It's long Sea Breeze, and somewhat repetitious but here's over 70 years worth.
Reference #1
1953. Watchtower, August 15, pages 492-493.
For decades before World War I God
had been preparing a people ... To them he uncovered the teachings of his Word
... He roused them to the realization that the time for the oft-prayed-for Kingdom
to be fully established was getting close.
Long in advance he even disclosed to them by his Word that the time for
the Kingdom to assume power in heaven and in earth was A.D. 1914.
The Truth
The
Watchtower did not teach that 1914 was the time for the Kingdom to assume power
in heaven until 1922, four years after
WWI ended. Prior to WWI Bible Students were
taught that the Kingdom was established in heaven in 1878 and it would assume
power on earth in 1914, destroying all Gentile powers.
Reference #2
1953. Watchtower, September 15, page 561.
For decades before A.D. 1914
Jehovah’s witnesses had been preaching the full establishment of God’s kingdom by Christ at the end of the
“appointed times of the nations” in that year.
The Truth
The
expression “the full establishment” meant something quite different in
the decades before 1914. Back then it
meant that the kingdom (already set up in 1878) would take over the earth,
destroying the Gentile powers, and thus be “fully established” everywhere.
Reference #3
1954. Watchtower, June 15, page 370.
Why, then, do the nations not realize
and accept the approach of this climax of judgment? It is because they have not heeded the
world-wide advertising of Christ’s return and his second presence. Since long before World War I Jehovah’s
witnesses pointed to 1914 as the time for this great event to occur.
The Truth
All Watchtower publications prior to WWI
declared that Christ’s return and his second presence began in 1874. It was not until 1933, fifteen years after WW1 ended, that the Watchtower
declared that Christ’s return and his second presence took place in 1914.
Reference #4
1958. Your Will Be Done On Earth, page 268.
from 1877 onward, Jehovah’s dedicated
people … were openly declaring … that the Gentile Times or “appointed times of
the nations” would end in 1914. In that
year the kingdom
of God was to be fully
established in the heavens”
The Truth
Neither of these
two statements is erroneous in itself. But in putting them together it
implies that from 1877 ‘Jehovah’s dedicated people’ not only declared that the
Gentile Times would end in 1914, but also ‘the kingdom of God was to be fully
established in the heavens’ in that year as well, which is not the case.
Reference #5
1959. Jehovah’s
Witnesses in the Divine Purpose,
pages 35 and 36.
One Sunday morning Russell was
invited to deliver a sermon in one of the churches in a certain city in Pennsylvania. He spoke at their morning service about the blessings of the Kingdom … Everyone
was thrilled with this news and wanted to hear more. In fact, some in the audience were from the
other church in the city and … they influenced both ministers to ask Russell to give another talk that same night
to an audience made up of members of both churches. ... At
the evening meeting Russell determined that now, since they had evidenced their
interest in Christ’s return and in the blessings that would accompany his
presence, it was necessary for him to go deeper into this matter and talk to them about the time that these things
would take place. This he did, pointing
to 1914.
The Truth
Not for one moment in his entire life
did Russell point to 1914 as the year of
Christ’s return and when his second presence would begin. Russell taught that Christ returned invisibly
in 1874, and was crowed in heaven in 1878, and these teachings continued well
the Rutherford era. It was 17 years after Russell was dead before the Watchtower assigned Christ’s
return to 1914.
Reference #6
1966. Watchtower, February 15, page 103.
For over thirty years before that
date … Jehovah’s witnesses have pointed to the year 1914 as the time for the
end of “the appointed times of the nations” and the time in which Christ would
begin his Kingdom rule.
The Truth
The first part is true that for over
thirty years before 1914 Jehovah’s witnesses pointed to the year 1914 as the
time for the end of “the appointed times of the nations”, but it is not true
with regard to the time in which Christ would begin his Kingdom rule. It was eight years after 1914 before Jehovah’s witnesses pointed to 1914 for this
event.
Reference #7
1968. Awake! October 8, page 12.
the publishers of this magazine
called attention to the year 1914 as far back as 1879, pointing out that disastrous conditions would begin then.
The Truth
This is
simply not true, in 1879 the Watchtower believed that 1914 would see the end of the “time of trouble”.
Reference #8
1972. Awake! October 8, , page 15.
As far back as 1879, the publishers
of this magazine pointed to the year 1914 as a marked year in Bible prophecy,
as the starting point of what the Bible calls the “time of the end.” … the
“appointed times of the nations,” … concluded in the year 1914, and God’s
people on earth were able to calculate the date
even before it came … his worshipers on earth realized that the “last
days” foretold in God’s Word had indeed
begun.
The Truth
From 1879 until
1929 the Watchtower pointed to 1799 as the starting point of the “time of the
end” or the beginning of the “last days”.
It was half a century later (in 1929) before the Watchtower assigned
this event to 1914.
Reference#9
1972. Paradise Restored to Mankind by Theocracy,
page 369.
For more than three decades the
nations had been notified that those “appointed times of the [Gentile] nations”
would terminate in the fall of 1914 C.E.
… the anointed remnant of
spiritual Israelites, who, as International Bible Students, were pointing to the Bible’s time schedule
and declaring that the “times of the Gentiles” would end in 1914, to usher in
an unprecedented “time of trouble” upon all the nations.
The Truth
This is
simply not true, in the decades before 1914 the Watchtower declared that the
“time of trouble” would end in 1914
when the Gentile nations lease of power would expire.
Reference #10
1975. Man’s Salvation Out of World Distress at
Hand, page 136.
the remnant of spiritual Israel
had for decades, yes, since the year 1876, been looking forward to the ending of the Times of the Gentiles in
the autumn of 1914. They were expecting
God’s Messianic kingdom to be fully established in the heavens by then and also
for the remnant of spiritual Israel
to be glorified with Jesus Christ in the heavenly kingdom at that time.
The Truth
It is technically true that in 1876 the
remnant of spiritual Israel
were expecting God’s Messianic kingdom to be fully established in the heavens by 1914, because they expected it to be
set up in heaven in 1878. But after 1878
this statement isn’t even technically correct, it is simply wrong.
Reference #11
1975. Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, page
37.
CT Russell wrote an article entitled
“Gentile Times: When Do They End?” It
was published in the Bible Examiner
of October 1876, and therein Russell said:
“The seven times will end in A.D. 1914.”
… True to such calculations, 1914
did mark the end of those times and the birth of God’s kingdom in heaven with
Christ Jesus as king. Just think of
it! Jehovah granted his people that
knowledge nearly four decades before those times expired.
The Truth
It was not
until 1922 that Jehovah’s people were granted the knowledge that the birth of God’s kingdom in heaven with
Christ Jesus as king took place in 1914, 8 years after the Gentile Times expired.
Prior to 1922 Jehovah’s people believed that God’s kingdom was set up
with Christ Jesus as king in 1878.
Reference #12
1975. Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, page 72.
For years God’s people had pointed
forward to 1914 as the year that would mark the end of the Gentile Times. Their expectations
did not lead to disappointment.
On July 28, 1914, World War I erupted, and as time marched on toward
October 1 more and more nations and empires got involved.
The Truth
Bible Students
expected the exact opposite for 1914.
They expected the “Time of Trouble” to end, with God’s Kingdom taking
over the earth and putting an end to all wars etc.
Reference #13
1988. Watchtower, May 1, 1988, page 22.
At the back of our house in Tojo-cho,
Osaka, there
was a house with a sign: “Osaka Branch of the International Bible Students Association”. Assuming it to be a Christian group, I
visited the house. “Do you believe in
the Second Advent of the Lord?” I asked
the young man who came to the door.
“Christ’s Second Advent was realized in 1914,” he answered. In astonishment, I told him that was
impossible. “You should read this book,”
he said, handing me The Harp of God.”
The Truth
The Harp of God goes to great lengths
to explain that the Second Advent of the Lord was realised in 1874. It would be more than a decade after the publication of The Harp of God
before the Watchtower assigned this event to 1914.
Reference #14
1990. Watchtower, September 1, page 11.
After the war
ended in 1918, there was no work available in England,
so I rejoined the army and went off to India as part of the peacetime
garrison. In May 1920 the malaria flared
up again, and I was sent up into the hills to recuperate. There I read all the books I could get my
hands on, including the Bible. Reading the
Scriptures intensified my interest in
the Lord’s return. Months later,
down in Kanpur,
I started a Bible study group, hoping to learn more about the Lord’s return. It was there that I met Fredrick James, a former British soldier who was now a
zealous Bible Student. He explained to
me that Jesus had been present since 1914, invisible to man. This was the most thrilling news I had ever heard.
The Truth
This report is technically correct, but
misleading, for while the Watchtower of 1920 taught that Christ’s presence began
in 1874, it therefore follows that he had also been present since 1914. In 1920 Fredrick
James would have taught that Jesus had been present, invisible to man
since 1874, forty years before 1914.
Reference #15
1998.
Watchtower, September 15, page 15.
Similarly, a prophecy providentially caused sincere 19th-century Bible students
to be in expectation. By linking the “seven times” of Daniel
4:25 with “the times of the Gentiles,” they anticipated that Christ would
receive Kingdom power in 1914.
The Truth
19th-century bible
students did not expect that Christ would receive Kingdom
power in 1914. For over two decades into
the 20th century Bible students were
taught that Christ received it in 1878.
Reference #16
2012. Yearbook
of Jehovah’s Witnesses,
pages 100-101.
The Bible Students were anxious to
see what would happen in 1914. The book The Time Is at Hand (the second volume
of the Millennial Dawn series)
explained that the times of the Gentiles would end in 1914 and would be marked
by trouble and anarchy, after which God’s
Kingdom would begin to take control.
… one evening in July 1914, Karl
Kristiansen was playing in the Skien city orchestra. During the intermission he said to some of
the people around him: “In a few weeks, something is going to happen. First there will be war, then revolution,
then anarchy, and then God’s Kingdom will come.” When World War I broke out shortly after
that, people came to Karl and wanted to know more.
The Truth
It is true that the book The Time Is at Hand did explain that
1914 would be “be marked by trouble and anarchy, after which God’s Kingdom would
begin to take control”. But that is
only half the story, for this narrative has been deliberately designed to make
it appear consistent with current Watchtower teaching. In truth, the ‘trouble and anarchy’ were foretold as preludes to Armageddon and
they had been predicted to start well before 1914. By July of 1914, Mr Kristiansen had been
expecting these things to occur ‘in a few
weeks’ for several years, because the trouble and anarchy were due to end
in 1914. And when Mr Kristiansen said
that ‘then God’s Kingdom will come’
he meant that it would come to earth
because it had already been set up in heaven.
Reference #17
2013. Watchtower,
February 15, 2013, page
18.
Decades before 1914, Jehovah’s
worshippers declared to the nations that the
end of “the appointed times of the
nations” would come in that year and that the world would enter into an
unequaled period of trouble.
The Truth
This is
simply not true, in the decades before 1914 the Watchtower believed that 1914
would see an end to the “time of
trouble”.
Reference #18
2014. God’s Kingdom Rules, pages 15 and 23.
As early as the 1870’s, they pointed
to 1914 as the year when those seven times would end. Although our brothers of that era did not yet
grasp the full significance of that marked year, they proclaimed what they knew
far and wide.Though the Watch Tower
had rightly pointed to 1914 as the year when the Gentile Times would end, the
brothers did not yet understand what would take place in that year.
The Truth
They knew only too well what they
expected of 1914. The fact is that all
of their expectations failed to materialise.
They did “fully grasp” and “understand”, they were just completely
wrong.
Reference #19
2014. God’s Kingdom Rules, Page 22.
Long before 1914, the Bible Students
said that a time of trouble would begin in that
marked year. But even they could not have imagined how accurate that prediction
would turn out to be.
The Truth
The truth
is completely the opposite. Before 1914
Russell predicted that the time of trouble would end in 1914. And nothing he
predicted for 1914 bears the slightest resemblance to WWI.
