Overlapping Generation
by pandorasbox1914 104 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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PetrW
Just a note on the "overlapping" generation or group.
I think the focus of Jesus' statement in Matt 24:34 is not just on the generation (and its duration), but on the preceding determination that "surely/in no way/will pass away", this generation. Jesus, in my opinion, is emphasizing that this will occur before(!) the generation that heard this should pass away. JWs have commented many times - as someone here has already stated, on the generation and its expected length, but on the concept of "certainly will not pass away" (generation), I, myself, have not found any detailed analysis by JWs...
If sometime around 30-33 AD (the length of Jesus' preaching itself is an interesting theological question = I think it lasted at least 14 months or took up three Passover feasts, which would correspond to no more than two calendar years, cf. The statement about the high priest Annaniah and Caiaphas) Jesus claimed in answer to the apostles' question about when the "end of the age" would occur, then not only to them but to the other early disciples, whether they were 20 or 30 or 50 years old, it was clear that they would experience some "end of the age" because it would occur before they were to die a natural death. Shortly after Jesus was born, the prophetess Anna (Luke 2:37), who was 84 years old, came to him. So Jesus' listeners had a realistic chance of living to the age of, say, today's European population.
If the little "end of the age" occurred in 70 AD, about 40 years after Jesus spoke it, then it really occurred before the generation of listeners of that time had "passed away." Those 30 year olds, though old, still had a chance to live another year...
If I transpose this reasoning to 1914, then one who was the age of Jesus' listeners in 1914 would have to assume that no later than about 40 years later, the final "end of the ages" would very likely have to occur sometime between 1950 and 1960. The end of the age would simply have to occur before a generation died. Sometime after 1990, there was a definitive break in the chronological speculation of "1914" because the generation passed away, but before(!), no end of the age occurred.
The JW's are forced to create a de facto copy of "apostolic succession", very similar to the Catholic bishops, where one group/generation will pass legitimate power to each other based on close contact with each other - those JW's who are from geographically distant areas are out of luck for the coming century - the history of the papacy, is proof of this...
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DesirousOfChange
One doesn't hear "1914" or "generation" much today. I suspect WT is wishing they would just go away!
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ExBethelitenowPIMA
A few times lately when 1914 was mentioned the publications now say “about 14” or around 1914
so they obviously see the need to distance themselves from this old dogma that was made up by men long since died.
but the problem is if the governing body are who they claim to be then this is from Jehovah himself and if it is wrong then these fat old men are not who they claim to be.
They have painted themselves into a corner and there is no way out.
we are too far away from 1914 already and every year that passes the situation gets worse and worse
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Vanderhoven7
Examine one overlapping generation