"New Light!"
The basis for doing away with the 1914 doctrine may have been laid in this new book. I believe this is the first time, at least in one of the WTS “teaching books,” where credit has been given to a named source for the calculation of the year 1914. It says in the body of the book and in the appendix dealing with 1914 that “Bible students” and “sincere Bible students” calculated 1914. Predecessors to the Bible Teach book such as the Knowledge book, PE book, and the Truth book have never indicated who calculated 1914. Typically, when Bible Students are discussed in WTS literature it is given with a capital B and S (i.e., Bible Students referring to the International Bible Students Association). However, in this instance notice the use of a lower case s for students. I believe this is an attempt to lay the ground work for a future ‘new light’ by down playing the WTS ownership of 1914. This is accomplished by indicating that it was “sincere Bible students” that made this calculation. Perhaps they are referred to as “sincere” since they meant well even though they were ‘wrong.’ In keeping with the WTS trend that the 'faithful and discrete slave' can never be wrong they would choose to give ownvership to "sincere Bible studetns" since “sincere Bible students” certainly could be worng whereas the WTS could never admit to being wrong. More than half of the JW’s today have entered the WTS organization after the release of the Knowledge book (i.e., the pervious new bible student teach book). At least more than half of the JW’s today have not staked their expectations of when Armageddon might occur to the death of the generation that saw the events of 1914, since that concept was not taught in the Knowledge book. So the importance of 1914 must be of less significance in the mind of the Knowledge book inductees as compared to anyone coming into the JW organization prior the new understanding on generations from Matt. 24:36. A new teaching book seems to be released every ten years or so. So when a new teaching book comes out, by that time more than three quarters of JW’s will not have ever placed as much importance on the year 1914 as JW’s have prior to the new understanding on generations. In the next ten years or so the year 1914 will not have much other meaning than any other supposed historical date. So then, a new understanding of 1914 doctrine would not be ‘earth shattering’ to the JW faithful. This usage of “sincere Bible students” in the new Bible Teach book is readying the minds of the JW faithful for that kind of understanding or ‘new light.’ This kind of new light my never come about, but I suggest that the ground work for its acceptance by the JW faithful has been laid. This would allow the WTS to reconcile the count of 2520 years as starting from 607 B.C.E. to 587, 588, or 589 B.C.E.
The expression “sincere Bible students” as tied to a discussion of 1914 was used at least two times before by the WTS. These were in the Watchtower and Awake magazines one dating back to 1975. In both of those articles Bible students (note the use of the lower case ‘s’ for students) were identified as Jehovah’s Witnesses. So if the use of “sincere Bible students” in the new Bible Teach book is a prelude to a new understanding of the 2520 years doctrine, then this may create a slight SNAFU.
