Missed 1914 by that Much

by truth_b_known 20 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  truth_b_known

  Do you remember the Mars Climate Orbiter? It was a probe launched by NASA designed to gather data on Mars. The problem is that the probe never reached Mars. The reason: NASA forgot to convert their measurements from English standard to Metric prior to the launching of the probe.

  1914 has been a key date for Jehovah's Witnesses. It is supposed to mark when Jesus was enthroned over God's kingdom, all invisibly of course, and begin the "Last Days" of the generation that would not pass away. How did this date come to be?

  According to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, it all stems from Daniel's alleged prophecy of tree being cut down and then eventually growing again. 7 times of 360 days of a Jewish calendar from 607BCE to 1914CE. However, much like the Mars Climate Orbiter, we have a data conversion problem.

  The Jewish lunar calendar consisted of 360 days, as gathered from Daniel's prophecy. After all, Daniel was an Israelite, so it would only make sense he would prophecy in using his own calendar. However, in October 1582 much of the world adopted and still uses the Gregorian calendar. A calendar that not only uses 365 days a year, but every fourth year adds an extra day, bringing the total to 366 days.

  I will freely admit that I am horrible at math, so please feel free to correct my calculations. With that being said I'll let the reader run the numbers.
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  Simon

  Don't forget that the world also skipped 11 days in 1752 ... (actually some countries remained out of sync until the 1900's)
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  TD

  The Jewish lunar calendar consisted of 360 days,

  The idea of a fixed 360 day year is entirely an invention of Christian interpreters sometimes referred to as a "prophetic year."

  The Hebrew calendar is actually lunisolar, which means that while the months are based on the moon, the year itself is based on the sun. This results in a 19 year cycle of intercalary months and leap years. .

  Daniel may not have followed the Metonic cycle as we know it today, but of necessity some system of adjustment had to exist, else the months would not have stayed synced with the seasons and pretty soon winter would be falling right in the middle of summer months. (Even the JW Memorial follows a 19 year cycle although the JW's themselves may not be aware of it or understand why.)
  

  Your point still stands though. The JW's derive the 2520 year figure using one system and do the actual count using another.
  
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  OUTLAW

  Missed 1914 by that Much

  According to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, it all stems from Daniel's alleged prophecy of tree being cut down and then eventually growing again. 7 times of 360 days of a Jewish calendar from 607BCE to 1914CE.

  WATCHTOWER

  
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  Vanderhoven7

  The idea of a fixed 360 day year is entirely an invention of Christian interpreters sometimes referred to as a "prophetic year."

  Not necessarily an interpretation since "times" are biblically equivocated with 360 days in Revelation 12

  Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

  Rev 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

  Three and one half times would be (360 +360 + 360 + 180 = 1260)
  

  
  
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  snowbird

  Don't forget the 42 months of Revelation 11.

  Sylvia
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  TD

  Vanderhoven7

  "Interpretation" is the act of explaining the work of others who are not here to explain it themselves.

  And you've provided a good example of it.
  
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  sparky1

  

  "Hey.........some a$$hole cut down my favorite tree! And here I am on my hands and knees eating grass. I wonder what it all means.....................?" - Nebuchadnezzar
  
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  steve2

  There have been some scholarly works on this very topic.

  For example, the book The Gentile Times Reconsidered: Chronology and Christ's Return by Carl Olof Jonson. His book can be downloaded from the internet.
  
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  Finkelstein

  1914 has been a key date for Jehovah's Witnesses. It is supposed to mark when Jesus was enthroned over God's kingdom, all invisibly of course, and begin the "Last Days" of the generation that would not pass away.

  The 1914 doctrine in itself is not based in truthful bible interpretation, since Jesus admonished any of his true followers to set a time upon god's own sacred time and I would think Jesus has ruling prominence over and above any earthly man past or present .
  

  Any charlatan that has made this time calculating dating assertion has gone directly against Jesus's own set of rules and instructions for preaching the Gospel.

  As it is with most Charlatans like the WTS they are more inspired to sell their literature to the public than adhering to accurate interpretation of bible Scripture.