Jehovah's Witnesses and "This Generation" -- Evaluating the Latest Change

"Truly I say to you that this generation will be no means pass away until all these things occur." — Matthew 24:34 (New World Translation)

During the week of April 14-20, 2008, congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide studied the article Christ's Presence — What Does It Mean to You? contained in the February 15, 2008 issue of The Watchtower.

This article contained the second significant shift in the explanation of the identity of "this generation" presented to Jehovah's Witnesses.

This essay will address three main topics:

1. A brief history of the explanation given from at least as early as the 1950s with respect to the identity of "this generation" as well as the first significant shift in this explanation as presented in 1995.

2. This author's view of the real significance of the second and most recent change.

3. Some thoughts on how easily this change became part of JW doctrine, particularly when analyzed against previous statements made on this subject.

It is not the goal of this essay to debate Biblical exegesis, for example The Watchtower's interpretation of original Greek words such as "parousia." Many other essays available on the web discuss such topics. Instead, the goal of this essay is to explain and feature the practical effect of changes in the explanations given with respect to "this generation."

"This Generation" — A Brief History
For many years throughout the 20th century, the group that Jesus referred to by the expression "this generation" was explained to be comprised of those both alive and old enough to have witnessed the historic events of 1914. Since "this generation" was not to "pass away until all these things occur," it was taught that—while Jesus did say that no one would know "that day and hour"— a general time period and limit could be reasonably calculated.

Consider the following published quote from 1952:

w52 9/1 p. 543 Questions From Readers
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. (Italics mine)

Twenty-eight years later, in 1980, the basic view was still the same. In fact, by this time, the expression "the generation of 1914" had begun to be used in the publications of Jehovah's Witnesses, as evidenced by the following quote:

w80 10/15 p. 31 Questions From Readers
. . . What, then, is the "generation" that "will by no means pass away until all these things occur"? . . . It is the generation of people who saw the catastrophic events that broke forth in connection with World War I from 1914 onward.

. . . 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.

. . . Yes, there was a generation of people that was living in 1914, and that saw the major historical changes from an era of comparative tranquillity to the present era of war, lawlessness and ruination. . . . We can be happy, therefore, for Jesus’ assurance that there will be survivors of "the generation of 1914"—that this generation will not have completely passed away—when the "great tribulation" rings down the curtain on this wicked world system. (Italics mine)

By the 1990s, however, the age of a person born in 1914, much less old enough to have witnessed the events of that year with any understanding, was becoming problematic for the existing explanation. In the November 1, 1995 issue of The Watchtower, the first significant change in the explanation of "this generation" was presented. Here is a short excerpt from the article A Time to Keep Awake, which presented the new explanation:

w95 11/1 pp. 19-20 A Time to Keep Awake
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.

. . . 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.

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. (Italics mine)

In connection with the above adjustment, emphasis was shifted away from the concept of defining "this generation" in terms of a calculable time period but rather towards a "generation" of people who were familiar with—as opposed to necessarily having to have been eyewitnesses of—the events of 1914 but who had become increasingly corrupt.

Analysis of the 2008 Change
In paragraph 17 of the article referenced at the beginning of this essay, the following statement was made: "Our understanding of the meaning of Christ's presence helps us to intensify our feelings of urgency."

That comment is most interesting in light of that fact that the accompanying change in explanation presented elsewhere in the article—particularly when taken together with one other key change—in fact would allow the time period covered by "this generation" to extend far longer than any previous explanation. How so?

Put simply, the revised explanation is that the expression "this generation" refers to "Christ's faithful anointed brothers." These, it was explained, are the only ones who have correctly recognized the sign Jesus gave and acted accordingly.

To arrive at this conclusion, it was first explained that it was only Jesus' disciples in the first century who drew accurate conclusions about "all these things" that were to occur at that time. Others, it was explained, saw the very same events but did not understand or act on them. Therefore, paragraph 13 states, "Jesus must have been referring to his disciples when he made the statement: "This generation will be no means pass away until all these things occur.""

Relating that application to our time, here is the full text of paragraph 15:

Those without spiritual understanding today have felt that there has been no "striking observableness" with regard to the sign of Jesus' presence. They reason that everything 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 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.

Now look closely at the last sentence of that paragraph. At first glance, that statement might appear to make the timing of the "great tribulation" more imminent, given the understood age of "Christ's anointed brothers." However, there was a significant shift in understanding of this point presented just one study issue earlier. Previously, it was always explained that the calling of the anointed ended in the 1930's. Any additions since that date were explained as being attributable to replacements being selected for some who had become unfaithful. However, notice this changed view in The Watchtower of January 15, 2008. Here are two paragraphs in their entirety from that issue:

Even so, over the years since the 1930's, a few individuals have been called to a heavenly hope. Why? In some cases, it could be that they replaced individuals previously called who had become unfaithful. (Compare Revelation 3:16.) Paul even spoke of personal acquaintances who had left the truth. (Phil. 3:17-19) Whom would Jehovah call to serve as such replacements? Of course, that is his decision to make. Still, it would seem reasonable that he would call, not newly converted ones, but individuals who--like the disciples to whom Jesus spoke when he initiated the Memorial observance--have already proved their loyalty to an extent. -- Luke 22:28

It seems, however, that not all who have been called to a heavenly hope since the 1930's are replacements for ones who have fallen away. Jehovah has evidently made sure that we will have anointed Christians among us all through the final days of this system of things until the destruction of "Babylon the Great." (Rev. 17:5) And we can be confident that the full number of 144,000 members will be completed in Jehovah's due time and that all will eventually take their place in the Kingdom government. We can also believe that the ever-growing great crowd will as a group continue to prove itself faithful. Soon it will "come out of the great tribulation" brought upon Satan's world and will joyfully move on into God's new world. (Italics mine) -- The Watchtower, January 15, 2008, page 23, pars. 15, 16.

The significant change, then, is the concept that Jehovah may well still be selecting original—as opposed to replacement—members of the 144,000. So, these individuals could therefore be expected to be relatively young in age. With that in mind, compare the statement above that "Jehovah has evidently made sure that we will have anointed Christians among us all through the final days of this system . . ." with the statement in the "generation" article that "As a class, these anointed ones . . . will not pass away until "all these things occur."

If new members of the anointed may well be selected even now and into the future, how much time might be allowable, then, before "all these things occur"? That, it seems, is the question of the day.

Is there further evidence, though, which seems to lend additional weight to the concept that the potential time period for "this generation" is in fact being extended, perhaps significantly? Consider this. In that same "generation" article, a highlighted box was published entitled "Can We Calculate the Length of "This Generation"? Here, reproduced in its entirety, is the text of that box:

Box: 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, Exodus 1:6 tells us: "Eventually Joseph 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 Joseph. (Gen 50:24) Others of "that generation," such as Benjamin, were born after 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 that time 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 disciples a formula to enable them to determine when "the last days" would end. Rather, Jesus went on to emphasize that they would not know "that day and hour." --2 Tim 3:1; Matt 24:36 (Italics in original text)

Think of the implications of the first statement in that box: "The word "generation" usually refers to people of various ages whose lives overlap during a particular time period or event." That would seem to allow for the possibility that newly-selected members of the anointed whose lives overlap with those alive earlier in the time period could extend, perhaps even significantly, the period covered by "this generation."

The Ease of Change
The last questions I propose to consider in this essay are these: How does this revised explanation compare with previous explanations of this same topic in The Watchtower? And, if it differs, how much effort had to be expended to explain the difference?

It is noteworthy that the answer presented in the February 15, 2008 issue of The Watchtower was specifically rejected as late as the November 1, 1995 issue of The Watchtower that presented the first major shift in understanding. In that issue, a Questions From Readers item was presented that asked this question: 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 answer given was quite lengthy and detailed. It discussed differences between the Greek word ge' nos as used by Peter and the Greek word ge-ne-a' as used by Jesus, provided references both in Watchtower publications and other Bible handbooks, and used other points of logic to argue that the basic answer to the question presented was "no." Here is the key paragraph from that discussion that seems relevant for purposes of this essay:

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.

It might also be noted that a similar thought to that quoted above was also expressed in 1978 in response to another Questions From Readers:

w78 10/1 p. 31 Questions From Readers
However, some Bible commentators have failed to appreciate the dual aspect of this prophecy. So they have held that by the term "generation" Jesus meant a race or people, such as the Jewish people or the class of wicked humans existing through the centuries. They might even refer to 1 Peter 2:9, which, in the Authorized Version, speaks of the anointed Christian congregation as "a chosen generation." However, Bible scholars now recognize that the Greek word in 1 Peter 2:9 should be rendered "race" and is different from the word rendered "generation" in Matthew 24:34.

Unless this writer is missing something, it would appear that the explanation presented in 2008 is the same one that was summarily rejected in 1995 and 1978. What I find so fascinating is that no lengthy or torturous exegetical exercises were judged necessary to explain the reversal. The explanation was simply changed.

Summary and Conclusion
Clearly, each reader of this essay must evaluate the accuracy and relevance of my words for themselves. I would not think to ask any more than that. Upon personal evaluation, some may accept my conclusions, others may reject them.

But I do suggest that such an evaluation—whatever your personal conclusions—has great relevance with respect to personal decision-making. As just one example, in recent months increasing pressure has been brought to bear for younger ones among Jehovah’s Witnesses to avoid university education. The same logic prevalent prior to the easing of the position on education in 1992—namely that a 4-year time investment to obtain a degree is a waste of valuable time—is once again alive and well. How, though, might a thoughtful evaluation of this most recent “generation” change affect parents who need to provide responsible guidance for their children? That same question could also apply to all manner of other decisions that need to be made depending upon one's individual circumstances, involving matters such as health care, whether to rent or buy a home, how to chart one's course with respect to secular employment and financial and retirement planning, and the like.

In closing, in considering any matter of this importance, and no matter who writes the words being considered, Jesus' words at Matthew 24:15 take on great meaning: "Let the reader use discernment."