Watchtower, January 1, 1975, Page 9
Will You Live to See Christ’s “Coming”?
WE HAVE all heard it said many times that Christ is going to come again to judge the earth, to destroy the wicked and reward the good.
But when something momentous is mentioned, it is human nature to think, ‘It can’t happen to me.’ So, many who claim to believe in Christ’s coming admit that it must take place in someone’s day. Yet they say, ‘It won’t happen in my time.’
These people overlook the fact that Jesus Christ said that there would be ample evidence when that time approached. More than that, it would take faith to recognize the nearness of that time—the time of his coming to hold an accounting with earth’s inhabitants. It would require a sincere heart, with awakeness and watchfulness as to Bible prophecies and world events. Jesus put us on the alert with his question: “When the Son of man arrives, will he really find the faith on the earth?”—Luke 18:8.
Despite the doubts of so many, from what Jesus said about his coming, it can be said with confidence that most persons who read this article, and millions of others, will live to see that earth-shaking event take place. Why so?
DEFINITE TO GOD BUT UNCALCULABLE BY MAN
It is certain that God has a definite time for Christ’s coming to execute judgment on the earth. Man, made in God’s image, has a sense of timing of matters. For this reason God provided a way for man to keep count of years, months and days. (Gen. 1:14-16) In the Bible an accurate chronology from the creation of man onward is provided. An outstanding instance of such chronology is the Biblical count of the “seven times” of Gentile domination of mankind without divine interruption, which ran from 607 B.C.E. to 1914 C.E. This count even had a prophetic nature. It was chronology in advance.
But nobody should get the idea that, simply by chronology, he can calculate the time of that “coming” of Christ for executing judgment. Christ himself told his apostles: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.”—Matt. 24:36.
Now, we know that Jesus Christ had been in heaven with his Father at the time of earth’s creation. (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:13-17) He knew the exact time of the creation of both Adam and Eve. (Gen. 1:26, 27) He knew precisely when 6,000 years of human history would be completed. He knew exactly when God’s seventh creative day, his great “rest” day began and when it would end. (Gen. 2:1-3) Yet, with all his perfect knowledge of chronology, when he was on earth he did not know the day and hour of his execution of judgment on this world, prior to when his thousand-year reign begins. (Rev. 20:4-6) How, then, could any human today possibly figure it out?
“AS THE DAYS OF NOAH WERE”
However, Jesus did not mention that specific incident for nothing. In the early part of his comments (in Matthew 24:4-35) he prophetically foretold many world conditions that would serve as warning that he would be about to take action, and he counseled awakeness as to this event, saying: “For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be.”—Matt. 24:37-39.
Here Jesus, in referring to “the days of Noah,” evidently meant a time period during which Noah built the ark. The ark was something for the people to take note of, but they went on ignoring this divinely provided warning.
According to Jesus’ prophecy, the social conditions among men and women on earth, along with the other things spoken of by Jesus, constitute a warning for all people today. The accuracy of this forecast is made more evident by the reading of the parallel account in Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21, along with the apostle John’s vision described in Revelation chapter 6.
What do these things show as to the likelihood that people now living will see, yes, and even live through, “that day and hour”? This: Some, though only a few, took note of God’s warning, saw the Flood and were preserved through it. So today, people are hearing the warning and many, though few as compared with earth’s population, will hear and survive. (Rev. 7:9-17) This period from the end of the Gentile Times in 1914 C.E. Jesus designated (in Matthew 24:36-39 quoted above) as his “presence.” During this time he would, invisibly, be making inspection of the earth. He would also direct the work of warning the people and gather together those who are not the ‘scoffer’ type, but who take heed and exercise faith. Then he would ‘come’ with destructive power against God’s enemies. This warning is indeed being sounded verbally now, in the preaching of this good news of the Kingdom earth wide.—Matt. 24:14.
As to Jesus’ being “present” for a time before he ‘comes’ against this system of things, consider the length of the period during which Noah built the ark. He was 500 years old when he began to have sons. (Gen. 5:32) These three sons all grew up and married, by which time Noah was probably around 550 years of age. At that time God gave him instructions to build the ark. (Gen. 6:18) The Flood occurred when Noah was 600 years old. (Gen. 7:6) This would allow fifty years, more or less, as the period before the Flood, in which the people could observe and take warning. But the people were too involved in the everyday affairs of life, showing no faith in Noah’s message from God.
NO ADVANCE DATE TO BE GIVEN
In Noah’s time he was told, one week before the floodwaters fell, to take into the ark the specimens of the various animals that were to be preserved. (Gen. 7:1-16) But this does not prove that there would be advance notice in our time as to the exact day of Christ’s “coming” to destroy this present system of things. Back there Noah obviously had to know when to begin taking the animals into the place of safety. If he took them in too soon, when, perhaps, it seemed according to his calculation that the end was immediate, it would draw unduly on the stock of foodstuffs he had stored in the ark. On the other hand, if the flood came suddenly without warning, Noah could not have gathered the animals into the ark in time. The advance notice God gave him was very short, but necessary, and sufficient to accomplish God’s purpose.
That even the disciples of Jesus Christ, true Christians on earth, will be unaware beforehand of the precise time of Christ’s “coming” in this executional sense is shown by what he said as recorded at Matthew 24:42-44. Note that these words were not directed to the world in general. They were addressed directly to Christ’s disciples: “Keep on the watch, therefore, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know one thing, that if the householder had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have kept awake and not allowed his house to be broken into. On this account you too prove yourselves ready, because at an hour that you do not think to be it, the Son of man is coming.”
NOT KNOWING THE DAY CONSTITUTES A TEST
What is God’s purpose in leaving Christians uncertain as to the precise time of the Lord Jesus Christ’s coming to execute the vengeance of Jehovah? It is to require all who claim to be Christ’s disciples to prove whether they are genuine Christians all the time. They cannot become careless and involved with worldly pursuits and practices and then, just before the last minute, put on a form of godliness. Of course, they could not deceive Jesus Christ by such a course. But God wants it plain to all people that there is a clear-cut distinction between those who really serve God and those who do not. (Mal. 3:18) They prove by their fruits what they are at heart.—Matt. 7:17-20.
In view of all these facts, along with Jesus’ prophetic words, millions of people now living will see the “day” of Christ’s coming to mete out justice upon this system of things, religious, political, commercial and social. But to survive that execution of judgment is another matter. Said Jesus: “Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken along and the other be abandoned; two women will be grinding at the hand mill: one will be taken along and the other be abandoned.” (Matt. 24:40, 41) Weeks earlier Jesus had made a similar statement, prompting the disciples’ question, “Where, Lord?” He answered, “Where the body is, there also the eagles will be gathered together.” (Luke 17:37) The ones “taken along” are spiritually sharp-sighted, like eagles, who gather to the one whom they discern to be the Messiah, for the spiritual feast that Jehovah provides within his place of safety. They will gather together with God’s congregations on earth, under his true Messiah. Those “abandoned” will be those who do not keep spiritually awake and who consequently get swallowed up in a selfish way of life, as did the people in Noah’s day. Such are “abandoned” to destruction along with the world system of things in which they are involved.
Yes, to survive the executional work that begins on that “day” requires faith. This can be obtained only by a study of the Bible. We must “keep on the watch” that our actions are based on the Bible’s right principles, knowing that that day for executional work to begin is surely coming, in fact, is near. (Hab. 2:3) In “keeping close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah,” God’s time period for meting out justice, we do not become careless. We let all features of our lives be spiritually influenced so that we can “be found finally by him spotless and unblemished and in peace.”—2 Pet. 3:12-14.
Why Guess About Dates At All?
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“All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial”, Reprint 1990, Original 1963, Page 286-287
Adding 1,656 years to our previous date of 2370 B.C.E., we arrive at 4026 B.C.E. for the creation of Adam, perhaps in the fall, since it is in the fall that the year began on the most ancient calendars.
13 Of what significance is this today? The first edition of this book, published in 1963, stated: “Does this mean, then, that by 1963 we had progressed 5,988 years into the ‘day’ on which Jehovah ‘has been resting from all his work’? (Gen. 2:3) No, for the creation of Adam does not correspond with the beginning of Jehovah’s rest day. Following Adam’s creation, and still within the sixth creative day, Jehovah appears to have been forming further animal and bird creations. Also, he had Adam name the animals, which would take some time, and he proceeded to create Eve. (Gen. 2:18-22; see also NW, 1953 Ed., footnote on vs. 19) Whatever time elapsed between Adam’s creation and the end of the ‘sixth day’ must be subtracted from the 5,988 years in order to give the actual length of time from the beginning of the ‘seventh day’ until [1963]. It does no good to use Bible chronology for speculating on dates that are still future in the stream of time.—Matt. 24:36.”
14 How about scientific claims that man has been on this earth for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years? None of them can be substantiated by written records from those early times, as Biblical events are. The fantastic dates given to “prehistoric man” are based on assumptions that cannot be proved. Actually, reliable secular history, together with its chronology, extends back only a few thousand years. The earth has undergone many changes and upheavals, such as the worldwide Deluge of Noah’s day, which have greatly disturbed rock strata and fossil deposits, making any scientific pronouncements on dates prior to the Deluge highly conjectural. In contrast to all the contradictory hypotheses and theories of men, the Bible appeals to reason through its explicit, harmonious account of the origin of mankind and its carefully documented history of Jehovah’s chosen people.
15 Study of the Bible and contemplation of the works of the Great Timekeeper, Jehovah God, should make us feel very humble. Mortal man is small indeed in comparison with the omnipotent God, whose stupendous act of creation, performed countless millenniums ago, is so simply stated in Scripture: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”—Gen. 1:1. -
Pickled
Watchtower, October 15, 1966, 628-629
THRILLING DISCOURSES
Think of building people! That is what Jehovah’s witnesses are doing. “Jehovah’s witnesses are making Christians out of people who already exist as humans,” conventioners in Toronto and other assembly cities heard President N. H. Knorr of the Watch Tower Society say in the keynote address, “Building on a Right Foundation with Fire-Resistant Materials.” (1 Cor. 3:9-15) “Jehovah’s witnesses are building on the right foundation, Jesus Christ,” Knorr said, “and they are making true Christians with fire-resistant materials,” which the Bible compares with gold, silver, corals and precious stones. This means that “the persons whom we are striving to make disciples of Christ we must educate, train, discipline in the godly qualities of heavenly wisdom, spiritual discernment, appreciation of integrity, devotion to Bible principles, respect for the laws, commandments, orders, reminders and judicial decisions of Jehovah God, faith in his written Word, sticking to the theocratic organization of God’s people, love of God’s ‘sheep’ that are in the care of the Fine Shepherd Jesus Christ, unbreakable attachment to God’s Messianic kingdom and a fearless willingness to bear witness to it.” This will result in our own everlasting life and that of others on whom we do building work, the speaker assured his listeners.
Only a liberated people can preach a release to captives, conventioners were told in the speech “Preach a Release to the Captives,” which thrilled them with its hopeful outlook. “Jehovah, the God of freedom and liberty, has freed his people from Babylonish bondage and has given them a work of liberation to do. That work of liberation and salvation must go on to the finish! To give aid today in this critical time to prospective sons of God,” announced President Knorr, “a new book in English, entitled ‘Life Everlasting—in Freedom of the Sons of God,’ has been published.” At all assembly points where it was released, the book was received enthusiastically. Crowds gathered around stands and soon supplies of the book were depleted. Immediately its contents were examined. It did not take the brothers very long to find the chart beginning on page 31, showing that 6,000 years of man’s existence end in 1975. Discussion of 1975 overshadowed about everything else. “The new book compels us to realize that Armageddon is, in fact, very close indeed,” said a conventioner. Surely it was one of the outstanding blessings to be carried home!
“Liberty is to know Christian truth,” the eager audiences at a number of the assemblies heard F. W. Franz, the Watch Tower Society’s vice-president, say in his discourse “Liberty-giving Worship and Freedom of Worship.” “It is those who worship the one living and true God Jehovah through his Son Jesus Christ that are set free. Jehovah’s witnesses strive to keep the liberty that their practice of pure worship gives to them,” declared Franz.
Among the more thought-provoking talks at the 1966 “God’s Sons of Liberty” District Assemblies was the speech “Making Grateful Use of a Penny.” (Matt. 20:1-16) The assembled crowds learned that in the first century the symbolic “penny” was the privilege that went with the receiving of the holy spirit, namely, the privilege of being a member of spiritual Israel, authorized to prophesy in fulfillment of Joel 2:28, 29, anointed to preach the good news of God’s Messianic kingdom. The “penny” today is likewise the honor of serving as anointed ambassadors of God’s newborn Messianic kingdom from 1919 on till the coming “battle of the great day of God the Almighty” at Armageddon. The “penny” has been used in gathering the “great crowd” of sheeplike persons foretold in Revelation 7:9-17. What a reward this has already been to the anointed Kingdom ambassadors!
Human freedom or liberty is inseparably linked with the kingdom of God. The public address on Sunday, therefore, aroused great curiosity, for the subject was “What Has God’s Kingdom Been Doing Since 1914?” Over 386,600 present for this discourse in the twenty assembly cities heard proof that the kingdom of God is a reality. What has that kingdom done since 1914? It has gone into action against its enemies in heaven (Rev. 12:12); it has made its influence felt in the worldwide proclamation of the Kingdom in all the earth for a witness today; it has protected and preserved its anointed ambassadors through unspeakable trials; it has acquired subjects of whom about a million have dedicated themselves to God and his Messianic kingdom. ‘Let everybody become alive to the reality of 1914, as well as to the reality of the heavenly kingdom!’ appealed the speaker. -
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Watchtower, February 1, 1955, Questions from Readers.
(1976 IS THE CORRECT DATE INSTEAD)
Questions from Readers
• What are the reasons for changing the date of Adam’s creation first from 4028 B.C. to 4026 B.C. and now recently in the book “New Heavens and a New Earth” to 4025 B.C.?
Because of the wide interest in Bible chronology, we here publish some notes on the subject that go beyond those needed merely to answer this question.
Bible chronology is an interesting study by which prophetic and historic events of the Bible are placed in their order of occurrence along the stream of time. There are problems in connection with Bible chronology which either straighten out only when the time comes for the fulfillment of Jehovah’s respective prophecies or are solved by reason of increased Bible scholarship or archaeological discoveries or because of better Bible translations which convey more clearly the original-language records.
At this point, too, it must be admitted that there are still several knotty chronology problems in the Bible of a minor nature that have not as yet been resolved. Generally, however, the Watch Tower Society has endeavored to keep its associates abreast with the latest available scholarship on Bible chronology consistent with the internal historic and prophetic events recorded in the Scriptures.
Reliable Bible chronology requires the determination of certain Absolute dates. Absolute dates are starting points coinciding with proved secular historic dates from which a series of Bible dates can be reckoned forward and backward with certainty. For the Greek Scriptures portion of the Bible we have the Absolute date of August 19, A.D. 14, Julian calendar (or August 17 Gregorian calendar) when Augustus Caesar died and was succeeded at that time by Tiberius Caesar to become the next emperor of Rome. This is an established date in Roman history. Thus when it is written at Luke 3:1-3 (NW): “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,” we know for a certainty that John’s ministry here referred to must have started in the spring of A.D. 29 and further that Jesus’ ministry, which followed John’s by about six months, must have commenced in the fall of A.D. 29.
Another illustration of an Absolute date for the Greek Scriptures is that of Nisan 14, A.D. 33, the date for the impalement of Jesus. The Scripture, at John 19:31 (NW), definitely indicates Jesus died on what to us is Friday, because the next day (Nisan 15) was said to be ‘a great sabbath,’ meaning that two legal sabbaths happened to fall due on the one Saturday, namely, (1) the regular weekly Jewish sabbath day according to Exodus 20:10 and (2) by the law of Moses, no matter on what day of the week it fell, the 15th of Nisan was always to be an additional day of rest, according to Leviticus 23:6, 7. Such a double sabbath falling legally due within the same twenty-four hours occurs only once every several years, thus emphasizing that Jesus died on a Friday afternoon according to the Scriptural accounts.
The accuracy of astronomy tables containing the eclipses of the moon away back to 1207 B.C. establishes such an Absolute date. These tables prove that an eclipse of the moon occurred Friday, April 3, A.D. 33, Julian calendar (or April 1 according to our present Gregorian calendar), at six minutes past 3 p.m., Greenwich time. Since an eclipse of the moon always means a full moon and a full moon always occurs for a Nisan 14, this makes certain that Friday. April 1, A.D. 33 (Gregorian calendar), is the Absolute date for Jesus’ impalement.
Still a third example of an Absolute date for the Greek Scriptures of the Bible. Archaeologists in the latter part of the nineteenth century discovered an important inscription at Delphi, Greece, which in part says, when translated into English: “Claudius Caesar [Roman Emperor A.D. 41-54], Pontifex Maximus, of tribunician authority for the 12th time [12th year as Emperor] . . . greets the city of the Delphians . . . as Lucius Junius Gallio, my friend, and the proconsul of Achaia wrote . . . ” The 12th year of Claudius’ emperorship would be in the early part of A.D. 52, inasmuch as the number “12th” is ordinal, meaning eleven full years plus some months; eleven years plus the extra months being counted from A.D. 41 when he began to rule, the result is A.D. 52. The above-mentioned Gallio is the Roman judge who heard the complaint made against Paul in Corinth, the capital of the southern Roman province of Greece known as Achaia. In the Bible it is recorded: “Now while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up with one accord against Paul and led him to the judgment seat.”—Acts 18:12, NW.
The impression given by the book of Acts is that Gallio had arrived in Corinth only shortly before the time when the Jews brought Paul into his presence. Since Dio Cassius reports a decree of Claudius requiring new officials to start from Rome for their assigned provinces by the first day of June, Gallio must have started his proconsulship in Corinth around July 1, A.D. 51. This then establishes the sure date of the summer of A.D. 51 for Paul’s closing stay in Corinth. This Absolute date enables us to fix the chronology for all of Paul’s stirring ministry and for most of the book of Acts.
The outstanding Absolute date for the B.C. period of the Hebrew Scriptures is that for the fall of Babylon as the capital city of the third world power at the hands of Cyrus, king of the Persians, October 13, 539 B.C., Julian calendar (or October 7 by our present Gregorian calendar), which event is referred to at Isaiah 45:1. This date is made Absolute by reason of the archaeological discovery and deciphering of the famous Nabunaid Chronicle, which itself gives a date for the fall of Babylon and which figure specialists have determined equals October 13, 539 B.C., according to the Julian calendar of the Romans.
From this known date we are then able quickly to understand Ezra 1:1, that the year 537 B.C. was the time when the decree was issued by King Cyrus for the return of the Jews to Palestine and that the temple was begun to be rebuilt in the fall of this same year 537 B.C. How is this calculated? In Assyria, Babylon and Persia, when a king first came to the throne, the year was usually called the king’s accession year, and not until the first day of the first month of the next year did the king begin counting events in his own first regnal year. Cyrus as a Persian ruler counted his regnal years from spring to spring or from Nisan to Nisan. From October, 539 B.C., to the spring of 538 B.C. would be his accession year as the ruler of the fourth world power with the collapse of Babylon as the third world power. Therefore, his first regnal year as “King of Babylon and King of Lands” ran approximately from April, 538 B.C., to April, 537 B.C. Actually, a clay tablet has been found dated what amounts to our April 4, 538 B.C., indicating Cyrus’ first regnal year. Therefore Cyrus’ issuing of the decree for the return of the Jews must have taken place before April, 537 B.C., and this would give the Jews plenty of time to travel back to Jerusalem by the fall of 537 B.C., to rebuild the altar as the first step in rebuilding the temple.—See Ezra 3:1, 2.
Jehovah’s witnesses from 1877 up to and including the publishing of “The Truth Shall Make You Free” of 1943 considered 536 B.C. as the year for the return of the Jews to Palestine, basing their calculations for the fall of Babylon on secular histories that were inaccurate, not up to date on archaeological evidences. This meant that Jeremiah’s seventy years of desolation for Jerusalem ran back from 536 B.C. to 606 B.C., instead of more correctly as now known from 537 B.C. to 607 B.C. (2 Chron. 36:21; Jer. 25:12; Zec. 1:12) With the above Absolute date for the fall of Babylon, the date 607 B.C. is on solid ground for the fall of Jerusalem, when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon terminated the reigning Davidic dynasty by taking Jerusalem’s last ruler, King Zedekiah, captive. This leads to the important modern date of 1914, which marks the end of the “seven times” of 2,520 years of Gentile domination since the first fall of Jerusalem 607 B.C. (Dan. 4:9-16; Luke 21:24) This adjustment of one year for Jerusalem’s fall to 607 B.C. was acknowledged in the book “The Kingdom Is at Hand” of 1944, footnote of page 171, and also in The Watchtower of 1952, page 271.
Undue concern seems to be manifested as to the date of Adam’s creation and some ask, What are the reasons for changing the creation date of Adam first from 4028 B.C. to 4026 B.C. and now recently in the book “New Heavens and a New Earth” to 4025 B.C.? Let us examine the advancements made in Bible chronology that have warranted the above adjustments as we have moved forward to newer positions of light as to God’s Word.—Prov. 4:18.
While preparing in 1944 the book “The Kingdom Is at Hand” a two-year error was detected by internal Bible scholarship. In the following quotation from this 1944 publication of the Society, full explanation is offered: “In the book ‘The Truth Shall Make You Free’, published in 1943, the chronology on pages 150, 151 concerning the kings of Jerusalem, from Solomon’s successor to Zedekiah, is based on the book of 2 Chronicles, chapters 12 to 36. This appears to show the reigns of those kings as successive, end to end. Actually, however, this was not so, as is plainly shown in the books of 1 and 2 Kings, which books give us a countercheck on the successors of Solomon by a comparison of these kings of Judah with the neighbor kings of the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel. . . . Measured by 2 Chronicles, the period of kings from Saul to Zedekiah was 513 years. Measured by the more precise and detailed books of Kings, the period was actually 511 years, or 2 years less. This fact affects the chronology as a whole and pulls man’s creation 2 years closer to A.D. 1 and gives it the date 4026 B.C., not 4028 B.C.”—Footnote, page 171.
In 1953 in preparing the chart that appears in the book “New Heavens and a New Earth” a one-year error was brought to light. By the aid of the New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures the difference between the two numbers appearing at Genesis 7:6 and Genesis 7:11 became apparent, especially since there are two different Hebrew words here maintaining a distinct difference. At Genesis 7:6 the number 600 referring to Noah’s age means 600 full years, being what is generally termed a cardinal number. Whereas at Genesis 7:11 the number “600th,” an ordinal number, means 599 full years plus a portion of another year. For example, this is said to be the twentieth century, meaning there have been nineteen full centuries in the past and we are now fifty-four years along in the next century. To reconcile these two different numbers properly translated from the Hebrew text, the position clearly appeared that Noah must have entered the ark in November upon the beginning of the flood when he was 599 years old plus some months. But that while he was in the ark some months later with the deluge waters still occurring upon the earth, Noah had a birthday rounding out his full 600 years.
Inasmuch as previously our chronology considered Noah as 600 full years old when he entered the ark, instead of the actual 599 years and some months, as we now see, this has meant that the preflood dates must be shrunk by one year, this bringing Adam’s creation for the fall of 4025 B.C. Incidentally, Jesus, who became the second or “last Adam,” was born in the fall of the year around the first of October.—1 Cor. 15:45, NW.
It is well to understand that all Bible chronology dates for events prior to 539 B.C. must be figured backward from the Absolute date of 539 B.C. In the sure date of 607 B.C. for the fall of Jerusalem we have an anchor for the chronology establishment of the important year of 1914. By an overwhelming number of physical facts occurring since 1914, this great turning-point year in man’s history, 1914, has been abundantly confirmed.
According to Genesis 1:24-31 Adam was created during the last part of the sixth creative-day period of 7,000 years. Almost all independent chronologists assume incorrectly that, as soon as Adam was created, then began Jehovah’s seventh seven-thousand-year period of the creative week. Such then figure that from Adam’s creation, now thought to be the fall of 4025 B.C., why, six thousand years of God’s rest day would be ending in the fall of 1976. However, from our present chronology (which is admitted imperfect) at best the fall of the year 1976 would be the end of 6,000 years of human history for mankind, 6,000 years of man’s existence on the earth, not 6,000 years of Jehovah’s seventh seven-thousand-year period. Why not? Because Adam lived some time after his creation in the latter part of Jehovah’s sixth creative period, before the seventh period, Jehovah’s sabbath, began.
Why, it must have taken Adam quite some time to name all the animals, as he was commissioned to do. Further, it appears from the New World Bible Translation that, even while Adam was naming the animals, other family kinds of living creatures were being created for Adam to designate by name. (Gen. 2:19 footnote d, NW) It was not until after Adam completed this assignment of work that his helpmate Eve was created. Since God created nothing new whatever on the seventh day, Eve must have been created on the sixth day; and this the divine record confirms in its account of the sixth day: “God proceeded to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.”—Gen. 1:27, NW.
The very fact that, as part of Jehovah’s secret, no one today is able to find out how much time Adam and later Eve lived during the closing days of the sixth creative period, so no one can now determine when six thousand years of Jehovah’s present rest day come to an end. Obviously, whatever amount of Adam’s 930 years was lived before the beginning of that seventh-day rest of Jehovah, that unknown amount would have to be added to the 1976 date. -
Pickled
Kingdom Ministry, May 1974, Pages 3-4
How Are You Using Your Life?
IS IT not apparent that most of mankind are living their lives for themselves? They are using their lives as they see fit, without concern for others. But what about us? The apostle Paul wrote to fellow servants of Jehovah, saying: “None of us, in fact, lives with regard to himself only, and no one dies with regard to himself only; for both if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. Therefore both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah.”—Rom. 14:7, 8.
This is something for all of us to give serious thought to: It would be entirely inappropriate for us, while professing to be Jehovah’s people, to try to live our lives with regard to ourselves only. As the apostle Paul wrote: “You do not belong to yourselves, for you were bought with a price. By all means, glorify God.”—1 Cor. 6:19, 20.
Are we not thankful that Jehovah God has purchased us and that we now belong to Him? He has bought us with the life of his own dear Son so that eternal death does not have to be our lot, but we have before us the opportunity to enjoy everlasting life. (John 3:16, 36) How are you affected by this loving provision of God? Does it not cause you to want to show Jehovah your deep appreciation? The apostle Peter noted that if we have the proper mental disposition we will be moved to “live the remainder of [our] time in the flesh, no more for the desires of men, but for God’s will.”—1 Pet. 4:2.
Is that what you are doing? Are you living no longer simply to satisfy personal ambitions or desires, but to do God’s will? Are there ways in which you could share more fully in doing the will of God?
God’s Will for Us
Jehovah makes clear in his Word that his will for us today includes accomplishing a great work of Kingdom-preaching before the end of this system comes. (Matt. 24:14) Jesus Christ did a similar work. He said: “Also to other cities I must declare the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this I was sent forth.”—Luke 4:43.
Jesus did not hold back, but was whole-souled in his service to God. When we read the historical accounts of his ministry in the Gospels, how impressed we are with his energy and zeal in doing the Kingdom-preaching! Jesus knew that he had only a short time, and he did not spare himself in finishing his assignment. Should we not today be imitating his example, especially since we have such a short time left now in which to complete the Kingdom-preaching?
Yes, the end of this system is so very near! Is that not reason to increase our activity? In this regard we can learn something from a runner who puts on a final burst of speed near the finish of a race. Look at Jesus, who apparently stepped up his activity during his final days on earth. In fact, over 27 percent of the material in the Gospels is devoted to just the last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry!—Matt. 21:1–27:50; Mark 11:1–15:37; Luke 19:29–23:46; John 11:55–19:30.
By carefully and prayerfully examining our own circumstances, we also may find that we can spend more time and energy in preaching during this final period before the present system ends. Many of our brothers and sisters are doing just that. This is evident from the rapidly increasing number of pioneers.
Yes, since the summer of 1973 there have been new peaks in pioneers every month. Now there are 20,394 regular and special pioneers in the United States, an all-time peak. That is 5,190 more than there were in February 1973! A 34-percent increase! Does that not warm our hearts? Reports are heard of brothers selling their homes and property and planning to finish out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service. Certainly this is a fine way to spend the short time remaining before the wicked world’s end.—1 John 2:17.
Circumstances such as poor health or responsibilities in connection with your family may limit what you can do in the field ministry. And yet, the pioneer ranks include many who have health limitations, as well as some persons with families. But these brothers and sisters are able to regulate their lives so that they can care for their responsibilities and still put in the 1,200 hours a year, an average of 100 hours a month in the field ministry, required of pioneers.
Therefore, do not be too quick to dismiss the possibility that you, too, may be able to pioneer. Give it careful and prayerful consideration. Perhaps an analysis will reveal that your life is encumbered with needless weights that can be put off so that you can pioneer. Particularly may this be the case if you are single, or are married but have no children.—Heb. 12:1.
So, then, ask yourself: How am I using my life? Can I make adjustments that will enable me to pioneer? If I can, will failure to do so indicate to Jehovah that I am living to satisfy personal desires, rather than to do His will? Every one of us wants to be able to say, as did the apostle Paul, “Indeed, the life that I now live in flesh I live by the faith that is toward the Son of God, who loved me and handed himself over for me. I do not shove aside the undeserved kindness of God.” Gal. 2:20, 21.
Real blessings await those who can adjust their affairs to pioneer. First, there is a certain added contentment in sharing full time in the preaching work that God purposes all his servants now to do. Pioneering enlarges your opportunity to “save” yet scattered prospective members of the “great crowd.” (1 Tim. 4:16; Rev. 7:9, 14) Also, there may open up to you the privilege of being sent as a special pioneer into territory that is not often worked. And for those pioneering, there is the possibility of the opportunity of training at Gilead School and then going on to foreign missionary service.
So do not delay in giving serious consideration to this matter of how you are using your life. See if you can arrange your affairs to pioneer. Why not discuss the matter with persons already pioneering or with elders in your congregation?
As you probably are aware, to qualify as a regular pioneer you should have been baptized for at least six months, and have participated in the field service each month for the past six months. Also, it is vital that you have a reputation for fine Christian conduct. -
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Watchtower, October 15, 1966, Page 631
THE YEAR 1975
At the Baltimore assembly Brother Franz in his closing remarks made some interesting comments regarding the year 1975. He began casually by saying, “Just before I got on the platform a young man came to me and said, ‘Say, what does this 1975 mean? Does it mean this, that or any other thing?’” In part, Brother Franz went on to say: ‘You have noticed the chart [on pages 31-35 in the book Life Everlasting—in Freedom of the Sons of God]. It shows that 6,000 years of human experience will end in 1975, about nine years from now. What does that mean? Does it mean that God’s rest day began 4026 B.C.E.? It could have. The Life Everlasting book does not say it did not. The book merely presents the chronology. You can accept it or reject it. If that is the case, what does that mean to us? [He went into some length showing the feasibility of the 4026 B.C.E. date as being the beginning of God’s rest day.]
‘What about the year 1975? What is it going to mean, dear friends?’ asked Brother Franz. ‘Does it mean that Armageddon is going to be finished, with Satan bound, by 1975? It could! It could! All things are possible with God. Does it mean that Babylon the Great is going to go down by 1975? It could. Does it mean that the attack of Gog of Magog is going to be made on Jehovah’s witnesses to wipe them out, then Gog himself will be put out of action? It could. But we are not saying. All things are possible with God. But we are not saying. And don’t any of you be specific in saying anything that is going to happen between now and 1975. But the big point of it all is this, dear friends: Time is short. Time is running out, no question about that.
‘When we were approaching the end of the Gentile Times in 1914, there was no sign that the Gentile Times were going to end. Conditions on earth gave us no hint of what was to come, even as late as June of that year. Then suddenly there was a murder. World War I broke out. You know the rest. Famines, earthquakes and pestilences followed, as Jesus foretold would happen.
‘But what do we have today as we approach 1975? Conditions have not been peaceful. We’ve been having world wars, famines, earthquakes, pestilences and we have these conditions still as we approach 1975. Do these things mean something? These things mean that we’re in the “time of the end.” And the end has to come sometime. Jesus said: “As these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.” (Luke 21:28) So we know that as we come to 1975 our deliverance is that much nearer.’
“Let us make the most of the time and get in all the good hard work to Jehovah while the opportunity affords,” he urged. -
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Watchtower, January 1, 1967, Page 28
Have You Read Your Copy?
“READ my copy of what?” you ask. Why, your copy of Life Everlasting—in Freedom of the Sons of God! It has been four to six months since most of you in the United States, Canada and Great Britain received your copies. If you have not already read it, do so now.
Why? Well, if you do not, you are missing out on a spiritual treasure. That Bible-study aid contains a wealth of Scriptural information designed to aid you as one of Jehovah’s witnesses both in facing the problems of life and in instructing others. True, in due time it will be a textbook for congregational studies, but do not wait until then to gain this precious information. Get an overall, bird’s-eye view of it, as it were, right away by reading it from cover to cover.
Of course, this book is not only for Jehovah’s witnesses. Are you studying the Bible with one of Jehovah’s witnesses? Then you will want to read it through on the side, so to speak; it will hasten your progress in learning God’s will. Really, reading this book is strongly recommended for all before they dedicate themselves and get baptized.
A WEALTH OF INFORMATION
This new Bible-study aid contains a wealth of information. Typical is the chapter “Heaven’s Way of Ruling the ‘Congregation of God.’” To mention but one point: By reading it carefully you will appreciate that in the Christian congregation epískopos [overseer] and diákonos [ministerial servant] are mutually exclusive terms, whereas presbýteros [older man] can apply to either an epískopos or a diákonos.
In particular have many expressions of appreciation been heard and received for the chapter “The Lord’s Evening Meal—A Liberation Supper.” For, in addition to treating the subject doctrinally in all its aspects, it makes clearer than it has ever been made before just who should partake of the Memorial emblems and how one can judge with certainty for himself.
In other chapters the book makes clear just what Jesus Christ meant by saying that Christians “are no part of the world,” also what is meant by Paul’s saying that Christians ‘present their bodies to God,’ and how these principles should affect choice of employment and your attitude toward political activities in your community as well as conflicts between nations.—John 17:16; Rom. 12:1.
Among the many fine points on which new light is shed in this new Bible-study aid is the proper application of 1 Peter 3:21, which reads, in part: “That which corresponds to this is also now saving you, namely, baptism.” What is the baptism to which this refers? What is the salvation? Is it being saved at Armageddon?
Then, again, why is it not correct to say that Jesus’ baptism symbolized his dedication to do his Father’s will? And did Jesus’ going down into the water and coming out of it picture his death and resurrection? If not, why not? Read the book and find out.
But, without a doubt, nothing has created more interest in this textbook than the first chapter with its chart and fine information regarding the 7,000 years of God’s rest day. The observation that 1975 may well mark the beginning of mankind’s great Jubilee has intrigued many.
The question, however, remains: How can you find time to read this fine Bible-study aid? It may be said to be largely a matter of appreciation and organization. Some managed to read the book through on their vacations this past summer. For others the problem may be solved simply by buying out time from watching television for reading the Life Everlasting book. (Eph. 5:15, 16) Or it may be that you can make better use of certain time in your busy schedule. For instance, do you travel to and from work each day by bus, subway or train, or several times a week to and from congregational meetings? Then why not take a pocket-sized edition of Life Everlasting with you and read it? -
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Our Kingdom Ministry, March 1968, Page 4
"Making some special effort to do more than the usual helps us live up to our dedication. In view of the short period of time left, we want to do this as often as circumstances permit. Just think, brothers, there are only about ninety months left before 6,000 years of man's existence on earth is completed… Do you remember what we learned at the assemblies last summer? The majority of people living today will probably be alive when Armageddon breaks out, and there are no resurrection hopes for those who are destroyed then. So, now more than ever, it is vital not to ignore that spirit of wanting to do more." -
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Watchtower, October 15, 1969, Page 623
41 The Lord Jesus Christ, the prospective Prince of Peace, pointed forward to a greater Sabbath Day. Pointing forward to this, he said on a certain weekly sabbath day when he came under criticism: “Lord of the sabbath is what the Son of man is.” (Matt. 12:1-8) He was referring to his peaceful reign of a thousand years. Jehovah God measures human affairs according to a thousand-year-length rule. He inspired the prophet Moses to write, in Psalm 90:4: “A thousand years are in your eyes but as yesterday when it is past.” He also inspired the Christian apostle Peter to write: “One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Pet. 3:8, AV) In prophetic vision the apostle John saw Satan the Devil and his demons bound and abyssed for a thousand years, during which thousand years Jesus Christ reigned with his victorious disciples over all mankind. (Rev. 5:9, 10; 20:1-7) So, according to God’s viewpoint of time, that thousand years of his Son Jesus Christ would correspond with merely “one day.”
42 In order for the Lord Jesus Christ to be “Lord even of the sabbath day,” his thousand-year reign would have to be the seventh in a series of thousand-year periods or millenniums. (Matt. 12:8, AV) Thus it would be a sabbatic reign. Since early in the existence of mankind Satan the Devil has been on the loose, making the human family to toil in hard bondage, causing the earth to be filled with violence before the global flood of Noah’s day and inducing the same old earth to be filled with even greater violence today. Soon now six millenniums of his wicked exploiting of mankind as his slaves will end, within the lifetime of the generation that has witnessed world events since the close of the Gentile Times in 1914 till now, according to the prophetic words of Jesus in Matthew 24:34. Would not, then, the end of six millenniums of mankind’s laborious enslavement under Satan the Devil be the fitting time for Jehovah God to usher in a Sabbath millennium for all his human creatures? Yes, indeed! And his King Jesus Christ will be Lord of that Sabbath.
