by run dont walk 24 Replies latest jw friends
What I never understood is how they know for sure that the seven times applies to the restoration of the Heavenly Kingdom and not just the story about the king that went nuts.
The connection between Nebuchadnezzar eating grass for seven times and the length of the Gentile Times is irrefutably based upon the highest authority that exists for Jehovah's Witnesses: Because The Society Says So.
It goes back to the tree that was cut down and banded to prevent it from growing. The, after 7 "times" the bands were removed and the tree was allowed to grow again.
According to Adventists (and later CT Russell), this not only applied to Nebuchadnezzar, but to Jewish rule as well. In theory, the Jewish nation was God's nation on earth. It ended when it was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar in what they like to say was 607 BC. It is banded for 7 times (which they figure as 2520 years), ending in 1914, when a God-ruled nation will return.
This is so full of holes. We know 607 was wrong. Secondly, exactly what was taken away or withdrawn at that point? Was God still ruling Israel up until 607 (well, 586/587)? The kings were all wicked. They were merely puppets for whoever was ruling them, whether it be Egypt or Babylon. And what of the Jews returning after being freed? Wasn't that a restoration? What about when Israel became a nation in the 1960's? Couldn't you say Jewish rule was restored then? And what of 1914? Did God really step in back in 1914? Not exactly - the "Gentiles" are still ruling. Several nations have been founded and other have fallen since 1914. One can hardly say their time has ended. What's more, the prophecy was for a non-Jewish king. A king who worshiped other gods. Why would a prophecy about this king also apply to God's kingdom? In other words, God's kingdom is supposed to be the "greater Nebuchadnezzar". Even if you buy all the "greater Moses", "greater Noah" crap, you've gotta have a problem comparing such a righteous thing (in their eyes the culmination of everything in the Bible) to a king who never worshipped the Jewish God.
Here's what gets me:
A day for a year, a year being 360 days, for whatever reason. The seven times prophecy. 7 x 360 = 2520. Destruction of the temple at Jerusalem, 607(wrong, but hey give em a break). A day for a year again, modern fulfillment of seven times prophecy. 607 + 2520(360 days) = 1877 give or take. But somewhere in the middle of the formula, the WTS goes from a year equaling 360 days to a year equaling 365 days so that they figure: 607 + 2530(365 days) = 1914. You can't change a constant in the middle of a math equation, but the WTS does. Not only have they twisted prophecy, they have twisted mathmatical rules.
A day for a year, a year being 360 days, for whatever reason. The seven times prophecy. 7 x 360 = 2520. Destruction of the temple at Jerusalem, 607(wrong, but hey give em a break). A day for a year again, modern fulfillment of seven times prophecy. 607 + 2520(360 days) = 1877 give or take. But somewhere in the middle of the formula, the WTS goes from a year equaling 360 days to a year equaling 365 days so that they figure: 607 + 2530(365 days) = 1914. You can't change a constant in the middle of a math equation, but the WTS does. Not only have they twisted prophecy, they have twisted mathmatical rules.
Sorry, the WTS has a lot of stuff wrong, but I don't think it's what you're accusing them of. Check that math again. 7 * 360 does equal 2520. Think of 607 BC as negative 607 (-607). -607 + 2520 = 1913. Except there's no year 0, so you can't just add like that. To make up for going directly from -1 to 1 you've got to add another year back in. So, 1913 + 1 = 1914. Not sure where you get 1877 from this.
They always calculated to 1914. with approximately this formula. But at one time they figured the destruction of Jerusalem was in 606 BC. Not taking into account that there is no year 0, they added: -606 + 2520 = 1914. Once they realized there was no year 0, they had to adjust 606 BC to 607 BC to make it still come out to 1914.
The way 1874 worked in, if I remember it correctly, Jesus was originally supposed to have arrived invisibly 40 years prior to Armageddon. Armageddon was scheduled for 1914, so Jesus was supposed to have arrived in 1874. I don't remember why they backed up 40 years, but if you want to read it, the North Seattle Bible Students have put some of Russell's books online. Check out http://www.nsbible.org/ and click on the library. After 1914 came and went they moved their predictions for 1874 to 1914.
Sorry, the WTS has a lot of stuff wrong, but I don't think it's what you're accusing them of. Check that math again. 7 * 360 does equal 2520. Think of 607 BC as negative 607 (-607). -607 + 2520 = 1913. Except there's no year 0, so you can't just add like that. To make up for going directly from -1 to 1 you've got to add another year back in. So, 1913 + 1 = 1914. Not sure where you get 1877 from this.
7 x 360 = 2520 Where does 360 come from? It's how many days are in a year(jewish calender).
The end of gentile times formula is based on 2520 which is arrived at by using 360. But when adding 2520 to 607 the formula changes to 365 day years. Where does 365 come from? How can we use that as a constant when 360 has been identified as the constant? So 607 plus 2520 years of 360 days instead of 365 days equals 1877 plus or minus.
They start the calculations using 360 day years but end the calculations using 365 day years.
607 + 2520(360 days) = 1877 give or take (1877 may be in error but it's within a couple of years)
607 + 2520(365 days) = 1914 (I had a typo on the original formula. Sorry bout that)
There's a difference of 12600 days between 2520 years of 360 days and 2520 years of 365 days. That equals 35 years of 360 days or 34.5 years of 365 days.
I'm not a mathmatician by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm pretty sure you can't change the constants of a formula in the middle of a formula. But that's exactly what is being done in trying to come up with 1914. Mathmatically it can't work that way.
Any math whizzes out there that can explain this better? Or show me how I'm wrong?
