Eschatology of Jehovah's Witnesses 1 Eschatology of Jehovah's Witnesses Part of a series on Jehovah's Witnesses Overview Organizational structure • Governing Body • Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society • Corporations History • Bible Student movement • Leadership dispute • Splinter groups • Doctrinal development • Unfulfilled predicitions Demographics • By country • Beliefs • Practices • Salvation • Eschatology • The 144,000 • Faithful and discreet slave • Hymns • God's name • Blood • Discipline Literature • The Watchtower • Awake! • New World Translation • List of publications • Bibliography Teaching programs • Kingdom Hall • Gilead School People Watch Tower presidents
•• W. H. Conley•• C. T. Russell•• J. F. Rutherford•• N. H. Knorr•• F. W. Franz•• M. G. Henschel
•• D. A. Adams
Formative influences
•• William Miller•• Henry Grew•• George Storrs•• N. H. Barbour
Notable former members
•• Raymond Franz•• Olin Moyle
Opposition
•• Criticism•• Persecution
• Supreme Court casesby country
The eschatology of Jehovah's Witnesses is central to their religious beliefs. They believe that Jesus Christ has beenruling in heaven as king since 1914 (a date they believe was prophesied in Scripture), and that after that time aperiod of cleansing occurred, resulting in God's selection of the Bible Students associated with Charles Taze Russellto be his people in 1919. They also believe the destruction of those who reject their message and thus willfully refuseto obey God[1][2] will shortly take place at Armageddon, ensuring that the beginning of the new earthly society willbe composed of willing subjects of that kingdom.The religion's doctrines surrounding 1914 are the legacy of a series of emphatic claims regarding the years 1799,[3]
1874, 1878, 1914,[4] 1918[5] and 1925[6] made in the Watch Tower Society's publications between 1879 and 1924.Claims about the significance of those years, including the presence of Jesus Christ, the beginning of the "last days",the destruction of worldly governments and the earthly resurrection of Jewish patriarchs, were successivelyabandoned. In 1922 the society's principal journal, Watch Tower, described its chronology as "no stronger than itsweakest link", but also claimed the chronological relationships to be "of divine origin and divinely corroborated...in aclass by itself, absolutely and unqualifiedly correct"[7] and "indisputable facts", while repudiation of Russell'steachings was described as "equivalent to a repudiation of the Lord".[8]
The Watch Tower Society has stated that its early leaders promoted "incomplete, even inaccurate concepts".[9] TheGoverning Body of Jehovah's Witnesses says that, unlike Old Testament prophets, its interpretations of the Bible arenot inspired or infallible.[10] Witness publications say that Bible prophecies can be fully understood only after theirfulfillment, citing examples of biblical figures who did not understand the meaning of prophecies they received.Watch Tower publications often cite Proverbs 4:18, "The path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that isgetting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established" (NWT) to support their view that there would be anincrease in knowledge during "the time of the end", as mentioned in Daniel 12:4. Jehovah's Witnesses state that thisincrease in knowledge needs adjustments. Watch Tower publications also say that unfulfilled expectations are partlydue to eagerness for God's Kingdom and that they do not call their core beliefs into question.[11][12][13]
Current beliefsJehovah's Witnesses teach the imminent end of the current world society, or "system of things" by God's judgment,leading to deliverance for the saved. This judgment will begin with false religion, which they identify as the "harlot",Babylon the Great,[14][15] referred to in the Book of Revelation. They apply this designation to all other religions.They do not currently place their expectations on any specific date, but believe that various events will lead up to theend of this "system of things", culminating in Armageddon. Armageddon is understood to include the destruction ofall earthly governments by God. After Armageddon, God will extend his heavenly kingdom to include earth.[16][17]
They believe that after Armageddon, based on scriptures such as John 5:28, 29, the dead will gradually beresurrected to a "day of judgment" lasting for a thousand years.[18] This judgment will be based on their actions afterresurrection, not on past deeds.[19] At the end of the thousand years a final test will take place when Satan is broughtback to mislead perfect mankind.[20] The end result will be a fully tested, glorified human race.[21]
Presence of Jesus ChristWatch Tower Society publications teach that Jesus Christ returned invisibly and began to rule in heaven as king inOctober 1914. They state that the beginning of Christ's heavenly rule would seem worse initially for mankindbecause it starts with the casting out of Satan from heaven to the earth, which according to Revelation 12, wouldbring a brief period of "woe" to mankind.[22] This woe will be reversed when Christ comes to destroy Satan's earthlyorganization, throwing Satan into the abyss and extending[23] God's kingdom rule over the earth, over which Jesusreigns as God's appointed king. They believe the Greek word parousia (usually translated as "coming") is moreaccurately understood as an extended invisible "presence", perceived only by a series of "signs".[24]
Witnesses base their beliefs about the significance of 1914 on the Watch Tower Society's interpretation of biblicalchronology,[25][26] which is hinged on their assertion that the Babylonian captivity and destruction of Jerusalemoccurred in 607 BC.[27] From this, they conclude that Daniel chapter 4 prophesied a period of 2,520 years, from 607BC until 1914.[28] They equate this period with the "Gentile Times" or "the appointed times of the nations," a phrasetaken from Luke 21:24. They believe that when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, the line of kings descendedfrom David was interrupted, and that God's throne was "trampled on" from then until Jesus began ruling in October1914.[29] Secular historians date the event of Jerusalem's destruction to within a year of 587 BC. The Witnesses'alternative chronology produces a 20-year gap between the reigns of Neo-Babylonian Kings Amel-Marduk (ruleended 560 BC) and Nabonidus (rule began 555 BC) in addition to the intervening reigns of Neriglissar andLabashi-Marduk, despite the availability of contiguous cuneiform records.[30]
They teach that after the war of Armageddon, Jesus will rule over earth as king for 1000 years after which he willhand all authority back to Jehovah.[31][32]
Sign of "last days"Jehovah's Witnesses teach that since October 1914, humanity has been living in a period of intense increased troubleknown as "the last days", marked by war, disease, famine, earthquakes, and a progressive degeneration ofmorality.[33] They also believe their preaching is part of the sign, often alluding to the text of Matthew 24:14, "Andthis gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all nations. And then the end shallcome." (MKJV)[34][35] They claim that various calamities in the modern world constitute proof of these beliefs, suchas the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the Spanish flu epidemic in May 1918, the onset of World War II in1939, and more recently, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.[36][37][38]
Judgment of religionJehovah's Witnesses believe that in 1918, Christ judged all world religions claiming to be Christian,[39] and that aftera period of eighteen months, among all groups and religions claiming to represent Christ,[40] only the "BibleStudents" (from which Jehovah's Witnesses developed) met God's approval.[41] Watch Tower Society publicationsclaim that the world's other religions have misrepresented God, and filled the world with hatred.[42] They identify"Babylon The Great" and the "mother of the harlots" referred to in Revelation 17:3-6 as the "world empire of falsereligion"[43][44]
During the final great tribulation, all other religions will be destroyed by "crazed" member governments of theUnited Nations, acting under the direction of Jehovah.[45][46] Witness publications identify the United Nations as the"beast" to whom the "ten kings" of Revelation 17:12,13 give their "power and authority."[47]
History of eschatology
Herald of the Morning published by Nelson H.Barbour and Charles Taze Russell in 1878
Watch Tower Society eschatalogical teachings are based on the earliestwritings of Charles Taze Russell, but have undergone significantchanges since then. Many of the changes reflect altered views on thesignificance of the dates 1874, 1914, 1918, and 1925.
Early expectations (1871–1881)
The Second Adventists affiliated with Nelson H. Barbour expected avisible and dramatic return of Christ in 1873,[48] and later in 1874.[49]
They agreed with other Adventist groups that the "time of the end"(also called the "last days") had started in 1799.[50] Soon after the 1874disappointment, Barbour's group decided Christ had returned to theearth in 1874, but invisibly. Writing in his journal The Herald of theMorning in 1875, Barbour outlined his eschatological views andconnected the years 1874, 1878, 1881, and 1914. The "harvest" was torun from 1874 to the spring of 1878, concluding with "the translationof the living saints into the air." 1881 would mark the restoration of theJews to Palestine, and the period from 1881 until 1914 would see theinstallation of God's kingdom on earth. Barbour wrote that in the 40years from 1874 to 1914 "the 'time of trouble such as never was sincethere was a nation;' will be fulfilled. And in the mean time, thekingdom of God will be set up, 'break in pieces, and consume all these[Gentile] kingdoms,' 'and the stone become a great mountain, and fill the whole earth,' and usher in glory of themillennial age".
Russell became associated with Barbour in 1876 and accepted Barbour's eschatological understanding.[51] In 1877,Barbour and Russell jointly issued the book Three Worlds and the Harvest of This World, which reiterated Barbour'searlier teachings.[52] It proclaimed Christ's invisible return in 1874,[53] the resurrection of the saints in 1875,[54] andpredicted the end of the "harvest" and a rapture of the saints to heaven for 1878[55] and the final end of "the day ofwrath" in 1914.[56] 1874 was considered the end of 6000 years of human history and the beginning of judgment byChrist.
The selection of 1878 as the year of the rapture of the saints was based on the application of parallel dispensations, which equated the 3½-year period of Christ's ministry with a similar "harvest" period following his parousia. When the rapture failed to occur, Russell admitted they "felt somewhat disappointed", but decided there would be an additional 3½-year period "making the harvest seven years long". Successive issues of The Herald of the Morning
identified the autumn of 1881 as the end of the "Harvest" and the likely time for the translation of the Church toheaven. Russell split from Barbour over doctrinal differences and began publishing Zion's Watch Tower in July1879.
Great Pyramid of Giza (1876–1928)
The monument erected by the Watch TowerSociety at C.T. Russell's grave in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania modeled after theGreat Pyramid of Giza.
Influenced by the pyramidology theories of John Taylor and Charles PiazziSmyth, Nelson Barbour and Charles Russell taught that the Great Pyramidof Giza contained prophetic measurements in "pyramid inches" that pointedto both 1874 and 1914. Russell viewed the Great Pyramid as "God's StoneWitness and Prophet". Smyth reviewed Russell's manuscript on the GreatPyramid before publication and Russell credited him and Scottish writerRobert Menzies for the view "that the Great Pyramid is Jehovah's 'Witness',and that it was as important a witness to divine truth as to naturalscience."[57][58] Prophetic dates derived from the measurements inside theGreat Pyramid were seen as complementary to biblical interpretations.Russell included the Great Pyramid as part of his film and color slideproduction The Photo-Drama of Creation in 1914, suggesting that theGreat Pyramid was built by the Old Testament king-priest Melchizedek.[59]
A special edition of the first volume of Studies in the Scriptures was alsopublished, which was re-titled The Divine Plan of the Ages and theCorroborative Testimony of the Great Pyramid.[60] In accordance withRussell's wishes, a 7-foot (2.1 m) high replica of a pyramid was erected athis gravesite in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with its capstone "patterned afterthe capstone of the Great Pyramid of Egypt, symbolic of the Christ."[61][62]
Early Watch Tower publications cited "thetestimony of the Great Pyramid" for expectations
for 1910 and 1914.
Russell's interpretations of the Great Pyramid were supported by thewritings of John and Morton Edgar who were prominent members ofhis movement.[63][64] Russell had first stated that 1874 was derivedfrom a measurement of 3416 pyramid inches,[65] but the measurementwas revised in the 1910 edition to 3,457 inches (87.8 m) to point to1915.[66] The Edgars claimed that the revision in measurement andchange in date was a result of errors made by Smyth.[67] In the early1920s, the significance of the pyramidological predictions for 1914were re-interpreted to mean that "the old evil order began to pass awayin 1914." In 1924, an issue of Golden Age referred to the GreatPyramid as "the Scientific Bible" and added that measurements on theGrand Gallery inside the Great Pyramid confirmed the dates 1874,
1914 and 1925. Similarly, the 1924 publication The Way to Paradise refers to the Great Pyramid as "the Bible inStone" and concludes:
It is quite probable that Shem, son of Noah, a faithful servant of God, was in charge of its construction. In it have been discovered some of the deepest secrets of geometrical, geographical, astronomical, and mathematical science. The pyramid also outlines in its own peculiar way the same plan of God that we find in the Bible, and it dated beforehand some of the most notable events that have occurred in the history of mankind. It gives the date of the exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt, and the date of birth and death of
Jesus. It gives the date of the French revolution as 1789, and the great World War as 1914, besides manymore. It was built over five hundred years before Moses wrote any part of the Bible. It is so far in advance ofthe wisdom of that day that no man could have been the architect. Its harmony with the Bible teachings provethat God designed it.[68]
In 1928, the belief that the Great Pyramid contained a prophetic blueprint of biblical chronology was rejected, andthe Pyramid was seen as built "under the direction of Satan the Devil."[69][70]
"The Time Is At Hand" (1881–1918)Some of Barbour's eschatology was retained by Russell after they parted company. Basing his interpretations on aconcept of parallel "dispensations", Russell taught that while Jesus was invisibly present on earth he was also madeits king in 1878. He believed God had rejected the "nominal Church" (considered to be "Babylon the Great") in1878.[71] Russell also taught that in 1878 Christ resurrected all the "dead in Christ" as spirit beings to be with him onearth awaiting a future glorification to heaven. (The remainder of the 144,000 who would die after 1878 would eachbe resurrected at the time of the their death.) Together with Christ on earth, these invisible resurrected spirit beingswere said to be engaged in directing a harvest work (running from 1874–1914) to gather the remainder of those withthe heavenly calling.[72] Russell later moderated his view about the significance of 1881, stating that the "door" forthe gathering of the Bride of Christ "stands ajar."
In 1889, Charles Taze Russell published hisinterpretation of eschatology and chronologybased on the idea of parallel "dispensations".
He wrote that the culmination of Armageddon would occur in 1914,preceded by the gathering of all the saints (both resurrected and living)to heaven. Based on measurements from the Great Pyramid of Gizeh,this "passing beyond the vail" or rapture was expected "before theclose of A.D. 1910."[73][74] Russell enumerated seven expectations for1914 in The Time is at Hand [75]:
1.1. God's kingdom would take full control of earth "on the ruins ofpresent institutions";
2.2. Christ would be present as earth's new ruler;3.3. The last of the "royal priesthood, the body of Christ" would be
glorified with Christ;4.4. Jerusalem would no longer "be trodden down by the Gentiles";5.5. "Israel's blindness will begin to be turned away";6.6. The great "time of trouble" would reach its culmination of
worldwide anarchy;7. God's Kingdom would "smite and crush the Gentile image—and
fully consume the power of these kings".[76]
In 1911 Russell wrote that October 1914 would witness the "full end" of Babylon, or nominal Christianity, "utterlydestroyed as a system".[77] At first, the hopes for 1914 were stretched to "near the end of A.D. 1915."[78] A fewmonths before his death in October 1916, Russell wrote: "We believe that the dates have proven to be quite right. Webelieve that Gentile Times have ended. ... The Lord did not say that the Church would all be glorified by 1914. Wemerely inferred it, and, evidently, erred." He interpreted the war in Europe to be the first of three phases ofArmageddon[79] and the destruction of Christendom as represented in the European monarchies ruling by DivineRightWikipedia:No original research to take place in 1918.
Following Russell's lead, the book The Finished Mystery[80] emphasized events for 1918. The destruction of the churches of Christendom and the deaths of "church members by the millions" was expected in 1918.[81][82] The Finished Mystery proposed the spring of 1918 for the glorification of the Church[83] and suggested that it may occur on the day of Passover in that year. First printings of The Finished Mystery predicted the end of the World War "some time about October 1, 1917," but this was changed in subsequent editions. It also predicted the destruction of
"Millions Now Living Will Never Die!" (1918–1925)The predictions for 1920 were discarded before that year arrived, in favor of a new chronology. In 1918-1919,Joseph Franklin Rutherford, second president of the Watch Tower Society, inaugurated a worldwide lecture seriesentitled "Millions Now Living Will Never Die!", later reproduced in booklet form. It provided a re-interpretation ofthe significance of the year 1914 (now seen as the beginning of the "last days"). It also included new predictions for1925 including the resurrection of the biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and other Old Testamentpersonages (referred to as "princes").[85] Their return would mark the beginning of a new order, from which timemillions of people alive at that time would be able to live forever. Newspaper advertisements for the "Millions"lecture localized the claim, with a typical declaration in a Marion, Ohio newspaper reading: "It will be conclusivelyproved... that thousands now living in Marion and vicinity will never die."[86]
The book stated that 1925 would be among the dates "stamped with God's approval" and The Watch Tower describedthe evidence for the chronology surrounding 1925 as stronger than that for 1914,[87][88] but acknowledgeddisappointments surrounding earlier predictions and cautioned that "all that some expect to see in 1925 may nottranspire that year", and that the expectations could be "a means of testing and sifting."[89] When 1925 also passeduneventfully, meeting attendance among the Bible Students dropped dramatically in some congregations andattendance at the annual Memorial fell from 90,434 to 17,380 between 1925 and 1928.[90][91]
"Armageddon Immediately Before Us" (1925–1966)
Beth Sarim (House of the Princes), built in SanDiego, California in 1929 in anticipation of
resurrected Old Testament "princes", was used byWatch Tower Society president Judge Rutherford
as a winter home.
From 1925 until 1933, the Watch Tower Society, under Rutherford'sleadership, radically changed much of its chronologies after the failureof these eschatological expectations. In March 1925, the Watch Towerdeclared that Christ had been enthroned as king in heaven in 1914, not1878.[92] A 1927 Watch Tower transferred the timing of theresurrection of the "saints" from 1878 to 1918,[93] explaining that theywould be raised as spirit creatures to heavenly life to be with Christthere.[94] The belief that Christ returned invisibly in 1874 wasmaintained until the early 1930s.[95] Christ's Second Advent was newlyexplained as a "turning of attention" to the earth, with Christ remainingin heaven—a departure from the earlier teaching of a literal return toearth. The judgment of "Babylon the Great" was changed from 1878 to1919 with the publication of the book Light in 1930.[96] By 1933, itwas taught that Christ had returned invisibly in 1914 and the "lastdays" had also begun then.[97][98] The teaching that the "greattribulation" had begun in 1914 and was "cut short" in 1918—to be
resumed at Armageddon—was discarded in 1969.[99]
In 1930, Rutherford took up residence in a "Spanish mansion"[100][101] in California which he called Beth Sarim,meaning, House of the Princes. It was held in trust for the ancient biblical "princes" who were expected to beresurrected immediately prior to Armageddon.[102][103] Rutherford spent the winter months at Beth Sarim and diedthere in January, 1942. The belief that Old Testament "princes" would be resurrected before Armageddon wasabandoned in 1950.[104]
In the mid-1930s and early 1940s, Watch Tower Society publications placed emphasis on the imminence of Armageddon, said to be "months" away[105][106] and "immediately before us."[107] Publications also urged converts to remain single and childless because it was "immediately before Armageddon."[108] Young Witnesses were
counseled in 1943: "It is better and wiser for those of the Lord's 'other sheep' who hope to survive Armageddon andbe given the divine mandate to fill the earth with a righteous offspring to defer matters until after the tribulation anddestruction of Armageddon is past."[109] This view was discarded in 1950.
"Looking Forward to 1975" (1966–1975)During the 1960s and early 1970s, many Witnesses were instructed by means of articles in their literature and at theirassemblies that Armageddon and Christ's thousand-year millennial reign could begin by 1975. Strong statements for1975 appeared, sometimes accompanied with cautionary remarks.[110] The booklet The Approaching Peace of aThousand Years, which was the text of the keynote address to major assemblies of Jehovah's Witnesses throughoutthe world in 1969,[111] stated about that promised reign (which would begin at "God's fixed time"):
For Godfearing students of the Holy Bible containing both the ancient Hebrew Scriptures and the ChristianGreek Scriptures, there is a more important millennium that compels their attention. That is the seventhmillennium ... the seventh millennium of man's existence here on earth ... Does this fact have any bearing onthe approach of the peace of a thousand years or of a millennium? Very apparently Yes! ... More recentlyearnest researchers of the Holy Bible have made a recheck of its chronology. According to their calculationsthe six millenniums of mankind's life on earth would end in the mid-seventies. Thus the seventh millenniumfrom man's creation by Jehovah God would begin within less than ten years. Apart from the global change thatpresent-day world conditions indicate is fast getting near, the arrival of the seventh millennium of man'sexistence on earth suggests a gladsome change for war-stricken humankind ... In order for the Lord JesusChrist to be "Lord even of the sabbath day," his thousand-year reign would have to be the seventh in a series ofthousand-year periods or millenniums. (Matthew 12:8, AV) Thus it would be a sabbatic reign ... Would not,then, the end of six millenniums of mankind's laborious enslavement under Satan the Devil be the fitting timefor Jehovah God to usher in a Sabbath millennium for all his human creatures? Yes, indeed! And his KingJesus Christ will be Lord of that Sabbath.
In 1968, a Watchtower article asked: "Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?":Are we to assume from this study that the battle of Armageddon will be all over by the autumn of 1975, andthe long-looked-for thousand-year reign of Christ will begin by then? Possibly, but we wait to see how closelythe seventh thousand-year period of man's existence coincides with the sabbathlike thousand-year reign ofChrist. If these two periods run parallel with each other as to the calendar year, it will not be by mere chanceor accident but will be according to Jehovah's loving and timely purposes.
Young Witnesses were advised in 1969 to avoid careers requiring lengthy periods of schooling[112] and a 1974 issueof the Kingdom Ministry newsletter commended Witnesses who had sold their homes and property to engage infull-time preaching, adding: "Certainly this is a fine way to spend the short time remaining before the wicked world'send."[113]
In a lecture[114] in early 1975, then vice president Fred Franz selected sundown on September 5, 1975 as the end of 6000 years of human history, but cautioned that although the prophecies "could happen" by then, it looked improbable.[115][116][117][118] After 1975 passed without any sign of the expected paradise, The Watchtower described as "unwise" the actions of some Witnesses who had made radical changes in their lives, commenting: "It may be that some who have been serving God have planned their lives according to a mistaken view of just what was to happen on a certain date or in a certain year. They may have, for this reason, put off or neglected things that they otherwise would have cared for ... But it is not advisable for us to set our sights on a certain date, neglecting everyday things we would ordinarily care for as Christians, such as things that we and our families really need."[119]
In 1979, in a lecture entitled "Choosing the Best Way of Life", the Watch Tower Society acknowledged responsibility for much of the disappointment around 1975.[120] The following year, a Watchtower article admitted that the leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses had erred in "setting dates for the desired liberation from the suffering and troubles that are the lot of persons throughout the earth", and that the Life Everlasting book (1966) had led to
"considerable expectation" for 1975, with subsequent statements "that implied that such realization of hopes by thatyear was more of a probability than a mere possibility." The article added, "It is to be regretted that these latterstatements apparently overshadowed the cautionary ones and contributed to a buildup of the expectation alreadyinitiated".[121]
Baptism statistics compared with the number of those reporting preaching for 1976-1980 showed that many becameinactive during that period.[122]
The "generation of 1914" (1976–present)
History of Eschatological Doctrine
Last Daysbegin
Start ofChrist'sPresence
Christmade King
Resurrectionof 144,000
Judgment ofReligion
SeparatingSheep & Goats
GreatTribulation
1879–1920 1799 1874 1878 duringMillenium
1914, 1915,1918, 1920
1920–1923 1925
1923–1925 during Christ'spresence
1925–1927 1914 1878 1878 withingeneration of
19141927–1930 1918
1930–1933 1919
1933–1966 1914
1966–1975 1975?
1975–1995 withingeneration of
1914
1995–present during GreatTribulation
imminent
After the passing of 1975, the Watch Tower Society continued to emphasize the teaching that God would execute hisjudgment on humankind before the generation of people who had witnessed the events of 1914 had all died.[123][124]
This teaching was based on an interpretation of Matthew 24:34 ("Truly I say to you that this generation will by nomeans pass away until all these things occur"), with the term "a generation" said to refer "beyond question" to ageneration living in a given period.The term had been used with regard to the nearness of Armageddon from the 1940s, when the view was that "ageneration" covered a period of about 30 to 40 years. As the 40-year deadline passed without Armageddonoccurring, the definition of "a generation" underwent a series of changes: in 1952 it was said for the first time tomean an entire lifetime, possibly 80 years or more; in 1968 it was applied to those who had been at least 15 years oldin 1914, who were considered to be "old enough to witness with understanding what took place when the 'last days'began" (italics theirs). In 1980 the starting date for that "generation" was brought into the 20th century when the termwas applied to those who had been born in 1904 and therefore aged 10 and able simply "to observe" when WorldWar I had begun. The Watchtower commented: "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."From 1982 to 1995, the inside cover of Awake! magazine included, in its mission statement, a reference to the"generation of 1914", alluding to "the Creator's promise ... of a peaceful and secure new world before the generationthat saw the events of 1914 passes away." In 1985, Witnesses were reminded: "The 1914 generation is well into theevening of its existence, thus allowing only little time for this prophecy yet to be fulfilled.".[125]
Former Governing Body member Raymond Franz claimed members of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnessesdebated replacing the doctrine with a markedly different interpretation and that in 1980 Albert Schroeder, Karl Kleinand Grant Suiter proposed moving the beginning of the "generation" to the year 1957, to coincide with the yearSputnik was launched. He said the proposal was rejected by the rest of the Governing Body.[126]
Despite its earlier description as being "beyond question", the "generation of 1914" teaching was discarded in 1995.Rather than a literal lifespan of 70 to 80 years, the definition of "generation" was changed to "contemporary peopleof a certain historical period, with their identifying characteristics," without reference to any specific amount oftime.[127] This class of people was described as "the peoples of earth who see the sign of Christ's presence but fail tomend their ways".[128] Mention of 1914 was dropped from Awake! magazine's mission statement as of November 8,1995. The Watchtower insisted, however, that Armageddon was still imminent, asking: "Does our more preciseviewpoint on 'this generation' mean that Armageddon is further away than we had thought? Not at all!"In 2008 the "generation" teaching was again altered, and the term was used to refer to the "anointed" believers, someof whom would still be alive on earth when the great tribulation begins.[129] This was a return to a belief previouslyheld between 1927 [130] and 1950 when the teaching of the "generation of 1914" not passing away was adopted.[131]
In 2010, the teaching of the "generation" was modified again, to refer to a new generation of "anointed" whose lives"overlap" with "the anointed who were on hand when the sign began to become evident in 1914."
Controversy
Fall of JerusalemJehovah's Witnesses assert that Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 607 BC and completely uninhabitedfor exactly seventy years. This date is critical to their selection of October 1914 for the arrival of Christ in kinglypower—2520 years after October 607 BC.[132] Non-Witness scholars do not support 607 BC for the event; mostscholars date the destruction of Jerusalem to within a year of 587 BC, twenty years later.[133] Jehovah's Witnessesbelieve that periods of seventy years mentioned in the books of Jeremiah and Daniel refer to the Babylonian exile ofJews. They also believe that the gathering of Jews in Jerusalem, shortly after their return from Babylon, officiallyended the exile in Jewish month of Tishrei (Ezra 3:1). According to the Watch Tower Society, October 607 BC isderived by counting back seventy years from Tishrei of 537 BC, based on their belief that Cyrus' decree to releasethe Jews during his first regnal year "may have been made in late 538 B.C. or before March 4–5, 537 B.C."[134]
Non-Witness sources assign the return to either 538 BC or 537 BC.[135][136][137]
In The Gentile Times Reconsidered: Chronology & Christ's Return, Carl O. Jonsson, a former Witness, presentseighteen lines of evidence to support the traditional view of neo-Babylonian chronology. He accuses the WatchTower Society of deliberately misquoting sources in an effort to bolster their position.[138] The Watch Tower Societyclaims that biblical chronology is not always compatible with secular sources, and that the Bible is superior. It claimsthat secular historians make conclusions about 587 BC based on incorrect or inconsistent historical records, butaccepts those sources that identify Cyrus' capture of Babylon in 539 BC, claiming it has no evidence of beinginconsistent and hence can be used as a pivotal date.[139][140]
Rolf Furuli, a Jehovah's Witness and a lecturer in Semitic languages, presents a study of 607 BC in support of theWitnesses' conclusions in Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Persian Chronology Compared with the Chronologyof the Bible, Volume 1: Persian Chronology and the Length of the Babylonian Exile of the Jews.[141] Lester L.Grabbe, professor of theology at the University of Hull, said of Furuli's study: "Once again we have an amateur whowants to rewrite scholarship. ... F. shows little evidence of having put his theories to the test with specialists inMesopotamian astronomy and Persian history."[142]
References[1] You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1989, p. 155.[2] Revelation—Its Grand Climax at Hand!, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, p. 6.[3] The Watchtower, March 1, 1922, page 73, "The indisputable facts, therefore, show that the 'time of the end' began in 1799; that the Lord's
second presence began in 1874."[4] The Watchtower, July 15, 1894, p. 1677 (http:/ / www. mostholyfaith. com/ bible/ Reprints/ Z1894JUL. asp#R1677): "We see no reason for
changing the figures—nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble."
[5] September 1, 1916 The Watchtower, pages 264-265 (http:/ / www. mostholyfaith. com/ bible/ Reprints/ Z1916SEP. asp#Z264:2)[6] Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920, page 97, "Based upon the argument heretofore set forth, then, that the old order of things, the old
world, is ending and is therefore passing away, and that the new order is coming in, and that 1925 shall mark the resurrection of the faithfulworthies of old and the beginning of reconstruction, it is reasonable to conclude that millions of people now on the earth will be still on theearth in 1925. Then, based upon the promises set forth in the divine Word, we must reach the positive and indisputable conclusion thatmillions now living will never die."
[7] "The Strong Cable of Chronology", Watch Tower, July 15, 1922, page 217, "The chronology of present truth is, to begin with, a string ofdates... Thus far it is a chain, and no stronger than its weakest link. There exist, however, well established relationships among the dates ofpresent-truth chronology. These internal connections of the dates impart a much greater strength than can be found in other [secular,archeological] chronologies. Some of them are of so remarkable a character as clearly to indicate that this chronology is not of man, but ofGod. Being of divine origin and divinely corroborated, present-truth chronology stands in a class by itself, absolutely and unqualifiedlycorrect."
[8] The Watchtower, May 1, 1922, page 132, "To abandon or repudiate the Lord's chosen instrument means to abandon or repudiate the Lordhimself, upon the principle that he who rejects the servant sent by the Master thereby rejects the Master. ... Brother Russell was the Lord'sservant. Then to repudiate him and his work is equivalent to a repudiation of the Lord, upon the principle heretofore announced."
[9] Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom (Watch Tower Society, 1993), chapter 10.[10] Revelation – It's Grand Climax, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, page 9.[11] Why have there been changes over the years in the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses?,"Jehovah's Witnesses", Reasoning From the
Society of Pennsylvania[15] Revelation—Its Grand Climax at Hand, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, pp. 205-206.[16] The Watchtower, September 1, 1959, pp. 530-531 par. 15.[17] Armageddon—A Happy Beginning Jehovah's Witnesses Official Web Site (http:/ / www. watchtower. org/ e/ 20051201/ article_02. htm)[18] The Watchtower, May 15, 2006, p 6.[19] Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 2, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988,p. 788.[20] The Watchtower, May 1, 2005, p. 20.[21] The Watchtower, August 15, 2006, p. 31[22] The Watchtower, February 1, 1996, p6.[23] Pay Attention to Daniel's Prophecy!, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1999, p. 62.[24] "Jesus' Coming or Jesus' Presence—Which?", The Watchtower, August 15, 1996, p. 12.[25] All Scripture is Inspired of God, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1990, pp. 278-284[26] "Why do Jehovah's Witnesses say that God's Kingdom was established in 1914?", Reasoning From the Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible &
Tract Society, 1989, p. 95-96.[27] What Does the Bible Really Teach?, page 216, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society[28] "Let Your Kingdom Come", Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 1981, pp. 186-189 Appendix to Chapter 14.[29] What Does The Bible Really Teach?, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 2005, pp. 217-218.[30] "Let Your Kingdom Come", Appendix, page 187: "Business tablets: Thousands of contemporary Neo-Babylonian cuneiform tablets have
been found that record simple business transactions, stating the year of the Babylonian king when the transaction occurred. Tablets of this sorthave been found for all the years of reign for the known Neo-Babylonian kings in the accepted chronology of the period.", Watchtower Bible& Tract Society
[31] The Watchtower, 15 January 2004, p. 16[32] Pay Attention to Daniel's Prophecy!, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 2006, pp. 94,95.[33] "Do You Recognize the Sign of Jesus' Presence?", Watchtower Society website. (http:/ / www. watchtower. org/ e/ 20051001/ article_02.
htm)[34] The Watchtower, October 15, 2000, p11.[35] Awake!, October 22, 1993, p. 11.[36] The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1981, pg 86.
[37] True Peace and Security- How Can You Find It?, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1986, pp 81-84.[38] "A Century of Violence", Awake!, May 8, 2002, p. 8.[39] Revelation—Its Grand Climax at Hand!, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, p. 56.[40] Revelation—Its Grand Climax at Hand!, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, pp. 259-260.[41] The Watchtower, January 15, 2008, p. 24.[42] "Babylon the Great Indicted", The Watchtower, April 15, 1989, page 23.[43] What Does The Bible Really Teach?, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 2005, page 220.[44] "Babylon the Great—Fallen and Judged", The Watchtower, May 1, 1989, pages 3-7.[45] Revelation—Its Grand Climax at Hand!, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, page 256 par. 17.[46] "No Peace for the False Messengers!" The Watchtower, May 1, 1997, pp. 17-18 par. 17: "Shortly, 'crazed' members of the UN will be
maneuvered by Jehovah to turn on false religion, as described at Revelation 17:16 ... This will mark the start of the great tribulation"[47] "Deliverance at the Revelation of Jesus Christ", The Watchtower, May 1, 1993, p. 24.[48] Evidences for the Coming of the Lord in 1873: or the Midnight Cry, N.H. Barbour (1871). Available online at: (http:/ / www. heraldmag.
org/ olb/ contents/ history/ barbour midnight cry. htm)[49] The Midnight Cry and Herald of the Morning, (http:/ / www. heraldmag. org/ olb/ contents/ history/ barbour herald of the morning. htm)
March 1874. See Section under "Our Faith."[50] Present Truth, Or Meat in Due Season (http:/ / www. heraldmag. org/ olb/ contents/ history/ Wendell Present Truth. htm) by Jonas Wendell,
pp. 34-35[51] The Watchtower reprints, "Harvest Gatherings and Siftings" (http:/ / www. agsconsulting. com/ htdbv5/ r3820. htm), July 15, 1906, page
3822.[52] Three Worlds and The Harvest of This World by N.H. Barbour and C.T. Russell (1877). Text available online at: (http:/ / www. heraldmag.
org/ olb/ contents/ history/ 3worlds. pdf) Scan of book in PDF format (http:/ / tjliberte. free. fr/ Library/ Watchtower_Publications/Other_books/ 1877_The_Three_Worlds. pdf)
[53] Three Worlds, p. 175[54] Three Worlds, pp. 104-108[55] See pages 68, 89-93, 124, 125-126, 143 of Three Worlds.[56] Three Worlds, p. 189: "the 'times of the Gentiles,' reach from B.C. 606 to A.D. 1914, or forty years beyond 1874. And the time of trouble,
conquest of the nations, and events connected with the day of wrath, have only ample time, during the balance of this forty years, for theirfulfillment."
[57] ( p. 320 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=w60OAAAAIAAJ& pg=PA320))[58] Joseph Seiss' book A Miracle in Stone (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=WUZ0biY1jNUC& dq) was also influential for Russell.[59] Photo Drama of Creation (http:/ / www. a2z. org/ wtarchive/ docs/ 1914_Photo_Drama_of_Creation. pdf), p. 25. Video of Russell
discussing the Great Pyramid (http:/ / www. freeminds. org/ media/ dramarussell. ram)[60] ( Google Books Version (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=2dYWAAAAYAAJ& pg=PA1& source=gbs_selected_pages& cad=0_1))[61] Program of the 1921 Annual Meeting of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society: "The Pyramid monument erected at the grave of Brother
Russell was sketched by Brother J.A. Bohnet and approved by Brother Russell several years ago. It was his desire that such a monument beerected on this lot and he set about to procure the materials before his death. After Brother Russell's death, Brother Rutherford, learning thatBrother Russell had ordered the erection of this monument asked Brother Bohnet to proceed at once to get the material and let the contract forits construction and erection."
[62] 1919 Bible Student Convention Souvenir Booklet (http:/ / cchasson. free. fr/ deposit/ CR/ 1919convention. pdf), pp. 6-7.[63] The Edgars' 2 volume work Great Pyramid Passages and Chambers (http:/ / www. a2z. org/ wtarchive/ docs/
1913_Great_Pyramid_Passages_Vol_II. pdf) was advertised and sold in the The Watchtower ( August 1, 1910 Watch Tower Reprints (http:/ /www. heraldmag. org/ olb/ bsl/ Library/ Russell/ Towers/ Zwt1910/ WTAug10. PDF), p. 4658; October 15, 1913 The Watchtower (http:/ /www. heraldmag. org/ olb/ bsl/ Library/ Russell/ Towers/ Zwt1913/ WTOct13. PDF), page 306, Reprints p. 5336). Research by the Edgars onthe Great Pyramid was published in the November 15, 1904 Watch Tower, Reprints, p. 3459, the June 15, 1905 Watch Tower, Reprints, p.3574 and the June 1, 1910 The Watchtower, Reprints, p. 4621. John Edgar was named to be on the editorial committee for the Watch Towermagazine in the December 1, 1916 The Watchtower, (Reprints p. 5999), but had died before Russell. Research by Morton Edgar waspublished in the August 15, 1923 The Watchtower, pp. 253-254, the December 31, 1924 Golden Age, pp. 209-211 and on pp. 163, 355, 357 ofthe 1923 The Watchtower. Morton Edgar explained the spiritual meaning of the Great Pyramid in "God's Plan of Salvation in the GreatPyramid," a lecture which was published in the 1911 Bible Students Convention Report (http:/ / www. a2z. org/ wtarchive/ docs/1911_Edgar_Pyramid_Lecture_from_Convention_Report. pdf)
[64] Morton Edgar, on page 151 of the 1924 edition of the second volume of Great Pyramid Passages (http:/ / www. a2z. org/ wtarchive/ docs/1924_Great_Pyramid_Passages_Volume_II. pdf), refers to Judge Rutherford's booklet Millions Now Living Will Never Die as a "wonderfulmessage of life."
[65] Thy Kingdom Come (1904 edition—Millennial Dawn, vol 3) p.342[66] Thy Kingdom Come (copyright 1891) (Studies In The Scriptures, vol. 3, 1910 edition) p.342[67] Great Pyramid Passages and Chambers (http:/ / www. a2z. org/ wtarchive/ docs/ 1913_Great_Pyramid_Passages_Vol_II. pdf) (1913),
volume 2: "Professor C. Piazzi Smyth very properly says, `no two human measures ever agree exactly.'" (Ibid p.1) According to the Edgars, Professor Smyth (from whom Russell gained his information) had not personally measured this passage since it was blocked. It had been
roughly measured in 1837 by Col Howard Vyse, but the Edgars personally measured "the length of this passage seven times" and ended upwith seven different measurements, though within a few inches. (Ibid p.8 ) In answering a question about different measurements of thepyramid, The Watchtower stated "that Prof. Smyth's interest centered in the upper chambers of the Pyramid ... Much less care and precision[were] manifested in his dealings with all other parts". ( The Watchtower November 1904 p. 326 "The Great Pyramid Measurements" (http:/ /www. mostholyfaith. com/ bible/ Reprints/ Z1904NOV. asp#Z326:1))
[68] The Way to Paradise, pp. 156-158 (http:/ / cchasson. free. fr/ deposit/ book/ 1924_The_Way_To_Paradise. pdf)[69] The last favorable reference to the Great Pyramid in Watch Tower Society publications appears in The Watchtower, the April 15, 1928, p.
125[70] Pyramidology was first rejected in the November 15, 1928 Watchtower, p 344: "It is more reasonable to conclude that the great pyramid of
Gizeh, as well as the other pyramids thereabout, also the sphinx, were built by the rulers of Egypt and under the direction of Satan theDevil...The Devil, by the use of the descendants of Ham, set up Egypt, or the land of Ham, as the first great world power. Then Satan put hisknowledge in dead stone, which may be called Satan's Bible, and not God's stone witness. In erecting the pyramid, of course, Satan would putin it some truth, because that is his method of practising fraud and deceit."
[71] Zion's Watch Tower, April 1883. Reprints pp. 474-5 (http:/ / www. mostholyfaith. com/ bible/ Reprints/ Z1883APR. asp#R474): "Thisspuing out, or casting off, of the nominal church as an organization in 1878, we then understood, and still proclaim, to be the date of thecommencement of Babylon's fall..."
[72] Thy Kingdom Come (http:/ / www. watchtowerdocuments. com/ downloads/ 1890_Thy_Kingdom_Come_1898_edition. pdf) (1890),Volume 3 of Millennial Dawn, later retitled Studies in the Scriptures, p. 305-308 (http:/ / books. google. com/books?id=AFAXAAAAYAAJ& pg=PA305).
[73] Thy Kingdom Come, p. 364 (http:/ / www. watchtowerdocuments. com/ downloads/ 1890_Thy_Kingdom_Come_1898_edition. pdf): "thisdate, 1910, indicated by the pyramid ... we may accept as correct the testimony of the great pyramid, that the last members of the body orbride' of Christ will have been tested and accepted and will have passed beyond the vail before the close of A.D. 1910."
[74] The New Creation, p.579: "According to our expectations the stress of the great time of trouble will be on us soon, somewhere between 1910and 1912—culminating with the end of the 'Times of the Gentiles,' October, 1914." (Later editions may read differently)
[75] http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=vu0YAAAAYAAJ[76] The Time is at Hand, pages 76-78 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=k9wOAAAAIAAJ& pg=PA76). Post 1914 editions read
differently-- 1917 edition (http:/ / www. strictlygenteel. co. uk/ timeisathand/ study4. html).[77] Zion's Watch Tower, June 15, 1911, page 190.[78] The Time is at Hand, 1915 ed., p. 99 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=baI3AAAAMAAJ& pg=PA99): "In view of this strong Bible
evidence concerning the Times of the Gentiles, we consider it an established truth, that the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the fullestablishment of the Kingdom of God, will be accomplished near the end of A.D. 1915. Then the prayer of the church, ever since her Lordtook his departure - 'Thy kingdom come' - will be answered; and under that wise and just administration, the whole earth will be filled with theglory of the Lord" (Later editions have 1914 instead of 1915)
[79] The Watchtower, September 1, 1916: "Our eyes of understanding should discern clearly the Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty now inprogress."
[80] The Finished Mystery (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?vid=OCLC13089093& id=dDQSOQV2RBIC& printsec=titlepage&dq=editions:OCLC38151368) from Google Book Search. Published in 1917 by the Watch Tower Society. It was considered to be volume 7 ofStudies in the Scriptures. PDF version of The Finished Mystery (http:/ / www. a2z. org/ wtarchive/ docs/ The_Finished_Mystery. pdf). Latereditions read differently.
[81] The Finished Mystery, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1917, Page 485 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=dDQSOQV2RBIC&pg=PA485& dq=editions:OCLC38151368): "Also, in the year 1918, when God destroys the churches wholesale and the church members bymillions, it shall be that any that escape shall come to the works of Pastor Russell to learn the meaning of the downfall of 'Christianity.'"
[82] The Finished Mystery, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1917,Pages 398-9 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=dDQSOQV2RBIC&pg=PA398& dq=editions:OCLC38151368): "The people who are the strength of Christendom shall be cut off in the brief but terribly eventfulperiod beginning in 1918 A.D. A third part are 'burned with fire in the midst of the city.' Fire symbolizes destruction ... After 1918 the peoplesupporting churchianity will cease to be its supporters, be destroyed as adherents, by the spiritual pestilence of errors abroad, and by thefamine of the Word of God among them."
[84] The Finished Mystery, 1917 edition, p.258. 258 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=dDQSOQV2RBIC& pg=PA258&dq=editions:OCLC38151368). (This date is changed in later editions.)
[85] ( Page 89 from Google Book Version (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=V0gMAAAAYAAJ& pg=PA89))[86] The Marion Star, Marion, Ohio, April 9, 1921. The Bridgeport Telegram, Bridgeport, Connecticut, December 4, 1920. Scans available at
News Clippings from the "Millions Now Living Will Never Die" Campaign (1919-1925) (http:/ / www. theocraticlibrary. com/ downloads/Millions_Campaign_News_Clippings. pdf)
[87] The Watchtower, September 1, 1922, p. 262, "The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures than 1914."[88] The Watchtower May 15, 1922, p. 147, 150, "We have no doubt whatever in regard to the chronology relating to the dates of 1874, 1914,
1918, and 1925 ... There can be no more question about 1925 than there was about 1914."
[89] The Watchtower, May 15, 1922, p. 150, "Noting the date marked so prominently, it is very easy for the finite mind to conclude that all thework to be done must center about it, and thus many are inclined to anticipate more than has been really foretold. Thus it was in 1844, in 1874,in 1878 as well as in 1914 and 1918. Looking back we can now easily see that those dates were clearly indicated in Scripture and doubtlessintended by the Lord to encourage his people, as they did, as well as to be a means of testing and sifting when all that some expected did notcome to pass. That all that some expect to see in 1925 may not transpire that year will not alter the date one whit more than in the other cases."
[90] Annual Memorial attendances were 17,961 (1919), 32,661 (1922), 42,000 (1923) 62,696 (1924), 90,434 (1925), 89,278 (1926) and 17,380(1928). Statistics were also published each year in the Watchtower until 1926
[91][91] In 1935, Memorial attendance had increased again to 63,146.[92] Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1993, pp. 138-9.[93] Light, Book One, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1930, p. 78.: "In June, 1927, the Watch Tower published the proof from the
Scriptures that those who thus died faithful were asleep in death until the coming of the Lord to his temple in 1918."[94] Light, Book One, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, p. 333.[95] The Harp of God (both the 1921 and 1927 editions) affirmed on page 231 that "the Lord's second presence dates from 1874." The March 1,
1922 Watch Tower and pages 65-66 of the book Prophecy (published in 1928) reiterated this position. However, by 1930 some vagueness canbe seen. For example, the October 15, 1930 Watch Tower, page 308, says the "second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ dates from about A.D.1875." The November 1, 1932 Watch Tower, page 325 is even less precise, stating that from "approximately 1875 forward" Christ waspreparing the way.
[96] Light, Book One, p. 318-319.[97] The Watchtower, December 1, 1933, p. 362.[98] Golden Age, March 14, 1934, p. 380.[99] The Watchtower, September 1, 1969, p. 521.[100] Time magazine, March 31, 1930, p. 60 (http:/ / www. time. com/ time/ magazine/ article/ 0,9171,738983,00. html). Scan of article (http:/ /
Beth-sarim/ deed2. gif)[103] San Diego Sun, March 1930 (http:/ / www. bibletopics. com/ biblestudy/ 89a. htm) Interview with Rutherford about Beth Sarim[104] Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1959, p. 252.[105] Universal War Near, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1935: "Universal war is absolutely certain to come and that soon, and no power
can stop it ... during the few remaining months until the breaking of that universal cataclysm."[106] Watchtower 15 September 1941 p. 288.[107] Watchtower, April 1942, p.139.[108] The Watchtower, November 1, 1938, p. 323: "If in obedience to the divine command the Jonadabs or great multitude will marry and rear
children after Armageddon, would it not be Scripturally proper for them to begin doing so immediately before Armageddon? and should theJonadabs now be encouraged to marry and rear children? No, is the answer, supported by the Scriptures."
[109] 1943 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments for November 7. The fictional sweethearts of Children, John andEunice, defer marriage "until lasting peace comes to the earth" while hoping "that within a few years our marriage may be consummated."
[110] Public Address by District Overseer Charles Sunutko in Spring 1967 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Mp3 of Lecture by Sinutko (http:/ / www.a2z. org/ wtarchive/ mp3s/ 1967_Charles_Sinutko_Serving_With_Everlasting_Life_in_View. mp3)
[111] The Approaching Peace of a Thousand Years (http:/ / www. strictlygenteel. co. uk/ booklets/ approaching. html): "Undisturbed peace withhealth, happiness and freedom from fear is on the divine program for humankind on earth. Reliable evidences indicate that it will begin withinthis generation! We do not want to keep this gladsome information to ourselves, and so in this booklet we pass it on to you."
[112] Awake!, May 22, 1969, p.15: "You also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things ... All theevidence in fulfillment of Bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years ... Therefore, as a young person, youwill never fulfill any career that this system offers. If you are in high school and thinking about a college education, it means at least four,perhaps even six or eight more years to graduate into a specialized career. But where will this system of things be by that time? It will be wellon the way towards its finish, if not actually gone! This is why parents who base their lives on God's prophetic Word find it much morepractical to direct their young ones into trades that do not require such long periods of additional schooling."
[113] "How Are You Using Your Life?", Our Kingdom Ministry, May 1974 p.3. (http:/ / www. jwfiles. com/ scans/ KM5-1974p3. htm)[114] Sound clip of lecture "What is the Significance of 1975?" by Governing Body Member Fred Franz. (http:/ / www. freeminds. org/ media/
[115] Crisis of Conscience, Raymond Franz p. 249. Scan available at (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20031209184316/ http:/ / users. volja. net/izobcenec4/ coc/ 9. pdf)
[116] Time magazine archive "Witnessing the End", July 18, 1969 Time (http:/ / www. time. com/ time/ magazine/ article/ 0,9171,901074-1,00.html) Scan of article (http:/ / pages. globetrotter. net/ mleblank/ media/ time1975. jpg): "The Witnesses have what they believe is Scripturalproof that the end is coming. For one thing, their interpretation of Biblical chronology reveals that Adam and Eve were created in the autumnof 4026 B.C., or 5994 years ago. Linking 6000 years to the six days of God's creation, they believe it fitting that there be a sabbath-like restthereafter, beginning in 1975—though Witnesses cautiously avoid a flat prediction linked to that year."
[117] The Arizona Republic August 24, 1969 (http:/ / www. blueletterbible. org/ study/ cults/ exposejw/ expose28. pdf)[118] July 11, 1977 Time magazine (http:/ / www. time. com/ time/ magazine/ article/ 0,9171,919076-1,00. html)[119] The Watchtower, July 15, 1976, p.441[120] 1980 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, p. 30[121] The Watchtower, March 15, 1980, p.17.[122] "Defectors Feel 'Witness' Wrath: Critics say Baptism Rise Gives False Picture of Growth" by John Dart, Los Angeles Times, January 30,
1982, p. B4[123] The Watchtower, May 1, 1985, p.4.[124] The Watchtower, May 15, 1984 (http:/ / www. catholicapologetics. net/ images/ 1914_Gen0. jpg)[125] The Watchtower, May 1, 1985, p.7.[126] Crisis of Conscience, Raymond Franz p. 262. Scan available at (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20031210004130/ users. volja. net/
izobcenec4/ coc/ 10. pdf) accessed January 27, 2006.[127] "Saved From a 'Wicked Generation'", The Watchtower (November 1) 1995, pp. 10-15.[128] "A Time To Keep Awake", The Watchtower, November 1, 1995, p. 19 par. 12, and p. 20 par. 15.[129] The Watchtower, February 15, 2008, pages 23-24: "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 bealive on earth when the foretold great tribulation begins."
[130] The Watchtower, February 15, 1927, p. 62, "Interesting Questions".[131] The Watchtower, November 1, 1950, p. 419.[132] Pay Attention to Daniel's Prophecy! chap. 6 par. 25-29[133] Edmond C. Gruss, Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co, 1972, ISBN 0-87552-306-4
Page 42.[134] "When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part One" The Watchtower, October 1, 2011, page 26[135] "Babylonian Exile. (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ EBchecked/ topic/ 47693/ Babylonian-Exile)" Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010.[136] Timeline of Judaism after the Babylonian Exile (http:/ / www. jewishvirtuallibrary. org/ jsource/ History/ exile2. html)[137] Dictionary of the Bible: Biographical, Geographical, Historical and Doctrinal by Charles Randall Barnes, Page 247.[138] The Gentile Times Reconsidered: Chronology & Christ's Return by Carl O. Jonsson. ISBN 0-914675-06-0 Publisher: Commentary Press
(July, 1998, Fourth edition 2004)[139] "When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part Two" The Watchtower, November 1, 2011, page 22[140] Insight from scriptures. Vol.2 page 458, "secular chronologers calculate the 16th day of Tashritu (Tishri) as falling on October 11, Julian
calendar, and October 5, Gregorian calendar, in the year 539 B.C.E. Since this date is an accepted one, there being no evidence to the contrary,it is usable as a pivotal date in coordinating secular history with Bible history."
[141] Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Persian Chronology Compared with the Chronology of the Bible, Volume 1: Persian Chronology andthe Length of the Babylonian Exile of the Jews (2003) ISBN 82-994633-3-5
[142] Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 28:5 [2004], p. 42-43
BibliographyApocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses by M. James Penton, professor emeritus in the Department ofHistory at the University of Lethbridge and former Jehovah's Witness ISBN 978-0-8020-7973-2
Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Heraldmorningcover.jpg Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Heraldmorningcover.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Nelson H. Barbour, Charles Taze RussellFile:Russell Pyramid.JPG Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Russell_Pyramid.JPG License: Public Domain Contributors: DtbrownFile:1914pyramidchart.jpg Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:1914pyramidchart.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: DtbrownFile:Russellchronology.jpg Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Russellchronology.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Charles Taze RussellFile:Beth Sarim 1931.jpg Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Beth_Sarim_1931.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: William Soper
