Posts by MacHislopp

posted

4
"Opportunity Lost" blog-University of Calgary-by ethics expert on Hughes case with Marvin Shilmer's comment
by AndersonsInfo in
1. watchtower
2. medical
http://ablawg.ca/2009/05/27/opportunity-lost/.

opportunity lostwritten by:alice woolley.

case considered:hughes (estate) v. brady, 2009 abca 187. pdf version:opportunity lost.
MacHislopp

Hello everyone,
excellent information and a great point by Marvin.
I'll keep as a reference.
Greetings
J.C. MacHislopp
13
The temples inspection, by the slave s master.
by MacHislopp in
1. watchtower
2. bible
hello everyone, in recent times the society has written/referred  quite a lot  about the prophecy of malachi 3:1-3, the inspection  of the temple etc.   im posting it , hoping that it will be of help to some, because imho, it shows -  for the doubtful - how fragile  are  the foundations of another important idea/doctrine/teaching of the wtbs inc.   (malachi 3:1-3) look!

i am sending my messenger, and he must clear up a way before me.

and suddenly there will come to his temple the [true] lord, whom you people are seeking, and the messenger of the covenant in whom you are delighting.
MacHislopp

Hello everyone,

I'm sorry and I do apologize for the mess made. Here below the...
correct post:

Inqusitive mind would like to know about ' the time of the end'. I've an updated version of this topic.Here we go:
1*Just…reminders :

w94 1/1 20 The Watchtower and Awake!-Timely Journals of Truth Magazines That Advocate Truth
3Jehovah is the God oftruth.(Psalm 31:5) His Word, the Bible, is a book oftruth.(John 17:17) Honesthearted people respond totruth.(Compare John 4:23, 24.) One reason that TheWatchtower and Awake! have touched the hearts of millions of readers is thatthey are journals of integrity andtruth.In fact, it was over the issue of loyalty to Bibletruththat TheWatchtower began to be published."

2*

"The Watchtower"May, 1 st , 2002 page 16, paragraph 9 )
"Comparably, formore than a centurynow, the anointed brothers of Christ, those with the heavenly hope, have served as " a holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God."
(1 Peter 2:5)
They have taken the lead in dispensingBible truths
to others. As you have learnedtruthsthat they teach, have you not found from experience that the very law oftruthhas proved to be in their mouth? They have helped to turn many backfrom religious error,so that now ther are millions throughout the world who have learnedBible truthsand who have the hope of everlasting life.
These, in turn, have the privilege of teaching the law oftruthto yet other millions.- John 10:16; Revelation 7:9 .-"

3

*TheWatchtower, May 1st, 2002 p. 16 §10
"It would be easy to develop the habit ofcouchingone's words
in termas that are technically accurate but misleading.Or one
might exaggerate or hidedetails in a business matter. Would
Jehovah not see that?And if we followed such practices, would he
accept sacrifices of praise from our lips?

Statements/teachings/quotes about :
"the Time of the end ..."
(...forthe last86years)
* September 10th,1922 at the IBSA Convention -Cedar Point, Ohio, (U.S.A.)
"...to make way for the everlasting kingdom of righteousness now being set up, and that millions of people now living on earth, if obedient to the lawsof that righteous kingdom, will continue to live and never die; and we call upon all nations..."
(cfr.'The Watch Tower ' , November 1st , 1922 pages 324-325Resolution , point 13 )
-The Resolution was adoptedat theConventionCedar Point, Ohio, September 10 ,1922.-
* year1934
" Universal war is absolutely certain to come and that soon, and no power can stop it.... During the few remaining months until the breaking of that universal cataclysm the powers that rule the nations of the earth will continue to make treaties..."
from the booklet." Universal War Near", pages26, 27-J.F.Rutherford.- published by theWTB&TSociety in1934
* year1941
"Cartons of Children that had been deposited in The Arena were now opened,.... Receiving the gift, the marching children clasped it to them, not a toy or plaything for idle pleasure, but the Lord's provided instrument for most effective work in the remaining months beforeArmageddon."
fromThe Watchtower, September 15, 1941 page288.
* year1942
"Armageddon is surely near.... Our hope is that within a few years our marriage may be consummated and, by the Lord's grace, we shall have sweet children that will be an honor to the Lord. We can well defer our marriage until lasting peace comes to the earth. "
From thebook" Children,"page366- J.F.Rutherford -publishedbytheWTBT Society in1942
*w 19501/15 22Who Will Share in the Final Witness? ***
MEN say that history repeats itself. The history of past divine warnings and executed judgments will, for God's Word says that "it all happened to them by way of warning for others, and it was written down for the purpose of instructing us whose lot has been cast in theclosing hours of the world".(1 Cor. 10:11, Moffatt)
*w 19508/1p.227 Serving with the Servant ***
Such Kingdom interests must be guarded, watched and increased amid the turbulence of this world'sclosing years.Nor would any human or demon attraction or the confused events occurring in these fateful days succeed in diverting the faithful stewards from their service.
*** w503/1 p. 73par.15 UnitingOurPraisesUniversally***
15 What was true in the days of the apostles is more true at this time as we see the day of Armageddon's trouble fast approaching. No one today who wants to serve God acceptably can afford to ignore the injunction at Hebrews 10:25 (AnAmer.Trans.): "Let us not neglect meeting together as some do, but let us encourage one another, all the more as you can see that the great Day is coming nearer."
*** w5011/1 p.406 par.3NewSystemsofThings***
This separating work has been going on since A.D. 1919 as a result of the Kingdom testimony delivered by Jehovah's witnesses in all nations of the earth. The fact now that the weeping and gnashing of the teeth of the rejected unworthy ones has begun proves we are near the climax of the dividing work and that the accomplished end is near upon this world.-Matt. 13:39-42, 47-50; 24:14, NW.
*w 1958 8/1464Calling the Members of the Kingdom of Heaven ***
If any of the remnant now in attendance at the room for the wedding ceremonies fall out for failure to keep on the wedding garment, others will be brought in by the King to take their places. Seeing that we are now in theclosing yearsof this present system of things,that process may be about completed.
*w 19688/15/1968 pages 499-501
This is, therefore, no time to be indifferent and complacent. This is not the time to be toying with the words of Jesus that 'concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.' To the contrary, itis a timewhen one should be keenly aware thatthe endof this system of things israpidly coming toits violent end.".
*** w705/1 p.267 KeepCloseinMind"TheConclusionoftheSystemofThings"***
HOW DOWEKNOW?
9 ....There are quite a number of proofs. Several events are recorded in history when earlier systems of things came to their end, those events being prophetic of our time. We also have Jesus' testimony and that of other inspired writers regarding the conclusion of this system. Bible chronology indicates the rapid approach of the end for this old system under the god of this world, Satan. Additional evidences include Bible prophecy now in course of fulfillment and the testimony of world leaders ..."
*** w705/1 p.273 par.5AnIngatheringAffectingAllMankind***
How close we may exactly be to the end of the present divisive system of things cannot be predicted, as Jesus reported that even he did not know the day or the hour at the time of his earthly ministry. (Matt. 24:36) However, Bible chronology which indicates that Adam was created in the fall of the year 4026 B.C.E. would bring us down to the year 1975 C.E. as the date marking 6,000 years of human history with yet 1,000 years to come for Christ's Kingdom rule. So whatever the date for the end of this system, it is clear that the time left is reduced, with only approximately six years left until the end of 6,000 years of human history. (1 Cor. 7:29) This corroborates the understanding of Jesus' words that the generation alive in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I would not pass away until the end comes . Only a short time, then, remains for persons who love righteousness to show God that they want to be in his "ark" of protection and live to see the blessings of the new system of things.-Matt. 24:34-42.
*1971 book"The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah"-How? * *** kj 216-7 12 "Until He Comes Who Has the Legal Right" **
9Shortly,within ourtwentieth century,the 'battle in the day of Jehovah'will begin against the modern antitype of Jerusalem, Christendom. The ancient 'soil of Israel' pictures the realm in which Christendom has operated. It pictures the standing and relationship that Christendom has claimed to occupy with God by means of his 'new covenant' of which Jesus Christ is the mediator.
*w 19719/15 570-1God Wisely Selects Earth's Rulers ***
Then he would proceed to gather together all his prospective Kingdom associates on earth, called a 'remnant,' for testing and final approval. (1 Thess. 4:16, 17; Rev. 12:10, 17) World conditionsin fulfillment of prophecyindicate that we are inthe closing daysof this gathering,called the "harvest."
*g 197311/8p.6WhyYouShouldBeConcerned***
Why? Because in so many areas human failure is not just a 'passing phase. It is direct evidence in fulfillment of Bible prophecy showing that we are living in theclosing yearsof this wicked system of things. Long ago the Bible foretold of our generation that "wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse, misleading and being misled." (2 Tim. 3:13)
***1981 trchap.11pp.94-95 par.3TheLastDaysofThisWickedSystemofThings***
3 ...Persons born even as much as fifty years ago could not see "all these things." They came on the scene after the foretold events were already under way. But there are people still living who were alive in 1914 and saw what was happening then and who were old enough that they still remember those events. This generation is getting up in years now. A great number of them have already passed away in death. Yet Jesus very pointedly said: "This generation will bynomeans pass away until all these things occur." Some of them will still be alive to see the end of this wicked system . This means that only a short time is left before the end comes! (Psalm 90:10 [89:10, Dy]) So now is the time to take urgent action if you do not want to be swept away with this wicked system.
*** w8411/15 p.23 par.8"TheTimeLeftIsReduced"***
8 ....The end will come in our day, and all the evidence indicates that it is very near indeed. Hence, day after day our pattern of life should reflect that conviction. Moreover, the fact that we have progressed so far into the final days of this system should fill us with determination to do our utmost in the fine and very urgent work of declaring the good news as Jehovah's cleansed and zealous witnesses.-Titus 2:13, 14.
*** w8412/1 p.19 pars.18-19KeepReady!***
18 Similarly today, it would be highly dangerous for Christians to rationalize about the urgency of our times and adopt a "cruising speed" attitude that reflects doubt about the nearness of the end.
19 The parousia, or presence, of Christ has now run for 70 years, and his "coming" for "Jehovah's day" of execution against Satan's world is fast approaching. The apostle Peter says that this day "will come as a thief," and he adds that we should 'await and keep close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah.' (2 Peter 3:10-12)
*w 1993 4/1p.18WhoAreFollowingtheLightoftheWorld?***UrgenttoFollowtheLight
19Now, in thefinal yearsof this evil system, it is urgent to follow the light of the world. And we need to be on guard, for there is an intense war being waged to keep us from walking in the light. This opposition comes from the powers of darkness-from Satan, his demons, and his earthly organization.
*w 1994 4/15p.10HelpfulTeachingforOurCriticalTimes***
But even if you were born after 1914, you have witnessed Jesus' prophecy coming to pass. The events of this 20th century overwhelmingly prove that we are now livingin the conclusionof this present wicked system.
*w 1994 9/1p.13DespiteBeingMadeofDust,PushAhead!**
20Now, during theconcluding yearsof Satan's world system, is not the time to slow down-not as far as Kingdom preaching is concerned and not as far as developing more fully the fruitage of God's spirit is concerned. «
*w 97 8/15p.22"SoundnessofMind"astheEndDrawsClose***
21How much timeis left remainingwe do not know.Yet, we can say with confidence that "the endof all things hasdrawn close." Until that end comes, let us live with "soundness of mind" in our dealings with one another, in the way we care for our families, and in our secular responsibilities
*** w971/1 pp.10-11 par.17LetAllGlorifyJehovah!***
. In the 1930's the reverse took place. A decreasing number were "called and chosen" to be among the 144,000 whereas a tremendous increase began in the number of the "great crowd" of "other sheep." This great crowd continues to multiply as the world's wicked system nears its end at Armageddon.-Revelation 17:14b.
*** w971/1 p.11 par.18LetAllGlorifyJehovah!***
18 In the early 1920's, a featured public talk presented by Jehovah's Witnesses was entitled "Millions Now Living Will Never Die." This may have reflected overoptimism at that time. But today that statement can be made with full confidence. Both the increasing light on Bible prophecy and the anarchy of this dying world cry out that the end of Satan's system is very, very near!
*** w979/1 p.21 KeepJehovah'sDayCloseinMind
Eagerness fortheEndtoCome
14 ....Since the year 1914, we have seen the sign being fulfilled that Jesus gave for "the conclusion of the system of things" as well as the things the apostle Paul mentioned would identify "the last days." (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Truly, the evidence is overwhelming that we are living in the time of the end of this system of things!
*w 1998 1/1p.11DoNotGiveUpintheRaceforLife!***
20 Today, we know that another great "day of Jehovah" willsoonaffect this whole system of things. (Joel 3:12-14)We do not knowwhen that day will come.But God's Word assures us that come it will! Jehovah says it will not be late. (Habakkuk 2:3; 2 Peter 3:9, 10)
*w 19988/1519 Strengthening Our Confidence in God's Righteousness
Inthe near future,the greatest time of tribulation ever to strike the human race will break forthsuddenly.(Matthew 24:21) When it does, servants of God will need as never before to display confidence in Jehovah's righteousness and in the direction provided by his organization
*** w989/15 p. 15 par.20TimesandSeasonsinJehovah'sHands***
20 Like Noah, Moses, and first-century Christians in Judea, we today can confidently leave the times and seasons in Jehovah's hands. Our conviction that we are living in the time of the end and that our deliverance is drawing near depends, not merely on chronological computation, but on real-life events in fulfillment of Bible prophecies.
*w 98 9/15p.13TimesandSeasonsinJehovah'sHands***
We too are convinced thatour deliverancefrom the present wicked system of thingsis approaching.We know that we are living in "the last days." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
*w 98 9/15pp.18-19Waitingin"EagerExpectation"***
Their faith does not need to be propped up by time calculations. They keep busy in Jehovah's service, providing a wonderful example for their companions, the "other sheep." (John 10:16)These anointed ones know that this wickedsystem's end is near,and they heed Peter's exhortation: "Brace up your minds for activity, keep your senses completely; set your hope upon the undeserved kindness that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."-1 Peter 1:13.
*** w9811/15 p.16 par.4WalkingWithGod-WithEternityinView***
4 Jehovah will bring an end to this wicked system of things, for his name is being reproached in today's world. The wicked have blossomed. (Psalm 92:7) Through their words and deeds, they insult God, and it pains him to see his servants reviled and persecuted. (Zechariah 2: No wonder Jehovah has decreed that Satan's entire organization will soon be brought to an end! God has determined exactly when this will occur, and the fulfillment of Bible prophecies makes it clear that we are now living in "the time of the end." (Daniel 12:4) He will soonact for the blessing of all who love
him.
*w 99 4/1p.19LifeAfterDeath-WhatDoestheBibleSay?***
21 The fulfillment of Bible prophecy shows that we are living in "the last days" of this system of things. (2 Timothy 3:1)Very soon now,Jehovah God is going to intervene in human affairs and wipe out wickedness from the earth."
*w 200012/1p.18DoYouLoveJehovah'sRemindersExceedingly?**
Since we areliving deepin the last daysof this wicked system of things, let us keep praying for divine help so that we can continue to observe Jehovah's reminders and thus 'keep on guard according to his word.'-Psalm 119:9."
*w 20013/1p.21SalvationforThoseWhoChoosetheLight***
17 ...Such congregations are a protection even now, a place where Christians find safety among their brothers, under the loving care of the elders. (Isaiah 32:1, 2; Hebrews 10:24, 25) This is especially true in view of thenearness of the endof this system of thingswhen survival will depend on obedience.-Zephaniah 2:3.
*w 2001 5/15p.12PraiseJehovahforHisGreatDeeds!***
To shine forth in giving a final witness before Jehovah brings an end to Satan's wicked system of things in therapidly approaching"great tribulation."-Matthew 24:21; Daniel 12:3; Revelation 7:14.
*w 2001 6/15p.12LookAfterOrphansandWidowsinTheirTribulation***
Asthe endof the present system of thingsgets closer,the pressures that Christians in general face are certain to increase. (Matthew 24:9-13)
*w 2001 8/15p.28DoNotGiveUpinDoingWhatIsFine***
FaithintheThingsUnseen
11 Another trial may involve theseeming delay of the endof this wicked system of things. According to 2 Peter 3:12, Christians are to be "awaiting and keeping close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah." However,many have awaited this "day" for years, some for decades.As a result, some may become discouraged and lose their sense of urgency.
*w 2001 8/15p.32CertificateofExcellence***
Each issue of Awake! "stays politically neutral and does not exalt one race above another." Additionally, the publications build "confidence in the Creator's promise of a peaceful and secure world thatis about to replacethe present wicked, lawless system of things."
*w 2001 11/15p.12JehovahShowsUsHowtoCountOurDays***
« Yes, our life is as transitory as grass that withers in a single day. Therefore, let us not waste this precious commodity. Instead, we should seek God's guidance on how we ought to useour remaining yearsin this system of things. «
*w 2001 11/15p.31Noah'sFaithCondemnstheWorld***
« Like Noah, true Christians today know that Jehovah willsoonbring an endto this godless system of things.We do not knowthat day or hour, but we realize that imitating the faith and obedience of this "preacher of righteousness" will result in "the preserving alive of the soul."-Hebrews 10:36-39.".-
*** w031/1 p.18 par.4"KeepontheWatch"!***
. In a rather similar way, Bible prophecies clearly reveal that we are living in the time of the end; but they do not tell us the day or the hour of the end itself. (Matthew 24:36) Our belief that the end is coming helps us to stay awake, but if we are convinced that Jehovah's day really is near, we will have far stronger motivation to be on the watch.-Zephaniah 1:14.
*** w031/1 p.19 par.5"KeepontheWatch"!***
. So our reviewing from time to time the Scriptural proof that we are living close to the end of this system will help us not to lose sight of the important truths regarding that coming end. It is also good to take note of unfolding world events that fulfill Bible prophecy. One brother in Germany wrote: "Every time I watch the news-the wars, the earthquakes, the violence, and the contamination of our planet-it drives home to me the nearness of the end."
*2003 kmMarchpage 6 , § 25, "Take full advantage of the time remaining "
Today all the evidence indicatesthat the endof the present global system of thingsis at end.Day by day our pattern of life should reflect that conviction. As zealous servants of Jehovah, we should be focused on the urgent work of declaring the good news.- Titus 2:13,14 ."
*yb 2003" A Letter from the Governing Body " page 5, §1 :
"We face similar situation today. As weapproachthedestruction of this wicked system, we expect increased opposition. Satan is filled with "great anger", and that anger is especially directed against those who serveGod (Rev.12:12) "
*w 20039/15 2003p.25
Unfulfilled expectation are bound to lead to disappointments that make the heart sick. This happens in everyday life. However, this is not the case with the expectations that are solidly based on god's Word. We can have complete confidence that they will be fulfilled. Even apparent delays are less likely to be disappointing. For example,we know that God's new worldis imminent.(2 Peter 3;13)
*w 2003 12/1page 13 § 17« Yes, we can confidently
look forward to the time-now so near-when Jehovah will eradicate from the earth all the corruption and those who are responsible for it ».
*w 2003 12/1page 13 § 18« Just a little while longer
and the wicked one will be no more ; and you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be »(Psalm 37 :10) How these words encourage us as weapproach the endof this system of thingsand the culmination of disastrous independence from Jehovah ! Whatever kind of government or authority has been devised by man has failed miserably. And nowwe are nearing the timefor a return to rule by God, true theocracy, the Kingdom of Jehovah in the end of JesusChrist? »
*w 200312/15page 15 §§6-8Our Watchfulness Takes On Greater Urgency
Warned of Things Not Yet Beheld?
7 Noah received the warning of the upcoming catastrophe decades in advance, and he wisely used the time to prepare for survival. ?After being given divine warning of things not yet beheld.? Says the apostle Paul, ?[Noah] showed godly fear and constructed an ark for the salvation of his household.? (Hebrews 11:7) What about us?Some 90 yearshave passed sincethe last days of thissystem of thingsbegan in 1914.We are certainly in 'the time of the end.' (Daniel 12:4)
*2004 kpp.21 PayingAttentionSavedTheirLives*
(brochureKeep ontheWatch!)
The Bible warns of the end of the present system of things. We now live in the last days. As the end nears, are you keeping on the watch? Are you taking action so as to stay out of the danger zone? With a sense of urgency, are you warning others to do the same?
*2004 kpp.24 par.3"ThatYouMayNotEnterIntoTemptation"(brochureKeepontheWatch!)
3 Today, we too are under pressure. Earlier in this brochure, we considered evidence that we are living in the final days of this wicked system. The temptations and stresses of Satan's world are intensifying..... We love Jehovah. We want to 'endure to the end'-the end of our life or the end of this system, whichever comes first. (Matthew 24:13)
*** w048/1 p.5 God'sKingdomGovernment-ARealityToday***
The time when humans will mass together to fight against God's sovereignty is fast approaching. Ironically, their "unity" will bring them no personal benefits. Instead, their action will be a prelude to the long-awaited peace for all mankind. How so? In that final battle, God's Kingdom "will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms [of the world], and it itself will stand to times indefinite." (Daniel 2:44)
*** w057/1 p.7 "HappyAreThoseConsciousofTheirSpiritualNeed"***
Will YouListentotheKingdomMessage?
(Matthew 28:19, 20) "This good news of the kingdom," he foretold, "will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14) That end is fast approaching. How important, then, that honesthearted people listen to the lifesaving good news!
*** w0612/15 pp.18-19 "TheGreatDayofJehovahIsNear"
Maintaining OurSenseofUrgency
17 Bible prophecies clearly reveal that we are livingdeep in the time of the end. As never before, we need to strengthen our sense of urgency. A soldier in peacetime does not feel the tension and danger of battle.
*** km12/07 p.1pars.5-6 WeMustMaintainOurZealfortheMinistry***
5 ....and availing ourselves of all the spiritual provisions of "the faithful and discreet slave."-Rev. 2:4; Matt. 24:45; Ps. 119:97.
6 As Bible prophecies clearly indicate, Jehovah's day for the destruction of ungodly men is fast approaching. (2 Pet. 2:3; 3:10) With that clearly in mind, let us work hard at maintaining our zeal for the ministry, having a full share in the worldwide Kingdom-preaching and disciple-making work now under way!
*** w0712/15 p.11pars.2-3AreYouReadyforJehovah'sDay?***
2 The expression "day of Jehovah" applies to the execution of divine judgment at various times.
....Under inspiration, the apostle Paul associated that day with Christ's presence, which began with Jesus' enthronement as heavenly King in 1914. (2 Thessalonians 2:1, 2) With the day of Jehovah looming on the horizon, the yeartext of Jehovah's Witnesses for 2007 has been especially appropriate. Taken from Zephaniah 1:14, it reads: "The great day of Jehovah is near."
3 Since God's great day is near, now is the time to prove yourself ready. How can you prepare for that day? Do you need to take additional steps to get ready for Jehovah's day?
*** w0712/15 p.12par.8AreYouReadyforJehovah'sDay?***
8 .....Are you a person of prayer, as Jesus was? Approach Jehovah often, linger in prayer, seek the direction of holy spirit, and be quick to accept that direction when it becomes evident. A strong relationship with our heavenly Father is vital at this critical time when God's great day is approaching rapidly. By all means, then, draw ever closer to Jehovah in prayer.-James 4:8.
*** w0712/15 p.13pars.12-13AreYouReadyforJehovah'sDay?***
12 The nearness of Jehovah's day should move you to attend Christian meetings regularly and participate in them as fully as possible. (Hebrews 10:24, 25)
13 Since Jehovah's day is imminent, do you need to make a greater effort to "put on the new personality which was created according to God's will in true righteousness and loyalty"? (Ephesians 4:20-24)
*w 20081/15p.4§ 4Why many are Without Hope
4) World events indicate that we are living in "the conclusion of the system of things" and that the end is very near. Mankind is experiencing the events and conditions that Jesus and his disciples said would mark "the last days." "Pangs of distress," including wars, food shortages, earthquakes, and other calamities, plague humanity. -"
*w 200804/15p.13 § 8TheyFell Near the Finish
line
Today, we are rapidly nearing a much better promised land - the new system of things .Tru to form, Satan is again using sexual immorality
To corrupt God'speople.
*w 200805/15p.15 § 16The Last DaysSoonto End!
16 ) This world has been in the last days , or " conclusion of the system of things, " since the year 1914.
(Matt. 24:3 ) Very soon now, what Jesus calles" the great tribulation" will occur. (Read Matthew 24:21.) That unparalleledtibulation will bring Satan's entire world to its end."
*w 200809/15p.11§ 19SuppliedWith Sustenance
Clearly, what Jehovah has done in Bible times as well in our day gives us reason to trust him as our Helper.Soon,when the great tribulationcomesupon Satan's world, wewill need Jehovah's help as never before.Yet, Jehovah'sservants will be able tolook to him with complete confidence. They will be able to lift their heads and rejoice,knowing that their deliverance is near.(Luke 21:28).
*w 200809/15p.21§ 3Resist "the Spirit of the world"
Jesus warned his followers about the danger of what could amount to a death-dealing spiritual sleep. His words have a special meaning for
us,living as we do during theconclusionof the system of things.
*w 200810/15p.11§ 17Facing the Future With
Confidence
As the present system of thingsmoves toward its end,the foretold " pangs of distress" will continue. (Matt. 24:8 ) For example food prices may rise considerably…
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°endofquotes°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
To close …just another recent reminder:

*w 200804/15page 6§ 17
Another example of valueless words is found among the religious leaders of Christendom. These claim to speak in God's name,butmostoftheir utterances arenot based on the Scriptures,and what they say is basically worthless.Apostates too speak valueless words, claiming to have greater wisdom than the appointed " faithful and discreet slave." (Matt. 243:45-47) However apostates speak their own wisdom , and their words are valueless, a stumbling block to any who might listen. (Luke 17:1,2)

I do hope that you have not found the post too longor…tedious.
Greetings to all,
J.C.MacHislopp
13
The temples inspection, by the slave s master.
by MacHislopp in
1. watchtower
2. bible
hello everyone, in recent times the society has written/referred  quite a lot  about the prophecy of malachi 3:1-3, the inspection  of the temple etc.   im posting it , hoping that it will be of help to some, because imho, it shows -  for the doubtful - how fragile  are  the foundations of another important idea/doctrine/teaching of the wtbs inc.   (malachi 3:1-3) look!

i am sending my messenger, and he must clear up a way before me.

and suddenly there will come to his temple the [true] lord, whom you people are seeking, and the messenger of the covenant in whom you are delighting.
MacHislopp

Hello everyone, In recent times the Society has written/referred ; quite a lot ; about the prophecy of Malachi 3:1-3, the inspection ; of the temple etc. ; ; I’m posting it , hoping that it will be of help to some, because imho, it shows - ; for the doubtful - how fragile ; are ; the foundations of another important idea/doctrine/teaching of the WTBS Inc. ; (Malachi 3:1-3) “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he must clear up a way before me. And suddenly there will come to His temple the [true] Lord, whom YOU people are seeking, and the messenger of the covenant in whom YOU are delighting. Look! He will certainly come,” Jehovah of armies has said. 2 “But who will be putting up with the day of his coming, and who will be the one standing when he appears? For he will be like the fire of a refiner and like the lye of laundrymen. 3 And he must sit as a refiner and cleanser of silver and must cleanse the sons of Le´vi; and he must clarify them like gold and like silver, and they will certainly become to Jehovah people presenting a gift offering in righteousness. * ‘The Watchtower’ ; ;September 1st 1931, page 268 Up to the year nineteen hundred and eighteen the faithful Christians on earth were especially looking for the Lord to end the work of the true church on earth and to take them all away to heavenly glory. After that year they began to get a better understanding of God’s purposes; and the reason for this was that at that time the Lord came “suddenly” or straightway to his temple ; in fulfllment of the prophecy of Malachi. * ‘The Watchtower’ ; ;August 1st 1933, page 228<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> 8 ; The facts now fully known disclose that the work of preparation, in fulfillment of the prophetic vision, began in 1918 and has progressed over the period of fifteen years, and now the hour draws near for the terrible clash of the armed forces. Zechariah the prophet foreshadowed a small company of persons who are wholly devoted to God and who are now on the earth, and to which company of faithful ones Jehovah God has given an understanding of the prophetic vision. * ; ‘The Watchtower’ ; ;August 1st 1933, page 231 ; § ; 21st The inspector general of Jehovah’s hosts must have been filled with indignation when he surveyed the desolation of Jerusalem. Likewise when Christ Jesus came ; in 1918 to inspect the professed people of God and set up the temple, he would look with indignation upon the desolation of the earthly part of God’s organization,the covenant people of the Most High. The words of Isaiah, at this point, seem quite appropriate and express the indignation of the Lord: “For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed [remnant people] is come. ” (Isa. 63 : 4) * ; ‘The Watchtower’ ; ;August 1st 1933, page 231-32 ; ;§ ; 25th This corresponds to the condition amongst God’s people from 1918 to 1922, probably before the general convention of the latter ; ;year at Cedar Point, Ohio. It was when the Lord’s covenant people saw that Christ the great Inspector General had come to the temple that they cried out:“Save now, I beseech thee, 0 Lord: 0 Lord, I beseeeh thee, send now prosperity.” (Ps. 118: 25) It was in 1922 that God’s covenant people became aware of their own negligence in connection with the building of the antitypical temple. It was then that the Lord spoke words of comfort to them and they rejoiced, sceing that Jehovah’s anger had turned away from them.(Isa. 12: 1-4; 61: 1-3) “And the Lord answered the angel that talked with mc with good words, and comfortable words.“-Zech. 1: 13. *O Zechariah, having received the good (from the book: ‘The truth shall make you free’ ’ ; 1943, page 302)<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> ;and a reminder: ; Remember:<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> <DIV style="BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 4pt; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-TOP: 1pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 0.5pt solid"> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> ;<o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">*** w90 12/15 p. 26 ‘Seeking Delightful Words, Correct Words’ ***<o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 6pt 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; TEXT-INDENT: 14.4pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">For over a century, delightful, correct words of truth covering every aspect of life have been presented in the Watch Tower Society’s publications and widely distributed in many languages. <o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 6pt 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; TEXT-INDENT: 14.4pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> ;<o:p></o:p></DIV> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> ;I’m presenting ;the material in its ; ;shor ter version ; ; ; ; ;i.e. ; ; ; ; ; just ; ; ; ; questions ; ; ; vs. ; ; quotes ; ; <o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> °°°°In which ; year the” inspection” ; took place; was in 1918 <o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> <DIV style="BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 4pt; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-TOP: 1pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 0.5pt solid"> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> ; ;<o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> ;w98 5/15 p. 15 par. 21 Christian Faith Will Be Tested ***<o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 6pt 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; TEXT-INDENT: 14.4pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">21 As World War ;I drew to a close, some of the Bible Students faced another test of faith—whether they would maintain strict neutrality as to worldly military affairs. (John 17:16; 18:36) Some did not. So in 1918, Jehovah sent “the messenger of the covenant,” Christ Jesus, to His spiritual temple arrangement to cleanse the small group of His worshipers from worldly blemishes. Those who were committed to displaying true faith learned from the experience and moved forward, zealously continuing to ;preach.<o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> ;<o:p></o:p></DIV> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> or ; ; ; was it ; in ; 1919?<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> w83 9/15 pp. 19-20 par. 19 “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism” ***<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> <DIV style="BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 4pt; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-TOP: 1pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 0.5pt solid"> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 6pt 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; TEXT-INDENT: 14.4pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">19 “One body” is the Christian congregation, of which Jesus is the “head.” (Ephesians 1:22, 23) The individual anointed members of this united congregation would all receive the same spiritual food. To that end, their “master” appointed a collective “faithful steward” class, the body of anointed Christians on the earth since Pentecost 33 ;C.E. Since the “master” found the remaining ones of this body faithfully and discreetly giving out “food supplies” when he arrived for inspection in 1919, he appointed them “over all his belongings.” (Luke 12:42-44) The facts show that since 1919 this “steward” has faithfully cared for these “belongings.”<o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> ; <o:p></o:p></DIV> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> °°°° Who made the ‘inspection ‘ ? ; ; <o:p></o:p> was ; Jehovah God ?<o:p></o:p> <DIV style="BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 4pt; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-TOP: 1pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 0.5pt solid"> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">w60 7/15 p. 436 par. 20 The Awake “Faithful and Discreet Slave” ***<o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 6pt 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; TEXT-INDENT: 14.4pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> ;<o:p></o:p> <P class=quote style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: auto 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">20 As we now know, this watchman class of the “faithful and discreet slave” was being cleansed for still greater watchman service in the turbulent years to follow their restoration in 1919. Previously, in the spring of 1918, Jehovah came to his temple of earthly Christian servants for inspection and cleansing. (Mal. 3:1-3)<o:p></o:p></DIV> ;<o:p></o:p> or ; was Jesus Christ ?<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> <DIV style="BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 4pt; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-TOP: 1pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 0.5pt solid"> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> ;<o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">w93 5/1 p. 17 par. 6 Expanded Activities During Christ’s Presence ***<o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> ;<o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">6 From the time Christ’s presence began and down to 1918, the slave class, despite unpopularity, persecution, and even some confusion, had been seeking to give timely food to the domestics. This is what the Master found when his inspection began. The Lord Jesus was pleased, and in 1919 he pronounced that faithful approved slave class happy<o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> ;<o:p></o:p></DIV> ;<o:p></o:p> or even better ; ; ; both of them ?<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> <DIV style="BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 4pt; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-TOP: 1pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 0.5pt solid"> <P class=quote style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: auto 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">w55 12/15 pp. 748-749 par. 14 The Test That Leads to a Blessing <o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 6pt 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">14 …<o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 6pt 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">The book You May Survive Armageddon into God’s New World, released last June, and the article “Jehovah Is in His Holy Temple,” published in the November 15 English issue of The Watchtower, prove that Jehovah came accompanied by his Angel of the covenant, Jesus Christ, to the spiritual temple in the spring of 1918. <o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 6pt 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; TEXT-INDENT: 14.4pt; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> ;<o:p></o:p></DIV> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> °°°° Did Jehovah God ; really ‘ disfellowshipped ‘ brothers and sisters ?<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> ;<o:p></o:p> <DIV style="BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 4pt; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; PADDING-TOP: 1pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 0.5pt solid"> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> ;<o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt">w60 7/15 p. 436 par. 20 The Awake “Faithful and Discreet Slave” ***<o:p></o:p> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt"> ;<o:p></o:p><
11
Adam unfairly treated?
by MacHislopp in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
a friend of mine confronted me with this :.

adam : a perfect man - with a free-will - disobeyed god, was punished with .

death, no appeal, no attenuating circumstances and the sentence.
MacHislopp

Hello everyone,

a friend of mine confronted me with this :

Adam : a perfect man - with a free-will - disobeyed God, was punished with
death, no appeal, no attenuating circumstances and the sentence
was immediate with the ending result in death = annihilation =
back to the dust where he came from.

Satan : An angel (cherub) a perfect spiritual creature - with a free will - existing in the spirit realm for an unspecified time - disobeyed/rebelled - against God. Sentence to future annihilation, but not immediate, remains in the spirit realm for thousands and thousands of years....succeeds in having many angels (a third of the heaven ) to follow him, he is allowed for thousands and thousands of years to plague with his fellow demons the poor humans here on earth. Then, always with his fellows demons is thrown out of the heavenly realm to found himself in the vicinity of the earth ...and all together are able to intensify his attacks. At Armageddon all together will be restrained for a thousand years . Then ... Satan and his demons again
will be free to attack, corrupt, mislead the nations on the earth, nations that by the end of the thousand year reign of Christ will have reached perfection. Another battle and this time Satan the demons and all his followers on the earth will be destroyed, annihilated forever.

Question : In view of the above was Adam unfairly treated in comparison to the angel/angels later called Satan/ demons ?

I'll appreciate any help with comments from you as a base for discussion, because at the moment I'm still pondering over the dilemma/view/opinion.

Greetings,

J.C. MacHislopp
2
District Assembly 2008 Info
by Mystery in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
can anyone point me to the thread(s) that have information on the july 4th weekend district assembly?

i did a search but didn't come up with info or topics of the assembly.. i haven't been on here in a while.

nor have i read the watchtower and awakes my mom still sends.
MacHislopp

Hello mystery,
to have at least the programm try this link:
http://pbsa.jwmail.com for the home page
and http://pbsa.jwmail/com.downloads/annuals/2008DCnotebook
for the Convention programm.
I f you wish more information ask again.
Greetings
J.C. MacHislopp
18
Deliverance by God's Kingdom is at hand!
by MacHislopp in
1. watchtower
2. bible
1993 *** w93 5/1 p. 26 par.

1990 *** w90 4/15 p. 21 par.

1982 *** w82 10/1 p. 28 par.
MacHislopp

Hello everyone, thanks for reading the post and the the various comment. Including, among others: Nathan, Cawshun, HB YesIdid, insearchof truth. By the way some one sent me an e-mail informing me that he gave the " research" to his P.O. to have his opinion...!!! What kind of answer can he give...there are only quotes from publications. Greeting to all J.C.MacHislopp
18
Deliverance by God's Kingdom is at hand!
by MacHislopp in
1. watchtower
2. bible
1993 *** w93 5/1 p. 26 par.

1990 *** w90 4/15 p. 21 par.

1982 *** w82 10/1 p. 28 par.
MacHislopp

Hello again,
Atlantis...I'm glad you do appreciate it. Thanks for the wishes. I do feel much better now.
By the way many many thanks for all the links to the various publications, news article and rare books provided
by you and your pals.
My database is ...well furnished . Really great on you part.
Witness OO7 ... please do ot rush, the hall is already packed...!
Greetings again,
J.C. MacHislopp
18
Deliverance by God's Kingdom is at hand!
by MacHislopp in
1. watchtower
2. bible
1993 *** w93 5/1 p. 26 par.

1990 *** w90 4/15 p. 21 par.

1982 *** w82 10/1 p. 28 par.
MacHislopp

Hello everyone,
greetings to all of you ...new and old friends of JWD.
After another long spell I'm here again.
I thought of sharing with you a ... quick look into
128 years
of ' Deliverance by God's Kingdom is at hand ! '.
Here we go:
2008 *** w08 5/15 p. 15-16 §20 The Last Days Soon to End !
May you experience great joy in your ministry as you declare this good news and help those " rightly disposed for everlasting life " to realize that deliverance by God's Kingdom is at hand! - Acts 13:48
2007 *** w07 7/1 p. 10 “Divided by Language but United by Love” *
Those who attended these conventions experienced firsthand the unity that exists among Witnesses from different lands and cultures. This was very evident at the conclusion of the conventions. All were applauding, hugging new friends, and taking the last photos. (1 Corinthians 1:10; 1 Peter 2:17) Happy and convinced that deliverance from all troubles and cares is at hand, the delegates returned to their homes and congregations with renewed determination to keep a very tight grip on God’s “word of life.”—Philippians 2:15, 16.
2006 g 6/06 p. 32 Millions Will Be Going—Will You? ***
The morning program will continue with a talk that introduces a convention highlight, the full-costume drama based on chapter 13 of the Bible book of First Kings. The convention’s final session Sunday afternoon features the public talk “Deliverance by God’s Kingdom Is at Hand!”
1997 *** w97 4/1 p. 11 Take Courage as Deliverance Draws Near ***
Deliverance Near—For Whom?
12 The increasingly difficult conditions on earth are striking evidence that a vast change—indeed, a grand deliverance—is near at hand! For whom? Deliverance is nearing for those who pay attention to the warning signals and who take appropriate action. First John 2:17 shows what must be done: “The world [Satan’s system of things] is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever.”—See also 2 Peter 3:10-13.
1993 *** w93 5/1 p. 26 par. 21 Deliverance at the Revelation of Jesus Christ *
21 While we eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us show zeal in telling others about God’s loving Kingdom promises. Deliverance is at hand! May we walk forward, ever forward, as enlightened children of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah!
1990 *** w90 4/15 p. 21 par. 21 Prepare for Deliverance Into a New World ***
21 To people of godly devotion who would see fulfilled the sign of his presence in Kingdom power, Jesus said: “Raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.” (Luke 21:28) Have you seen that sign as it has developed in every detail? Then have confidence that fulfillment of Jehovah’s promise of deliverance is very near at hand! Be fully convinced that “Jehovah knows how to deliver people of godly devotion out of trial.”—2 Peter 2:9.
1984 *yb84 p. 3 1984 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses ***
Proclaimers of the Good News!
JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES are declaring “everlasting good news,” and millions are responding to the message.—Rev. 14:6.
Although people can see that world conditions are critical, they may not understand their significance. Jehovah’s Witnesses are proclaiming that these events are a sign of the time of the end for this system of things and that God’s day of deliverance is at hand. That is “good news”!
1982 *** w82 10/1 p. 28 par. 14 Be as Men Who Are Facing Har–Magedon Unafraid ***
14 Thus to men belonging to this world the mounting troubles that will culminate in the war at Har–Magedon are a proof of impending destruction. (Philippians 1:28) This requires a true Christian today to be a person of strong faith in the Almighty God and his promises to the faithful ones. The “deliverance” that is now at hand for persons of such faith is not initially the heavenly glorification of the remnant of the spirit-begotten disciples of Christ and their being taken away from the earthly scene of tribulation, although that is in store for them finally.
1976 *** hs chap. 7 p. 137 par. 36 The “New Creation” Goes into Action! ***
36 The old human creation of mankind does not have this spirit, and in this twentieth century it is groaning as never before, seeking in some way to be liberated from the bondage of corruption under the old system of things. But nineteen centuries ago God’s “new creation” came alive and went into action. It did so under the energizing force of God’s holy spirit, which began to be poured out on the festival day of Pentecost of 33 C.E. Vain have been the efforts of the majority of the old human creation to destroy God’s “new creation,” the spirit-begotten Christian congregation. Today that “new creation” nears the time of its release from its earthly body of corruption. The nearness of its glorious release signalizes great good for all mankind. It signalizes that the deliverance of groaning mankind is also at hand. It signalizes that there is now at hand a righteous new order backed by God’s holy spirit.
1975 *** g75 11/22 p. 32 A Release That Pictured Deliverance Today ***
As the Israelites of old went free from captivity in ancient Babylon, so Bible prophecy reveals that a marvelous deliverance is at hand for humankind today. Read of this heartwarming prospect in the new 384-page, hardbound book, Man’s Salvation out of World Distress at Hand! Only 50 cents, postpaid.
1973 *** ka chap. 16 pp. 330-331 par. 83 Completion of the Foretold “Sign” Nears ***
83 Have we of this generation seen “these things start to occur”? Have we seen “these things” occurring throughout the decades since 1914 C.E.? Inasmuch as we have done so, there is no reason for us to be bowed down with international “anguish.” There is no reason for us to bend our backs any longer under the religious enslavement imposed by Babylon the Great, including Christendom. It is a time to raise ourselves erect like free worshipers of the Most High God, the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. No longer is it the fitting time for us to look despairingly down to the ground. It is the time to lift our heads up heavenward and see in the brightening light of the Holy Scriptures that contains Jesus’ prophecy the evidences of a most reassuring future for mankind. The meaning of these evidences is unmistakable: Deliverance is at hand! This betokens for God’s “chosen ones” and the “great crowd” of their fellow worshipers survival of the “great tribulation” just ahead. When we under divine preservation come out of that “great tribulation,” we shall leave behind the irreparable ruins of this present death-dealing system of things. Gloriously opens up before us God’s new system of things!
1972 *** w72 04/15 p. 233
Mankind desperately needs a Liberator from these ruinous demonic heavens. Jehovah God has raised up the needed Deliverer! Jehovah’s marked time for the desired deliverance is at hand!
1971 *** w71 7/1 p. 401 par. 8
Assemblies After the Death of Christ ***
The “times of the nations” which Jesus spoke of have run out; the year 1914 became a marked year so far as God’s purposes are concerned, and Jehovah has lovingly let his witnesses see the facts showing the fulfillment of Revelation chapter 12 with the birth of the Kingdom in the heavens and the ousting of Satan and his demons from heaven, cast down to the earth. All of the evidence has accumulated to show that the end of wickedness is near and it is a time to lift up Christian heads and be full of joy because deliverance is at hand.—Luke 21:24, 28.
1971 *** w71 5/1 p. 262 Relief from Depression ***
True, those words were written long ago, but fulfillment of Bible prophecy gives us reason to believe that this generation will see Jehovah God rising up in burning zeal to devour all wickedness. (Matt. 24:3-34; Zeph. 3:8) Since this is so you have reason to do as Jesus said, ‘Raise yourself erect and lift your head up, because your deliverance is at hand.’—Luke 21:28.
1967 *** w67 3/15 p. 168 The “Last Days”—What They Mean to You ***
Please note that God’s judgment will adversely affect only “ungodly men.” It is only those who refuse to submit to God’s laws that will suffer destruction. On the other hand, for those who love righteousness and long for God’s kingdom to remove wickedness from the earth, the “last days” are indeed a time in which to rejoice. True Christians can rejoice because God’s kingdom is near and deliverance from this wicked system of things is at hand. (Luke 21:28-32) But to be among those blessed with survival when this entire system goes down in destruction, positive action is urgent.
1959 *** w59 7/1 p. 388 Walk in the Light from God ***
In lighting up the fact that we are living in the “last days,” God’s Word shows the Christian how to view the distressing happenings in the world. War, crime, juvenile delinquency, food shortages, pestilences and similar woes make many persons despondent, but those walking in the light from God have the positive mental attitude that the Lord Jesus Christ said we should have: “As these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.” (Luke 21:28) Despite the woes that have come upon our generation, those who walk in the light from God can be happy. Deliverance is at hand.
1954 *** w54 10/15 p. 624 Why Prayers Go Unanswered ***
Instead of sobbing about the present anguish of nations and praying for its abatement, true Christians see that these turbulent times, indeed such calamities as famines, earthquakes and wars, are fulfillment of Bible prophecy pertaining to the sign of the “last days,” hence they rejoice, as Jesus said they should. (Luke 21:28) They rejoice because they know deliverance to a new world is at hand, that this present evil world must end in that “great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again,” namely, the war of Armageddon. This is Jehovah’s decree.
1949 The Watchtower, October 15th, 1949. page 307
Deliverance and release have come! Jehovah’s witnesses can testify to that. So on with the song in a continual crescendo, that more and more people may hear the message which tells of the fuller and complete deliverance and release so near at hand for all men of good-will!
1941 The Watchtower, October 1st, 1941. page 303
These see it is their privilege now to be his witnesses, and to declare his name and his glory in the earth. As his witnesses these faithful ones the great Jehovah God bids to go and tell the glad news to the sorrowing world, and to advise mankind that Jehovah is God, that Christ Jesus is the King of kings, and that the day of deliverance is at hand.
1940 The Watchtower, January 1st , 1940. page 10
For some time many of God’s people have said, and say: "Oh that the salvation of Israel [spiritual Israel] were come out of Zion !" (Ps. 14: 7) Let all such who have hope and who look for salvation now rejoice because the day of deliverance is at hand. By faith we now see the climax of Armageddon and, like David, continue to say: "But I have trusted in thy mercy; myheart shall rejoice in thy salvation."--Ps. 13:5.
1939 The Watchtower, December 1st , 1939 page 363
Jehovah is the King of Eternity. He has enthroned Christ Jesus, his King of the Theocratic Government. Jehovah has appeared in his glory, and the day of deliverance is at hand for all those who flee to the Theocratic Government and give their allegiance and unselfish devotion to the Theocracy.
1936 The Watchtower, July 1st , 1936 pages 195,196
Let Jehovah’s witnesses now be strong in faith and bold in the warfare, knowing for a certainty that the day of deliverance is at hand.
1930 The Watchtower, September 15th 1930 page 281
God has now given his people an understanding of The Revelation which he gave to Jesus Christ to show unto his servants. The publication of the two books called Light, giving the explanation of The
Revelation, will greatly anger the Devil and all who have not the spirit of Christ. We may therefore ex- pect the opposition to the kingdom to quickly become stronger than ever. It will be of short duration, however, because the day of deliverance is at hand. The remnant is now giving honor to Jehovah’s name by faithfully serving him.
‘
1926 The Watchtower, August 15th 1926 page 248
To this end the Lord is now sending forth a worldwide proclamation that the time of DELIVERANCE is at hand.
1921 The Watchtower, January 1st , 1921 page 13
Behold, the evidence daily increases that the old world has ended! The kingdom of heaven is here! Let the saints look up and lift up their heads. Let them sing aloud for joy because the day of deliverance is at hand.
1918 Zion's Watch Tower August 1st , 1918 (page R6300)
In the clear light of unfolding time-prophecy, we see that we are now living at the very end of the reign of sin and death; that the night of sorrow, pain and tears is almost over; that the glorification of the 1ast members of the Christ body is very soon to be completed. Yes, beloved, "the night is far spent" [about ended] and the glorious day of deliverance and blessing is at hand. Even now the first faint streaks of dawn appear. Then let us cast away every encumberance, everything that would hinder us in the slightest degree in running successfully our glorious race. Let us press on with renewed vigor, looking neither to the right nor to the left, but keeping our eyes "fixed on the glory of the prize," and soon, please God, the victory shall be ours!
1910 Zion's Watch Tower June 1st , 1910 (page R4627)
Thank God for the great Deliverer; thank God also, for his great day of deliverance, the Millennial age, now nigh at hand!
page 177 June 15th
ZION'S
WATCH TOWER
and
Herald of Christ's Presence
ROCK OF AGES
Other foundation can
no man lay
A RANSOM FOR ALL
"Watchman, What of the Night?"
"The Morning Cometh, and a Night also!" Isaiah 21:11
SEMI-MONTHLY
VOL. XXXI JUNE 1 No. 11
A.D. 1910--A.M. 6038...
[R4627 : page 188] of mankind from the power of sin and Satan, ignorance and superstition; to give light for darkness; knowledge of God for ignorance and blindness. Studying the Divine Plan of the Ages, we find the lesson to be that God will first select a Church class and subsequently use the elect Church as channels of blessing toward the world of mankind.
....She seemed to realize that there was only the one quarter from which she could get help. Hence her importunity, when she recognized the Lord.
In another sense of the word all sin and sickness may be said to be afflictions of the devil, because all are either directly, or through heredity, Satan's work. Thus our Lord declared that Satan had murdered our race by his falsehood to mother Eve--"He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the Truth." Through his lie our race has gone down into sickness, mental, moral and physical, and is going down rapidly to the tomb. Thank God for the great Deliverer; thank God also, for his great day of deliverance, the Millennial Age, now nigh at hand!
1907 Zion's Watch Tower May 1st , 1907 (page R3990)
The Lord assures us, too, that he knows all about these matters and is very sympathetic, far more so than we, and he is both able and willing to grant the deliverance needed at the appropriate time. What confidence it gives us now when we look back and behold that Spiritual Israel has been preserved through all these centuries! that notwithstanding the fiery affliction and adversity that burned against them, they have not been consumed! How it comforts and cheers us now to hear the Lord's voice telling us of the deliverance that is just at hand, and sending by us his messages of love and power to all those who have and are to hear, and who are desirous of having liberty from the power of the world, the flesh and the Adversary.
page 129
May 15th
ZION'S
WATCH TOWER
and
Herald of Christ's Presence
ROCK OF AGES
Other foundation can
no man lay
A RANSOM FOR ALL
"Watchman, What of the Night?"
"The Morning Cometh, and a Night also!" Isaiah 21:11
SEMI-MONTHLY
VOL. XXVIII MAY 1 No. 9
A.D. 1907--A.M. 6035
“I will stand upon my watch, and set my foot upon the Tower, and will watch to see what He shall say unto me, and what answer I shall make to them that oppose me.” Hab. 2:1
...
The Lord assures us, too, that he knows all about these [R3990 : page 142] matters and is very sympathetic, far more so than we, and he is both able and willing to grant the deliverance needed at the appropriate time. What confidence it gives us now when we look back and behold that Spiritual Israel has been preserved through all these centuries! that notwithstanding the fiery affliction and adversity that burned against them, they have not been consumed! How it comforts and cheers us now to hear the Lord's voice telling us of the deliverance that is just at hand, and sending by us his messages of love and power to all those who have and are to hear, and who are desirous of having liberty from the power of the world, the flesh and the Adversary. O, yes! we occupy holy ground, we hear the holy voice, our eyes are opened to see the wonderful things. The Lord be praised! Let us give heed to his Word.
1892 Zion's Watch Tower November 15th , 1892 (page R1464)
It is therefore his will rather that we should suffer injustice than that we should spend our strength in fruitless efforts to interrupt the present order of things. And so the kingdom of heaven suffers violence now, but such will not always be the case; for the time of her deliverance is at hand.
page 322
November 15th
ZION'S WATCH TOWER
AND
HERALD OF CHRIST'S PRESENCE.

PUBLISHED TWICE A MONTH.

TOWER PUBLISHING COMPANY,
"BIBLE HOUSE"
ARCH STREET, ALLEGHENY, PA., U.S.A.
[R1464 : page 326] wherein they fall short of the perfect law of God?--resist them? or submit to them?
To resist all such laws would be to array one's self in violent and fruitless opposition to the whole present order of things, and we must remember that even this present order of things is ordained of God (Rom. 13:1); for he decreed that the time of Gentile rule should continue until the appointed time for Christ to reign in righteousness. Consequently the children of God are counseled to be subject to the powers that be, because the powers that be, although imperfect, are ordained of God to continue for a time. It is therefore his will rather that we should suffer injustice than that we should spend our strength in fruitless efforts to interrupt the present order of things. And so the kingdom of heaven suffers violence now, but such will not always be the case; for the time of her deliverance is at hand.
1881 Zion's Watch Tower December , 1881 (page R302)
Let us, dearly beloved, see to it, that we not only bury ourselves and our wills in Christ's, but also keep our bodies under--dying daily until fully delivered into the blessed kingdom --which deliverance we believe to be so very nigh at hand.
[R299 : page 1]
VOL. III. PITTSBURGH, PA., DECEMBER, 1881. NO. 6.

page 1
ZION'S
WATCH TOWER
and
Herald of Christ's Presence
ROCK OF AGES
Other foundation can
no man lay
A RANSOM FOR ALL
"Watchman, What of the Night?"
"The Morning Cometh, and a Night also!" Isaiah 21:11
.....
That I may know him and the power of his resurrection --(experience the same resurrection as Jesus to a spiritual body and immortal life--the first resurrection) and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death, if by any means I might attain unto THE (first) resurrection." (Phil. 3:8-11.) "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection." (Rom. 6:5.)
Let us, dearly beloved, see to it, that we not only bury ourselves and our wills in Christ's, but also keep our bodies under--dying daily until fully delivered into the blessed kingdom --which deliverance we believe to be so very nigh at hand.
R303 : page 4]
1880 Zion's Watch Tower September , 1880 (page R134)
Let us, dearly beloved, live up to our covenant, and not only bury ourselves and our wills in Christ's, but also keep our bodies under--dying daily until fully delivered into the blessed kingdom--which deliverance we believe to be so very nigh at hand.
R132 : page 1]
VOL. II. PITTSBURGH, PA., SEPTEMBER, 1880. NO. 3.

page 1
ZION'S
WATCH TOWER
and
Herald of Christ's Presence
ROCK OF AGES
Other foundation can
no man lay
A RANSOM FOR ALL
"Watchman, What of the Night?"
"The Morning Cometh, and a Night also!" Isaiah 21:11
....
You may be partly dead, and have given up part of your own will, but when fully crucified you will say with Him, "I delight to do thy will, O Lord." I count all things but loss and dross that I may win Christ--the great prize.
Let us, dearly beloved, live up to our covenant, and not only bury ourselves and our wills in Christ's, but also keep our bodies under--dying daily until fully delivered into the blessed kingdom--which deliverance we believe to be so very nigh at hand.

[R141 : page 2]
I do hope ...that it was not too ...tiring !
Greetings,
J.C. MacHislopp
64
Watchtower Comments (5.26.08) PROPAGANDA & FALLACY
by V in
1. watchtower
2. bible
direct link here.

.

.
MacHislopp

Hello V,
great work. Very logical, facctual and correct. By the way I do like *the voice too.
Excellent quotations. To you and all the others involved in this excellent job, many thanks and
my appreciative remarks,
J.C. MacHislopp
221
Watchtower Comments THE GENERATION CHANGE Featuring LEOLAIA
by V in
1. watchtower
2. bible
MacHislopp

Hello Leolaia,
many many thanks for your excellent piece of work. It will take me a while to digest it but it'll
be worthwile. I do really appreciate your contributions and the way you dio present iot.
Furthermore for all those who missed it , I'm posting again some material - quotes of the past
teaching concerning the generation. The Society goes back and forth and gives the same
scriptures ...a different interpretation. See expecially the quote from 1995, 1997 and 1999.
Here is the material:
I
Zion’s Watch Tower published on April 1882 :
[R334 : page 1]
VOL. III. PITTSBURGH, PA., APRIL, 1882. NO. 10.
==========
[page 1]
ZION'S
Watch Tower
AND
HERALD OF CHRIST'S PRESENCE.
----------
PUBLISHED MONTHLY.
101 Fifth Ave., PITTSBURGH, PA.
----------
C. T. RUSSELL, Editor and Publisher.
.....
r342 "THIS GENERATION."
R342 : page 6]
"THIS GENERATION."
"Verily I say unto you this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." Matt. 24:34.
This passage has puzzled us many times, and our experience may be the same as some others with regard to it, but we think we have the solution of it now. It may not be new to some, but it is to us. However, it is not because it is new, but because it is true (as we believe) that it satisfies us.
The disciples had been asking Jesus (ver. 3) about the destruction of Jerusalem, what should be the sign of his coming, and of the end of the world (age), and after answering their questions with regard to it, he adds the words referred to above.
We understand some to think that this prophecy was fulfilled at the transfiguration; and a careless reading of Mark 9:1, with 2 Peter 1:17,18, might seem to justify that conclusion; but when we reflect that not alone was his coming inquired after, but the end of the age ("what shall be the sign of the presence and of the end of the age" [Emphatic Diaglott]) and in accordance with their questions he gave the signs all along up to the end of the age, and then says, "Verily I say unto you this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled."
This could not be fulfilled by any events recorded in the above scriptures, but Mark 9:1was fulfilled "six days after," and is referred to by Peter.
We think Jesus, as he was not talking to the multitude, used plain language, no figure nor symbol, but that the whole difficulty centres in the meaning of the word generation.
We think the key to it is found in Matt. 19:28. "Verily I say unto you that ye who have followed me--in the re-generation when the son of man shall sit upon the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
We understand that he used the word generation in distinction from the word regeneration; in other words, that he gave them to understand that he would be present before the regeneration, and before the people of this age should pass away ("this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled") for (ver. 38) !!"as in those days, those before the deluge...thus will be the presence of the Son of man." E. Diaglott.
We consider this, in harmony with other scriptures, is clearly opposed to the post millennial view, and strongly in confirmation of the pre-millennial view.
Now, then, are "all these things" fulfilled? Are they nearly all fulfilled?
This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations." Has that been done? Yes.
"Then shall the end (of the age-- The harvest is the end of the age. Matt. 13:39,) come." HEKO, have come, be here; (see Young's Analytical Concordance.) "Therefore let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised, and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching." Heb. 10:23,24,25.
The end of one day (Gospel day) having come, "another day," Heb. 4:8, is approaching. "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
J. C. SUNDERLIN.
In the year 1889, Brother Charles Taze Russell also taught that "this generation" referred to people in general, who were living at a significant time in history:
See:
STUDIES
IN THE
SCRIPTURES
"The Path of the Just is as the Shining Light,
Which Shineth More and More
Unto the Perfect Day."

SERIES III

"The Battle of Armageddon"
.....
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION
LONDON, BROOKLYN, MELBOURNE, BARMEN
COPENHAGEN, OREBRO, CHRISTIANIA, GENEVA
1915
.....
COPYRIGHT 1889.
WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY,
BROOKLYN. N.Y., U.S.A.
.....
STUDY XII.
OUR LORD'S GREAT PROPHECY.
MATT. 24;MARK 13; LUKE 21:5-36; 17:20-37.
.....
PROXIMITY OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

"Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves ye know that summer * is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it (the Kingdom of God — Luke 17:21) is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." "Heaven and earth [the present ecclesiastical and social order] shall pass away: but my word shall not pass away." — Matt. 24:32-35.
Unbelievers have seized upon this passage claiming that it manifestly has not been fulfilled, and hence proves our Lord to have been a false prophet. They apply the prophecy wholly to the troubles connected with the fall of Israel's national polity in A. D. 70, and contemptuously remark that that generation and many more passed away without seeing the fulfilment of "all these things." Our answer to this, of course, is that our Lord's prophecy is not understood, — that it referred only in part to the trouble upon Israel which culminated in A. D. 70.
But to meet the objection, certain Christian writers have been led to claim that the words "this generation" really meant, this race, the Jews, shall not pass away until all these predictions have been fulfilled.
But we must dissent from this interpretation for several reasons: —
(1) Although the words "generation" and "race" may be said to come from a common root or starting point, yet they are not the same; and in Scriptural usage the two words are quite distinct.

* The Hebrews divided their year into two seasons, summer and Winter.
603
Notice that in the New Testament when the word generation is used in the sense of race or posterity, it is always from the Greek gennema (as in Matt. 3:7; 12:34; 23:33; Luke 3:7) or from genos (as in 1 Pet 2:9).
But in the three different records of this prophecy our Lord is credited with using a wholly different Greek word (genea) which does not mean race, but has the same significance as our English word generation.
Other uses of this Greek word (genea) prove that it is not used with the significance of race, but in reference to people living cotemporaneously.
We cite in proof, — Matt. 1:17; 11:16; 12:41; 23:36; Luke 11:50, 51; 16:8; Acts 13:36; Col. 1:26; Heb. 3:10.
(2) Our Lord could not have meant the Jewish race, and it would have been improper to have used a Greek word signifying race, because the Jewish race was not the subject of the apostles' inquiry nor of our Lord's prophecy in reply.
Israel is barely referred to in the prophecy, and to have said, This race will not pass away until all be fulfilled, would have left the matter open to the question as to which or what race might be meant, for no particular race is indicated. It would, therefore, if the word meant race, be as proper to say that it meant the human race as to say that it referred to the Jewish race.
But understanding genea here, as elsewhere, to mean generation, and recognizing that our Lord's words were a prophecy covering the entire Gospel age, we have no difficulty in understanding the statement to mean, — "This generation [which will witness the signs inquired for by the Apostles and just enumerated by our Lord — namely, the darkening of the sun and moon and the falling of the stars] — this generation shall not pass away until all these things be fulfilled." In other words, the signs mentioned will occur within a generation-epoch in the close of the age.
604
The sprouting of the fig tree may have been but a casual remark, but we incline to think that it was not. The peculiar circumstance narrated of our Lord's curse upon a fig tree which bore no fruit, and which withered away directly (Matt. 21 19, 20) inclines us to believe that the fig tree in this prophecy may be understood to signify the Jewish nation. If so, it is being signally fulfilled; for not only are thousands of Israelites returning to Palestine, but the Zionist movement, started recently, has assumed such proportions as to justify a Convention of representatives from all parts of the world to meet in Switzerland to put in practical shape the proposal for the reorganization of a Jewish state in Palestine. These buds will thrive, but will bear no perfect fruit before October 1914 — the full end of "Gentile Times."
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; and, to our understanding, every item predicted had begun to be fulfilled at that date; — the "harvest" or gathering time beginning October 1874; the organization of the Kingdom and the taking by our Lord of his great power as the King in April 1878, and the time of trouble or "day of wrath" which began October 1874 and will end October 1914; and the sprouting of the fig tree.
Those who choose might without inconsistency say that the century or generation might as properly reckon from the last sign, the falling of the stars, as from the first, the darkening of the sun and moon: and a century beginning 1833 would be still far from run out.
Many are living who witnessed the star-falling sign. Those who are walking with us in the light of present truth are not looking for things to come which
605
are already here, but are waiting for the consummation of matters already in progress. Or, since the Master said, " 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 — 36½ years — about the average of human life to-day.
"But of that day and hour knoweth no man; no not the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but my Father only." (Matt. 24:36, Sinaitic MS. Compare Mark 13:32,33.) "Take ye heed, watch and pray, for ye know not when the time is."
To many these words seem to imply much more than they express: they think of them as though they put a lock upon and made useless all the prophecies of the Bible; — as though our Lord had said, "No man shall ever know," whereas he merely said, "No man [now] knoweth," referring only to the persons who heard him — to whom the exact times and seasons were not due to be revealed. Who can doubt that the "angels of heaven" and "the Son" now know, fully and clearly, matters which have progressed so nearly to fulfilment?
And if they are not now hindered from knowing by the statement of this verse, neither now are God's saints hindered or restrained by this verse from seeking an understanding of all truth "written aforetime for our learning." Indeed, it was in great measure because it was not the Father's will that his people then, nor down to the time the "seals" were broken* should know the date, that our Lord delineated the course of events, and assured them that if they would watch and pray and thus continue faithful, they, at the proper time, would not be left in darkness, but would see and know.

* VOL. 2, Chaps. 2 and 3.
606
God, through his Prophet Daniel, pointed out that at this time "the wise shall understand" the vision and prophecy, and merely that "none of the wicked shall understand." (Dan. 12:9, 10.) To this the Apostle Paul adds his testimony, "Ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should come upon you as a thief," although it shall come thus upon all the world. "Watch ye, therefore [that in due time YE MAY KNOW], and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass."
AS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH, "THEY KNEW NOT."

"But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the presence [Greek parousia] of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and KNEW NOT, . . . so shall also the presence of the Son of Man be." — Matt. 24:37-39.
The real point of this illustration is overlooked by many who presuppose, without any authority in the Master's words, that the similarity here being pointed out is the wickedness of Noah's day and that of the day of Christ's presence. But while such a comparison might have been justifiable and proper, the fact: remains that such comparison was not made, but avoided. The comparison made is similarity of ignorance.
Only Noah and his family knew; the people KNEW NOT, but proceeded as usual, — marrying, planting, building, eating and drinking. Similarly, during the time of Christ's presence in the end of this age, and while the great time of trouble is impending, the only ones who will know of his presence or have a clear apprehension of what is coming, or why, or the outcome, will be the Lord's people. Others will "know not."
In Luke (17:26-29) the same lesson is taught; and both Noah's and Lot's neighbors are shown to have been igno-
607
rant of their impending troubles in the days of Noah, and in the days of Lot, as people here will be ignorant of the coming trouble in the days of the Son of Man — after he has come and is present. We see this clearly fulfilled about us to-day. The world is fearful and perplexed; but it knows not of the presence of the Son of Man, and the "harvest" reckoning now in progress. Even though they may approximately surmise the trouble coming, they cannot guess the blessing that is beyond it.
"Even thus shall it be when the Son of Man [already present] is revealed [made manifest — first to his watching "virgins," later in the trouble to all men]. In that day, he which shall be on the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife! Whosoever shall seek to save his life [by compromises of conscience and staying in Babylon] shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life [sacrifice the interests of the present life] shall preserve it" — everlastingly. — Luke 17:30-33.
Thus does Luke's Gospel apply these words (already considered, foregoing) to the close of the Gospel age — "the day when the Son of Man is revealed."
"Remember Lot's wife!" is our Lord's pointed warning. How slight would be the appropriateness of this injunction, if applied to those who fled from Judea in A. D. 70; but how intensely forceful it is as a caution to God's people here, in the close of the Gospel age.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
In the year 1927, just 11 years after the death of brother Charles Taze Russell, brother J.F. Rutherford modified the teaching
as anyone can see from the following:
The Watch Tower, February 15th, 1927, page 62
Question: In Matthew 24:34 Jesus said: "Verily I
say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all
these things be fulfilled." What did he mean by "this generation" ?
Answer: It could hardly be said that he meant any human being living on the earth at that time. He was giving testimony concerning things that were to transpire at the end of the world. That was a long way off. No generation of the human race has ever existed as long as a thousand years. It follows then that Jesus must have meant something else. What could he have meant ?
At the Jordan Jehovah started a new generation,a new creation, of which Christ Jesus is the Head.
Jesus selected twelve disciples, who were with him for three and one-half years. Eleven of these we have every reason to believe , constitute a part of that new creation.
In 1 Peter 2:9 the apostle, speaking to the church of course, referred to those who are faithful. The irresistible conclusion therefore is that Jesus referred to the new creation when he said: "This generation shall not pass until all these things be fulfilled."
This thenwould be a strong indication that some members of the new creation will be on the earth at the time of Armageddon. “

In the year 1942, after the death of brother J.F. Rutherford, the teaching was again modified and generation was no no longer synonymous lwith “anointed” , ‘ new creation’ as anyone see from the following:
The Watchtower, July 1st , 1942 page 204 par. 43
“ ...after the winter of Armageddon the remnant and their companions will come forth from their protected place under God’s hiding and enter into the lorious season of the Kingdom in its undisputed ower over earth. (Job 37: 22-24) Pointing to the events of our time since 1914 Jesus said : "Behold the fig tree, and all the trees ; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation [including the remnant] shall not pass away tillall be fulfilled." (Luke 21:29-32)
In the year 1949, an article stated :
The Watchtower, July 15th, 1949 page 215, par. 19
“...the generation of Jesus’ earthly days did not
thus see him arriving in Kingdom power. But that
generation was a prophetic illustration. It has its
modern counterpart in our generation from A.D. 1914 forward. This generation is the one that sees the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven as foretold by Daniel, because in 1914, the year marking the end of the Gentile times, Jehovah God gave the Kingdom to him whose right it is.”
Reference also to the teaching of "this generation" being composed of the "Anointed “can be found in the book:
Life (published in the year 1929,
Page 330) :
LIFE
Copyrighted 1929 by
J.F.Rutherford
Made in U.S.A.
....
Having now established conclusively that the fig and the fig tree were spoken of symbolically
330
as applying to the Jewish people, note the further words of Jesus in answer to the question concerning his presence and the end of the world: "Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." — Matt. 24:32,33.
Jesus indicated that the true followers of Christ who would compose the remnant on earth at the end of the world would observe these things, and that, if continuing faithful to the end, they would see the kingdom of God established in complete glory: "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." (Matt. 24: 34) And then for the further encouragement of the faithful remnant he said: "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." — Luke 21:28.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Also in the year 1930 an article stated :
The Watch Tower, November 1st , 1930, page 332
" Speaking of world happenings since A. D. 1914, Jesus said (and his words apply to Christians living since that date) : “When ye see these things come to pass [as prophesied], know ye that the
kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” (Luke 21: 31) So, inside the lifetime of the present living generation the Lord Jesus will put into effect for all mankind the value of his ransom sacrifice which he laid down for all. "
Then in the year 1995 came a great change/clarification/more precise view point was published in a study article and also as a Question from Readers:
*** w95 11/1 pp. 10-15 Saved From a “Wicked Generation”
“O faithless and twisted generation, how long must I continue with you and put up with you?”—LUKE 9:41.
....
However, they had been aware of Jesus’ prophetic words: “This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.” (Matthew 24:34) Apparently, the application of “generation” here is different from that at Ecclesiastes 1:4, which speaks of successive generations coming and going over a period of time.
“This Generation”—What Is It?
9 When four apostles seated with Jesus on the Mount of Olives heard his prophecy about “the conclusion of the system of things,” how would they understand the expression “this generation”?
In the Gospels the word “generation” is translated from the Greek word ge·ne·a´, which current lexicons define in these terms: “Lit[erally] those descended fr[om] a common ancestor.” (Walter Bauer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament) “That which has been begotten, a family; . . . successive members of a genealogy . . . or of a race of people . . . or of the whole multitude of men living at the same time, Matt. 24:34; Mark 13:30; Luke 1:48; 21:32; Phil. 2:15, and especially of those of the Jewish race living at the same period.” (W. E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words) “That which has been begotten, men of the same stock, a family; . . . the whole multitude of men living at the same time: Mt. xxiv. 34; Mk. xiii. 30; Lk. i. 48 . . . used esp[ecially] of the Jewish race living at one and the same period.”—J. H. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.
10 Thus Vine and Thayer both cite Matthew 24:34 in defining “this generation” (he ge·ne·a´ hau´te) as “the whole multitude of men living at the same time.” The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (1964) gives support to this definition, stating: “The use of ‘generation’ by Jesus expresses his comprehensive purpose: he aims at the whole people and is conscious of their solidarity in sin.” Truly a “solidarity in sin” was apparent in the Jewish nation when Jesus was on earth, just as it marks the world system today.
11 Of course, Christians studying this matter guide their thinking primarily by how Jesus used the Greek expression he ge·ne·a´ hau´te, or “this generation.” He used it consistently in a negative way. Thus, he called the Jewish religious leaders “serpents, offspring of vipers” and went on to say that the judgment of Gehenna would be executed on “this generation.” (Matthew 23:33, 36) However, was this judgment limited to the hypocritical clergy? Not at all. On a number of occasions, Jesus’ disciples heard him speak of “this generation,” applying the term uniformly in a far wider sense. What was that?
“This Wicked Generation”
12 In 31 C.E., during Jesus’ great Galilean ministry and shortly after the Passover, his disciples heard him say to “the crowds”: “With whom shall I compare this generation? It is like young children sitting in the marketplaces who cry out to their playmates, saying, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance; we wailed, but you did not beat yourselves in grief.’ Correspondingly, John [the Baptizer] came neither eating nor drinking, yet people say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of man [Jesus] did come eating and drinking, still people say, ‘Look! A man gluttonous and given to drinking wine, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’” There was no pleasing those unprincipled “crowds”!—Matthew 11:7, 16-19.
13 Later in 31 C.E., as Jesus and his disciples set out on their second preaching tour of Galilee, “some of the scribes and Pharisees” asked Jesus for a sign. He told them and “the crowds” who were present: “A wicked and adulterous generation keeps on seeking for a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. . . . That is how it will be also with this wicked generation.” (Matthew 12:38-46) Obviously, “this wicked generation” included both the religious leaders and “the crowds” who never came to appreciate the sign that was fulfilled in Jesus’ death and resurrection.
14 After the Passover of 32 C.E., as Jesus and his disciples came into the Galilean region of Magadan, the Sadducees and the Pharisees again asked Jesus for a sign. He repeated to them: “A wicked and adulterous generation keeps on seeking for a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” (Matthew 16:1-4) Those religious hypocrites were indeed most reprehensible as leaders among the unfaithful “crowds” whom Jesus condemned as “this wicked generation.”
15 Toward the end of his Galilean ministry, Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him and said: “Whoever becomes ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him.” (Mark 8:34, 38) So the masses of unrepentant Jews of that time obviously made up “this adulterous and sinful generation.” Some days later, after Jesus’ transfiguration, Jesus and his disciples “came toward the crowd,” and a man asked him to heal his son. Jesus commented: “O faithless and twisted generation, how long must I continue with you? How long must I put up with you?”—Matthew 17:14-17; Luke 9:37-41.
16 It was likely in Judea, after the Festival of Booths in 32 C.E., “when the crowds were massing together” around Jesus, that he repeated his condemnation of them, saying: “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign. But no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” (Luke 11:29) Finally, when the religious leaders brought Jesus to trial, Pilate offered to release him. The record says: “The chief priests and the older men persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas, but to have Jesus destroyed. . . . Pilate said to them: ‘What, then, shall I do with Jesus the so-called Christ?’ They all said: ‘Let him be impaled!’ He said: ‘Why, what bad thing did he do?’ Still they kept crying out all the more: ‘Let him be impaled!’” That “wicked generation” was demanding Jesus’ blood!—Matthew 27:20-25.
17 A “faithless and twisted generation,” egged on by its religious leaders, thus played a key part in bringing about the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Fifty days later, at Pentecost in 33 C.E., the disciples received holy spirit and started to speak in different tongues. Upon hearing the sound, “the multitude came together,” and the apostle Peter addressed them as “men of Judea and all you inhabitants of Jerusalem,” saying: “This man [Jesus] . . . you fastened to a stake by the hand of lawless men and did away with.” How did some of those listeners react? “They were stabbed to the heart.” Peter then called on them to repent. He “bore thorough witness and kept exhorting them, saying: ‘Get saved from this crooked generation.’” In response, about three thousand “embraced his word heartily [and] were baptized.”—Acts 2:6, 14, 23, 37, 40, 41.
“This Generation” Identified
18 What, then, is the “generation” so frequently referred to by Jesus in the presence of his disciples? What did they understand by his words: “This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur”? Surely, Jesus was not departing from his established use of the term “this generation,” which he consistently applied to the contemporary masses with their “blind guides” who together made up the Jewish nation. (Matthew 15:14) “This generation” experienced all the distress foretold by Jesus and then passed away in an unequaled “great tribulation” on Jerusalem.—Matthew 24:21, 34.
19 In the first century, Jehovah was judging the Jewish people. Repentant ones, who came to exercise faith in Jehovah’s merciful provision through Christ, were saved out of that “great tribulation.” True to Jesus’ words, all things prophesied occurred, and then the “heaven and earth” of the Jewish system of things—the entire nation, with its religious leaders and wicked society of people—passed away. Jehovah had executed judgment!—Matthew 24:35; compare 2 Peter 3:7.
20 Those Jews who had paid attention to Jesus’ prophetic words realized that their salvation depended, not on trying to calculate the length of a “generation” or of some dated “times or seasons,” but on keeping separate from the evil contemporary generation and zealously doing God’s will. Though the final words of Jesus’ prophecy apply to the major fulfillment in our day, first-century Jewish Christians also had to heed the admonition: “Keep awake, then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that are destined to occur, and in standing before the Son of man.”—Luke 21:32-36; Acts 1:6-8.
21 Today, “the great day of Jehovah . . . is near, and there is a hurrying of it very much.” (Zephaniah 1:14-18; Isaiah 13:9, 13) Suddenly, at Jehovah’s own predetermined “day and hour,” his fury will be unleashed upon the world’s religious, political, and commercial elements, together with the wayward people who make up this contemporary “wicked and adulterous generation.” (Matthew 12:39; 24:36; Revelation 7:1-3, 9, 14) How may you get saved out of “the great tribulation”? Our next article will answer and tell of the grand hope for the future.
[Footnotes]
For a detailed outline of this prophecy, please see the chart on pages 14, 15 of The Watchtower of February 15, 1994.
For further information on the “weeks” of years, see pages 130-2 of the book The Bible—God’s Word or Man’s?, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
Certain Bibles render he ge·ne·a´ hau´te at Matthew 24:34 as follows: “these people” (The Holy Bible in the Language of Today [1976], by W. F. Beck); “this nation” (The New Testament—An Expanded Translation [1961], by K. S. Wuest); “this people” (Jewish New Testament [1979], by D. H. Stern).
These unfaithful “crowds” are not to be equated with the ?am-ha·’a´rets, or “people of the land,” with whom the proud religious leaders refused to associate, but for whom Jesus “felt pity.”—Matthew 9:36; John 7:49.
Further clarifications also in:
*** w95 11/1 pp. 16-21 A Time to Keep Awake ***
....
4 In our preceding article, we noted how the wicked Jewish generation that called for the blood of Jesus met its end. What, then, of the ruinous generation of mankind that even now opposes or ignores him? When will judgment on this faithless generation be executed?
“Keep on the Watch”!
5 After prophesying events leading up to a time of “great tribulation,” Jesus added: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:3-36; Mark 13:3-32) We do not need to know the exact timing of events. Rather, our focus must be on being watchful, cultivating strong faith, and keeping busy in Jehovah’s service—not on calculating a date. Jesus concluded his great prophecy by saying: “Keep looking, keep awake, for you do not know when the appointed time is. . . . Keep on the watch . . . What I say to you I say to all, Keep on the watch.” (Mark 13:33-37) Danger lurks in the shadows of today’s world. We must keep awake!—Romans 13:11-13.
6 Not only must we pay attention to the inspired prophecies concerning these final days of a wicked system but we must anchor our faith primarily on the precious sacrifice of Christ Jesus and God’s marvelous promises based thereon. (Hebrews 6:17-19; 9:14; 1 Peter 1:18, 19; 2 Peter 1:16-19) Eager to see the end of this evil system, Jehovah’s people have at times speculated about the time when the “great tribulation” would break out, even tying this to calculations of what is the lifetime of a generation since 1914.
However, we “bring a heart of wisdom in,” not by speculating about how many years or days make up a generation, but by thinking about how we “count our days” in bringing joyful praise to Jehovah. (Psalm 90:12)
Rather than provide a rule for measuring time, the term “generation” as used by Jesus refers principally to contemporary people of a certain historical period, with their identifying characteristics.
7 In line with the above, professor of history Robert Wohl wrote in his book The Generation of 1914: “A historical generation is not defined by its chronological limits . . . It is not a zone of dates.” But he pointed out that World War I created “an overwhelming sense of rupture with the past,” and he added: “Those who lived through the war could never rid themselves of the belief that one world had ended and another begun in August 1914.”
How true that is! It focuses on the crux of the matter. “This generation” of mankind since 1914 has experienced appalling changes. It has seen the earth drenched with the blood of millions. Warfare, genocide, terrorism, crime, and lawlessness have erupted worldwide. Famine, disease, and immorality have stalked our globe. Jesus prophesied: “You also, when you [his disciples] see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I say to you, This generation will by no means pass away until all things occur.”—Luke 21:31, 32.
8 Yes, the complete triumph of the Messianic Kingdom is at hand! Is anything to be gained, then, by looking for dates
or by speculating about the literal lifetime of a “generation”?
Far from it! Habakkuk 2:3 clearly states: “The vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end, and it will not tell a lie. Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late.” Jehovah’s day of accounting hastens ever closer.—Jeremiah 25:31-33; Malachi 4:1.
9 When Christ’s Kingdom rule began in 1914, Satan was hurled down to earth. This has meant “woe for the earth . . . because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.” (Revelation 12:12) That time is short, indeed, compared with the thousands of years of Satan’s rulership. The Kingdom is at hand, and so is Jehovah’s day and hour for executing judgment on this wicked generation!—Proverbs 3:25; 10:24, 25.
The “Generation” That Passes Away
10 Let us examine more closely Jesus’ statement at Matthew 24:34, 35: “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.” Jesus’ words that follow show that ‘nobody knows that day and hour.’
Far more important, he shows that we must avoid the snares surrounding us in this generation. Thus Jesus adds: “For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be.” (Matthew 24:36-39) Jesus here compared the generation of his day to that of Noah’s day.—Genesis 6:5, 9; footnote.
11 This was not the first time that the apostles heard Jesus make this comparison of ‘generation,’ for some days earlier he had stated concerning himself: “The Son of man . . . must undergo many sufferings and be rejected by this generation. Moreover, just as it occurred in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of man.” (Luke 17:24-26) Thus, Matthew chapter 24 and Luke chapter 17 make the same comparison. In Noah’s day “all flesh [that] had ruined its way on the earth” and that was destroyed at the Flood was “this generation.” In Jesus’ day the apostate Jewish people that were rejecting Jesus was “this generation.”—Genesis 6:11, 12; 7:1.
12 Therefore, in the final fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy today, “this generation” apparently refers to the peoples of earth who see the sign of Christ’s presence but fail to mend their ways.
In contrast, we as Jesus’ disciples refuse to be molded by the life-style of “this generation.” Though in the world, we must be no part of it, “for the appointed time is near.” (Revelation 1:3; John 17:16) The apostle Paul admonishes us: “Keep doing all things free from murmurings and arguments, that you may come to be blameless and innocent, children of God without a blemish in among a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you are shining as illuminators in the world.” —Philippians 2:14, 15; Colossians 3:5-10; 1 John 2:15-17.
13 Our “shining as illuminators” includes not only displaying a clean Christian personality but, above all, fulfilling Jesus’ prophetic commission: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14) No human can say when that end will be, but we know that the end of “this generation” of wicked people will come once the witness has been given to God’s satisfaction “to the most distant part of the earth.”—Acts 1:8.
“That Day and Hour”
14 When the global witness has been accomplished to the extent Jehovah purposes, it will be his “day and hour” to dispose of this world’s system. We do not need to know the date in advance. Thus, following Jesus’ example, the apostle Paul admonished: “Now as for the times and the seasons, brothers, you need nothing to be written to you. For you yourselves know quite well that Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. Whenever it is that they are saying: ‘Peace and security!’ then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them just as the pang of distress upon a pregnant woman; and they will by no means escape.” Note Paul’s focus: ‘It is when they are saying.’ Yes, when there is talk of “peace and security,” when it is least expected, God’s judgment will suddenly be executed. How appropriate is Paul’s advice: “So, then, let us not sleep on as the rest do, but let us stay awake and keep our senses”!—1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, 6; see also verses 7-11; Acts 1:7.
15 Does our more precise viewpoint on “this generation” mean that Armageddon is further away than we had thought? Not at all! Though we at no time have known the “day and hour,” Jehovah God has always known it, and he does not change. (Malachi 3:6) Obviously, the world is sinking further and further toward terminal ruination. The need to keep awake is more critical than it has ever been. Jehovah has revealed to us “the things that must shortly take place,” and we should respond with an absorbing sense of urgency.—Revelation 1:1; 11:18; 16:14, 16.
16 As the time approaches, keep awake, for Jehovah is about to bring calamity on all of Satan’s system! (Jeremiah 25:29-31) Jehovah says: “I shall certainly magnify myself and sanctify myself and make myself known before the eyes of many nations; and they will have to know that I am Jehovah.” (Ezekiel 38:23) That decisive “day of Jehovah” draws near!—Joel 1:15; 2:1, 2; Amos 5:18-20; Zephaniah 2:2, 3.
Righteous “New Heavens and a New Earth”
17 Concerning ‘all these things that must occur’ Jesus said: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.” (Matthew 24:34, 35) Jesus likely had in mind the “heaven and earth”—the rulers and the ruled—of “this generation.” The apostle Peter used similar words in referring to “the heavens and the earth that are now,” which are “stored up for fire and are being reserved to the day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly men.” He next describes how “Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, in which the [governmental] heavens will pass away” together with a corrupt human society, or “earth,” and its sinful works.
The apostle then exhorts us to “holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion, [as we are] awaiting and keeping close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah, through which the heavens being on fire will be dissolved and the elements being intensely hot will melt!” What follows? Peter turns our attention to ‘new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness is to dwell.’—2 Peter 3:7, 10-13.
18 Those “new heavens,” the Kingdom rule by Christ Jesus and his associate kings, will shower blessings on the righteous “new earth” society of mankind. Are you a prospective member of that society? If so, you have reason to exult over the grand future in store!—Isaiah 65:17-19; Revelation 21:1-5.
19 Yes, a righteous “generation” of mankind is even now being gathered. Today the anointed “faithful and discreet slave” is providing divine education in line with the words of Psalm 78:1, 4: “Do give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ear to the sayings of my mouth . . . , relating them even to the generation to come, the praises of Jehovah and his strength and his wonderful things that he has done.” (Matthew 24:45-47) On April 14 of this year, in more than 75,500 congregations and in some 230 lands, over 12,000,000 persons around the earth attended the Memorial of Christ’s death. Were you among them? May you rest your faith on Christ Jesus and ‘call on the name of Jehovah for salvation.’—Romans 10:10-13.
20 “The time left is reduced,” said the apostle Paul. It is time, therefore, to keep ever awake and busy in Jehovah’s work, as we endure trials and hatreds imposed by a wicked generation of mankind. (1 Corinthians 7:29; Matthew 10:22; 24:13, 14) Let us keep on the watch, observing all the things foretold in the Bible to come upon “this generation.” (Luke 21:31-33) By escaping these things and by standing with divine approval before the Son of man, we may at last attain to the prize of everlasting life.
[Footnotes]
For detailed information on the “seven times,” see pages 127-39, 186-9 of the book “Let Your Kingdom Come,” published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
See Volume 1, page 918, of Insight on the Scriptures, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
*** it-1 pp. 917-918 Generation ***
A generation commonly refers to all persons who were born about the same time. (Ex 1:6; Mt 11:16) Associated with this is the meaning “contemporaries.” At Genesis 6:9 it is stated concerning Noah: “He proved himself faultless among his contemporaries [literally, generations].” When used with reference to family relationships, a generation can refer to a group of descendants, as sons and daughters or grandsons and granddaughters.—Job 42:16.
The term can be used as a measure of time with reference to past or future ages. The generations of mankind descended from the sinner Adam have been transitory, as contrasted with the earth, which abides forever. (Ec 1:4; Ps 104:5) But the expressions “unnumbered generations” and “a thousand generations” refer to that which is to time indefinite. (1Ch 16:15; Isa 51:8) The command to the Jews that the celebration of the Passover was to be observed “throughout your generations” denoted continual performance to a time then indefinite. (Ex 12:14) God stated to Moses that Jehovah was his name as a memorial “to time indefinite,” “to generation after generation,” which implies forever. (Ex 3:15) The apostle Paul tells us that God is to be given glory “to all generations forever and ever.”—Eph 3:21.
A generation may mean a class of persons, that is, those characterized by certain qualities or conditions. The Bible speaks of “the generation of the righteous one” (Ps 14:5; 24:6; 112:2) and “a generation crooked and twisted,” “a generation of perverseness.” (De 32:5, 20; Pr 30:11-14)
Jesus Christ, when on earth, spoke similarly of the people of the Jewish nation of that day, and the apostle Paul applied such terms to the world of his day in general, which was alienated from God.—Mt 12:39; 16:4; 17:17; Mr 8:38; Php 2:14, 15.
One Hebrew word for “generation” is dohr, corresponding to the Aramaic dar. (Da 4:3, 34) Dohr comes from a root verb meaning “stack in a circle” or “move around” (Eze 24:5; Ps 84:10) and thus has a basic underlying meaning of “circle.” The related word dur means “ball.” (Isa 22:18) The Greek equivalent is ge·ne·a´, from a root meaning “be born.”
Another Hebrew word, toh·le·dhohth´, is occasionally rendered “generations” or “genealogy” (Nu 3:1; Ru 4:18), also “descendants” or “families” (1Ch 5:7; 7:2, 4, 9) and “history” or “origins.”—Ge 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; compare AS, AT, KJ, Dy, NW, RS, and other translations.
Length. When the term “generation” is used with reference to the people living at a particular time, the exact length of that time cannot be stated, except that the time would fall within reasonable limits. These limits would be determined by the life span of the people of that time or of that population. The life span of the ten generations from Adam to Noah averaged more than 850 years each. (Ge 5:5-31; 9:29) But after Noah, man’s life span dropped off sharply. Abraham, for example, lived only 175 years. (Ge 25:7) Today, much as it was in the time of Moses, people living under favorable conditions may reach 70 or 80 years of age. Moses wrote: “In themselves the days of our years are seventy years; and if because of special mightiness they are eighty years, yet their insistence is on trouble and hurtful things; for it must quickly pass by, and away we fly.” (Ps 90:10) Some few may live longer, but Moses stated the general rule. Moses himself, who lived 120 years, was an exception, as were his brother Aaron (123 years), Joshua (110 years), and some others whose strength and vitality were unusual.—De 34:7; Nu 33:39; Jos 24:29.
“This Generation” of Christ’s Prophecies.
When Bible prophecy speaks of “this generation,” it is necessary to consider the context to determine what generation is meant. Jesus Christ, when denouncing the Jewish religious leaders, concluded by saying: “Truly I say to you, All these things will come upon this generation.” History recounts that about 37 years later (in 70 C.E.) that contemporary generation personally experienced the destruction of Jerusalem, as foretold.—Mt 23:36.
Later that same day, Jesus again used practically the same words, saying: “Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.” (Mt 24:34)
In this instance, Jesus was answering a question regarding the desolation of Jerusalem and its temple as well as regarding the sign of his presence and of the conclusion of the system of things.
Before his reference to “this generation,” however, he had focused his remarks specifically on his “coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” and the nearness of the Kingdom of God. Immediately afterward, he continued with references to his “presence.” (Mt 24:30, 37, 39; Lu 21:27, 31)
Jesus was using the word “generation” with reference to humans whose lives would in some way be associated with the foretold events.—Mt 24.
The people of this 20th-century generation living since 1914 have experienced these many terrifying events concurrently and in concentrated measure—international wars, great earthquakes, terrible pestilences, widespread famine, persecution of Christians, and other conditions that Jesus outlined in Matthew chapter 24, Mark chapter 13, and Luke chapter 21.
See also pages 152-6 and 180-1 of Our Incoming World Government—God’s Kingdom, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
*** go chap. 9 pp. 152-156 The “Sign” of Imminence of the World Government ***
“KNOW THAT HE IS NEAR AT THE DOORS”
10 With a swift skipping of intervening centuries of our Common Era, Jesus Christ passed from the “great tribulation” that resulted in Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 C.E. down to our critical period, “the time of the end.” (Daniel 12:4) He said:
11 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will give great signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the chosen ones. Look! I have forewarned you. Therefore, if people say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; ‘Look! He is in the inner chambers,’ do not believe it. For just as the lightning comes out of eastern parts and shines over to western parts, so the presence [parousia] of the Son of man will be. Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
12 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet sound, and they will gather his chosen ones together from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to their other extremity.”—Matthew 24:23-31; Mark 13:21-27.
13 Like a “great trumpet sound” the message foretold in Matthew 24:14, “this good news of the kingdom,” has been increasingly sounded forth world wide since the year 1919 by the present-day remnant of “his chosen ones.” The more of these “chosen ones” that have been gathered from the four cardinal points (“the four winds”), the louder or more widespread has been the sound of the “good news” trumpet. For this reason we know that the “chosen ones” who are in line for a place in the heavenly kingdom are with us in this “time of the end.” We have not visibly seen any spirit angels gathering them together, but we do see the effect of such angelic activities according to the will of the glorified Son of man. By their preaching work publicly and from house to house, the remnant of gathered “chosen ones” have made themselves seen and heard.
14 No, they have not been gathered under angelic guidance into any one place in any one land. Rather, they have been gathered into a worldwide unity of thought and activity according to the unfolding Holy Scriptures, and they regularly meet together in their congregations, in homes or in Kingdom Halls.
Even when banned by hostile worldly governments, they persist in gathering together, “underground,” so to speak, to build one another up in Christian faith and to organize their preaching efforts. At their annual celebration of the Lord’s Supper, the commemoration of Christ’s death on Nisan 14 (Bible calendar), they partake of the emblematic bread and wine. On April 14 (Nisan 14), of the year 1976, 10,187 of such “chosen ones” thus celebrated and partook of the emblems.
15 These faithful “chosen ones” are waiting for the “sign of the Son of man” in the heavens as he comes in the role of God’s Executioner to destroy all the nations who continue in opposition to his Messianic kingdom over all the earth. No wonder that, when he makes his presence felt by his destructive operations, it will be as if they actually saw him “coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” All good reason for them to “beat themselves in lamentation.”—Matthew 24:30; Revelation 1:7.
THE POINT TO BE LEARNED NOW
16 We are, or at least we all should be, interested in knowing whether the grand climax of developments will come in our time.
How can we know the possibility of this and be guided accordingly? For the guidance of us living today, Jesus as the Prophet concerning the “conclusion of the system of things” went on to say to his twelve apostles: “Now learn from the fig tree as an illustration this point: Just as soon as its young branch grows tender and it puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. Likewise also you, 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.”—Matthew 24:32-35; compare Luke 21:27-33.
17 Those of the “chosen ones” alive today who witnessed the outbreak of World War I in 1914 can recall how we all rejoiced because we saw “these things start to occur.” We knew that the newly enthroned Christ was “near at the doors” for his executional work against this wicked “system of things.” We exulted because “the kingdom of God is near” for taking over full world control and functioning as a world government.
We have not grown tired of being reminded over and over again during these past sixty years and more that the Messianic kingdom of God is “near at the doors.”
This reminding of us has not grown stale and lost its potency and soul-stirring force toward us.
We know that we are of the “generation” that saw the start of these things in 1914 at the close of the Gentile Times, and we believe Jesus’ assurance that this same “generation” of ours will see the finish of these significant things, all this culminating in the total take-over by the triumphant Kingdom of all human affairs.
And
*** go chap. 11 pp. 180-181 pars. 11-14 The Passing of a Divided World ***
11 Who is going to kindle that all-consuming fire that will rage all around this globe? Not the six or more nuclear-powered nations by the detonating of their overstock of bombs and missiles in surprise attacks on one another! No, but Jehovah God, the Creator of all the suns in all the galaxies of stars throughout the depths of space. The time of blazing conflagration will be “the day of Jehovah.” Even though we Bible researchers know that we are living in the foretold “time of the end,” the “conclusion of the system of things,” yet that day for the removal of human rulerships will come as a thief. Man-made political governments, which have dominated mankind just as the literal heavens dominate the earth, will be unable to hold together but will disintegrate in chaotic disorganization. These symbolic “heavens” will, as the apostle Peter says, “pass away with a hissing noise.” The prolonged sound, like that of escaping steam under pressure, may increase to a roaring as the governmental “heavens” crash in ruins.
12 The heat of God’s anger will be expressed so intensely against this ungodly system of things under Satan’s control, that it will be liquefied, as it were, losing stability, internal cohesiveness. The “elements,” that circumambient spirit that surrounds the earth and motivates earth’s inhabitants in general, will lose whatever coolness and equanimity that it has had.
Under the fiery indignation of Jehovah’s day, that elemental spirit will get hot to white heat and will fire the people to wild acts of confused thinking, to violent, lawless fighting among themselves for self-survival. It will no longer hold the people together as a self-contained community. Thus the symbolic “elements” will dissolve, melt!
13 Well, then, could the “earth” that is to be destroyed mean our globe? No, it pictures human society according to the way it carries on under this system of things. Human society has many “works” to show for itself. It has many institutions, many organizations, many religious sects, many nationalistic ideals.
14 What will the “presence of the day of Jehovah” show all this form of human society and its selfish “works” to be? The “presence” of that fiery day of divine judgment will lay these things bare. They will be discovered in the condition in which they really are. The people will have these things made manifest to them as being condemned by the God of unselfishness and righteousness. As in the days of Noah before the global deluge, Jehovah will see “that the badness of man [is] abundant in the earth and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart [is] only bad all the time.” (Genesis 6:5) So in line with his judgment of earthly matters, Jehovah will again wipe out a “world of ungodly people,” the present human society that is symbolized by the expression “earth.”—2 Peter 2:5; 3:7.
Here below the famous ...and almost unknown QfR . Please notice the wording of the Question and
relate them to the w. February 15th, 2008 pages 21-25
"Christ presence - What does it means for You? "
*** w95 11/1 pp. 30-31 Questions From Readers
At 1 Peter 2:9, the “King James Version” calls anointed Christians “a chosen generation.” Should this affect our view of Jesus’ use of “generation” recorded at Matthew 24:34?
The word “generation” does appear in the rendering of both passages in certain translations.
According to the King James Version, the apostle Peter wrote: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”
And Jesus foretold: “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”—1 Peter 2:9; Matthew 24:34.
In the former passage, the apostle Peter used the Greek word ge´nos, whereas in the text of Jesus’ statement, we find ge·ne·a´.
These two Greek words may appear to be similar, and they are linked to a common root; yet, they are different words, and they have different meanings. The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References says in a footnote to 1 Peter 2:9: “‘Race.’ Gr., ge´nos; different from ge·ne·a´, ‘generation,’ as in Mt 24:34.” A corresponding footnote is found to Matthew 24:34.
As those footnotes indicate, ge´nos is appropriately translated by the English word “race,” as commonly found in English versions.
At 1 Peter 2:9, Peter applied the prophecy found at Isaiah 61:6 to anointed Christians with the heavenly hope. These are drawn from many nations and tribes, but natural backgrounds are put behind them as they become part of the nation of spiritual Israel. (Romans 10:12; Galatians 3:28, 29; 6:16; Revelation 5:9, 10)
Peter identified them as becoming, in a spiritual sense, a distinct group—“a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for special possession.”
But in the Greek text of Jesus’ words found at Matthew 24:34, we find the word ge·ne·a´. It is widely recognized that Jesus was referring, not to any “race” of people, but to the people living at a certain period of time.
Almost a hundred years ago, Charles T. Russell, first president of the Watch Tower Society, made this clear, writing:
“Although the words ‘generation’ and ‘race’ may be said to come from a common root or starting point, yet they are not the same; and in Scriptural usage the two words are quite distinct. . . . In the three different records of this prophecy our Lord is credited with using a wholly different Greek word (genea) which does not mean race, but has the same significance as our English word generation. Other uses of this Greek word (genea) prove that it is not used with the significance of race, but in reference to people living contemporaneously.”—
(Studies in the Scriptures - The Day of Vengeance, pages 602-3.)
More recently, A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew (1988), designed for Bible translators, said: “[The New International Version] translates this generation literally but follows with a footnote, ‘Or race.’
And one New Testament scholar believes that
‘Matthew means not just the first generation after Jesus but all the generations of Judaism that reject him.’
However, there is no linguistic evidence to substantiate either of these conclusions, and they must be brushed aside as attempts to avoid the obvious meaning.
In its original setting the reference was solely to Jesus’ own contemporaries.”
As discussed on pages 10 to 15, Jesus condemned the generation of Jews of his time, his contemporaries who rejected him. (Luke 9:41; 11:32; 17:25)
He often used qualifiers such as “wicked and adulterous,” “faithless and twisted,” and “adulterous and sinful” in describing that generation. (Matthew 12:39; 17:17; Mark 8:38)
When Jesus used “generation” for the last time, he was on the Mount of Olives with four apostles. (Mark 13:3)
Those men, who were not yet anointed with spirit nor part of a Christian congregation, certainly did not constitute either a “generation” or a race of people.
They were, though, very familiar with Jesus’ use of the term “generation” in referring to his contemporaries.
So they logically would understand what he had in mind when he mentioned “this generation” for the last time.
The apostle Peter, who was present, thereafter urged Jews: “Get saved from this crooked generation.”—Acts 2:40.
We have often published evidence that many things Jesus foretold in this same discourse (such as wars, earthquakes, and famines) were fulfilled between his uttering the prophecy and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.
Many, but not all. There is no evidence, for example, that after the Romans attacked Jerusalem (66-70 C.E.) “the sign of the Son of man” appeared, causing “all the tribes of the earth” to beat themselves. (Matthew 24:30)
Hence, that fulfillment between 33 C.E. and 70 C.E. must have been merely an initial one, not the full or large-scale fulfillment to which Jesus was also pointing.
In the introduction to his translation of Josephus’ work The Jewish War, G. A. Williamson writes: “The disciples, Matthew tells us, had asked [Jesus] a double question—about the destruction of the Temple and about His own final coming—and He gave them a double answer, the first part of which most vividly foretold the occurrences destined to be so fully described by Josephus.”
Yes, in the initial fulfillment, “this generation” evidently meant the same as it did at other times—the contemporaneous generation of unbelieving Jews. That “generation” would not pass away without experiencing what Jesus foretold.
As Williamson commented, this proved true in the decades leading up to Jerusalem’s destruction, as an eyewitness historian, Josephus, described.
In the second or larger fulfillment, “this generation” would logically also be the contemporaneous people.
As the article beginning on page 16 establishes, we need not conclude that Jesus was referring to a set number of years making up a “generation.”
On the contrary, two key things can be said about any time implied by “generation.”
(1) A generation of people cannot be viewed as a period having a fixed number of years, as is the case with time designations meaning a set number of years (decade or century).
(2) The people of a generation live for a relatively brief period, not one of great length.
Consequently, when the apostles heard Jesus refer to “this generation,” what would they think?
While we, with the benefit of hindsight, know that Jerusalem’s destruction in the “great tribulation” came 37 years later, the apostles hearing Jesus could not know that.
Rather, his mention of “generation” would have conveyed to them, not the idea of a period of great length, but the people living over a relatively limited period of time.
The same is true in our case. How fitting, then, are Jesus’ follow-up words: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father. . . . On this account you too prove yourselves ready, because at an hour that you do not think to be it, the Son of man is coming.”—Matthew 24:36, 44.
[Footnotes]
In the expression “this generation,” a form of the demonstrative pronoun hou´tos well corresponds to the English word “this.” It can refer to something present or before the speaker. But it can also have other meanings.
The Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament (1991) notes: “The word [hou´tos] designates an immediate fact. Thus the [aion hou´tos] is the ‘presently existing world’ . . . and the [genea´ haute] is the ‘generation now living’ (e.g., Matt 12:41f., 45; 24:34).”
Dr. George B. Winer writes: “The pronoun [hou´tos] sometimes refers, not to the noun locally nearest, but to one more remote, which, as the principal subject, was mentally the nearest, the most present to the writer’s thoughts.”—A Grammar of the Idiom of the New Testament, 7th edition, 1897.
Therefore in this QfR the Society dismissed the application : generation equals
the anointed class and to add power to the ...teaching and the statement ,they used
a reference froma publication from C.T. Russell published " hundred years ago"!!!
But the Society, does not finish with the explanation about "generation" , because in the year 1997, just 2 years after the well known 'more precise view point' some more clarifications were published:
*** w97 6/1 28 Questions From Readers *
“The Watchtower” of November 1, 1995, focused on what Jesus said about “this generation,” as we read at Matthew 24:34.
Does this mean that there is some question about whether God’s Kingdom was set up in heaven in 1914?
That discussion in The Watchtower offered no change at all in our fundamental teaching about 1914. Jesus set out the sign to mark his presence in Kingdom power. We have ample evidence that this sign has been in course of fulfillment since 1914. The facts about wars, famines, plagues, earthquakes, and other evidences bear out that since 1914, Jesus has been active as King of God’s Kingdom. This indicates that since then we have been in the conclusion of the system of things.
What, then, was The Watchtower clarifying?
Well, the key was the sense in which Jesus used the word “generation” at Matthew 24:34.
That passage reads: “Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.” What did Jesus mean by “generation,” both in his day and in ours?
Many scriptures confirm that Jesus did not use “generation” with regard to some small or distinct group, meaning only the Jewish leaders or only his loyal disciples.
Rather, he used “generation” in condemning the masses of Jews who rejected him.
Happily, though, individuals could do what the apostle Peter urged on the day of Pentecost, repent and “get saved from this crooked generation.”—Acts 2:40.
In that statement, Peter was clearly not being precise as to any fixed age or length of time, nor was he tying the “generation” to any certain date. He did not say that people should get saved from the generation that was born in the same year Jesus was or the generation that was born in 29 C.E.
Peter was speaking about the unbelieving Jews of that period—some perhaps being rather young, others being older—who had been exposed to Jesus’ teaching, had seen or heard of his miracles, and had not accepted him as Messiah.
That evidently is how Peter understood Jesus’ use of “generation” when he and three other apostles were with Jesus on the Mount of Olives.
According to Jesus’ prophetic statement, Jews of that period—basically, Jesus’ contemporaries—were going to experience or hear of wars, earthquakes, famines, and other evidences that the end of the Jewish system was near. In fact, that generation did not pass before the end came in 70 C.E.—Matthew 24:3-14, 34.
It must be acknowledged that we have not always taken Jesus’ words in that sense. There is a tendency for imperfect humans to want to be specific about the date when the end will come.
Recall that even the apostles sought more specifics, asking: “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”—Acts 1:6.
With similar sincere intentions, God’s servants in modern times have tried to derive from what Jesus said about “generation” some clear time element calculated from 1914. For instance, one line of reasoning has been that a generation can be 70 or 80 years, made up of people old enough to grasp the significance of the first world war and other developments; thus we can calculate more or less how near the end is.
However well-meaning such thinking was, did it comply with the advice Jesus went on to give? Jesus said: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father. . .
. Keep on the watch, therefore, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”—Matthew 24:36-42.
So the recent information in The Watchtower about “this generation” did not change our understanding of what occurred in 1914.
But it did give us a clearer grasp of Jesus’ use of the term “generation,” helping us to see that his usage was no basis for calculating—counting from 1914—how close to the end we are.
Furthermore, in the year 1999, just 4 years after the well known 'more precise view point'
the Society edits, more clarifications were:
*** w99 5/1 10-12 "These Things Must Take Place" ***
Contemporaries Would See It
11 Many Jews felt that their system of worship, centered on the temple, would long continue. But Jesus said: “Learn from the fig tree . . . this point: Just as soon as its young branch grows tender and it puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. Likewise also you, 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.”—Matthew 24:32-35.
12 In the years leading up to 66 C.E., Christians would have seen many of the preliminary elements of the composite sign being fulfilled—wars, famines, even an extensive preaching of the good news of the Kingdom. (Acts 11:28; Colossians 1:23) When, though, would the end come? What did Jesus mean when he said: ‘This generation [Greek, ge·ne·a'] will not pass away’? Jesus had often called the contemporaneous mass of opposing Jews, including religious leaders, ‘a wicked, adulterous generation.’ (Matthew 11:16; 12:39, 45; 16:4; 17:17; 23:36)
So when, on the Mount of Olives, he again spoke of “this generation,” he evidently did not mean the entire race of Jews throughout history; nor did he mean his followers, even though they were “a chosen race.” (1 Peter 2:9) Neither was Jesus saying that “this generation ” is a period of time.
13 Rather, Jesus had in mind the opposing Jews back then who would experience the fulfillment of the sign he gave.
Regarding the reference to “this generation ” at Luke 21:32, Professor Joel B. Green notes: “In the Third Gospel, ‘this generation’ (and related phrases) has regularly signified a category of people who are resistant to the purpose of God. . . . [It refers] to people who stubbornly turn their backs on the divine purpose.”
Question :
12, 13. How would the disciples have understood Jesus’ reference to “this generation”?
14 The wicked generation of Jewish opposers who could observe the sign being fulfilled would also experience the end. (Matthew 24:6, 13, 14)
And that they did! In 70 C.E., the Roman army returned, led by Titus, son of Emperor Vespasian.
°°°°°°°°°°°
Now in case we do get lost in the midst of all these strange and opposite teachings/view points
for your use here is a brief/fast to edit and easy summary , from the year 1882 to the year 2007
1***APRIL, 1882 :
[R334 : page 1] VOL. III. PITTSBURGH, PA., APRIL, 1882. NO. 10. [page 1] ZION'S Watch Tower AND HERALD OF CHRIST'S PRESENCE.
R342 : page 6] "THIS GENERATION." "Verily I say unto you this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." Matt. 24:34. This passage has puzzled us many times, and our experience may be the same as some others with regard to it, but we think we have the solution of it now. It may not be new to some, but it is to us. However, it is not because it is new, but because it is true (as we believe) that it satisfies us.
.... We think Jesus, as he was not talking to the multitude, used plain language, no figure nor symbol, but that the whole difficulty centres in the meaning of the word generation.
.... We understand that he used the word generation in distinction from the word regeneration; in other words, that he gave them to understand that he would be present before the regeneration, and before the people of this age should pass away ("this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled") for (ver. 38)
2***year 1889 (7 years later)
"The Battle of Armageddon" COPYRIGHT 1889.
WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY,BROOKLYN. N.Y., U.S.A.
...STUDY XII.OUR LORD'S GREAT PROPHECY. MATT. 24;MARK 13; LUKE 21:5-36; 17:20-37.
page 603 ... 2) Our Lord could not have meant the Jewish race, and it would have been improper to have used a Greek word signifying race, because the Jewish race was not the subject of the apostles' inquiry nor of our Lord's prophecy in reply.
.... In other words, the signs mentioned will occur within a generation-epoch in the close of the age.
...page 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 — 36½ years — about the average of human life to-day.
3***year 1927 (45 years later )
The Watch Tower, February 15th, 1927, page 62
Question: In Matthew 24:34 Jesus said: "Verily I
say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all
these things be fulfilled." What did he mean by "this generation" ?
Answer: It could hardly be said that he meant any human being living on the earth at that time. He was giving testimony concerning things that were to transpire at the end of the world. That was a long way off. No generation of the human race has ever existed as long as a thousand years. It follows then that Jesus must have meant something else. What could he have meant ?
At the Jordan Jehovah started a new generation,a new creation, of which Christ Jesus is the Head.
Jesus selected twelve disciples, who were with him for three and one-half years. Eleven of these we have every reason to believe , constitute a part of that new creation.
In 1 Peter 2:9 the apostle, speaking to the church
of course, referred to those who are faithful. The irresistible conclusion therefore is that Jesus referred to the new creation when he said: "This generation shall not pass until all these things be fulfilled."
This thenwould be a strong indication that some members of the new creation will be on the earth at the time of Armageddon. “
4***year 1929 (47 years later )
Life (published in the year 1929, Page 330) :
JEHOVAH GOD The Gracious Giver of Life Everlasting This Book Is Dedicated
"The gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Copyrighted 1929 by J.F.Rutherford
Made in U.S.A. ....
330
as applying to the Jewish people, note the further words of Jesus in answer to the question concerning his presence and the end of the world: "Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." — Matt. 24:32,33.
Jesus indicated that the true followers of Christ who would compose the remnant on earth at the end of the world would observe these things, and that, if continuing faithful to the end, they would see the kingdom of God established in complete glory: "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." (Matt. 24: 34)
5***year 1930 (48 years later )
The Watch Tower, November 1st , 1930, page 332
" Speaking of world happenings since A. D. 1914, Jesus said (and his words apply to Christians living since that date) : “When ye see these things come to pass [as prophesied], know ye that the
kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” (Luke 21: 31) So, inside the lifetime of the present living generation the Lord Jesus will put into effect for all mankind the value of his ransom sacrifice which he laid down for all. "
6***year 1942 (60 years later )
The Watchtower, July 1st , 1942 page 204 par. 43
“ ...after the winter of Armageddon the remnant and their companions will come forth from their protected place under God’s hiding and enter into the lorious season of the Kingdom in its undisputed ower over earth. (Job 37: 22-24) Pointing to the events of our time since 1914 Jesus said : "Behold the fig tree, and all the trees ; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation [including the remnant] shall not pass away tillall be fulfilled." (Luke 21:29-32)
7***year 1949 (67 years later )
The Watchtower, July 15th, 1949 page 215, par. 19
“...the generation of Jesus’ earthly days did not thus see him arriving in Kingdom power. But that
generation was a prophetic illustration. It has its modern counterpart in our generation from A.D. 1914 forward. This generation is the one that sees the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven as foretold by Daniel, because in 1914, the year marking the end of the Gentile times, Jehovah God gave the Kingdom to him whose right it is.”
8***year 1995 (113 years later )
A great change was made with the publicatio of study articles:
*** w95 11/1 pp. 10-15 Saved From a “Wicked Generation”
and
*** w95 11/1 pp. 16-21 A Time to Keep Awake
and
*** w95 11/1 pp. 30-31 Questions From Readers
At 1 Peter 2:9, the “King James Version” calls anointed Christians “a chosen generation.” Should this affect our view of Jesus’ use of “generation” recorded at Matthew 24:34?
Also it is vbetter to have ...just in case the key points of the 1995
"... more precise viewpoint.."
(w95 11/1 page 19 § 15 A Time to Keep Awake )
I " 3 Let us now consider the circumstances that surrounded the first fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy. This will help us better to understand the parallel fulfillment today. "
(w95 11/1 pp. 10 §3 Saved From a “Wicked Generation”)
II .... “This Generation”—What Is It?
9 When four apostles seated with Jesus on the Mount of Olives heard his prophecy about “the conclusion of the system of things,” how would they understand the expression “this generation”? In the Gospels the word “generation” is translated from the Greek word ge·ne·a´, which current lexicons define in these terms: “Lit[erally] those descended fr[om] a common ancestor.” (Walter Bauer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament) “That which has been begotten, a family; . . . successive members of a genealogy . . . or of a race of people . . . or of the whole multitude of men living at the same time, Matt. 24:34; Mark 13:30; Luke 1:48; 21:32; Phil. 2:15, and especially of those of the Jewish race living at the same period.” (W. E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words) “That which has been begotten, men of the same stock, a family; . . . the whole multitude of men living at the same time: Mt. xxiv. 34; Mk. xiii. 30; Lk. i. 48 . . . used esp[ecially] of the Jewish race living at one and the same period.”—J. H. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.
10 Thus Vine and Thayer both cite Matthew 24:34 in defining “this generation” (he ge·ne·a´ hau´te) as “the whole multitude of men living at the same time.” The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (1964) gives support to this definition, stating: “The use of ‘generation’ by Jesus expresses his comprehensive purpose: he aims at the whole people and is conscious of their solidarity in sin.” Truly a “solidarity in sin” was apparent in the Jewish nation when Jesus was on earth, just as it marks the world system today.- 11 Of course, Christians studying this matter guide their thinking primarily by how Jesus used the Greek expression he ge·ne·a´ hau´te, or “this generation.” He used it consistently in a negative way. (w95 11/1 page . 10 §9-11 a Saved From a “Wicked Generation”)
III “This Generation” Identified
18 What, then, is the “generation” so frequently referred to by Jesus in the presence of his disciples? What did they understand by his words: “This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur”? Surely, Jesus was not departing from his established use of the term “this generation,” which he consistently applied to the contemporary masses with their “blind guides” who together made up the Jewish nation. (Matthew 15:14)
(w95 11/1 page 15 §18 Saved From a “Wicked Generation”)
IV "... Eager to see the end of this evil system, Jehovah’s people have at times speculated about the time when the “great tribulation” would break out, even tying this to calculations of what is the lifetime of a generation since 1914. However, we “bring a heart of wisdom in,” not by speculating about how many years or days make up a generation, but by thinking about how we “count our days” in bringing joyful praise to Jehovah. (Psalm 90:12) . Rather than provide a rule for measuring time, the term “generation” as used by Jesus refers principally to contemporary people of a certain historical period, with their identifying characteristics.
(w95 11/1 page 16 § 6 A Time to Keep Awake )
V “This generation” of mankind since 1914 has experienced appalling changes. It has seen the earth drenched with the blood of millions. Warfare, genocide, terrorism, crime, and lawlessness have erupted worldwide. Famine, disease, and immorality have stalked our globe. Jesus prophesied: “You also, when you [his disciples] see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I say to you, This generation will by no means pass away until all things occur.”—Luke 21:31, 32.
(w95 11/1 page 17 § 7 A Time to Keep Awake )
VI '...The Kingdom is at hand, and so is Jehovah’s day and hour for executing judgment on this wicked generation!—Proverbs 3:25; 10:24, 25.
(w95 11/1 page 18 § 9 A Time to Keep Awake )
VII § 11.. In Jesus’ day the apostate Jewish people that were rejecting Jesus was “this generation.”—Genesis 6:11, 12; 7:1.
12 Therefore, in the final fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy today, “this generation” apparently refers to the peoples of earth who see the sign of Christ’s presence but fail to mend their ways. In contrast, we as Jesus’ disciples refuse to be molded by the life-style of “this generation.” Though in the world, we must be no part of it, “for the appointed time is near.” (Revelation 1:3; John 17:16)
Questions on paragraphs 12, 13. (a) What today is “this generation” that must pass away? (w95 11/1 page 20 § 11,12 A Time to Keep Awake )
VIII "...No human can say when that end will be, but we know that the end of “this generation” of wicked people will come once the witness has been given to God’s satisfaction “to the most distant part of the earth.”—Acts 1:8.
(w95 11/1 page 20 § 13 A Time to Keep Awake )
IX § 15 Does our more precise viewpoint on “this generation” mean that Armageddon is further away than we had thought? Not at all! Though we at no time have known the “day and hour,” Jehovah God has always known it, and he does not change. (Malachi 3:6)
(w95 11/1 page 20 § 15 A Time to Keep Awake )
X § 20 “The time left is reduced,” said the apostle Paul. It is time, therefore, to keep ever awake and busy in Jehovah’s work, as we endure trials and hatreds imposed by a wicked generation of mankind. (1 Corinthians 7:29; Matthew 10:22; 24:13, 14) Let us keep on the watch, observing all the things foretold in the Bible to come upon “this generation.” (Luke 21:31-33)
(w95 11/1 page 20 § 20 A Time to Keep Awake )
XI *Footnote on §6 See Volume 1, page 918, of Insight on the Scriptures, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. *** it-1 pp. 918 Generation ***
Later that same day, Jesus again used practically the same words, saying: “Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.” (Mt 24:34) In this instance, Jesus was answering a question regarding the desolation of Jerusalem and its temple as well as regarding the sign of his presence and of the conclusion of the system of things. Before his reference to “this generation,” however, he had focused his remarks specifically on his “coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” and the nearness of the Kingdom of God. Immediately afterward, he continued with references to his “presence.” (Mt 24:30, 37, 39; Lu 21:27, 31) Jesus was using the word “generation” with reference to humans whose lives would in some way be associated with the foretold events.—Mt 24.
The people of this 20th-century generation living since 1914 have experienced these many terrifying events concurrently and in concentrated measure—international wars, great earthquakes, terrible pestilences, widespread famine, persecution of Christians, and other conditions that Jesus outlined in Matthew chapter 24, Mark chapter 13, and Luke chapter 21.
XII * w95 11/1 pp. 30-31 Questions From Readers
At 1 Peter 2:9, the “King James Version” calls anointed Christians “a chosen generation.” Should this affect our view of Jesus’ use of “generation” recorded at Matthew 24:34?
The word “generation” does appear in the rendering of both passages in certain translations.
According to the King James Version, the apostle Peter wrote: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” And Jesus foretold: “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”—1 Peter 2:9; Matthew 24:34.
In the former passage, the apostle Peter used the Greek word ge´nos, whereas in the text of Jesus’ statement, we find ge·ne·a´. These two Greek words may appear to be similar, and they are linked to a common root; yet, they are different words, and they have different meanings. The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References says in a footnote to 1 Peter 2:9: “‘Race.’ Gr., ge´nos; different from ge·ne·a´, ‘generation,’ as in Mt 24:34.” A corresponding footnote is found to Matthew 24:34.
As those footnotes indicate, ge´nos is appropriately translated by the English word “race,” as commonly found in English versions.
At 1 Peter 2:9, Peter applied the prophecy found at Isaiah 61:6 to anointed Christians with the heavenly hope. These are drawn from many nations and tribes, but natural backgrounds are put behind them as they become part of the nation of spiritual Israel. (Romans 10:12; Galatians 3:28, 29; 6:16; Revelation 5:9, 10)
Peter identified them as becoming, in a spiritual sense, a distinct group—“a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for special possession.”
But in the Greek text of Jesus’ words found at Matthew 24:34, we find the word ge·ne·a´. It is widely recognized that Jesus was referring, not to any “race” of people, but to the people living at a certain period of time.
Almost a hundred years ago, Charles T. Russell, first president of the Watch Tower Society, made this clear, writing:
“Although the words ‘generation’ and ‘race’ may be said to come from a common root or starting point, yet they are not the same; and in Scriptural usage the two words are quite distinct. . . . In the three different records of this prophecy our Lord is credited with using a wholly different Greek word (genea) which does not mean race, but has the same significance as our English word generation. Other uses of this Greek word (genea) prove that it is not used with the significance of race, but in reference to people living contemporaneously.”—
The Day of Vengeance, pages 602-3.
More recently, A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew (1988), designed for Bible translators, said: “[The New International Version] translates this generation literally but follows with a footnote, ‘Or race.’
And one New Testament scholar believes that
‘Matthew means not just the first generation after Jesus but all the generations of Judaism that reject him.’
However, there is no linguistic evidence to substantiate either of these conclusions, and they must be brushed aside as attempts to avoid the obvious meaning.
In its original setting the reference was solely to Jesus’ own contemporaries.”
As discussed on pages 10 to 15, Jesus condemned the generation of Jews of his time, his contemporaries who rejected him. (Luke 9:41; 11:32; 17:25) He often used qualifiers such as “wicked and adulterous,” “faithless and twisted,” and “adulterous and sinful” in describing that generation. (Matthew 12:39; 17:17; Mark 8:38) When Jesus used “generation” for the last time, he was on the Mount of Olives with four apostles. (Mark 13:3)
Those men, who were not yet anointed with spirit nor part of a Christian congregation, certainly did not constitute either a “generation” or a race of people.
They were, though, very familiar with Jesus’ use of the term “generation” in referring to his contemporaries.
So they logically would understand what he had in mind when he mentioned “this generation” for the last time. The apostle Peter, who was present, thereafter urged Jews: “Get saved from this crooked generation.”—Acts 2:40.
We have often published evidence that many things Jesus foretold in this same discourse (such as wars, earthquakes, and famines) were fulfilled between his uttering the prophecy and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.
Many, but not all. There is no evidence, for example, that after the Romans attacked Jerusalem (66-70 C.E.) “the sign of the Son of man” appeared, causing “all the tribes of the earth” to beat themselves. (Matthew 24:30)
Hence, that fulfillment between 33 C.E. and 70 C.E. must have been merely an initial one, not the full or large-scale fulfillment to which Jesus was also pointing.
In the introduction to his translation of Josephus’ work The Jewish War, G. A. Williamson writes: “The disciples, Matthew tells us, had asked [Jesus] a double question—about the destruction of the Temple and about His own final coming—and He gave them a double answer, the first part of which most vividly foretold the occurrences destined to be so fully described by Josephus.”
Yes, in the initial fulfillment, “this generation” evidently meant the same as it did at other times—the contemporaneous generation of unbelieving Jews. That “generation” would not pass away without experiencing what Jesus foretold.
As Williamson commented, this proved true in the decades leading up to Jerusalem’s destruction, as an eyewitness historian, Josephus, described.
In the second or larger fulfillment, “this generation” would logically also be the contemporaneous people.
As the article beginning on page 16 establishes, we need not conclude that Jesus was referring to a set number of years making up a “generation.”
On the contrary, two key things can be said about any time implied by “generation.”
(1) A generation of people cannot be viewed as a period having a fixed number of years, as is the case with time designations meaning a set number of years (decade or century).
(2) The people of a generation live for a relatively brief period, not one of great length.
Consequently, when the apostles heard Jesus refer to “this generation,” what would they think?
While we, with the benefit of hindsight, know that Jerusalem’s destruction in the “great tribulation” came 37 years later, the apostles hearing Jesus could not know that.
Rather, his mention of “generation” would have conveyed to them, not the idea of a period of great length, but the people living over a relatively limited period of time.
The same is true in our case. How fitting, then, are Jesus’ follow-up words: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father. . . . On this account you too prove yourselves ready, because at an hour that you do not think to be it, the Son of man is coming.”—Matthew 24:36, 44.
[Footnotes]
In the expression “this generation,” a form of the demonstrative pronoun hou´tos well corresponds to the English word “this.” It can refer to something present or before the speaker. But it can also have other meanings. The Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament (1991) notes: “The word [hou´tos] designates an immediate fact. Thus the [aion hou´tos] is the ‘presently existing world’ . . . and the [genea´ haute] is the ‘generation now living’ (e.g., Matt 12:41f., 45; 24:34).”
Dr. George B. Winer writes: “The pronoun [hou´tos] sometimes refers, not to the noun locally nearest, but to one more remote, which, as the principal subject, was mentally the nearest, the most present to the writer’s thoughts.”—A Grammar of the Idiom of the New Testament, 7th edition, 1897.
XIII *** w97 6/1 page 28 Questions From Readers *
“The Watchtower” of November 1, 1995, focused on what Jesus said about “this generation,” as we read at Matthew 24:34. Does this mean that there is some question about whether God’s Kingdom was set up in heaven in 1914?
What, then, was The Watchtower clarifying? Well, the key was the sense in which Jesus used the word “generation” at Matthew 24:34. That passage reads: “Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.” What did Jesus mean by “generation,” both in his day and in ours?
Many scriptures confirm that Jesus did not use “generation” with regard to some small or distinct group, meaning only the Jewish leaders or only his loyal disciples. Rather, he used “generation” in condemning the masses of Jews who rejected him. Happily, though, individuals could do what the apostle Peter urged on the day of Pentecost, repent and “get saved from this crooked generation.”—Acts 2:40.
In that statement, Peter was clearly not being precise as to any fixed age or length of time, nor was he tying the “generation” to any certain date. He did not say that people should get saved from the generation that was born in the same year Jesus was or the generation that was born in 29 C.E. Peter was speaking about the unbelieving Jews of that period—some perhaps being rather young, others being older—who had been exposed to Jesus’ teaching, had seen or heard of his miracles, and had not accepted him as Messiah.
That evidently is how Peter understood Jesus’ use of “generation” when he and three other apostles were with Jesus on the Mount of Olives. According to Jesus’ prophetic statement, Jews of that period—basically, Jesus’ contemporaries—were going to experience or hear of wars, earthquakes, famines, and other evidences that the end of the Jewish system was near. In fact, that generation did not pass before the end came in 70 C.E.—Matthew 24:3-14, 34.
It must be acknowledged that we have not always taken Jesus’ words in that sense. There is a tendency for imperfect humans to want to be specific about the date when the end will come. Recall that even the apostles sought more specifics, asking: “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”—Acts 1:6.
With similar sincere intentions, God’s servants in modern times have tried to derive from what Jesus said about “generation” some clear time element calculated from 1914. For instance, one line of reasoning has been that a generation can be 70 or 80 years, made up of people old enough to grasp the significance of the first world war and other developments; thus we can calculate more or less how near the end is.
However well-meaning such thinking was, did it comply with the advice Jesus went on to give? Jesus said: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father. . . . Keep on the watch, therefore, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”—Matthew 24:36-42.
So the recent information in The Watchtower about “this generation” did not change our understanding of what occurred in 1914. But it did give us a clearer grasp of Jesus’ use of the term “generation,” helping us to see that his usage was no basis for calculating—counting from 1914—how close to the end we are.
XIV
*** w99 5/1 page 10 § 11-13 "These Things Must Take Place" ***
Contemporaries Would See It
11 Many Jews felt that their system of worship, centered on the temple, would long continue. But Jesus said: “Learn from the fig tree . . . this point: Just as soon as its young branch grows tender and it puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. Likewise also you, 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.”—Matthew 24:32-35.
12 In the years leading up to 66 C.E., Christians would have seen many of the preliminary elements of the composite sign being fulfilled—wars, famines, even an extensive preaching of the good news of the Kingdom. (Acts 11:28; Colossians 1:23) When, though, would the end come? What did Jesus mean when he said: ‘This generation [Greek, ge·ne·a'] will not pass away’? Jesus had often called the contemporaneous mass of opposing Jews, including religious leaders, ‘a wicked, adulterous generation.’ (Matthew 11:16; 12:39, 45; 16:4; 17:17; 23:36) So when, on the Mount of Olives, he again spoke of “this generation,” he evidently did not mean the entire race of Jews throughout history; nor did he mean his followers, even though they were “a chosen race.” (1 Peter 2:9) Neither was Jesus saying that “this generation” is a period of time.
13 Rather, Jesus had in mind the opposing Jews back then who would experience the fulfillment of the sign he gave.
Regarding the reference to “this generation” at Luke 21:32, Professor Joel B. Green notes: “In the Third Gospel, ‘this generation’ (and related phrases) has regularly signified a category of people who are resistant to the purpose of God. . . . [It refers] to people who stubbornly turn their backs on the divine purpose.”
Question :
12, 13. How would the disciples have understood Jesus’ reference to “this generation”?
14 The wicked generation of Jewish opposers who could observe the sign being fulfilled would also experience the end. (Matthew 24:6, 13, 14)
And that they did! In 70 C.E., the Roman army returned, led by Titus, son of Emperor Vespasian.
14. What did that “generation” experience, but how was there a different outcome for Christians?
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Then, as a ...lightning in a clear sky ...arrives the latest teaching , j
ust 13 years after the well know modification/more precise view point,
another "understanding is published by the Society
'The Watchtower' February 15th, 2008 pages . 21-25
CHRIST'S PRESENCE -WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?
"What will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?'1'-MATT. 24:3.
NEARLY two thousand years ago, a question was raised by four of Jesus' apostles in a private conversation with their Master on the Mount of Olives. They asked: "When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?" (Matt. 24:3) In that question, the apostles used two very interesting expressions, "your presence" and "the conclusion of the system of things." To what do those expressions refer?
2 To take the second expression first, con-sider the term "conclusion," the translation of the Greek word syn-te'lei-a. In the New World Translation, this word is consistently rendered "conclusion," whereas a related Greek word, te'los, is translated "end." The difference in the meaning of these two words can be illustrated by describing a talk given at the Kingdom Hall. The conclusion of the
talk is the last section, in which the speaker spends a little time reminding the audience of what he has been discussing and then shows how that information applies to them. The end of the talk is when the speaker walks off the platform. In a similar way, Biblically speaking, the term "the conclusion of the system of things" refers to the period of time leading up to and including its end.
3 What of the "presence" that the apostles asked about? This is the translation of the Greek word pa-rou-si'a.* Christ's pa-rou-si'a, or presence, started with Jesus' installation as King in heaven in 1914 and continues on to include the "great tribulation," during which he comes to destroy the wicked. (Matt. 24:21) Many different things, including "the
(end of page 21)
last days" of this wicked system of things, the gathering of the chosen ones, and their resurrection to heavenly life, occur during this presence of Jesus. (2 Tim. 3:1; 1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thess. 4:15-17; 2 Thess. 2:1)
It could be said that the period constituting "the conclusion of the system of things" (syn-te'lei-a) corre-sponds to or runs parallel with the period called Christ's presence (pa-rou-si'a).
An Extended Period of Time
4 The fact that the word pa-rou-si'a refers to an extended period of time harmonizes with what Jesus said with regard to his presence. (Read Matthew 24:37-39.) Notice that Jesus did not liken his presence to the relatively short period of time during which the Flood occurred in Noah's day. Rather, he compared his presence to the much longer period of time that led up to the Flood. Included therein were Noah's building of the ark and his preaching work, right up until the time that the Flood finally arrived. Those events occurred over many decades. In a similar way, Christ's presence includes the events leading up to and including the great tribulation. -2 Thess. 1:6-9.
5 Other Bible prophecies make it evident that Christ's presence refers to an extended period of time and not merely to his coming to destroy the wicked. The book of Revelation portrays Jesus as riding on a white horse and being given a crown. (Read Revelation 6: 1-8.) After being crowned as King in 1914, Jesus is pictured as going "forth conquering and to complete his conquest." The account then shows that he is followed by riders seated on different-colored horses. These prophetically represent war, food shortages, and
pestilence, all of which have occurred over the extended period of time that is referred to as "the last days." We are seeing the fulfillment of this prophecy in our lifetime.
6 Revelation chapter 12 provides further details concerning the establishment of God's Kingdom in heaven. There we read of a battle in the in-visible realm. Michael—Jesus Christ in his heavenly position—and his an-gels fight against the Devil and his demons. As a result, Satan the Devil and his hordes are cast down to the earth. At that point, the account tells us, the Devil has great anger, "knowing he has a short period of time." (Read Revelation 12:7-12.) Clearly, then, the establishment of Christ's Kingdom in heaven is followed by a period of time that is marked by increased "woe" for the earth and its inhabitants.
7 The second psalm likewise speaks pro-phetically of the installation of Jesus as King upon heavenly Mount Zion. (Read Psalm 2: 5-9; 110:1, 2.) However, this psalm also indicates that there is a period of time when earth's rulers, along with their subjects, are given an opportunity to submit to Christ's rule. They are admonished to "exercise in-sight" and to allow themselves to be "corrected." Yes, during that time "happy are all those taking refuge in him [God]" by serving Jehovah and his appointed King. So, then, a window of opportunity is opened during Jesus' presence in kingly power.—Ps. 2:10-12.
(end of page 22)
Recognizing the Sign
8 When asked by the Pharisees about the time the Kingdom would come, Jesus an-swered that it would not come "with striking observableness" from their viewpoint. (Luke 17:20, 21) Unbelievers would not un-derstand. How could they? They did not even recognize Jesus as their future King. So who would both recognize the sign of Christ's presence and understand its significance?
9 Jesus went on to say that his disciples would see the sign just as clearly as they would see "lightning, by its flashing, [which] shines from one part under heaven to anoth-er part." (Read Luke 17:24-29.) It is of interest to note that Matthew 24:23-27 directly links the same point with the sign of Christ's presence.
The Generation Seeing the Sign
10 Previously, this journal has explained that in the first century, "this generation" mentioned at Matthew 24:34 meant "the contemporaneous generation of unbelieving Jews."* That explanation seemed reasonable because all other recorded uses that Jesus made of the term "generation" had a negative connotation, and in most cases, Jesus used a negative adjective, such as "wicked," to describe the generation. (Matt. 12:39; 17: 17; Mark 8:38) Thus, it was felt that in the modern-day fulfillment, Jesus was referring to the wicked "generation" of unbelievers who would see both the features that would characterize "the conclusion of the system of things" (syn-te'lei-a) and the system's end (te'/os).
11 It is true that when Jesus used the word "generation" negatively, he was speaking to or about the wicked people of his day.
But was that necessarily true of his statement recorded at Matthew 24:34?
Recall that four of Jesus' disciples had approached him "privately." (Matt. 24:3)
Since Jesus did not use negative qualifiers when speaking to them about "this generation," the apostles would no doubt have understood that they and their fellow disciples were to be part of the "generation" that would not pass away "until all these things [would] occur."
12 On what basis may we draw that conclusion? By carefully considering the context. As (end of page 23)
recorded at Matthew 24:32, 33, Jesus said: "Now learn from the fig tree as an illustration this point: Just as soon as its young branch grows tender and it puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. Likewise also you, when you see all these things, know that he is near at the doors." (Compare Mark 13:28-30; Luke 21:30-32.) Then, at Matthew 24:34, we read: "Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur."
13 Jesus said that it was his disciples, soon to be anointed with holy spirit, who should be able to draw certain conclusions when they saw "all these things" occur. So Jesus must have been referring to his disciples when he made the statement: "This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur."
"Unlike unbelievers, Jesus' disciples would not only see the sign but also understand its significance. They would "learn" from the features of that sign and "know" their true meaning. They would fully appreciate that "he is near at the doors."
While it is true that both unbelieving Jews and faithful anointed Christians saw a limited fulfillment of Jesus' words in the first century, only his anointed followers back then could learn from these events—could understand the true meaning of what they saw.
15 Those without spiritual understanding today have felt that there has been no "strik-ing observableness" with regard to the sign of Jesus' presence. They reason that every-thing is continuing on as it did in the past. (2 Pet. 3:4)
On the other hand, Christ's faithful anointed brothers, the modern-day John class, have recognized this sign as if it were a flash of lightning and have understood its true meaning.
As a class, these anointed ones make up the modern-day "generation" of contemporaries that will not pass away "until all these things occur."*
This suggests that some who are Christ's anointed brothers will still be alive on earth when the foretold great tribulation begins.
"This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur"
(end of page 24)
% "Keep on the Watch"
16 More is needed, though, than merely recognizing the sign. Jesus went on to say: "What I say to you I say to all, Keep on the watch." (Mark 13:37) This is of utmost im-portance to all of us today whether of the anointed or of the great crowd.
Nine decades have passed since Jesus was installed as King in heaven in 1914. As challenging as it may be, we must prove ourselves ready and keep on the watch. Understanding that Christ is present invisibly in Kingdom power helps us to do that. It also alerts us to the fact that soon he will come to destroy his enemies "at an hour that [we] do not think likely."—Luke 12:40.
17 Our understanding of the meaning of Christ's presence helps to intensify our feelings of urgency. We know that Jesus is al-ready present and has been reigning invisi-bly as King in heaven since 1914.
Soon he will come to destroy the wicked and bring about vast changes to this entire globe. We should therefore be more determined than ever to take an active part in the work that Jesus foretold when he said: "This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the in-habited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end [te'los] will come."—Matt. 24:14.
How Would You Answer?
• How do we know that Jesus' presence is an extended period of time?
• Who recognize the sign of Jesus' presence and understand what it means?
• The modern-day generation mentioned at Matthew 24:34 is made up of whom?
• Why are we unable to calculate the exact length of "this generation "?
(end of page 24)
1. What interesting question did Jesus' apostles ask him?
2. What is the underlying meaning of the word "conclusion"?
3. What are some of the things that occur during Jesus' presence?
*' The meaning oi pa-rou-si'a is seen from the contrast that is made between the "presence" and "absence" of the apostle Paul both at 2 Corinthians 10:10, 11 and at Philippians 2:12. For a detailed discussion, see Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2, pages 676-9
4. How does Jesus' presence find a parallel in the events of Noah's day?
5. How do the words recorded in Revelation chap-ter 6 indicate that Jesus' presence is an extended period of time?
6. What does Revelation chapter 12 help us to understand about Christ's presence?
7. What does the second psalm speak about, and what opportunity is described therein?
22 THE WATCHTOWER • FEBRUARY 15, 2008
8, 9. Who would recognize the sign of Christ's presence and understand its meaning?
* See The Watchtower, November 1,1995, pages 11-15, 19,30,31.
10, 11. (a) What explanation was previously given concerning the. " generation " mentioned at Matthew 24:34? (b) Who would Jesus' disciples have no doubt understood to be included in that " generation "?
12. What does the context reveal concerning those to whom Jesus was referring when he used the term " generation "?
13, 14. Why can we say that the " generation " that Jesus referred to must have been his disciples?
* The time period during which "this generation " lives seems to correspond to the period covered by the first vision in the book of Revelation. (Rev. 1:10-3:22) This feature of the Lord's day extends from 1914 until the last of the faithful anointed ones dies and is resurrected.—See Revelation—Its Grand Climax At Hand! page 24, paragraph 4.
*** re 24 5 John Beholds the Glorified Jesus ***
4 Hence, this first vision and the counsel it contains are for the Lord’s day, from 1914 onward. This timing is supported by the fact that, later in Revelation, the record describes the execution of God’s true and righteous judgments—events in which the Lord Jesus plays an outstanding part. (Revelation 11:18; 16:15; 17:1; 19:2, 11)
If the fulfillment of the first vision began in 1914, when does it end? As the messages themselves show, the organization addressed is God’s congregation of anointed ones on earth. The fulfillment of this first vision ends, then, when the last faithful member of that anointed congregation dies and is raised to heavenly life. Nevertheless, the Lord’s Day, with blessings to the earthly other sheep, continues till the end of Jesus Christ’s Millennial Rule.—John 10:16; Revelation 20:4, 5.
15. (a) Who make up the modern-day " generation " that Jesus referred to? (b) Why are we not able to calculate the exact length of "this generation "? (See the box on page 25.)
Can We Calculate — the Length of
"This Generation "?
The word " generation " usually refers to people of various ages whose lives overlap during a particular time period or event.
For example, Ex-odus 1:6 tells us: "Eventually ]oseph died, and also all his brothers and all that generation."Joseph and his brothers varied in age, but they shared a common experience during the same time period. Included in "that generation " were some of Joseph's brothers who were born before him. Some of these outlived Jo-seph. (Gen. 50:24) Others of "that generation," such as Benjamin, were born wafter Joseph was born and may have lived on after he died.
So when the term " generation " is used with reference to people living at a particular time, the exact length of thattime cannot be stated except that it does have an end and would not be excessively long. Therefore, by using the term "this generation," as recorded at Matthew 24:34, Jesus did not give his disci-ples a formula to enable them to determine when "the last days" would end. Rather, Je-sus went on to emphasize that they would not know "that day and hour."—2 Tim. 3:1; Matt. 24:36.
16. What must all of Christ's disciples do?
17. How should this understanding make us feel, and what should we be determined to do?
THE WATCHTOWER • FEBRUARY 15, 2008 25
Addendum:
* it-2 676-9 Presence **
The Greek word from which “presence” is translated is pa·rou·si'a, formed from pa·ra' (alongside) and ou·si'a (being; derived from ei·mi', meaning “be”). Hence, pa·rou·si'a means, literally, “being alongside,” that is, a “presence.” It is used 24 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures, frequently with regard to the presence of Christ in connection with his Messianic Kingdom.—Mt 24:3; see NW appendix, pp. 1576, 1577.
Many translations vary their renderings of this word. While translating pa·rou·si'a as “presence” in some texts, they more frequently render it as “coming.” This has been the basis for the expression “second coming” or “second advent” (adventus [“advent” or “coming”] being the Latin Vulgate translation of pa·rou·si'a at Mt 24:3) with regard to Christ Jesus. While Jesus’ presence of necessity implies his arrival at the place where he is present, the translation of pa·rou·si'a by “coming” places all the emphasis on the arrival and obscures the subsequent presence that follows the arrival. Though allowing for both “arrival” and “presence” as translations of pa·rou·si'a, lexicographers generally acknowledge that the presence of the person is the principal idea conveyed by the word.
Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (1981, Vol. 1, pp. 208, 209) states: “PAROUSIA . . . denotes both an arrival and a consequent presence with. For instance, in a papyrus letter [written in Greek] a lady speaks of the necessity of her parousia in a place in order to attend to matters relating to her property there. . . . When used of the return of Christ, at the Rapture of the Church, it signifies, not merely His momentary coming for His saints, but His presence with them from that moment until His revelation and manifestation to the world.” Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon (revised by H. Jones, Oxford, 1968, p. 1343) shows that pa·rou·si'a is used at times in secular Greek literature to refer to the “visit of a royal or official personage.”
Secular Greek writings are, of course, helpful in determining the sense of this Greek term. However, even more effective is the use given the word in the Bible itself. At Philippians 2:12, for example, Paul speaks of the Philippian Christians as obeying “not during my presence [pa·rou·si'ai] only, but now much more readily during my absence [a·pou·si'ai].” So, too, at 2 Corinthians 10:10, 11, after referring to those who said that “his letters are weighty and forceful, but his presence [pa·rou·si'a] in person is weak and his speech contemptible,” Paul adds, “Let such a man take this into account, that what we are in our word by letters when absent [a·pon'tes], such we shall also be in action when present [pa·ron'tes].” (Compare also Php 1:24-27.) Thus, the contrast is between presence and absence, not between an arrival (or coming) and departure.
In view of this, J. B. Rotherham’s Emphasised Bible states in its appendix (p. 271): “In this edition the word parousia is uniformly rendered ‘presence’ (‘coming,’ as a representative of this word, being set aside). . . . The sense of ‘presence’ is so plainly [shown] by the contrast with ‘absence’ . . . that the question naturally arises,—Why not always so render it?”
That Jesus’ pa·rou·si'a is not simply a momentary coming followed by a rapid departure but is, rather, a presence covering a period of time is also indicated by his words recorded at Matthew 24:37-39 and Luke 17:26-30. Here “the days of Noah” are compared to “the presence of the Son of man” (“the days of the Son of man,” in Luke’s account). Jesus, therefore, does not limit the comparison just to the coming of the Deluge as a final climax during Noah’s days, though he shows that his own “presence” or “days” will see a similar climax. Since “the days of Noah” actually covered a period of years, there is basis for believing that the foretold “presence [or “days”] of the Son of man” would likewise cover a period of some years, being climaxed by the destruction of those not giving heed to the opportunity afforded them to seek deliverance.
Nature of Christ’s “Parousia.” A pa·rou·si'a, or presence, can, of course, be visible, and in six occurrences of the word the reference is to the visible, human presence of men, such as Stephanas, Fortunatus, Achaicus, Titus, and Paul. (1Co 16:17; 2Co 7:6, 7; 10:10; Php 1:26; 2:12) That a pa·rou·si'a can also be invisible is indicated by Paul’s use of the related verb form (pa'rei·mi) when speaking of being “present in spirit” though absent in body. (1Co 5:3) So, too, Jewish historian Josephus, writing in Greek, refers to God’s pa·rou·si'a at Mount Sinai, his invisible presence being evidenced by the thunders and lightning.—Jewish Antiquities, III, 80 (v, 2).
The Scripturalness of an invisible presence is also borne out by Jehovah God’s saying to Moses regarding the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy of the tabernacle: “And I will present myself to you there and speak with you from above the cover.” (Ex 25:22) God’s presence was not in a visible form, since the Scriptures are clear that “no man has seen God at any time”—neither Moses nor the high priest who entered the Most Holy. (Joh 1:18; Ex 33:20) When King Solomon inaugurated the temple at Jerusalem, the cloud of “the glory of Jehovah” filled the house. Solomon spoke of Jehovah as ‘residing in the temple.’ Nevertheless, Solomon himself stated: “But will God truly dwell upon the earth? Look! The heavens, yes, the heaven of the heavens, themselves cannot contain you; how much less, then, this house that I have built!” However, God’s eyes would be opened continually toward that house and prayers that were made there would be heard by him “at the place of [his] dwelling, in the heavens.”—1Ki 8:10-13, 27-30; compare Ac 7:45-50.
These accounts illustrate God’s power to ‘be present’ on earth in a spiritual (hence, invisible) way while He yet remains in heaven. His presence might in some cases be by means of an angelic representative who acted and spoke for God, even saying, “I am the God of your father,” as did the angel in the flaming bush who spoke to Moses. (Ex 3:2-8; compare Ex 23:20; 32:34.) So, too, Jehovah told Moses that he was “coming” to him at Mount Sinai and would “come down” there (Ex 19:9, 11, 18, 20), yet the apostolic writings show that it was actually by his angels that God was there present and delivered to Moses his covenant.—Ga 3:19; Heb 2:2; see FACE.
Since Jehovah’s resurrected Son Jesus Christ was granted ‘all authority in heaven and on the earth,’ and is “the exact representation of [God’s] very being,” it follows that he should also be able to be invisibly present in a similar manner. (Mt 28:18; Heb 1:2, 3) In this regard we may note that, even when on earth, Jesus Christ was able to effect healings of persons from a distance, just as though he were there personally present.—Mt 8:5-13; Joh 4:46-53.
It is also clear that Jehovah God has placed angels subject to his glorified Son’s command. (1Pe 3:22) Texts relating to Jesus’ presence regularly describe him as ‘accompanied’ by angelic hosts or as ‘sending them forth.’ (Mt 13:37-41, 47-49; 16:27; 24:31; Mr 8:38; 2Th 1:7) This does not mean, however, that his foretold presence in Kingdom power and glory consists solely of using angelic messengers or deputies on earthly missions, for this was being done already back in the first century C.E. in connection with the apostles and others. (Ac 5:19; 8:26; 10:3, 7, 22; 12:7-11, 23; 27:23) Jesus’ parables and other texts show that his presence is like that of a master returning to his household and that of a man receiving kingship who returns to take control of his domain, and that Jesus’ presence means a personal inspection and judgment followed by the active expression or execution of that judgment and the giving of reward to those found approved. (Mt 24:43-51; 25:14-45; Lu 19:11-27; compare Mt 19:28, 29.) Since Jesus’ kingship includes the whole earth, his presence is a global one (compare Mt 24:23-27, 30) and Paul’s inspired words at 1 Corinthians 15:24-28, as well as references to Christ’s reign in Revelation (5:8-10; 7:17; 19:11-16; 20:1-6; 21:1-4, 9, 10, 22-27), imply that Christ’s presence is the time for him to direct his full attention to the whole earth and its population, bringing the full force of his kingly power to bear so as to accomplish his Father’s will for the earth and its inhabitants.—Compare Mt 6:9, 10.
Some, on the basis of texts speaking of Jesus’ being seen “coming in clouds with great power and glory” (Mr 13:26; Re 1:7), conclude that his presence must be a visible one. Yet, as shown under the heading CLOUD (Illustrative Usage), the use of clouds in connection with other divine manifestations suggests invisibility rather than visibility. So, too, ‘seeing’ can refer to figurative sight, perception with the mind and heart. (Isa 44:18; Jer 5:21; Eze 12:2, 3; Mt 13:13-16; Eph 1:17, 18) To deny this would be to deny that the opposite of sight, namely, blindness, could be used in a figurative or spiritual, rather than literal, sense. Yet Jesus clearly used both sight and blindness in such a figurative or spiritual sense. (Joh 9:39-41; Re 3:14-18; compare also 2Co 4:4; 2Pe 1:9.) Job, being spoken to by Jehovah “out of the windstorm” (likely accompanied by clouds), afterward said: “In heresay I have heard about you, but now my own eye does see you.” (Job 38:1; 42:5) This, too, must have been by perception of mind and heart rather than the literal eye, in view of the clear Scriptural teaching that “no man has seen God at any time.”—Joh 1:18; 5:37; 6:46; 1Jo 4:12.
Evidence weighing against Jesus’ presence as being a visible one (in the sense of Jesus’ appearing in a bodily form that could be seen by human eyes) is found in Jesus’ own statement that by his death he would sacrifice his flesh in behalf of the life of the world (Joh 6:51) and in the apostle Paul’s declaration that the resurrected Jesus “dwells in unapproachable light, whom not one of men has seen or can see.” (1Ti 6:14-16) Jesus therefore could tell his disciples that “a little longer and the world will behold me no more.” True, his disciples would behold him, not only because he would appear to them after his resurrection but also because in due time they would be resurrected to join him in the heavens and ‘behold the glory that his Father had given him.’ (Joh 14:19; 17:24) But the world in general would not behold him because after his resurrection to life as a spirit creature (1Pe 3:18), Jesus restricted his appearances to his disciples. His ascension to heaven was also seen only by them, not by the world, and the angels present assured the disciples that Jesus’ return would be in “the same manner” (Gr., tro'pos, not mor·phe', “form”), hence without public display, discerned only by his faithful followers.—Ac 1:1-11.
A bad condition of heart coupled with wrong expectations regarding Christ’s presence no doubt contributes to the attitude of ridiculers. It was foretold that, in “the last days,” they would scoff, saying: “Where is this promised presence of his? Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, all things are continuing exactly as from creation’s beginning.”—2Pe 3:2-4; compare 1:16.
Clearly, men will be aware of what is taking place at “the revelation” (Gr., a·po·ka'ly·psis) of Jesus Christ “with his powerful angels in a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance upon those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus.” (2Th 1:7-9) This, however, still allows for an invisible presence that goes undiscerned by all but the faithful prior to that revelation. We may recall that Jesus, when paralleling his presence with “the days of Noah,” states that in Noah’s time the people “took no note” until watery destruction came upon them, and “so the presence of the Son of man will be.”—Mt 24:37-39.
Events marking his presence. Jesus had promised to be with his followers in their meeting together (Mt 18:20), and he also assured them that he would be ‘with them’ in their discipling work “all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.” (Mt 28:19, 20) The pa·rou·si'a of Matthew 24:3 and related texts, of course, must signify something beyond this. It clearly relates to a special presence, one involving and affecting all earth’s inhabitants and inseparably connected with Jesus’ expression of full authority as King anointed by God.
Among the events marking Jesus’ presence in Kingdom power are: The resurrection of those of his followers who have died, these being joint heirs with him to the heavenly Kingdom (1Co 15:23; Ro 8:17); his gathering together and bringing into union with himself other followers who are living at the time of his presence (Mt 24:31; 2Th 2:1); his ‘bringing to nothing’ the apostate “man of lawlessness,” this being accomplished “by the manifestation [e·pi·pha·nei'ai] of his [Jesus’] presence” (2Th 2:3-8; see MAN OF LAWLESSNESS); the destruction of all those who give no heed to the opportunity for deliverance (Mt 24:37-39); and, of necessity, the introduction of his Thousand Year Reign (Re 20:1-6). See also the article TRANSFIGURATION for information on the way in which observers of that vision of Christ in Kingdom glory were enabled to acquaint others with “the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.”—2Pe 1:16-18.
Conditions accompanying his presence. The book of Revelation presents in symbolic expression much information relating to Christ’s presence and his manifestation and revelation. The symbolic picture of the crowned rider on the white horse depicted in Revelation 6:1, 2 corresponds to that of the rider of Revelation 19:11-16, who is the “King of kings and Lord of lords,” Christ Jesus. Revelation chapter 6 shows that when Christ rides forth as conquering King he does not immediately bring about removal of wickedness from the earth, but rather, his ride is accompanied by war that takes “peace away from the earth,” as well as by food scarcity and deadly plague. (Re 6:3-8) This, in turn, parallels features found in Christ’s prophecy at Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. It therefore appears that Jesus’ prophecy found in the Gospel accounts, which clearly involves the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple (occurring in 70 C.E.), also has an application to the time of Christ’s presence, thereby supplying a “sign” that allows for determining when that presence is taking place and when “deliverance is getting near.”—Mt 24:3, 32, 33; Lu 21:28-31
Other references to Christ’s presence generally present encouragement to faithfulness and endurance until and during that time.—1Th 2:19; 3:12, 13; 5:23; Jas 5:7, 8; 1Jo 2:28.
The Presence of the Day of Jehovah. In his second letter Peter exhorts his brothers to be “awaiting and keeping close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah,” demonstrating this by the way they live. (2Pe 3:11, 12) They must be careful to keep Jehovah’s day of judgment constantly in mind, realizing that it is close at hand. In that “day of Jehovah,” the governmental “heavens” of this wicked world will be destroyed as by fire and the “elements” that go with it will not be able to hold together but will melt because of the intense heat. The present system under the control of Satan will come to its end.
Since Jehovah God acts by and through his Son and appointed King, Christ Jesus (Joh 3:35; compare 1Co 15:23, 24), it follows that there is a relationship between this promised “presence” of Jehovah and the “presence” of Christ Jesus. Logically, those who scoff at the proclamation of the one will scoff at the proclamation of the other. Again the attitude of the people prior to the Deluge is used as a corresponding example.—2Pe 3:5-7; compare Mt 24:37-39.
The Lawless One’s Presence. At 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 the apostle describes “the lawless one’s presence” as being “according to the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and portents and with every unrighteous deception.” This, too, illustrates the point that pa·rou·si'a means more than a momentary coming, or arrival, for a period of time of some length is required for the effecting of all these works, signs, portents, and this deception.
*** w84 5/15 3 1914-Just History? Or Does It Affect You? ***
“IN THE Bosnian town of Sarajevo on the morning of June 28, 1914, a chauffeur misunderstood his instructions, made the wrong turn, . . . and so doing delivered his passengers to a point where a waiting assassin did not have to take aim to gun them down.
“Two rounds from one pistol and the world rocked. The crime was the small stone that, loosened, brings the avalanche. There followed four years of universal violence. Millions met untimely death.”—The American Heritage History of World War I.
That assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, precipitated events that have marked 1914 as a turning point in mankind’s history. And those events have affected you. Why? Because the “avalanche” was the Great War of 1914-18. Since then the “rocks” of war and violence have not ceased to fall.
A Marked Generation
Regarding the significance of World War I, English author J. B. Priestley wrote: “If you were born in 1894, as I was, you suddenly saw a great jagged crack in the looking-glass. After that your mind could not escape from the idea of a world that ended in 1914 and another one that began about 1919, with a wilderness of smoke and fury . . . lying between them.”
The survivors of the “sacrificed generation” of 1914, as it has been called, have lived through momentous times that started with trenches and cannons and that are ending with intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of causing world destruction. This “progress” fits in with Jesus Christ’s prophetic words: “Nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; . . . and on the earth there will be dismay among the nations and bewilderment at the roar of the surging sea. Men’s courage will fail completely as they realise what is threatening the world, for the very powers of heaven will be shaken.”—Luke 21:10, 25, 26, Phillips.
These words of Jesus are part of the composite sign that marks “the end of this world.”
As has often been shown in this journal, since 1914 this prophecy has been undergoing fulfillment on a grand scale. But Jesus added something very significant about the generation of 1914. What was it? He said: “When you see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I say to you, This generation will by no means pass away until all things occur.”—Matthew 24:3, Ph; Luke 21:29-32.
How do these words apply to the fast-disappearing generation of 1914? What events are awaited? And how will they affect you?
[Footnotes]
Robert Wohl, in The Generation of 1914.
*** w84 5/15 4-7 1914-The Generation That Will Not Pass Away ***
“THIS generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur,” said Jesus. (Matthew 24:34) But what is meant by the word “generation”?
In his book The Generation of 1914, professor of history Robert Wohl presents an unusual definition when he states: “A historical generation is not defined by its chronological limits or its borders. It is not a zone of dates . . . It is more like a magnetic field at the center of which lies an experience or a series of experiences. . . . What is essential to the formation of a generational consciousness is some common frame of reference that provides a sense of rupture with the past . . . This frame of reference is always derived from great historical events like wars, revolutions, plagues, famines, and economic crises.”
From that point of view, the Great War of 1914-18 and its aftermath certainly formed a “frame of
reference” to mark a generation. As professor Wohl comments: World War I created “an overwhelming sense of rupture with the past. Those who lived through the war could never rid themselves of the belief that one world had ended and another begun in August 1914.”
Jesus used the word “generation” many times in different settings and with various meanings. But what did he mean when he spoke of a ‘generation that would not pass away’? Some have interpreted “generation” to mean a period of 30, 40, 70 or even 120 years. However, a generation is really related to people and events, rather than to a fixed number of years.
The Greek word rendered “generation” in the Bible has been defined as, “Those born at the same time . . . Associated with this is the meaning: the body of one’s contemporaries, an age.” (The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology) “The sum total of those born at the same time, expanded to include all those living at a given time generation, contemporaries.” (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from Walter Bauer’s Fifth Edition, 1958)
These definitions embrace both those born around the time of a historic event and all those alive at that time.
If Jesus used “generation” in that sense and we apply it to 1914, then the babies of that generation are now 70 years old or older. And others alive in 1914 are in their 80’s or 90’s, a few even having reached a hundred. There are still many millions of that generation alive. Some of them “will by no means pass away until all things occur.”—Luke 21:32.
Since 1914 we have already lived through two world wars and many other major conflicts, along with famines, earthquakes, pestilences and the like. (Luke 21:10, 11) Yet Jesus said: “This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.” (Matthew 24:34) Therefore, you might ask: What other major events remain to be seen by the generation of 1914? And can these actually take place in the time period that remains for that generation?
What Happens Next?
Especially since 1919 have Jehovah’s Witnesses been fulfilling on a remarkable scale and against earth-wide opposition Jesus’ prophecy: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14) Yes, this is the work that has to be completed to Jehovah’s satisfaction before the end comes.
What other events must take place in the period left for the generation of 1914? The Bible clearly points to certain major developments that will lead into and form a part of the “great tribulation” that culminates in Armageddon, “the war of the great day of God the Almighty.” (Matthew 24:21; Revelation 16:14, 16)
It is urgent that you know what these developments are and that you take necessary protective action before it is too late.—Zephaniah 2:3.
One of these developments was prophesied by the apostle Paul when he stated: “You yourselves know quite well that Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. Whenever it is that they are saying: ‘Peace and security!’ then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them.” This prophecy makes it clear that, just prior to the end of this system of things, “peace and security” will be declared in some exceptional way, whether by the United Nations or independently by political and religious leaders. What will follow that declaration? Paul said: “Then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them.”—1 Thessalonians 5:2, 3.
Does Your Religion Matter?
Could that destruction affect you? Well, do you belong to one of the world’s many religions? Do you know how God views those religions? What is their future?
Under the symbol of a “great harlot” named “Babylon the Great,” the inspired apostle John described a system that has benefited for centuries from intimate association with “the kings of the earth” who wield political power. This “harlot” has also benefited from dealings with “the traveling merchants,” that is, the world’s commercial element. What system is this that has also lorded it over the “peoples and crowds and nations and tongues”? It is false religion! Yes, all religions that are false from Jehovah God’s standpoint constitute this “great harlot,” who is actually a world empire. But what does the immediate future hold for her?—Revelation 17:1-8, 15; 18:15-17.
Revelation 17:16 indicates that radical political elements within the United Nations (the “scarlet-colored wild beast”) will hate the religious harlot and devastate her. Already, powerful atheistic and antireligious elements in the UN have taken steps to stamp out religion within their domain.
But more drastic action is expected in the near future when these political elements devastate not only Christendom but also the other great religious systems. Logically, the anti-God forces will also attack Jehovah’s Witnesses who faithfully proclaim God’s Kingdom. This will be tantamount to attacking God himself and will provoke retaliation—God’s war of Armageddon!—Revelation 17:3, 12-16; 16:14-16; Ezekiel 38:10-12, 18-23; Zechariah 2:8.
Is There Enough Time?
From a purely human viewpoint, it could appear that these developments could hardly take place before the generation of 1914 disappears from the scene. But fulfillment of all the foretold events affecting the generation of 1914 does not depend on comparatively slow human action. Jehovah’s prophetic word through Christ Jesus is: “This generation [of 1914] will by no means pass away until all things occur.” (Luke 21:32) And Jehovah, who is the source of inspired and unfailing prophecy, will bring about the fulfillment of his Son’s words in a relatively short time.—Isaiah 46:9, 10; 55:10, 11.
Are there any past examples of Bible prophecies’ being fulfilled in the face of human disbelief and skepticism? Yes, and we can briefly examine one of these. In the year 33 C.E., Jesus foretold regarding Jerusalem and its temple: “As for these things that you are beholding, the days will come in which not a stone upon a stone will be left here and not be thrown down. Furthermore, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies, then know that the desolating of her has drawn near.”—Luke 21:6, 20.
Thirty-three years later, the Roman army, under Cestius Gallus, attacked Jerusalem and was at the point of victory. Inexplicably, however, General Gallus ordered his troops to retreat. As a consequence, some of the Jews must have thought that their sacred city would not suffer destruction. But such a thought was short-lived. Four years later, the Roman armies under Titus came back and destroyed Jerusalem and its temple.
Thus Jesus’ prophecy came true right down to fine detail. As G. A. Williamson said in his introduction to Josephus’ The Jewish War: “Had we no other sources of information than the gospels we should be tempted to suspect that the warnings of Jesus were couched in hyperbolical [exaggerated] language . . . Was it possible that of that mighty Temple not one stone should be left upon another, that should not be cast down? It was indeed possible; it is historical fact. The destruction was utter and complete . . . The whole tragic story had been foretold with startling accuracy.”
Just as Jesus’ prophecies regarding Jerusalem were fulfilled within the life span of the generation of the year 33 C.E., so his prophecies regarding “the time of the end” will be fulfilled within the life span of the generation of 1914. (Daniel 12:4) This means that marvelous prospects lie before not only that generation but all those living today. Why? Because Jesus also said regarding the significant events affecting that generation: “When you see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near.”—Luke 21:28, 31.
The nearness of God’s Kingdom today spells the end of the present divisive political, religious and commercial systems. It means the ushering in of a righteous new government for all obedient mankind. You can choose everlasting life under this arrangement of “new heavens and a new earth.” (2 Peter 3:13; John 17:3) Yes, you may live to see this promised New Order, along with survivors of the generation of 1914—the generation that will not pass away.
[Picture on page 5]
“One world had ended and another begun in August 1914”
[Pictures on page 6]
‘When they say “Peace and security!” sudden destruction will be upon them’
[Picture on page 7]
You, along with survivors of the generation of 1914, may live to see a New Order
°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp

MacHislopp

Posts by MacHislopp

Hello everyone,

I'm sorry and I do apologize for the mess made. Here below the...

correct post:

1*Just…reminders :

1Just…reminders :*