A little piece of history - the first commentary on Revelation by WTS

by saltyoldlady 5 Replies latest watchtower bible

  • saltyoldlady
    saltyoldlady

    I have a small book printed in 1918 by the WTB&TS that gives The Revelation of Jesus Christ according to the Sinaitic Text. I understand in recent times they have again made this Sinaitic Text translation available but minus of course all the interesting Notes and Comments of this original -

    It has many gems both good and some not so good that would bring a smile to your face but in view of our recent discussions on where did the WTS come up with some of its ideas and chronology applications thought I would share an item found on page 81 relative to Rev 6:11 - in talking about the white robe being given to them - "By the teachings of the parallel dispensations, which show that as Christ was raised from the dead in AD 33 the sleeping saints would be raised 1845 years later in the spring of 1878. .... Luther nailed the proclamation on the church door at Wittenberg, October 31, 1517 which was already one month into the year 1518 by Jewish reckoning. Three hundred and sixty years from the spring of 1518 brings us to the spring of 1878 when we understand that God's promise made to the sleeping saints was fulfilled. They were raised from the dead, and Babylon was cast off. ........ This we have elsewhere shown, marks the date April, 1878."

    The reason for the 360 years that was given is the Greek "chronos" used in the scriptures for a little season, meant (to them at least) 360 years.

    Wishing I knew of a way to share the whole work with you for your interest and understanding....maybe it is already available out there and I am just not aware of where that may be but calling it to the attention of the research minded of this group and the entertainment of others. I have noted that when they mention the various works on Revelation they have produced they rarely, if ever, include this baby.

  • AnnOMaly
    AnnOMaly

    LOL. You're talking about that doozy of a book The Finished Mystery first published in 1917. Yes, it's very entertaining as well as hugely useful for researching the official teachings at the time the WTS org. was supposedly being inspected by Jesus.

    A scanned 1918 edition of the book can be found at http://www.a2z.org/wtarchive/docs/The_Finished_Mystery.pdf and your quote is on p. 118-9.

    And the magazine 'ZG' version can be found at http://www.archive.org/stream/ZgMarch11918WatchTower/1918_ZG_March_1_1918_Watchtower#page/n37/mode/2up and the quote is on p. 99.

  • Ding
    Ding

    There's another active thread regarding The Finished Mystery.

    Evidently, the mystery wasn't as finished as the WTS thought.

    They've received so much "new light" since then that there's hardly anything in The Finished Mystery that the WTS teaches today.

  • saltyoldlady
    saltyoldlady

    Thank you Ann - I hadn't realized it was simply a reprint of part of The Finished Mystery - but indeed it is - the little book I have is a condensed pocket size thing obviously meant to be carried around for opportunities in the field maybe?

  • AnnOMaly
    AnnOMaly

    Oh! It hadn't sunk in that it was a separate little booklet. I'd never heard of it. So I did a Google search.

    This must be it - http://www.archive.org/stream/TheRevelationOfJesusChristAccordingToTheSinaiticText/1918_Revelation_of_Jesus_Christ#page/n0/mode/2up

    P. 81 - just as you said.

    Details are as follows:

    "The Revelation of Jesus Christ According to the Sinaitic Text, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in 1918. Contains a translation of the book of Revelation (following the Sinaitic Greek manuscript) and a commentary, which is drawn from the book The Finished Mystery. The book was advertised for sale in the June 1, 1918 Watch Tower magazine (now distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses), but had a limited distribution."

    More details here: http://www.researchapplications.org/HTML%20pages/Revelation.htm

  • bereanbiblestudent
    bereanbiblestudent

    It was also used for personal study,and probably for the field, Rutherford had a copy of the pocket revelation with him in jail.

    It had points that where also in The Finished Mystery, but in a condensed form.

    I am not sure if everything was the same since I did not compare them.

    They where only produced in a very short period, so they are difficult to get.

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