -
moggy lover
I can't seem to get onto the reexamine.org site to download the WT CDs [the files were too big to download anyway] can anyone tell me where I can purchase them ?
Cheers
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Atlantis
[Studies In The Scriptures, Volume 4, p.605]
"When ye shall see all these things," and since "the sign of the Son of Man in heaven," and the budding fig tree, and the gathering of "the elect" are counted among the signs, it would not be inconsistent to reckon the "generation" from 1878 to 1914--36 1/2 years-- about the average of human life today.