http://e-watchman.com/1975-40-years-after/#comment-163543 It was in 1966 – before many of you were even born or aware – the Watchtower pointed forward to the year 1975 as the end of 6,000 years of human existence. So what? It has been surmised that because in Genesis God referred to the great epochs of creation as “days†and the days we are familiar with from our earthly vantage point are of equal length, that the seven days of creation must be of equal length too. And since the seventh day – upon which God rested – is still ongoing and cannot end until God’s creation is perfected and he declares it to be ‘good’, the thousand year reign of Christ’s Kingdom, also known as the great Sabbath and Jubilee – must cap the final years of God’s “day†of rest. Since the year of Adam’s creation is established by biblical chronology as being in the year 4026 BCE – the 6,000th year being 1975 CE – the Watchtower raised expectations among Jehovah’s Witnesses that the 1,000 year reign would begin then, which of course would mean that this world would end then too. Of course, obviously, the world did not end then. What went wrong? Was the Watchtower’s chronology off? Yes, it was. And there were a few clear-thinking Jehovah’s Witnesses back then that pointed it out. What was it? While it is possible to use the lifespans and linage from Adam to Christ, along with other pivotal dates, to count back to the very year that God blew life into Adam’s nostrils, that is not when God began his great sabbath day. As everyone knows, Jehovah then made a companion for the first man, whom Adam named Eve. It was only after God fashioned Eve from Adam’s rib that he declared his intention to rest from any more earthly creation. It was God’s will that his two human creations should finish his earthy project by means of procreation. It is still a work in progress. Unfortunately, the Bible does not reveal how long Eve lived; hence, it is impossible to establish when she was created; consequently, we do not know when the seventh “day†began. The question is, how long was Adam alone in the Garden of Eden before Jehovah provided him with a wife? Again, it is not possible to determine. But, it must have been quite a few years. Why should we believe that? For one thing, we have to realize that life in paradise would have been much different – certainly not the frenzied rush that we call “life†now. The clock of life ticked much, much slower. I mean, if you have forever, what’s the hurry? Why rush? To demonstrate that point, before Eve appeared Adam named all the animals that Jehovah God had created. We shouldn’t imagine, though, that the animals queued up and passed by in a steady stream from sun up until sun down, day after day, until the chore was done. Reasonably, Adam simply observed the various insects, animals, birds and fish as they flitted about – grazing, browsing, playing – interacting with him, so that he could give them meaningful – perhaps, humorous names. adam and eve in the lily pad pondThat Adam was alone for many years is most evident from his poetic outburst when he first laid eyes on our Mother, exclaiming: “This is at last bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one will be called Woman, because from man she was taken.†“At last†Adam had a non-animal companion. But, while it is evident that Adam was alone for a considerable period – undoubtedly years – still, the exact length of his bachelorhood is unknowable. Therefore, the year of the commencement of the seventh day is likewise unknown. Or is it? There is, in fact, a great many persons alive at this very moment who were on hand when God blessed the seventh day and made it sacred. They know exactly when Jehovah’s sabbath began and they most certainly know when the 6,000th year is too. These persons are the multitude of angels who witnessed all of God’s creative work, who are spoken of in the 38th chapter of Job as shouting in applause over the work that God had done. Unfortunately, a good many of those angels have long since become demons. As the implacable enemies of God and man, the Devil’s angels are keenly interested in matters having to do with the coming of Christ’s Kingdom because they know it will be the end of their world and the beginning of their incarceration on death row. Knowing that the day of Jehovah is coming they are determined to make a last stand and to try to destroy the remnant of the seed of God. Ultimately, expressions inspired by the demons will lure the leaders of this world to the place called Armageddon. finger on the nuclear buttonAlthough Jesus informed us that no one other then God knows the day and hour, certainly, as already stated, the 6,000th year is known by the spirits. This would explain how the demons know in advance when the time of the end will commence and why they are able to maneuver things so that they are able to trigger a war with push-button ease the moment they are hurled down from heaven. (See essay: The Devil Has Come Down to You) Given the fact that 40-year and 40-day periods are prevalent throughout the Scriptures, it may well be that Adam was 40 years old when Eve was presented to him and the seventh “day†began. Indeed, this may be why 40 year periods are embedded so thoroughly into the Bible. For instance Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. Moses was 40 years old when he first tried to liberate the Hebrews. Then he spent another 40 years in exile before leading the Israelites through the wilderness for 40 years. The book of Judges records numerous periods of 40 years when there was no further disturbance. Eli judged Israel 40 years. David ruled as king 40 years. So did his son, Solomon. Did you know that the Jewish system ended exactly 40 years to the day after Jesus entered the temple courtyard for the first time as the Messiah and threw out the money changers during the Passover of 30 CE? Then there are numerous 40 day periods. For example, the actual Deluge lasted 40 days. Moses was on the mountain with Jehovah for 40 days. Jonah’s message to the Assyrian city of Nineveh was: “Forty days more and Nineveh will be overthrown.†Elijah fasted for 40 days after feasting on angel food cake. Jesus fasted for 40 days before being tempted by the Devil. And Jesus appeared on earth for 40 days after his resurrection before he ascended back to heaven. For whatever it is worth, C.T. Russell formed his original Bible study group 40 years before 1914. And it was exactly 40 years from the time J.F. Rutherford first introduced the “great multitude†to the world in 1935 until the 1975 fiasco. And now we are exactly 40 years removed from 1975. So what, you ask? These past 40 years may be comparable to the Israelite’s wilderness wanderings – during which time Jehovah put them to the test and when the entire generation over 20 years of age who had been part of the exodus died off. Certainly the general expectation of Jehovah’s Witnesses leading up to 1975 was that they were on the threshold of the new world. But it was as if Jehovah did not allow them entry. Consequently, many were crushed with disappointment. The entire generation of leadership has since died off. Jehovah has certainly tested our faith. But given the present state of affairs – the growing chorus of warnings regarding the danger of world war and global financial collapse – it appears as if 2015 is the year. The 40 years of wandering in the wilderness are over! A new phase is about to begin – the time of the end and the beginning of the 1,000 year Jubilee. http://e-watchman.com/1975-40-years-after/#comment-163543 " it appears as if 2015 is the year. The 40 years of wandering in the wilderness are over! A new phase is about to begin – the time of the end and the beginning of the 1,000 year Jubilee. " A statement such as this is very dangerous.....and shows a bit of arrogance.
Interesting article though. Brother Robert summarized probably all the occurrences of periods of 40 days or years. Without doubt there is a great possibility that something significant could begin in this year. Remember after the Israelites 40 year in the wilderness, they went in to conquer the promised land and they fought 6 years until the Canaanites were subdued. Therefore I don't expect any Armageddon this year. But if the cleaning of God's people would kick off it would be great.
Jan how do you see the cleaning of God's house taking place? What do you think will be the catalyst other than the sexual cover ups that involved children?
The cleaning and refinement takes place for 1260 days, and this is after the beast rises from the abyss and begins persecuting the remaining seed of the woman. So if 2015 IS the year it begins, it seems to me that the US-European economic collapse is this year, and the refinement in the form of persecutions begins sometime after. My understanding of these prophecies is that there isn't a situation where the 'pedophile' stuff (or anything like it) leads to mass-public exposure before the collapse of the post-Roman nation-state system.
On the old forum I had written a thread on this subject and had done great research into the number 40 in scripture. You see I was born in 1975 and it has always fascinated me given my interest in chronology. Robert and I even talked about the fact he worked on this subject years previously. It is correct that the 7th did not begin until Eve was created, and that we do not know exactly when that was, but there is evidence to believe that Adam was created approximately 6k years from 1975. (Although there may be (may be) evidence that number is off 2 or 3 years) Now it wasn't until years later after much work in the chronology of the end did I discover what those 40's were all about. In the time of the end there will be 40 days between the moment Jesus is enthroned and Armageddon begins. Those dead in Christ are resurrected when Christ is enthroned, and raised to heaven 40 days later. Those of Christ's brothers still alive when he is enthroned will be changed, or transfigured like Moses and Stephen and will still be living on earth for 40 more days while these ones are the ones attacked in the end. Just like Jesus waited 40 days after he was resurrected until he ascended into heaven, this will also be the case for those of the bride class in the time of the end. Just like there were 40 years from when the 69th week Jesus was presented to the Jewish nation until its destruction in 70, there are 40 days from Jesus enthronement until Armageddon. The 70 weeks in the time of the end are actually weeks.
Another thought: I take WW1 and WW2 (hmm, three WWs) as an example of the conclusion. Jehovah's Witnesses roundly refused to participate in military service, this led to tar/feathering, castrations, and murders. In Germany JWs and Jews died together in the camps. On top of that, JWs were in the ministry calling out the global order and wars as being preludes to the revealing of Christ. Extrapolating forward, I would guess that the same thing will occur. Refusal of military service, and the ministry exposing the global system. BUT unlike WW1 and WW2, WW3 will expose 1914 as false, and make us look foolish / false prophets, etc. (perhaps the pedophilia coverup becomes an impetus for further persecution) [fulfilling Ezekiel 13 to the T] This is the sackcloth, which will refine us. Out of that refinement, with the GB-debunked, JWs again will become the only group calling our the global order for what it is. ([most] other churches will be advocating war to protect Israel) They will join in the persecution of JWs thinking they are protecting their beloved trinity; and the physical Jews in Israel, for which they will become ultra-patriotic and ultimately reject Christ. (many will see the truth and not fall for it) This framework at least, seems quite logical and likely. But we'll see.
Conversely, I see you're still hanging onto the idea that there are two abyssing's edit: oh wait, NO - the SEA is NOT the abyss!!! I argued this extensively with you once, CLEARLY the sea is NOT the abyss The sea is humanity, and the beast is described as coming out of the Middle East -> Greco-Roman system. Again: the SEA is NOT the Abyss This is the abyss: I saw that one of its heads seemed to have been fatally wounded, but its mortal wound had been healed,( out of the ABYSS) and all the earth followed the wild beast with admiration. Rev 13 This is the abyss: 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. Rev 17
Christ, 2000 years ago -> the church until now (sans BTG) -> the post-Roman system collapses (abyss) -> rises from abyss and persecutes the seed of the woman -> risen post-Roman system global order destroyed by Christ ONE abyss moment for the post-Roman system; when it rises, the image, risen beast, and two horned lamb-dragon persecute the remaining of the seed. The Sea is simply informing us that the beast which formed for 2000 years until now (iron-clay) came from the middle-east-greco-roman empires of man. (as opposed to a 'new' empire springing from a rising population) Europe is derivative from the split of Alexander's generals in Persia, permuting into Rome. IMO, this is what the sea and attributes of the beast are informing us of. (compare to Daniel 7, 8 and 11)
Oh yes yes, you said the beast in chapter 13 had come from the abyss because of the death stroke, and I tried to show you the death stroke to one head was not to the entire beast, for the entire beast goes into the abyss and then out years after the death stroke to one of the heads. You may remember me saying that the beast in 13 comes from the sea with the death stroke, and then later the entire beast would go into and out of the abyss. Nothing wrong with a little followup every once in a while on past subjects...
Where I think you're mistaken is seeing the beast as a collective of nations in one moment of time. I think the Watchtower is correct, the 7 heads are nations over time stemming from Satan's rule. (Rev 17 eludes to this, see below) Egypt -> Assyria -> Babylon -> Persia -> Greece -> Rome -> The West The 7th head, the West, receives the death-stroke which it recovers from. This is the upcoming financial collapse IMO. Then the 8th king springs from the 7 (and 7th) to lead the global order, and persecute Christians. This calls for a mind that has wisdom: The seven heads mean seven mountains (kingdoms), where the woman sits on top. 10 And there are seven kings: Five have fallen (Egypt -> Assyria -> Babylon -> Persia -> Greece), one is (Rome), and the other has not yet arrived (Iron-clay); but when he does arrive, he must remain a short while. 11 And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also an eighth king, but it springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction.
LOL!!! You know we're only what, 7 hours drive apart? We may even be in the same time zone, aren't you in central standard time? If you find yourself coming through Kansas City, you have a place to stay, and don't forget your aardvark!
Hahahah! Oh boy ... that would bring glory to Jehovah, eh? We could film a fight, for evidence, and whoever wins gets final say on the interpretation of Revelation 13!?! Then double or nothing with the aardvarks.
Actually I do see the heads as nations over time just like the WTS and you, but I see the animals as nations currently. The seven heads of course were as you say the seven ruling before the 8th, hence why there is no 8th head shown in the beast at Rev 13, because the 8th doesn't arise until after the abyssing, of which the death stroke is not. It's the lion, bear, leopard that lead us back to Dan 7 and 8 and nations in the time of the end. You see I believe that the beasts in Dan 7 are the same as the immense image in Dan 2. Babylon being the head of gold, and then the lion, and as well Babylon being the lion in the beast at Rev 13, it's that part of the beast "the lion" that the rest of the beast turns on in Rev 17 when it comes from the abyss. The lion in Rev 13 is Babylon. I believe Britain was the 7th head, and it's that head that took a blow after WWII, if it were not for the Anglo-American loan, Britain and that 7th head would have died, and through that loan came the clay mixed with iron. The oligarchy and republic structures sitting and one table in an unworkable union. The death stroke has already occurred in my chronology, and the abyssing is still future.
Robert is not always right! The following statement is not true. “when the entire generation over 20 years of age who had been part of the exodus died off.†According to Joshua 14:30-31, Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun did not die off. Caleb was 85 years old at that time. Also, speaking of those who thought 1975 would be the beginning of the end, “The entire generation of leadership has since died off.â€, is also not true. There are quite a few, just in my old congregation, who are still living. That is, unless he is speaking of the GB, but even then, there are those who were "leadership" still in control. They keep playing the old shell game with dates. Another point is: “Since the year of Adam’s creation is established by biblical chronology as being in the year 4026 BCEâ€, cannot be proven using the bible record. There are missing years from the Exodus to the building of the temple in Jerusalem. To add to this, as far as “creative days†being equal lengths cannot be proven. The Hebrew word is yowm, and it can be associated with any length of time. As Einstein said, “Time is relative.†It can be anywhere from a few hours, a 24 hour day, a generation, to thousands of “mankind’s†years.
Gabriel, there are some scriptures that indicate that there will be a period of cleansing. In the book of Daniel 8 :14 it says it will take 2300 days. That is little more than 6 years. So he said to me: “Until 2,300 evenings and mornings; and the holy place will certainly be restored to its right condition.†The question remains will 2300 days begin prior to the 1260 days or will they begin at the same time? Well to me it seems more logical according to the context that the 2300 days begin first and that they end about the same time as the 1335 days, because Daniel 12:12 says happy are those who wait until the 1335 day. So the restoration of "the holy place" to its right condition could well begin before the beast of Revelation 13 gets its power , that he will exersise 42 months or 1260 days. And how could this cleansing take place. Well the governing body should let Elijah come and let him teach God's people. Actually this must happen to fulfill the prophecy in Malachi 4:5,6 Malachi 3:1 Also says: a messenger will be sent to clear the way. And after that the messenger of the covenant (Jesus) will come and he will cleanse thoroughly the sons of Levi. I think Elijah will have much to teach the leadership and the members of God's people to get everybody fit for the new world. Of course the paedophile cover ups must cease. Instead apostle Paul told that sinners in congregations should be publicly reproved. Everybody should get to know why somebody is reproved or disfellowshipped. That's how they dealt with the man in Corinth who began an immoral relation with his father's wife.
Hi Jan. Sorry if this is a stupid question. But when you speaking of Elijah getting folks ready for the new world...are you speaking of "The Elijah" ?
Yes that's right. Elijah in Malachi is not the ancient prophet Elijah. But his mission will be similar and that's why the future reformer is named Elijah in the prophecy. Already before Jesus' first coming John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy about the coming Elijah. But now me expect a second coming of Jesus , and again somebody will get God's people prepared for his second coming.