If we are to believe the doctrine of the Jehovah's Witnesses this is a question that is of utmost importance. How so? The last generation is the only generation that has a choice. On page 255 of the Watchtower's book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth; they present the choice that needs to be made by the last generation. They say, Really, there are but two choices. Christ compared it to the choice of either one of two roads. One road, he said, is "broad and spacious." On it travelers are permitted freedom to please themselves. The other road, however, is "cramped." Yes, those on that road are required to obey the instructions and laws of God. The majority, Jesus noted, are taking the broad road, only a few the narrow one. Which road will you choose? In making your choice, keep this in mind: The broad road will suddenly come to a dead end--destruction! On the other hand, the narrow road will lead you right through into God's new system. There you can share in making the earth a glorious paradise, where you can live forever in happiness.

How is the last generation different from every other generation according to Watchtower teaching? For every other generation the two roads are reversed. The broad road is now the one that leads to paradise earth and almost every single person that lived and died was on that broad road leading to paradise. Everyone on the broad road qualifies for a resurrection on paradise earth. It matters not whether the person lived for God or if they exercised their free will to live for themselves, as long as they lived and died before the last generation they will find themselves following the broad road into paradise - no questions asked!

But what of the narrow road? How is the narrow road different for all previous generations than it is for the last generation? This narrow road for past generations became the road that leads to eternal destruction and only a few in number, in comparison to the billions on the broad road, found their way onto the narrow road. Those who found it will never experience a resurrection. They will never get a chance to see paradise on earth. They are wiped out from God's memory and will never receive a second chance for life as everyone else receives.

Who are the unfortunate souls who found themselves on that dreaded narrow road that leads to destruction? They were people who became Jehovah's Witnesses from the time the Watchtower first started preaching the end of the world message. These formerly faithful Jehovah's Witnesses originally believed the message of the Watchtower that the end was just around the corner, but after living through one failed prophecy after another, they abandoned their faith in the Watchtower organization. The Watchtower brands such ones as apostates and deems them unfit to receive a resurrection. Since 1879 anyone who became a Jehovah's Witness but who left the Watchtower is on that narrow road to destruction. They are the only ones from previous generations who will not receive a resurrection. What a shame! Since everyone who was preached to by the Watchtower from 1879 to the very early 1900's is dead and gone, the only lasting effect the Watchtower managed to have for that generation was to create a way for some to lose out on paradise. If you take the Watchtower's doctrine to its logical conclusion, the generation of the late 1800's and early 1900's would have been better off never having heard the message of the Watchtower. Everyone who didn't hear the message is guaranteed life in paradise. But for those who heard and believed but who became disillusioned, the Watchtower became to them a stench of death.

Now let's summarize from the Watchtower's teachings to find the three groups of people who will be 'in' paradise and the three groups who are 'out'.

1. Every person who never became a Jehovah's Witness and who dies before Armageddon will receive a second chance.

2. Every current Jehovah's Witness who is worthy enough to merit everlasting life will go into paradise.

3. Every practicing Jehovah's Witness who dies before Armageddon will receive a second chance no matter how worthy they are.

1. Every non-Jehovah's Witness living at the time that Armageddon occurs will die. They will not receive a second chance for life.

2. Every Jehovah's Witness alive at the time that Armageddon occurs but who is not considered worthy enough will be killed and will not receive a second chance at life.

3. Every Jehovah's Witness who has left the organization and who subsequently dies will not receive a second chance for life.

The difference between the will's and the will not's, according to the Watchtower, is dependant on when you were born and when you died. If you lived and died anytime up until 1879 you are in. If you lived and died after 1879 you are probably in - as long as you didn't subscribe to the Watchtower's message. That way you didn't have a chance to become an apostate and end up on that dreaded narrow road. If you live in the last generation, you are almost certainly out. Only a relatively small number of worthy Jehovah's Witnesses will go into paradise alive.

Are we finally in the Generation of the end? The Watchtower says ‘yes' and is now pointing to 2005 as the end of the Generation of the Anointed that started in 1935. 1935 was the year that the Watchtower announced that the final number of the 144,000 anointed class was completed. 1935 was also was the start of a class of Jehovah's Witnesses who had the hope of entering into the new paradise earth alive without dying. In the Watchtower October 1, 1997 page 23 they say, In 1935 we came to understand that the "great crowd" was not a secondary heavenly class. We learned that it instead represents a class that survives the great tribulation and has the opportunity of living forever in Paradise on earth. (Revelation 7:9-14) With this new understanding, some who had partaken of the Memorial emblems realized that theirs was an earthly hope, and they discontinued partaking.

Never before had the Watchtower given this earthly hope. This generation of people, starting with the Watchtower's announcement in 1935, was the one designated to survive Armageddon and walk into the new earth alive. It has now been well over 60 years since the anointed class has been preaching to this special generation of Watchtower survivors. The September 15, 1997 Watchtower page 14 and 15 says, And for over 60 years now, God has been using these anointed ones to spearhead the work of making disciples of people to whom he has given the wonderful hope of life eternal on a paradise earth. The Watchtower's anointed class is preaching its last message to a generation which is quickly coming to a close. No wonder Jehovah's Witnesses who have longed for the end for so long have accepted this message with a renewed excitement. This is the end of a long line of predictions from the Society and the last chance for the 1935 generation of Watchtower survivors to enter into paradise alive.

The June 15, 2002 Watchtower page 3 says boldly, "A New World Within a Single Generation". They go on to pose this question, Can we realistically expect to see the hoped-for "new world within a single generation"?...The Bible points to that prospect... And from pages 6 & 7, His appointed time for direct action to rid the earth of all oppression and injustice lies in the near future...Soon, on a cleansed paradise earth, they will experience complete freedom from all injustice and suffering..."Many stunning steps forward" have been made in humanitarian efforts to help oppressed humanity...Yet, the most stunning step will be the imminent intervention by Christ Jesus and his associate rulers in the heavenly Kingdom government.

When will this generation of the end be over? The Bible points to a 70 year period of time that is considered the maximum span of a Biblical 'generation'. Since The Watchtower is now pointing to 1935 as the start of the final generation, 1935 plus 70 years equals 2005.

The Watchtower is betting one last time that the Generation of the Anointed, the end of the chosen ones whose numbers were completed in 1935, and the great crowd which also started in 1935 will be the last generation. The Watchtower Jan 15, 2000 pg 13 says, Most of the remnant are quite elderly, and over the years the number of those who are truly anointed has been getting smaller. Yet, referring to the great tribulation, Jesus stated: “Unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short.” (Mathew 24:21,22) Evidently, then, some of Christ’s “chosen ones” will still be on Earth when the great tribulation begins.

And pay attention to the Watchtower's words concerning how the great crowd can be considered worthy to survive Armageddon: Those who do good things for Jesus' "brothers" because these anointed ones are his followers have the hope of surviving "the day of Jehovah." See the Watchtower, September 15, 1997 page 17.

Let's summarize these statements and give our conclusions: Some of the anointed will be on the earth when Armageddon begins. You qualify to have the hope of surviving Armageddon depending on how you treat these anointed ones. The anointed class ended in 1935. The great crowd class that is to go into paradise earth alive after surviving Armageddon started in 1935. Those born in 1935 will be 70 in 2005. And of the anointed class - a young anointed individual 20 years of age in 1935 will be 90 in 2005. The generation of the anointed runs out of time by the farthest stretch of the imagination by 2005 and the youngest of the generation of the great crowd who were given the new hope of surviving Armageddon will be at least 70 years old in 2005. Time is quickly running out!

Jehovah's Witnesses are even taking the Watchtower's reasoning and expanding on it to argue that the 70 years from 1935 to 2005 relates to the creation of Eve.

The Watchtower says that we don't know how long Adam lived prior to the creation of Eve. The delay in the date of Eve's creation was the Watchtower's reason for why Armageddon didn't occur in 1975. Jehovah's Witnesses are now speculating that since the Society draws a parallel between Adam and Jesus, and since Jesus started to prepare his "wife" (the 144,000 Anointed class) at the age of 30, there is a possibility that Adam also received his wife at the age of 30. Since 1975 marked 6000 years from the creation of Adam, that would point to 2005 as the end of 6000 years from the creation of Eve. The seventh 1,000 years is Jehovah's rest day and is just around the corner according to the Watchtower's calculations.

Are we really in the last generation that will terminate by 2005? Every one of the previous expiry dates given by the Watchtower has already gone bad, and we can be sure that this date too will come and go. Soon the Watchtower will once again be forced to change the 'due date' of the last generation.

Did you ever wonder why God sent the message of the last generation to the Watchtower a hundred years too early? Why did he send it to a people who were all going to make it into paradise anyway because they were all going to die? Did he really send the Watchtower with this message for a dead generation? Or is it possible that the early Watchtower leaders were wrong about themselves being part of the last generation, wrong about a God who discriminates between the living and the dead and wrong about being picked in 1878 and again in 1919 as the only faithful and wise servant dispensing spiritual food? If they are wrong about these things, what else are they be wrong about?

Written by Cheryl Schatz

Visit her sites at www.jwinfoline.com & www.mmoutreach.org