If you are one of Jehovah’s Witnesses you very well may be OK with it, I don’t know.
Before we honestly answer that question let’s look at some Watchtower dates and consider their significance because this question has a lot to do with dates.
1799, 1844, 1874, 1878, 1881, 1914, 1915, 1918, 1919, 1925, 1975. All of these dates were taught by the Watch Tower to have significance and originated either from some of the same calculations derived from the Bible or from measurements inside the Great Pyramid of Giza or both according to the Watch Tower.
All have been dropped except 1914 and 1919 so far as I know. Why is that?
Is it that a lot of today’s Watch Tower teaching is based on 1914? Take away 1914 and what do you have?
Of course 1914 is significant for a number of reasons, the end of the gentile times, Christ’s invisible presence began in 1914, and World War I began in 1914 which proves that the Watch Tower was right about 1914! Jehovah’s Witnesses today can be very confident in the Watch Tower and the significance of 1914 because of World War I beginning that year!
Let’s assume that a good number of Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t know the significance of most of these other dates so we will only touch on them and let’s mainly pay attention to 1914 and 1919.
I am thinking that most Jehovah’s Witnesses know something of the changes in the meaning of a generation as per the Watchtower over the past few decades. ‘The generation of 1914 will by no means pass away before the conclusion of this system of things’. The Watch Tower is really hanging on to 1914!
Some Witnesses may not know that the Watch Tower taught for about 50 years that Christ returned invisibly in 1874. They taught that He began His kingly rule in 1878.
Their 1929 book entitled ‘Prophecy’ states: “The Scriptural proof is that the second presence of the Lord Jesus Christ began in 1874 A.D.” Prophecy 1929 pp.65, 66
“The year A.D. 1878, … clearly marks the time for the actual assuming of power as King of kings, by our present, spiritual, invisible Lord….” Thy Kingdom Come (1911 ed) p.239
Now that you know that it was taught up until at least 1929 that Jesus returned invisibly in 1874 let’s consider this statement made in the September 15th, 1998 Watchtower:
“a prophecy providentially caused sincere 19th-century Bible students to be in expectation. By linking the “seven times” of Daniel 4:25 with “the times of the Gentiles”, they anticipated that Christ would receive Kingdom power in 1914. “Watchtower 1998 September 15 p.15
Are you OK with the Watchtower telling you that the early Jehovah’s Witnesses, then known as Bible Students, anticipated that Christ would receive Kingdom power in 1914 when in reality they believed he had already received kingdom power in 1878?
Ok, let’s move on. We know that the time of trouble began in 1914 as the Watch Tower taught all along and the proof is that World War I began right on time! Right?
What did the January 22, 1973 Awake tell us about this?
“Of all men used by God to prophesy, Jesus is outstanding. Based on what he said, along with the words of Daniel and John, Jehovah’s witnesses pointed to the year 1914, decades in advance, as marking the start of “the conclusion of the system of things.” Awake! 1973 Jan 22 p.8
But what did the July 15, 1894 Zion’s Watch Tower warn the readers about 1914?
“But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble. Zion’s Watch Tower 1894 July 15 p.226
Are you OK with the Watchtower letting you believe that they knew decades in advance that 1914 would be the start of the conclusion of things when in actual fact they warned that 1914 would be the end of the time of trouble?
If you are Ok with the Watch Tower misleading you in this way, then there is likely little point in you reading any more here. On the other hand, if it does bother you a bit, then you might want to consider hundreds of other misleading statements that the Watch Tower has made. You will find a few of them on this website along with some of their other contradictory teachings and countless others are available on the web to anyone who has the courage to look.
You might start by looking at some of the links listed at the bottom of this page.
Take care.
Ted Brown