Can someon explain the 70 years prophecy to me?

by ithinkisee 17 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  OldSoul

  ithinkisee: Additionally, what is the underhanded reason that the Society clings to "desolation" when the Hebrew words describing their captivity are rendered as servitude? What is the benefit of them clinging to the "desolation" stuff?

  The "desolation" stuff comes from 2 Chronicles 36:17-21. Unwittingly, they provide the best evidence against a 70 year exile. The exile started with the capture of the King and some 8,000 of the top echelon of Jewish society. It was another ten years before the land was "desolated." Since the seventy years of desolation started ten years after the exile began, either the exile was ten years too long or the deolation was ten years too short. There is no scripture in the Bible that says the exile would last 70 years.

  There is no benefit to them clinging to the "desolation" stuff. It would embarass them if they understood it. Fortunately for their egos, they do not have insight. I hope this has helped somewhat. There are many threads on this forum where the linguistic details are hashed out with JW defenders. I will try to post some for you.

  Respectfully,
  OldSoul
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  OldSoul

  doogie: high masochistic tolerance to pain.
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  Alwayshere

  ithinkisee, Read Jeremiah 25:11. It plainly says "These nations will have to serve theKing of Babylon for seventy years." read Jeremiah 27:6-7. It plainly says "I[God] have given ALL these lands into the hand of NEBUCHADNEZZAR the KING of Babylon.......and ALL these nations will serve him and his son and his grandson, untill thevery end of his land come." The end for Babylon was 539. The Watchtower tries to make this mean 70 years of desolation for Jerusalem but no where in the Bible does it say Jerusalem will lay desolated for 70 years. another scripture to read showing they will serve the King og Babylon is 2Chronicles 36:20 which says they will serve the King UNTILL the reign of the Kingdom of Persia. That reign started in 539 when they captured Babylon. Hope this helps. The WTS is a cult. been there.
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  scholar

  ithinkisee

  The seventy years is a subject of much dispute within current scholarship and is well demonstrated by the Jonsson hypothesis as set out in the GTR. The Society has set out a very simple expanation based on five principal texts:

  Jeremiah 29:10; 25:11; 25:12

  Daniel 9:2

  2 Chronicles 36:20-21

  Zechariah 1:12; 7:5

  All of these texts combine to describe the seventy years as a period of desolation for the land of Judah and its city with temple, Jerusalem. The period wa thus of desolation, servitude and exile to and at Babylon. The period began with destuction of the city in 607 and ended with the release by the decree of Cyrus and the return of the exiles to their homeland in 537 BCE.

  The conflict of interpretation arises from many factors but principally it conflicts with secular chronology which cannot accommodate a seventy year period unless it is treated as a round or symbolic number or the period of desolation is shortened to only fifty years.

  The Jonsson hypothesis refers to many seventy year periods which is so confusing. Also, it cannot be certain as to when the period began either in 605 or 609 BCE. The more fundamental problem is that this hypothesis is solely based upon the mistranslation of a single Henrew preposition 'le' in Jeremiah 29:10. So, rather than 'at Babylon which is the traditional rendering we now have the populist rendering 'for Babylon' which is merely an attempt to bed down with wily poztates and higher critics.

  scholar JW
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  ithinkisee

  For anyone that just read Scholar's entry (above) please don't bother responding to this thread. I have already read the 200+ posts on the other recent threads.

  I will PM you people directly that have been helping so much.

  Please let this thread die ...

  -ithinkisee
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  Alwayshere

  ithinkisee, do not believe anything scholar says! He is A JW and he knows what he says is a lie! The WTS is run by Apostates and he is one of them. Others on this post will tell you the same. Check Encyclopedias and other true sources.
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  OldSoul

  Poor thread! It was a good thread. At least its suffering has ended. In many ways, we will carry the thread in our hearts always. Even if the thread does not pass over into another, greater forum, we will always have been glad of its presence in our lives for a time.

  And with that, we commit this thread to the great beyond which we may all one day discover. Bytes to bytes, and binary to binary.
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  Alwayshere

  Amen!