APPOINTED TIMES OF THE NATIONS
. . . Is this doctrine taught in the scriptures?
"The Nations" and "Jerusalem." The significance of Jesus' statement is necessarily bound up in his reference to the 'trampling on Jerusalem,' which he stated would continue until the fulfillment of "the appointed times of the nations." The term "nations" or "Gentiles" translates the Greek word e'thne, which means "nations" and was used by the Bible writers to refer specifically to the non-Jewish nations. On this basis some have considered the prophecy to apply to the period of time during which the geographic site of the ancient city of Jerusalem would be under Gentile domination and control.
. . . Is not this the correct understanding of Jesus' words?
While the literal city of Jerusalem is obviously referred to in Jesus' description of the destruction that was to come and did come upon that city in the year 70 C.E. when the Romans demolished Jerusalem, the statement concerning "the appointed times of the nations" carries the prophecy far beyond that point, as many commentators have noted.
. . . And just why does the Watchtower believe that Christ's prophecy would be carried "far beyond" the first century?
Thus, the well-known Commentary by F. C. Cook says of Luke 21:24: "It serves to separate the strictly eschatological portion [that is, the portion relating to the last days] of the great prophecy, from the part belonging properly to the destruction of Jerusalem."
. . . They rely on commentary published by "some" of Christendom's commentators. But they don't admit that more than just a few of Christendom's commentators are divided over this issue. In fact it is now accepted in a lot of Christendom's churches that F. C. Cook was in error.
So, it becomes essential to determine what significance the inspired Scriptures attach to "Jerusalem" in order to ascertain whether "the appointed times of the nations" relate only to the literal city of Jerusalem or to something additional and greater.
. . . And why would the Watchtower want to change the meaning of the word "Jerusalem" in Jesus' prophecy? Is it not because they want to add their own prophecy to what was given by Christ?
Jerusalem was the capital of the nation of Israel, whose kings of the line of David were said to "sit upon Jehovah's throne." (1Ch 29:23)
. . . The kings of Israel did sit "upon Jehovah's throne," but does that mean that they deserved to be there? Did they represent him perfectly?
As such, it represented the seat of the divinely constituted government or typical kingdom of God operating through the house of David. With its Mount Zion, it was "the town of the grand King." (Ps 48:1, 2) Hence, Jerusalem came to stand for the kingdom of the dynasty of King David, much as Washington, London, Paris, and Moscow represent the ruling powers of present-day nations and are so referred to in news communiques.
. . . Did the earthy city of Jerusalem ever become a "typical kingdom of God"? Didn't they fail to meet his requirements? Didn't they break his laws and do worse then the nations round about them?
After Jerusalem was trampled on by the Babylonians, its king being taken into exile and the land laid desolate, no member of the Davidic dynasty again ruled from earthly Jerusalem.
. . . It is true that no earthy king of the Davidic dynasty ruled in Jerusalem after Babylon took the people into exile.
But the Scriptures show that Jesus, the Messiah, who was born in the line of David, would rule from heavenly Mount Zion, from heavenly Jerusalem.-Ps 2:6, 7; Heb 5:5; Re 14:1, 3.
. . . It is also true that Christ would rule from what would be called "Heavenly Jerusalem." So are we to assume that the earthy Jerusalem was equal to the Heavenly Jerusalem?
Beginning of 'trampling.' The 'trampling' on that kingdom of the dynasty of Davidic rulers did not begin with the Roman devastation of the city of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.
. . . Did the "trampling" on the earthly city of Jerusalem continue after it was destroyed by the Babylonians? No! Was its last king cut off? Yes! Did the rule of the dynasty of the Davidic rulers over earthly Jerusalem end with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians? Yes!
It began centuries earlier with the Babylonian overthrow of that dynasty in 607 B.C.E. when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and took captive the dethroned king Zedekiah and the land was left desolate. (2Ki 25:1-26; see CHRONOLOGY.) This accorded with the prophetic words directed to Zedekiah at Ezekiel 21:25-27, namely: "Remove the turban, and lift off the crown. This will not be the same. . . . A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I shall make it. As for this also, it will certainly become no one's until he comes who has the legal right, and I must give it to him."
. . . The trampling on earthy Jerusalem "ended" when the Babylonians took Jerusalem. The WTBTS says here that "the dynasty of its kings" began to be "trampled" when the city fell to Nebuchadnezzer. The object of the "trampling" in Jesus' prophecy in Luke was the earthy city of Jerusalem. The Watchtower has made up a new object, to which they apply an action of "trampling" in an alleged larger fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy! I'll call this "THE SWITCH" (like in the old shell game).
The one who has "the legal right" to the Davidic crown lost by Zedekiah is demonstrated in the Christian Greek Scriptures to be Christ Jesus,
. . . The problem here is that Zedekiah never earned the crown in the first place. He had no legal claim to wear it, so it was removed from him. We must note that Zedekiah ruled over earthly Jerusalem and not a heavenly one.
of whom the angel, announcing his future birth, said: "Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule as king over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of his kingdom."-Lu 1:32, 33.
. . . This prophecy of Christ's rule applies to the heavenly Jerusalem and not to the earthly city that was destroyed in the first century. Christ never ruled over the earthy city as the people rejected him from being king. So far there are three objects to consider: 1) the dynasty of the Davidic Kings. 2) the earthly city of Jerusalem, and 3) the heavenly Jerusalem.
With Jerusalem's fall in 607 B.C.E. the Gentile powers exercised domination over the entire earth.
. . . We will not enter into chronological considerations here; nevertheless, an important question arises - In what way did Jerusalem differ from the gentile powers? Who was more righteous? Who represented God in such a way as to be called a "typical kingdom of God"? It must also be noted here that Christ, in his prophecy, spoke of the trampling on Jerusalem that was yet a future event. And the trampling on that Jerusalem ended with its destruction, it did not begin with it. The action in the WTBTS's so-called larger fulfillment begins with a destruction. It must be noted that at first they had one object (the earthly city in the sixth century) and then they switched to another (the dynasty of the Davidic kings), to which they applied the action of the trampling. When they pulled the switch the end point of one action (the trampling on earthly Jerusalem) was then compared to the start point of another (the trampling on the dynasty of the Davidic kings)! So now there are three objects and two different types of action! How can their so-called larger fulfillment really be called a larger fulfillment if it does not parallel the original model?
The Davidic dynasty and rule suffered interruption, and so Jerusalem, or what it stood for, would continue to be "trampled on" as long as God's kingdom, as functioning through David's house, was kept in a low, inoperative condition under the Gentile powers.
. . . Here they say that Jerusalem and the Davidic dynasty are equal objects! Yet they have two different types of action!
Observing this connection with rulership Unger's Bible Dictionary (1965, p. 398) comments: "Consequently Gentiles move on as 'the nations' to the end of their stewardship as earth rulers. The termination of this period will be the end of the 'times of the Gentiles.' (Luke 21:24; Dan. 2:36-44)."-Compare Eze 17:12-21; also the description of Medo-Persia's fall at Da 8:7, 20.
. . . Again they quote some of Christendom's commentators to add more confusion. But it must be pointed out that the nations will rule over the earth until Armageddon, which is well past their date of 1914.
Relation to Daniel's Prophecies. At least twice in this prophecy concerning the time of the end, Jesus referred to the contents of the book of the prophet Daniel. (Compare Mt 24:15, 21 with Da 11:31; 12:1.) In the book of Daniel we find a picture drawn of the domination of the earth by the Gentile powers during their "appointed times." The second chapter of Daniel contains the prophetic vision (received by King Nebuchadnezzar) of the great image that Daniel by inspiration showed to represent the march of Gentile world powers, ending with their destruction by the Kingdom set up by "the God of heaven," which Kingdom then rules earth wide. (Da 2:31-45)
. . . It is true that God's kingdom will begin to rule over the whole earth after Armageddon; but not before. The nations will rule over the whole earth until then.
It is of note that the image begins with the Babylonian Empire, the first world power to 'trample Jerusalem' by overthrowing the Davidic dynasty and leaving "Jehovah's throne" in Jerusalem vacant. This also confirms the start of "the appointed times of the nations" in the year of Jerusalem's destruction, 607 B.C.E.
. . . Here they state the throne in earthly Jerusalem was left vacant. And it was rightfully left vacant because no earthy king could prove that he was righteous so as to be able to claim to represent God. It must also be noted that earthy Jerusalem was destroyed in the first century and the throne with it! And so was the earthly crown!
Dream vision of tree in Daniel chapter 4. Again in the book of Daniel we find a close parallel to Jesus' use of the word "times" with regard to "the nations," or Gentile powers.
. . . Here they try to convince people that the word "times" in Daniel has something to do with the word "times" in Luke. But does it?
And again it is Nebuchadnezzar, the dethroner of David's descendant Zedekiah, who was given another vision interpreted by Daniel as relating to divinely appointed kingship. The symbolic vision was of an immense tree; an angel from heaven commanded that it be chopped down. Its stump was then banded with iron and copper and had to stay that way among the grass of the field until "seven times" passed over it. "Let its heart be changed from that of mankind, and let the heart of a beast be given to it, and let seven times pass over it . . . to the intent that people living may know that the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind and that to the one whom he wants to, he gives it and he sets up over it even the lowliest one of mankind."-Da 4:10-17; see ÞDaÜ4:16, ftn.
. . . There is a major problem for the WTBTS here. The model or prophecy in Daniel has a direct object, and that object is Nebuchadnezzer himself. He was cut down for seven times or seven years, and then his kingdom was returned to him. He is the one and only object at the start of the action and at the finish.
Related to "appointed times of the nations." The vision definitely had a fulfillment in Nebuchadnezzar himself. (See Da 4:31-35.) Therefore, some view it as having direct prophetic application only to him and see in this vision merely the presentation of the eternal verity of 'God's supremacy over all other powers-human or supposedly divine.' They acknowledge the application of that truth or principle beyond Nebuchadnezzar's own case but do not see it as relating to any specific time period or divine schedule. Yet, an examination of the entire book of Daniel reveals that the element of time is everywhere prominent in the visions and prophecies it presents; and the world powers and events described in each such vision are shown, not as isolated or as occurring at random with the time element left ambiguous, but, rather, as fitting into a historical setting or time sequence. (Compare Da 2:36-45; 7:3-12, 17-26; 8:3-14, 20-25; 9:2, 24-27; 11:2-45; 12:7-13.) Additionally, the book repeatedly points toward the conclusion that forms the theme of its prophecies: the establishment of a universal and eternal Kingdom of God exercised through the rulership of the "son of man." (Da 2:35, 44, 45; 4:17, 25, 32; 7:9-14, 18, 22, 27; 12:1) The book is also distinctive in the Hebrew Scriptures for its references to "the time of the end."-Da 8:19; 11:35, 40; 12:4, 9.
. . . They have brought in more information but none of it changes any of the problems that have been highlighted so far in this commentary on their prime doctrine.
In view of the above, it does not seem logical to evaluate the vision of the symbolic "tree" and its reference to "seven times" as having no other application than to the seven years of madness and subsequent recovery and return to power experienced by one Babylonian ruler, particularly so in the light of Jesus' own prophetic reference to "the appointed times of the nations."
. . . They have yet to show a connection between Jesus' use of the word "times" in Luke and the word "times" found in Daniel. And they still have a non-parallel model because the action in Luke ends with the destruction of the city and the action in their model beings with a destruction!
And they still have two objects which they have switched from - 1) the earthy city of Jerusalem, and 2) the dynasty of the Davidic kings. Jesus only had one object in his model prophecy.
The time at which the vision was given: at the critical point in history when God, the Universal Sovereign, had allowed the very kingdom that he had established among his covenant people to be overthrown;
. . . It must be pointed out that earthy Jerusalem was never "established" to last forever on earth.
the person to whom the vision was revealed:
. . . The vision in Daniel was given to Nebuchadnezzer.
the very ruler who served as the divine instrument in such overthrow and who thereby became the recipient of world domination by divine permission, that is, without interference by any representative kingdom of Jehovah God;
. . . Nebuchadnezzer was overthrown for seven times or seven years.
and the whole theme of the vision, namely: "that people living may know that the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind and that to the one whom he wants to, he gives it and he sets up over it even the lowliest one of mankind" (Da 4:17)-all of this gives strong reason for believing that the lengthy vision and its interpretation were included in the book of Daniel because of their revealing the duration of "the appointed times of the nations" and the time for the establishment of God's Kingdom by his Christ.
. . . The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has failed to support this claim! It has shown nothing whatsoever to connect the vision in Daniel 4 to the prophecy in Luke. They have so far played a shell game! Moving right along . . .
The tree symbolism and God's sovereignty. The symbolisms used in this prophetic vision are by no means unique. Trees are elsewhere used to represent ruling powers, including that of God's typical kingdom at Jerusalem.
. . . Trees are used to represent one object; never two or more. The action that applies to the tree, applies to its ruler. The action that applies to a kingdom always applies to that same kingdom; never to another. In these models of prophecy each object takes action from a single subject.
(Compare Jg 9:6-15; Eze 17:1-24; 31:2-18.) A stump's being caused to sprout and the symbol of "a twig" or "sprout" are found a number of times as representing the renewal of rulership in a certain stock or line, particularly in the Messianic prophecies. (Isa 10:33-11:10; 53:2-7; Jer 23:5; Eze 17:22-24; Zec 6:12, 13; compare Job 14:7-9.) Jesus spoke of himself as both "the root and the offspring of David."-Re 5:5; 22:16.
. . . The stump of a tree is what is left when the tree is cut down. When the stump starts to grow again the same tree starts to grow again in the same place. Thus, when a ruler or a kingdom is cut off it remains cut off until that same ruler or kingdom is restored.
The fact is evident that the key point of the vision is Jehovah God's exercise of irresistible sovereignty in "the kingdom of mankind," and this provides the guide to the full meaning of the vision.
. . . Now the WTBTS is saying that there is another object to consider - The kingdom of mankind! Does this differ from the other objects that they have thus far used in their attempt to support their 1914 doctrine? Yes. Have they supported it yet? No!
The tree is shown to have an application to Nebuchadnezzar, who at that point in history was the head of the dominant World Power, Babylon.
. . . The tree represents Nebuchadnezzer.
Yet, prior to Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Jerusalem, the typical kingdom of God ruling out of that city was the agency by which Jehovah expressed his rightful sovereignty toward the earth.
. . . With this statement they claim that God was ruling over the entire earth through Jerusalem! So now Jerusalem has become a subject (from which action proceeds)! How can Jerusalem be both a subject and an object at the same time? Remember, Tom (subject) hit (action) Jerry (object) - the subject and the object cannot be the same in the case of simple action!
It thus constituted a divine block or impediment for Nebuchadnezzar in attaining his goal of world domination.
. . . They fail to define what the pronoun "it" is referring to! True the pronoun refers to Jerusalem, but is it to the object (Jerusalem) or is it to the subject (Jerusalem)? Now we have two different cases to pick from!
By allowing that typical kingdom at Jerusalem to be overthrown,
. . . Again, what kingdom? which case? The one that functioned as an object (being cut down)? or the one that functioned as a subject (ruling over the earth)?
Jehovah permitted his own visible expression of sovereignty through the Davidic dynasty of kings to be cut down.
. . . So now they are saying that Nebucadnezzer (as a subject!) cut down God's kingdom on earth (an object!) This does not match the model in Daniel four! Nebuchadnezzer was an object in that model! He was cut down for seven times. True he, as a subject, cut down Jerusalem, as an object, but not in that model! They have now made another non-parallel model of prophecy that does not match anything in scripture! Remember how they switched objects in the model they made in Luke? Recall how they had two different types of action - one beginning with the destruction of one object (in the sixth century) and another ending with the destruction of another (in the first century)? What have they proven? Nothing so far!
The expression and exercise of world domination in "the kingdom of mankind," unhindered by any representative kingdom of God, now passed into the hands of the Gentile nations. (La 1:5; 2:2, 16, 17) In the light of these facts "the tree" is seen to represent, beyond and above its application to Nebuchadnezzar, world sovereignty or domination by God's arrangement.
. . . Again they claim that God's kingdom (a subject) had "expressed" world rule (action) over the world (an object)! And that God's rule (from Jerusalem) was not impaired by his rule from some undefined source - another subject! They have made up another model that does not match the model in Daniel four. They have changed the state of the action from simple action - God (subject) cut down (simple action) Nebucadnezzer (object) - to reflexive action - God (subject) cut down (reflexive action) God (object? No! - same as subject!) - the subject and the object are the same! This does not match the model prophecy at all! The WTBTS has its own model prophecy that does not parallel any prophecy in scripture.
Renewal of world domination. God, however, here makes clear that he has not forever delivered up such world domination to the Gentile powers. The vision shows that God's self-restraint (represented by the bands of iron and of copper around the stump of the tree) would continue until "seven times pass over it." (Da 4:16, 23, 25)
. . . Here they admit that God restrains himself! Did Nebuchadnezzer restrain himself? Again the type of action (simple) in the model in Daniel four, and type of action (reflexive) in the WTBTS model do not match!
Then, since "the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind," God would give world domination "to the one whom he wants to." (Da 4:17) The prophetic book of Daniel itself shows that one to be the "son of man" to whom are given "rulership and dignity and kingdom, that the peoples, national groups and languages should all serve even him."
. . . Now the introduction of another subject - namely the one who would rule the world. This person is Jesus Christ and he will rule the world after Armageddon.
(Da 7:13, 14) Jesus' own prophecy, in which the reference to "the appointed times of the nations" occurs, points definitely toward Christ Jesus' exercise of such world domination as God's chosen King, the heir of the Davidic dynasty.
. . . Now they are saying that the "times," in the prophecy in Luke, is the same as the "times" in the prophecy in Daniel four! Yet this has never been proven. Recall how they switched objects (from the city to the dynasty of the kings) and changed the start point of the action (from ending with the destruction of Jerusalem in the first century to action that starts with the destruction of the city in the seventh century? Recall how they changed the state of the action in Daniel four? They have made up a prophecy that is not found in the Bible.
(Mt 24:30, 31; 25:31-34; Lu 21:27-31, 36) Thus, the symbolic stump, representing God's retention of the sovereign right to exercise world domination in "the kingdom of mankind," was due to sprout again in his Son's Kingdom.-Ps 89:27, 35-37.
. . . What a lot of soothsaying this is! They are saying that God ruled over the earth through Jerusalem until Jerusalem fell in the seventh century. And next they will introduce yet another subject - heavenly Jerusalem! So then they will have two different subjects! There is no model in scripture that corresponds to this at all! . . . moving right alone. . .
Seven Symbolic Times. In Nebuchadnezzar's personal experience of the vision's fulfillment the "seven times" were evidently seven years, during which he became mad, with symptoms like those of lycanthropy, abandoning his throne to eat grass like a beast in the field. (Da 4:31-36)
. . . And so it was. Now we will see the WTBTS's model prophecy that is not in the Bible!
Notably, the Biblical description of the exercise of world domination by the Gentile powers is presented through the figure of beasts in opposition to the holy people of God and their "Prince of princes." (Compare Da 7:2-8, 12, 17-26; 8:3-12, 20-25; Re 11:7; 13:1-11; 17:7-14.) Concerning the word "times" (from Aramaic `id·dan'), as used in Daniel's prophecy, lexicographers show it here to mean "years." (See Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, by L. Koehler and W. Baumgartner, Leiden, 1958, p. 1106; A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver, and Briggs, 1980, p. 1105; Lexicon Linguae Aramaicae Veteris Testamenti, edited by E. Vogt, Rome, 1971, p. 124.) The duration of a year as so used is indicated to be 360 days, inasmuch as three and a half times are shown to equal "a thousand two hundred and sixty days" at Revelation 12:6, 14. (Compare also Re 11:2, 3.) "Seven times," according to this count, would equal 2,520 days. That a specific number of days may be used in the Bible record to represent prophetically an equivalent number of years can be seen by reading the accounts at Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6. Only by applying the formula there expressed of "a day for a year" to the "seven times" of this prophecy can the vision of Daniel chapter 4 have significant fulfillment beyond the day of now extinct Nebuchadnezzar, as the evidence thus far presented gives reason to expect.
. . . They have shown how a day can be counted for a year, and they have come up with 2520 years; but nothing in scripture says to apply the 2520 years the way that they apply it. Thus, the following cannot be supported from scripture.
They therefore represent 2,520 years. It is a historical fact worth noting that, on the basis of the points and evidence above presented, the March 1880 edition of the Watch Tower magazine identified the year 1914 as the time for the close of "the appointed times of the nations" (and the end of the lease of power granted the Gentile rulers). This was some 34 years before the arrival of that year and the momentous events it initiated. In the August 30, 1914, edition of The World, a leading New York newspaper at that time, a feature article in the paper's Sunday magazine section commented on this as follows: "The terrific war outbreak in Europe has fulfilled an extraordinary prophecy. For a quarter of a century past, through preachers and through press, the 'International Bible Students' . . . have been proclaiming to the world that the Day of Wrath prophesied in the Bible would dawn in 1914." The events that took place from and after the year 1914 C.E. are well-known history to all, beginning with the great war that erupted, the first world war in mankind's history and the first to be fought over the issue, not of the domination of Europe alone, nor of Africa, nor of Asia, but of the domination of the world.-Lu 21:7-33; Re 11:15-18.
. . . The Witness said that 1914 would be the end of the world; but it wasn't, and they have been changing their doctrines ever since. If you want to understand Daniel 4 see