1914-1919 Debunked

[Kosonen]

The WT organization puts much importance on 1918 and 1919. But those beliefs are farfetched applications on Bible prophecies obscuring the urgent need to understand the true meaning of those prophecies. Because it will affect all Jehovah's witnesses. Let's see why those explanations are untrue. For example the publication Daniel's prophecy dp gives some explanations that can quite easily be debunked. Here is the explanation from jw.org:

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101999037#h=25

10 Has there been such a spiritual revival of God’s anointed servants in the time of the end? Yes! It is a historical reality that in 1918 a small remnant of faithful Christians were subjected to an extraordinary attack that disrupted their organized public ministry. Then, against all likelihood, in 1919 they returned to life in a spiritual sense. These facts fit the description of the resurrection foretold at Daniel 12:2. Some did “wake up” spiritually at that time and thereafter. Sadly, though, not all remained in a spiritually alive state. Those who after being awakened chose to reject the Messianic King and who left God’s service earned for themselves the ‘reproaches and indefinitely lasting abhorrence’ described at Daniel 12:2. (Hebrews 6:4-6) However, the faithful anointed ones, making good use of their spiritually revived state, loyally supported the Messianic King. Ultimately, their faithfulness leads, as the prophecy states, to “indefinitely lasting life.” Today, their spiritual vitality in the face of opposition helps us to identify them.

 

16 Daniel’s account continues: “And I began to hear the man clothed with the linen, who was up above the waters of the stream, as he proceeded to raise his right hand and his left hand to the heavens and to swear by the One who is alive for time indefinite: ‘It will be for an appointed time, appointed times and a half. And as soon as there will have been a finishing of the dashing of the power of the holy people to pieces, all these things will come to their finish.’” (Daniel 12:7) This is a solemn matter. The angel raises both hands in an oath, perhaps so that this gesture is visible to the two angels on opposite sides of the broad river. He thereby emphasizes the absolute certainty of the fulfillment of this prophecy. When, though, are these appointed times? The answer is not as difficult to find as you might think it is.

 

17 This prophecy is remarkably similar to two other prophecies. One, which we considered in Chapter 9 of this publication, is found at Daniel 7:25; the other, at Revelation 11:3, 7, 9. Note some of the parallels. Each is set during the time of the end. Both prophecies concern holy servants of God, showing them to be persecuted and even temporarily unable to carry out their public preaching activity. Each prophecy shows that God’s servants revive and then resume their work, foiling their persecutors. And each prophecy mentions the duration of this time of hardship for the holy ones. Both prophecies in Daniel (7:25 and 12:7) refer to ‘a time, times, and half a time.’ Scholars generally recognize this to mean three and a half times. Revelation refers to the same period as 42 months, or 1,260 days. (Revelation 11:2, 3) This confirms that the three and a half times in Daniel refer to three and a half years of 360 days each. But when did these 1,260 days begin?

18 The prophecy is quite explicit as to when the 1,260 days would end—when there is “a finishing of the dashing of the power of the holy people to pieces.” In the middle of 1918, leading members of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, including its president, J. F. Rutherford, were convicted on false charges, sentenced to long terms of confinement, and imprisoned. God’s holy ones did indeed see their work ‘dashed to pieces,’ their power broken. Counting back three and a half years from mid-1918 brings us to the end of 1914. At that time the little band of anointed ones were bracing themselves for the onslaught of persecution. World War I had broken out, and opposition to their work was mounting. For the year 1915, they even based their yeartext on this question that Christ asked his followers: “Are ye able to drink of my cup?” (Matthew 20:22, King James Version) As predicted at Revelation 11:3, the 1,260-day period that ensued was a mournful time for the anointed—it was as if they were prophesying in sackcloth. Persecution worsened. Some of them were imprisoned, others were mobbed, and still others were tortured. Many were disheartened by the death of the Society’s first president, C. T. Russell, in 1916. What, though, was to happen after this dark time concluded with the killing of these holy ones as a preaching organization? (End of quote)

 

These claims of severe persecution are unfortunately exaggerated and does not nearly correspond to the prophecies. 

That is because the WT organization did not cease to continue its work despite some 8 leading brothers sent to prison. The Proclaimers book does not at all give a such grime picture of the years 1914-1919 conserning the WT organization.

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101993007 Proclaimers book jv:

"Through the close of 1917 and into 1918, the Bible Students energetically distributed the new book, The Finished Mystery. By the end of 1917, the printers were busy on the 850,000 edition. The Watch Tower of December 15, 1917, reported: “The sale of the Seventh Volume is unparallelled by the sale of any other book known, in the same length of time, excepting the Bible.”

"But not everyone was thrilled with the success of The Finished Mystery. The book contained some references to the clergy of Christendom that were very cutting. This so angered the clergy that they urged the government to suppress the publications of the Bible Students. As a result of this clergy-inspired opposition, early in 1918, The Finished Mystery was banned in Canada. Opposition soon mounted against the Bible Students in the United States." (End of quote)

During the time the leading brothers were in prison the activity continued at the WT organization. The Proclaimers book goes on to tell: 

"Back in Brooklyn an Executive Committee was appointed to take charge of the work. A chief concern of the brothers appointed was to keep The Watch Tower in circulation. The Bible Students everywhere certainly needed all the spiritual encouragement that could be given them. In fact, during this entire “testing season,” not one issue of The Watch Tower failed to appear in print!*"

(.......)

Nevertheless, a good spirit prevailed. Martha Meredith recalled: “We in Pittsburgh got together and decided we were going to keep ‘the home fires burning’ until the brethren got out of prison. At that time the Brooklyn office was moved to Pittsburgh, so the brethren got busy writing articles for The Watch Tower and had it printed. When The Watch Towers were ready to be sent out, we sisters wrapped them and sent them out to the people.”(End of quote)

So where was the dashing in to pieces in 1914-1919? According to Daniel 12:7 ‘It will be for an appointed time, appointed times and a half. And as soon as there will have been a finishing of the dashing of the power of the holy people to pieces, all these things will come to their finish.’” (Daniel 12:7)

And because evidently this prophecy had no relation to 1914-1919 we should ask ourselves if that is instead something the WT organization will soon experience. And not only the WT organization but the anointed in general?

 

[Kosonen]

23 hours ago, 4Jah2me said:

I'm in agreement with you on this. but the 'something new' needs to be now. World conditions are bad and getting worse, but could last another ten years, but there has to be a large in gathering before the 'end comes'. And I'm convinced in my mind that the true Anointed will play a bigger part, not the GB. 

4Jah2me, the big change will happen when the prophecies about time, times and half a time begins. The holy center of the WT organization will suffer according to the above mentioned prophecies. Also Daniel 8:11 fortells what expects the WT organization:

"It exalted itself even against the Prince of the army, and from him the constant feature was taken away, and the established place of his sanctuary was thrown down. 12  And an army was given over, together with the constant feature, because of transgression; and it kept throwing truth to the earth, and it acted and had success.13  And I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one speaking: “How long will the vision of the constant feature and of the transgression causing desolation continue, to make both the holy place and the army things to trample on?” 14  So he said to me: “Until 2,300 evenings and mornings; and the holy place will certainly be restored to its right condition.”

 What does this mean? I can only think that "the established place of his sanctuary" applies to the WT organization and especially to the headquarters of the WT organization. And the "army" that will be trampled, is hard to apply on anything but to the formost members of the Jehovah's witnesses. 

And "the constant feature" should include especially the WT magazine that has been issued constantly for more than 100 years every month.

The WT organization has never experienced yet a such total defeat. And the context is clear that all this tribulation will happen before Armageddon. So the WT explanation that this happened in the past is very farfetched. 

During this time I can not see from those prophecies how the Governing body could control the Jehovah's witnesses. And parallel prophecy in Daniel 11:33,34 fortells about those who will give spiritual guidance in those times:

"And those having insight among the people will impart understanding to the many. And they will be made to stumble by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plundering, for some days. But when they are made to stumble, they will be given a little help; and many will join with them by means of smooth speech."

"Those with insight" I think refer primarly to many anointed Jehovah's witnesses "and many will join them."  Yes, it is only to the local anointed many can join. Because nobody has yet joined local anointed, because the Governing Body has forbidden to do that.

Then there are other very exciting prophecies about this time. Some will apparently flee to a specific place of refuge and dwell there during this time of persecution. And they will be fed spiritually there. That is what Revelation 12:6 fortells: "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God and where they would feed her for 1,260 days.....13 Now when the dragon saw that it had been hurled down to the earth, it persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14  But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is to be fed for a time and times and half a time away from the face of the serpent. 

"The woman" must symbolize the congregation consisting of brothers and sister of Jehovah's witnesses. Because it will face persecution, and that will cause them to flee to a place that God has apparently prepred for them. Daniel 11:34 also said "they will be given little help", could this refer to this flight? 

All this is in accord with Ezekiel 38:8 before the attempted attack of Gog.

"You will be given attention after many days. In the final part of the years you will invade the land whose people have been restored from the ravages of the sword, collected together out of many peoples onto the mountains of Israel, which had long been lying devastated. The inhabitants of this land were restored from the peoples, and all of them dwell in security."

But interestingly not all will flee to this place of security, because Revelation 12:17 says after "the woman" escaped: "So the dragon became enraged at the woman and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her offspring, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness concerning Jesus.

The remaining ones of her offspring, must refer to those who did not flee to a secure place. Those will be brutally persecuted.

 

[Kosonen]

On 1/31/2020 at 8:09 PM, 4Jah2me said:

 " And just like Jesus came and ended the old covenant and started a new organization, the christian congregation, so something new will come out of Jehovah's witnesses."

I'm in agreement with you on this. but the 'something new' needs to be now.

Hi 4Jah2me, prophetic events going on in Syria and France indicate that a huge change is under way concerning the WT organization. 

Daniel 11:29,30 foretells about the war in Syria. When USA will be completely defeated there and leaves Syria, USA will "go back and hurl denunciations against the holy covenant" and thereafter the pressure will just intensify against the WT organization in USA. Verse 31 says: "and they will profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and remove the constant feature."

This is just about the same thing as in an other visions Daniel got in Daniel 8:13 and Daniel 12:7. 

And always when the Bible speaks about 1260 days, 42 months and time times and half a time, it is about the same period. And in addition the Bible mentions 1290 days and 1335 days and 2300 days and it really seems that all these periods begin the same day.

So this ties in Revelation 13 where it talks about a deadly wound to one of the heads of a seven headed beast. After the head has healed a 42 month period of tribulation will begin. That beast will get great authority from the Devil and it will be required that people worship the beast and its image and take the mark of the beast, or its name or its number. 

Now, one of the heads of that seven headed beast is wounded. It is about the hard hitting protests of the Yellow West movement in France. It has been going on for more than a year. They have been protesting against the globalist elitist Macron's politics. But the globalist sevenheaded beast is not making much concessions. And I am just asking when will the protesters tire out to protest. That would be the healing of the wounded head, and the next fase of the prophecy could begin to take place.

Yes, these two things should happen quite soon, USA leaving Syria completely and the Yellow West protests ending in France. Then the tribulation would begin against the WT organization, leading to huge change. What happened to the WT organization in Russia is just a preview of what is coming world wide.