For the Deniers of JW History. The 1914 Great Disappointment

@medullah said
A very reasonable observation. The belief held is that in 1914 Jesus cleared out the heavens

Rev 12: 7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or S ...[text shortened]... ld astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

And of course in 1914 we had WW1.

Perfect post. So clear to those who understand.....

@medullah said
A very reasonable observation. The belief held is that in 1914 Jesus cleared out the heavens

Rev 12: 7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or S ...[text shortened]... ld astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

And of course in 1914 we had WW1.

This is probably what the JWs are saying in retrospect AFTER their prophesies, foretelling the arrival of Christ in 1914, failed.

Did Russell say any of this prior to 1914?

If not then this is deceitful. It is an attempt to escape admitting they made mistakes. Are you not seeing that?

@kingdavid403 said
No. It clearly has not happened yet. However, His Holy Spirit is among us; and, in many of us.
[Matthew 24:23-27 NKJV] 23 "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here [is] the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe [it]. 24 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 "See, I have told you before ...[text shortened]... mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

The event surely would not pass "invisibly".

@galveston75

The 1914 doctrine has changed by necessity, and continued to change in the twenty first century, as it has been falsified by the progression of history. It has progressed from:

The last days started in 1799, ending in 1914.
The last days started in 1914, ending within a single lifetime/generation of those born prior to 1914.
The last days started in 1914, with an unspecified ending, after a period of an "overlapping generation."
The ability of the Watchtower to accurately foretell the meaning of 1914 is a great source of faith for Jehovah's Witnesses, unaware of what Watchtower said prior to 1914. Nothing Russell said about 1914 came to pass.

https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/failed-1914-predictions.php

@ghost-of-a-duke said
@galveston75

The ability of the Watchtower to accurately foretell the meaning of 1914 is a great source of faith for Jehovah's Witnesses, unaware of what Watchtower said prior to 1914. Nothing Russell said about 1914 came to pass.

https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/failed-1914-predictions.php

Moses was asked how to discern a true prophet of God from a false one.

Moses: If it comes to pass it's from a true prophet.

And it goes without saying that if it does not come to pass, it was a prophecy from a false prophet.

YouTube

@pettytalk said
Moses was asked how to discern a true prophet of God from a false one.

Moses: If it comes to pass it's from a true prophet.

And it goes without saying that if it does not come to pass, it was a prophecy from a false prophet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIF0gkqvaQ0

False prophets (or replacements for Christ) are described biblically as anti-Christs.

@rajk999 said
The so-called “Great Disappointment” of 1844, surrounding William Miller’s errant predictions of Christ’s return, was indeed partly responsible for Charles Taze Russell beginning his own search of the Bible for clues on the timing of the “last days” and Jesus’s return. But 1844 was never part of Watch Tower theology.

Russell was aware of the calculations behind Miller’s pr ...[text shortened]... lung to the 1914 date, and Rutherford’s theology surrounding it, ever since.

https://qr.ae/psAXA1

1844 isn't relevant as the witnesses weren't even formed until after 1870

But to cut to the chase I would go with 1914 as the beginning of the end of times hallmarked by WW1. There was other stuff that isn't part of JW teaching, but personally I would go with 1914 yes.

@medullah said
1844 isn't relevant as the witnesses weren't even formed until after 1870

But to cut to the chase I would go with 1914 as the beginning of the end of times hallmarked by WW1. There was other stuff that isn't part of JW teaching, but personally I would go with 1914 yes.

What evidence is there that 1914 is the beginning of the end of times?

The JWs predicted [I believe], the Armageddon will be finished by 1914 and all people who are not JWs will be destroyed. Then the Kingdom of God on Earth will be established. That is very far from what actually happened and yet they refuse to admit that they were wrong.

@Suzianne

Already covered - WW1

@rajk999 said
What evidence is there that 1914 is the beginning of the end of times?

The JWs predicted [I believe], the Armageddon will be finished by 1914 and all people who are not JWs will be destroyed. Then the Kingdom of God on Earth will be established. That is very far from what actually happened and yet they refuse to admit that they were wrong.

I can’t honestly say Raj as you are going back 100 years. 1914 was accurate but if theyvhad a few goes at it a sceptic may suggest that it was luck. If you look at everything that happened from Xmas Eve 1913 onwards something looks like it went off, especially the domino effect from 1914 onwards.

@medullah said
I can’t honestly say Raj as you are going back 100 years. 1914 was accurate but if theyvhad a few goes at it a sceptic may suggest that it was luck. If you look at everything that happened from Xmas Eve 1913 onwards something looks like it went off, especially the domino effect from 1914 onwards.

Ok fair enough. I will do some reading up from the JW site and see what was caused them to believe in this 1914 date. Apparently the year 1975 was another big date. But again nothing of significance happened then.