by candidlynuts 4 Replies latest watchtower bible
i'm listening to sickoflies jc committee meeting and the elders use the SI book to show how the society gets to the date 607 by using cyrus's date of 537 and adding 70 yrs..
could someone post that si article or direct me to a post that already has it posted?
I'll start with this...
COUNTING BACK TO ADAM’S CREATION 5 Starting From the Pivotal Date. The pivotal date for counting back to Adam’s creation is that of Cyrus’ overthrow of the Babylonian dynasty, 539 B.C.E. Cyrus issued his decree of liberation for the Jews during his first year, before the spring of 537 B.C.E. Ezra 3:1 reports that the sons of Israel were back in Jerusalem by the seventh month, Tishri, corresponding to parts of September and October. So the autumn of 537 B.C.E. is reckoned as the date of the restoration of Jehovah’s worship in Jerusalem. 6 This restoration of Jehovah’s worship in the autumn of 537 B.C.E. marked the end of a prophetic period. What period? It was the "seventy years" during which the Promised Land "must become a devastated place" and concerning which Jehovah also said, "In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at Babylon I shall turn my attention to you people, and I will establish toward you my good word in bringing you back to this place." (Jer. 25:11, 12; 29:10) Daniel, who was well acquainted with this prophecy, acted in harmony with it as the "seventy years" drew to a close. (Dan. 9:1-3) The "seventy years" that ended in the autumn of the year 537 B.C.E. must have begun, then, in the autumn of 607 B.C.E. The facts bear this out. Jeremiah chapter 52 describes the momentous events of the siege of Jerusalem, the Babylonian breakthrough, and the capture of King Zedekiah in 607 B.C.E. Then, as verse 12 states, "in the fifth month, on the tenth day," that is, the tenth day of Ab (corresponding to parts of July and August), the Babylonians burned the temple and the city. However, this was not yet the starting point of the "seventy years." Some vestige of Jewish sovereignty still remained in the person of Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor of the remaining Jewish settlements. "In the seventh month," Gedaliah and some others were assassinated, so that the remaining Jews fled in fear to Egypt. Then only, from about October 1, 607 B.C.E., was the land in the complete sense "lying desolated . . . to fulfill seventy years."—2 Ki. 25:22-26; 2 Chron. 36:20, 21. 7 From 607 B.C.E. to 997 B.C.E. The calculation for this period backward from the fall of Jerusalem to the time of the division of the kingdom after Solomon’s death presents many difficulties. However, a comparison of the reigns of the kings of Israel and of Judah as recorded in First and Second Kings indicates that this time period covers 390 years. Strong evidence that this is the correct figure is the prophecy of Ezekiel 4:1-13. This prophecy shows that it is pointing to the time when Jerusalem would be besieged and its inhabitants taken captive by the nations, which occurred in 607 B.C.E. So the 40 years spoken of in the case of Judah terminated with Jerusalem’s desolation. The 390 years spoken of in the case of Israel did not end when Samaria was destroyed, for that was long past when Ezekiel prophesied, and the prophecy plainly says that it is pointing to the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. Thus, "the error of the house of Israel," too, terminated in 607 B.C.E. Counting back from this date, we see that the period of 390 years began in 997 B.C.E. In that year, Jeroboam, after the death of Solomon, broke with the house of David and "proceeded to part Israel from following Jehovah, and he caused them to sin with a great sin."—2 Ki. 17:21.
The dumb a$$es are forgetting that Nebuchadnessar (SP?) wan't even king at that time!
The "seventy years" that ended in the autumn of the year 537 B.C.E. must have begun, then, in the autumn of 607 B.C.E. The facts bear this out. Jeremiah chapter 52 describes the momentous events of the siege of Jerusalem, the Babylonian breakthrough, and the capture of King Zedekiah in 607 B.C.E.
so where the wtbs date is wrong is that the capture of king zed. is wrong?
Hi Candidlynuts: the thing that we need to remember is that the WTS position on the date 607 BC is arrived at through a unique INTERPRETATION of theirs, and NOT from a historical analysis of the text of scripture. In this respect the crucial text is Jer 25:11. JWs are only permitted to read this text through the tinted glasses provided by the FDS. However, when we actually read the text for ourselves, we discover that TWO facts [and not one as the WTS insists] are spoken of. Here is the text [NWT]:
1 "And all this land must become a devastated place, an object of astonishment"
2 "And these nations will have to serve the king of Babylon seventy years''
We are now in a position to ask the following questions:
1 How long was the land [of Judah] to be a devastated place? 70 years? Where does it say that? As you can plainly see, the time period for the devastation is left undetirmined! Yet when you read WTS literature, for ex from Legolas' post the Society ALWAYS, ALWAYS places the 70 years at the period of the devastaion of Judah. Never underestimate the vital importance to the WTS of this misapplication. Time and again they have fooled their own people, and by extension us, with this interpretation.
2 Then what does the 70 years apply to? Well, just read the text. As you can see the 70 years applies to the nationS [note the plural] who were to be in servitude to Babylon.The context is thus showing that more than just Judah was involved in the prophecy of Jer 25:11.
As you yourself have noted, the folly of the WTS is simply to add 70 to the year 537 BC to arrive at 607. Their "logic" goes something like this: We know that the desolation ended in 537, and we know from Jer 25:11, that the desolation was to last 70 years [ WRONG! WRONG!], so the desolation must then have begun in 607. See how, from a false premise, one gets a false conclusion?
CO Jonsson has sucesfully shown that the first of the nations to come into servitude to Babylon was Philistia, adjacent to Judah, when Ashkelon, one of their principal cities fell in 604 BC, in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, not in his 19th as the WTS contends.
Cheers
