"secular history books don’t agree with Watchtower that Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 BCE, but instead place the event 20 years later. The reason the date is important is because it is the starting date for JW chronology which leads to 1914 as the end of the Gentile Times, and the beginning of the Last Days, as JWs understand it."
His problem was like so many others is they didn't think outside the box. The box had the destruction of Jerusalem as the start of the gentile times and so the arguments ensued as to when the destruction was. And they all were trapped with the wrong start from the wrong understanding. So Carl was no one to look up to. Just a lost sheep leading many astray.
The start of the Gentile times was not the destruction of Jerusalem. It's amazing that so many miss this.
2 Samule 7:12 "When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I
will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy bowels,
and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 16 And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made sure for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever."
That was a prophesy leading to Christ as being the seed that will be on the kingdom forever. Not dependent upon Jerusalem. Jesus never sat on the throne in Jerusalem. Infact David's descendants lost sovereignty and thus the throne was not established forever. So was Jehovah wrong?
That prophesy was paused, in 607,before the destruction of Jerusalem, which happened in 587. And unpaused 2520 years later in 1914.