A rather interesting passage from a most historic magazine is reproduced here for your perusal. Its not a Watchtower magazine, rather, the magazine is called :
“The True Midnight Cry”. August 22, 1844 edition.
As a little background, there had been a precursor “Midnight Cry” heralding the imminent return of Jesus, but this “Midnight Cry” had turned out to be a FALSE Midnight Cry, when Christ did not return on 21 April of 1844 as expected, and so the name of the new magazine “The TRUE Midnight Cry”. Heralding the return of Christ for 22 October 1844. Now this magazine, in its August 22, 1844 issue re explains the “truths” espoused by William Miller in support of the return of Christ . The Millerite movement expectation was not based upon merely 1 Biblical line of prophetic proof, but rather upon numerous time lines of prophetic proof , all of which intertwined and terminated at a specific point. The year 1844.
I thought that 2 of the time line proofs would be of especial interest to readers on this site. Quotation is as extensive as possible, paragraph 4 :
“The period of time allotted for this world, in its present state, is 6000 years, at the termination of which commences the great millennial Sabbath spoken of in Revelation 20,and which will be ushered in by the personal appearing of Christ and the first resurrection (see Heb 4 v 4-9, Isa 11 v 10, 2 Peter 3 v 8) According to Ushers chronology, which is commonly received, the Christian era commenced in the year of the world 4004. But Usher had lost in the time of the judges 153 years. From the division of the land of Canaan to the beginning of Samuels administration , he gives but 295 years, wheras Paul, in Acts 13 v 20, gives us ‘about the space of 450 years’. From the book of Judges we obtain 430 years, and Josephus gives us 18 more for the elders and anarchy before any judge ruled, this, added to 430 make 448 which agrees with Paul….. making for the commencement of the Christian era 4157…… Deducting this from 6000 years, the remainder is 1843 and a fraction. Therefore the period will end within 1844 A D.”
Paragraph 5, heading “The Seven Times of the Gentiles” :
“The seven times of Gentile domination over the church of God, spoken of in Leviticus 26, began with the breaking of the pride of their power, at the captivity of Manasseh, king of Judah, 677 BC….This is the date assigned by all chronologers for that event. The 7 prophetic times amount to 2520 years. As proof of this we see Revelation 12 v 6, 14 , where 3 ½ times are equivalent to 1260 years. A ‘time’ therefore consists of 360 solar years, which multiplied by 7 make 2520. Had this period commenced with the first day of 677 BC, it would have terminated with the first day of 1844 AD…..It must have been in the autumn that Manasseh was taken captive. As proof of this see Hosea 5 v 5, Isaiah 7 v 8, Hosea declares that Ephraim and Israel shall fall, and that Judah shall fall with them. Isaiah represents the king of Assyria as threatening to do to Jerusalem as he had done to Samaria… The prophecy of Isaiah 7 v 8 is correctly dated 742 BC, 65 years from that point bring us to 677BC. In that year was the final breaking of Ephraim that it should not be a people. The history of this we find in 2nd Kings 17 th chapter…..Therefore in the spring or summer of 677BC, Esarhaddon, and the Assyrians commenced removing the remnants of the 10 tribes out of the cities of Samaria…”