EYES OF UNDERSTANDING? Reviewing the Watchtower Society's prophetic record.
1972 "So, does Jehovah have a prophet to help them, to warn them of dangers and to declare things to come? These questions can be answered in the affirmative. Who is this prophet?... This 'prophet' was not one man, but was a body of men and women. It was the small group of footstep followers of Jesus Christ, known at that time as International Bible Students. Today they are known as Jehovah's Christian Witnesses....
"Of course, it is easy to say that this group acts as a 'prophet' of God. It is another thing to prove it. The only way that this can be done is to review the record. What does it show?"
–The Watchtower, April 1, 1972, p.197
1889 "In this volume we offer a chain of testimony on the subject of God's appointed times and seasons, each link of which we consider Scripturally strong...it is beyond the breadth and depth of human thought, and therefore cannot be of human origin."
–The Time Is At Hand, 1889, p.15
"...the 'battle of the great day of God Almighty' (Rev. 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership, is already commenced."
1892 “The date of the close of that ‘battle’ is definitely marked in Scripture as October, 1914. It is already in progress, its beginning dating from October, 1874.”
–The Watchtower, January 15, 1892, p.22
1894 "We see no reason for changing the figures--nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours."
–The Watchtower, July 15, 1894, p.226
1911 “...the ‘battle of the great day of God Almighty’ (Rev. 16:14.), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth’s present rulership, is already commenced.”
–The Time Is At Hand, 1889 (1911 ed.), p.101
1913 "...the 'battle of the great day of God Almighty' (Rev. 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1915 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership is already commenced."
–The Time Is At Hand, 1889 (1913 ed.), p.101
1916 "In the meantime, our eyes of understanding should discern clearly the Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty now in progress; and our faith, guiding our eyes of understanding through the Word, should enable us to see the glorious outcome--Messiah's Kingdom."
–Watchtower Reprints September 1, 1916, p.5951
1917 “The present great war in Europe is the beginning of the Armageddon of the Scriptures.”
–Pastor Russell’s Sermons, 1917, p.676
1918 "The Millennium (Rev. 20:3,4,7) began in 1874, with the Return of Christ."
–The Finished Mystery, 1918, p.386
“There will be no chance of escaping from destruction....It is the Day of Vengeance, which began in the world war of 1914 and which will break like a furious morning storm in 1918."
“Also, in the year 1918, when God destroys the churches wholesale, and the church members by millions, it shall be that any that escape shall come to the works of Pastor Russell to learn the meaning of the downfall of ‘Christianity.’”
–The Finished Mystery, 1917, p.485
1920 "...the great jubilee cycle is due to begin in 1925. At that time the earthly phase of the kingdom shall be recognized...Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old..."
–Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920, pp.89-90
1921 "...we may expect 1925 to witness the return of these faithful men of Israel from the condition of death, being resurrected and fully restored to perfect humanity.... Then Jerusalem will become the capital of the world...."
–The Golden Age, March 16, 1921, p.381
1922 "Lo, our King is here, and the year 1925 marks the date when all shall see His mighty power demonstrated in the resurrection of the ancient worthies, and the time when 'millions now living will never die'."
–The Golden Age, March 1, 1922, p.350
"...this chronology is not of man, but of God. Being of divine origin and divinely corroborated, present-truth chronology stands in a class by itself, absolutely and un-qualifiedly correct."
–The Watchtower, July 15, 1922
1923 "1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures.... the Christian now has much more upon which to base his faith than Noah had (so far as the Scriptures reveal) upon which to base his faith in a coming deluge."
–The Watchtower, April 1, 1923, p.106
1924 "The year 1925 is a date definitely and clearly marked in the Scriptures, even more clearly than that of 1914."
–The Watchtower, July 15, 1924, p.211
1925 "We should, therefore, expect shortly after 1925 to see the awakening of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Melchisedec, Job, Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, John the Baptist, and others mentioned in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews."
–The Way to Paradise, 1925, p.224
"The world and all the present conveniences will seem strange to them at first...for they never saw telephones, radios, automobiles, electric lights, aeroplanes, steam engines, and many other things so familiar to us."
–The Way to Paradise, 1925, pp.226-227
1930 “But it may be asked, How are we to know whether one is a true or false prophet? There are at least three ways by which we can positively decide: (1) If he is a true prophet, his message will come to pass exactly as prophesied. If he is a false prophet, his prophecy will fail to come to pass.”
–The Watchtower, May 15, 1930, p.154
“The true prophet of God today will be telling forth what the Bible teaches, and those things that the Bible tells us are soon to come to pass. He will not be sounding forth man-made theories or guesses, either his own or those of others.”
“Their prophecies did not come true. Therefore they are false prophets; and the people should no longer trust them as safe guides....”
1931 “There was a measure of disappointment on the part of Jehovah’s faithful ones on earth concerning the years 1914, 1918 and 1925, which disappointment lasted for a time. Later the faithful learned that these dates were definitely fixed in the Scriptures; and they also learned to quit fixing date for the future and predicting what would come to pass on a certain date....”
–Vindication I, 1931, pp.338-339
1935 "There is no attempt on the part of The Watchtower to interpret prophecy, for the reason that no human creature can interpret prophecy."
–1935 Yearbook of Jehovahs Witnesses, p.52
1938 "Those Jonadabs who now contemplate marriage, it would seem, would do better if they wait a few years, until the fiery storm of Armageddon is gone."
–Face the Facts, 1938, p.50
1940 "The Kingdom is here, the King is enthroned. Armageddon is just ahead....the great climax has been reached. Tribulation has fallen upon those who stand by the Lord."
–The Messenger, September, 1940, p.6
1941 "Receiving the gift, the marching children clasped it to them, not a toy or plaything for idle pleasure, but the Lord's provided instrument for most effective work in the remaining months before Armageddon."
–The Watchtower, September 15, 1941, p.288
"Meantime the German people are awakening to their horrible predicament. They no longer laugh as decent men and women were made to laugh, but their faces are white, pinched and filled with forebodings of what the near future will bring and is already hastening to bring to them--Armageddon, the battle of that great day of God Almighty."
–Consolation, October 29, 1941, p.11
"In this expectation the house at San Diego, California...was built, in 1930, and named 'Beth-Sarim', meaning 'House of Princes'. It is now held in trust for the occupancy of those princes on their return."
1942 "Proof is now submitted that we are now living at 'the end of the days', and we may expect to see Daniel and the other mentioned princes any day now!"
–Consolation May 27, 1942, p.13
1943 "This is not giving any credit to the magazine's publishers, but is due to the great Author of the Bible with its truths and prophecies, and who now interprets its prophecies."
–The Watchtower April 15, 1943, p.125
1958 “‘Sometime between April 15 and 23, 1957, Armageddon will sweep the world! Millions of persons will perish in its flames and the land will be scorched.’ So prophesied a certain California pastor, Mihran Ask, in January, 1957. Such false prophets tend to put the subject of Armageddon in disrepute.”
–The Watchtower, October 15, 1958, p.613
1966 "According to this trustworthy Bible chronology six thousand years from man's creation will end in 1975, and the seventh period of a thousand years of human history will begin in the fall of 1975....How appropriate it would be for Jehovah God to make of this coming seventh period of a thousand years a sabbath period of rest....It would not be by mere chance or accident but would be according to the loving purpose of Jehovah God for the reign of Jesus Christ, the 'Lord of the sabbath,' to run parallel with the seventh millennium of man's existence....Consequently there is now every reason why the human creation will yet be set free, not by men, but by Almighty God. The long awaited time for this is at hand!"
–Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God 1966, pp.29-30
"WHY ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO 1975?
–The Watchtower August 15, 1968, p.494
1968 "During World War I God's people expected it to lead directly into Armageddon, but Jehovah prevented such a climax at that time. We didn't succumb to such an expectation during World War II."
–Kingdom Ministry January 1968, p.5
“How can it be determined when 6,000 years of human history will end? According to reliable Bible chronology, Adam and Eve were created in 4026 B.C.E.” “...This would leave only seven more years from the autumn of 1968 to complete 6,000 full years of human history.”
–Awake!, October 8, 1968, p.14
"To calculate where man is in the stream of time relative to God's seventh day of 7,000 years, we need to determine how long a time has elapsed from the year of Adam and Eve's creation in 4026 B.C.E....Adding 4,025 and 1 and 1,966 we get 5,992 years from the autumn of 4026 B.C.E. to the autumn of 1967....Eight years from the autumn of 1967 would bring us to the autumn of 1975...."
–The Watchtower, May 1, 1968, p.271
"Hence, when Christians note from God's timetable the approaching end of 6,000 years of human history, it fills them with anticipation."
–Ibid., p.271
"Still some persons may say: 'How can you be sure?...People have been mistaken about these prophecies before.' ...True, there have been those in times past who predicted an ‘end to the world,’ even announcing a specific date. Some have gathered groups of people with them and fled to the hills or withdrawn into their houses waiting for the end. Yet, nothing happened. The ‘end’ did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying.
“...But what about today? Today we have the evidence required, all of it. And it is overwhelming!"
“Adam at age 130 had a son, Seth. Eve was also 130 years old at the time of Seth's birth....”
–Aid to Bible Understanding, 1971, pp.333, 538
"Just think, brothers, there are only about ninety months left before 6,000 years of man's existence on earth is completed. Do you remember what we learned at the assemblies last summer? The majority of people living today will probably be alive when Armageddon breaks out..."
–Kingdom Ministry, March 1968, p.4
"In view of the short time left, a decision to pursue a career in this system of things is not only unwise but extremely dangerous....Many young brothers and sisters were offered scholarships or employment that promised fine pay. However, they turned them down and put spiritual interests first."
–Kingdom Ministry, June 1969, p.3
"In order for the Lord Jesus Christ to be 'Lord even of the sabbath day,' his thousand-year reign would have to be the seventh in a series of thousand-year periods or millenniums."
–The Approaching Peace of a Thousand Years 1969, pp.26-27
"Reports are heard of brothers selling their homes and property and planning to finish out the rest of their lives in this old system in the pioneer service. Certainly this is a fine way to spend the short time remaining before the wicked world's end."
–Kingdom Ministry, May 1974, p.3
1972 “Jehovah, the God of the true prophets, will put all false prophets to shame either by not fulfilling the false prediction of such self-assuming prophets or by having His own prophecies fulfilled in a way opposite to that predicted by the false prophets. False prophets will try to hide their reason for feeling shame by denying who they really are.”
–Paradise Restored To Mankind By Theocracy, 1972, pp.353-354
"The Bible...tells us that this millennium must be preceded immediately by the most destructive war in all human history. We can now see the political rulers of 'kings of the entire inhabited earth' being gathered, under forces beyond human control, for that War of all wars, at the place called Har-Magedon."
–The Watchtower, July 1, 1974, p.397
"...in September 1975 a significant point in human history was reached....Does it mean that Christ's millennial Kingdom rule, as the final 1,000 years of that 'rest day,' is to be reckoned from September, 1975? No....the Bible record shows that God's creations on the 'day' just preceding that 7,000-year 'rest day' did not end with Adam's creation. It shows a time lapse between the creation of Adam and that of his wife, Eve....So we do not know exactly when Jehovah's great 'rest day' began, nor do we know exactly when it will end. The same applies to the beginning of Christ's millennial reign."
–The Watchtower, October 1, 1975, p.579
"Considerable expectation was aroused regarding the year 1975.... Statements published that implied that such realization of hopes by that year was more of a probability than a mere possibility. It is to be regretted...the publication of the information that contributed to the buildup of hopes centered on that date."
–The Watchtower, March 15, 1980, p.17
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