The false prophecy of 1914 : 607 or 587?

Fraud

The Watchtower claims that their founder is Charles Taze Russell and predicted the date of 1914 many decades prior as an important aspect of history. The 1st World War happened. Originally it was supposed to be the end of the world in 1914. Note that it's been 100 years already, from 1914 to 2014 and the end still has not happened!

Their calculations are based on the following:

Revelation 12 :6,14 – « 3 times and a half » = 1 260 days = 1 260 years

Daniel 4 :16 - « 7 times » = X = 2 520 years

The calculation of 2520 years starts with the fall of Jerusalem to the hands of the Babylonians in 607 B.C. and it give you 1914! (Note that you must not count the year zero for it to work.)

2 520 years

-607

1914

Nevertheless, there is a problem. Jerusalem never fell to the Babylonians in 607 B.C. but in 586-587 B.C.

This brings us to 1934 or 1935. AND NOTHING SPECIAL HAPPENED THEN!

All history books, minus Jehovah’s Witnesses word, claim that the fall of Jerusalem was in 586 or 587 B.C. The Watchtower is the only one to claim it to have been in 607 B.C.

2 520 years

-587 or -586

1934 or 1935

Bible of Jerusalem (2005) (french) p. 2155:

http://bibliotheque.editionsducerf.fr/par%20page/84/TM.htm#

" June-July 587 or 586 : seizure of Jerusalem"

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=32&search=jer+49-50

" (fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.)"

http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2008/04/Nebo-Sarsekim-Found-in-Babylonian-Tablet.aspx

"'The time was the ninth day of the fourth month of the 11th year of the reign of Zedekiah' (Jer 39:2), i.e., July 18, 587 BC. The place was Jerusalem. The event was the fall of Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom of Judah to the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar after a siege of two and a half years."

http://www.noblemind.com/topics/Jerusalem (*This link doesn't work anymore.)

"587 BC Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians, ending the Kingdom of Judah. The conquerors destroy the Jewish Temple of Jerusalem and exile the land's remaining inhabitants."

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Babylonian_captivity.aspx

"Babylonian captivity in the history of Israel, the period from the fall of Jerusalem (586 BC) to the reconstruction in Palestine of a new Jewish state (after 538 BC). After the capture of the city by the Babylonians some thousands, probably selected for their prosperity and importance, were deported to Mesopotamia."

Here is a recent quote, showing that the Watchtower still teaches that lie of "607 B.C.E.". From their book : "What does the Bible really teach ?" (2005) p.217 :

"When would that grand event occur? Jesus showed that the Gentiles would rule for a fixed period of time. The account in Daniel chapter 4 holds the key to knowing how long that period would last. It relates a prophetic dream experienced by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. he saw an immense tree that was chopped down. Its stump could not grow because it was banded with iron and copper. An angel declared : "Let seven times pass over it." — Daniel 4:10-16.

In the Bible, trees are sometimes used to represent rulership. (Ézékiel 17:22-24 ; 31:2-5). So the chopping down of the symbolic tree represents how God's rulership, as expressed through the kings at Jerusalem, would be interrupted. However, the vision served notice that this 'trampling of Jerusalem' would be temporary-a period of "seven times." How long a period is that?

Revelation 12:6, 14 indicates that three and a half times equal "a thousand two hundred and sixty days." "Seven times" would therefore last twice as long, or 2,520 days. But the Gentile nations did not stop 'tramplling' on God's rulership a mere 2,520 days after Jerusalem's fall. Evidently, then, this prophecy covers a much longer period of time. On the basis of Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6, wich speak of "a day for a year," the "seven times" would cover 2,520 years.

The 2,520 years began in October 607 B.C.E., when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians and the Davidic king was taken off his throne. The period ended in October 1914. At that time, "the appointed times of the nations" ended, and Jesus Christ was installed as God's heavenly king.*— Psalm 2:1-6 ; Daniel 7:13, 14."

* From October 607 B.C.E. to October 1 B.C.E. is 606 years. Since there is no zero year, from October 1 B.C.E. to October 1914 C.E. is 1,914 years. By adding 606 years and 1,914 years, we get 2,520 years. For information on Jerusalem's fall in 607 B.C.E., see the article "Chronology" in Insight on the Scriptures, published by Jehovah's Witnesses."

The Gentile Times Reconsidered, by Carl Olof Jonsson.

The idea that the "Gentile Times" referred to at Luke 21:24 form a period of 2,520 years has led to speculation and disappointment among many who expected Christ's return during the past two centuries. How did this belief originate and develop? What do the historical and Biblical facts show?

https://a.co/d/bPXrHnc

https://hartpublishers.ca/

*The Watchtowers of October 1st and November 1st 2011, include an article in 2 parts attempting to discredit historians that support the date of 587 B.C. for the destruction of Jerusalem.

Here are the reviews :

-WHEN WAS ANCIENT JERUSALEM DESTROYED?” (Part 1).(PDF)

A critique of the two-part article published in the public editions of The Watchtower of October 1, 2011, Part One, pages 26-31 and The Watchtower of November 1, 2011, Part Two, pages 22-28. PART ONE. © Carl Olof Jonsson, Göteborg, Sweden, 2011

http://kristenfrihet.se/vtsvar/vtsvar1.pdf

-WHEN WAS ANCIENT JERUSALEM DESTROYED?” (Part 2) .(PDF)

http://kristenfrihet.se/vtsvar/vtsvar2.pdf

-COMMENTARY BY DOUG MASON ON “WHEN WAS ANCIENT JERUSALEM DESTROYED? PART ONE: WHY IT MATTERS; WHAT THE EVIDENCE SHOWS”.(PDF.)

http://www.jwstudies.com/Commentary_on_When_Was_Ancient_Jerusalem_Destroyed.pdf

-CRITIQUE (PART A) of When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed? Part 2, What the Clay Documents Really Show (Watchtower, November 1, 2011, pages 23 -28). By Doug Mason.(PDF).

http://www.jwstudies.com/Critique_Part_A_of_Jerusalem_Destroyed_part_2.pdf

-CRITIQUE (PART B) REFERENCES of When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed? Part 2, What the Clay Documents Really Show (Watchtower, November 1, 2011, pages 23 -28). By Doug Mason.(PDF).

http://www.jwstudies.com/Critique_Part_B__References__of_Jerusalem_Destroyed_part_2.pdf