by vivalavida 8 Replies latest watchtower scandals
In this Video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrCleOXkYu0 ) there is a very easy to follow explanation of how to prove with the Watchtower Library that their asertion that Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 BCE does not compute.
I tried to check it with a recent version of the cd, namely 2009, and the numbers are all changed so that it doesn't work now. Does anybody know if 2007 was the last unchanged version in this respect?
And BTW, what do you reckon of this blatant change again?
Vivalavida
Can't see the video at work, but the CD gets updated every year. They add in the previous year's Watchtower, Awake, Kingdom Ministry, DC releases, and the current year's "Examining the Scriptures". Don't pay enough attention to notice if they remove some old references - I think they did do so in some past years, at least.
The original CD had the Babylon the Great book from 1964...Also the Your Will Be Done Book from 1958. When more "current" info came out they did drop these books. In the case of the Your Will Be Done, the Isaiah prophecy books replaced it.
The 2009 version works just fine for me. I even typed out the steps, confirming it as I went along. What numbers did you find changed?
A Biblical History Research Project
Using the Watchtower Library CD-Rom and any secular encyclopedia (Americana, Brittanica, Wikipedia, World Book, etc.) to prove the accuracy of some of Watchtower’s dates relating to the kings of Babylon.
Once your Watchtower Library Program is running complete the following steps:
(You will proceed through several steps of research, filling in your answers below as you work through the study.)
1. In the Watchtower Library CD program, click “All Publications”, then double-click “The Watchtower,” double-click “1959-1950 Watchtower,” double-click on “The Watchtower – 1955,” scroll down and double-click on “2/1 Questions From Readers.” Scroll down to the end of the article and count back to the fourth-to-last paragraph, that begins with, “It is well…” Read it carefully, and you may even want to print it out or copy -> paste it into a document on your computer.
2. Type “Last supreme monarch of the Babylonian” in the Search box and hit ‘enter.’
You will find one search result from the Insight Book. Open the Insight article and read the first paragraph. Write down the name of the king and the years he ruled on the first line below. (Remember we’re in BCE here, so the numbers go from higher to lower; for example someone may have been born in 975 BCE and died in 914 BCE so their life would be shown as 975-914 BCE.)
Also, read the first sentence of the sixth paragraph in this Insight article and note the name of the Babylonian king who ruled before this last one.
3. Type the name of this penultimate Babylonian king into the Search box and hit ‘enter.’
One of your search results will come from The Watchtower. Double-click “The Watchtower,” then double-click “1969-1960 Watchtower,” then double-click “The Watchtower – 1965,” then double-click “1/1 The Rejoicing of the Wicked is Short-Lived.”
The program will take you to the paragraph where this king’s name appears and it will tell you exactly when he reigned. Write his name and the time period he reigned below.
That same paragraph also tells you what the king before him, his father, was named. (Hint: in case the number of strange names is confusing, you’re looking for a name that starts with “N” and not the guy with the hyphenated name.)
4. You do not need to type the name of the previous king’s father (this is the third-to-last king of Babylon) in the Search box. The search would bring you right back to this same paragraph.
In the first sentence of that paragraph you see how many years that king reigned. Put his name and the years he reigned (you can calculate the years he reigned based on the total length of his reign and the year the king in “Search #3” began ruling.) You also see the name of the king who preceded him, the king with the hyphenated name.
The length of the reign of this king with the hyphenated name is also in this paragraph, so you can add his name and regnal years to the list below now, as well.
5. Enter the name of the king with the hyphenated name into the Search box and hit ‘enter.” (we still need to find out who ruled before him.)
There are several results. Double-click on “Insight,” then double-click “Insight-Volume 1,” then double-click on the king with the hyphenated name’s name.
The very first phrase of the Insight article names the king he succeeded.
6. Enter the name of that prior king (hint: he’s relatively famous) into the Search box of Watchtower Library and hit ‘enter.’
Double-click on “Books,” then double-click on “Daniel’s Prophecy (dp),” then double click “4 The Rise and Fall of an Immense Image.”
Scroll down to paragraph 9 and read the first sentence. Calculate and write this king’s regnal years and name on the list below.
7. Type this same king’s name in the Search box again (it may still be there) and hit the ‘enter’ key.
Double-click “Insight,” then double-click “Insight, Volume 2,” then scroll down and double-click on this king’s name.
Scroll down to the 5 th paragraph. Approximately in the middle of this paragraph is a statement in parentheses that looks something like: “(KingName’s #th year if counting from his accession year or his #th regnal year).” Subtract the second number in that statement from the first year of this king’s reign. Write that year number on the chart below beside “Calculated Year Using CD-ROM Data.”
Now look up this king’s name in any encyclopedia (even Wikipedia!) and find the date given for this same event. It matches the date as calculated using Watchtower Library CD-ROM dates!
Now what? Compare the date you calculated using the Watchtower Library CD-ROM with even more encyclopedias. You will find they ALL agree to within one year in either direction.
King’s Name | Regnal Years (eg. 975-914) |
Last king: | |
2 nd to last king: | |
3 rd to last king: | |
4 th from last: | |
5 th from last: | |
Calculated Year Using CD-ROM Data: | |
Year Given by Secular Encyclopedia(s): |
I used the 2009 CD as well with what Mad Sweeney and that YouTube video outlines and was able to arrive at the same conclusion. I'll double check this weekend since I need to compile my hand written notes of this to my computer.
vivalavida, is it a matter of changed numbers or missing publications? DO you have a a specific reference that is difference you could share?
I researched the same, and found that author of video misrepresented some numbers.
The Ptolemy’s Canon does not say that Neriglissar reigned just 4 yrs. I know that one old WT said that, but that's not true. They clarified it latter.
*** w69 2/1 p. 89 Babylonian Chronology—How Reliable? ***
From this very incomplete inscription it can be seen that the only figures actually given are the 43 years of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign and 4 years of Neriglissar’s reign. As to this latter monarch, the text does not necessarily limit his reign to four years; rather it tells of something that happened in his fourth year.
Hi guys, I think I had made a mistake. When I posted the information I compared the 'official watchtower' dates for Nebuchadnezzar given in the Insight book under his name (624-582bce) instead of just concentrating in the number of years he and the other kings reigned and that threw me off.
Having gone back through the whole procedure again, I've got the numbers right this time.
Thanks for the comments and clarification.
Titus, what's then the implication of the statement that Neriglissar apparently reigned more than 4 years? It could theoretically have been 20 more and then match the society's chronology.
Thanks once again,
Vivalavida
Yeah I compared the 2007 CD and 2009 CD and did not find any differences.
