I am interested in summarising how Rutherford and the WTS originally set forth the 607 (606) -1914 chronology. This is hidden from witnesses today and only a sanitized "trimmed for easy consumption" version is taught to avoid "confusing" the faithful. For thirty years the questions ate a larger and larger hole in my gut as a JW as it became more evident that the full truth was not being revealed to us for ulterior motives. A forthright history of the original reasonings should be available to all and in a simple format. It was not given to us JWs for reasons. It seemed after time those reasons were only to hide the origin, obscure the truth, protect an ill won authority and maintain and ill gotten honor the WTS held over us. I accept the research as set forth in "gentile times Revisited" by Olaf Peterson. Is this the correct forum to develp such a thread? While I recommend anyone read the book, I believe the essential truths pertaining to the origin and logic could be set forth on two letter size sheets of paper. This would make it clear to anyone with an open mind what assumptions are made. This allows the reader to judge for himself if this is a prophetcy and fulfillment he or she should set their life course upon.
607--1914 chronology origin and modifications summarised
by jeandeau 11 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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yesidid
Is this the correct forum to develp such a thread?
You are in the right spot at the right time.
We welcome you...........and look forward to your contributions.
yesidid
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allelsefails
This is hard. Rutherford did not put the 606 - 1914 date out there - Russell did. At one time archeaology was convinced that Babylon was destroyed in 536 BC. That puts the destuction of Jerusalem at 606 BCE (70 years of captivity). The 1914 date is really based on measurements of the Great Pyramid. Russell was one the foremoste pyramidologists and zionists of his day. (Interesting to google). He used the 7 times of Daniel to back up the pyramid's prophecy of "the gentile times". That is 2,520 days/years from 606. That is 1914 (if you don't know what you're talking about - 0 year). The question no one could answer is this: "Why do JWs think Daniel’s “seven times” prophecy has a fulfillment beyond Nebuchadnezzer’s seven years of insanity?" This is a prophecy that Daniel gave about the King that miraculously came true. Why add to the scriptures to make it about the "Gentile Times"? I do have a copy of "Studies in the scriptures" if you would like any further info I could research it. Allelsefails - (like if all else fails try something that makes sense)
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jeandeau
I was quite foggy and last night. The book and author mentioned should be "The Gentile Times Reconsidered" by Carl Olof Jonson. Yes I did mean to address the chronology developed by Charles Taze Russel and modified and held to by Rutherford and subsequent leaders of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WBTS). Thanks for the reference to pyramidology. No wonder the WBTS doesn't want us to know (hides) past history of the WBTS and tells us "present truth" is all we need to know.
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Homerovah the Almighty
Pyramidological researches
Smyth corresponded with pyramid theorist John Taylor and was heavily influenced by him. Taylor theorized in his 1859 book The Great Pyramid: Why Was It Built? & Who Built It? that the Great Pyramid was planned and the building supervised by the biblicalNoah. Refused a grant by the Royal Society, Smyth went on an expedition to Egypt in order to accurately measure every surface, dimension, and aspect of the Great Pyramid. He brought along equipment to measure the dimensions of the stones, the precise angle of sections such as the descending passage, and a specially designed camera to photograph both the interior and exterior of the pyramid. He also used other instruments to make astronomical calculations and determine the pyramid's accurate latitude and longitude.
This diagram from Smyth's Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid (1864) shows some of his measurements and chronological determinations made from them Smyth subsequently published his book Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid in 1864 (which he expanded over the years and is also titled The Great Pyramid: Its Secrets and Mysteries Revealed). Smyth claimed that the measurements he obtained from the Great Pyramid of Giza indicated a unit of length, the pyramid inch, equivalent to 1.001 Britishinches, that could have been the standard of measurement by the pyramid's architects. From this he extrapolated a number of other measurements, including the pyramid pint, the sacred cubit, and the pyramid scale of temperature.
Smyth claimed, and presumably believed, that the pyramid inch was a God-given measure handed down through the centuries from the time of Israel, and that the architects of the pyramid could only have been directed by the hand of God. To support this Smyth said that, in measuring the pyramid, he found the number of inches in the perimeter of the base equalled one thousand times the number of days in a year, and found a numeric relationship between the height of the pyramid in inches to the distance from Earth to the Sun, measured in statute miles. He also advanced the theory that the Great Pyramid was a repository of prophecies which could be revealed by detailed measurements of the structure. Working upon theories by Taylor, he conjectured that the Hyksos were the Hebrew people, and that they built the Great Pyramid under the leadership of Melchizedek. Because the pyramid inch was a divine unit of measurement, Smyth, a committed proponent of British Israelism, used his conclusions as an argument against the introduction of the metric system in Britain. For much of his life he was a vocal opponent of the metric system, which he considered a product of the minds of atheistic French radicals, a position advocated in many of his works.
Smyth, despite his bad reputation in Egyptological circles today, performed much valuable work at Giza. He made the most accurate measurements of the Great Pyramid that any explorer had made up to that time, and he photographed the interior passages, using a magnesium light, for the first time. Smyth's work resulted in many drawings and calculations, which were soon incorporated into his books Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid, the three-volume Life and Work at the Great Pyramid (1867), and On the Antiquity of Intellectual Man (1868). For his works he was awarded a gold metal by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, but in 1874, the Royal Society rejected his paper on the design of Khufu's pyramid, as they had Taylor's. The rejection of his ideas helped contribute to his resignation from his post as Royal Astronomer in 1888.
[edit] Influence of Smyth's pyramid theories
Smyth's theories on pyramid prophecy were then integrated into the works and prophecies of Charles Taze Russell (such as his Studies in the Scriptures), who founded the Bible Student movement (most visible today in the Jehovah's Witnesses, though Russell's successor, Joseph F. Rutherford, denounced pyramidology as unscriptural). Smyth's proposed dates for the Second Coming, first 1882 then many dates between 1892 and 1911, were failed predictions.
The theories of Taylor and Smyth gained many eminent supporters and detractors in the field of Egyptology during the late 1800s, but by the end of the 19th century it had lost most of its mainstream scientific support. The greatest blow to the theory was dealt by the great Egyptogist William Matthew Flinders Petrie, who had initially been a supporter. When Petrie went to Egypt in 1880 to perform new measurements, he found that the pyramid was several feet smaller than previously believed. This so undermined the theory that Petrie rejected it, writing "there is no authentic example, that will bear examination, of the use or existence of any such measure as a 'Pyramid inch,' or of a cubit of 25.025 British inches
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Homerovah the Almighty
The year 1914 was one of the WTS. long standing important dates of their professed doctrines, as well as being unscientific and illogical
of an idea, it was still deemed by Russell to have commercial value in his publications.
The WTS now is trying to ween its self off this supposed date and place it in the hidden old light folder of their their library.
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diamondiiz
Russell learned much of his believes about chronology from Nelson Barbour who learned from William Millar and if I remember correctly John Brown was one of the first to push end of gentile times to be in 1917.
Anyways, date history.
1799 was start of last days and 1873 was end of 6000 years. 1874 Christ returned invisibly and 1878 rapture was to occur and first ressurection of the dead to start and Christ began to reign as king. 1881 another date of repture of anointed which failed again and was pushed to 1914. 1914 was the end of gentile times and using 606 BC but calculations forgot about the zero year and the passageway in the pyramid of giza confirmed that 1914 was a marked year. Nation of Israel was to be born. In the 1920s Rutherford was sellign the 1925 idea and moved Christ's kingship to 1914. In 1928 the pyramid of giza doctrine was said to be from the devil and the last days with christ's return was moved to 1914 some time in the very early 1930s.
It appears that Rutherford was trying to eliminate any bible students who were still following Russell's model of congregational arrangements and Rutherford decided to set himself as emperor and name his group Jehovah's Witnesses so that the bible students who didn't conform to his way would be seen as opposing force and this was also his way of taking full control of the "ruling" elders within the congregational arangement. If I remember correctly it was in early 1940s where WTS published a book that definitly stated that Christ returned in 1914 and that it was 607 not 606BC when the temple was destroyed. 1918/1919 nonsence was introduced by Rutherford as well which upto this day still benefits governing body as an excuse that they were appointed by Christ and thus every one else needs to look up to them for guidance.
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wobble
If it was a flash of inpiration that the Adventist Miller got,to come up with 2520 years,was that Miller Lite?
Love
Wobble
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jeandeau
thanks for the inputs and the reminder of how the 1914 date was energetically affirmed by Russel on the basis of Pyramid measurements etc. and how setting of imagined heavenly events to dates changed as often as the dates themselves and the supports proposed for those percieved connections. It is worthy to note that the current "chronology" for establishing 1914 was first published in 1943. every previous "chronological basis for prophecy" was abandoned and is dilligently hidden from current JW membership.
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Albert Einstein
Great thread - does anybody has a scan of a WTBS publication stating 606 BCE (before they realized their miscalculation and switched to 607)?
Albert
