What were the Bible Students expecting in 1914, after all?

by EdenOne 18 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  EdenOne

  Skimming through old Watch Towers, I encountered these statements on the 1914 January 1st edition of the Watch Tower (Vol. XXXV, p.5373), in the article "Views From The Watchtower":

  "So far as our judgement goes, the Year 1914 is the last of what the Bible terms "Gentile Times" [...] The end of their "times" marks the date for the beginning of Messias' Kingdom, which the Bible declares is to be ushered in with a great time of trouble, just such as we see impending. [...] We believe that the Parousia of our Redeemer took place thirty-nine years ago [Ed, hence, 1874) and that he is the potent factor in all the affairs of his church, and the supervisor now of the conditions which will shortly lead up to the establishment of his own kingdom and the binding of Satan [...]"

  I'm a bit perplexed with the above. Unless this is a later, redacted, reprint (a possibility worth checking; someone please weigh in) it seems that, before October 1st 1914, Russell was teaching that the kingdom would be established that year and that that year would mark the beginning and not the end of the great tribulation? Didn't Russell teach that the Kingdom was established in 1878 and 1914 would mark the end of the great tribulation? Or was he expecting that in 1914 the Kingdom would be *visibly* established on planet earth, having been established in heavens in 1878? I'm a bit confused.

  I want to be 100% accurate when I write about what were exactly Russell's predictions and expectations about 1914.

  Eden
• 

  konceptual99

  Hi Eden,

  These links may help:

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

  http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/1800s.php
  
• 

  EdenOne

  Thanks k99.

  It seems to me that perhaps JWFacts may want to look again at some of this info, for the sake of completeness / accuracy. On the same Watch Tower (January 1st, 1914), under the article "The Days Are At Hand", Russell considers the possibility that the Bible Student's expectations may be wrong:

  "If October, 1915, should pass, and we should find ourselves still here and matters going on very much as they are at present, and the world apparently making progress in the way of settling disputes, and there were no time of trouble in sight, and the nominal church were not yet federated, etc., we would say that evidently we have been out somewhere in our reckoning. In that event we would look over the prophecies further, to see if we could find an error. And then we would think, Have we been expecting the wrong thing at the right time? The Lord’s will might permit this."

  It seems obvious that Russell, still ignorant of the fact that WWI would erupt in Europe on the following August, was already toning down his expectations and admitting that he could, after all, be completely wrong about them. This would help to explain why the Bible Students were somewhat prepared to come up with alternative explanations for the failed expectations regarding 1914/1915 and wouldn't see themselves and Pastor Russell as "false prophets".

  Eden
• 

  konceptual99

  This is from the page on 1914:

  The current understanding is significantly different to the original teachings. Prior to 1914, the Watchtower believed:
  - The Last Days began 1799
  - Jesus Parousia started 1874
  - Jesus started ruling in heaven in 1878
  - The Gentile Times would end in 1914, resulting in the:
  -- end of Armageddon
  -- fall of false religion
  -- end of all earthly governments
  -- heavenly and earthly resurrections
  -- paradise on earth

  The establishment of God's Kingdom would result in earthly benefits from 1914. I am not sure that is out of line with the quote from the Jan 1 1914 WT.
• 

  TD

  Eden,

  I'm a bit perplexed with the above. Unless this is a later, redacted, reprint (a possibility worth checking; someone please weigh in) it seems that, before October 1st 1914, Russell was teaching that the kingdom would be established that year and that that year would mark the beginning and not the end of the great tribulation?

  Russell's originally envisioned the tribulation as a gradually worsening struggle between capital and labor during which the earthly governments would disintegrate and civilization would collapse. Bringing order to this chaos and essentially rescuing man from himself would be Messiah's kingdom.

  As you observe his beliefs did noticeably begin to waiver as 1914 approached and events did not unfold as he expected. Everything he thought would happen was compressed into a steadily smaller and more improbable window of time, which is why he latched on to the Great War as the beginning of Armageddon.

  I think it's important to understand that his beliefs during the final 3 - 4 years of his life aren't really a fair representation of what he had believed for nearly four decades prior.
• 

  TerryWalstrom

  Listen to this recording and hear the oracle himself tell you exactly what the Bible student were expecting in 1914.
  
  FRED FRANZ
  
  Fast Forward to 10 minutes and 55 seconds in.

  ". . . the end of the world, the end of the system of things . . ."
  
  https://archive.org/details/DecisionMyLifeStoryByFredFranz
• 

  EdenOne

  Again, look at this passage, now on the article: "Messiah's Kingdom To Be Invisible" (May 1, 1914, 5455):

  "Christ and the church have only been the incipient kingdom, an embryotic kingdom - the kingdom class, preparing for investiture of authority in God's due time, which we believe is now near. The kingdom is to be a spiritual one, and hence its rulers will be as invisible as are the angels and the heavenly Father. [...] During the Millennium, the Kingdom authority and power of God through Christ and the church will be exercised amongst men; and yet they will not see it with the natural eye, but merely with the eyes of their understanding."

  What I'm puzzled about is that the spiritualization of God's Kingdom was already being taught by Russell BEFORE the failed expectations regarding the "end of the gentile times", expected to happen in October 1914 or 1915.

  Eden
• 

  EdenOne

  Terry, we all know that Franz was a liar when it suited him. He could well tell a highly fictionalized story to suit his chosen narrative.

  What I'm saying is that we may have to adjust the criticism we level at Russell regarding what he said about 1914 BEFORE it happened. We could be looking at yet another flip-flop. Or a possible explanation for the justification that the WTS came up with AFTER the passage of 1914/1915 didn't bring the expected Armageddon.They could simply be using Russell's excuses.

  What I'm struggling to understand here is this: Russell taught that Christ had invisibly been empowered in the Kingdom invisibly in 1878. Now, in May 1914, he seemingly says that this is a future event. Am I right in my reading? Then this means that after Russell's death there was a reversal of understanding back into 1878, and then again another reversal later on back to 1914.

  Eden
• 

  TD

  I don't know if this would be of any help to you or not:

  Historical Idealism & Jehovah's Witnesses

  (pp. 21 - 25)
  
  
• 

  TerryWalstrom

  According to Franz (same recording) Brother Russell clapped his hands and exclaimed: "The Genital Times have Ended. . ."

  Really? Genital?

  Fast Forward to 31 minutes and 35 seconds.

  Ha ha ha. He does admit they did not have the facts for a true interpretation of events. Also, he confessed they were short-sighted.