@Spade:
You wrote:
The prophecy has a lesser but a parallel fulfillment regarding other nations, but the direct fulfillment regarding the desolation of Jerusalem is clearly indicated in related scriptures; In the first year of Da·ri′us the son of A·has·u·e′rus of the seed of the Medes, who had been made king over the kingdom of the Chal·de′ans; in the first year of his reigning I myself, Daniel, discerned by the books the number of the years concerning which the word of Jehovah had occurred to Jeremiah the prophet, for fulfilling the devastations of Jerusalem, [namely,] seventy years. Daniel 9:1-2 The charter of Cyrus the Great synchronizes with Daniel 9:1-2 so there should be little question in the minds of those that have confidence in the Bible as the unerring, inspired Word of God, and are sincerely interested in knowing the truth of this matter from a Biblical perspective.
I see we have moved on to Daniel 9:2 as a proof text for seventy years of desolation or devastations. I don't blame you, it's exceedingly difficult to mold Jeremiah's words into a form acceptable to the WT. By exceedingly difficult, I mean impossible. And yet, even moving on to Daniel, you can't get away from Jeremiah. Did you notice that Daniel says he discerned "the number" by the books of Jeremiah? Daniel is claiming agreement between his statements and Jeremiah's original words. The problem is Jeremiah never applies the seventy years to the desolation of Jerusalem. The seventy years is mentioned in 25:11 and 29:10, and neither of these verses applies the seventy years to Jerusalem being desolate.
In 25:11 Jeremiah said that there would be many nations "round about" Judah, listed explicitly starting in 25:18, that would serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. He also foretold that Jerusalem would be desolate (25:11a), but this desolation was not tied to the seventy years, only the servitude of "these nations". All Bible translations agree here, even the NWT. Jeremiah 29:10, also shows that the period in question is seventy years "for Babylon." COJ did a great job showing that "at Babylon" is an inaccurate rendering of this verse. Also, by rendering it "at Babylon", you introduce a clear contradiction between Jeremiah 25:11 and Jeremiah 29:10. Seventy years "for Babylon" (indicating seventy years of Babylonian supremacy) fits very well with the thought of nations serving the king of Babylon for sevently years, as 25:11 says.
So here we have Daniel writing about the seventy years, and stating clearly that he got his information from Jeremiah. Since Jeremiah never stated that Jerusalem would be desolate for seventy years, why do you quote it in an attempt to prove your point? The answer: because the WT literature tells you that it applies, and you didn't stop and read the verse *carefully* and in *context*. Go back and read it again. You are missing the word "fulfilling" in the phrase "for fulfilling the devastations of Jerusalem". Daniel decerned the number of years that would pass, according to Jeremiah, for *fulfilling* the devastations. In other words, the number of years (of servitude - if it is to agree with Jeremiah) that would pass. When the 70 years ended, it would open the way for the desolation to end or be "fulfilled". Danial never equates the 70 years with a period of desolation. Rather, he draws attention to the end of the 70 years. Read it carefully.
Incidentally, the WT would have you believe that Daniel came along and cleared the whole matter up. As if Jeremiah was somewhat vague, and Daniel, living during the fall of Babylon, would know better. This is also the line of reasoning Rolf Furuili takes. It is, in my opinion, a viewpoint only a JW could come up with. I say this because if Daniel re-interpreted Jeremiah, then we have a clear example of Jehovah, the God of the universe, all powerful, the one knowing the ending from the beginning, inspiring a human, Jeremiah, to write a prophecy to warn His people about their wrong course. In the process of exercing his infinite power, He moved Jeremiah to write a clear and unambigious prophecy that everyone could understand. Unfortunately, the clear and unambigous prophecy was all wrong. He had to inspire Daniel to fix up the matter at the end of the seventy year period. Why do JWs accept this? Because its the ultimate example of new light. The God of the universe tries His best, giving accurate and clear "truth", only to adjust it later because the previous "truth" wasn't so true.
I'm sure you'll move on to 2 Chronicles next...
But before then: Spade, can you tell me when the 70 years ended, according to the clear language of Jeremiah 25:12? Please *read* the verse and not a WT before you respond. Just open a Bible and read Jeremiah 25:12 carefully.
MeanMrMustard
