The Churches, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Question of Unfulfilled Prophetic Expectations
BY HAL FLEMINGS
SPRING 1991
A close look at ecclesiastical history will reveal a chronicle
of unfulfilled predictions made by church leaders. In many instances turbulent
events and/or great social changes gave rise to these expectations. There are
cases when the predicted event or events failed to materialize that a loss of
faith, if not deep disappointment, swept over the masses. Indeed, there are
individuals today who, because of this history of failed predictions, are
hesitant to assign credibility to any religious prognostication.
Many people are aware that the Bible contains prophetic material. And some feel
that the Bible is directly responsible for many failed predictions. However,
others feel that the Bible is not responsible but that individuals have read
interpretations that were totally unsupported into the Bible's prophecies.
This paper will document instances of unfulfilled predictions within major
religious bodies professing to be Christian and similar predictions or
expectations of Jehovah's Witnesses. Next, we will examine the claim that some
or all of these predictions make the sources "false prophets". Finally, we will
consult the Bible to resolve any major points of controversy not adequately
addressed prior thereto.
THE ISSUE IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE LUTHERAN CHURCH
One of the most prominent of the Protestant religious bodies is the Lutheran*
Church. The progenitor of the Lutheran Church was the Reformer, Martin Luther,
who was born in 1483 and died in 1546. Deteriorating events during the 1500s in
Europe led Luther to predict that the end of the world was imminent. According
to one authority** Luther stated. "For my part, I am sure that the day of
judgment is just around the corner. It doesn’t matter that we don't know the
precise day... perhaps someone else can figure it out. But it is certain that
time is now at an end." Another researcher*** noted: "For Luther there was a
clear pattern of degeneration in world history... by correlating historical
events with Biblical prophecies Luther could announce the nearness of the final
cataclysm -- and deliverance for believers -- with relative certainty...
(Luther) was thus sure that his own time was the ‘time of the end' referred to
in Daniel 12, when the meaning of these prophecies was to be revealed."
* According to the Handbook of Denominations in the United States, Sixth
Edition, by Frank S. Mead, there were eight different Lutheran religious bodies
in the United States in 1979, among them were "the Lutheran Church Missouri
Synod" and the "American Lutheran Church".
** Reformation Principles and Practice: Essays in Honor of Arthur Geoffrey
Dickens, Page 169.
*** Robin Bruce Barnes, Prophecy and Gnosis-Apocalypticism in the Wake of the
Lutheran Reformation, Pages 32, 40.
Continuing the heralding of imminent disaster after Luther's death, collections
of his prophecies appeared regularly. Some were brief pamphlets like "The
Several Prophetic Statements of Doctor Martin Luther, the Third Elias" (1552).
In this material, Lutheran writers stated that*, "Luther had prophesied that
after he died the Gospel would disappear". A zealous Lutheran named Adam Nachenmoser wrote a large volume titled
Prognostican Theologicum in about 1584.
In this work, Nachenmoser attempted to interpret all the prophecies in the
Bible. In one case, he predicted that**, "...In 1590 the Gospel would be
preached to all nations and a wonderful unity would be achieved... the last day
would then be close at hand. Nachenmoser offered numerous conjectures about the
date; 1635 seemed most likely...".
Another Lutheran leader, Andreas Osiander, wrote Conjectures on the Last Days
and the End of the World (Latin 1544 and German in 1545). It is stated in this
work*** that... "The downfall of the Antichrist was projected for 1672. A period
of some sixteen years would follow during which the Gospel would be preached
throughout the world. At the end of this time, just as people began to think
that all was well and they could live as they pleased, a terrible punishment
would befall them and the Lord would come like a thief in the night."
All of these Lutheran predictions failed.
THE ISSUE IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
The mammoth Roman Catholic Church also has a history of predictions that never
occurred.
Gregory I, who was Pope from 590-604 C.E., predicted that the end of the world
was imminent in a letter he wrote to Ethelbert, a European monarch. He advised
**** "Further, we also wish Your Majesty to know, as we have learned from the
words of Almighty God in Holy Scriptures, that the end of the present world is
already near and that the unending Kingdom of the Saints is approaching. As this
same end of the world is drawing nigh, many unusual things will happen -
climatic changes, terrors from heaven... All these things are not to come in our
own days, but they will all follow upon our times."
* Robin Bruce Barnes, Prophecy and Gnosis-Apocalypticism in the Wake of the
Lutheran Reformation, Page 64.
** IBID., Pages 121, 122
*** IBID., Page 116
**** Bernard McGinn, Visions of the End—Apocalyptic Traditions in the Middle
Ages, Page 64, Published 1979.
Later,* "About the year 950, Adso, a monk in a monastery of Western Franconia,
wrote a treatise on Antichrist, in which he assigned a later time to his coming,
and also to the end of the world... ‘A Frank King', he says, ‘will rewrite the
Roman Empire, and abdicate on Mount Olivet, and on the dissolution of his
kingdom, the Antichrist will be revealed.'".
No major study on this subject would be complete without reference to the
predictions of Roman Catholic Abbot, Joachim of Fiore, a celebrated writer and
clergyman. One authority** observed, "The most original prophetic thinker of the
high medieval period was the Calabrian Abbot Joachim of Fiore (1131-1202)... In
his most influential writings, Joachim interpreted history through the Bible as
a progressive unfolding of three stages, each of which was ruled over by one
person of the Trinity. The age of the Father, an age of fear and obedience under
the Law, had been consummated in the coming of Christ. The Age of the Son was
the present epoch of faith and tutelage under the Gospel. It would be followed
in turn by the age of the Holy Spirit... This third and last historical stage,
in which human history would be consummated, was already dawning in the late
twelfth century; Joachim expected its full realization within a few generations
after the year 1200...".
Another Roman Catholic, Arnald of Villanova,*** predicted that the Antichrist
would appear in 1378 C.E.
It is obviously clear that all of these Roman Catholic predictions failed.
THE ISSUE IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE BAPTIST CHURCH
The Baptist Church****, composed of many branches, is one of the most prominent
of the Protestant churches in the world. It also has made its share of
speculative predictions.
* M'Clintock and Strong's Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological & Ecclesiastical
Literature, Volume 1, Page 257.
** Robin Bruce Barnes, Prophecy and Gnosis-Apocalypticism in the Wake of the
Lutheran Reformation, Page 22.
*** McGinn, Visions of the End, P. 147, and Prophecy and Gnosis-Apocalypticism in
the Wake of the Lutheran Reformation, P. 24.
**** There are over twenty different Baptist bodies in the United States, among
which are: The "Southern Baptist Convention", The "American Baptist
Association", and the "Conservative Baptist Association of America.
One of the first Baptist groups,* "The Anabaptists of the early Sixteenth
Century believed that the Millenium would occur in 1533."
Today, on the subject of Christ's millenial rule, one camp of the Baptist Church
must be found. to be in error regarding predictions, since there are basically
two conflicting prophetic viewpoints held within the Church. Authors O.K.
Armstrong and Marjorie Armstrong made this clear in Chapter 17 of their volume
The Indomitable Baptists: "One favorite topic of disputation among ultra
conservative Baptists is the doctrine of the Millenium, dealing with the Second
Coming of Christ. One mention of the Millenium in the book of Revelation, taken
literally, gave rise to arguments about the rule of Christ on earth - whether it
would be for a thousand years before his final ascension or a thousand years
after...". One group came to be called "premillenialists" and the other "amillenialists",
certainly raising the question of which group of Baptists made the correct
prediction. This will be made absolutely clear in God's due time. The other
group will be proven wrong, again making it clear there was some sort of failed
prediction originating within a widely respected religious body.
In the early 1900s, the well-known Dr. Isaac M. Haldeman, Pastor of the First
Baptist Church in New York City, predicted that before the Jews return to
Palestine that the Antichrist would appear. Haldeman explained, **"The
Scriptures teach that this man (the Antichrist) will be the prime factor in
bringing the Jews back, as a body into their own land; that he will be the power
that shall make Zionism a success; that through him the nationalism of the Jews
shall be accomplished." When Israel was founded in 1948; the Jews were restored
to Palestine without the advent of the Antichrist.
THE ISSUE IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CHURCH
One of the principal "charismatic" Protestant churches of our times is the
Assemblies of God. This group has a rich history of predictions that fell short.
One definitive study on predictions made within this church was published in
1977 under the title Armageddon Now!*** The author, Dwight Wilson, is an
ordained minister in the Assemblies of God and he has served as professor of
History at Bethany Bible seminary in Santa Cruz, California.
* Festinger, Riecken and Schaeter, When Prophecy Fails, page 7.
** Isaac Massey Haldeman, The Signs of the Times, Pages 452—453.
*** Professor Wilson's book not only documents predictions of the Assemblies of
God, but other churches, including the Baptists and the Christian and Missionary
Alliance. On the jacket of his book is this caveat, "The author cautions his
fellow Premillenarians that they will lose their credibility if they continue to
see in each political crisis a sure fulfillment of Biblical prophecy - despite
their obvious errors concerning earlier crises.
During World War I, The Weekly Evangel, an official publication of the
Assemblies of God, carried this prediction:* "We are not yet in the Armageddon
struggle proper, but at its commencement, and it may be, if students of prophecy
read the signs aright, that Christ will come before the present war closes, and
before Armageddon... The war preliminary to Armageddon, it seems, has
commenced."
The May 13, 1916 edition of The Weekly Evangel, pages 6-9, carried an article
headed "The Times of the Gentiles" in which more predictions were made. Among
them was the statement that "As Israel lost the rule of their land at the
beginning of these Gentile Times (606 B.C.E. according to the author of this
article), it would seem that the first terminal date would mark some kind of a
beginning of the restoration of the land. Does not this give great significance
to the Zionist movement on the part of the Jews?... How inspiring is the thought
that, if 1915, or 1916 shall prove to be the first terminal date, then the
nineteen years more to 1934 or 1935 may cover the end time with its whirl of
events, including the reign of the 'ten kings' the Antichrist, the 7-year
covenant...".
A leading Assemblies of God official, Thomas M. Chalmers, in a sermon delivered
at the Assembly of God Church, Springfield, Missouri, in the early 1920's made
predictions based upon his exegesis of Ezekiel 38. In part, he stated, ** "...In
half a dozen or a dozen years more (I don't think it will be a dozen years),
some fine morning the inhabitants of Jerusalem will see a great cloud (see verse
16) - in a few minutes the cloud will develop a great cloud of airplanes landing
tens of thousands of men on the soil of Palestine..." Chalmers' predictions
failed to occur.
THE ISSUE IN RELATIONSHIP TO SOME OTHER CHURCHES
Indicative that the art of making erroneous predictions within the traditional
church community was not limited to the Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Baptist and
Assemblies of God religious bodies are the succeeding facts.
* The Weekly Evangel, April 10, 1917, Page 3.
** Thomas M. Chalmers, "Palestinian Mandate Approved", The King's Business, XIII
(November, 1922), p. 1137.
In Volume II of The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers, author Leroy Edwin Froom
makes this statement (on pages 417 and 419) about a prominent Anglican prelate:
"Edwin Sandys (1519-1588), Archbishop of York and Primate of England was born in
Lancastershire... Sandys says, ‘Now, as we know not the day and time, so let us
be assured that this coming of the Lord is near. He is not slack, as we do count
slackness. That it is at hand, it may be probably gathered out of the Scriptures
in divers places. The signs mentioned by Christ in the Gospel which should be
the foreshewers of this terrible day, are almost all fulfilled'..." This
prediction made over 400 years ago plainly was not accurate.
One prediction that is well known to students of this subject was made by a
Scottish National Church official, the "Reverend" John Cumming (1807-1881). In
his book Redemption Draweth Nigh, published in 1860, Cumming considered the
expression "seven times" found at Leviticus 26:18, 19, 24 and 28 to have special
prophetic significance. Recognizing the Bible indicates that 3-1/2* times equals
1,260 days, he concluded that 7 times must equal 2,520 days since 7 times is
3-1/2 times twice. Furthermore, the fact that a prophetic day corresponds to a
year, the 2,520 days become 2,520 literal years. Cumming then added, **"But when
did these 2,520 years begin? God says at the time when he would ‘break the pride
of their power’. When did that take place?
The ten tribes (of Israel), we find, were made tributary after the dismemberment
of the Kingdom, under Rehoboam and Jeroboam; but the other two tribes retained
their distance and independent existence till the time of Manasseh. Now, mark
you, the captivity of Judah, under Manasseh, took place A.M. 3480. If you add to
3480, the year of the world, the period of time before Christ, 652; and if you
will also add A.D. or the year 1868, it will make exactly 6000 years - what are
called the six days, or the 6,000 years that constitute the world's week,
previous to the sabbatical rest or millenial sabbath. In other words, if you add
to the year of the world 3480, when the pride of Judah was broken, the seven
times, that is 2,520 years, you will find that it will make exactly 6,000 years.
Well, if this be so, the affliction of the Jews will cease about the end of the
year 1867, the Jews will be restored, the Gentile oppression will come to an
end; Jerusalem will be no longer trodden under foot but repossessed... Christ
will appear to his ancient people... I may be wrong in this estimate of the
commencement of the date; it rests with you to judge. I give data. I refuse to
decide." History later did decide this matter.
* See Revelation 12:6, 14.
** John Cumming, D.O., F.R.S.E., Redemption Draweth Nigh, Pages 142, 143.
William Miller* is generally credited with founding the Adventist Church. Of
him, Professor Frank S. Mead wrote,** "So influential was William Miller that
for years his followers were known as Millerites. Miller himself became a
Baptist in 1816. He began at once a careful study of the Scriptures,
concentrating on the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. Using only the Bible,
its marginal references, and Cruden's Concordance as his sources, he came to the
conclusion that many old and new world Biblical scholars had already reached -
namely, that the symbolic 'day' of Bible prophecy represents a year. He also
concluded that the 2,300 'days' of Daniel 8:14 started concurrently with the 70
weeks of years of Daniel 9, or from 457 B.C., the year of the command to rebuild
and restore Jerusalem; and he believed that the longer of the two periods would
end in or about the year 1843 as calculated by Jewish reckoning. Miller thought
that the 'sanctuary' mentioned in Daniel 8:14 was the earth (or the Church)
which would be cleansed by fire at the Second Advent. He came to believe that
this cleansing would occur sometime between March 21, 1843*** and March 21,
1844. When the advent expectation failed to materialize by the Spring of 1844,
many left the movement. Miller's associates, on the basis of meticulous study of
Old Testament types, set a second date, October 22, 1844, as the Great
Antitypical Day of Atonement, confident that the 'day of the Lord is near, even
at the door'... October 22 came and passed with no Second Coming****. Now vast
numbers lost all interest in Adventism and went back to their former churches or
abandoned the Christian faith altogether.
* William Miller was born in 1782 and died in 1849. Although lacking a "higher
education", he was respected as a serious Bible student and thinker.
** Handbook of Denominations in the United States, Sixth Edition, Pages 17, 18.
*** In the volume When Prophecy Fails by Festinger, Riecken and Schaeter, page
15, Miller is quoted as saying "I believe the time can be known by all who
desire to understand and to be ready for His coming. And I am fully convinced
that sometime between March 21, 1843 and March 21st, 1844, according to the
Jewish mode of computation of time, Christ will come and bring all the Saints
with him."
**** Those who stayed with the Adventist movement formed new groups; among them
today are the "Seventh-Day Adventists", "The Advent Christian Church" and the
"Primitive Advent Christian Church".
One of the most influential ministers on the West Coast of the United States is
Chuck Smith, Pastor of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, CA, an independent church.
On the jacket of his book, End Times, Smith is called a "well-known Bible
scholar and prophecy teacher". Some years ago when this book was published, he
made this prediction, "As we look at the world scene today, it would appear that
the coming of the Lord is very, very, close. Yet, we do not know when it will
be. It could be that the Lord will wait for a time longer. If I understand
Scripture correctly, Jesus taught us that the generation which sees the 'budding
of the fig tree', the birth of the nation Israel, will be the generation that
sees the Lord's return, I believe that the generation of 1948 is the last
generation. Since a generation of judgment is forty years and the tribution
period lasts seven years, I believe the Lord could come back for his church
anytime before the tribulation starts, which would mean anytime before 1981.
(1948 + 40 - 7 = 1981) However, it is possible that Jesus is dating the
beginning of the generation from 1967, when Jerusalem was again under Israeli
control for the first time since 587 B.C. We don't know for sure which year
actually marks the beginning of the last generation." (Pages 35, 36)
A similar viewpoint was expressed in the widely read book, The Late Great Planet
Earth, by Pastor Hal Lindsey. This book was originally published in May 1970. On
Page 43, Lindsey advised, " ... The most important sign in Matthew has to be the
restoration of the Jews to the land in the rebirth of Israel. Even the figure of
speech ‘fig tree' has been a historic symbol of national Israel. When the Jewish
people, after nearly 2,000 years of exile, under relentless persecution, became
a nation again on May 1948, the ‘fig tree' put forth its first leaves. Jesus
said that this would indicate that he was ‘at the door' ready to return. Then he
said, ‘Truly I say to you this generation will not pass away until all these
things take place'. (Matthew 24:34 NASB) What generation? Obviously, in context,
the generation that would see the signs - chief among them the rebirth of
Israel. A generation in the Bible is something like forty years. If this is a
correct deduction, then within forty years or so of 1948, all these things could
take place. Many scholars who have studied Bible prophecy all their lives
believe that this is so." This meant that by 1988 or 1989 "all these things
could take place."
The facts show that they have not.
JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE ISSUE
The modern day religious body known as Jehovah's Witnesses began with a young
American named Charles Taze Russell, born February 16, 1852. An examination of
the Scriptures with Nelson H. Barbour of Rochester, New York led Russell to the
conclusion that 6,000 years of human history ended in 1874*. Barbour was an
Adventist** who felt that Christ had been present, in his parousia, since 1874.
This presence was invisible, not seen with the literal eye. This placed the
world in the "time of the end" since 1874. On the basis of the data considered
and the views thought to be accurate, even after Russell separated from Barbour,
his writings reflected his acceptance of the 1874 date.*** The error in the
chronology was later corrected and the understanding of the matter changed. In
fact, the error in the chronology inferred-from the Bible was off by 100
years.**** The corrected chronology moved the completion of 6,000 years of human
history ahead to 1975 and thus fueled anticipation among Jehovah's Witnesses
again as that year approached.***** The notion that 6,000 years of human history
would bring us to the end and would be quickly followed by events leading to the abyssing of Satan and the beginning of Christ's Millenial Reign has been held by
numerous individuals****** throughout the Common Era (C.E.).
Later, the Witnesses had some advance inclinations regarding the year 1925. In
the publication Vindication, Book 3, pp 101-102, we find the reference: "Solomon
the King had been on the throne of Israel for more than three years before he
began construction of the temple, or the prophetic house of the Lord at
Jerusalem. ‘And it came to pass, in the four hundred and eightieth year after
the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of
Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that
he began to build the house of the Lord' (1 Kings 6:1) Manifestly, this
Scripture should read, "... In the five hundred and eightieth year after the
coming of the Israelites out of Egypt, the mistake appearing in the translation
...When the Israelites left Egypt Jehovah fixed the month Abib, afterwards
* See Studies in the Scriptures, "The Finished Mystery", p.54,55.
** One of the Adventist groups, the Second Adventists - not to be confused with
the Seventh-Day Adventists - taught "that the world and all in it except Second
Adventists would be burned up in 1873 or 1874." — See 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's
Witnesses, p.36, 37
*** See Studies in the Scriptures, "The Finished Mystery", p.167, 377,386. Also
God's Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached, p. 186,187. Later, the second
President of the Watchtower Society, J.F. Rutherford, arrived at the 1874 date
by applying the Scriptural principle of a "day for a year" to the 1,335 days
mentioned at Daniel 12:12. The 1,335 years were added to the year 539 A.D. and
thus came to 1874. See the Harp of God, p. 234—236.
**** See God's Kingdom of a Thousand years Has Approached, p.206-211.
***** See Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God, p.26-35 and The
Watchtower magazine, August 15, l968,p. 494-501.
****** See The Epistle of Barnabas, Chapter 15, as an example.
called Nisan, for the beginning of the year... Zif was the next month following,
and hence the second month of the year, which fixes the time above mentioned as
in the Spring of the fourth year of Solomon's reign or approximately three and
one-half years after his reign began. This may well correspond with the
beginning of the erection of Zion, the Royal and Official House of the Lord God.
Christ Jesus was placed upon his throne in the year 1914*. (Psalm 2:6) In the
Spring of the fourth year thereafter would bring us to the Spring of 1918.
Solomon finished the erection of the temple at Jerusalem seven years after he
began its erection. ‘And in the eleventh year, in the month, Bul, which is the
eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and
according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.' (1
Kings 6:38) It is here merely suggested that this may mean that seven years
after 1918, to wit, in the year 1925, marked the time when a sufficient number
had been brought into the invisible temple of the Lord to make up the one
hundred and forty four thousand... where the Scriptures are not definite upon a
point we cannot know for a certainty what these corresponding dates do
represent, if they represent anything..."** Again, in the February 15, 1984
Watchtower, page 23, "The year 1925 also held expectations for Jehovah's
servants. It was thought that a cycle of 70 typical jubilees (70 x 50 years)
from the time Israel entered the Promised Land would end in 1925 and mark the
beginning of the Great Antitypical Jubilee, the Millenial Reign of Christ Jesus.
It did not turn out that way."
In 1941, Jehovah's Witnesses published the booklet Comfort All That Mourn. On
Page 22 we read, "Again note the prophecy of Daniel. When Jehovah gave Daniel
the prophecy he did not understand it, and so states. Jehovah caused his angel
then to appear to Daniel, who delivered from Jehovah this message: ‘But go thou
thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of
the days." (Daniel 12:13) Clearly this part of the prophecy means that Daniel
died and since rested in death, but at the end of the days of the prophecy
Daniel shall be raised out of death as a perfect man and stand in his ‘lot'...
We confidently expect Daniel the prophet of God to soon stand amongst the
peoples upon this earth and many will see him and rejoice...: Riding on the
assumption that Daniel was to be resurrected after "the days" that Daniel had
just prior thereto referred, namely the 1,335 "days", mentioned in verse 12,
some Witnesses drew the conclusion that Daniel and others like him - Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, etc. - would be resurrected before the "Great Tribulation". As a
public demonstration of their faith in the resurrection of
* We will look at the 1914 prediction later.
** See also the Watchtower, December 15, 1945, page 382.
these ancient faithful servants of God, the Witnesses held title to a property
in San Diego called "Beth-Sarim"* which means "House of Princes". The March 15,
1937 edition of the Watchtower, p. 86 stated, "Those ancient Witnesses specially
mentioned by the Apostle in Hebrews the eleventh chapter... The Lord in his
loving kindness makes provision and we may confidently expect that those
faithful men of old will be back on earth before Armageddon ends and while some
of the Remnant are still on earth... There is at least one house on earth the
title to which is held in trust for the use and benefit of those faithful
men."** This honest interpretation of Daniel 12:9-13, in time, proved to be
inaccurate ***
WHO REALLY IS A "FALSE PROPHET" IN THE BIBLICAL SENSE?
From time to time, the accusation has been made that any church supporting a
prophetic view that turns out to be untrue is a "false prophet organization",
pursuant to the passage at Deuteronomy 18:20-22 . This passage mentions that
"The prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not
commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that
prophet shall die. And if thou say thine heart, how shall we know the word which
the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if
the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath
not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be
afraid of him." (King James Version) Is the accusation valid?
Notwithstanding the accusation, an unbiased look at the Deuteronomy citation
will show that the criticism does not apply to many of the predictions that we
have documented. How is that the case? Well, many of the predictions that we
have documented did not come about because some one person or persons claimed
that God had spoken to him or God had personally commanded him to publicize some
original prophecy. Nearly all the predictions were mistaken views of already
written, true prophecies or true history contained in the Bible. The
interpretations were inaccurate, but the Bible prophecies and Bible histories
were still true.
What might be examples of the Deuteronomitic definition of a "false prophet" are
the following: the February 15, 1988 edition of the Long Beach, California
newspaper, the Press-Telegram, page A2, under the heading "17 Wait Patiently at
Church for Overdue Divine Tornado" related, "Annie Sims, the preacher's wife,
delivered the prophecy at a noon prayer meeting late in December: "The Lord said
he was going to send a tornado, and many shall die, she recalls, saying God
spoke through her during
* This property still exists but is privately owned by non-Witnesses.
** See the book Salvation by J.F. Rutherford, pages311-313.
*** At Matthew 24:44 Jesus indicated that true Christians living during the time
of the end would make inaccurate predictions about the specific time of his
coming. This will be discussed later.
the prayer service, ‘He was going to send his fury and vengeance on the people'.
So 17 faithful members of the Repairer of the Breach Church of God in Christ
gathered at their small Westside Church... The 39-year-old Mrs. Sims first
prophesied the tornado would strike January 3, then January 24. Both dates
passed uneventfully. The Simses now say God delayed the tornado to gain time to
spread the warning."
Similarly, the January 1, 1990 edition of the same newspaper, page A3, reported,
"About 1,000 members of the Church Universal and Triumphant were gathering in
the group's commune on the edge of Yellowstone National Park this weekend for
what they say may be the last New Year's. During a reporter's recent visit to
the commune, signs known as El Moyra's Timetable were changed each day in a
countdown to New Year's, when prophet says an ‘ascended master' named El Moyra
has told her ‘to be concerned and to be prepared for a first strike by the
Soviet Union upon these United States.'" These cases do not present
interpretations of prophecy already written centuries ago in the Bible but are
original prophecy, ostensibly provided directly from a superhuman divine source.
This difference is often overlooked.
What cannot be denied with all these predictions is that people were
disappointed when their expectations failed to materialize. Proverbs 13:12*
observes, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree
of life." (New International Version)
EXAMPLES INSIDE THE BIBLE OF FAILED PREDICTIONS MADE BY GOD'S PEOPLE
Interestingly, the Bible provides examples of faithful servants of Jehovah who
either misread or misunderstood and hence misinterpreted God's purpose in some
prophetic situation.
Consider the case of the acclaimed prophet Nathan at 1 Chronicles 17:1-4 (New
International Version) "After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan
the prophet, ‘Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of the
covenant of the Lord is under a tent.' Nathan replied to David, ‘Whatever you
have in mind, do it, for God is with you.' That night the word of God came to
Nathan, saying: ‘Go and tell my servant David, "This is what the Lord says: ‘You
are not the one to build me a house to dwell in'"' Verse 15 adds, "Nathan
reported David all the words of this entire revelation." The prophet had to
reverse himself. The future activities that David had in mind and which the
prophet Nathan was sure was in God's mind were not at all true.
* The New World Translation renders this verse "Expectation postponed is making
the heart sick, but the thing desired is a tree of life when it does come."
The Gospel of John Chapter 21 verses 22 and 23 provides us another example.
Speaking of the Apostle John, the resurrected Jesus stated, ‘If it should be my
will that he wait until I come, what is it to you? Follow me.' That saying of
Jesus became popularly held in the brotherhood, and was taken to mean that that
disciple would not die. But, in fact, Jesus did not say that he would not die;
he said only, "If it should be my will that he wait until I come, what is it to
you?'" (New English Bible) The New International Version translates the first
part of verse 23 accordingly, "Because of this, the rumor spread among the
brothers that this disciple would not die..." Was this prediction, attributed to
Christ and spread among the members of the early church true? No, it was not.
Perhaps the most well known of failed futuristic views recorded in the Bible is
found at Acts 1:6, 7. Here the resurrected Jesus was questioned by his
disciples, "..Lord, are you at this time going to restore the Kingdom to
Israel?' He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the time or dates the
Father has set by his own authority..." (New International Version) This
question indicated their prophetic view of what they expected Jesus to do at his
first advent. This was indicated also in Luke's Gospel, chapter 24 and verse 21.
In this passage, two of Jesus' disciples traveling on a road to a village called
Emmaus were joined by the resurrected Christ who was not recognized by them.
Discussing what had been their expectations regarding Christ, they said, "...
But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel." This
prophetic view held by the Apostles of Christ was in error. The Kingdom of
Christ was not set up in natural Israel in the First Century. The Apostles and
their associates had to adjust their thinking and thus their teaching on this
subject. *
ONE OF THE RELEVANT QUESTIONS: "ARE WE FINALLY IN THE TIME OF THE END?"
Jehovah's Witnesses have maintained that notwithstanding the foregoing failed
predictions that we are definitely now in the "time of the end". They point to
two lines of evidence: (1) their exegesis of the "seven times" mentioned at
Daniel 4 and (2) recent historical events which they propose correspond to
events predicted in the
* They would learn later that God was now using ‘spiritual' Israel, not natural
Israel. (Romans 9:1-8; Matthew 21:33-46) They would also learn that the Kingdom
would be heavenly, not earthly. (2 Timothy 4:18; 2 Peter 1:10,11; Ephesians
1:20-22).
Bible to occur in the "last days". We will now examine this claim to determine
whether it is any more credible than past predictions that fizzled in the course
of time. Obviously, if the claim is true, it deserves universal attention. The
cautious mind may be wondering how this claim would be any different from
similar claims in the past? This very important question must also be answered
as we move forward in the discussion.
We will look at "recent historical events" first. It is undeniably the case that
the Bible specifies that certain recognizable social, political, economic, and
environmental phenomena would occur during the "time of the end". For ease of
reference, we will place the Bible's comments before us.
One of the standard "end times" texts is Matthew 24*. At verse 3, we find
stated: "While he (Jesus Christ) was sitting upon the Mount of Olives the
disciples approached him privately, saying: ‘Tell us, when will these things be,
and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system
of things?'" (NW). Jesus went on to list visible events that would occur during
the "time of the end" and added in verse 34, "Truly I say to you that this
generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur." To that he
introduced the caution in verse 36, "Concerning that day and hour nobody knows,
neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father. (NW)**.
Without saying any more or less than Jesus said, the accounts cited tell that a
particular generation would see the "conclusion of the system of things" but the
time within that generation that would see "the end" would not be known by
anyone other than the Father.*** Jesus even intimates in verse 44 that faithful
Christians would be guessing and predicting the "day and hour" but would be
consistently wrong. There he said, "On this account you too prove yourselves
ready, because at an hour that you do not think to be it, the Son of Man is
coming." (NW) What they would be thinking would be inaccurate and the point in
time they would least expect would be the grand finale. Let us now read Jesus'
list of events that would signal "the end".
* Often unintentionally ignored is Matthew 25, which is a continued discussion
of the "time of the end".
** Interestingly, the disciples at this time were expecting that the end was
near and that Jesus would soon set up his kingdom. They would later have this
view changed. Note John 6:14,15, which gives a report of an attempt to make
Jesus a king.
*** We probably can safely assume that Jesus Christ knows by now the "day and
the hour" since he is a Chief Performer in the global catastrophe that is
coming.
The first part of verse 7 in Matthew 24 says, "For nation will rise against
nation and kingdom against kingdom...". The Apostle John quantifies this
somewhat general statement about wars at Revelation 6: 3, 4 where he uses a
rider of a red horse to symbolize war, "And when he opened the second seal, I
heard the second living creature say: ‘Come!' And another came forth, a
fiery-colored horse; and to the one seated upon it there was granted to take
peace away from the earth so that they should slaughter one another; and a great
sword was given him." (NW) This last account has educated us that the kind of
war occurring during the time of the end would affect "the earth", not just a
region of the earth. Referring to World War I, military analyst, H. W. Baldwin,
wrote:* "In its scope, its violence, and above all, in its totality, it
established a precedent. World War I ushered in the Century of Total War, of -
in the first full sense of the term - Global War... Never before 1914-1918 had a
war absorbed so much of the total resources of so many combatants and covered so
large a part of the earth. Never had so many nations been involved. Never had
the slaughter been so comprehensive and indiscriminate." Making a comparison
The
World Book Encyclopedia** related, "World War I took the lives of twice as many
men as all major wars from 1790 to 1913 put together."
No one could safely dispute that the potential for wars to be progressively more
destructive would be at least a function of increased population and an evolving
military technology. Therefore, as earth's population expanded and as men built
more sophisticated weapons, wars would carry the possibility of getting
increasingly more devastating. Because of this some may argue that World War I
was relatively speaking no more significant than previous wars.*** But that is
not the case at all. A study of wars was completed by Harvard University several
decades ago. This study was reported in Collier’s magazine of September 29,
1945, and stated that World War I was seven times greater than the 901 major
wars before it consolidated into one that reached across some 2,400 years. World
War II exceeded World War I and thus both wars stand, in scope, outside of all
other wars in human history. Only someone abysmally ignorant of the present
world would deny that man now has the power to exceed the destruction of World
War II.
* World War I, pp. 1,2
** 1966 Edition, Volume 20, p. 377
*** Challenging this thinking is this remark found in The World in the Crucible,
by Bernadette E. Schmitt and Harold C. Vedeler, "The conflict of nations from
1914 to 1918 was not some ‘dull rumor of some other war'. The struggle ushered
in a new scope. of war, the first total war in the experience of mankind. Its
duration, intensity, and scale exceeded anything previously known....
Returning to Matthew 24:7, after mentioning "wars" as part of the sign of the
end, Jesus adds that, "There will be food shortages...". The Revelation account
illustrates this feature also with a horseman, "And when he opened the third
seal, I heard the third living creature say: ‘Come!’ And I saw, and, Look! a
black horse; and the one seated upon it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I
heard a voice as if in the midst of the four living creatures say; ‘A quart of
wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm
the olive oil and the wine'." (Revelation 6:5, 6)(NW) At Matthew 20:2, Jesus
presented a parable in which laborers worked in a field all day for one denarius.
Now what would it mean if it took a day's wages, one denarius, to purchase just
a quart of wheat? Describing the time following World War II, Look magazine of
June 11, 1946 reported, "A fourth of the world is starving today. Tomorrow will
even be worse. Famine over most of the world now is more terrible than most of
us can imagine... There are now more people hunting desperately for food than at
any other time in history." Providing us with a feel for the percent to total
world population affected by the problem of scarce staples during this
generation is this statement from two authorities, "About two-thirds of the
world's population is undernourished."* Thus, our generation has been uniquely
touched by food shortages.
Following his comments about "food shortages", Jesus continued, "There will
be... earthquakes in one place after another." (Matthew 24:7) In Luke's
account, Jesus said, ". . .And there will be great earthquakes... (Luke
21:11)(NW) The Italian journal Ii Piccolo** observed that, "Our generation lives
in a dangerous period of high seismic activity, as statistics show." And, citing
one colossal earthquake, the T'ang-Shan, China earthquake of 1976, George W. Housner, a
specialist in earthquake-proof engineering, said, that it was "the greatest
earthquake disaster in the history of mankind."***
Jesus next advised, "There will be... in one place after another
pestilences...". (Luke 21:11) Looking at our era, Science Digest**** informed,
"The Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918 sped over the earth (and) took 21
million lives... In all history there had been no sterner, swifter visitation of
death... had the epidemic continued its rate of acceleration, humanity would
have been eradicated in a matter of months."
* Norman J. Padelford and George A. Lincoln, The Dynamics of International
Politics, p. 57 (Second Edition 1962)
** October 8, 1978 Edition
*** Time, "China's Killer Quake", June 25, 1979, p. 25
**** Joseph E. Perisco, Science Digest, "1918: The Plague Year", p. 79.
Another report on this plague said, "No recorded pestilence before or since has
equaled the 1918-1919 death toll in total numbers. In those two years an
estimated 21,000,000 died of influenza-phneurnortia throughout the world, some
850,000 in the United States alone."* This pandemic alone, not to mention other
plagues of our times, makes this generation stand out in all history where
pestilences are concerned.
Before going further, it would not be gratuitous to compare the Witness
prediction based on historical events with similar predictions made in past
generations. There is no doubt that sincere individuals living in the past noted
historic events occurring around them and that this led them to suspect that the
end was close. The essential problem with their predictions was that the events
mentioned by Jesus and others in the Bible were not the ones happening. Hence
they were not living in the time of the end. The historical events of the time
of the end are global, not local, and multi-dimensional, not just political or
social, but a many-faceted combination of startling developments in all areas of
human endeavor. Predictions in the past, invariably, were based on regional
realties not world-wide ones. A visceral response to local tragedies overrode an
objective consideration of the Scriptural material on the end time and led to
the failed predictions.
Another very important fact closely akin to the foregoing should be expressed.
Until mankind developed a sufficiently sophisticated communications technology
that would allow him to make some generalizations about what was happening over
the globe, he would not be able to see, on a timely basis, if the events that
Jesus mentioned were occurring. That technology has been developed only in
modern times.
Returning to Matthew 24, we center on verse 14 which declares, "And this good
news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to
all the nations; and then the end will come." (NW) In order for a world-wide
witness to take place, mankind first would have to know the physical dimension
of the world. Until several centuries ago, large groups of mankind lived on
continents totally ignorant of the fact that there were other groups of mankind
on other continents. Now in modern times, that has all changed.**
* The Saturday Evening Post, September 26, 1959
** Earlier predictions about an end of the world were inescapably led to failure
since a world-wide preaching of the Kingdom was not possible as long as people
had no real knowledge of what constituted the world.
Witnesses point to the fact that they have covered the world with the message of
the Kingdom*. Even their "church" buildings are called "Kingdom Halls". In his
book, These Also Believe, Professor of Religious History Charles S. Braden
observed, "Jehovah's Witnesses have literally covered the earth with their
witnessing... It may be truly said that no single religious group in the world
displayed more zeal and persistence in the attempt to spread the good news of
the Kingdom than the Jehovah's Witnesses...
Referring to the same religious group that would be preaching the "good news of
the Kingdom", Jesus warned, "Then people will deliver you up to tribulation and
will kill you, and you will be objects of hatred by all the nations on account
of my name." (Matthew 24:9) Interestingly, as a result of their world-wide
evangelism, the Witnesses, although respected for their good behavior, are
disliked globally because of their theology, especially their message of "the
Kingdom". They are maligned by nearly every human institution and for that they
certainly fit the description of Matthew 24:9. And, all of that has come about
in our time.
Another indicator of the "time of the end" has a political nature to it. Jewish
and Christian commentators are well aware of prophecies in the book of Daniel
discussing the rise and fall of political states across time. Many would agree
with the following chart.
THE RISE AND FALL OF SPECIFIC NATION STATES IN BIBLE HISTORY
|
Nation(s) |
Daniel 2:31-45 |
Daniel 5:1-30 |
Daniel 7:1-27 |
Daniel 8:1-8, 20-22 |
Daniel 10:19 - 11:45 |
Tenure as an Empire |
1. |
Babylonia |
Verse 37 "Head of Gold" |
Verses 22-27 |
Verses 1, 4 "Lion" |
|
|
645 BCE to 539 BCE |
2. |
Medio-Persia |
Verses 32, 39 "Breasts & Arms of Silver" |
Verses 28-31 |
Verse 5 "Bear" |
Verse 20 "Ram" |
Chapter 11 Verse 1 |
539 BCE to 331 BCE |
3. |
Greece |
Verses 32, 39 "Belly & Thighs of Copper" |
|
Verse 6 "Leopard" |
Verse 21 "Hairy He-Goat" |
Chapter 11 Verses 2-19 |
331 BCE to 30 BCE |
4. |
Rome |
Verses 33, 40 "Legs of Iron" |
|
Verse 7 "Iron Toothed Animal" |
|
Chapter 11 Verses 20-26 |
30 BCE to 476 CE (West) 7th Century CE (East) |
* Most religious groups emphasize one message or theme above all others. Some
promote "personal salvation" while others promote Sabbath observance. Some
promote "positive thinking" while others focus on contemporary social issues,
etc. The religious body that Jesus would be directing would be promoting "the
Kingdom" message pursuant to Matthew 24:14.
A correlation of the several prophecies makes it very clear that Daniel wrote
that the Neo-Babylonian Empire would be succeeded by the MedoPersian Empire
which would, in turn, be followed by the Grecian and then the Roman Empires.
Chapters 7 and 8 of the book of Daniel use animals to represent nations* which
is a model employed by the Christian Apostle John years later in the book of
Revelation (Apocalypse). In Revelation Chapter 17, we find prophecy involving
the nations in the Danielian prophecies and others. We shall see that this
prophecy helps to identify the "time of the end". In rich symbolic language,
John describes a vision of a woman sitting upon a strange looking beast. The
account reads, "...And I caught sight of a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored
wild beast that was full of blasphemous names and that had seven heads and ten
horns... Well, on catching sight of her I wondered with great wonderment. And so
the angel said to me: ‘Why is it you wondered? I will tell you the mystery of
the woman and of the wild beast that is carrying her and that has the seven
heads and the ten horns... (Revelation 17:3,6) Commenting on the "wild beast",
the angel explained, "Here is where the intelligence comes in: the seven heads
mean seven mountains, where the woman sits on top.. And there are seven kings:
five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet arrived, but when he does arrive
he must remain a short while. And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also
itself an eighth king, but springs from the seven, and it goes off into
destruction. And the ten horns that you saw mean the ten kings, who have not yet
received a kingdom, but they do receive authority as kings one hour with the
wild beast." (Revelation 17:9-13) It is during the time of the eighth king and
the attendant ten kings that Jesus comes and the end occurs. This is indicated
in verse 14, "These will battle with the Lamb,** but, because he is Lord of
Lords and King of Kings, the Lamb will conquer them..." A correct identification
of the "eighth king" at the same time identifies the time of the end.
Jehovah's Witnesses identify the "eighth king" as the United Nations. When John
wrote, "And there are seven*** kings: five have fallen, one is...", the
Witnesses identify the five that had "fallen" as the empires in Bible prophecy
preceding the Apostle John's time.
* Daniel 7:23 illustrates this point, "This is what he said, ‘As for the fourth
beast, there is a fourth kingdom that will come to be on the earth..."
** The "Lamb" is Jesus Christ. See John 1:29, 36.
*** There is agreement and disagreement on who the "seven kings" are. Evangelist
Hal Lindsey in his popular book The Late Great Planet Earth, p.112, lists the
first five of the seven kings: (1) Chaldean (2) Egypt (3) Babylon (4) Medo-Persia
(5) Greece. However, Bible translator Richard Francis Weymouth wrote, "The five
who ‘have fallen' are the Emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, ClaudiUS and
Nero. The one ‘still reigning' is Vespasian - and the seventh is probably Titus,
and the eighth Nero Redivivus in the person of Domitian." (See Weymouth's
footnote to Revelation 17:10 in his translation The New Testament in Modern Speech).
Halley's Bible Handbook by Henry H. Halley suggests this list: (1) Egypt
(2) Assyria (3) Babylon (4) Persia (5) Greece (6) Rome.
Since John lived during the time of the Roman Empire, the
preceding powers or "kings" could be illustrated this way:
1. Egypt <-- 2. Assyria <-- 3. Babylonia <-- 4. Medo-Persia <-- 5. Greece <-- 6. Rome
[[The
Apostle John]]
Witnesses identify the seventh king as the Anglo-American Alliance. Out of the
disintegration of the Roman Empire evolved the greatest empire in world history,
the British Empire, which, in time, struck up an alliance with the United
States, and hence the Anglo-American Power. Now, the "eighth king" is peculiar
in that he, according to verse 11*, "Springs from the seven" (New World
Translation), "He belongs to the seven" (New International Version), "He springs
from the seven" (The New Berkeley Version). Thus, the "eighth king" has some
kind of a link with each of the preceding political states mentioned.
According to The Concord Desk Encyclopedia under the heading "League of
Nations", "The League of Nations (1920-46) (was) the first major international
association of countries; a total of 63 states were members, although not all
simultaneously." World War II helped to bring the League of Nations to an end
but according to one history text, "When the Second World War ended, three men
dominated the scene - Winston Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin. With their
advisers they set up a United Nations organization to replace the League of
Nations."** Another reference adds, "League of Nations, an international
organization established in 1920 under a covenant of twenty-six articles forming
part of the Versailles Treaty which was concluded after the First World War. It
came to end in 1946 when the United Nations was founded."***
Now, with the foregoing history in mind, the Witnesses remind us that all of the
previous "kings" were represented for the first time in human history in one
international body with the emergence of the League of Nations and the United
Nations into which the League of Nations metamorphosed. The "eighth king" is
described as having all "seven heads that is, all of the previous political
powers that we have identified along with the "ten horns" representing other
nations.
* The Greek text says, "και εκ των επτα εστιν" which literally translates "and out of the seven is"
** L. J. Cheney, A History of the Western World, p. 288.
*** Elliott and Summerskill, A Dictionary of Politics, (Revised Edition), P.
204.
When the League of Nations essentially died with the eruption of World War II,
the Witnesses published a booklet in 1942 called Peace - Can It Last?, in which
(on pages 18-22) they identified the seven headed "wild beast" of Revelation 17
as the League of Nations and predicted that though at that time the War was on
and the League was "in the abyss" that after the War, it would reappear as an
international body. This was pursuant to verse 8 of the prophecy which stated,
"The wild beast that you saw was, but is not, and yet is about to ascend out of
the abyss, and it is to go off into destruction." After the War was over, the
League of Nations was revived as the United Nations. The Witness prediction was
correct. The Witnesses now expect the United Nations to meet its end with the
Second Coming of Christ - verse 14. Thus despite some earlier misunderstandings
of Biblical data, the Witnesses have established an impressive case for their
contention that we are indeed at Armageddon's door.
These events have all occurred since the year 1914. Noteworthy are these
observations from non-Witnesses:
"World War I (1914-1918) and its aftermath led to the greatest economic
depression in history during the early 1930's. The consequences of the war and
the problems of adjustment to peace led to unrest in almost every nation." --The
World Book Encyclopedia, 1984, Volume 21, page 379.
"Security and quiet have disappeared from the lives of men since 1914". - German
statesman, Konrad Adenauer, The West Parker, Cleveland, Ohio, January 20, 1966,
Page 1.
"The First War... closed a long era of general peace and began a new age of
violence in which the Second War is simply an episode. Since 1914 the world has
had a new character... thus the first World War marks a turning point in modern
history." - The New York Times Magazine, August 1, 1954, page 9. Comments of
H.R. Trevor-Roper, Historian.
"In the year 1914, the world, as it was known and accepted then, came to an end,
far more than any year before or since was this the punctuation-mark of the
Twentieth Century... from then on nothing could ever be the same." - The book
1914, by J. Cameron, 1959,p V, VI.
It is indeed ironic that some clergymen who are members of church communities
strongly opposed to Jehovah's Witnesses are now noticing the significance of the
year 1914. One example of that is Pastor Tim LaHaye, formerly the Senior Pastor
of Scott Memorial Baptist Church in San Diego, California. Several years ago his
book The Beginning of the End was published and in it he reviewed Bible prophecy
targeting the events that would occur during the time of the end. On page 39
Pastor LaHaye alerted his readers, "Although I am open to additional evidence on
the subject, I am convinced that the events of 1914-1918 fulfill the beginning
of Jesus' prophecy. World War I was unique among conflicts not only in size and
extent, but in the way it started. Until history produces a more acceptable
fulfillment, it is reasonable to conclude that 1914 ushered in the beginning of
the end."
The other line of evidence that led the Witnesses to the year 1914 was the
material found at Daniel Chapter 4.
Daniel Chapter 4 is the record of a prophetic dream given by Jehovah God to the
Babylonian monarch, Nebuchadnezzar in the Seventh Century B.C.E. In his dream he
sees a tree that grows up into the heavens. Afterwards, it is cut down, although
its rootstock is left and banded so that no growth can occur for "seven times".
Nebuchadnezzar is subsequently. informed by the Hebrew prophet Daniel that the
tree represents him, the King of Babylonia (vs. 20-22). As the tree was cut
down, so too would Nebuchadnezzar be "cut down", away from his throne for
apparently seven years which would correspond to the "seven times" (vs. 23-25).
After his absence for seven years, he would be restored to the throne (vs.
26,34-36). Now, many would argue, why read more into the account than the fact
that a monarch was being given a lesson in humility from the Creator?
There are a few indicators that more than a lesson in humility is being told at
Daniel 4. In the book of Daniel, the "Kingdom of God" is constantly related to
the Kingdom that God establishes in the "last days" under Christ. At Daniel
2:44, we have an example of this, "And in the days of those kings the God of
Heaven will set up a Kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the Kingdom
itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end
to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite." Later at
Daniel 7:13,14 we find another example, "I kept on beholding in the visions of
the night and, see there! With the clouds of the heavens someone like a Son of
Man (Jesus Christ) happened to be coming; and to the Ancient of Days (Jehovah)
he gained access, and they brought him up close even before that One. And to him
there were given rulership and dignity and kingdom, that the peoples, national
groups and languages should all serve even him His rulership is an indefinitely
lasting rulership that will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be
brought to ruin." Why should this "Kingdom of God" be mentioned in Daniel 4 if
this chapter has no connection with it? In Daniel 4, we discover similar
phraseology:
Daniel 4:2,3: "The signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed with
me, it has seemed good to me to declare. How grand His signs are, and how mighty
his wonders are! His kingdom is a kingdom to time indefinite, and his rulership
is for generation after generation."
Daniel 4:34: "...And I blessed the Most High himself, and the One living to time
indefinite I praised and glorified, because his rulership is a rulership to time
indefinite and his kingdom is for generation after generation."
If the foregoing inference lacks force, another factor is the similarity between
the description of Jesus Christ being appointed as King of the Kingdom by
Jehovah, the "Ancient of Days" at Daniel 7:13,14 and the allusion to the same
action mentioned in Daniel Chapter 4 as shown:
Verse 17 "...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."
Verse 25: "...Until you know that the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of
mankind, and that to the one he wants to he gives it."
Verse 32: ". . .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."
At Daniel 7:13,14 the one to whom Jehovah gives the "kingdom of mankind" is the
Son of Man, Jesus Christ. But, why would this be mentioned in Daniel 4?
Witnesses concluded that the connection was not accidental but indicated that
Daniel Chapter 4 was not unlike other chapters of Daniel which carried prophecy
about the rise and fall of human political powers over time culminating in the
establishment of God's Kingdom by Christ Jesus, the one to whom God ‘wants to
give it'.
Witnesses concluded that King Nebuchadnezzar's departure from his throne, his
government, for seven years corresponded with the destruction of Jehovah's
government, the Kingdom of Judah in 607 B.C.E. and that the return of
Nebuchadnezzar to his throne after seven years corresponded to the
re-establishment of Jehovah's government through Jesus Christ. It may be
worthwhile to look at this a little closer.
Jehovah made a covenant with King David that out of him would issue a dynasty of
kings that would rule over God's people. (2 Samuel 7:11-16). During
pre-Christian times, the last king in David's line to rule over God's people was
King Zedekiah of whom the prophet Ezekiel wrote:
"This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said, ‘Remove the turban, lift off
the crown. This will not be the same. Put on high even what is low, and bring
low even the high one. A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I shall make it. As for this also,
it will certainly become no one's until he comes who has the legal right, and I
must give it to him.'" (Ezekiel 21:26, 27 NW) After this, the next time the
Bible talks about a king out of the line of David ruling, it is talking about
Jesus Christ, the one "who has the legal right". Of Jesus, Luke 1:32,33 (NW)
says, "This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; and
Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule as
king over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of this kingdom."
We will now return to Daniel Chapter 4 and chart the information we have
accumulated:
[A] |
"7 times" |
|
Tree (Dan. 4:10) |
Banded Rootstock (Dan. 4:15) |
"Resusicitated" Tree (Dan.
4:23)
|
[B] |
7 Years |
|
King Nebuchadnezzar |
Nebuchadnezzar Mentally Sick; Not Ruling (Dan 4:24-25)
|
Nebuchadnezzar Restored To Kingdom (Dan.4:34-36) |
[C] |
"7 times" |
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Davidic Kings Ruling from 1077 B.C.E. to 607 B.C.E. (2 Samuel 7:11-16 Ezekiel 21:26-27) |
After 607 B.C.E. No Theocratic Government Headed by a Davidic King (Ezekiel 21:26, 27) |
Jesus Christ, The ‘One Who Has Legal Right' is Made King, Not Only Over the Territory of Natural Israel but the World (Daniel 7:13,14) Luke 1:32,33; Rev. 11:15) |
The unanswered question that needed an answer was: How long was the "seven
times" from King Zedekiah to King Jesus Christ? The Bible already showed that
3-1/2 times* equaled 1,260 days at Revelation 12:6, 14. From this, determining
seven times became possible:
3-1/2 times = 1,260 days
+ 3-1/2 times = 1,260 days
7 times = 2,520 days
History confirmed that 2, 520 days after King Zedekiah was taken
off the throne, Jesus Christ did not become King. It thus became clear that the
prophetic principle of a day** representing a year was applicable here just as
it was in the prophecy in Daniel 9:24-26, which was a prophecy about the first
coming of Jesus Christ. The 2,520 days accordingly became 2,520 years.
Stretching the time line across 2,520 years from 607 B.C.E. brought Witness
Bible students to the year 1914 C.E. When the "end time" events mentioned by
Jesus commenced in 1914 C.E., Jehovah's Witnesses had the empirical evidence
that their exegesis of Daniel 4 was correct.
At Daniel.7:13,14, we learn that Jesus Christ is made King in heaven, not on the
earth. For that reason, Witnesses confidently say that Jesus Christ was
enthroned in heaven in 1914. That he would not begin destroying the earthly
system at the point that he was made King is indicated in the following
passages:
Matthew 25:31, 32: "When the Son of Man arrives in his glory and all the angels
with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne. And all the nations will
be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another....".
Revelation 12:10,12: "Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the
kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ... On this account be glad,
you heavens and you who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea,
because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a
short period of time."
* At Revelation 11:2,3 God's people are pictured as undergoing tribulation for
1,260 days or 42 months, each which equals 3—1/2 years. Compare with Daniel
7:25, 12:7.
** See Ezekiel 4:6, Numbers 14:34.
According to the account in Matthew 25, after sitting "down on his glorious
throne" and before he proceeds to bring destruction upon this corrupt world,
Jesus separates those with the prospect of eternal life from those not so
favored. At Revelation 12, we learn that after God establishes his special
kingdom under the authority of Jesus, Satan and his angelic brethren are evicted
from the heavens to the earth and rather than the "great tribulation" starting
immediately thereafter, we are informed that the Devil would be allowed to
create problems on the earth for "a short period of time". This then would
account for the historic difficulties that the world has experienced since 1914
C.E.
At 2 Peter 3:3, 4 Peter foretold, "For you know this first, that in the last
days there will come ridiculers with their ridicule, proceeding according to
their own desires and saying: ‘Where is this promised presence of his? Why, from
the day our forefathers fell asleep in death all things are continuing exactly
as from creation's beginning.'" It has not escaped the attention of Jehovah's
Witnesses that, in spite of an abundant body of historical data singling out our
era as unique in all history, skeptics continue to play down comparisons of our
time over against earlier times. This, in itself, becomes an evidence of the
"time of the end".
CONCLUSION
For those who accept the Bible as the Word of God, its prophecies are absolutely
true and dependable. They are not diminished by misinterpretation - regardless
of who misinterprets them. They merit our respect and interest for they are the
carriers of hope about a better world which will see the Creator given his due
place in the hearts and minds of all intelligent creatures and which will see
all his obedient, loving subjects free of sickness, sorrow and death.
END NOTES
1. Robert Glenn Gromacki - Are These the Last Days? Publishers:
Fleming H. Revell Company (1970), Re: The identification of "Babylon the Great"
at Revelation 17:5. "Some have identified her as the Roman Catholic Church
because she sits on seven mountains or hills. (Tradition states that Rome is
built on seven hills.) It is safer to say that this is apostate Christendom at
its worst, composed of all denominations, sects and isms that profess allegiance
to Christ but in reality deny and oppose him." (page 71).
2. Unfulfilled prediction of religious Jews. "Prevalent among Jews at that time
(the 1640's) was ‘the belief that the Messiah would come in the year 1648. His
coming was to be accompanied by all manner of miracles and the era of redemption
would dawn... Sabbatai Zevi proclaimed himself as the promised Messiah to his
small group of disciples. Needless to say, the year 1648 passed and the era of
redemption did not dawn and the expected miracles were not forthcoming." Leon
Festinger, Henry W. Riecken and Stanley Schaeter, When Prophecy Fails,
University of Minnesota Press (1956) page 9.
3. Views of Bible translator, John Wycliffe: "Wycliffe wrote a library of
learned and powerful disquisitions. The earliest work attributed by some to him
is a small treatise entitled ‘The Last Age of the Chirche' written in 1356. It
constitutes an indictment of the sins of the church and her priests... The
calculation of the end is significant, being influenced by the 1260 and 1355
year prophecies. Though Wyclif was persuaded no one could foretell the day of
judgment, he was certain the time was nigh at hand. ‘It is said that the
occasion of the writing was the terrible earthquakes and fearful pestilences
decimating Europe..." Leroy Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers,
Volume II, page 59.
4. Baptist Minister "Reverend" Harold Edwin Bafton, It's Here: The Time of the
End, Exposition Press (1963):
(a) Regarding the seven times of Daniel 4, "So also does the 7 years of bestial
degradation of Nebuchadnezzar during his insanity, answer to the7 years of
Gentile rule, or 2,520 years on the day for a year measurement, it being a
period of mural and spiritual debasement." Page 35
(b) "Without going into any detail at all, it is therefore plain to the most
superficial student that the three main periods of chronological prophecy
converge in our days and expire in a very few years, when the longest date given
in the Bible will end. Even so, we cannot pinpoint the day nor the hour, but we
do know the time and seasons, which the first disciples did not know, nor were
they intended to know." Page 93