Generation Change

garlic81

I know there was an article on John Barr's comments at the Annual Meeting this year. I've posted the reference below. I'm wondering if they are thinking of changing the belief back to that some annointed alive in 1914 will be alive when the tribulation starts? If so the "overlapping" could be that there would be original ones from 1914 and ones after time period both alive when it begins.

If this change is the case they would really be pushing urgency that the end would be coming within the next couple years. For someone to be annointed in 1914 they would've had to been born even before that. All those people would be 100+ years old and could only live a few more years.

Also it seems that in recent years they have posted some of this new light in the January 15 WT's. The January 15, 2010 WT should be posted on JW.org tomorrow morning, so I guess we'll see if anything is mentioned.

“Jesus Christ meant lives of the anointed who were on hand in 1914 would overlap with those whose lives of the anointed see the start of the Great Tribulation.” We see the urgency of Jesus’ words. The generation will have a definite end, can’t be excessive long. Many of the anointed both older ones and younger ones have died BUT not all will die before the Great Tribulation.

Prov1320

If that's true, it's probably because the GB realized they screwed up with their last explanation of "generations". They left it such that Armageddon could come anytime in the future, perhaps years or decades away. So to correct it and re-introduce the urgency they have to come up with an inane explanation.

How they can possibly justify biblically that the "generations would overlap" is way beyond me!

Could you imagine Jesus pointing to a group of people and saying "this generation will not pass without these things happening, blah blah blah", and then winking at his disciples and saying, "in case you think I am referring to this generation as in these people, I'm not. And in case you are thinking it's my anointed ones in the future, I'm not. It's actually the overlapping of multiple generation that I'm referring to. I just have a real f*cked up way of expressing myself to make myself unclear. Am I clear?"

Sheesh.

Opus92

I have been dying to see how they're going to explain this one away.

diamondiiz

I didn't realize it was in print, I guess if I realy feel like researching they new light I can read the article - do I really want to?

But this explenation doesn't mean shit, with this light one could say that the last days started with Jesus's death as the old generation overlapped the new generation and by some odd twisted logic the younger generation of anointed carried the thought of generation tha Christ spoke of. How confusing is this? Are the old farts going to make the explenation so illogical that rank and file won't even bother meditating on when crap they're being forced to swallow? Maybe.

rockmehardplace

i think i am more confused now than ever before. what i take from it is that the big day will start at some point in time that the ones who see it will be ones who knew ones who were present in 1914, right? so if i was 23 and anointed during 1914, and i died at the age of 89, that would have meant i died in 1980. if someone else was 35 and part of the anointed in 1978, that would make them 66 today. because the one who died in 1980 and the one who was anointed in 1978, they crossed paths. this means that even if the one who is 66 today lives till he is 96, we could ideally have 30 more years. mathematically, you can say that they just bought themselves 30 to 50 years. now that is job security.

OnTheWayOut

Easy there, Diamdondiiz. Nothing is in print from WTS on this yet. Garlic81's words in bold are "spoken words" and he wonders what will be in the WT magazine. Nothing yet. It ain't doctrine until they print it.

Now, the initial question of the urgency by returning the 1914 generation to the equation, I think that ship sailed in 1995. It won't be back. Regardless of how they need urgency, they will not return to essentially the same doctrine as they left in 1995.

I know it's hard for us to imagine how anyone could fall for this crap, but it's a way to make it look like each past doctrine on the generation was getting closer to the current doctrine. New light reveals why they might have thought it was the 1914 generation- because they are involved. New light reveals why they thought it was people in the time of the end who should see the sign- because they are involved. New light reveals how the generation is the anointed- because they are involved. Sure, it's crap. We know it, but the average JW sees it as progress toward current light. We have learned that the average JW is supposed to think that the current light is the absolute truth, no matter how often it was wrong before.

Olin Moyles Ghost

I agree with OTWO. They won't go back to the pre-1995 interpretation. They don't need to.

Look at the growth in publishers since 1995. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but if I recall correctly, the size of the organization has roughly doubled since then.

There are plenty of suckers sheeplike people who are buying what the WTS is selling--even without the "1914 generation" providing a time limit on this system.

Mickey mouse

Olin Moyles Ghost, in 1995 the peak publishers was 5,199,895.

rocketman

I'll believe that they are making yet another change when I see it in print (well, in print here, since I don't have access to the mags anymore). And just because it was mentioned in comments by John Barr or any other GB member does not, in itself, indicate that there's been a change - he may just be speaking of his own accord.

besty

It seems to me that 'genuine anointed' like John Barr are not immune to cognitive dissonance.

For a huge period of his life he has believed the door was closed in 1935. Now recently he has been informed by majority vote of the GB that he has believed incorrectly. Somewhere in the dark recesses of his nearly 100 year old brain may lurk a doubt about the 'genuineness' of his fellow GB.

His speech may be a exercise in self-justification, and may never make it into print - dang majority vote.

Generation Change

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