1914 is fundamental to the existence of the Watchtower Society, as from this is derived the concept that Jesus chose the Watchtower Society in 1919 as his organization and sole channel for salvation. If 1914 is incorrect, then so is the necessity to become a Jehovah's Witness in order to survive an impending war of Armageddon. For this reason, the following information on whether Jesus started his invisible rulership in 1914 is critical information for Jehovah's Witnesses.

This article shows that Daniel 4 does not indicate Jesus started ruling in 1914 for the following reasons;

• There is no indication that Daniel 4 had two fulfilments or that it is an end time prophecy
• Jerusalem did not fall in 607 B.C.
• The Watchtower methodology in interpreting this prophecy is inconsistent and flawed in numerous areas

A person should be realistic about the ability of the Watchtower Society to interpret prophecy. To date there has been a proven time prophecy failure rate of 100%. As shown in the Dates section, the Watchtower used Bible prophecy to explain that the following dates were of significance; 1780, 1799, 1829, 1844, 1846, 1872, 1874, 1875, 1878, 1880, 1881, 1891, 1906, 1910, 1915, 1920, 1921 and 1925. Every single one of these interpretations is now admitted as wrong. Even 1914 and 1918 were not fulfilled as expected and subsequently reinterpreted after the event. Does this inspire confidence that the current understanding of 1914 is correct and that Holy Spirit guides Watchtower prophetic interpretation?

Daniel 4 - no Second Fulfilment

Every single prophecy in Daniel had only one fulfilment yet the Watchtower claims Daniel 4:9-32 should have two fulfilments.

• Daniel 2: An immense image representing kingdoms
• Daniel 4: Seven times representing Nebuchadnezzar
• Daniel 5: Writing on the wall foretelling Babylon's immediate destruction
• Daniel 7: Four beasts being 4 world powers
• Daniel 9: Seventy weeks foreshadowing Christ's arrival
• Daniel 11: Kings of the North and South

Why would Daniel 4 have a second fulfilment when all other prophecies had but one fulfilment?

Daniel 4 prophesies that Nebuchadnezzar would act as a beast for 7 years. There is nothing about a second fulfilment and it takes a significant imagination to deduce that Daniel 4 points to our time.

Daniel 4:9-32 "'O Bel·te·shaz´zar the chief of the magic-practicing priests, because I myself well know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that there is no secret at all that is troubling you, tell [me] the visions of my dream that I have beheld and its interpretation. 10 "'Now the visions of my head upon my bed I happened to be beholding, and, look! a tree in the midst of the earth, the height of which was immense. 11 The tree grew up and became strong, and its very height finally reached the heavens, and it was visible to the extremity of the whole earth. 12 Its foliage was fair, and its fruit was abundant, and there was food for all on it. Under it the beast of the field would seek shade, and on its boughs the birds of the heavens would dwell, and from it all flesh would feed itself. 13 "'I continued beholding in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, look! a watcher, even a holy one, coming down from the heavens themselves. 14 He was calling out loudly, and this is what he was saying: "CHOP the tree down, and cut off its boughs. SHAKE off its foliage, and scatter its fruitage. Let the beast flee from under it, and the birds from its boughs. 15 However, LEAVE its rootstock itself in the earth, even with a banding of iron and of copper, among the grass of the field; and with the dew of the heavens let it be wet, and with the beast let its portion be among the vegetation of the earth. 16 Let its heart be changed from that of mankind, and let the heart of a beast be given to it, and let seven times pass over it. 17 By the decree of watchers the thing is, and [by] the saying of holy ones the request is, to the intent that people living may know that the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind and that to the one whom he wants to, he gives it and he sets up over it even the lowliest one of mankind." 18 "'This was the dream that I myself, King Neb·u·chad·nez´zar, beheld; and you yourself, O Bel·te·shaz´zar, say what the interpretation is, forasmuch as all the [other] wise men of my kingdom are un able to make known to me the interpretation itself. But you are competent, because the spirit of holy gods is in you.' 19 "At that time Daniel himself, whose name is Bel·te·shaz´zar, was astonished for a moment, and his very thoughts began to frighten him. "The king was answering and saying, 'O Bel·te·shaz´zar, do not let the dream and the interpretation themselves frighten you.' "Bel·te·shaz´zar was answering and saying, 'O my lord, may the dream [apply] to those hating you, and its interpretation to your adversaries. 20 "'The tree that you beheld, that grew great and became strong and the height of which finally reached the heavens and which was visible to all the earth, 21 and the foliage of which was fair, and the fruit of which was abundant, and on which there was food for all; under which the beasts of the field would dwell, and on the boughs of which the birds of the heavens would reside, 22 it is you, O king, because you have grown great and become strong, and your grandeur has grown great and reached to the heavens, and your rulership to the extremity of the earth. 23 "'And because the king beheld a watcher, even a holy one, coming down from the heavens, who was also saying: "CHOP the tree down, and RUIN it. However, LEAVE its rootstock itself in the earth, but with a banding of iron and of copper, among the grass of the field, and with the dew of the heavens let it become wet, and with the beasts of the field let its portion be until seven times themselves pass over it," 24 this is the interpretation, O king, and the decree of the Most High is that which must befall my lord the king. 25 And you they will be driving away from men, and with the beasts of the field your dwelling will come to be, and the vegetation is what they will give even to you to eat just like bulls; and with the dew of the heavens you yourself will be getting wet, and seven times themselves will pass over you, until you know that the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind, and that to the one whom he wants to he gives it. 26 " 'And because they said to leave the rootstock of the tree, your kingdom will be sure to you after you know that the heavens are ruling. 27 Therefore, O king, may my counsel seem good to you, and remove your own sins by righteousness, and your iniquity by showing mercy to the poor ones. Maybe there will occur a lengthening of your prosperity.'" 28 All this befell Neb·u·chad·nez´zar the king. 29 At the end of twelve lunar months he happened to be walking upon the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king was answering and saying: "Is not this Babylon the Great, that I myself have built for the royal house with the strength of my might and for the dignity of my majesty?" 31 While the word was yet in the king's mouth, there was a voice that fell from the heavens: "To you it is being said, O Neb·u·chad·nez´zar the king, 'The kingdom itself has gone away from you, 32 and from mankind they are driving even you away, and with the beasts of the field your dwelling will be. Vegetation they will give even to you to eat just like bulls, and seven times themselves will pass over you, until you know that the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind, and that to the one whom he wants to he gives it.'"

Is there anything to conclude that there should be a second fulfilment? There is no reference to a second fulfilment, no reference to Gentile times, no reference to the Last Days and no reference to the Israelites. Despite this, the prophecy of the seven times is the lynch pin of the Watchtower belief structure and the only scripture that is used to indicate that Jesus started ruling specifically in the year 1914.

The current Watchtower understanding is that this prophecy signifies the end of God's rulership through the Jews in 607 B.C. The next 2,520 years were the Gentile Times of the Nations, until God re-established his Kingdom in heaven in 1914.

The interpretation goes as follows;

• The cutting down of the tree represents the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar in 607 B.C.
• The "seven times" constitute 2,520 years, 7 lunar years of 360 days each
• The principle of "a day for a year" converts 2520 days to 2520 years
• The 2520 years of the Gentile times ended in 1914, coinciding with the start of Jesus heavenly rulership

Even if Daniel 4 was to have a secondary fulfilment each point is based on misconceptions.

607 B.C. inaccurate

Jerusalem fell between 586 and 587 B.C., This is stated in virtually all encyclopaedias and supported by a significant volume of historical information. To arrive at 1914 the Watchtower claims his figure is wrong and that Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C. This is highly significant; if the Gentile times did not end in 1914 then the Watchtower Society was not chosen by Jesus in 1919.

There are numerous ways used to determine that Jerusalem fell in 587 B.C. This includes Ptolemy's Canon, the Nabonidus Chronicle, Harran, Hillah stele and synchronization with Egyptian chronology. The Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology, page 274 states "Archaeological evidence for the destruction of the kingdom in 586 B.C. comes from Jerusalem, Lachish, Tell Beit Mirsim, and other sites." Tens of thousands of detailed Economic-administrative and legal documents have been unearthed outlining daily, monthly and yearly occurrences during the reign of the Babylonian kings.

Prosopography is the study of careers and makes the Watchtowers addition of twenty years to Babylonian history unlikely due to the extending the life span of discovered Babylonians. A comparison of business people such as the Egibi business house with Watchtower chronology would require people mentioned in these records to have been working to over the age of 100. Likewise the Adad-guppi' stele would require the mother of Nabonidus to have lived until the age of 121.

The highly predicable nature of the stars and planets makes astronomical observations invaluable in dating prior events. Babylonians placed great importance on astrology and the thousands of records uncovered prove precisely the dates for the reign of Babylonian kings. VAT 4956 provides 30 observations, 5 of which place Nebuchadnezzar's 37th year as 568/67 B.C.E., making this an absolute date. This is significant as 2 Kings 25:2,8 places "the eleventh year of King Zedekiah" in "the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar", proving beyond doubt the date for the fall of Jerusalem.

Watchtower Refute

The Watchtower claims that the above evidence is all meaningless, wrong and cannot be trusted, because it disagrees with [Watchtower] interpretation of Bible prophecy.

"If we follow the accurate timekeeping of Jehovah God as recorded in his Word, we see that the desolation of Judah ran from 607 to 537 B.C.E. and will thereby avoid making the mistake of the chronologers of Christendom who ignore the prophecy of the seventy years' desolation and date Jerusalem's destruction as occurring in 587 B.C.E. They limit the desolation of Jerusalem and the land of Judah to merely fifty years, accepting the unreliable calculations of pagan historians rather than the infallible Word of God." Watchtower 1965 September 15 p.569

"However, where the interpretation of these findings conflicts with clear statements in the Bible, we accept with confidence what the Holy Scriptures say, whether on matters related to chronology or any other topic." Watchtower 1989 March 15 p.22

This baseless argumentation is counterproductive, as the Watchtower relies on the very same historical records to arrive 607 B.C. 607 can only be determined by using historical records to calculate when Babylon fell. Archaeological evidence that exists to show that the destruction of Jerusalem was in 586/587 B.C. is the same evidence that the Society uses to prove 539 B.C. was the destruction of Babylon.

Furthermore, the claim that 587 conflicts with Bible prophecy is not a relevant argument, as there are historically acceptable ways to reconcile the prophecy, as shown later.

Not surprisingly, since the Watchtower relies on historical evidence to prove when Babylon fell, information presented in the Watchtower's own journals can be used to show that 607 B.C. is wrong.

Simple calculation

Following is a simple calculation of when Jerusalem fell, as taken solely from Watchtower literature. In viewing the calculation remember that everything goes backwards when calculating years B.C.

Babylon fell	"Babylon fell in 539 B.C." Babylon the Great Has Fallen - God's Kingdom Rules p.184	539 B.C.
Plus Nabonidus	"On the basis of cuneiform texts he is believed to have ruled some seventeen years(556-539 B.C.E.)." Aid to Bible Understanding - Nabonidus p.1195	17 years
Plus Labashi-Marduk	"Labashi-Marduk ... was a vicious boy, and within nine months he had his throat cut by an assassin." Babylon the Great Has Fallen - God's Kingdom Rules p.184	1 year
Plus Neriglissar	Neriglissar ... reigned four years Babylon the Great Has Fallen - God's Kingdom Rules p.184	4 years
Plus Evil-Merodach	"After reigning but two years King Evil-Merodach was murdered" Babylon the Great Has Fallen - God's Kingdom Rules p.184	2 years
Plus Nebuchadnezzar	"Nebuchadnezzar ruled as king for 43 years" Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2 p.480	43 years
Equals start of Nebuchadnezzar's reign	Calculated by adding above figures	606 B.C.
Minus Nebuchadnezzar's 19th year	2 Kings 25:8-9 "And in the ... nineteenth year of King Neb·u·chad·nez´zar ... the servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. And he proceeded to burn the house of Jehovah"	19th year
Date for Destruction	Therefore calculated as:	587 B.C.

Detailed Calculation

2 Kings 24 records that Jehoiakim paid tribute to Babylon for three years. The Babylonian record confirms that this was for the three years of 604, 603 and 602 B.C., with the tribute being collected in November/December. When it came time to collect the tribute in the next year, Egypt and Judah rebelled. The Babylonian record shows that beginning in November 601 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar fought a great war with Egypt, which he barely won, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. It was when Babylon was in this weakened state that Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, as discussed at 2 Kings 24:1-2;

"In his days Neb·u·chad·nez´zar the king of Babylon came up, and so Je·hoi´a·kim became his servant for three years. However, he turned back and rebelled against him. 2 And Jehovah began to send against him marauder bands of Chal·de´ans and marauder bands of Syrians and marauder bands of Mo´ab·ites and marauder bands of the sons of Am´mon, and he kept sending them against Judah to destroy it, according to Jehovah's word that he had spoken by means of his servants the prophets."

As Nebuchadnezzar was personally at war in Egypt, his vassal kingdoms of Syro-Palestine were used to punish Jerusalem for Jehoiakim's rebellion. The destruction they inflicted upon Judah in November/December 601 B.C. was severe enough that it was said to have fulfilled the words of the prophets that Jerusalem would be destroyed. This was the first destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon. The well-known second and final destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon was over thirteen years later in 587 B.C.

601 B.C. could be used as the date of the destruction of Jerusalem, though generally the date of 587 B.C. is used as this is when it was totally destroyed. In either case 607 B.C. is unsupported. If the Society decided to use either of these dates then they would have to move the start of the Last Days to either 1920 or 1934.

The Watchtower publications can be used to show that the date of the destruction is 587 B.C. simply by adding the length of reigns of the Babylonian kings that they have given.

"Amel-Marduk (Evil-merodach) as the oldest son succeeded Nebuchadnezzar to the throne in 581 B.C.E. He did a kindness to one of the Judean captives, by which kindness he unwittingly carried out Jehovah's purpose. Second Kings 25:27-30 states: "It came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin the king of Judah, in the twelfth month [in 580 B.C.E.], . . . Evil-merodach the king of Babylon, in the year of his becoming king, raised up the head of Jehoiachin the king of Judah out of the house of detention; and he began to speak good things with him, and then put his throne higher than the thrones of the kings that were with him in Babylon. And he took off his prison garments; and he ate bread constantly before him all the days of his life." Jehoiachin (or Jeconiah) had seven sons in Babylonia, including Shealtiel, whose nominal son Zerubbabel became governor of rebuilt Jerusalem, and through whose line of descent Jesus Christ came.-1 Chron. 3:17-19; Hag. 1:1; 2:23; Ezra 5:1, 2; Matt. 1:12. Evil-merodach reigned two years and was murdered by his brother-in-law Neriglissar, who reigned for four years, which time he spent mainly in building operations. His underage son Labashi-Marduk, a vicious boy, succeeded him, and was assassinated within nine months. Nabonidus, who had served as governor of Babylon and who had been Nebuchadnezzar's favorite son-in-law, took the throne and had a fairly glorious reign until Babylon fell in 539 B.C.E." Watchtower 1965 January 1 p.29

This article shows that the Watchtower accepts the scholarly view of the Babylonian line of kings. Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by:

• Evil-merodach 2 years
• Neriglissar 4 years
• Labashi-Marduk 9 months
• Nabonidus until 539 B.C.

Where the Watchtower differs with history is that it says Nebuchadnezzar gave up the throne in 581 B.C. History shows it was in 562 B.C. Therefore the two timelines are:

For the Watchtower timeline to be correct Nabonidus needs to have ruled for 36 years, yet the Society admits archaeology shows he only ruled for 17 years.

"Other investigators say this: "The Nabunaid Chronicle . . . states that Sippar fell to Persian forces VII/14/17 [Footnotes]"VII/14/17": The 7th Hebrew month Tishri, 14th day, 17th year of Nabonidus' reign. (Oct. 10, 539), that Babylon fell VII/16/17 (Oct. 12), and that Cyrus entered Babylon VIII/3/17 (Oct. 29). This fixes the end of Nabunaid's reign and the beginning of the reign of Cyrus." Watchtower 1968 August 15 p. 491

"Last supreme monarch of the Babylonian Empire; father of Belshazzar. On the basis of cuneiform texts he is believed to have ruled some 17 years (556-539 B.C.E.). He was given to literature, art, and religion. Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2 p.457 Nabonidus

There is a further problem created by the Watchtower timeline. The following quote goes on to say that there were two Nabonidus' due to tablets showing that Nabonidus was ruling over a city in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar. The reason the Watchtower Society has be forced to create an unattested second Nabonidus is due to their claim that Nebuchadnezzar started ruling in 624 B.C., making Nabonidus too young to rule at that time. However, since archaeology shows Nebuchadnezzar started ruling in 605 B.C. it is perfectly acceptable for Nabonidus to have been ruling a city in 597 B.C., and still been alive in 539 B.C.

"…Cuneiform tablets of the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar (Nisan 617-Nisan 616 B.C.E.) list a certain Nabu-na´id as the one "who is over the city," and some historians believe this is the same Nabonidus who later became king. However, this would mean that Nabonidus was a very young man when placed in such administrative position and would make him extremely aged at the fall of Babylon, some 77 years later (539 B.C.E.)." Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2 p.457 Nabonidus

It is amazing that with Watchtower information it can be shown that 607 B.C. was not the year for the fall of Jerusalem. There is a large weight of evidence that can be used to prove this year wrong. As early as 1929 Raymond Philip Dougherty's Nabonidus and Belshazzar, Yale University Press p.10 showed that the knowledge of the reign of these kings "is based upon more than two thousand dated cuneiform documents. It must therefore be accepted as the ultimate criterion in the determination of Neo-Babylonian chronological questions."

539 B.C.

Russell believed the end of the seventy years was in 536 B.C.

"THE SEVENTY YEARS OF DESOLATION This brings us to the period of the desolation of the land, which lasted seventy years, and was ended by the restoration of its people from Babylon, in the first year of Cyrus, B.C. 536..." Studies In the Scriptures Series II - The Time Is at Hand p.51

He then counted 70 years back to 606 B.C. When the Watchtower Society removed the zero from their calculations in the 1940's they retained 1914 by subsequently changing the desolation of Jerusalem from 606 B.C. to 607 B.C. This required the Watchtower Society ending the seventy years in 537 B.C. instead of 536 B.C. However, by the 1940's historians had proven that Babylon fell in 539 B.C. and the Watchtower Society had to concur that this figure is a pivotal year historically. Rather than change the start of the 70 years to 609 they retained 1914 by deriving the explanation that the Jews were probably not released until 2 years after the fall of Babylon. However if Jeremiah 25:12 is to be taken at its word then 539 B.C. must be used. It states that the seventy years would be fulfilled when Babylon is destroyed, not in an estimated year for the release of the Jews.

Jeremiah 25:12 "'And it must occur that when seventy years have been fulfilled I shall call to account against the king of Babylon and against that nation,' is the utterance of Jehovah, 'their error, even against the land of the Chal·de´ans, and I will make it desolate wastes to time indefinite."

Josephus

Josephus is in agreement with archaeological sources and can be used to show the Jewish destruction was in 587 B.C. He states that Jerusalem was desolate for only 50 years in Against Apion Book I, Chapter 21:

"Nebuchadnezzar, in the eighteenth year of his reign, laid our temple desolate, and so it lay in that state of obscurity for fifty years; but that in the second year of the reign of Cyrus its foundations were laid, and it was finished again in the second year of Darius,"

Surprisingly the Watchtower tries to use Josephus to prove Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C. In the Appendix of the Watchtower publication, Let Your Kingdom Come it quotes Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews Book XI , Chapter 1 (though the quote is actually from Book X):

"all Judea and Jerusalem, and the temple, continued to be a desert for seventy years,"

and Josephus Against Apion Book I, Chapter 19:

"our city was desolate during the interval of seventy years, until the days of Cyrus" (italics theirs).

By emphasising the word desolate the Watchtower Society hides the meaning of the sentence. If the emphasis is shifted to the word during, it shows Josephus may have meant the city was desolate for only part of that period.

The Watchtower reasoning makes Josephus works contradictory. There is no contradiction when understanding these passages to mean that Jerusalem was desolate for a period of 50 years during the 70 year desolation of the nations. This then agrees with Bible prophecy, with the explanation of the 70 years above and also with history.

Did the Watchtower predict 1914 or 1874?

Current Watchtower publications are not transparent about the history of their interpretation of 1914. Both before and after 1914 it was consistently stated that Jesus rulership started in 1874. It is now claimed that prior to 1914 the Watchtower was saying that this was the date for Jesus rulership and presence to occur. This simply is not true, as the following quotes show.

"Our Lord, the appointed King, is now present since October 1874, A.D., according to the testimony of the prophets, to those who have ears to hear it: and the formal inauguration of his kingly office dates from April 1878, A.D." Studies in Scriptures Series IV (1897) p.621

"The Scriptural proof is that the second presence of the Lord Jesus Christ began in 1874 A.D." Prophecy (1929) p.65

"From 1874 onward is the time of the Lord's second presence, as above stated… his circumstantial evidence fulfilling prophecy is what constitutes the physical facts, and is proof corroborative of the Lord's presence since 1874…His presence beginning in 1874, he has carried on his harvest work from 1874 forward… " Our Lord's Return (1929) pp.27, 33, 37

Russell and Rutherford believed that Jesus invisible presence started in 1874 and rulership in 1878. The end of the Gentile times in 1914 was to signify God's Kingdom re-starting visible rulership on earth, starting with Armageddon. It was not until Golden Age 1930 p.503 that Rutherford for the first time stated that Christ's return and "presence" were 1914, instead of 1874. This was not mentioned again until 1943. It has only been from 1943 onwards that 1914 has been consistently stated to be the start of the Last Days and the beginning of Jesus presence and rulership.

Knowing this, it is eye opening to find Watchtower articles claiming that the Organization always understood that 1914 was the year that began Jesus presence and rulership.

"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." Watchtower 1954 June 15 p.370

"…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." Watchtower 1998 September 15 p.15

(For additional quotes see the section on 1914 under False Dates)

What do the preceding mistruths suggest about the honesty and integrity of the Watchtower? If the Watchtower has no qualms about falsifying its own history it should come as no surprise that they ignore the facts about the date 607 B.C.E. as well.

The original expectation that Jesus returned invisibly in 1874, and that his visible return would mark the end of the Gentile times was far more logical than the current view that it has started invisibly. If the prophecy of the seven times was to signify the time that the end of God's visible rulership ended, then it would also be expected that it was to signify the time God's visible rulership would return to replace the kings of the earth. With the current interpretation, there is no way to prove whether or not Gods invisible kingdom has begun ruling.

July or October

Many Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the start of World War One marked the end of the Gentile times and the start of the Last Days. After being cast from heaven Satan set about creating 'woe for the earth' by starting the War, a clear indication he was now confined to the earth. This is incorrect.

The Watchtower teaches that Jesus started ruling October 2 1914.

"That was a highly interesting time because a few of us seriously thought we were going to heaven during the first week of that October." Yearbook 1975 p.72

However, World War One began 2 months prior to this, generally considered to have been July 28. The start of World War One therefore can not be used by Jehovah's Witnesses as a sign of Jesus 'presence' as it began prior to the Last Days.

In my pioneer school it was explained that World War One was Satan's 'smoke screen' to divert attention from Jesus coming Kingdom. This does not make sense as Jesus kingdom is presently invisible. There was nothing happening on earth to that required 'smoke screening'. Neither does this reasoning have scriptural backing as Revelation says there would be woe for the earth and for the sea after Satan is cast down, not beforehand.

70 Weeks and the 7 Times

The 70 Weeks is a prophecy of Daniel used to indicate the time Jesus was to start his ministry. Some Witnesses feel that the interpretation of the Seven Times can be trusted because it uses the same methodology as the prophecy of the 70 Weeks.

This is reasoning is without substance as the calculation of the two prophecies varies considerably. The commonality between the two is that both use the formula of replacing a day for a year. After that the methodologies part ways.

Unique Interpretation: The Watchtower accepts the Christian understanding that the 70 Weeks pointed to Jesus. On the other hand, the Watchtower interpretation of the Seven Times is only adhered to by a small number of sects, all tracing their roots back to the 1800's Adventist movement.

Unique Secondary Fulfilment: The Watchtower agrees that the prophecy of the Seventy Weeks has only one fulfilment; the coming of the Messiah, whereas it claims the Seven Times should have two applications. The seven times clearly was fulfilled with the 7 year madness of King Nebuchadnezzar, the Watchtower is one of few religions that attempt to apply a secondary meaning to it.

Inconsistent Time Frame: The length of seventy weeks is easily calculated as being 490 days, and then a 'day for a year' is applied to extend it to 490 years. The seven times is not calculated in this method. By cross referencing to other scriptures a 'time' is said to represent a lunar 360 day year. The Watchtower inconsistently chooses when to apply a 360 day year or a 365 day year depending on the outcome they wish to achieve. In the seven times a lunar calendar is used to arrive at 2520 years, but then this is applied to a solar calendar to arrive at 1914.

Unverifiable: Jesus was visibly present at the time indicated by the prophecy of the 70 weeks and so the fulfilment is verifiable. The fulfilment of the 7 times is now said to have occurred invisibly, and as such is unnoticed by anyone other than the followers of Russell's teachings and unverifiable.

Lunar Day for a Solar Year

The principle of "a day for a year" was used regularly by Russell but is only occasionally adhered to in Rutherfordian prophetic calculations. For instance the Daniel prophecies of 1260, 1290 and 1355 days are all currently said to signify a day for a day, not a day for a year. Previously Russell had interpreted these same prophecies with the concept of a day for a year, with results completely unrelated to current interpretation.

The 2520 years are calculated by using a 360 day lunar calendar, supported by comparing time frames of Daniel with Revelation. However, the Watchtower then applies the 2520 lunar years to a 365 ¼ day solar calendar to arrive at 1914. This is 2556 lunar years.

Some scholars prefer consistent use of a lunar calendar and convert 2520 lunar years to 907,200 days. 907,200 days from 607 B.C. ended in 1878 A.D.

What were the 70 years?

The Watchtower Society claims that Bible prophecy would be compromised if Jerusalem fell in 587. Other faithful Christians are able to reconcile the 70 year period with Bible prophecy without invention of the year 607.

Several Bible authors refer to a 70 year period, and close reading shows there were more than one 70 year period referred to. It is recommended to read several translations to understand the meaning of the following passages, as the New World Translation has particular inflections to support their specific understanding.

Jeremiah 25 applies a 70 year period to both the surrounding nations and Jerusalem. The 70 years was the entire period the Babylonians were conquering "these nations" and the period of vassalage to the Babylonians.

Jeremiah 25:11-12 "And all this land must become a devastated place, an object of astonishment, and these nations will have to serve the king of Babylon seventy years."' 12 "'And it must occur that when seventy years have been fulfilled I shall call to account against the king of Babylon and against that nation,' is the utterance of Jehovah, 'their error, even against the land of the Chal·de´ans, and I will make it desolate wastes to time indefinite."

Jeremiah ends the 70 years with the "account against the King of Babylon". Babylon fell in 539 B.C. indicating the start of this 70 year period against "these nations" could have been 609 B.C.

In a separate passage Jeremiah 29:10 refers to Israelites spending 70 years at Babylon. Reading from verse 1 indicates this includes the time period when the Israelites were taken to Babylon prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. Historians conclude this occurred in the year 605 B.C.

Zechariah 1:12, Zechariah 7:4-5, 2 Chronicles 36:20-23 and Daniel 9:2 all refer to 70 year periods.

Daniel 9:2 "In the first year of his reigning I myself, Daniel, discerned by the books the number of the years concerning which the word of Jehovah had occurred to Jeremiah the prophet, for fulfilling the devastations of Jerusalem, [namely,] seventy years."

Daniel may be indicating the period from the first destruction in 601 B.C. Alternately, 70 years was the length of time the temple was in a state of disrepair, from the start of the siege on Jerusalem in 589 B.C. to the completion of the new temple in 519 B.C.

Whatever the case these, none of these periods point to 607 B.C. and yet Bible prophecy can continue to hold true whilst accepting well supported secular history. Considering Daniel 4 is not an end time prophecy there is no relevance to the precise start and end dates of the 70 years.

The bona fide reason the Watchtower rejects 587B.C. is purely that it undermines their basis for 1914. As proof that convenience is the sole motivator of claiming a literal 70 year period consider the enlightening piece of Watchtower reasoning for why the 70 year desolation of Tyre was not literal.

"Isaiah goes on to prophesy: "It must occur in that day that Tyre must be forgotten seventy years, the same as the days of one king." (Isaiah 23:15a) … He says: "These nations will have to serve the king of Babylon seventy years." (Jeremiah 25:8-17, 22, 27) True, the island-city of Tyre is not subject to Babylon for a full 70 years, since the Babylonian Empire falls in 539 B.C.E. Evidently, the 70 years represents the period of Babylonia's greatest domination-when the Babylonian royal dynasty boasts of having lifted its throne even above "the stars of God." Isaiah's Prophecy- Light For All Mankind 1 p. 253

There is no reason that this same reasoning could not be applied to Jerusalem, except that it would undermine the doctrine of 1914.

History of the prophecy

Holy Spirit did not reveal an understanding of the seven times to Pastor Russell. It was promoted throughout the 1800's prior to Russell by John Aquila Brown, William Miller, E. B. Elliott, Robert Seeley, Joseph Seiss and Barbour.

In 1823 John Aquila Brown published in The Even-Tide that the "seven times" of Daniel 4 were prophetic of 2520 years running from the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's reign in 604 B.C. to 1917 A.D. He did not equate this to the end of the Gentile Times.

In the 1830's a farmer named William Miller explained that a number of prophecies were to conclude in 1843, and so came to the conclusion that Daniel 4 was also to end in 1843. To do so he claimed the seven times started when Manasseh was taken as a captive to Babylon in 677 B.C. This was to signify the 'time of the end', the destruction of Babylon and when the dead would be raised. Apollos Hale and Sylvester Bliss corrected this date by removing the year zero that Miller had used in the calculation, promoting the time of the end to the year 1844. At Miller's suggestion Samuel Snow calculated that the end would arrive on October 22. This was to correspond with the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month, the Day of Atonement for the year 1844. Rather than using the current Jewish calendar he used an older calendar invented by the Karaite Jews. Jehovah's Witnesses still use the Karaite calendar in their calculations, including for the date of the memorial.

Millers Chart - Click on image to enlarge

In 1840 John Dowling predicted Miller's prophecy would not come true in 1843. In An Exposition of the Prophecies, Supposed by William Miller to Predict the Second Coming of Christ, in 1843, he wrote what is equally applicable to the Watchtower Society.

"Mr. Miller is not the first expounder of prophecy that has attempted dogmatically to decide upon the very year of the coming of Christ. I will not occupy these pages by relating the individual histories of the wise and positive interpreters of prophetic times, who have preceded Mr. Miller in fixing the year of the Judgment. Their histories were all alike. They succeeded as Mr. M. has, in awakening a degree of alarm in the bosoms of some simple people, who forgot that Christ has said "of that day and hour knoweth no man" -- the time drew on -- the year passed by, and the prophet and his doctrine were forgotten. …" The reader but partially acquainted with the history of the world, and not aware of the manner in which Mr. M. continues to make his calculations all meet in the year 1843, thinks upon perusing the book that there are, to say the least, some very striking coincidences, and feels considerably staggered, if not convinced. … Let the reader peruse this passage and the chapter (Daniel 4) from which it is taken, and then imagine, if he can, by what stretch of ingenuity Mr. M. draws from it a proof of the coming of Christ to judgment in 1843. … He then looks into his Bible chronology, and finds that in the year BC 677 one of the kings of Judah, named Manasseh, was carried a prisoner to Babylon. Here, then, says Mr. M., must begin this punishment of seven times."

When 1844 proved to be false prophecy it was reworked by Second Adventists, such as Barbour and later promoted by Russell. The start date was moved to 606 B.C. and the end date to 1914 A.D. This was expected to culminate in Armageddon. With the failure for the end to eventuate in 1914 most Adventist groups came to recognise that Daniel 4 was not intended to have a second prophetic fulfilment and stopped referring to it.

Over the last century there has been an accumulation of evidence that proves beyond doubt that the destruction of Jerusalem occurred between 586 and 587 B.C. An objective reading of the Bible and history accepts this without issue. The Watchtower Society has a vested interest in 1914 and hence 607, and so stringently attempts to dismiss any evidence to the contrary.

Daniel 4 is the only Scripture used to specifically pinpoint 1914 as the year Jesus started to rule. If the Watchtower misapplies Daniel 4, there is no reason to think that the Last Days began October 2nd 1914. Related to this topic is whether the signs of Jesus presence indicate his rulership and the Last Days started in 1914.