Hi LoveBeachGirl,

From the quote it still sounds like they are saying that the anointed will not all be dead before Armaggedon comes... Is that what they are trying to say now? Aren't most of the anointed pretty old now?
Prior to 1995 the "generation" of Matthew 24:34 was understood to be those alive in 1914. 80 years later in 1994 the end had not arrived. In 1995 The Watchtower keyed on Jesus use of the phrase "this (often wicked) generation" and in subtle way let go of a definite start date (1914) to replace it with "a group of contemporaneous people living at the same time". Thus the idea you needed to be born in 1914 or earlier to qualify no longer applied. At this time the "Purpose of Awake!" changed with reference to "God's Promise" regarding the generation and 1914.

Just as important is what did not change in 1995. The idea the 144,000 had filled in 1935 and only "replacements" for those who died unfaithful was still held to be true. The number of partakers would sometimes go up a bit, but still seemed to be on a downward trend. An expansion of the governing body highlighted a problem with this understanding. The Watchtower had indicated a "replacement" would logically come from brothers and sisters who had just missed the call in 1935. By implication younger partakers were looked upon with some suspicion. Subtle phrasing such as "genuine anointed" reinforced this idea. But... these newly appointed governing body members, although long time servants, nonetheless did not reach all the way back to 1935 era. Nonetheless the general idea of you-young-people-don't-be-partaking continued. (see The Watchtower, February 15, 2003 page 19-20)

By 2008 this problem gets even worse. If you were born in 1935 you would be 73 years old in 2008. Basically new governing body members would either need to come from the great crowd class (creating other doctrinal issues) or you could legitimize younger partakers as candidates. And while the 1995 relieved some pressure on how long "this generation" could be, by 2008 it was getting strained. Thus in 2008 the light got brighter. The "generation" Jesus referred to in Matthew 24:34 was not the general wicked-generation of his day, but his special followers. Those destined for the 144,000 class. During the last days, which started in 1914, this group of people would not pass away until the end. Since the 1935 close-of-calling gets dropped in 2008 and new partakers could continue to be added perpetually the "this generation" problem is fixed. The only foreseeable problem would be if enough time went on that considerably over 144,000 eventually partook.

Now of course, I don't know exactly what they were thinking when they prepared the February 2008 Watchtower, but I would suggest my proposal fits the known facts well.

What's the real truth of Matthew 24:34? The simplest way of looking at this is the author of Matthew was expecting Jesus to return in his day, his generation, hence he would have put those words in Jesus mouth. I would also suggest it really is of little use to be "directed by God's holy spirit" if you're directed one way prior to 1995, then changed, then 13 years later changed again. Would it not be reasonable to assume if Jehovah exists and is directing these sincere people, he could have provided clearer direction all along? Given that is clearly not the case either with Jehovah's Witnesses or anyone else to who claims special God given knowledge, why not take a simpler stance that most likely God does not exist, or if he does, is not interactive with humans in such a way as to give them special knowledge?

Cheers,
Rawe

Last Edited By: rawe Sep 5 09 7:24 AM. Edited 1 times.