Link to Golden Age 1925 prediction- primary evidence of JW cock-up on Archive.org

by Julia Orwell 20 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Splash

  @Fernando

  This was collated from some earlier posts - still quite recent:

  TEACHING OF THE 1925 EARTHLY RESURRECTION

  1918 "Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old, particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews 11, to the condition of human perfection," (Millions Now Living Will Never Die, p. 89).

  1922 "The period must end in 1925. The type ending, the antitype must begin; and therefore 1925 is definitely fixed in the scriptures. every thinking person can see that a great climax is at hand. The Scriptures clearly indicate that the climax is the fall of Satan's empire and the full establishment of the Messianic kingdom. This climax being reached by 1925, and that marking the beginning of the fulfillment of the long promised blessings of life to the people, millions now living on earth will be living then and those who obey the righteous laws of the new arrangement will live forever. Therefore it can be confidently said at this time that millions now living will never die." (Golden Age, Jan. 4, 1922, p. 217)

  1922 "The indisputable facts, therefore, show that the "time of the end" began in 1799; that the Lord's second presence began in 1874." (The Watchtower, March 1, 1922)
  
  1922 "We have no doubt whatever in regard to the chronology relating to the dates of 1874, 1914, 1918, and 1925. It was on this line of reckoning that the dates 1874, 1914, and 1918 were located; and the Lord has placed the stamp of his seal upon 1914 and 1918 beyond any possibility of erasure. What further evidence do we need? Using this same measuring line.... it is an easy matter to locate 1925, probably in the fall, for the beginning of the antitypical jubilee. There can be no more question about 1925 than there was about 1914." (Watchtower, p. 150, May 15, 1922)1922 "It is on the basis of such and so many correspondencies -- in accordance with the soundest laws known to science- that we affirm that, Scripturally, scientifically, and historically, present-truth chronology is correct beyond a doubt. Its reliability has been abundantly confirmed by the dates and events of 1874, 1914, and 1918. Present-truth chronology is a secure basis on which the consecrated child of God may endeavor to search out things to come." (Watchtower, June 15 1922)
  
  1922 "This chronology is not of man, but of God. Being of divine origin and divinely corroborated, present-truth chronology stands in a class by itself, absolutely and unqualifiedly correct...." (Watchtower, July 15, 1922 p. 217)
  
  1922 '1914 ended the Gentile Times...The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures... by then the great crisis will be reached and probably passed' (Watchtower Sept. 1, 1922, p. 262)

  1923'1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures...the Christian has much more upon which to base his faith than Noah had (so far as the Scriptures reveal) upon which to base his faith in the coming deluge' (Watchtower April 1, 1923, p. 106)
  
  1923 "Our thought is, that 1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures. As to Noah, the Christian now has much more upon which to base his faith than Noah had upon which to base his faith in a coming deluge." (Watchtower, p. 106, March 1, 1923)
  
  1924 "No doubt many boys and girls who read this book will live to see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Daniel, and those other men of old come forth in the glory of their better resurrection, of perfect in mind and body. It will not take long for Christ to appoint them to their post of honor and authority as his earthly representatives. The world and all the present conveniences will seem strange to them at first, but they will soon become accustomed to the new methods. They may have some amusing experiences at first; for they never saw telephones, radios, automobiles, electric lights, aeroplanes, steam engines, and many other things so familiar to us. (The Way To Paradise, 1924, p. 226)
  
  1924 "Surely there is not the slightest room for doubt in the mind of a truly consecrated child of God that the Lord Jesus is present and has been since 1874." (Watchtower, Jan. 1, 1924, p5)1924 "The year 1925 is a date definitely and clearly marked in Scriptures, even more clearly than that of 1914. (Watchtower 1924, p. 211)1924 "We cannot be blamed for presenting from the Scriptures such evidence as they afford which leads us to believe that a certain event will take place at a given time. Some times the Lord has let His people looking for the right thing at the wrong time, and more frequently they have looked for the wrong things at the right time. But all the enemies of the cause of present truth in the earth are fervently hoping that the Bible students will not be so successful in 1925 in looking for the right thing at the right time as they were in 1914. if they are, however, it will be the other fellow that will have to do the explaining, and not we." (The Golden Age, Feb. 13, 1924, p. 314)

  1925 "The year 1925 is here. With great expectation Christians have looked forward to this year. Many have confidently expected that all members of the body of Christ will be changed to heavenly glory during this year. This may be accomplished. It may not be. In his own due time God will accomplish his purposes concerning his people. Christians should not be so deeply concerned about what may transpire this year," (Watchtower, Jan. 1, 1925, p. 3).

  1925 "It is to be expected that Satan will try to inject into the minds of the consecrated, the thought that 1925 should see an end to the work," (Watchtower, Sept., 1925, p. 262).

  1925 "The difficulty was that the friends inflated their imaginations beyond reason; and that when their imaginations burst asunder, they were inclined to throw away everything." (wt 1925, p. 56)

  1931 "There was a measure of disappointment on the part of Jehovah's faithful ones on earth concerning the years 1917, 1918, and 1925, which disappointment lasted for a time... and they also learned to quit fixing dates," (Vindication, p. 338).

  1968 "True, there have been those in times past who predicted an 'end to the world', even announcing a specific date. Yet nothing happened. The 'end' did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying. Why? What was missing?.. Missing from such people were God's truths and evidence that he was using and guiding them," (Awake, Oct. 8, 1968).
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  goddidit

  marked

  thanks
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  Fernando

  Awesome quotes, thanks Splash!

  The dishonesty and pre-emptive blame shifting is really sickening:

  "the friends inflated their imaginations beyond reason"
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  breakfast of champions

  Some good stuff here, thanks
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  AnnOMaly

  Just wondering when their ideas on 1925 were formulated, and what they believed at that time regarding when the "end" would come.

  In a nutshell, and to add to Splash's collection of quotes, this was the thinking behind it - it's all to do with counting Jubilee periods:

  Proclaimers chap. 28 p. 632 Testing and Sifting From Within

  In the lecture “Millions Now Living Will Never Die,” delivered by J. F. Rutherford on March 21, 1920, at the Hippodrome in New York City, attention was directed to the year 1925. On what basis was it thought to be significant? In a booklet published in that same year, 1920, it was pointed out that if 70 full Jubilees were calculated from what was understood to be the date when Israel entered the Promised Land (instead of starting after the last typical Jubilee before the Babylonian exile and then counting to the beginning of the Jubilee year at the end of the 50th cycle), this could point to the year 1925. On the basis of what was said there, many hoped that perhaps the remaining ones of the little flock would receive their heavenly reward by 1925. This year also was associated with expectations for resurrection of faithful pre-Christian servants of God with a view to their serving on earth as princely representatives of the heavenly Kingdom. If that really occurred, it would mean that mankind had entered an era in which death would cease to be master, and millions then living could have the hope of never dying off the earth. What a happy prospect! Though mistaken, they eagerly shared it with others.

  1975 is a 50-year Jubilee period after 1925 and it was hoped 1975 would "mark the beginning of mankind’s great Jubilee" (w67 1/1 p. 29). I guess Freddie wanted to take another shot at it. It'll be interesting to see if some bright spark in the GB or Writing Department suggests plugging 2025.
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  Bobcat

  bttt
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  Larsinger58

  the WTS abandoned the concept of 1925 ending 70 jubilees once it was clear the chronology didn't work. That is, 70 jubilees was considered to be 3500 years ending in 1925. For that to be correct that would mean they did not enter the promised land until 1576 BCE.

  3500 - 1925 = 1575 + 1 = 1576 BCE

  The entry into the promised land was 10 years after their 40-year trek in the wilderness and thus 50 years after the Exodus. This would date the Exodus to 1626 BCE. That is way, way too early for the Exodus, which the WTS now even incorrectly date to 1513 BCE. Using radiocarbon-14 to date several bushels of stored grain burned at the time of the attack of Jericho by the Egyptians isn't dated until 1550 BCE. This is the time of Ahmose in the Middle Bronze Age period. Current archaeology dates the destruction of Jericho by the Israelites between 1350-1325 BCE:

  Kathleen Kenyon: Digging Up Jericho, Jericho and the Coming of the
  Israelites, page 262:
  
  "As concerns the date of the destruction of Jericho by the Israelites, all
  that can be said is that the latest Bronze Age occupation should, in my
  view, be dated to the third quarter of the fourteenth century B.C. This is a
  date which suits neither the school of scholars which would date the entry
  of the Israelites into Palestine to c. 1400 B.C. nor the school which
  prefers a date of c. 1260 B.C."

  When the WTS realized this was simply a completely ridiculous date for the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, they gave up that concept.

  But even though 1925 fails as a correct interpretation for the "70 jubilees", the WTS still had understanding that the 70 jubilees were significant. The true application, for those who think this should have been fulfilled in connection with the 2nd coming does work out when 1947 begins the 70th jubilee. In that case the last 49 years would make up the 70th jubilee and the messiah was to arrive during this time. That means 70 jubilees end in 1947. The period of 70 weeks or 490 years is a period of 10 jubilees of 49 years each. So 70 jubilees would not be a period of 3500 years but 3430 years; that is 49 x 70 rather than 50 x 70. That means the 70 jubilees began in 1435 BCE and the Exodus should be dated to 1386 BCE, 49 years later. Dating the Exodus in 1386 BCE means Jericho fell 40 years later in 1346 BCE which agrees with archaeology. The 70th jubilee was fulfilled, of course, when the messiah arrived during the 1947-1996 period.

  So while 1925 didn't work out for the 70 jubilees concept, that doesn't mean the concept of the 70 jubilees is not fulfilled in some way. It is. the correct fulfillment gives us the date of 1947 beginning the 70th jubilee, which in turn allows us to have an absolute date for the Exodus, which would be 1947. 1386 BCE, 455 BCE and 1947 AD all fall on jubilee years and represent three major events in Jewish history where the Jews come out of exile.
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  Larsinger58

  Just because 1925 isn't the correct interpretation of the "70 jubilees" doesn't mean the 70 jubilees were not fulfilled. Just because the wrong application was made in connection with 1975 doesn't mean the concept of the "70 jubilees" should be abandoned.
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  Julia Orwell

  How long is a piece of string? That's my thought on these chronologies. Also, they won't fix anymore dates if they know what's good for them. I'd like it if they did because it would wake more people up. I reckon they're moving away from 1914 so will be interesting to see what date comes next as Jesus's presence.
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  Londo111

  marked