Frente a la defensa de que «la luz se hace más brillante» (Proverbios 4:18): La Atalaya del 1 de diciembre de 1981 reconoció que las explicaciones «han mostrado ajustes, aparentemente a puntos de vista anteriores», insistió en que «en realidad no ha sido así», comparó el proceso con «virar» y dijo que «a menudo ha servido de prueba de lealtad». Un cambio de postura que más tarde vuelve a cambiar (la generación: el punto de vista de 1951/1984 sobre el tiempo de vida; los contemporáneos inicuos en 1995; los ungidos en 2008; los ungidos que se traslapan en 2010) no es un camino recto de luz creciente.

“At times explanations given by Jehovah's visible organization have shown adjustments, seemingly to previous points of view. But this has not actually been the case. This might be compared to what is known in navigational circles as 'tacking.'”

“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. ... 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.”

“Previously, this journal has explained that ... 'this generation' mentioned at Matthew 24:34 meant 'the contemporaneous generation of unbelieving Jews.' ... So Jesus must have been referring to his disciples when he made the statement”

“He evidently meant that the lives of the anointed who were on hand when the sign began to become evident in 1914 would overlap with the lives of other anointed ones who would see the start of the great tribulation.”