Coming off from my thread on the Great Crowd, (once again thanks TD, AnnOMaly and all the others for their help), a question on the Other Sheep in the 33CE - 1935 CE for the great JWN mind hive.
The QFR in the W86 8/1 P31 ends up with confirming about the Other Sheep pre-33CE:
Someone might reason: Jesus was pointing to a future gathering of “other sheep,” hence the term applies only to those who, after Jesus spoke, would accept the Biblical hope of everlasting life on earth. However, it seems unnecessary to confine the term thusly, as if Jesus were defining matters chronologically or se quentially. We believe that he was stressing that he was the shepherd of the unified sheep. Some sheeplike persons come into a fold to go to heaven. There are also other sheep who will accept him as shepherd; these will be at unity with those first mentioned. Having this view, the term “other sheep” includes men of faith who died before Jesus inaugurated the way to heaven, such as Noah, Abraham, Job, David, and John the Baptizer. (Matthew 11:11; Acts 2:29; Hebrews 10:19, 20) When these are resurrected in the new system of things, they can accept the Fine Shepherd and have the prospect of end less earthly life with the rest of Jesus’ “other sheep.”
But I can't find any clarification regarding non-annointed in the 33CE - 1935CE period being Other Sheep.
In the other thread TD said:
In JW theology, there was only one hope from Pentecost clear up until the supposed proximity of the end made the identification of the Great Crowd possible.
"For 19 centuries there was only the one calling, the heavenly one, with Jehovah being very selective as to who would serve with his Son to make up the Kingdom government. (The Watchtower, February 15, 1982 p. 30)
It is not possible for "Other Sheep" to exist as a class apart from the "Great Crowd" in the Christian era. (Again in JW theology) John only saw two groups, not three.
So does anyone know whether there are any articles suggesting what happens if you are are non-annointed in the 33CE - 1935CE period. I've been researching this for hours on the WT CD-Rom and I can't believe they haven't talked somewhere about if you were non-annointed between in those years.
Or are we left to assume they are Other Sheep by virtue of the 'fact' pre-Christian witnesses are.
Otherwise there's a wacky gap in WT literature/theology! And JW's, like me, just make an (albeit) logical guess that they are OS without the actually WT ever saying so.
(Not wishing to sound like I doubt you TD but I've been mulling this over the weekend and it seems insane that there is such a hole in WT theology!)