Dear Forum members,
While skimming through various publications I came across some articles that I thought might be of interest to some of you for research purposes.
I inserted the link from where I copied and pasted into this thread.
A lot of you have probably already read these but for those who haven't and are interested take a looksy and see what you think.
I started off with copying a summary of the writer’s comparison of Russell’s views on the meaning of the 70 years of desolation and then added others after that.
You can find the entire pages at the link I provided at the bottom.
Happy reading.
plum
THE BIBLICAL 70 YEARS A Look at the Exile and Desolation Periods Charles F. Redeker ************************************************************* PART II. CORROBORATIVE VIEWS OF THE 70 YEARS Pastor Charles T. Russell (1852- 1916) Regarding the Biblical 70 years, Pastor Russell found 2Ch 36:17- 23 the key text defining the period. He said it taught that "Nebuchadnezzar carried away the treasures of Jerusalem, broke down its walls, burned its palaces, and carried its people captive to Babylon; ... that this desolation of the land and the city was in fulfillment of prophecy, the word of the Lord by Jeremiah, that the land should lie desolate and keep a Sabbath of rest seventy years. It also declares that this seventy years’ desolation was brought to an end by the decree of Cyrus in the first year of his reign. Thus has the Lord clearly marked the beginning of the seventy years and their end; yet we find that chronologists in general reject this plain statement of the Scriptures." (Tower Reprints, p-2509) He also strongly believed that the 70 years pertained to the total desolation of the land rather than merely to the captivity of the people by Babylon. He concluded that any scheme of reckoning which shortened the total desolation period to less than 70 years was seriously in error and not in harmony with the exact "Bible record." He accepted the Bible definition of "desolate" as without an inhabitant" (Jer 34:22), and found that this could only be the case after Zedekiah’s overthrow and the destruction of Jerusalem. He believed there was a definite reason why Jehovah required that the land lie desolate for the 70 year period:that it was to compensate for the careless enforcement of the Jubilee Sabbaths in earlier years. (Vol. 2, pp. 51- 52, 191- 193, and Tower Reprints, pp. 1372, 3437) Regarding the several devastations of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, Pastor Russell felt that "there were three distinct captivities." He pointed out that in the first year of Cyrus, when the Jewish captives in Babylon were given the liberty to return to Palestine, only a few were so disposed. "The vast majority, however, were evidently well pleased with their foreign home, in which some of them had been living for seventy years, some for seventy- eight years, and some for eighty- nine years (those carried away captive at the same time as Daniel)." 10 According to his chronology, these three captivities would have occurred in 625 B. C. (first year of Nebuchadnezzar and fourth year of Jehoiakim), in 617 B. C. (eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar and third month of Jehoiachin), and the most significant in 607 B. C. (19th year of Nebuchadnezzar and llth year of Zedekiah). (Tower Reprints, p. 2509) Exhibit B, "Devastations by Nebuchadnezzar" (p. 80), summarizes these events. Pastor Russell was convinced that "the uncertain dates of secular history [should be made to] conform to the positive statements of the Bible," and not the other way around. Regarding the Bible chronology, he found it to proceed in an unbroken chain from Creation, through the Preflood era, to the Abrahamic Covenant, to the Exodus, through the period of the Judges and the Kings, totaling 3,522 years. He then regarded the 70 year period of 10 It is not clear how the "seventy- eight" year figure for the second captivity was deduced. The third month of Jehoiachin’s reign (just before Zedekiah was made king in his stead) was either in 618 or 617 B. C. (B/ R chronology). Either starting point would have allowed more than 78 years to have elapsed to 536 B. C.desolation as the vital bridge connecting the sacred with the secular chronologies, making it possible to relate the Bible record with events of our day; because the year of release for the Jewish captives in the first year of Cyrus (Ezr 1:1- 3), which brought to an end the desolation of the land, was considered a well authenticated date in secular history- 536 B. C." Hence, he then concluded that there would have been 3,522 + 70 (= 3,592 years) from Creation to the first year of Cyrus in 536 B. C. and could then project another 2,408 years to the ending of the 6,000 years from Creation in 1872 A. D. (Vol. 2, p. 42, and Tower Reprints, pp. 1974- 1975; also Leslie, p. 4) The 70 year period of desolation figured prominently in many of Pastor Russell’s end- time calculations and prophetic expectations. These related to confirming the dates of Jesus’parousia, the Jubilees leading to the commencement of the Times of Restitution, the Jewish Double prophecy and the ending of the Gentile Times in 1914. Any shortening of the 70 year period would therefore radically impact upon all of these events, either eliminating them altogether or requiring a major restructuring. (See Appendix A, "A Challenge to Bible Students," for an elaboration of the consequences of having the period shortened by adopting the civil date of 587 B. C. for the fall of Jerusalem instead of 607 B. C.) 11 Contemporary scholars now favor 538- 537 B. C. as Cyrus’ first official year as king in Babylon. A method of harmonizing the 537 B. C. date with the Bowen/ Russell chronology is discussed in A Confirmation of the True Bible Chronology, by C. F. Redeker, pp. 41- 46.
PART I. THE BIBLE TEACHING INTRODUCTION Charles F. Redeker There are a number of instances in the Old Testament where the writers make reference to a 70 year period which appears to be associated with the Babylonian captivity of Judah. It is not always clear from individual accounts precisely how this period relates to the main events of the time, including several distinct devastations of Jerusalem. A careful study of all pertinent texts relating to the issue is obviously in order, to determine if a clear- cut, harmonious Biblical view can be obtained. The traditional Bible Student understanding has been to reckon the main Babylonian captivity as starting with Zedekiah’s overthrow and Jerusalem’s destruction and reaching to the first year of Cyrus. It specifies a full 70 years for both the captivity and the desolation of the land, which are considered contemporaneous events. On the other hand, proponents of the civil historian view (based on the Neo- Babylonian chronology) shorten the length of the desolation to only 50 years; they find an earlier starting point for the captivity, then bring both periods to a simultaneous close. Under this reckoning, it is not readily possible to find a starting point that pertains directly to Judah. Hence the 70 year period is applied to the period of Babylon’s supremacy over surrounding nations, from 609 B. C. to 539 B. C. This covers the period from the year it is thought Assyria (Babylon’s chief rival) first began losing power to Babylon, to the eventual collapse of the Babylonian empire. This reckoning shifts the emphasis from a Babylonian conquest of Judah (for 70 years) to a general supremacy exerted over all the surrounding nations. Of special concern in such a view is depicting the desolation period as merely 50 years in length and starting the official captivity of Judah prior to Jerusalem’s fall. This opens up focal points of investigation that invite Scriptural inquiry for confirmation and for independent testimony into the true sequence of events that occurred. Valid questions that need to be addressed Are:have the Scriptures been misinterpreted in the past? Is their combinedtestimony sufficiently clear and consistent to be labelled "the Biblical view" of the exile and desolation periods? And if so, can it be reasonably harmonized with the civil view, or are they hopelessly irreconcilable? As recognized by historians, the Bible provides the most detailed and complete accounts of all records yet extant for the period under review. It should therefore be a rewarding and interesting experience for us to probe the Scriptures to determine if these chronological issues can be resolved. Let us go on, then, to the Scriptural study, making a diligent effort to ferret out, compare and evaluate the data that it provides. Jer 25:8- 11 v. 8:"therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, v. 9:"behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and1 against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. v. 10:"moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. v. 11:"and this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years."
Jeremiah’s prophecy here is the earliest to mention the 70 years directly,
although, as we shall note later, Moses had already foreseen the grave consequences of the Israelites turning from their God. (Lev. 26) Jeremiah, however, was used of the Lord to spell out in more specific and urgent terms what would shortly befall their nation at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, unless they repented of their ways. Hence this opening text is very basic to the concept of THE 70 YEAR PERIOD and needs to be examined very carefully.
Let us note at the onset that Jeremiah’s first emphasis overwhelmingly is upon the destruction and desolation that shall come upon Judah and its people. It was "against this land and against the inhabitants thereof" that the "desolation" would come. The word "desolation" in the verses quoted here is from the Hebrew chorbah, defined as a "drought, dry or waste place." (Young)
1 Nebuchadrezzar, the name used in Jer 25:9, is thought by most authorities to be a Hebrew variant form of the more common Nebuchadnezzar.Another frequently used Hebrew word for "desolation" in parallel texts is shemamah, such as in Jer 34:22, where Jehovah warned that He would cause the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem, "burn it with fire," and to "make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant." Strong defines this word (8077) as "devastation, " and indicates it is from a root that means "ruined." As may be seen, Jer. 34:22 plainly gives the Bible’s own definition as "without an inhabitant," when applied to Jerusalem and Judah.
Only after describing the severity of the impending desolation in considerable detail does the prophet mention the captivity of the people, almost as an afterthought, and expressed as a consequence of the destruction preceding it. From this aspect, THE 70 YEAR PERIOD that he specifies properly concerns the major activity he is describing and its aftermath- the cataclysmic destruction wrought by the Babylonian hordes and the length of time its impact would be felt. If the major captivity of the people followed the devastation of the city, such captivity would of course be contemporaneous with the length of the desolation of the land. Regardless of the sequence in which Jeremiah happened to mention the 70 years, it seems evident that he intended that number to apply both to the length of the desolation and of the exile.
That this is the simplest and most straightforward reading of these verses seems confirmed by later Bible writers. As we shall subsequently see, the chronicler applied the 70 years to the time that the land would lie desolate; and Daniel, to the period that Jerusalem and its Temple would be in ruins. Both authors stated clearly that they based their conclusions on the statements of the prophet Jeremiah, which we are now considering; and neither of them applied THE 70 YEARS to the period of Babylonian supremacy over the nations.
Critics object to this understanding, arguing that the prophecy
does not actually state in so many words that the foretold period of 70 years would pertain to the desolation of the land or that the 70 years would follow the total destruction of Jerusalem. It merely states that "these nations"- Judah and others- would serveBabylon for the 70 years.Jer. 34:22 plainly gives the Bible’s own definition
as "without an inhabitant," when applied to Jerusalem and Judah.But in addition to what we have already said, we would point out that the sequence of events as given strongly implies that the 70 years captivity would immediately follow the utter desolation of Judah. Note the order of events:(a) Nebuchadnezzar brought against Judah and the nations; (b) Judah and the nations destroyed and made desolate; (c) an elaboration of the extent of the desolation, both upon the land and the activities of the people; and (d) the nations to serve Babylon for 70 years. A normal, direct reading of the account favors a sequential, progressive occurrence of these events and thus implies a totality of destruction, desolation and captivity lasting for 70 years. There is no hint here that the national captivity and desolation of the land would not be contemporaneous events.
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Certainly Jeremiah’s prophecy was not fulfilled at once. Cyrus’ overthrow of Babylon was in marked contrast to the harsh fate it had suffered on earlier occasions. Although ordering the destruction of the outer walls of the capital city, he was generous to his defeated foes and showed respect for their shrines and deities. Not until more than 200 years later, when the Persian Empire fell before Alexander the Great, was Babylon utterly destroyed. Even then it remained a habitable site till about the start of the Christian era, when it was at last deserted. And thus the glory of mighty Babylon was finally reduced to ashes, not at once, but over a period of several hundred years.
Interestingly enough, in our day efforts are being made by President Saddam Hussein of Iraq to rebuild a section of the northern city and to use it as the focal point of a revived nationalism and an attempted leadership role among Arab nations. But Babylon as a thriving metropolis is not being rebuilt. About the only accomplishments are the construction of a scale model of the famous Ishtar Gate, a likeness of one of Nebuchadnezzar’s palaces, two small temples, and a Greek theater; in all, the equivalent of a huge entertainment center or archeological park, designed to attract foreign tourists.
Even here the plan met with interruption, frustration and abandonment as Iraqi resources were diverted elsewhere, particularly as a consequence of the Persian Gulf war. Certainly there is no population shift back to Babylon, a reborn city is not rising out of the sand, and there is no danger that Baghdad will soon cease to be the Iraqi capital . Thus Jeremiah’s prophecy of "age- abiding desolations" (25:12), that "Babylon shall become heaps ... without an inhabitant" (51:37) and parallel predictions by Isaiah that "it shall never be inhabited [nor] .. dwelt in from generation to generation" (13:20) continue to look very impressive Indeed.jer 29:10- 14v. 10:"for thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
v. 11:"for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
v. 12:"then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
v. 13:"and ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
v. 14:"and I will be found of you, saith the Lord:and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive."
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Now let us discuss the exact application of these 70 years in Zec 7:5, and attempt a correlation with Zec 1:5. First to be noted is that only by applying it consistently to THE 70 YEAR PROPHECY already delineated (607 B. C. to 537 B. C.) can it be tied in precisely with the earlier account (in Zech. 1:5). By ending it at the time the question of fasting was raised in the fourth year of Darius, it is possible to come up with a 70 year period from 587 B. C., but then it would not coincide with the earlier Zechariah text, which was made to end with the angel’s question in the second year of Darius.
CONCLUSION :
In this study, we have attempted to bring to bear all the Scriptures that mention THE 70 YEAR PERIOD directly, as well as others that relate to the event in a significant way without mentioning the number 70. In so doing, we have seen a definite pattern emerge which clearly can be labelled "the Biblical view." It expressly holds:
(1) That Jerusalem and its Temple were completely destroyed and lay in ruins for the full 70 years.
(2) That the period of captivity, while involving many nations, pertained directly to Judah as God’s disobedient covenant people and lasted for 70 years after her last king Zedekiah was dethroned.
(3) That contemporaneous with these events, the land of Judah was utterly desolate for the full 70 years and could not be worked for agricultural gain as punishment for failure to keep the Jubilee rests.
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PART I. THE BIBLE TEACHING INTRODUCTION
SCRIPTURAL STUDYTo comprehend the significance of the 70 years, we need to know what Sabbath cycle was being referenced in 2Ch 36:21. Then we can identify how many of these typical cycles had already transpired and how many were yet future. This would allow the year of the fulfillment to be calculated and permit an evaluation of the reasonableness of such an occurrence in respect to end- time conditions relating to Israel and the world. If such a type/ antitype/ prophetic outcome is recognizable by the student of the prophecies, it would lend obvious credence to the literal 70 year period of Sabbath rest/ desolation of the land, which formed the basis of the calculation.
The Sabbath years of 2Ch 36:21 could not have applied to he regular cycles of rest for the land, which occurred every seventh year, since at the time of Jerusalem’s fall many more than 70 had already been attempted. According to the Bowen/ Russell chronology, the Israelites would already have occupied Canaan for 969 years (1576 B. C. to 607 B. C.). This would have permitted at least 138 such regular cycles to have transpired. Therefore, the Sabbath cycles alluded to in the text under consideration must have pertained to the 50 year Jubilee cycles.
Anyone interested in reading the entire study can find it at:http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/
Under: THE BIBLICAL 70 YEARS
A Look at the Exile and Desolation Periods
Charles F. RedekerTemple City, California June, 1993