of 16
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UPO ~ he earth r irl
rc
111 nallons wlth prplexlw: the
l o d
the war n (the mwlrsr, dl
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THIS
JOURNAL
AND
ITS SACRED MISSIGN
:ournal
is
one of the prime factors or instrum ents in th e aystem of Bible instruction, or Seminary Extension , now belng
presented In all p arts of th e civilized world by th e WATCH T o w ~ u IBLE
&
TRACT OCIOTX,harkerecl
A. D. l X X 4 ,
For the Pro-
motion of Christian 1
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N
D
EPALD OF H
H S T ~
RESENCE
VOL:.XLIII
THE
G E N T I L E T I M E S
And if ye
tcill
not y e t for ll
this
heal.r'l.pt1 tinto ,me, fher~ wil l
punis
y o u srueir times nzo1.e for
?jotlr
sins.
Leiliticzu 6:
18
NOTIIER test is
011.
Wlio will weather thc storm?
out of the \viltlcr~~c~ss.s he go~s
11
in this \\ay,
A
t is a test of faith. "According to your faith be
becomes co~~viucctl
l l
his
01\11
llrill~l liat the Lord nia
it u~rtoyou." 1)uriilg the time of tllc 11arvc.st
a n~ibtalie ll S ~ I ~ L ~ ~ I I ~rotllvr It~~ssc~Ilis t l~a t m.uir
there have Iwrn spc~cial ests of faith a t fisctl int:.rvals.
aild this doubt 1c;~cls o the coilclusiolr 1atc.r o : ~ h
Call to milltl the shaki~lg hat came with t11~lisc~~rsio~i,
~ ~ ~ ~ t h t ~ russell was ]lot "tl
i ~ t
i~ r~~an t"it
i11I J LC
in this jo~rn~al,f tlic covcl~al:ts. 1'1rc~1ic.allre tlrtl slrak-
g h ~ so doi~bt \ lritt 1:l.t t1:01. 1trr::sc 11
\\
rot(*. t11tl so
ing rtlutil;,q to the t l l~l l ollo\\-~tli~rotlrt~rl~aliing
~ ~ C S C S liifi~s~lf.
o\\r 1 1 ~
Ii,sl.(::IIYI< tlic l,o~tl 'e Y:or
with the Sr~llrrdiscussio~rof consc~cr;ltior~111t1~r+ti ica-
I\-hitbh :iys: "TI.II: in the Loid
it11
:)I1
thin(> 1c
tion; then follo~\-cbtlht. trrt coiic.t~rnil~glrv Se~i~~i th
nt1 l ~ n n ot unto thinr own iintlcr~t~i~rtli~rg.II all t
Volume'; and then wrothcr test in 1 18 co~rc(- r l~ i~~gile
wnys arkno~vlcdgc rim, and 11t. s11:rlI tLil.c,cbt 111) ~)tl
harvest and the work. Prom a11 thcsc fiery tc ~ t s he
'l'hlts disrrgarcling this atl~noiiition, a~rt l )clillg
greater majority of the cons:.c~.:~tetl avc cnirrgt~dnn-
on by the s ~ b t l ~nfluence of the adversary, hr c
scathed; but some, berausc of I )i ttcr~~cssf 11c>al.t, ave
vinc~shimself that i t is his solcniir tlrrty to 1u1tl0
become blind of vision, gone out of thr truth alrtl hack
tilt? things that D~~otlrc~l.t~rrhc~Il:~ r~g l~ t
L I I I
to tl11 11
into the world, bei~rg ed a\wy by the error of the
church's vision in the rigllt way.
110
j)rcBj)arc.s niai
wiclted. There is a reason for this. Let us examine the
script and charts in support.of same, se t t i ~~gorth
facts concerning the reason.
views. Submitting i t
to
othrrs ant1 being atlvisc~cl
Lucifer was a crc~atr~ref ligllt n11t1 po\\.olnallti of
11is tl~oirglrta arc ~vro ~ig.1e c.ol~rirrtc~sl r i q t,o I I I ( V I I
great bcauty. 13clloltling his ornil I~cli~t~ty11t1 )cillg im-
dc~irc~o prcve~~tinr l'l.o~n c1rrnitti11g is light to sl
pressed with his otrn wistlom and ability, lie coilcluded al:tl disregartls such ntllice. So thoroughly is he i
to put into operation a plan of his o~rn, iflclrent from
prc~sst~dhat he ninct thus tcacl~ he pcwple and nn
God's arra~lgcnient nt] tlla carrying out of \vlricli ~vould
that which has hcr11 tcr rlg11t. that he 1)c.g 11s tlie p111)
malre T~ucifcr reat like unto Jehovah. I n his heart he
tion of his tl~or~glrt.: nt1 to send tl~cso orth to t
brcamc disloyal to God, tunltd away from the light and
consccratctl.
ITir
a~.; r~~nriitsccm plausil)lc to tl~osr r
truth, and becamc the wicl
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T~~WATCH
O W E R
or positive opposition. If the person holding the tloubt
talcex himself too seriously, thinking more highly of
his own importance than he should think (12omans 12
3), or where he permits bitteriiess to abide in his heart,
darkness is almost cer tai~i o ellsue.
Agitation con ce r~ ~i ~~ glic error in chroilology lias con-
tinued to increase throughout the ycar. and some have
turued into positive opposition to tliat a-liicli lias been
written. This has resultcd in some of the Lord's dear
sheep becoming disturbed iu mind and ca~~si~ighem
to inquire, Why does not ' l 'rr~ WATCH TOWEILay
something? I s not its silence tantnlnol~nt o an admis-
sion that our chronology is wrong?
Prom time to time the questioa of publishing some-
thing in this journal has been considcred.
Each time
the Lord has seemed to interfere, until now. Why
should such bs the case? Our opiilion is that the Lord
had permitted the delay in the reviewing of the ques-
tion of clii onology silicc the agitation was bf>gun in
order to give thosc. who had thc vrrong condition of
IW::I.~
an opportunity to ma aifc ~t hmnsrlves. and to
givc tlic others an opportunity to have thcir faith tested.
FAITHFULNESS IS LOYALTY
To be iaithful mealis to be loyal.
To
be loyal to the
Lord means to be obedient to the Lord.
To abandon
or 1-cpudiatc tlie lAordYslioseu instrument means to
abandori or repudiate the Lord llimself, upon the prin-
cipl,: that lie who rcjccts tlic servant sent by the Naster
tlicrcby rejects tlie bIaster.
Tlicrc is no one in prcscut truth today who call hon-
estly say tl-t~llc rcccived a l
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-WATCH TOWER
We now propose to prove that the gentile times, a
period of 2520 years, began in t he year 606 B. C. and
ended in the fall of t he year 1914; an d tha t the ouster
proceedings began promptly thereafter an d on time. I n
making th is proof we rely upon th e Bible and n ot upon
secular or profane history. We consider th e points in
the order numbered hereinafter, as follows,
t
wit:
POINT I: TENURE O KINGS
Th e time and duration of the reign of th e various
king s of Isr ae l is one of t h e Biblical methods of estab -
lishin g the various dates in o ur chronology. Saul,
Israel's first king, began to reign in t he year
A. M.
3009. T he total period of th e tenure of the kings of
Israe l was, to w it, 513 years. T he reign of the kings
ended with the year A.
M.
3522. No careful Bible
stud ents will dispute these facts. No o ther conclusion
can be reached except by juggling the
figures
and ig-
noring the Bible statements.
I n TH E WA TC H
TOWER
f May 15, 1896, page 112,
is set forth a statement of chronology from A dam
to
1914. These figures are given in nno Mundi time.
According to thi s calculation it is proven by the Scrip-
tures there cited that Jehoiakim's reign began in tho
year
A. M .
3500, which corresponds to the year 628
B. C. Th e beginn ing of th e reign of Jeho iakim, being
definitely fixed, gives us a startin g point from which to
count the time and by which to determine the universal
reign of N ebuchadnezzar and to reach a proper con-
clusion relative to the gentile times.
The f ir st year of the reign of N e b u ~ h a d l l ~ x r ,ing
of Uabylon, was th e fo ur th year of tllc rrign of Jclloirl-
kim. "The fo ur th yea r of Jehoiak im th e so11 of Jo siall
king of Ju da h, th at was th e first year of N ebucliad-
nezzar king of Babylon." (Jere mia h 25 :
1;
sec also
Jeremiah
46
2) Since Jehoialtim's reign brgan ill ti 8
B. C., i t follows tha t the first year of N ebuchailnezzar's
reign was the year 625
B.
C. Th ere was no attac k made
upon Jehoiakim by Nebuchadnezzar in the year of 625
B. C., th e firs t year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. 'I'lierc
could have been no attack as a king made by him earlier
than that. It was in th a t fou rth year of Jclioiakim's
rcign and the first year of Nebuchadnezzar's rcign, to
wit, th e year 625 B. C., th at th e prophet Jerem iah
delivered the divine decree pointing out that it was
God's determination
to
leave th e land of Pa lestine deso-
lat e as a punishment upon Israel.
THE FIRST ATTACK
I n the fourth year of t he reign of Nebuchadnezzar
(an d therefore the eighth year of t he reign of Jehoia-
kim), Nebuchadnezzar made his first attack against
Jerusalem; and in tha t year Jehoiakim became the
serv ant or vasfial to t he ki ng of Babylon.
Three yeara
later, t o wit, in th e year 617 B. C., the same being th e
eleventh year of the reign of Jehoiakim, Nebuchatlnez-
zar. took Jehoiakim a prisoner a nd p ut him to d mth.
Th e record rea ds.
.7ahaiskim
was twenty an d five yeara
old when he 1)rgan to reign [(js 8 1i C y 1
;
~ l t l tl ~.cli;
eleven years 1617
I <
C . ] i n . I P ~ I I , C I I ~ C I I I .11 his (I
Nebuchadriezzcir king of Baby1011 canic. r p, n ~ ~ t lI tbll
kim became
his servant three
years: ti1c.n h r tnrn ct l i
rebelled against him [Nebucliadnezzor . 2
l i i l~gs
36; 24: 1 ) "Against him [Jeh oiak in~]
8 i l l r l t .
"1) Nt'
chadnezzar ki ng of Babylon, and bolultl n) i ti lettc
to
ca rr y h im t o Babylon."-2 Chl.onic lrs
D i
i.
T he carrying away of Jehoiachin to Babylon was
th e year 617 B. C. Jehoiakim's reign linvi~lgb c g m
628 B. C., and he having reigned cl e v c ~ ~c.:~~.s. ~
sarily
it ended in 617 B. C. At tha t time Nebnch
nezzar wa ssi n the eighth year of his reign. Th us
Sc riptu res prove beyond any question of a dou bt t
the captivity d id not begin in th e first year of Ne
chadnezzar's reign; nor did the desolation begin the
It is therefore seen that i t is utterly impossible
the gentile t imes to have begun in the first year
Nebuchadnezzar's reign, to wit, 625
B.
C. No one cla
tha t th e gentile times began in 617 B. C., the y
Jehoiakim was taken and put to death, as indeed su
a
claim could not be successfully mad e in view of
evidence hereinafter set forth.
HISTORIC CORROBORATION
It is reasonable to sum ose th at the Jewish histor
Josephus, being derply interested in his own peop
would be more reliable in fixing dates than would
historians of th e gentile nations. We do no t at all n
th e testimony of Josephus, bu t because it is corrobora
by tlic Bible we citc it liere for wllnt it is worth.
])lni~lly ntcs that 110 attack was nintlc 11pon Jcr~ls
a t the brgin ning of Nebnchaclnexzar's reign. We qu
from Ant ip t i t i es of the Jews Book
X
Chapter V
pages 365-367
"In tllc follr tl~ \-(>:trf .Tt>lloi:~kimone wllosc name m
Scl~ucIl:l t l~~t.r~:~r
o o k
llte go\el.illuent over tile B:tbylor~
\vl~o t ~ P s:llile ti~tlt vent
up
with a great army to
cbity
C:~rt,l~c.~l~isl~,
v1tic.h
was a t E~ ~p hm tesupon a resolut
tltut
ltc
11:til taken to figllt with Necho king of Egypt, un
\v\'l~olnll S;\-~.i;tllert wrls. And when Necho understood
intention of tlte 1ii11gof Babylon, and th at this expedit
\v\ llsnitltle against him, he tiid not despise his attempt;
ninrlt.
11:1stt~with-
n
great
b:lnd
of men to Euphrates,
tlrfelld I~i~llsc~lfrom Nc~bucl~t~cln~anr.nd
w h en
they h
.joi~~tul
~ i ~ t t l t -1tl Ivrtx
l)c-:~tett,lntl lost
11ii111y
~ I I O I I S L I I
his
soldirrs. So ll~e
ing
of I%ltbylonpassed over the Ephrates, nnrl took all Syrin, as frtr as Pelusium,
ezcep t
Juden Rut xvllen Nebuc1ladnt.zz:tr h:td already reigned f
gears , which was the eighth of .Te:~oinkin~'sovernment o
the EIebre~vs,he? king of Bi~b.vlon 11itdt.
a n
cspctlition w
minltty forces against the .Jews,
rutd
rcquluir(*d tribute
Jehoiakim
;
hreatening upon his refusal to make mar ag:~
him. He mas affrighted at his threatening, and bou
his peace wit11 money; and brought the tribute lie w
ordered to bring for three years.
"But on the third year, upon hearing that the k
of Babylon made r l n expedition against the Egyptians,
did not pay h i s tribute. . .
A little time afterward, the king of Ral)ylon made
espedition against Jehoiakim, wlio reccirecl
11im int.3
dts; and th is out of fea r of the foregoing predictions
Jeremiah, as supposing he should suffer
nothing
that
w
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T O W E R
terrib le; because lie neither sltut tile gates, nor fought
agctillst ttilll. Yet when he was coule into the city , he did
not observe the covenurltd Ile ltad lnade; but lie slew such
as \yere in tile flower of tlteir age. rtrtd sucl~ s were of tlte
greatest dignity; together with tltrir king Jel~oir~kitl~,\.hour
lie co~i~~t~ ur~d edo be thrown befor(* the walls. tvitlluut urly
bnriitl, u~ttl 11tude llis soti Jeiloiucl~ilt king of tttcs coul~try,
and of the city
;
tie also took the principal persons in tlignlty
for captives, tltree thousand in number, andled thrtn uwtly
to Babylon. Anlorig these
was
the pl-ophet Ezekiel, \v l~ o \-as
tl~etibut young. i l~ td his wvus the erttl of Icing .Jel~oi:tkitn,
wltcbl~ ts Ilrlil 1lvc.tl tl~irty-81s ellrs, ant1 rei~itt'd -lcb\-c*~~.Iut
I I P
\\.us succtbc*tlc*tlt1 the kingclo~n by Jeltoic~cliir~, host
lltother wus Kehusta, a citizen of Jerusalem. He reigned
t llrBe~ n o ~ ~ t l t s111d ten days."
Jehoiachili reigned only three mont ls and tell days,
and mas
succeeded
by Zctlckiah, whose reign began in
the year 617 B. C. "Jehoiachin was eight years old
when he Began to reign, and he reigned three months
ant1 ten (lays in Jerusalem: and he did that which was
evil in the sight of the Lord. And when the vear was
expired, kinf Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him
to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the housi of tlie
Lord, and made Zedekiah, his brother, king over Judah
nd Jerusalem. Zcdekiah was one and twenty years old
\\.hen lie bcgun to reign, and reigned clcven years in
Jerusalem." (2 Chronicles 36
:
9-11) Thus i t is clearly
Jrrcmiah the prophet spmking from the month of
I
lord. And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadn
zar.
.
They mocked
the messengers of God, a
despised his words, and misused his prophets, until
wrath of the Ilord arose against his people.
.
The
fore lie brought upon them the king of the Chald
[Nebuchadnezzar], who slew their young men with t
sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no co
passion upon .young man or maiden, old man, or h
that stooped for agc: hc gave thcaln all illto his han
Arid all the vessels of llic house of God, grru t and sma
and the treasures of the housc of tlie llortl, and t
treasures of the king, and of his princcs; all diese
brought to 13ahylon. And they B u I ~
he house of Go
and brake down
the
wall of Jer usa lem
and burnt
the palaces thereof with fire, and dcstroycd all t
goodly vessels thereof. And them tha t had escaped fro
the sword carried he away to Babylon
;
where they we
servants
to
him and his sons unti l the rciga of t
kingdoni of Persia: to fulfill the word of the Lord
the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoy
her sabbaths: for
as long as she
lay
dcsolatc she kc
sabbath
to fulfill tlirccscore ant1 tcli yc~ars."-2 Cliron
cles 36
:
12,13, 16-21.
seen that the reign of Zedekiah, which began in ~ l ?
NO CAI TIVITY BEF ORE
617 B. C.
B.
C.. lasted eleven years and ended in 606 B.
C. He
was the last king of Israel.
Tliis occurrrtl a t the cnd of the reign of Zctlekiah,
wit. in the vear GO
B.
C.
POINT : DECREE FOR PUNISHMENT
I
decree means a judicial dctcrminatidn by oile Iiav-
ing authority, defining what must be done.
It
means
a scntencc pronounced that must be enforced. Neces-
sarily decrees are always entered before they are en-
forced. Jehovah pronounced through Moses a divine
decree or judgment that should be enforced against
Israel as a punishment, and the dccree is in these
words:
1
will make your cities waste, and bring your
sanctztarie.~unto desolation
and I will not smell the
savor of your sweet odors. And
I
will bring the
land
iu to desolat ion:
and your enemies which dwell therein
~ha l l e astonished at it."-Leviticus 26
:
31,32.
It
must be conceded by all that the t d i n g of certain
of the Israelites as prisoners mid carrying them away
to Babylon would not constitute an enforcement of
this decree. The putting to death of Jehoiakim in no
wise fulfilled the decree. Besides after his death Zede-
kinh continued to be the king of Israel and reigned for
eleven years. Surely during those eleven years the city
was not in waste ; or were the sanctuari~sn desolation.
Surely during that period the Jews offered their sacri-
fices in Jerusalem. When, then,
in
all the history of
Israel do we find any record of the enforcement of this
divine decree? The Scriptures answw that it had i ts
fulfillment in the latter part of the reign of Zedekiah.
.
god
had restated the decree of judgment against
Istael through *Jeremiah.~Conctmihg edclriah, the Iast
Ir;qng,'we read: a ~ & d i d at. which was evil in the sight
of the Lord his God, and humbled
not
himself before
In corro1)oratioa of this me cite the fiwthel. rtco
dealiiig with the same slibjrct nlattrr, nladc I)y Ezck
the prophet. Ezrltiel coul~ts
he.
tii~lc ic*~itio~~c~n
h
prophccy from the tlatc tliat lie and ot11c.r
Jc\\rs
we
taken captive and carried away to Bal~yloi~.
1Gzek
1
1,2;
8
:
1
;
20
:
1) This captivity began iu the ye
61'7
B.
C. I n the seventh year of that captivity, in th
fifth month and the tenth (lay of the month, to w
about the first day of August, 610 B.
C..
which w
the fifteenth year of the reign of Ncbuchadnczxar, th
divine decree for the punishnic~itof Israel was restatc
in other phrase by the prophet Ezc.kic.l,.- -1':zc~liic~l0
The same judicial deter~nllat ion of
J
eho\ a11 a&;
forth in Leviticus 26: 31-33 was restated by Ezeki
in the following words: "Tlicrdorr thus saitli thc 1,o
Qod: Brcallsc ye have madc yolw iliiq~~ityo 11c rmlrn
bered. in that your t ra ns gr ~s io ns rc discovered,
that in all your doing your sins do appear; hrcbausr,
say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall
b 1
take
with the hand. And thou, profane wicked 1)rilict~
Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall Iia\c a
end, thus saith the Lord God: llcnlove the diatlcni. an
t a k e o g
the
crown;
this shall not be the salue: exa
him that is low, and abase him tliat is high.
I
\\
overturn, overturn, overturn it; and i t sliall
br 110
11io
.until he come whose right it is; and I will givc it [tc
him."-E7,kicl 21
:
24-27.
This restatement of the divine decree occurred fo
before its enforcement. Brother Russell says t h
the e~~forccrnent
f
th is divine decree ma& the begin
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-WATCH
TOWER
ning of tlle gentile times; and Brother Russell is right.
-B-Y9, 71*2,3.
GENTILE
TIMES
BEGAN
606
B.
God had promised that the sceptre should not depart
from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until
Shiloh come. (Genesis 49 : 1 0) It will be observed that
the
decree of punishment did not include the removal
of the sceptre. It nlcrrly state s: "Ren~ove the diadem,
take off the crow^^". I I t ( ~ cro\v11 is a synlttol of im-
perial dominion or rulership; while the sceptre is a
symbol of im perial author ity or right. Th e enforcelllent
of thi s divine decree, tl~ercfore, ook away from Israel
the dominion, wlticli dornillion should be enjoyetl by
th e gentiles until thc coming of him ~vhos c ight i t is,
nam ely, S hiloh , the Blessiah. 'l1l1e ge nti le times, th ere-
fore, could not possibly brgi~l ntil the enforcement of
this divine decree. (Ezeliiel 21 24-21) And since it was
pronounced by t l l ~ ro1)ht.t ISeeliiel while Zedekiah was
the king. i t conclusi~elyproves that the gentile times
did n ot . begiii with tho captiv ity of Je hoia kim or of
Jehoiachin, but tlitl i)r,rri~~it11 th e ov erthr ow of Zede-
kiah.
About August 1, iO i1
i O i s ]
H.C., Nebuchatlnrnzar the
kin g of Ba1)ylon brokr down th e city of Jeru sale m and
destroyed it, tooti %rc c*kiah imd p ut ou t h is eyes, altd
desolated the city a ~ tt l hcb ltl~id. ( . J~ re lr ~i n I~
9
2-9)
T hu s fro m anoth er lil~cl f p1.oof is de fi1 1it i4~stablishcd
th at th e divine dccrrc. \\ as enforced in 6 6 1 .. encling
the donlinion of Isl.i~ cl nd permitting t l ~ e ent il es to
estal)lish a t r ~ t i o r r ~ n ll o ~ ~ i i ~ t i ~ l ~ .I c I ' P , t this tintc,
it
was that Jcllo~t111.i g ~ r i ~ t i v c l ypealiii~g.witlldrew from
tlie sta ge of actio11 a ~ lt lpernlitted Satan. through his
rcprcse~ttative,Xc.l)ucltiitl~lc*m~-,o establish a universal
cmpirc. llc re it \\.as tha t Sfittin I)c~c~arneh ~
gocl
of Illc
whole worltl'; arid fro111 th at tim e f orw ard his r ule
through earthly r cp rcs en tnt i~e s s symholixcd by a wild
beast.,
ture (Daniel
1 1)
is this: Tliat the "third ymr" her
means the third yrar
of
t l ~ c r~ss:ll:~gc f .Icl~oialiint o
Nebuchadnezzar; or "the thi rd year of J eh oi ak in ~ Ln
vassal king]". It is plainly stated in the Scripturt.
as heretofore pet forth, th at in the ci gl ~t h ear of th
r e i p of Jelioiakiin as king, Ncb~bucl~ittlrtczxar am
against him and Jehoiakim became his servant an
paid tribute to Nebuchadnezzar
three years
and the
rebelled agains t him. (2 R i n g s
24:
1 ) ' l' l~crcforc, i t wa
exactly thrcc ycitrs It~tclr lio I . 'c> gin l~i ~~ gl' 11is vassalt~g
to
wit, th e ycar (il 7
B.
C., that Nebuchadnezzilr be
sieged Jerusalem and took Jehoiakim, a nd a t the sam
t i n ~ e arried away the prophets D aniel, Ezekiel, an
others, including I-Iananiah, Mishael, and Azariali
whose namcs were changed by the king to Shadracli
Meshach, and Abed-nego, respectively. Da niel wrote hi
prophecy while he was in Babylon; and it is quit
apparen t tha t he counted time from the date of th
beginnin g of th e vasealage of Je hoia kim a s Iring. 39ani
festly, then, the argument of Brother Russell's oppo
nents that the gentile times begail during the reign o
Jehoiakim must fall .
YOlNT IV: NEBUCtIADNEZZA R S DREAM
Again, opponents of the chrol~ologyas set for th b
Brother Itussell stat(&ll i l t the begi l tni~~gf th e gc'~tt
times is markod I g tlle nc-c.ossion of N ( ~ ~ u c ~ ~ L ( ~
t l ~ chro ne of Baby lon, a11t1 ll sn pp or t of t hi s contcirt io
cite Daniel 2: 1. This argument must likcwise fall .
1)aniel
2 :
1 ~.c nd s: 'In the srcolid yra r of t he reig
o f I S e l ) i ~ ~ I ~ ~ t l l ~ ( ~ % % i l., ;"r'c~ltnchadncxxn r rcln mead ~ ~ I ~
~ v l l e r e ~ v i i l ~1is y ir i t IV:IS t r o ~ ~ l ) l ( ~ ~ l ,n d h i s s I ( ~ y) t ~
from him". .l11(1 dl.c.:urn itstllf is s1.t fo rt li in wrscn s 3
to
35
of the snnlc ch al ttc ~. Nc bud ~atln czz ar lie 1iitl
had brollgl~t )clfo1.(1
l i l l l
I I I ; I ~ : ~ C ~ : I I I S .stl.olog(~rs,
Ol'I'l'1
ers, and Cllaltlnrlts to i~ltc~rprctis tlrcam, arid all
o
them failed. '"1'111~11 .4rioch [tlie ~i~lltilil\f the king'
gnard] brolrglit i l l l)al~ic.l1)cfol.c t l l ~ i ~ ~ gn h as te . a ~
said thus utlta ltin~.I haw foullcl a man of the em
tives of Jutlnll, thnt will 1 1 l i 1 1 i ~ x k n o \ t r ~ n t o t h c k i ~ t g h
POINT Il l DISClIEl ANCY EXPLA INED
interprc1t:~tio11.Tltc* king allsw(~rc~t1nd said to 1):111i
Opponents of B t . o t l~ ~r~ ussell's c o i ~ c l ~ s i o ~ ~ sn chro-
whose narne was Uelte~linzzar. A rt tlion able to m;~
nology attempt to show that the divine decree against
known unto me the drram which
I
hay(. sc3cn, an11 h
Israel began to he c~tlorc ed n th e third ypar of the
intc>rpretation thereof?"--1)anirl 2 : 25
2 ;.
reigii of Jel~oiakirn , ~ lt l i te as authority Daniel
1:1,
It
is utte rly impossi1)le fo r th is tl.alisaction t o 11 :
which reads:
111
th e t11i1.d year of th e ~acignof Jehoia- occurred in tlie sc~colld ear of tlie rr ig n of Neb~iclta
kim king of Juilali can~e cl)~~chadiiezzarin g of B aby-
nezzar for the following reasons, to wit: (1) l)rcn
loll u nto Jerusalem , ant1 I~esirge d t". A careful esam-
Daniel, in the secoud ycnr of Nch~ lchatll~czna r, i~ s
1 0
ination of this test at once shows that there is a dis-
i n Bab ylon and corrlrl not the n linve heen tnken befor
crepancy. I n tlie thirrl year of Jehoiakim's reign, as
the king;
2 ) because he was taken to Rahylon in th
we have heretofore seen. Nebuchadnezzar was
not
yet
year 617 B. C., which was th e eigh th year of th e reig
king
of Babyloll. II e did no t beconic, kin g unt il a yenr
of Nebuclindnexznr; and ( 3 ) I ) ( ( ~ I I I S C Daniel wns i ~
later (Jereminli
25: 1
; nd the plailt Scriptlira1 state-
peni~i l tc~t lo appcw before the k i~ tg
111til
ftrr Itc ha
men ts heretofore cited show th at Nebl~cliad11t~7.zar'sirkt
bee11 in llabylon
?l~i-ee
ears, according to his own testi
attack against Jerusalem began in the eighth vear of
I
mony.
th e reign of Jehoiakim: Henc e it wns inipo~si1)lc or
'I'he facts heretofore set for th definitely establisll th
him to attack in the third year of JeIloiakimys reign.
c o ~ . r r r t n e ~ sf reasons (1) and
2).
We proceed
to
til
The proper and reasonable'explanation of this Scrip-
e~rtmiiiationof
- a)
:
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Man 1 922
-WATC H TOWER
I n the eighth year of his reign Nebuchadnezzar car-
rictl away to Babylon many of the Jcws, amorig whom
were 1)ailirl and the three Hebrew children. The king
gave an order unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eu-
nuchs, tha t he should bring certain of these Israelites
in
whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skilful
in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and under-
standilig science, and such as had ability in them to
stailtl in the king's palace, and whom they might teach
th.3 Icarnii~g nt1 the tongue of the Chaltlcans". I n other
wortls, tliose so selected were to be educated and trained.
"And the king appointed them a daily provision of the
king's meat, and of the wine which he drank; so nour-
ishing them
three years,
that
at the
end
thereof
they
might stand before tlte king. Now among tllesc were of
the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Ifishael, and
Azariah. Now
at the es~dof the days
[to wit, three
years] tha t the king had said that he should bring them
in, then the prince of the e ~~ nu chsrought them in be-
fore Nebuchadnezzar. And the king communed with
them
;
nd among them all was found none like Daniel,
IIananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
therefore stood the3
bejore the
king."-Daniel 1: 3-6 , 18, 19.
DATE
OF
DREAM WAS
614
B. C.
According to the king's decree, this transaction of
Dnnicl's standing before the king could not have oc-
curred until the end 6f the three years of instruction,
which was, to wit, in the year 614 B. C. and in the
eleventh year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Evidently
it
was about one year thereafter that Nebuchadnezzar
had the dream in question.
Now to remove all doubt as to the correctiiess of this
conclusion, we find that the
Variorum
rendering of this
text (Daniel 2 : is : And in the
twelf th
year of the
reign of Nebnchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed
dreams," etc. The circumstantial evidence produced by
Daniel himself proves that the
Variorum
rendering is
correct.
The explanation of Daniel 2: 37, therefore, is th at i n
the interpretation he told the king in substance that
Jehovah had determined that he (Nebuchadnezzar should
be
the head of the image observed. We are not left
to
guess about matters of this kind, because the apostle
Paul plainly says that God "calleth those things which
be not as though they werey'. (Romans
4:
17') Other-
wise stated, Jehovah had determined that Nebuchadnez-
zar should occupy this position; but at that particular
time Zedekiah was the king, had been king for three
years, and reigned thereafter eight years before Nebu-
chadnezzar really assumed the position as head of the
image.
POINTV
TE E REIGN
OF
CYRUS
The argument hereinbefore made proves that the
.
gentile timm a s a period is based upon the tenure of
office of the Jewish kings. This evidence shows that it
was the year 606
B. C.
when the crown (power to
ex-
ercise dominion) was taken from Israel, and a gel~til
king permitted to exercise that power. Now xc intro-
duce another line of proof by beginnilig dt a later iixtd
date and counting back, measuring the time by unhn-
peachable Biblical testimony, which also sllows the be-
ginning of the gentile times to be
GO6
3 C. The latter
line of proof is a complete corroboration of the forrner.
God had foretold through his prophet I sa ia l~ (see
chapters 44 and 45) that the kingdom of the Babyloll-
ians under Nebnchadnezzar wonld be ovcrthrowr~ arid
that then 'Israel would be returned to licr ow11 Itlntl.
The Lord's prophet even named the victorious king,
Cyrus. The date of the beginning of thc reign of Cyrus
thcrrforc hecomes important.
The reign of Cyrus is shown by thc tcstimoliy of
many secular or profane historians. This testimoi~y s
here cited for two reasons: 1) because there is scarcely
a doubt about the correctrless of the date as statctl; and
2 )
because the date is corroborated by the Scril)tural
proof. Hence the secular history may be used as c~ uuu
lative testimony luuder tlie rnlc. We give brlow a num-
ber of these authorities.
ItEIGN BEC.4N 586 B C., SAY IlIB'I'OItIANY
Smith's
Bible Dictionary,
u~lcler lie t ~tlts
Ca
[)ti \ tics
of
>he Jews", pages
9 3
and 100, says: '"l'lie 13aI1ylo1lia
captivity was brougl~ t o n
claw
I)y the 11cc;rrcof Cy1.u~
B. c. 536 .
Ilible Co.mme~ats
Jamison, Vancc1tt and Brown), Vol.
1,
page 285 gives the dtitc of tllr reign of Cyrus and
the issuing of the dccree as 5 3 6
13 C.
Szc~intnn's Tl i~ to ry , age 40. ~ivcs
3 6
B. C. as tlie
date of the edict of Cyrus for thtl rctnrn of tht. Jews.
Historiasts' Il is fo ry of the IVorld,
TTol.
2 ,
p a p
27,
gives 536 B. C. as thc (late of the decree of Cyrus for
the return of the Jcws.
Universal Escplopedin. Yol.
6 .
l)agtJ
445,
gives
536
B.
C. as the tlntr ol the rt~igiiof Cyr~ls.
Sanford's Concise Cyclopedia of Religious Ir'noroledge,
j)agti''
471
gives the date of thc bcgilmi~igof Cyrus'
reign as
B.
C.
I n the Scriptures we read: "Now in the first year
of Cyrns X-il~gof Persia. t ha t the word of the Lord
spokm by the mouth of Jerc~i~iiilli ight b~ acconi1)lish
~ t l , he Lord stirred up t l l ~ pirit of Cyras Irii~g of
Persia. that he made a proclanlation throughout all his
kingdom, and put it also in n-riting, saying, Thus saith
Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth
hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and he hat11
charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which
is in Judah. Who is there anlong you of all his people?
The TJord his Oorl be with him. and lot hiin go np."
2
Cflro~licles3G: 22, 23) "Tl~cn rosc
111) t11~
11ic.f of
the fathers of Judah and Ben janii ~~.nt1 tllc l~riest
and the Levites, with all them whdsc spirit God had
raised, to go up to build the house of the Jlortl which is
in
Jerqsalem.
. .
Also Cyrus the k i n ~)rn~r~rlfnrth
the vessels of the house of the Lord, M-liicl~ c ~ l ~ ~ ~
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T O W E R
nczza. had brought forth out of Jerusalem.
. ll
thesc (lid Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the cap-
tivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jeru-
salem." (Ezra 1 5,7,11) ('And when the seventh month
was come and the children of Israel were in the cities,
the people gathered themselves together as one man
to
Jerusalem.
.
They gave money also unto the
ma
eons, and
to
the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and
oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring
cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according
t the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia."-
Ezra
3
: I,?
;
ee also Ezra
5 :
12-14.
'Phis Scriptural proof ~liows hat the Jews' captivity
to 13abylon elided with the first year of the reign of
Cyrus; and the secular historians above cited show that
that year was 536 B. C. I n the next succeeding point
will be observed the Scriptural proof showing that
the
date
536
B. C. is correct, which proof also shows that
the date 606 B. C. is the beginning of the gentile times.
POINT V1: DESOLAT ION NOT CAPTIVITY
hluch cor~fusionhas resulted from using the words
captivity, servitude, and desolation as synonymous
tenus: The Jews were in captivity niore thail once and
for different periods of time; but there
was only
one
period of desolation. It is true that tlic Jews were in
captivity during the period of tlcsolation, but such cap-
tivity was merely incidental to the desolation. Their
f i r ~ t aptivity to Nebuchatll~ezzar began ,in tlie year
61 7 U. C., and not until elrvrl~years thereafter was
the land made desolate, withoilt an inhabitant. What
God intended for us to underetand must be determined
by the language employed in his tlecree for the punish-
ment of Israel. Therein he said : I will make your
cities waste, and bring pour sanctuaries unto
desola-
t ion, and I will not smell tlie savor of your slreet odors.
And I
will
bring the lalld into
desolutwn;
and your
enemies which dwell thcrrin ~ 1 ~ ~ 1 1e n~tot1i41ed t it."
(Leviticus 26
:
31, 32) Time and again the Lord re-
stated the decree through the mouth of Jeremiah: I
will make Jerusalem heaps. and a den of clragons; and
I will make the cities of Judnh d e s o l a t ~ .~~i tholr tn in-
habitant". (Jeremiah
9
: 11
;
ee also Jrrc~n~iah
3 :
10
;
34: 22) As heretofore seen, this tlivine tlecrec was en-
forced with the ovcrttirow of Zedelriali in the year 606
B. C.
The period of this drr;olation of the larid is fixed by
the Scriptures as seventy years. The pt~rposc f the en-
forcement of the divine decree as ~ e torth in 2 Chroni-
cles
36:
18-20 was "to fulfill thc word of the TJord by
the mouth of Jeremiah, 111iti1 hr Innd hnc ~njoyetlher
sd,l)atlis; for as long as she
lay desolate
sne kept sab-
bath, to fulfill threescore and ten years . (Verse 21)
The prophet Jeremiah had ?aid : "This whole land shall
be a desolati~n. nd an nqtonishment ;and these nations
&all serve the king of lhbjlon aeventy years2'.--Jere
miah
25:
11.
DESnl ATE FOR SEVENTY Y E A R S
The proof lien4.of'ore adduced shows tliat tlir rcign o
Cyrus began in the year 536 B.
C.;
and that tlie firs
year of his reign marked the end of the dcsolation o
the laud, in which year he issued a decree for the re
building of Jerusalem. The Scriptures cited show tha
this period of desolation was to be seventy years i
duration. Counting back, then, seventy years from 53
13 C. brings us to 606 B. C., con11)lctcly corroborutil
the other line of proof showing that 606 U.
C.
is th
date when the crown was removed from Israel, when th
desolation began, and when the gentile times began.
Incjdcntally, here we remark that mnch has bcrn sai
about tlie ni~ tete en ears
of the reign of Nebucliadurzza
before the overthrow of Zedekiah; and an attempt i
made
to
show that this indicates that there is a paralle
of nineteen years to
be
fulfilled with reference to tli
close of the gentile times and the complete fall of gen
tile governments. There is absolutely no justification
for any such conclusion.
It
is not warranted by reaso
nor by Scriptures. The nineteen years have nothing
whatsocvcr to do with thc gentile tinie~,lic4r beginning
end, or the overthrow of governments.
It
has merel
been injected to confuse the minds of some.
\Ye
niigli
as well say that because a rat has "nine livr?' i t v~11
take nine years to kill all t l ~ c ots. as to
x y
that, 11
cause Nebuchadliezzar reiglied nil~ctrrn ears beforo li
overthrew Zedelriah, therc~fore lie o ~wtl ir onof gc~iit
dominioil ivould be nineteen years aftcr 1 )14. 'l'lie ar
gument is unreasonable, uiiscriptural, aritl ~ioi~sc~i
POINT
VII:
TH E END USTER PROCEEDINGS BEGUN
Upon all the evidence there cannot be the sliglites
doubt about the gentile times. Tlic 1ra.r of univclrsa
dominion to the gentiles could not brgin as long a
there was a vestige of God's typical kingtlom. It mat
ters not when the lieathen king Nehuchadnezzar began
his reign. The nineteen years of his reign so mlich
spoken of are wholly in~material. or c i~n o the issnc
The possession and exercise of i111l)tbrial dominion by
Israel, symbolized by the crown.' ceased when that crown
was removed, to wit, when tlie last ruler of Israel wa
detliroiled. That occurred in 606 U C. Thcre tlie do
nlinioil to the whole world was left in the haitds of the
ger:tiles, which date is by every line of proof fiscd as
6OG B. C There the period of gentile domillion began
Ueing seven s-ymbolic times in duration, to wit, 2520
years, it ended in 1914 A. D.
But, say those nho oppose Brother Russell's conclu
sions, what has happened to show that tlie gcntilo times
have ended? Are ~ ~ o tl ic gent i le govor l~~~~c~~till rx
erci~i ng uling power? Are not things going on tliey
'were from the beginning?
\\re answer, Everrtliing has happened that the Lord
foretold would happen. With the close of the [Jeyish)
year 1914, he whose right
it is
thok unto himself his
great power and began
his
reign; the nations were an
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i
WATCH
TOWER
gry, aiicl the day of God's wrath began.--Lw :icl 21 :
ycoyl[l iiiiglit reeog~lize hc 11ideouslic.e~of Satan's em
27 lievclation 11
: 1:. 1s
pirc ailtl the blcssc(lncss offered by the 3Iessianic em
GENTILE
TIMES ENIIE N 1914
On the first day
o
Octoher, 1914, Urotlicr li~iasell
walked illto the cliniilg-rooni at Ilitlicl and, cla1tl)ilig
his hands, aiiiiouiiced ill ~t~iitori;il~olies: "'l'lic g1111tile
tiiiics have ended 'l'lie kings of earth liavc llatl tlicir
day " Urotlier ltussell was riglit then. l i e ~vas ight
when he wrote Volunlc I1 concerning tlie gentilc tilnes.
If thc contciition of liis opponeilts co~iccriling lironolo-
gy
is right, then everything that tmiiwl)ired in 1014 and
since must be disregarded as evidence of 11essiall's king-
dom. It is admitted by them that the tenure of office
of I~rael'skings must be cl~angetl n order to ngrre with
some liistorians who w ~ r c griits of Satan. Such
a
change would put out of jo i~ it ll our chronology. and
destroy the value of the datcs 1874, 18?8, 1881, 1910,
1914, and 1918. Such would be equivalent to saying,
"Where is the proof of his presc5na?" "My Lord
de-
layeth his coil~i::;:."--2 Pctcr :; : 1 ; fatthew 24 :48.
Is any Christian so bliud tliat he cannot see what
hnj11)cnctl in 191-1; and thereafter, evidencing the end
of tlie gerltilc times? 13y way of illustration: A tenant
holds a piece of property under a lease, which lease ex-
pires January
1
1914. The tenant refuses to vacate.
The landlord, in order to legally olltain possession, must
institute 0nstc.r proceedings. God granted to the gentiles
a lease of dominion for a term of 2620 years, which term
or lease ended about August, 1914. Then came forward
the T,andlord, the rightful Ruler (Ezekiel 21
27 ,
and
begail ouster proccedings. It is not to be expected that
he would sucldenly wipe everything out of existence,
for that is not the wav the Lord does things; but that
pi,,(; to tlic cull that nlniiy of th s might be broug
1 io
llrougli tlic trouble and be rcady for the restor. t '
bl:~.ings that are to follow.
T o this end, exactly on time, the ouster procceding
begait in the Worltl War, followcd clliicltly by famin
pestilence, and revolution, the re1i:itilitation of Palee
tine by the Jews, persecution of Christians in*variou
parts of the earth, oiferises amongst those who claim t
be Jesus' followers, wllilc the love of many waxed cold
All of these things Jesus stated would constitute a try
ing time, a trial of faith and patience, which would b
so severe tliat only 'he that endurcth to the end shoul
bc
savcd'. (Matthow 24: 7-13) llrliilc tllc~scoustcr pro
cecdil~gs re in progress, lie coninla~:dshis followers
tell the people that Satan's empire has ended; tha t th
gentile times have elided
;
hat the world has ended, an
here is the proof of i t ; that the kingdom of heaven
a t hand; that the time of restoration is here; that mi
lions now living will never die; and that "this gosp
[good news] of the Iringdom sliall he preached in a
the world for a witricss unto all i~:~tions,nd then sha
the end come".
Are those who oppose the co~iclusions of Brothe
Russell concerning clironology obeying this comman
of giving the witness? Do wc liild thosc who arc i
harmony with his colielusioiis eo~iccriliiig lic gc*iit
times obeying this injunction and preaching the ev
dences of the kingdom and that millions now livin
will never die? Surely everything has happened exact
as the Lord snit1 it would 1ial)l)eli co~icorlii~iglitt cn
of the gentile times.
he would overrule thk contending element;, causing
What will tral i~pire n 1925? Wait 11pon the Lor
these to destroy the present order; and that \mliile this
and see. Be faithful to present privilcgc~s. Every Chri
is going on he would have his faithful followers give a
tian's faith is on trial. "According to your faith be
'tremendous witness in the world, s that the teachable
unto you."
TEXAS CONVENTION
A
OUR-DAY convention of the Bible Students
was held at Dallas, Texas, March 9 to 12, Pil-
grim Brother Edward Stark serving as chair-
man. The other speakers were Brothers V
C
Rice,
S
H
Toujian,
G
R
Pollock,
0.
Magnuson, Scott
Anderson, A.
H
Macmillan, and Brother Rutherford.
The convention
was
attended by friends from Texas,
Olilahoma, ICan.~as,Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri,
the largest number of friends attending on any one day
being about five hundred. It was indeed good to be
there, and on every face was obscrvcd the happy Chris-
tian smile. Frequently the remarli \Itas made: 'This is
the best convention
I
have ever attcndcd'.
These conventions serve as a great uplift and strength
to
the friends, particularly the isolated ones. They liave
very little fellourship with others, and coming to a con-
vention of several (laye is to them like transformatio
into a n entirely diflerent atmosplic~re. The testimon
meetings gave stro~lg viclencc of tlti,s, the friclltls show
ing
by their testi~nonieshat they are not only
rejoicin
in
the opportiiiiities of service, but are growing i
knowledge of tlie Lord's plan and thc fruits and grace
of the spirit.
On Sunday morning a question meeting was conduc
ed by Brother Rutherford and we append hereto a fe
of the questions and answers:
Qticstion: Is Jr hu
a
type of thc p a t company?
A,nsu*or:
No. l hc Script~ire~lml.ly indicntc tlia
Jehu did not
represent
a spiritual class. Some time ag
the Society requested the Pilgrim brethren not to die
cuss in their discourses Jehu in antitgl)e, bccausc it ha
been deemed a wise course
to
take.
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upon
talrh distress ol nallons r l t h ~erplexltr; t an and Ole wares (the resU~ ss, dl~conlented) ronrlng: men' hearts falllns them for fear and lor lwklng ta
tbr
t l ~f i l s l
upan
the earth (t oel ev) .
for tho
pu
of
the ber nm (ecdr~lastlclsmj rhsll
be
shahen. When
Ye s
thew thin-s
hrrln tn nlme to
plw
a n now
(hat
the KLnOdom of
Ood
n
at
band.
Lo
up,
l l f t
m
lour
brad ,
relola, for
l o w
ndc m~ tlo n draw&
dlh-Matt
24:33;
Mnri
3:
29:
Luke
2 1 :
25 15
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VOL
XLIII
MAY 15
1922
HRONOLOGY
So
n
But 8amctify the Lord God in yozir I~enrts;and be ready alzcays to give
n
answer to every man that asketh y
a reason of the L O ~l~ lit s in you wi th meekness and fear. -1 Pet er
3:
16
HAVE
no doubt whatever in regard to the
chronology relatin g to th e dates of 1874, 1914,
1918, and 1025. Some claim to have found new
lig ht in connection with t he period of seventy years of
desolation and Israel's captivity in Babylon, an d are
zealously seeking to make others believe that Brother
Russell was in error.
Th e apostle Ja m es assures us tha t if any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God, th at giv eth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth no t; and it shall be given
him . We believe tha t promise and daily pctition fo r
heavenly wisdom and grace to be guided arigh t. We
also believe tha t th e prayers of t he sa ints ascend daily
to the thron e of heavenly grace for divine guidance as
to what shall appear in THE
WATCH
OW ER, nd we
are very appreciative of t ha t fact.
n
accurate understan ding of chronology apparently
is not a necessity to salvation. Th e su b~ ec t as been
largely concealed during the dark ages, and doubtless
many saints have made their calling and election sure
without th e aid of the chronological featu res hidden in
the Bible. B ut they had a knowledge sufficient for
their time. Even now some find it very difficult to
grasp chronology fully, and therefore depend upon the
explan ations of others. However, a fuller understand-
ing of th e times an d seasons affords a great joy to th e
toiling saints of God, and is a st im u l~ ~ so zeal.
.
.
Tow ard the close of the gospel age, in harm ony w ith
th e prophecy of Dan iel, God began to opcn th e flood-
gates of knowledge along many lines, in preparation fo r
the incoming kingdom . As people began to awake
to
the light, they comnlenccd to investigate and explore in
every direction. Old libraries were ransacked, long-
buried cities were excavated, in search of more light
upon the hidden past.
heralded f a r an d wide with a gre at show of wisdo
Some of t he discovered records give evidence of gr
age, and are accordingly given much weight as auth
ity. Conclusions are drawn by co mpa ring various w
ings from difFcrent countries, and an endeavor made
piece together broken fragments, found here and the
l h t even af ter their best
endeavors,
they ar e often for
to ad mit tliat the ir coilclusioris cannot be proved. C
tradictions are often found in some, and connecti
cannot be made in others.
Some of their best authorities are found a t tim
to be u nrc1 iol)le ; as, for illst:~licc., Josrp lius an d l'tolcm
These mcn lived diving tlie first two centuries af
Christ. They had d ifliculty in compiling their recor
for complete data were not acccssiblc to them. No d o
t h ry d id thc b c ~ tl~ c y oultl untlcl- thr ir limitcd circu
stauces. 'l'licy ar e acccpted 'as among the best tliat sc
lar history can produce.
From these and from othe
certain dates have been generally accepted by histori
11-ritera; but to be generally accepted does not necessa
imply absolute accuracy. However, to impress the ~ ~
gf their wisdom upon their readers, these conclusi
are often stated i n positive langyage, and t he studen
inclined to accept them a t their face statem ent with
further investigation.
But why rely upon uncertainties tvhen the Lord h
provided in his Word a complete reliable record fr
Adam to the return of the+ Jew s rom liahylon, and fr
that time on secular records are reliable?
Tllougli
the casual reader there are apparent brcdrs, God h
so overruled that every such break is fully bridged el
where. We need not trace all th e tangled an d brok
threa ds of secular chronology when we have a stra ig
one to follow. T he adv ersary has always endeavored
deceive people. No dou bt he' has ha d m uch t o do towa
causing the confusion in the historica l records of an ci
histori where he could not dcstroy them altogcthcr.
SOUGHT TO DISCREDIT
BIBLE
Bu t in spite of Satan's attemp ts thus to break co
T h e worldly-wise have a l ~ a y s isliked the Bible, b e nections, God.has continued to keep a n unbroken l
cause it discounted their wisdom and held it up to
that his people may not walk
in
darkness.
1
Thessa
scorn. Th ey would rejoice greatly if they could prove
nians 5: 1-6) However God has purposely hidden the
it unt rue. With eagerness, tlierefore, have they searched
from the worldly-wise, who prefer to walk in the lig
long and diligently to th at end. Any new discovery ie
of their own wisdom.-Daniel 2: 10.
47
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T ~ W A T C H
OWER
TRUE BIBLE CHRONOLOGY
For the benefit of ,some who mav not be so familiar
with these divine records and for* some of the more
recent' readers of THE WATCHTOWER nd also that
all may refresh themselves with tliese beautiful trutlis,
we herewith epitomize the l i~le f -chronology. For de-
tails as to the first six periods here given we refer the
reader to pages 42 to 50 of Volume
11,
STUDIES
N
THE
SCRIPTURES
Years
From creation of Atl:~mto the entl of the flood...... ..... 1056
From the flood to the covenant with Abraham
..........--.-.
427
From the covenant with Abraham to the Exodus
....-......
430
From the Exodus lo lhe tlivisioli of
th
land
.....-.... ..-.
....
46
Period of the .Judgrs of Israel.........-..-.-------.-..-.-.--..-..50
Saul to Zedekiah (21 kings).......................-..--------------.------13
Creation of -4dam to clethrontxment of Zedekiah
The break in the Old Testament records as to the
length of the time the Judges ruled, and the length
of the reign of King Saul are carefully covered in the
New Testament. Evidently this is of God's overruling
for the edification of his people.
It is
in
the endeavor to connect secular records with
the Bible record at the time of the seventy years of
drsolation that some claim
to
have found the new light.
'Practically all agree that B C. 536 'was the first year
of Cyrus mentioned in Ezra
1: 1,
at wllicll time such
Jews as desired were permitted to return to Jerusalem.
From thence we have connected records to the present.
There can be no exception taken to the line showing
that the last ycar of Zcdekiah
\\.as A M
3622, as shown
above. 'I'hcrc is uo
contention
about thc first ycar oE
Cyrus being
B C
53G. It does make considerable dif-
ference where these two records are connected as to
what pear
A I.
we are now .in.
TH E PERIOD OF CAPTIVITY
111 Jrlcmiah 29: 10 and 85:
11,
12 a period of cap-'
tivity of 70 years is mentioned. When did this period
b-::in? Thc Bible locates the time definitely as 3522
A I.
GO6
13
C.), the 19th p a r of King Nebuchadnez-
zar.. Secular historians vary considerably. The question
hinges upon the date of the omm men ement of the 70
years period, some calling
it
the 70 years of captivity
and others the 70 years of desolation . Does the cap-
tivity synchronize with the desolation?
Ilaniel
9 :
25 states tha t from the going forth of the
commandment to restore and build Jernsalem unto Mes-
siah the Prince would be 69 weeks of symbolic time,
483 years actual time. Jesus became Messiah the Prince
at his baptism. A. D. 29, as chown fully in Volume 11,
page 60. 483 years less the 29 A D would leave 454
B
C. as tlie date when Nehemiah received his com-
mission from King Artaserxes to rebuild the city qnd
the walls. 454 B. C. was 82 years af kr 536 B.
C.
and
the Jews were still under the dominion of Babylon.
Comparing Nehemiah
5 :
14 hnd 13
:
6 we find the Jews
still under the yoke of Babylon, bringing the date down
12 pears later, or to
442
13 CI This would make a
period of
9
years after the return of some in 536 B.
C
If we add the 70 years to that we have a total of at lea
164 years, 606 to 442
13
C. under the king of .Babylo
We see in a moment, then, that the desolation an
captivity therefore could liot synchronize The Uibl
testimony is clear that the Jews first became tributar
to Babylon three years before the death of Jehoiakim
(2 Kings 24: 1); ut Jerusalem was not captured, no
did Nebuchadnezzar appear before the city, at that time
At the end of the three years Jehoiakim rebelled, Nebu
chadnezzar took the, city, Jehoiakim died; and Nebu
chadnezzar left Jehoiachin, a son of Jehoiakim, on th
throne. He ruled only three months and was carric
captive to Babylon, together with Daniel and his thre
companions and Ezekiel. Zedekiah, an uncle of Jehoia
chin, was left upon the throne. The city was left, th
Temple was not destroyed, nor was the governme
overthrown.
SEVENTY YEARS OF DESOLATION
We now desire to review some positive evidcnce'tha
the 70 years of desolntion did not 1)cgili to count fro
thi,ci capture of Jerusalem. Not until the overthrow
Zedekiah, 11 years still later, did it count. I n Levitic
25 the law of the jubilee is given. Every fiftieth ye
was to bc a jubilee. Jewish reckoning was thus divide
into semi-centuries, an easy nianner of computing tim
Elcry fifty-first year would l)e the first year of anoth
jubilee cycle of 50 years. IIad the Jews been obedie
to their law, there co~lltlhave 11ec.n no doul~t s to th
chronological record; for tliry cvould never have go
into captivity, and would have preserved their recor
without interference. Did their disobedience alter Gor
outlined time arrangements for. the bringing in of tl
antitype? No inti~notion f such a changr is fomid, b
on the contrary the evidence is that he held to h
original plan..
Leviticus 26
:
31 to 35 rcalls as follolvs
:
31
And I wil l n~trl;e yolil' cttieq ?r.cr..lr1. 1:1r1
i try
yo
yo
anctzcaries zcnto dcrolmtio,a, and I will not sn~ el l he s.1
of your sweet ot1ol.s.
32
A.nd I will b r i ~ ~ gke lawd illto dcsolntioll
:
:tntl yo
enemies which d\vclll tl~c~l.einhtill he f~sto~~isht*tlt it.
33
And I will scnttcr yon
I I I I ~ O I I F :
ile 11cr1lll~11,
~ r i t l
w
draw out a s\vord nfter you: ilnd your lnittl shall be desoln
and
your
cities waste.
34 Then shall the land ei~iol j er snbbcttl~s,as long
It lieth desolate, and ye be n
uoz11-
cneit~ics' and, zzjen th
shall the land rest,
and
enjolj
Rcl.
sabbrrihn.
35
As long
as
(t lietlc dcaokrte it shrrll rest: because
did
not rest n flour ~nbhntlts.rlltr,n t1c
t l~ c7t
wpott it.
This is a
prophetic
statc~~iicilt,ut atltlrrsscd to t
nation. I t did not rcst when ye dz lt r?jaslf
upon it shows clcarly that 11o11rof the time ~rl iilr 1
were on the land wonld be co~~iitctl. he word he
rendered 'd~velt' is the same Hebrew word
(yns lrn
tha t is rendered 'inhabitai~t' in Jeremiah 44: 22
P
shab
is rendereii 'dwell'
4 4
tin~rs, rcliiain' 23 ti~i
'sit' 25 times, 'inhabitant' 31 times, and by vario
other rendering in the King James version. The
nat i
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*WATCH
TOWER
was not to be an illhabitant; for it was to the nation
that the statement ~ i ade. God foreknew what course
it ,would take, aiid so he foretold how he would deal
with it.' The people would be sent into the land of their
enemies; their
land
their c i t ie~ nd their sanctuaries
would all be laid waste and become desolate. The length
of the time of desolation is not here stated, except that
it would be long enough for the land to enjoy her
sabbaths . There is no Scripture
to
prove that' the land
was denuded of every individual.
NEBUCHADNEZZAR S THREE MOVES AGAINST JEWS
Nebuchadnezzar went against Jerusalem three .times,
in person or by his orders: first, in the eighth year of
Jehoiakim, which was the fifth year of Nebuchadnezzar
(2
Kings
24: 1);
econd, during the three'months reign
of Jehoiachin, who followed Jehoiakim, three years
later, which was the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar (2
Kings 24: 2) Apparently Jehoiachin put up - no de-
fence, but surrendered without a fight.
At' this time
(617 B. C.) Daniel and his companions and Ezekiel
ere carried captive
to
Babylon.
It
is from this date
that Ezekiel dates his prophecies, Ezekiel
8.:1
;
0 1.
Although Nebuchadnezzar took many captives and
much treasure on the second invasion, he did not remove
the nation. He left a king upon the throne, many people
in the cities, and the Temple and its sanctuaries. The
government was still recognized, and therefore the pro-
phecy of Leviticus 26: 31-36 could not yet be applied.
It
was not yet true I will make your citiee waste, and
bring your sanctuaries unto desolation.
and I will
bring the land into desolation .
The third time was 11 years later. (606 B.
C.
The
reCord
in
2
Chronicles
36
1421
s very explicit, making
mention of the Temple, the cities and the land.
18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and
small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the
trensures of the king, and of his princes; all these he
brought to Babylon.
9 And they burnt the house of God, and brake dotun
the wall of Jerusalem and burnt all the palaces thereof with
are, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
20 And
them that had escaped from the sword carried
he nwny to Bnbylon, where they were servants to him and
his sons until tile reign
of
the kltlgdom of I'ersla,
21
To fulflll the word of the Lord
by
the mouth of
Jeremiah, un il the
l nd
had enjoyed her sabbatlu: for as
long as sh [the land1 lay desolate
he
kept her sabbath, to
fulfill threescore
and
ten years.
Here is the complete statement
in
a nutshell-the
axplanation of the desolation of the sanctuaries, the
waste of the cities, and the desolation of the land,
without an inhabitant'? nation. No nation was per-
mitted to hold a dwelling on the land while the Jewe
were in Babylon. Here commenced the fulfilling of the ,
prophecies of Leviticus 26 31-35 eremiah 25 8-11;.
29
: 0; 44,: 2;
nd Daniel 9
:2.
This shows conclu-
sively- hat the
lmd
was ta be desolate, to rest for 70
years; and that the desolation began a t the downfall
of
Zedekiah, 606 B. C. and closed at the first year of
Cyrus, 636 B.
C.
Thus 3592 A. M. and
U.
C. 536 are
joined clearly.
Note again the fiuthcr s tatenlei~ts f the Scriptures
Those who returned did not all go to Jerusalem, but
unto Jerusult,n~and Jntluh, v ry on t ~ f i t o
is
own
city . They did not have to reconquer the land; their
cities were still waiting their return. This shows clearly
that the previous order was restored to considerable
extent, the rehabitation of the country and the cities
and the reestablishment of the sanctunry at Jerusalem.
(Ezra 2
:
1, 70; 1-6)Thus the beginning and the end
of the period known as the
70
years desolation are so
clearly marked we do not see how blicre can be any
question whatsoever.
UNRELIABLE SECULAR CHRONOLOGY
How can this be harrnollized with secular chronology
which states that Nebnchadnezzar began to reign in
606 B. C., reigned 43 gears, and died in 5G1 B. C.?
We are not called upon to harmonize the Bible with
secular chronology any more than nre are expected to
harmonize the gospel of the Bible
n
th secular creeds
It is for the students of secular chronology to harmonize
their records with the Bible. All Script1u.c given by
inspiration of God [and the Scriptures quoted abov
mufit have been given by inspiration of God] is prolit
able for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for in
struction in righteousness; that the man of God may be
thoroughly furnished unto all good works .
The Bibl
is clear and connected, while the worldly records ar
acknowletlged to be faulty, disconncctcd, unreliable,
ant
fragmentary. Daniel 12: 10 foretells that the worldly
wise will not accept God's Word, and therefore shall no
understand. They will lean unto their own wisdom and
thus be misled, and on this account God will send to
them an energy of delusion, to their believing the false
hood .--2 Thessalonians
2 :
11.
It makes no difference to the
student of the Bibl
whether Evil Merodach and Belshazzar were the only
two kings to follow Nebuchadnezzan until Cyrus; o
whether, as some claim, there were several others also
nor how long each one is said to have individually
reigned. The period is fully covered by the records abov
cited. Besides, the testimony of the larger cycles fully
corroborate them, thus making a cable and not a single
thread. Those who are humble enough to rely upon the
Word of God will be wise enough
to
understand, and
these are all that are desired by the Lord a t the presen
time. I n the near future, when
all
those kings ant1
rulers and historians shall have returned, it will be an
easy matter to straighten out all the snarls. There no
adversary will be permitted to interfere.
Recapitulating then, the Bible record is conclusive
that the first year of Nebuchadnezzar synchronizes with
the fourth year of king Jehoiakim, which was the year
3503 A.M. or 625 B. C. The nineteenth year of Nrlw
chadnezzar coniiects with the eleventh year of Zed~~ki;
and was 3522 A. 116 or 606 B. C Seventy years
I a t y
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= W A T C H
T O W E R
when the Jews rctnrned to their land, connects with the
first year of Cyrus, and would be 3592 A. M. or 536
B.
C. Thus 1922 is 6050 A. M. s shown on THE
W TCH OIVBR-3592 plus 536 plus 1922.
ST MPED WITH GOD 8 APPR OVAL
It was on this line of reckoning that the dates 1874,
1914, and 1918 were located; and the Lord has placed
the stamp of his seal upon 1914 and 1918 beyond
ny
possibility of erasure. W hat fur the r evidence do we need?
Using this same measuring line, beginning with the
entry of the children of Israel into Canaan, and count-
ing th e full 70 cycles of 50 years each, as clearly ind i-
cated by Jehovah's sending of the Je ws into Babylon fo r
the full 70 years, it is an easy matter to locate 1925,
probahly th e fall, for $he beginning of t he antitypic al
jubilee. Th ere can be no more question about 1925 thar .
there mas about 1914. The fac t that all the things that
some looked for in 1914 did not materialize does aot
alter the chronology one whit. Notin g the date marked
so prominently, it is very easy for the finite mind to
conclude th at all thc work to be done mu st ccntcr abont
it, and thus many are inclined to anticipate more tl~an
has been really foretold. Th us it was in 1844, in 1874,
in 1878 as well as in 1914 and 1918. Looking back wc
can now easily see that those dates were clearly indi-
cated in Sc riptu re and doubtless intended by the Lor d to
encourage his people, as they did, as well as to be a
means of te sting an d siftin g when all th at some expectrtl
did not come to pass. Th at a ll tha t some expect to see
in
1925 may not transpire that year will not alter the
date one w hit more t ha n in th e other, cases.
The preparations for the kingdom have been coming
on
apace, an d th e announce ment of it is being heralded
with a world-wide witness. Th e results follow ing~ t
aat es of 1918 an d 19 21 indicate more an d more distinct
ly that they were turning-points or mile-stones on th
chronological highway, ancl clearly foreknown and fore
told by the D esigner of the 1)ivinc Pl an of th e Age
Th e trump et of liberty for the people has been sound in
with ever-increasing volume since 1918, and the worl
is staggering like a drunken man. Never before has
been so
inanifest that '"there is nothing covered, tha
shall not be revealed; neither hid that shall not b
known". (Luke 1 2: 2) All the signs indicate tha t th
world is in the rapids of the coming cataclysm, unabl
to rescue itself, a nd yet unw illing to accept divine assi
tance.-Jeremiah 51
:
, 9.
t
seems that God has permitted the adversary to dis
connect every othe r lin e of chronology prio r to the t im
of C yrus. No .don bt S ata n though t he had succeede
completely until God overruled that St. Paul shoul
give just the needed information in his writings. T
some this is a tes t of fa ith. To the consecrated child o
God i t is anothe r man ifestatio n of God's care ful con
sidcm tion for th e needs of his children, of his provisio
for their protection in matters of instruction
ant rtlif
cation. f others prefer worldly wisdom, that is thei
privilege. God has promised th at his instruc tion wi
perfec t th e "man of Godyy.W e need to pu t on t he 'whol
arm or of God, tha t we may
e
able to withstand i
the evil day, and having done all [this] to stand [hav
in g assured ourselves of God's ful l provision fo r ou
protection, we need not to worry, but to rely upon him
fully and conficlcntlyl'. A prominent p art of th is armo
is the shield of faith, in his Word, wherewith we ar
able to qaench (ward off) all these da rts of unbelie
which are liable to wound even unto death.
WITNESSES
FOR
THE TRUTH
These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness. -Revelation : 14
I
HAS been a rule for some time observed by the
Bible Students to have a t xt for the year and a
text for th e week fo r special consideration an d
meGitation. Th e consideration of these texts is intended
to enable the followers of Ch rist to keep in mind the
character of th e perfect Pa tte rn a nd to be conformed
thereto. Th at this is the proper course for the Christian
is abund antly testified to by the Scriptures. Th e apostle
Paul writing to the church said: "We all with open
Face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the s pirit of th e Lord". ( 2 Corinthians
:
18 A mir ror is used to rcf kct t he image of one who
loolts into
it.
I n t his instance the Bible is symbolized
by a mirror, w hich Bible reflects the character of J &
hovah and of the Lord Jesus. Th e spirit-begotten
anointed ones have their faces opened or unveiled. Th is
is the result of the illu mina tion tha t comes to those who
are anointed
of
th e holy spirit. To such God has re-
vealed th e deep thi ng s of his Word.-1 Co rinth ian s 2
9 10.
OUR
MINDS TRANSFORMED
Th e mind of the new creature is the battle-ground
The m ind is tha t which,is to be transformed. (Roinan
1 2: ) The figure, then, here given by thc Apostle an
stated in other phrase
is
to
this effect: As new crea
ture s in Chris t Jes us our vision is opened. We dcsire t
have our minds transformed. T o do this we are to loo
into God's Word as thoug h we were looking into t mir
ror; and looking into it we see the reflection of Jeho
vah's chara cter an d th e chara cter of his beloved Son
ancl thus beholding, the transformation from onc ile
gree of glory to a greater degree takes place, even b
the spirit of the Lord.
La st year o ur week-texts used for th e prayer meeting
related to Jehovah, the Father. Th is year our week
tex-ts relate to t he Son. These various texts enable u
to
view th e Lord fr om different standpoints. How,
th-.
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ban
Lbe talrb dsue nf muons
fth
per~1erlgr
tbt
m rod
(tw mf.ks dlseonkotnl)
rolrrln6,
- a fmbl U f a nu t nn
r d
f@w~
tblm
comxn~ upon
tbs nb ( c o d e ) ; r e
mpo n
tbc hpa-
(cccle cm)
onu
mn p
k h
to l pu
o t rt
the
K l ~ d o m
f
j
t
ug
w,
*,
f r
lopr
l dempdolr
-*- *
%1:31:
I s : B:
31:2CI
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A
WEPALD
O
CWRBST S PRESENCE
POL.
XLIII J U ~ E 1922 No.
SEVENTY
YEARS'
DESOLATION
(PART 1)
wThsm
that
had
escaped
from
the
w o r d carried
he [Nebuclurdnezzar]
away to
Babylon, where they were servan
to Aim and hzs
sons
tmtil the reig~a f the kingdom of P e r k : to fulfil the
word
of the Lord by the
mouth of Jeremiah,
until
the land had enjoyed her sabbaths;
for
as long
as she
lay desoldte
she
kept
sabbath
to fulfill
threesm6 nd ten yeurs. -9 Chronicles SO:
0,
g2.
F
OM time to time
Bible
students who quite evi-
heresies among you, that they which
me
[divinely
dently are either unfamiliar with all the teachings
approved may be made manifest among you. 1 Co
of present truth or
unappreciative
of
the
thorough-
inthlans
11:18, 19) If any
finally decide
that
the
going convincingness of what has
been
brought out do not desire to reman with us in our service of
th
through
the
SocietyZ disco\er
some
error in proved Lord, they most follow their own
consciences;
but w
present truth. Without
~ ~ u t l n g
o communicate
with
may rest
in
the Lord, sssured that, whoever they
ma
the Society,
which could
help tl~em,
nd
without making be that leave
us,
; they went
out
from w, but they we
a
thorough search and althout properly ascertaining not
of us; for if
they had been
of us, they would n
the weight of evidence
pnbllslled
and the insubstantial- & I ~ M
hare
continued with us: but they went ant th
ity
of their own findmgs 1 Timothy
3
6
; Timothy they might be made manifest that
they
were
not d
4: 4 ,
they
rush
to communicate their new
ideaa to
of us .
1
John
2: 19)
These are the promised
ahakin
others. A few others, no better grounded in the truth which will shake everything except tha t which cannot
than
these
mistaken leaders,
follow
their injudicious shaken. (Hebrew6
12
7) However, let the church fe
course,
and
are led into
a
state of uncertainty and not the slftinga and ahakings; for these
are
part of th
doubt; and some of them, especially of the leaders, divinely-promised work of the complete Cleansing
forsake the way of
present
truth, abandon the oppor- the church
as
it a p p h e a he
end
of
the
way. (Ma
tunities
and privileges of co-working with
God
2
Cor-
thew
13
1
;
Revelation
I
5)
Rather let the churc
inthians
6 : 1 )
and of
suffering with
Christ Philip of God rejoice at these evidences of the'FatherYsatten
pians 1
9 ,
separate
themselves
from
those
in
present tion to
it
welfare,-John
15
.
truth,
lightly
leave their crowns
to
others (Revelation
3 I),
and
m ke ~ h i p m k f their
glorious
hopea.
WEEN m
THE
8
YEARS
BEGIN?
(1 Timothy 1
9 )
The uniform experience
in
all such This time
it
is
the matter
of
the date
cd the
be@nin
abandonment.
of
the faith and in the divisions so in-
of the
seven@
years
desolation of Jndea and of wheth
augurated is that they start
out with
a loud noise of
it
was all
desblotion or
all captivity.
This
is testing th
professions of loyalty
to
abstract troth and soon dimin-
faith of some.
This
has been fully and adcgiatdy C ~
ish in numbern and zeal untll either wholly scattered or ered by Pastor R~nssell n The Time
I s
at Hmd
~et tl ed o ~ unto
a state of
inactivity--of ~\~ait lnppon
pages 51 52, and
111great
detail in
Dr. John
and itlorto
the Lortl , as tiley me plcssed to term their slothfrllness Bdgar's 'Great
Pyramid
Passages , Volume
2, p~t
in service.
29-31;
to both of which works we
refer
our rcader
On
account
of
their smallness of numbers,
each
of
But
for
the
benefit
of
those not having U
the
111f
thew p u p s regards itself
tho
Tittle flock . There are
mation at hand we will review
the
salient points,
a
dozen
such
schismatic 'li tt le flocks , cha,r&erlzed by bring them again dearly to remembrance.-2 Peter 3
an
increasing littleness and
by
an absence of the pre-
dicted
glorious
activity in
the warfare
of
the Lamb with
SEVENTY
YEARS' DESOLATION, NOT CApTmr~y
the beast. (Isaiah 61
; Revelation IT 4)
The r e d t
Concerning the desolation
Pastor
Russell mys:cT
i s a slight temporary diminution of the amount of work
dates the seventy
years
desolation eighteen years earli
done
in his
name,
w i t h
a
more than compensating
in-
than shown above. He evidently
makes
he not
u
crease of
zeal
among
hose holding the faith.
common &take
of
regarding those
seven9 years
as
Tbese occurrences
are
the
periodic siftings
and
shak-
period
of cuptivity, whereas the
Lard
4~eclar
Sngs which the Lord has foreknown and which are ed- them
to
be
seventy
years
of dcsolatia, of
the
land, th
dently necessary to cleanse and purify the church; for
the land
should
Iie desolate, without an f i b i b f . , $
9here
be
divisions
amcmg
you.
There mnst
also
be
The
yesn
were
yeam of
deaohtion,
not
c
188
8/19/2019 Watchtower Articles on Chronology - 1922
19/41
SWATCH T O W E R
tivity. This is shown in the Scriptura l hiatoncal record,
which
a n n o t
be
otherwse un(lcrstood, a i d according to
whlch the
S C B C I I ~ Y
pal s d1c1not hegin nntil
ufter
the
overthrow of th e la& king, Zcdckiall,
111
606 13. C.:
Them t h a t
haci
escaped from
the
snord
cnrrled he
[Nebuchaclnezzar, m
GOG
B. C.]
nt\ ay t o
Eabjlou,
n
bere
they were servants [for scvenl~xcars] to h l ~ n n d t o
his
sons, until the
I-clgn
of
the
kmg(tom
of
Persra
tun
der Cyrus,
53G U. C.3
to fullill the \void of the Lord
by the
n~out l l f J c r cnnd~ , n t l l
the
land had ei~joycd
her sal>l>atl~s
or
a long
as
she luj dcso ate she kept
sabbath, to fulfill
t l~rccscorc nd
years*'. (2 Cllroiu-
cles
36
20, 2
1
'l'liis
pas=.qy l ) ra s
of
s~m~l l tuneous
desolutron, scrvltude a i d
capt l~ t .
Other
~ : ~ F ~ ; c ~ R c s
ho\vlng
th.ll
rtccolat ion rneaus wi
th-
out
an
1n11ab1tzln.t
are s follo~\ls
Cc'l'o
~ 1 . 1 1 ~ 1 ~
hy iand
desc~7a
ci
~ n d lzy elties sl~all
e
laid
I\
rt5t e u2 h 7d ct,n rnltlnb t n n i
' J c r e ~ n l c l f r .
"I
1\~11I
n~dcche
c l t ~ c r
l Jutla11 clesolnte, wathout an
(nltab
rttmt.''
-
-J
cr?rniah
9
:
11
" h i
t h ~ s lace.
v
h ~ : h
>-e e q boll
be
clesolnte. .~crtlrorrt
main
ao~d
tthoztt l icfr \f
even
111
the citles of Judafi,
izud
in thc stlmcets of-
3
elur:alcm. -,Tcreminh
33
:
10.
I
\\
111
make the
c l t~e ,
f
JncI~1ia de~olatto t tw ~ t k o u t
an ~nibcaLztnnt.':--;Tcre~~~tnh4 2.
Others that
mtght
hc quctcd
+are
Jeremiah
2
5
;
44 22 ;
m ~ d 1
1, all
~l\o\\l lnghnt the prechcted
ST
enty years' desolatioi~
I ~ e l t ~ l t51 period
sf
that length
in
~vhlch he
land
should. be w~t ho ut
an
~nhat i t an t .
Thls
s t a h was never
reached,
or even
begun, until
after
the
overthroqrv
of
Zedekiah, the
removal
of
the
people
to
Babylon, and the flight of the
small
remiia~ i t nto
Egypt for fear of the Cl~aldeans(Jeremiah*43 1-'i),
leaving
the
land,
as
dlvinely predicted , desolate, 1~1th-
out
an
~n f~a bltan t, o r ''threescore an d ten years .
HISTORICAL CONFIRXATION
The
Jewish historian Josephns? I\ r i t i r~g
fter
the oc-
currence and esprcssing the k~owleclgeof a l l J e ~ g -
who
certainly
were conkersant,
ith
the facts- s a p that
the seventy
gears
nere yeare of
de,oolntcon after the
fall
of the
c ~ t y d e r Zedclaah: He [Nebuchadnczzar]
reduced then1
dl, and
sct
our
tcmple which
was at
Jerusalem on fire
[2
Chroiucles
36 19-21],
nay, re-
moved our people entirely out of
their own
couutry,
and transferred them t o
Ba b~ l on ; vl ~en
t
so happened
that
our city
was desolate
during
the
interval of seveoaty
years, unt i l the d q a of Cyrus
klng
of Persia .--Apion
1: 19.
In anather
place Jo se pl n~ s eltcra tes 11iq staten lent ss
to
th e seventy gears of cleso,lation: But th e k111g of
Babylon,
\\.ha brougllt out the two trilxs rJoda11
and
Bcnjamin],
placcd
no otlier llatloa in t hm coui~try, y
which means al l Judea and Jerusalem, and the temple
c o ~ t i n r ~ d
o
be
a
desert
fo r seventy yearsgJ.-Ant. AX,
8: 7.
It
:a
quit
obvious
that
a
Jewish
historian, even
though not inspired, ~ w u l d
ot
record
the se~enty ea
as
a
desolate or descrtf' state which
Ilegan after t
destruct~on f Jerusalelt~,had t h ~ s ot been the actu
c.onclit~on,as generally l;uo\\n
by
111s people.
It
m
hate
bee11 poe s~ l~ leo-r Josep hus to
be
unceitain
lu. som
detalls
of
ol~scu re iates, b11t i t is beyond th e b o ~ ~ n
possibihty for liml to ha\-e
been
misttiken about su
all
m~por tant ,o ~ ~ t s t a l ~ d l n gtlct of
his
people's lustor
The Jews
of
that time were far more hkely
to h o
the simple
fact,
\\-hethcr those w r e seventy years
desolation or of cnp tl\ity, t ha n is eonle over-zealous h
less 1ix£ornled or nliccinf
ormed
scl