MAJOR DOCTRINE CHANGE IN 1/15/2014 WT ON GENERATION TEACHING

by EndofMysteries 55 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  blondie

  Until I believe the July WT of this year, the great tribulation 'began' back around 1914 and was somewhat on pause.

  --------

  This teaching was changed/dropped in 1970 and I do believe the WTS mentioned that.

  *** w70 1/15 pp. 52-53 pars. 11-13 Peace with God amid the “Great Tribulation” ***

  11

  If, as explained in 1925, the first part of the “great tribulation” began in 1914 and ended in 1918, then the time interval by which “those days” of the tribulation are being cut short has extended itself for fifty-one years and is not yet over. Many of the anointed remnant that witnessed the end of World War I in November of 1918 and others that have been added to the remnant since then have grown old, and some have been killed in persecution or died of old age or other causes. For example, in the year 1948, out of 376,393 that celebrated the Lord’s Supper, only 25,395 partook of the bread and wine to testify that they were of that anointed remnant. But on April 1 of the year 1969, out of 2,719,860 that celebrated, only 10,368 partook of the bread and wine. This included quite a number of the remnant who experienced the “beginning of pangs of distress” during World War I. A number of these should survive still longer to see and go through the war of Armageddon, in harmony with Jesus’ words, at Matthew 24:33-35:

  12

  “When you see all these things, know that he is near at the doors. Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away [unfulfilled].”

  13

  Were the suggestion made in 1925 true as to cutting short the days of the “great tribulation” in the middle, “for the elect’s sake” (Matt. 24:22, AV), what then? Then the time interval between the opening part of the “great tribulation” and the closing Armageddon part thereof will prove to be around five times as long as the length of the “great tribulation” itself. However, in order to correspond with the events of the first century, from the time of Jesus’ departure by ascending to heaven in 33 C.E. to Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 C.E., the antitypical “great tribulation” did not begin in 1914 C.E. Rather, what took place upon Jerusalem’s modern antitype in 1914-1918 was merely “a beginning of pangs of distress” for her and her political allies. The “great tribulation” such as will not occur again is yet ahead, for it means the destruction of the world empire of false religion (including Christendom) followed by the “war of the great day of God the Almighty” at Armageddon against the political allies of Babylonish false religion. In that “great tribulation” the present system of things must end in its religious and political phases.
• 

  Bobcat

  EndOfMysteries:

  Thanks for providing the quote. I've gotten to the point where I don't bother to even look at the WT, except maybe to scan the 'headlines' so to speak.

  There was a time when I would have had the entire magazine read before I left the post office where we would first get them (Anyone remember those days?).

  They should call this the "Overlapping Lies" doctrine:

  • Saying that Matthew 24:34 applies to anything other than the "generation" referred to at 23:36
  • Saying that "this generation" refers to Christians. Compare Luke 21:32 with what Jesus hoped for his disciples in 21:34-36.
  • Saying that "this generation" (ho genea aute, "the generation this") refers to two overlapping generations. Aute ("this") makes the reference specific. It is pointing back to a specific generation (contextually, the one mentioned in 23:36).
  • Saying that "this generation" will survive to the START of the GT. "All these things" includes the entire sequence from 24:15-31.

  Take Care.
• 

  wasblind

  Let us be clear on this as the as the Jan 15 study edition is a huge change yet again to this overlapping idea .....

  It is NOT an overlapping generation in terms of birth and death....It is NOT for instance that someone who was alive in 1914 and understood what was occuring___________Notsurewheretogo

  .

  Yet again, the " troof " changes to buy the false prophet time

  But we know what they used to claim

  .

  .

  " Before the last members of the generation that was alive in 1914 will have passed off the scene, all things foretold will occur, including the " Great tribulation " in which the present wicked world will end."____Reasoning from the scriptures book page 97

  .

  .

  " The "generation " that was alive at the beginning of fulfillment of the sign is now well along in years. The time remaining must be very short._____Reasoning from the scriptures book page 239

  .

  .

  ON page 239 the WTS put " " around the word generation to stipulate that there would be no other. not even an overlap

  .

  .

  If Someone Says_____

  ' How do you know that some future generation won't fit the prophecy even better than this one ? '

  You might reply:

  " But what would happen today if fulfillment of the sign required that we wait until another all-out war were to break out between the superpowers."

  Or you could say :

  " The pattern of events that began in 1914 will not be repeated in some future generation."_____Reasoning from the Scriptures Book page 242

  .

  .
• 

  confusedandalone

  @wasblind... this is very striking to read.

  I know it is there but the wording here is so sure and has no room for error.

  It is actually a shame that people are to blinded or scared not to stand up to these people and their crap. I want someone to come to my door so I can ask them questions to make them turn to this info in the reasoning book - then have them place the latest watchtower with me only to realize that what they just showed me is apostasy. I can imagine it would feel like this

  
• 

  WTWizard

  Just another way to confuse people. For sure, this is not going to be possible to teach outsiders. When I was studying, it was "those who were alive to see 1914". A lie, but one that was plausible and simple to understand. Now, they are stringing generations like Christmas tree lights, changing their "generation" every few years, and tying it to the beginning of a Great Tribulation that could start any time and go on forever under mass human enslavement. This is getting harder for the average person to understand.

  And they wonder why they have such wretched results in getting LIE-ble studies. All this does is wastes people's time who are trying to understand it, while preventing them from doing anything to gain a mindset where they are not constantly struggling. Poverty, tyranny, sickness, being exploited--all while joke-hova is laughing at them. Each time they change "a generation", it either becomes more blatantly false or it becomes more confusing--either way, a waste of time to go to boasting sessions trying to learn or teach people in field circus.
• 

  leaving_quietly

  The 1/15/14 change isn't quite as major as it's made out to be. If you compare it to the 2010 change, it's only a little different.

  First, as Blondie mentioned, the GT starting in 1914 hasn't been taught in decades. It's been future for as long as I've known.

  Second, the change has to do with who it applies to, specifically around when they were anointed. The 2010 change had it apply to the anointed only, so that limits the scope. The 1/15 change makes it so that the 1914 side only has people who are anointed in or before 1914, and the overlapped generation has to be anointed during the time those of the first group were still on earth. They go on to say, "Thus, not every anointed person today is included in “this generation” of whom Jesus spoke." as if they know that all those in the first group have died off.
• 

  EndofMysteries

  Several seem to have maybe missed the change, it's not overlapping generations, it's the fact that it's NOT "the end("armageddon" they will see anymore, it's "the beginning of the great tribulation". Since there is no time limit for the great tribulation, if suddenly masses start to exit, they can say, "bam the GT just started". Then they will drag on that for as many years as they can, until more new light.
• 

  notsurewheretogo

  Disagree really EndofMysteries...the WT has always said that the GT will be "relativley short"...they have said in the past that it wouldn't make sense for it to last months and months...and as far as I know they have not changed that...it is widely accepted the GT will be very fast as Babylon The Great is done away with "in one hour"...

  So I feel the change of overlapping generations of anointed followers rather than overlapping births/deaths is the biggest thing here...but that is my opinion...I'm sure I can find a quote from the WT on the GT being quite short if I had access to the CDROM...I'll look it up later.
• 

  KateWild

  bam the GT just started". Then they will drag on that for as many years as they can, until more new light.-EM

  Good point, write to the GB about your idea, they will be grateful for your input in helping them. They are drowning in their own vomit they spew out.
• 

  leaving_quietly

  Please, no offense intended here, but that's not a change, EOM. JWs today do not believe the GT has started in the past, and has, for as long as I can remember, believed it to be future. I think you're making something out of nothing with this one.

  What JWs DO believe is that once the GT starts, it's all over for you. If you're in, you're in. If you're not in, you're out. Decision cast in stone, essentially. No chance for changing oneself. If one were practicing bad things up to the GT and the GT started, there would be no chance to survive past the big A. I have personally never seen this belief in print (it may be somewhere, but I'm too lazy today to look it up), but this has been perpetrated by COs and DOs for the past decade or so. Oh, and I would mention that "the end" to JWs is essentially from the GT through the big A. The GT is 'the start of the end', so to speak.