by VM44 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
It is taken as an axiom by the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Adventists that a Biblical prophetic year is 360 days in duration.
But what is the origin of this idea?
The Bible itself does not define a "prophetic year" of 360 days, or any other number of days.
So where did the concept of a 360 day Prophetic Year come from?
--VM44
It was always explained to me that the Israelites worked on lunar months - 12 months of 30 days, then made adjustments as needed. What I never understood, was that if a prophetic year is 360 days, and 1 day = 1 year, then why is the result applied to calendar years? Shouldn't the resulting years also be 360 day years?
The whole 360 day thing is a crock of $#!+
They figure that a "time" is 360 days and that seven times of 360 day "times" is 2520. So the Gentile Times equals 2, 520 "times" or years. But then they add 2520 to 607 and come up with 1914 which are 365 day years. Since it's already established that a "time" is 360 days, shouldn't the 2520 "times" be 360 days each instead of 365 days?
2520 x 360 = 907200
2520 x 365 = 919800
A difference of 12600 days or 34.5 years(365 day years, that is).
The Israelites used the lunar year which is 360 days. Every so often they had to insert an extra month to bring it back in ine with the solar year.
The JW in their working out of the time for the 2,520 years from 607bce to 1914ce used the lunar year of 360 days.
If you convert 2,520 years to days (2530x360) you get 907,200 days. If you then count those days from say 1st September 607bce you would end up at September 1878.
If you convert 2,520 years to days (2530x360) you get 907,200 days. If you then count those days from say 1st September 607bce you would end up at September 1878.
And that's why it doesn't matter if 607 or 587 is the destruction of Jerusalem...907,200 days from either one does not add up to 1914.
They figure that a "time" is 360 days and that seven times of 360 day "times" is 2520. So the Gentile Times equals 2, 520 "times" or years. But then they add 2520 to 607 and come up with 1914 which are 365 day years. Since it's already established that a "time" is 360 days, shouldn't the 2520 "times" be 360 days each instead of 365 days?
I don't remember them ever explaing this little slight of hand. It starts with 360 day years but "magically" changes to 365 1/4 days to get their 1914 date. I sure would like to hear how they said this was done....Anyone know..??
1878 was first mentioned by Russell's former mate Nelson Barbour, an Adventist who published the Herald of the Morning. e claimed thatin 1878 Christ would return to earth, visibly. When this didnt happen he had to bluff his way through it and wrote that Christ had returned but invisible. Taze kinda liked it and took it from there. He calculated a little more, even with the help of the pyramid of Gizeh and came up with a few new dates. 1918 being one of them. Rutherford in his days was intrigued, he needed a little gimmick to present to the flock, mostly ex-catholics at the time who desperately needed to be reassured. So the spaceship JC been going around this globe ever since then. Invisible. I make the same claim about Elvis. Somehow people laugh at me. Dont understand it. Cheers the Fox
The JW's and other Adventist groups draw this idea from four verses in Revelation.
6 The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach.
(Revelation 12)
1260 divided by 3.5 gives 360. This is one prophetic "time." From here, it's a short leap to equate "prophetic times" with "prophetic years." They do this via another passage of Revelation:
2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth."
(Revelation 11)
Their reasoning here is self-evident: 42 months = 3.5 years = 1260 days
QED 1 "prophetic year" = 360 days
