Interesting Find with Chronology

by Kelley959 178 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Jeffro

  scholar:

  This statement is problematic because nowhere in the Bible is the Fall of Assyria associated with the 70 years and that is why many scholars date the 70 years from Neb's reign which began according to their reckoning in 605/604 BCE so this latter date would be a better fit than 609 BCE which historically is a 'fuzzy date. The difficulty is that scholars cannot agree as to the 'beginning' of the 70 years as no definitive date can be assigned. The date 609 BCE meets the arithmetic; 609 BCE - 70 years = 539 BCE or alternatively, 605 BCE - 70 years=535 BCE not the posited date of 539 BCE. BIG POBLEM HERE !!!!!!

  'Oh no... something actually fits the Bible's description of Babylon's 70 years... quick, replace it with an obviously flawed straw man argument.' 🤣

  Incorrect: The jews could not have returned in 538 BCE because they were still travelling or had not then left so it must have been in 537 BCE having already resettled in their cities by the seventh month in 537 BCE.- Ezra 3:1. Josephus agrees with WT scholars that the 70 years ended with the Decree of Cyrus which led to the end of the Exile and the 70 years and not the fall of Babylon previously..

  Nope, wrong again. There were 6 months between Cyrus' accession until arriving in October. Plenty of time for arranging provisions and making the four-month trip. Your assertion that "they were still travelling or had not then left" is based on absolutely nothing. There are no 'WT scholars', and Josephus states that the temple construction began in Cyrus' second year, which is not compatible with the Watch Tower Society's claims.
  
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  scholar

  Jeffro

  Yes, you're right - that is nonsense. Ironically, the Watch Tower Society actually put it best on this one in Isaiah's Prophecy, volume 1, page 253:

  No irony needed for a period of 70 years was associated with Tyre as Isaiah foretold but how about Jeremiah's prophecies about the nations. Notice no 70 years here!!!

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  Of course, it would be a fallactious argument from silence to assert that 70 years can only be applied to Judah because specific periods of desolation are not known for every nation (or any particular subset) that was subject to Babylon.

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  Well do not complain about the silence just pay attention to what the biblical record is telling you.
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  scholar

  Jeffro

  'Oh no... something actually fits the Bible's description of Babylon's 70 years... quick, replace it with an obviously flawed straw man argument.'

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  'Oh no.. I receive a nonsensical comment as a flawed argument not dealing with the issue.-

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  Nope, wrong again. There were 6 months between Cyrus' accession until arriving in October. Plenty of time for arranging provisions and making the four-month trip. Your assertion that "they were still travelling or had not then left" is based on absolutely nothing. There are no 'WT scholars', and Josephus states that the temple construction began in Cyrus' second year, which is not compatible with the Watch Tower Society's claims.

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  What evidence that there was a six month period from Cyrus accession year until arriving in October for this is just speculation in order to fit into a tight frame ignoring the time required for the proclaiming, writing and publishing the Decree throughout the Empire. Josephus gives the temple construction in Cyrus' second year which was a year after the Return in 537 BCE..

  
  
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  Jeffro

  Anyone have questions about the drivel from 'scholar'? Happy to answer any questions, but I've grown bored of going in circles with direct responses for now. I'll be checking in periodically for any requests for rebuttal or clarification from rational contributors.
  
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  Rattigan350

  Jeffro, 605 or 607, it does not matter. Chronology from back then wasn't that accurate as they didn't keep good records. If chronology mattered, they would have started counting years when Adam was created or at the flood.
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  Rocketman123

  Scholar's position is attached to his personal religious convictions of being a JWS.

  If the WTS heads one day say we were wrong about 607 BCE, he in turn will say the same.

  There is no logical reasoning or intellectual honesty in religious convictions.
  
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  notsurewheretogo

  If the WTS heads one day say we were wrong about 607 BCE, he in turn will say the same.

  Well they have done so already...it was originally 606 according to the WT.
  

  It's like me saying I'm 21 only to read my birth certificate and see I'm 22 then adjust my date of birth rather than accept I'm 22.
  
  
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  scholar

  Jeffro

  Ditto. we will battle again.
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  Jeffro

  scholar:

  Ditto. we will battle again.

  ‘Battle’ 😂 yeah, sure.
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  Jeffro

  Rattigan350:

  Jeffro, 605 or 607, it does not matter.

  What you're calling '607' refers to events that were actually 18 years later than the actual year 605 BCE, and it would be very dishonest to suggest it's just 'quibbling about 2 years'. And it matters a great deal in the context of people who are told they have to be believe superstitious claims about conveniently invisible 'fulfilments' or face shunning and/or threats of annihilation.
  

  Chronology from back then wasn't that accurate as they didn't keep good records.

  The Bible's records of the Neo-Babylonian period are in agreement with Neo-Babylonian records. The Babylonians kept meticulous records. Business records are known for every single year of the Neo-Babylonian period, including all the transitions from one king to the next. It is one of the best attested periods in ancient history.
  

  If chronology mattered, they would have started counting years when Adam was created or at the flood.

  🤣 Adam and the flood are both mythological (both based on older Babylonian stories), so obviously they would not be a reliable basis for counting genuine history.