by Zoos 50 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
RELIGION:
1. Boudless conceit concealed as utmost modesty.
2. Justification for regulating one's own behavior and coercing others to regulate theirs.
3. An inexhaustible mine of meaning for the mentally lazy.
Quoted from THE UNTAMED TONGUE by Thomas Szasz
To add to AnnOMaly's post..............A chart of these 'prophetic interpretations' can be found on page 219 in the book THE TIME IS AT HAND. C.T. Russell was one hell of a mathematician and an individual of GREAT HUMILITY.
'We accept the facts thus divinely indicated, however astounding the conclusions which we must reasonably draw therefrom."-C.T.Russell
Marked. Thanks
Lots of great answers here. Thanks everyone.
Russell used pyramids and Leviticus 26 for his dates and "2520 years". I am not certain when Daniel 4 came into play. When Russell's dates failed, the WTS amended his dimensions for the pyramids (they stretched in the sun!) and they kept selling his books.
Russell was adamant that Jerusalem was destroyed in 606 BCE, with Babylon falling in 538 BCE. The changes to 607 and 539 coincided with the publication in 1942 of Parker and Dubberstein's study on Babylonian Chronology; it was the same year that Rutherford died.
Russell taught that 1874 marked the "parousia" which was to be followed by 40 years of the "Time of Trouble", which would end in 1914 with the outbreak of unprecedented peace under Zionism. (Hence the two-fold title of his magazine). See the above 1892 Watchtower quotation provided by ADCMS.
Russell was aware of the controversy over his 606 date for the destruction of Jerusalem but was not prepared to budge. If there was to be any change, he was prepared to consider shifting his end date to 1915.
Doug
I did not even know about that 2 year speculation (regarding how long it took to sin). I guess once I figured out the basic BS of that one, I moved on without reading about more details. Thanks. It actually demonstrates how much they were "wildly speculating"
"Wildly speculating"..................................thats putting it mildly!
You're welcome JWdaughter................glad to help on the exposing of the 2 year fiction.
There were seveal crazy calculations by Russell who attempted to combine various era, years, jubelee and contemporary events to prove his points. In the Studies in the scriptures, he wrote numerous examples on how he got into this year. There are several pivotal years like 1799 in which Napoleon took over Rome, 539 with Justinan capture of Rome...
"While the time prophecies thus point to and harmonize with 1874 as the date of our Lord's second presence, assuring us of the fact with mathematical precision, we find ourselves overwhelmed with evidence of another character; for certain peculiar signs, foretold by the Lord and the apostles and prophets, which were to precede his coming, are now clearly recognized as actually fulfilled. We see that the promised Elias has indeed come; that his teachings have been rejected, just as predicted; and that therefore the great time of trouble must follow. The predicted Man of Sin, the Antichrist, has also made his appearance, and accomplished his long and terrible reign; and at the exact "time appointed" (1799) his dominion was taken away. The cleansing of the sanctuary was also accomplished as predicted, and at a time sufficiently in advance of 1874 to make ready "a people prepared for the Lord"--a people in devout expectancy of his coming--just as a similar work prior to the first advent made ready a people to receive him then. We find that the date 1874 is also in harmony with the prophecy of Daniel (12:1), which fixes the advent of "Michael" in the "Time of the End"--that is, somewhere between 1799 and 1914--and as the cause and precursor of the great time of trouble. When seventy-five years of this "Day of Preparation" had developed the proper conditions for the beginning of his great work, then the Master stepped upon the scene--quietly, "without outward show"--"in like manner" as he went away.
The best I could tell you is to go to http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/1800s.php
Research is done very well there. Trying to wade through it, 1799 was the beginning of "the time of the end."
Notice that they pile on to this with Napolean and the Papal rule both proving this date and leaving no room for disagreement with it.
Many movements developed in the late 1800's and many dates were out there. 1873 was big until nothing happened.
1874 was originally the end of the end and even afterward, it retained the significance that 1914 holds for JW's today.
Originally, 1914 was to be the end of the end times when 1874 turned out not be be the end of the end times, but 1874 was now the beginning of the end times. 1914 was "one generation" or 40 years away from 1874.
Watchtower moved much of their calculations to 1975 and never officially dropped that when nothing happened. Through a huge silence over the data that didn't fit, they managed to re-focus all significance back to 1914, even taking the generation back to that date after their brief departure from it. Their insistance upon 1914 as the beginning of the last days is over-simplified in their literature and taken as if it is very well-established by the simple rule of the 2520 days becoming years from Daniel's "Seven Times" and starting in 606 BCE, then later in 607 BCE when someone said "There's no year "Zero."
607 BCE is not well-established, but it's such a can of worms to prove that to a JW. It would appear that they can take any unrelated scriptures and come up with any number of days or years as necessary to tie in whatever date they want.
I don't think today's information age and current JW's would tolerate another major change in beginning/end of times dates. So for now, it seems that JW's remain married to 1914 CE. Maybe when they are ready to lose the bulk of their followers that aren't so hardcore, they will tweak these dates again and come up with something completely different again for a smaller, fiercer, perhaps compound dwelling, core group.
