JW's what is the correct calculations for 1914?

Question

Charles T. Russell wrote, "When Uranus and Jupiter meet in the humane sign of Aquarius in 1914, the long promised era will have made a fair start in the work of setting man free to work out his own salvation, and will insure the ultimate realization of dreams and ideals of all poets and sages in history"

Is this the correct calculations for arriving at the date of 1914?

Or was it the measurement in inches down the “First Ascending Passage” of the great Pyramid in the 1910 version of his Studies in the Scriptures series that provided the correct calculation? [See below]

Or finally was it the reworked dates from Daniel and the use of the incorrect date for the destruction of Jerusalem that gave you 1914 as the correct date?

Again, was it the use of astrology, Pyamidology or the reworked dates from Daniel that gave you 1914 as the date that Christ returmed invisibly?

Seems strange that all three ways came up with the same date, well that is if you forget that the measurement was changed from reflecting 1874 as the date to 1914. Amazing how a few inches here or there can make a date to be what you need! Of if you ignore the well proven date of the destruction of Jerusalem. Or if you use the information about a dream explained by God to have a different meaning than God's meaning.

"So, then, if we measure backward down the "First Ascending Passage" to its junction with the "Entrance Passage," we shall have a fixed date to mark upon the downward passage. This measure is 1542 inches, and indicates the year BC 1542, as the date at that point. Then measuring down the "Entrance Passage" from that point, to find the distance to the entrance of the "Pit," representing the great trouble and destruction with which this age is to close, when evil will be overthrown from power, we find it to be 3457 inches, symbolizing 3457 years from the above date, BC 1542. This calculation shows AD. 1915 as marking the beginning of the period of trouble; for 1542 years BC plus 1915 years AD. equals 3457 years. Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1914 will be the beginning of the time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation -- no, nor ever shall be afterward. And thus it will be noted that this "Witness" fully corroborates the' Bible testimony on this subject..." (Charles Taze Russell, Thy Kingdom Come, Studies In The Scriptures, vol. 3, 1910 edition).

Answer 1

What the Watchtower said

prior to 1914



"The year A.D. 1878, ... clearly marks the time for the actual assuming of power as King of kings, by our present, spiritual, invisible Lord...." Studies in the Scriptures - Thy Kingdom Come (1911 ed) p.239



"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. Zion's Watch Tower 1894 July 15 p.226



What the Watchtower claims it said

prior to 1914



"The Watchtower has consistently presented evidence to honest hearted students of Bible prophecy that Jesus’ presence in heavenly Kingdom power began in 1914." Watchtower 1993 January 15 p.5



"Jehovah's witnesses pointed to the year 1914, decades in advance, as marking the start of "the conclusion of the system of things." Awake! 1973 January 22 p.8



Being raised as a jw, we were constantly admonished and encouraged by the teaching that 'this generation (1914's) would definitely not pass away until all the promises of God's Kingdom would be fulfilled. It was printed in the mast head of the Watchtower for many years, only to be changed when it was obvious that that promised generation was well on it's way passed it's conclusion.



Without missing a beat, similar to the predicted end in 1975, the Watchtower elite leaders made up new explanations for the delay. They have revised the original teaching at least 5 times or more.

Answer 2

If I am not mistaken, World War 1 was not the first war, the first world war or the first "nation against nation" conflict. Neither was it the most wide spread OR the most destructive. There are several wars long previous to WWI which either involved more countries, or more deaths. There were also wars that lasted much longer... the Watchtower has made many false statements in their literature about WWI which their followers faithfully parrot. The Awake could not even report consistently how many people died in WWI. Pointing to this as proof of the beginning of the last days is ridiculous, the could do much, much better than that. But it coincides with their 1914 date, see? So they will cling to it and anything else they can stretch into evidence...

Answer 3

I am not with the JWs (but neither was Charles Taze Russell).



Russell did not write: "When Uranus and Jupiter meet in the humane sign of Aquarius in 1914, the long promised era will have made a fair start in the work of setting man free to work out his own salvation, and will insure the ultimate realization of dreams and ideals of all poets and sages in history." Russell did quote an astrologist who wrote these words, but Russell did not write them, nor did he condone astrology.



One can easily see how the date 1914 was ascertained in Russell's books, "The Time is At Hand" and "Thy Kingdom Come." The JWs have rejected all methods Russell presented except that of Daniel 4.



The date 1914 was NOT dependent on the measuring of the descending passageway down to the pit. Other measurements in the Great Pyramid do confirm the date 1914 without having that measurement. However, the original measurement of the descending passageway was evidently worked out mathematically by using Smythe's measurement of the roof; Barbour or one of Barbour's associates probably provided the first measurement that Russell presented; around 1904/1905, Russell realized that the original measurement was wrong and either he or more likely, someone else, tried to recalculate the measurement mathematically. However, due to debris in the lower part of the descending passageway, no one had taken an actually measurement of the floor of the passageway. A few years later, the Edgars had the debris removed and did obtain a more accurate measurement.



From 1904 to 1914, Russell was expecting the time of trouble to begin in 1914; he died in 1916 believing the time of trouble had begun. I believe it did begin in 1914 and that we are still in that time of trouble.



I believe that 607/606 is the correct date for the destruction Jerusalem as a matter of faith because of the harmony that the date gives to the entire chronology in the Bible and the time prophecies presented in the Bible. There are many things in the Bible that archaeologists disagree with, but I accept the Bible as true because of the general harmony of the God's plan presented therein.



One has presented a quote from Russell that is misleading (pertaining to The Watch Tower 1894 July 15 p.226. Russell, at that time, held to Barbour's conclusion that the time of trouble (Armageddon) was to end at the same time the Gentile Times were to end. Evidently some of his associates disagreed with this conclusion, and finally, in 1904, Russell concluded that 1914 would not see the end of the time of trouble, that it was begin in 1914 and end some time after 1914. From 1904 to 1914, Russell preached that the time of trouble was to begin in 1914, and after 1914, he still believed that the time of trouble had begun in 1914. Russell, of course, had no control over any false statements made by others after he died. See links presented in sources for verification.

Answer 4

Many prophecies from one-of-a-kind assets say that that is the time whilst humanity is as a ways clear of God realization as we will be able to get. I assume the JW's suppose that their prophet and his mystical reports is proper for them. imo They aren't the one ones who is also proper. I do suppose that we've got handed the worst and over the following two decades there can be an awakening of our man or woman divine connection. I consider that serving to each and every different and forgiveness is God's plan ie Love.

Answer 5

"On the basis of Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6, which speak of “a day for a year,” the “seven times” would cover 2,520 years." As with the previous calculations of 2,520 "days," the JWs jump to the conclusion these days must actually be years. And in "support" of this they appeal to Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6, giving the reader the impression this substitution is valid and warranted. But upon examining those two verses, they are not concerned with prophecy, especially not this Daniel 4 prophecy (which doesn't apply this at all), but rather a calculation used to dole out an immediate punishment. One is not free to simply substitute a-day-for-a-year on demand, especially when 2,520 and 1,260 "days" is already symbolic.



The math they use is 607BC + 2520 Years = 1914 AD. So, Ok what is wrong with this math? Lets take a closer look at it. On this equation rests the whole foundation for the Watchtower organization. While the "math" here works quite fine when doing simple addition, a fatal flaw exists within that equation. To highlight that flaw, I present a parallel equation: 2feet + 3meters = 5feet



What's wrong with this measurement? The units are inconsistent, even though the numeric digits add up correctly. As a result, the "answer" is totally bogus. In the case of the JW "math," the dates 607BC and 1914AD are based on the Roman Calendar consisting of 365-days-per-year, while the 2,520 "years" are Biblical years that did not consist of 365 days but rather 360! The result is:



607Roman Years + 2,520Jewish Years = 1914Roman Years





Thus, the JW's - God's alleged Spokesmen - fell into a blatant math error right in the midst of their most important calculation! In their rush to build a case, they fell right into a blatant pitfall. The condemnation of Scripture is readily apparent, as Paul says (in his quote of the Prophet Job): "God catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end" (1 Cor 3:19).



There are a few potential objections which the JW might try in desperation:

(1) Claim that the math still "works" in pointing out 1914AD is when the world radically changed, namely the start of World War I, and thus such "details" of inconsistent units are irrelevant. This is desperation pure and simple, since nothing excuses blatantly incorrect math errors, especially God's chosen organization.

(2) Claim that the Jewish Year eventually catches up with the Roman Year, since there is a Jewish Calendar that is 354 days-per-year but makes up for lost days by adding an extra month at regular intervals. While there is a Jewish Calendar that is 354-days-per-year (with extra months added at regular intervals), this is a "modern" calendar that only really began to be in use around 70AD and has undergone various changes. Further, there is no indication that it just-so-happens to match up precisely to October 1914AD. More importantly, it is not a Biblically based calendar, nor does it excuse the still inconsistent units. According to the Bible, the only Jewish Year indicated was 360 days-per-year. This can be shown two ways: (a) Genesis 7-8 shows that 5 months consists of 150 days, thus indicating a month is 30 days (not 29 days-per-month as the 354 calendar requires); (b) Revelation 11:2-3 indicates 1,260 days equals 42 months, which divides out to 3.5 years (thus 3.5 'times' when applied to Rev 12) at 360 days-per-year.



Hopefully one will begin to truly grasp just how important the year 1914A.D. is for the JWs and just how far they will go to "defend" their doctrine. The objective reader will see that the JW's logic from start to finish is utterly fallacious, erroneous, and deceptive. It is clearly a man-made scheme, inspired by Satan, which has sadly engulfed the minds of many and hurt many families along the way. The good news is that effective apologetics for this group is on the rise, and no doubt seeds will be planted with prayer and careful preparation. The sad news is that most JWs are ignorant, and deliberately kept that way, and are under the constant fear of shunning should they begin thinking for themselves.

Answer 6

1914 + 70 AD = 1984.. Orwell..



1914 + 30 years BC + 70 AD = 2014 ; where 33 is counted twice for returning double as 66 for The Apostles; + the last 7 years period cut to 1335 days. 33 between One and 5.

Answer 7

Wow! You mean all those people believe this man-made mess? No wonder they are so mixed up! Must not ever study Scripture.



Answers do not come by man's figuring out anything. answers MUST BE WRITTEN CLEARLY IN SCRIPTURE.

Now all that measuring of WHAT? WHAT WERE THEY MEASURING? SUCH junk. this is not the way to get God's truth.



Jesus said, it will be at a time when THEY THINK NOT. so whatever they come up with, in their carnal reasoning, you can rest assured it is WRONG, every time.

besides, there have always been man-made wars. This is not what Jesus was speaking about.

Answer 8

Yea- so WW1 happened in 1914? It wasn't Armageddon as the WT claimed. They didn't claim that significant things were going to happen. The world was supposed to be done, right? Then again in 1975? Really? Don't think that happened either. To see people defending the lies of this organization is amazing and heartbreaking all at the same time. I can not imagine how sad God must be looking down and seeing the foolishness of His people.

Answer 9

DECADES in advance, Bible students proclaimed that there would be significant developments in 1914. What were these, and what evidence points to 1914 as such an important year?



As recorded at Luke 21:24, Jesus said: “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations, until the appointed times of the nations [“the times of the Gentiles,” King James Version] are fulfilled.” Jerusalem had been the capital city of the Jewish nation—the seat of rulership of the line of kings from the house of King David. (Psalm 48:1, 2) However, these kings were unique among national leaders. They sat on “Jehovah’s throne” as representatives of God himself. (1 Chronicles 29:23) Jerusalem was thus a symbol of Jehovah’s rulership.



How and when, though, did God’s rulership begin to be “trampled on by the nations”? This happened in 607 B.C.E. when Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians. “Jehovah’s throne” became vacant, and the line of kings who descended from David was interrupted. (2 Kings 25:1-26) Would this ‘trampling’ go on forever? No, for the prophecy of Ezekiel said regarding Jerusalem’s last king, Zedekiah: “Remove the turban, and lift off the crown. . . . It will certainly become no one’s until he comes who has the legal right, and I must give it to him.” (Ezekiel 21:26, 27) The one who has “the legal right” to the Davidic crown is Christ Jesus. (Luke 1:32, 33) So the ‘trampling’ would end when Jesus became King.



When would that grand event occur? Jesus showed that the Gentiles would rule for a fixed period of time. The account in Daniel chapter 4 holds the key to knowing how long that period would last. It relates a prophetic dream experienced by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He saw an immense tree that was chopped down. Its stump could not grow because it was banded with iron and copper. An angel declared: “Let seven times pass over it.”—Daniel 4:10-16.



In the Bible, trees are sometimes used to represent rulership. (Ezekiel 17:22-24; 31:2-5) So the chopping down of the symbolic tree represents how God’s rulership, as expressed through the kings at Jerusalem, would be interrupted. However, the vision served notice that this ‘trampling of Jerusalem’ would be temporary—a period of “seven times.” How long a period is that?



Revelation 12:6, 14 indicates that three and a half times equal “a thousand two hundred and sixty days.” “Seven times” would therefore last twice as long, or 2,520 days. But the Gentile nations did not stop ‘trampling’ on God’s rulership a mere 2,520 days after Jerusalem’s fall. Evidently, then, this prophecy covers a much longer period of time. On the basis of Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6, which speak of “a day for a year,” the “seven times” would cover 2,520 years.



The 2,520 years began in October 607 B.C.E., when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians and the Davidic king was taken off his throne. The period ended in October 1914. At that time, “the appointed times of the nations” ended, and Jesus Christ was installed as God’s heavenly King.*—Psalm 2:1-6; Daniel 7:13, 14.



Just as Jesus predicted, his “presence” as heavenly King has been marked by dramatic world developments—war, famine, earthquakes, pestilences. (Matthew 24:3-8; Luke 21:11) Such developments bear powerful testimony to the fact that 1914 indeed marked the birth of God’s heavenly Kingdom and the beginning of “the last days” of this present wicked system of things.—2 Timothy 3:1-5.