1. Preaching a False Gospel – Jehovah's Witnesses preach that in 1914 Jesus started an "invisible presence" of being enthroned King. If the 1914 timeline is false, then what Jehovah's Witnesses are preaching about Jesus is not true.
2. Not Chosen - If 1914 is not a significant year in biblical prophecy, than linking it to 1918/1919 is also incorrect. Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught by the Watchtower Society that they were the chosen in 1918/1919. No 1914 = No 1918/1919 = No chosen organization.
3. False Prophecy - If 1914 is not a biblical significant year, than the start of the end of times and the beginning of critical times with a soon to be ushered in Armageddon after a Great Tribulation shortly takes place is all guess work, no better than another person’s opinion, and ultimately proves false.
As mentioned earlier, there are several beliefs which encompass 1914 as being such a pivotal year per the Watchtower Society. This entry will focus on the relation to 607 B.C.
According to the Watchtower Society, the significance of 1914 includes the following events:
-God ending rulership through His chosen people, the Jewish Nation in the year 607 B.C. This year is marked by the Watchtower Society and taught to Jehovah’s Witnesses as the year Jerusalem fell.
-A time period of 2520 years passes [By the Watchtower Society cross referencing a couple of unrelated scriptures with the notion of interpretation that the scriptures are related, they are able to establish 2520 years].
- After the 2520 year time period we’re brought to God restoring his Kingdom, but this time in heaven as opposed to the earth in 1914 and placing Christ as King.
The simple math for the above is 2520 – 607 = 1913 + 1 [No “zero” year] = 1914.
For the sake of argument, we will ignore in this entry all of the prior false teachings and prophecies which included a number of different years which was taught to Jehovah’s Witnesses that Jesus began ruling and when the end would come.
Nevertheless, the problem with the above events, even if we are to completely agree with the Watchtower Society’s methods of arriving to 2520 years that is used for calculation, is that the year 607 B.C. is completely a fabricated year for when Jerusalem fell. Every historical record including archeological discovery attest to Jerusalem falling between 587 and 586 B.C.
What may be more devastating for a Jehovah’s Witness and as is the case with many of the Watchtower Society’s false or contradictory teachings, using the Bible along with the Watchtower Society’s own publications proves their teachings to be incorrect.
So let’s start…
When Jerusalem fell is documented in the Bible at 2 Kings 25:8-9:
"And in the fifth month on the seventh [day] of the month, that is to say, the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the chief of the bodyguard, the servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. And he proceeded to burn the house of Jehovah and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; and the house of every great man he burned with fire."
The nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar rule is when Jerusalem fell.
What year is the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar?
This can be deduced with the aid of referencing two of the Watchtower Society’s publications. The first publication is Insight on the Scriptures. On page 457 in Volume 2 under ‘Nabonidus’ it states the following:
"Last supreme monarch of the Babylonian Empire; father of Belshazzar. On the basis of cuneiform texts he is believed to have ruled some 17 years (556-539 B.C.E.). He was given to literature, art, and religion."
The second reference, the Watchtower Society's publication Babylon the Great Has Fallen - God's Kingdom Rules on page 184 it states:
"After reigning but two years King Evil-Merodach was murdered by his brother-in-law Neriglissar. According to the inscriptions that have been found, this usurper of the throne spent most of his time in building operations and reigned four years. When he died, his son Labashi-Marduk, though not yet of age, succeeded him. He was a vicious boy, and within nine months he had his throat cut by an assassin. Nabonidus, who had served as Governor of Babylon and who had been Nebuchadnezzar's favorite son-in-law, now took the throne and had a fairly glorious reign till Babylon fell in 539 B.C."
Take into consideration along with the above information that both Historical data and the Watchtower Society agree that Nebuchadnezzar ruled for a period of 43 years...
Insight on the Scriptures, page 480 in Volume 2 under ‘Nebuchadnezzar’:
"Nebuchadnezzar ruled as king for 43 years"
Now let’s gather the above information...
539 B.C. = Year Babylon Fell
Prior to the fall of Babylon, the history of its rulership is as follows:
17 years = Rulership of Nabonidus
1 year (9 months) = Rulership of Labashi-Marduk
4 years = Rulership of Neriglissar
2 years = Rulership of Evil-Merodach
43 years = Rulership of Nebuchadnezzar
Doing the math with the above facts:
539 + 17 + 1 +4 + 2 + 43 = 606
NOTE: We add here because we are tracing back the years of rulership. During B.C. years to go back in history you add years, to go forward in history you subtract years.
Therefore, 606 B.C. would be the year Nebuchadnezzar starts to rule.
Going back to our scripture in 2 Kings 25: 8, 9, it was during Nebuchadnezzar’s 19th year that Jerusalem fell.
Doing that math:
606 - 19 = 587
NOTE: We subtract here because time is progressing during Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. The years decrease not increase, as we are calculating B.C. years and not A.D. years.
From the above, 587 B.C. would be the year Jerusalem fell.
It’s plain to see that simply by using two of the Watchtower Society’s own publications along with two verses from the Bible, one can prove the teaching of Jerusalem fallen on 607 B.C. which Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught to be accurate by the Watchtower Society is a lie. It is a teaching to support their doctrine and interpretation of scripture.
Consequently with the year 607 B.C. not being when Jerusalem fell, there is no arrival to 1914 as the year Jesus invisibly returned. Jehovah’s Witnesses are therefore preaching and teaching a false gospel. Furthermore, they are taught a gospel from a false teaching which originates not from a God spirit-directed organization, since without 1914, there is also no arriving to 1918/1919 as their organization being chosen by God as taught by the Watchtower Society.
