Well, Has he?

As Sidgi said, “Ive been looking and looking hard, I dont see him.”

One of the key teachings of the Jws is the arrival and presence of Jesus in 1914. The basis for this is the well known dating schematics they use from 607 etc. Somehow the use of their dates always has ended in a false alert and the passing of time with nothing happening.Forgive me if I seem a little sceptical of the 1914 scenario.

But on a more serious note, has the 2nd coming of Christ occurred? Biblical indicators seem to point to a series of events and a situation in the world that may..or may not be evidence today. However, for those earnestly seeking the arrival, the Bible says those who are looking will see himturn up.

Personally, I hope the time is near. Im tired. As Ive got older, Ive buried more friends and relatives than is good for a person, Ive endured all that a life not in harmony with Gods will for the earth can throw at a person and things just seem to get more and more complicated and difficult as the world continues on a seperate path from the creator. Ive placed my hope and trust in the words of the Bible and Im jus’ a waitin’.

Things seem to to be hotting up in the world. Islam is taking a firm hold. Christianity per se and its western ideas are under attack and world peace seems threatened. Whoa….shades of WTBTS alarmist propoganda here lol, but no, ahem, really, we are getting close to needing it all sorted out.

Ill keep looking.

The Generation

The Watchtower Society Names Their Own Fate

Those who in God’s name teach doctrines contrary to the Bible are teaching lies in his name, are profaning his name. –The Watchtower, August 1, 1957, page 455.
For decades, the central doctrine of the Watchtower Society (a.k.a. Jehovah’s Witnesses) was that of the “1914 generation”. The Society taught that the generation referred to at Luke 21:32 was in fact the generation of people living during 1914 A.D., and as such would not “pass away” before “all things” occurred - the battle of Armageddon followed by a reconstituted paradise earth. It was this doctrine that led second president of the Watchtower Society, J. F. Rutherford, to boldly proclaim in 1918 that “millions now living will never die”.¹

As the self-proclaimed “channel of communication” for God,² all unique Watchtower doctrine is said to originate from God; and the 1914-generation prophecy is no exception. The fulfillment of “all things” before the generation of 1914 passed away was said to be “the Creator’s promise” and “Jehovah’s prophetic word”. Notice (emphasis mine):

Most important, this magazine builds confidence in the Creator’s promise of a peaceful and secure new world before the generation that saw the events of 1914 passes away. –Awake!, January 1, 1995, page 2.

Jehovah’s prophetic word through Jesus Christ 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. –The Watchtower, May 15, 1984, page 6-7.³

After stretching a generation to the maximum conceivable length and then some, the Society finally cut their loses in 1995 and abandoned what had proved to be yet another embarrassing false prophesy. The term “generation” was redefined and no longer bound to those living in 1914.⁴

Now if you have been associated with Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watchtower Society for any length of time, you know that changing doctrine is par for the course within the organization. In an attempt to rationalize this, the regular back and forth of Watchtower doctrine is likened by the Society to a ship “tacking in the wind”.⁵ (Ephesians 4:14 comes to mind.) However, even if we forgive the Watchtower Society their ever-changing doctrine, it seems to me that proclaiming falsehood in the name of God must have consequences.

And it seems that on this point at least, the Watchtower Society agrees with me. Consider the following admonition given by the Society in the pages of The Watchtower magazine (emphasis mine):

We dare not lie against God’s Word, adding to it or taking away from it, reading into it what it does not say and denying, passing over or explaining away what it does truthfully say. “Every word of God is tried: . . . Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Prov. 30:5, 6, AS) We may not tell untruths in his name, for that puts God in the light of a liar. “Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.” (Rom. 3:4, NW) In Jeremiah’s day the false prophets prophesied lies in Jehovah’s name and lied against his purpose, foretelling in his name what he had not foretold. Therefore Jehovah was against them. He executed judgment against them at Jerusalem’s destruction in 607 B.C. (Jer. 23:25; 27:15) Religious liars like them today cannot escape a like judgment but will meet a like end at Armageddon. –The Watchtower, February 1, 1956, page 88.

That the Watchtower Society is guilty of “adding to” God’s word, “reading into it what it does not say” cannot be disputed. Notice again how they added their 1914-generation prophecy to God’s word:

Jehovah’s prophetic word…is: ‘This generation [of 1914] will by no means pass away until all things occur.’⁶ –The Watchtower, May 15, 1984, page 6-7.

There’s really no way the Society could be more guilty of adding to God’s word, reading into it what it does not say. This is precisely what they did. Since the Watchtower Society itself now admits their 1914-generation doctrine to be false, they are also demonstrably guilty of ‘telling untruths in God’s name’, and “foretelling in his name what he had not foretold.” Notice again how they said their admittedly false prophecy was “the Creator’s promise”:

…this magazine builds confidence in the Creator’s promise of a peaceful and secure new world before the generation that saw the events of 1914 passes away. –Awake!, January 1, 1995, page 2.

There is no need for me to condemn this organization; they themselves have done so: just as Jehovah executed judgement against those who foretold in His name what He had not foretold during Jeremiah’s day, “religious liars like them today cannot escape a like judgment but will meet a like end at Armageddon.”

     ——-

Footnotes

1. Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1918.

2. The Watchtower, December 1, 1981, page 27.

3. Note, the bracketed “of 1914″ appears in the original text.

4. Cf. The Watchtower, November 1, 1995.

5. The Watchtower, December 1, 1981, page 27.

6. See note 3.

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Changes

History of Eschatological Doctrine
	Last Days Begin	Christ’s Return	Christ as King	Resurrection of 144,000	Judgment of Religion	Great Tribulation
1879–1920	1799	1874	1878			1914, 1915, 1918, 1920
1920–1925						1925
1925–1927			1914	1878	1878	within a generation of 1914
1927–1930				1918
1930–1933					1919
1933–1966	1914
1966–1975						1975
1975–1995						within a generation of 1914
1995-2007						imminent
2008						indeterminate

Question:what do jehovah witnesses believe will happen in the end times.

Question
what do jehovah witnesses believe will happen in the end times. thanks,
Peter Costas

Answer
Hello Peter. Thank you for the question.

The JWs beliefs concerning the end times change periodically, but I will try to describe to you the basic framework of their belief system.

First of all, it should be stated that Jehovah’s Witnesses do NOT believe that Jesus Christ will return again to the earth, as the Bible teaches. Instead, they teach and believe that Jesus already returned INVISIBLY in the year 1914, and has been ruling over the earth ever since that year.

Until recently, JWs also taught that the generation of 1914 would be the final generation in this system, before the Battle of Armageddon.

In the religion’s early days, it was predicted that Armageddon would be completed by the year 1914, and God’s new order would be here. Of course, this failed to transpire. The teaching was later adjusted to say that 1914 marked the year of Christ’s “return”, and that the years following 1914 would be the last generation.

This “generation” was originally applied to those who were at least 15 years old in 1914, or born no later than 1899. It was stated emphatically that this “generation” would not include those who were still babies in 1914. As time elapsed, it was necessary to change the teaching, to allow for a little more time. It was then said that the final “generation” could possibly include those who were 10 years old. Then, as more time elapsed with nothing happening, the Watchtower decided that perhaps the “generation” could include babies after all.

Well, the teaching about the “generation of 1914″ has been dropped altogether, since it has lost all credibility with the youngest of the “generation” now being 89 years old! This year is now simply regarded as the year of Christ’s “invisible return”. In other words, all of the VISIBLE aspects of their predictions have been dropped due to their failure, and only the INVISIBLE (and unprovable) aspect has been retained.

Now, to sum up your question…..

JWs do not believe in salvation through faith in Christ ALONE, as Bible-believeing Christians do. Instead, they believe in a “works-oriented” salvation. More will be said about that later.

JWs believe that, sometime in the near future, God will destroy all wickedness, all false religion (churches other than themselves), Satan, demons, and only Jehovah’s Witnesses and those who accept their message will survive Armageddon into God’s New World Order. In JW language, this new order is usually referred to as the “new system”. Then, Christ will set up His millenial reign, and faithful JWs will still be on trial until then. If they remain faithful through this final test, then hopefully, they will be rewarded with eternal life on a restored paradise earth, which brings us to another peculiar teaching of this religion….

JWs believe that heaven will not be the home of most Christians, but only for a limited number….144,000. They believe this remnant of 144,000 consists of the early Christians, all the way down until the year 1935, when the door to the “heavenly hope” was shut. After the year 1935, they believe that God began calling Christians to an “earthly hope”, meaning that they will not go to heaven, but instead will live on a restored paradise earth. As far as I know, this is the only religion on earth that teaches 2 separate hopes for Christians, and 2 different destinies.

Suffice it to say, because of the works-oriented salvation of the Watchtower Society, there is not a JW on earth who can say for a 100% fact that he/she knows that they are saved. They must keep working, and obeying the dictates of the Watchtower in order to be saved.

What does the Watchtower teach is necessary for eternal life? According to their book, “YOU CAN LIVE FOREVER IN PARADISE ON EARTH”, a number of things are needed….

1. Take in knowledge (pg. 127-12

Simply put, this means a Bible study. They believe it is necessary to “take in knowledge” of the teachings of the Bible. Oh, did I mentione that this “bible study” has to be with Jehovah’s Witnesses? In other words, personal Bible study is not enough.

2. Righteous conduct (pg. 129-132)

In reading this fascinating section of “requirements”, we find that we must abstain from polygamy, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, which I am in full agreement with, because the Bible forbids these practices also. But we are told by the book that it is o.k. to drink alcohol, provided we don’t get drunk. We are then told that we must be honest, and shouldn’t committ murder.

There is a catch here, also, however. Since many non-JW Christians also have high standards against these things, then there must be even more required to save us than simply living moral lives. Otherwise, non-JWs would be saved too.

3. Loyalty to God’s Government

In short, this means we are required to go out door-to-door and spread the “good news” of the Watchtower, in order to show our loyalty to “God’s Government”.

Make no mistake about it….When a JW comes to your door to talk with you, he/she believes this is what God requires of them in order to gain eternal life. I am not saying that they do not care about you, because I am sure many of them are caring and compassionate people. But the threat of eternal destruction is a motivator as well.

I know this is alot more detail than you asked for, but I simply want you to understand the whole picture of being a member of this religion. Yes, they do believe in eternal life, but none of them can know for sure that they have it, until the very end when they have endured and passed all the tests. I feel this is tragic, because the Bible offers full assurance of salvation through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

JWs believe that the “end” is coming soon. In fact, they have a very embarrassing history of predicting dates for the end to come. For the time being, it seems that they have given up setting a specific date, but JWs are still motivated by the believe that the “end is near”. Of course, I too believe the time of Christ’s return is near, but again, JWs do not believe that Jesus is coming back.

JWs do not believe in a literal 7-year period of tribulation that is coming to the earth, after the removal of Christ’s church to Heaven, which I believe is a definite Bible teaching. Nor do they believe that God is going to restore Israel to Himself during this tribulation, as He promised, but instead, they believe that God has transferred His promises originally made to Israel, to them. In fact, they believe they are “spiritual Israel”.

Finally, when all is said and done….after Armageddon, after the Millenial reign of Christ, and after Satan is loosed to tempt the faithful once more, JWs believe that God will restore the earth to a Garden-of-Eden-like state, where man will populate the earth, and live on it forever. The 144,000 will be rulers over this earthly paradise from their position in Heaven.

I hope this has helped answer your question. I realize the answer was somewhat lengthy and scattered, but if you have any quesions about specifics, or any thing that I said, please do not hesitate to ask. Take care, and have a great day!

Derrick

Taken from http://en.allexperts.com/q/Jehovah-s-Witness-1617/end-times.htm

Expert: Derrick Holland
Date: 7/6/2003
Subject: end times

Changes to the Generation Teaching

“If you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things. Why not? Because all the evidence in fulfillment of Bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years. Of the generation that observed the beginning of the “last days” in 1914, Jesus foretold: “This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.” Awake! 1969 May 22 p.15 - Click here for scan

From inception a key factor to the growth of the Watchtower Society has been the dangling carrot that the end is about to happen at any moment. The shorter the time left the higher the growth, so immediately prior to 1914. 1925 and 1975 growth increased to as high as 20% per year.

At other times the concept that the “generation will by no means pass away” has been used to stimulate urgency. Looking retrospectively it is remarkable to see the continual change of the ‘generation’ teaching in order to make each decade in the 1900’s appear to be the decade that the end would come.

For many decades the Watchtower Society promoted the concept that Armageddon would come whilst people born prior to 1914 were still alive. This is a crucially important doctrinal issue, as it was this teaching that motivated many to join the Truth. Yet this doctrine was not truth, as it was discarded in 1995. Since this doctrine was changed there has been almost zero growth for the Organization in most of the developed world.

“The countdown that has proceeded for some six millenniums now nears its zero hour. So close is it that people who were alive in 1914, and who are now well along in years, will not all pass off the scene before the thrilling events marking the vindication of Jehovah’s sovereignty come to pass”- Mark 13:30. Survival into a New Earth (1984) “The Countdown Nears Its Zero Hour” p.184-185 … The early members of this group are now in their 60’s or 70’s or older. Jehovah did not allow the ingathering of this group to begin too soon. The “great crowd,” including many of the earliest members thereof, will survive into the “new earth.”"Prophetic information in the Bible about our day details the following: …The survival of at least some of the generation that saw the beginning of “the conclusion of the system of things.” True Peace And Security (1986) p.70

The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life p.95

I was born in 1969 and during my entire childhood was led to believe that I would never die. During primary school I prayed that the end would be fulfilled so that I would not have to go to high school. Later, in my teens I would sun bake with my cousins smeared in Johnson’s Baby Oil to help get a tan, laughing that we didn’t have to worry about skin cancer, we would never get that old.

Generation teachings

Numerous methods of describing a generation have been used to keep people thinking that the end was about to occur. For Russell a generation was within 100 years from the start of the signs of the end (1780). Gradually a generation became shorter, then longer until now there is no specified period of time. These include;

• 100 -120 years based on the maximum life expectancy of mankind, such as the life of Moses Deuteronomy 34:7
• 70 to 80 years based on Psalms 90:10
• 40 years based on Numbers 32:13, “So Jehovah’s anger blazed against Israel and he made them wander about in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that was doing evil in the eyes of Jehovah came to their end.”
• 36 ½ years, being the length of time from the death of Jesus to the fall of Jerusalem, and the average of human life in the 1800’s
• 33 years based on quotes such as in Webster’s unabridged dictionary; “The average lifetime of man, or the ordinary period of time at which one rank follows another, or father is succeeded by child; an age. A generation is usually taken to be about 33 years.”
• Changing the youngest age a person can be considered part of the generation
• Changing the start date of the generation

This has allowed the end of the generation to shift constantly.

• • • • • • To end ’soon’ - generation unspecified living in ‘last days’

          To end early 2000’s - maximum lifespan of baby in 1914

        To end by 1989 - 75 year life expectancy of baby in 1914

      To end early 80’s - 70-80 year life expectancy of 10 year old in 1914

    To end 1975 - 70-80 year life expectancy of 15 year old in 1914

  To end by 1950 - 30-40 year generation from 1914

To end in 1914 - 36 1/2 year generation from 1878

The Generation to end 1914

Originally the start year for the generation was 1780. A generation was either 100 years or 120 years, used to prove that the end would come in 1880. Russell changed this concept to align the end of the system to 1914, stating a generation would last 36 ½ years.

“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… 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 1914–36 1/2 years– about the average of human life today.” Studies in the Scriptures Series IV -The Day of Vengeance 1897 ed. pp.604, 605

When Armageddon did not arrive in 1914 the doctrine on Christ’s presence was reengineered. Overtime 1914 became the start of the generation, rather than the end of the generation. The end of the generation would definitely arrive whilst some people born prior to 1914 were still alive. This concept continued until 1995.

To end by 1951: 37 year generation

In the early 1950’s a generation was once again explained to be around 36 ½ years (37 years). With the start date moved to 1914 the end was to arrive 1951.

“By keeping the people ignorant they led them into having Jesus killed on a torture stake at Calvary. Thirty-seven years later this willfully cultivated ignorance led to its fatal consequences, the destruction of the city of Jerusalem with an enormous loss of human lives, just as Jesus had predicted, and the breaking up of the Jewish nation till this day. And now in this “time of the end” the revived nation of Israel with capital at the modern city of Jerusalem chooses to go on in the steps of its forefathers . . .” Watchtower 1950 September 1 p.277″The length of time is indicated by him when he said, “Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.” (Matt. 24:34) The actual meaning of these words is, beyond question, that which takes a “generation” in the ordinary sense, as at Mark 8:12 and Acts 13:36, or for those who are living at the given period.” Watchtower 1951 July 1 p.404

“Counting from the end of the “appointed times of the nations” in 1914, we are 37 years into the “time of the end” of this world. (Luke 21:24, Dan. 12:4) During these crucial years Jehovah’s witnesses have sought shelter and strength in him, and they can confess for themselves that he is a “well-proved help in trouble”. If it were not for this, they would not be here today nor increasing in numbers. But we are entering the most serious and trialsome years of this “time of the end”. The final conflict of Armageddon draws near.” Watchtower 1951 February 15 p.179

After 1951 drew to a close without incidence a generation was extended, possibly up 70 or 80 years.

“The Bible does speak of a man’s days as being threescore and ten or fourscore years; but it assigns no specific number of years to a generation.-Ps. 90:10. … Some persons living A.D. 1914 when the series of foretold events began will also be living when the series ends with Armageddon. All the events will come within the span of a generation. There are hundreds of millions of persons living now that were living in 1914, and many millions of these persons could yet live a score or more years. Just when the lives of the majority of them will be cut short by Armageddon we cannot say.” Watchtower 1952 September 1 pp.542-543

To coincide with 1975

In 1968 it was said that a person as young as 15 could ‘discern’ the beginning of the time of the end. Add 70 or 80 years to a person born in 1899 and the generation was to end in the mid 1970’s.

“Some of the generation that discerned the beginning of the time of the end in 1914 will still be alive on earth to witness the end of this present wicked system of things at the battle of Armageddon.-Rev. 16:14, 16.” Watchtower 1968 May 1 p.272 (also December 1 p.715)”Jesus was obviously speaking about those who were old enough to witness with understanding what took place when the ‘last days’ began. … Even if we presume that youngsters 15 years of age would be perceptive enough to realize the import of what happened in 1914, it would still make the youngest of ‘this generation’ nearly 70 years old today.” Awake! 1968 October 8 p.13

The Awake! 1968 October 8 also made the following assertions;

To the Early 1980’s

By revising the age of discernment down to 10, but excluding babies, the Watchtower led a reader to the realisation that in the early 1980’s those of the generation were between “70 or 80 years old”. (Ps 80:10)

“Thus, when it comes to the application in our time, the “generation” logically would not apply to babies born during World War I. It applies to Christ’s followers and others who were able to observe that war and the other things that have occurred in fulfillment of Jesus’ composite “sign.”" Watchtower 1978 October 1 p.31″As indicated by an article on page 56 of U.S. News & World Report of January 14, 1980, “If you assume that 10 is the age at which an event creates a lasting impression on a person’s memory,” then there are today more than 13 million Americans who have a “recollection of World War I.” And if the wicked system of this world survived until the turn of the century, which is highly improbable in view of world trends and the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, there would still be survivors of the World War I generation. However, the fact that their number is dwindling is one more indication that “the conclusion of the system of things” is moving fast toward its end.” Watchtower 1980 October 15 p.31

“In Jesus’ day, some of the disciples who heard his words, and others of his contemporaries, survived to live through the final “tribulation” on the Jewish system of things. They were the “generation” of Jesus’ time. At this writing, in the United States alone there are more than 10,000,000 persons still living who were old enough to observe “a beginning of pangs of distress” in 1914-1918. Some of these may still survive quite a number of years. Yet Jesus assures us that, before “this generation” passes away, he will come as “Son of man” to execute judgment on Satan’s system of things. (Matthew 24:8, 21, 37-39)” “Let Your Kingdom Come” (1981) p.140

The late 1980’s

In 1984 discernment was no longer a criteria and babies started to be included in the generation, meaning that the generation were once again between 70 and 80.

“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.” Watchtower 1984 May 15 p.5

In 1988 an expert was used to prove a generation is 75 years. A baby born in 1914 would be 75 in 1989, leading the reader to the conclusion that the end was imminent.

“J. A. Bengel states in his New Testament Word Studies: “The Hebrews . . . reckon seventy-five years as one generation, and the words, shall not pass away, intimate that the greater part of that generation [of Jesus' day] indeed, but not the whole of it, should have passed away before all should be fulfilled.” This became true by the year 70 C.E. when Jerusalem was destroyed. Likewise today, most of the generation of 1914 has passed away. However, there are still millions on earth who were born in that year or prior to it. And although their numbers are dwindling, Jesus’ words will come true, “this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” This is yet another reason for believing that Jehovah’s thieflike day is imminent.” Watchtower 1988 April 8 p.14

Within the lifespan of baby born in 1914

Eventually the generation was given no age limit, the only proviso was that some people born in 1914 would still be alive at Armageddon.

“Remember, Jesus said of those living through the last days, starting in 1914: “Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.” (Matthew 24:34) Yes, peace will really come within this generation but not through the nations’ efforts.” Watchtower 1991 April 15 p.7

1995 Generation Teaching

In 1995 a significant change occurred to the generation teaching that allowed “this generation” to extend for an unlimited period of time. The change was a result of necessity, and has led to a large fall in growth rate of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In 1993, while at Bethel, I started to wonder what would happen if the end did not come before the generation had all died. I had begun to have the inkling that the Watchtower Society was not directed by God. Here was an Organization in control of billions of dollars. Would it be given back to the members once the truth had been proven untrue? No, that could not happen. The alternative would be to adjust the teachings. Maybe Jesus invisible presence would be changed to have started at the end of the 6,000 years, in 1975. Or maybe the meaning of the generation could be changed. These were vague ideas as there seemed no need for changes for at least another decade. Other people were having similar ideas. Since 607 is an incorrect date the Watchtower could use 587 B.C.E. and start the generation at 1934. Maybe a generation would include that last person to die at the age of 130. Maybe the generation started in 1957 when the last sign, the space race, started. The problem with all these ideas is that sooner or later a time would pass when they could once again be proved wrong.

Needless to say, despite expecting it, I was deeply affected when the teaching of a generation was changed in 1995. The Faithful and Discreet Slave had clearly seen it necessary to introduce this new teaching to prevent a mass exodus of members if the end did not appear by the early 2000’s. It was at that point that I knew that Watchtower teachings are not directed by Holy Spirit.

The 1995 generation change had significant consequences. The latest teaching is simple to understand, but was presented in unspecific terms to hide the controversy. Put simply, the end may arrive after every person born in 1914 has died out. The people born in 1914 form a collective generation and with those born in following generations. Sometime in the future this ongoing generation will see the end. This could be tomorrow but it could also be in 200 years time. Clearly this teaching has been introduced to protect the organization from the very specific, wrong teaching of the last hundred years.

“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. 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.”…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…Is anything to be gained, then, by looking for dates or by speculating about the literal lifetime of a “generation”?… 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.” Watchtower 1995 November 1 p.20″In the final fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy at Matthew 24:34-39, to what does the expression “this generation” refer? Jesus apparently refers to the peoples on earth who see the sign of Christ’s presence but fail to mend their ways.-11/1, pages 19, 31.” Watchtower 1995 December 15 p.30

Rather than saying that Jehovah’s Organization or the Governing Body incorrectly promoted a wrong teaching the 1995 Watchtower states ‘people’ made the false assumption. This allows the reader to assume that the followers misunderstood or wrongly speculated, shifting blame from the leaders that promoted the teaching. Also the term ’speculated’ is an understatement, a more honest term would be ’strongly emphasised’ that ‘millions now living will never die”. A third incorrect statement is that it is a ‘more precise viewpoint’. It was the opposite. It had been precisely stated that people born before 1914 would never die, now it is vaguely implied that this generation could last even hundreds of years.

Even the masthead of the Awake! has been changed with this new teaching. Prior to 1995 it said “This magazine builds confidence in the Creator’s promise of a peaceful and secure new world before the generation that saw the events of 1914 pass away.” This was changed to “This magazine builds confidence in the Creator’s promise of a peaceful and secure new world that is about to replace the present wicked, lawless system of things.”

Further clarification appeared in 1997.

“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. …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. …

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.” Watchtower 1997 June 1 p.28

This latest concept is senseless as it removes any meaning from Matthew 24:34. If ‘generation’ refers to people of an ongoing period of time there was no point saying “this generation will by no means pass away”.

This was the first change of consequence for many Witnesses active in 1995. It prompted some to question the ability and right for the Organization to dogmatically direct their steps, concluding that these changes signify Watchtower teachings do not result from God’s direction. For many years prior to 1995 the global growth rate of publishers was around 6%. Within the next 3 years it had dropped to 2% per annum. The growth rate of educated countries has been even more deeply affected. In 2004 22 countries had zero or negative growth, in 2005 this had risen to over 50 countries. Whereas 30 years ago every 1,500 hours of witnessing resulted in one extra publisher by 2000 it took over 5,000 hours. (See Watchtower Statistics)

Generation Change 2007

For over 70 years, the Watchtower has claimed that all 144,000 Anointed rulers were chosen prior to 1935, at which time the calling was closed.

“Logically, the calling of the little flock would draw to a close when the number was nearing completion, and the evidence is that the general gathering of these specially blessed ones ended in 1935.” Watchtower 1995 February 15 p.19″Hence especially after 1966 it was believed that the heavenly calling ceased in 1935. … Thereafter, any called to the heavenly hope were believed to be replacements for anointed Christians who had proved unfaithful.” Watchtower 2007 May 1 pp.30-31

In 2007, the 1935 teaching was changed with a simple admission:

“Thus it appears that we can not set a specific date for when the calling of Christians to the heavenly hope ends.” Watchtower 2007 May 1 p.31

Subtle as it may appear, this is of significance, as it was to pave the way for yet another generation doctrinal change.

“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 8:3 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).
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.”
…
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.” Watchtower 2008 February 15 pp.23-24

The generation is no longer said to refer to the unbelievers, but to Anointed believers. However, this does not bring Armageddon any closer. Because it is now said that the calling of heavenly ones may not have closed, and with no suggestion for when this may occur, there is no limit to when “this generation” will die out.

Interestingly, in Crisis of Conscience, Raymond Franz showed that in the 1970’s Schroeder had proposed applying the generation solely to the Anointed.

The leadership had made numerous adjustments and now had few remaining options. There was the 1957 starting date for “this generation” proposed by members Schroeder, Klein and Suiter, but that seemed an unlikely choice. There was Albert Schroeder’s idea of applying the phrase to the ”anointed” class (an idea that had been floating around the organization for many, many years) which offered certain advantages-there are always additional persons (some fairly young) who each year decide for the first time that they are of the “anointed” class. So this would offer an almost… p.265

With the current Watchtower doctrine, “generation” can no longer be used as a limiting word; it can extend infinitum; applied to the overlapping lives of contemporaries. There are a number of reasons why the new view is of dubious merit.

• The New Testament applies the word generation consistently to evildoers in a negative connotation, yet the Watchtower applies this term on this specific occasion to the righteous anointed.
• Jesus statement that the generation would “by no means pass away” applied to a group that saw both his ministry and the destruction of Jerusalem. The term generation and statement that they will “by no means pass away” have becomes all but meaningless with current Watchtower doctrine.
• When Jesus made this statement there were no Anointed, as the Holy Spirit was not poured out until after his death at Pentecost 33A.D. Jesus is claimed to be applying the term “this generation” to a class that at the time of the statement did not even exist.

This new understanding will no doubt result in further changes. It was already illogical to claim that between 33 A.D, and 1935 there have only been 144,000 true Christians (76 a year), especially when considering there were over 50,000 memorial takers in 1935 alone. As the terminology referring to the 144,000 at Revelation 7:1-8 and 14:1-5 is almost entirely figurative, at some point in time it is likely the Watchtower will be forced to concede the 144,000 is not a literal number.

In similar vein, the concept that the Great Crowd started to be gathered from 1935 becomes equally irrelevant. The Great Crowd are specifically described in Watchtower theology as people that survive Armageddon (as compared to Other Sheep that include those worshippers that die prior to Armageddon).

“Jehovah did not allow the ingathering of this group to begin too soon. The “great crowd,” including many of the earliest members thereof, will survive into the “new earth”.” Survival into a New Earth p.185

It will not be long before the last one baptised in 1935 will have passed away, meaning that no one baptised in 1935 will be able to be considered part of the Great Crowd.

For over 100 years Witnesses have been discouraged from having children, getting married and going to University. I was condemned by a number of Jehovah’s Witnesses for doing an Accounting degree in the late 1980’s, because “the end is so close and in the new system we will need builders, not accountants.” A Witness has been encouraged to keep a short term focus “because the end is so close”. The Watchtower 1938 November 1 p.324 advised not to have children because the end was so near. Most of these followers have since passed away without the joy of rearing children and grandchildren. This short-sightedness has been encouraged by changing the generation and end teachings in the late 1800’s, the early 1900’s, the 1920’s, the 1940’s, the 1950’s, the 1960’s, the 1970’s and the 1980’s.

Generation change. Watchtower Nov 1st 1995

Reasoning on the “Generation” Change

Posted by Seeker on June 11, 1997 at 08:26:24

If you are curious to know where all my doubts began, it started when the Society made the change in our understanding of “generation” in the November 1, 1995 Watchtower. I remember reading that article, sitting on my couch, and thinking that this changes everything. They took away the one thing that lent any sort of time element to the time of the end. The implication of that was the end could literally be any time in the future. After all, if the “generation” referred to was the generation of people who see the sign of the end, then the end could be tomorrow, next week, next year, next decade, or hundreds of years in the future. There was no way to tell from the point of view of time. It would all depend on how long is “the time of the end”. From a human point of view, it could be very long indeed, barring any time element to say otherwise.

But aren’t there other time elements? True, there were other signs that seem to indicate a time element, but none of them held up to scrutiny.

Consider:

1. The anointed are dying off, therefore the end can’t be too far off.

True, most of the anointed are old and it would seem that this is a limiting factor. But have you noticed how the number of partakers is increasing in recent years? How is that possible? Clearly some are partaking that didn’t used to partake, but who? Certainly not new ones, as attendants at the Memorial are trained not to count such ones that are obviously not anointed. So it must be others who have been around the organization for a while and who the attendants must consider potentially worthy enough to be counted.

With that happening, theoretically the number of anointed ones might never die off, as long as more and more persons began to partake. After all, we now have members of the Governing Body who weren’t even in the organization in 1935, so clearly one can be younger than other anointed ones and still be considered true anointed ones too. That opens the door to a steady stream of anointed ones and the end of the time element for this factor.

Still, that seems far-fetched. Yet there is another reason for thinking that the time element is not a factor here. In recent years there have been several articles talking about “given ones” to assist the Governing Body. In the May 15, 1997 issue it clearly implies that all of the anointed will be taken to heaven before Armageddon is over, so they can be a part of the marriage of the Lamb. In those same articles the idea of the “given ones” is reiterated and enlarged upon. They are now implying that these ones could do just about everything in the future. They don’t say they could be part of the Governing Body and the Faithful and Discreet Slave, but that seems inevitable as the anointed ones die off. If I’m right, within a matter of years we will see a change to the teaching that only anointed ones can be part of the Governing Body. When that happens, the time element disappears for this factor.

2. Conditions on earth are getting so bad the end must be close.

If you think about it, you’ll see that’s not quite true. In fact, for every bit of pollution or war that gets worse, there seems to be another bit that improves. In my lifetime, I have seen the air quality in New York City improve dramatically, not get worse. Water pollution is much less today than it was 20 or 30 years ago. Some diseases are worse, some are better, but overall life expectancy grows longer, not shorter.

For example, the Society is always pointing out how severe the problem of famine is during our day, but is this really so? Note this quote on the subject of famine:

“Between 1961 and 1994, it says, “per capita food supply in developing countries increased by 32 percent and mass famines on the scale seen in the 19th and mid-20th century have not recurred.” The ranks of the hungry and undernourished have also fallen over the same period, from 35 percent to 21 percent.” [UN Commission on Sustainable Development January 1997]

So, is there famine in the world? Yes, of course there is. But is it steadily getting worse? No, in fact it is considerably better than it was a hundred years ago. Just because a few cases have been widely publicized, it doesn’t mean that overall conditions are getting worse. In fact, the percentage of hungry and undernourished is much smaller than it used to be.

I’m not saying there aren’t serious problems, as we all know there are. What I am saying is that none of the problems prevent this system from continuing for another 10, or 20, or 50, or 100 years. What realistic condition can you think of that would prevent mankind from surviving for another 50 years?

The next time someone suggests that the earth can’t last another 10 or 15 year, remember this quote:

“I know enough of what is going on to assure you that, in fifteen years from today, this world is going to be too dangerous to live in.” [Truth That Leads To Eternal Life, p. 9, 1968 edition, quoting Secretary of State Dean Acheson in 1960. Note that the 1981 edition deleted "in fifteen years from today" i.e. in 1975]

Oops, didn’t happen. We are now thirty-seven years from that date and in many ways the world is in better shape than it was then. Certainly pollution has been cut back considerably, war is minimal compared to what the sixties saw, civic unrest is nothing compared to that decade, etc. For all the problems that remain, the earth has been designed to bounce back remarkably well, no matter what the problem.

3. All of the signs of the end have been fulfilled, so the end must be close.

That is true, the signs have been fulfilled. The problem is you could say the same thing 50 years ago and the end is still not here. Oh sure, the preaching work is more advanced than it was in 1947, but couldn’t it advance far more if, say, China completely opened up? Just think of the growth if Gilead graduates could reach another billion-and-a-half persons! Might we not look back 50 years from now and say, my how the preaching work has advanced since 1997! Thus the time element disappears from the equation.

So what’s the point of this section? Just that all of this went through my mind as I read the change in “generation.” So what’s the problem? The problem is the Society continues to stress that we are urgently close to the end, yet they give no credible reasons for thinking that. Their arguments now center on points 2 and 3 above, but only in the most general terms. ‘The end must be close because the signs of the end are all fulfilled.’ ‘The end must be close because things are too bad on the earth to continue.’, etc. No in-depth discussion of these points, just a sentence thrown out there and we are expected to accept it.

The recent Question From Readers (w97 5/1) on this topic made things even worse. Illustrating the use of “generation” as being like saying “the soldiers of Napoleon’s generation”, they just made a bad situation worse. Consider the meaning of their illustration: Would you say that encompasses a period of, say, 100 years? Of course not, for that would stretch things into the 20th century. How about fifty years? Perhaps, but that would take things long past Napoleon’s lifetime and would seem to negate the meaning of “the soldiers of Napoleon’s generation.” Twenty or thirty years? Yes, that is the meaning you would get if you asked 1,000 people what they thought of by the phrase “the soldiers of Napoleon’s generation.”

So now we see the problem. They used an illustration that is even more restrictive in time than the old use of the word “generation”. They used to say anyone alive in 1914 counted. Now they use an illustration that carries, at most, 30 years of time, which is absurd! I know the point they were trying to make is that there is no time element, but the illustration they used absolutely does introduce a distinct, and short, time element.

So with all this in mind, I began to wonder why they were stressing the end being so close when there was no compelling evidence for thinking it has to be right around the corner. That’s what got me to begin researching, to see why the Society would say such things. What I found made the most sense of all: The Society has always said the end is imminent! They were just as convinced a hundred years ago that the end was just a year or two away as they are today. Consider the following quotes and see if it doesn’t sound like what the Society says today. Then ask yourself if the quotes were accurate for their time-period:

The very first issue of Zion’s Watchtower, July 1879, stated on page 1 that the object of its publication was to present, not theories, but facts:

“That we are living “in the last days” — “the days of the Lord” — “the end” of the Gospel age, and consequently, in the dawn of the “new” age, are facts not only discernible by the close student of the Word, led by the spirit, but the outward signs recognizable by the world bear the same testimony.”

Of course, they were not living in the last days in 1879, as we now know, yet Russell wrote that both the outward signs “recognizable by the world”, as well as studying the Bible and being led by God’s spirit indicated they were in the last days. He discerned it, but he was wrong. He obviously misinterpreted the outward signs he saw. He called them facts, but it was not true at that time. Naturally, if you had said he was wrong at the time, you would have been looked at as one who lacked faith.

This is a common theme, by the way. Looking at current conditions and saying ‘We must be at the end because of how bad things are’ is a statement that was being said over 100 years ago (actually, people have said that for the last two thousand years). Today we look back 100 years and describe that time-period as being so much better than today. We use this in service to show people how things have deteriorated since then, yet here we have Brother Russell saying things were so bad then that it must the end of the system!

Let’s consider some more quotations and see if that theme, that the end must be absolutely imminent, doesn’t show up throughout the history of the Society. I know there are a lot of quotes, but take the time to ask yourself how you would have reacted, at that time, to reading each quote. Then ask yourself if the quote turned out to be right or wrong:

“God’s Kingdom, the Kingdom of Jehovah’s Anointed… will be established gradually, during a great time of trouble with which the Gospel age will close, and in the midst of which present dominions shall be utterly consumed, passing away amid great confusion.

“In this chapter we present the Bible evidence proving that the full end of the times of the Gentiles, i.e., the full end of their lease of dominion, will be reached in A.D. 1914; and that that date will be the farthest limit of the rule of imperfect men. And be it observed, that if this is shown to be a fact firmly established by the Scriptures, it will prove:

“– Firstly, That at that date the Kingdom of God, for which our Lord taught us to pray, saying, “Thy Kingdom come,” will have obtained full, universal control, and that it will then be “set up,” or firmly established, in the earth, on the ruins of present institutions.” [The Time Is At Hand, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. II, pp. 76-77]

“Be not surprised, then, when in subsequent chapters we present proofs that the setting up of the Kingdom of God is already begun, that it is pointed out in prophecy as due to begin the exercise of power in A.D. 1878, and that the “battle of the great day of God Almighty” (Rev. 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth’s present rulership, is already commenced. The gathering of the armies is plainly visible from the standpoint of God’s Word.” [The Time Is At Hand, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. II, p. 101]

“Seventeen years ago people said, concerning the time features presented in MILLENIAL DAWN, They seem reasonable in many respects, but surely no such radical changes could occur between now and the close of 1914: if you had proved that they would come about in a century or two, it would seem much more probable…. Now, in view of recent labor troubles and threatened anarchy, our readers are writing to know if there may not be a mistake in the 1914 date. They say that they do not see how present conditions can hold out so long under the strain.

“We see no reason for changing the figures — nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God’s dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble. We see no reason for changing from our opinion expressed in the view presented in the WATCHTOWER of January 15, ‘92. We advise that it be read again.” [w1894, 7/15, p. 226]

“The Scriptures give unmistakable testimony to those who have full faith in its records, that there is a great time of trouble ahead of the present comparative calm in the world — a trouble which will embroil all nations, overthrow all existing institutions, civil, social and religious, bring about a universal reign of anarchy and terror, and prostrate humanity in the very dust of despair, thus to make them ready to appreciate the power that will bring order out of that confusion and institute the new rule of righteousness. All this, the Scriptures show us, is to come to pass before the year 1914 (See MILLENNIAL DAWN, Vol. II, Chapter IV)” [w1892, 1/15, p. 19]

“As we have heretofore stated, the great jubilee cycle is due to begin in 1925. At that time the earthly phase of the kingdom shall be recognized…. Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old, particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews chapter eleven, to the condition of human perfection.” [Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920 Edition, pp. 89-90]

“Based upon the argument heretofore set forth, then, that the old order of things, the old world, is ending and is therefore passing away, and that the new order is coming in, and that 1925 shall mark the resurrection of the faithful worthies of old and the beginning of reconstruction, it is reasonable to conclude that millions of people now on the earth will be still on the earth in 1925. Then, based upon the promises set forth in the divine Word, we must reach the positive and indisputable conclusion that millions now living will never die.” [Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920 Edition, p. 97]

“This is without question a fulfillment of the prophecy testifying to the “time of the end.” These physical facts can not be disputed and are sufficient to convince any reasonable mind that we have been in the “time of the end” since 1799.” [The Harp of God, p. 239]

“The indisputable facts, therefore, show that the “time of the end” began in 1799; that the Lord’s second presence began in 1874.” [The Watch Tower, March 1, 1922]

“Twelve hundred and sixty years from 539 A.D. brings us to 1799, which is another proof that 1799 definitely marks the beginning of “the time of the end.”" [Creation (1927), pp. 294, 295, 298]

“…. the second presence of the Lord Jesus Christ began in 1874 A.D. This proof is specifically set out in the booklet entitled Our Lord’s Return.” [Prophecy (1929), pp. 65, 66]

“We have no doubt whatever in regard to the chronology relating to the dates of 1874, 1914, 1918, and 1925. It was on this line of reckoning that the dates 1874, 1914, and 1918 were located; and the Lord has placed the stamp of his seal upon 1914 and 1918 beyond any possibility of erasure. What further evidence do we need?…. There can be no more question about 1925 than there was about 1914. The fact that all the things that some looked for in 1914 did not materialize does not alter the chronology one whit. Noting the date marked so prominently, it is very easy for the finite mind to conclude that all the work to be done must center about it, and thus many are inclined to anticipate more than has been really foretold. Thus it was in 1844, in 1874, in 1878 as well as in 1914 and 1918. Looking back we can now easily see that those dates were clearly indicated in Scripture and doubtless intended by the Lord to encourage his people, as they did, as well as to be a means of testing and sifting when all that some expected did not come to pass. That all that some expect to see in 1925 may not transpire that year will not alter the date one whit more than in the other cases.” [The Watch Tower, May 15, 1922]

“The chronology of present truth might be a mere happening if it were not for the repetitions in the two great cycles of 1845 and 2520 years, which take it out of the realm of chance and into that of certainty…. where the agreements of dates and events come by the dozens, they cannot possibly be by chance, but must be by the design or plan of the only personal Being capable of such a plan — Jehovah himself; and the chronology itself must be right.

“In the passages of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh the agreement of one or two measurements with the present-truth chronology might be accidental, but the correspondency of dozens of measurements proves that the same God designed both pyramid and plan — and at the same time proves the correctness of the chronology…. It is on the basis of such and so many correspondencies — in accordance with the soundest laws known to science — that we affirm that, Scripturally, scientifically, and historically, present-truth chronology is correct beyond a doubt. Its reliability has been abundantly confirmed by the dates and events of 1874, 1914, and 1918. Present-truth chronology is a secure basis on which the consecrated child of God may endeavor to search out things to come.” [w22, 6/15]

“…. all Europe is like a boiling pot, with the intensity of the heat ever increasing. If any one who has studied the Bible can travel through Europe and not be convinced that the world has ended, that the day of God’s vengeance is here, that the Messianic kingdom is at the door, then he has read the Bible in vain. The physical facts show beyond question of a doubt that 1914 ended the Gentile times; and as the Lord foretold, the old order is being destroyed by war, famine, pestilence, and revolution.

“The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures because it is fixed by the law God gave to Israel. Viewing the present situation in Europe, one wonders how it will be possible to hold back the explosion much longer; and that even before 1925 the great crisis will be reached and probably passed.” [w22, 9/1, p. 262]

“Question: Did the order go forth eight months ago to the Pilgrims to cease talking about 1925? Have we more reason, or as much, to believe the kingdom will be established in 1925 than Noah had to believe that there would be a flood?

“Answer:…. There was never at any time any intimation to the Pilgrim brethren that they should cease talking about 1925…. Our thought is, that 1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures, marking the end of the typical jubilees. Just exactly what will happen at that time no one can tell to a certainty; but we expect such a climax in the affairs of the world that the people will begin to realize the presence of the Lord and his kingdom power. He is already present, as we know, and has taken unto himself his power and begun his reign. He has come to his temple. He is dashing to pieces the nations. Every Christian ought to be content, then, to do with his might what his hands find to do, without stopping to quibble about what is going to happen on a certain date.” [w23, 4/1, p. 106]

“Let no one now be deceived by calculations as to just when the Lord will cease his work with the Church on earth. The year 1925 is a date definitely and clearly marked in the Scriptures, even more clearly than that of 1914; but it would be presumptuous on the part of any faithful follower of the Lord to assume just what the Lord is going to do during that year.” [w24, 7/15]

“…the scriptural evidence and the physical facts strongly indicate that such witness work is now almost done; and when it is done the universal war will begin. 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 and tell the people that by such means they will keep that world peace and bring about prosperity.” [Universal War Near (1935), p. 3, 26, 27]

“…mark the words of Jesus, which definitely seem to discourage the bearing of children immediately before or during Armageddon…. It would therefore appear that there is no reasonable or scriptural injunction to bring children into the world immediately before Armageddon, where we now are.” [w38, 11/1, p. 324]

“Would it be scripturally proper for them to marry and begin to rear children? No, is the answer, which is supported by the scriptures…. It will be far better to be unhampered and without burdens, that they may do the Lords will now, as the Lord commands, and also be without hindrance during Armageddon…. Those… who now contemplate marriage, it would seem, would do better if they wait a few years, until the fiery storm of Armageddon is gone.” [Face the Facts (1938), pp. 26, 47, 50]

“The abundance of Scriptural evidence, together with the physical facts that have come to pass showing the fulfillment of prophecy, conclusively proves that the time for the battle of the great day of God Almighty is very near and that in that battle all of God’s enemies shall be destroyed and the earth cleared of wickedness.” … “Likewise today, all the nations and peoples of earth are face to face with the greatest emergency. They are being warned as God commands, that the disaster of Armageddon is just ahead.” [Salvation (1939), pp. 310, 361]

“The year 1940 is certain to be the most important year yet because Armageddon is very near. It behooves all who love righteousness to put forth every effort to advertise The Theocracy while the privileges are still open.” [Informant, April 1940, p. 1]

“The Kingdom is here, the King is enthroned. Armageddon is just ahead. The glorious reign of Christ that shall bring blessings to the world will immediately follow. Therefore the great climax has been reached. Tribulation has fallen upon those who stand by the Lord.” [The Messenger, Sept. 1940, p. 6]

“The prophecies of Almighty God, the fulfillment of which now clearly appears from the physical facts, show that the end of religion has come and with its end the complete downfall of Satan’s entire organization.” [Religion (1940), p. 336]

“Armageddon is surely near, and during that time the Lord will clean off the earth everything that offends and is disagreeable…. From now on we shall have our heart devotion fixed on The Theocracy, knowing that soon we shall journey forever together in the earth. 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.” [Children (1941), p. 366]

“Receiving the gift, [the book Children] 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 before Armageddon.” [w41, 9/15, p. 288]

“The New World Is At The Doors… The time is short. Those who do not inform themselves and who do not now choose the new world which Higher Powers shall establish will never live to enter into blessings and glories.” [The New World (1942), p. 10]

“the disaster of Armageddon, greater than that which befell Sodom and Gomorrah, is at the door.” [Let God Be True (1946), p. 194]

“After almost six thousand years of human sorrow, suffering and death, at last permanent relief is near at hand and will be realized within this generation.” [New Heavens and a New Earth (1953), p. 7]

“in the light of the fulfillment of Bible prophecy it is becoming clear that the war of Armageddon is nearing its breaking-out point.” [You May Survive Armageddon Into God's New World (1955), p. 331]

“The apostle Paul was spearheading the Christian missionary activity. He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our 20th century.” [w89, 1/1, p. 12 -- Note that the bound volume changed "20th century" to "day"]

Why do I include these quotes? It is not to get into the old 1975, or 1925 issue (in fact, you’ll notice I skipped from 1955 to 1989 above precisely to avoid the old 1975 issue). But it is to show that the Society has always been dogmatic about the end being absolutely imminent. They were just as certain in the 1920s as they are today, even though 70 years have passed. Their argument in defense of this is that they are just eager and so they sometimes make mistakes. Fine, but then why should we expect that the end is imminent in our day and not another 70 years hence? If you ask a Witness today if the end could be 70 years away, they wouldn’t even consider such a thought. But then, neither would a Bible Student have considered such to be possible back in the 1920s! Yet it happened. Eagerness does not always translate into accuracy, as the past has shown. They were wrong before so why can’t they be wrong again? In fact, looking at the above quotes, they were wrong a lot of times! How can we know that they are not wrong in our time? At every other point in the Society’s history they have been “overly eager” about when the end would come. Time and again they said things that they were convinced of, but turned out to be wrong. Regardless of motive, the facts are clear. So why not consider that they might be wrong again by saying the end is here?

In summary, what reason can you give for saying the end must be imminent? Not just a feeling or a belief, but “reasoning from the Scriptures” to show the end has to be very, very soon? If you can’t come up with a compelling reason, why does the Society continue to insist on it? Just to keep us from slowing down and losing out in the future? If that’s the case, why don’t they tell us they are just trying to keep us in line? Why insist the end is immediately in the future as they have been for over one hundred years? And if they believe the end is so close, why don’t they give compelling reasons for saying that, instead of dogmatically repeating what they have repeated for over a hundred years?

Generation & 1914

Jeffery M. Schwehm’s Letter to the Watchtower Society

Posted by Jeffery M. Schwehm on November 20, 1996 at 15:17:43

Dear Sirs:

I have read the information in the November 1, 1995 Watchtower that teaches that the “generation” that Jesus talked about at Matt. 24:34, 35 no longer refers to the “generation that saw the events of 1914″, but now “refers to the peoples of earth who see the sign of Christ’s presence but fail to mend their ways.” The same Watchtower adds on page 20 the following statement:

“Though we at no time have known the “day and hour”, Jehovah God has always known it, and he does not change.”

I have also been reading the May 15, 1984 Watchtower which has on the cover “1914-The Generation That Will Not Pass Away”. Starting on page 6 and continuing on page 7 this issue of the Watchtower says the following:

“Jehovah’s prophetic word through Christ Jesus is: “This generation [of 1914] will by no means pass away until all things occur.” (Luke 12:32) 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.”

Another quote from the same page says:

“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.”

In addition to this, in the October 22, 1995 Awake! magazine and in preceding issues, the masthead on page 4 under “Why Awake! is Published” stated the following:

“Most important, this magazine builds confidence in the Creator’s promise of a peaceful and secure new world before the generation that saw the events of 1914 passes away.”

So, according to the October 22, 1995 Awake! and previous editions, the most important reason you had for printing the Awake! magazine was because you wanted to build confidence, not in any promise made by you, the Watchtower Society, but in the Creator’s promise that the new system would be here before the generation that saw the events of 1914 passes away.

Now, the November 1, 1995 Watchtower says that “Jehovah does not change”, but if you read the quotes from the May 15, 1984 Watchtower, it appears to me that Jehovah DOES change. Notice how the Watchtower says in the May 15, 1984 issue that it is “Jehovah’s prophetic word through Christ Jesus” that the world would end before the 1914 generation passes away. You even add the date parenthetically to the scriptural quotation. Also, if you read the two different Awake! masthead statements on why the Awake! magazine is published, it looks to me like the Creator has changed His promise to us.

So my questions are, how can you say that Jehovah does not change when it is obvious that His prophecy about the 1914 generation has changed? Or could it be that this prophecy about the 1914 generation was not from Jehovah? If the latter is true, what position does this put you, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, in when you attribute a prophecy or teaching to God that He did not make or teach?

Another question that I have is about the new understanding of the parable of the sheep and the goats. You have taught for a very long time that the parable of the sheep and the goats was being fulfilled in our day since around 1914 and that individual Jehovah’s Witnesses were participating in the fulfillment of this parable by going from house-to-house. It is interesting to me that the October 15, 1995 Watchtower on page 22 says the following about the fulfillment of the parable of the sheep and the goats:

“Yet nothing indicates that at that time, or for that matter since, Jesus sat to judge people of all the nations finally as sheep and goats.”

So you teach now that the parable of the sheep and the goats will be fulfilled some time after the Great Tribulation. I was reading the December 1, 1981 Watchtower recently and there is an article in this issue entitled “The Light’s Increase In Modern Times”. In this article, you talk about how God has given you progressive light on understanding the Bible. On page 25 paragraph 15 under the subheading “Light on Prophecies and Parables”, you comment on the parable of the sheep and the goats. This is what you say:

“More accurate understanding of Jesus’ parables also resulted. An outstanding example involved the parable of the sheep and the goats, as recorded at Matthew 25:31-46. It had long been thought that this parable would be fulfilled during Christ’s 1,000 year reign. But then Jehovah’s Witnesses saw that it simply could not apply at that time. Among the many reasons was that during Christ’s millennial reign his “brothers” would not be upon the earth, let alone be in need because of being sick or persecuted. So, it must be fulfilled now, as the enthroned Jesus in heaven gathers the nations for judgment, and this is borne out by the observable facts in fulfillment.”

So, it is interesting to me that you have taught previously that the parable of the sheep and the goats is not being fulfilled now, but would be fulfilled after the Great Tribulation. Since this is the case, how can the information in the October 15, 1995 Watchtower be considered “new light”? It appears to me that you are just resurrecting very “old light”. Also, the October 15, 1995 Watchtower says that there is NOTHING to indicate that Christ began judging the people of the nations beginning in 1914 or since 1914. However, the December 1, 1981 Watchtower says that the parable of the sheep and the goats is being fulfilled now “as borne out by the observable facts in fulfillment.” My question to this is, what observable facts did you see in 1981 that you do not see now in 1995? Also, does this mean that you, God’s visible channel on earth, has been teaching a doctrine for the better part of this century based on NOTHING?

So, you can see that I am really confused about this and I would appreciate it if you could clarify these things.