The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses
is not chosen by God!
and
when shall we count the 2520 years from!
I talked to an Assyriologist at the British museum, by the name of Paul Collins. I asked him when he thought Jerusalem’s First Destruction was 607 BC or 587 BC. He said I can send you a document by email that shows the obvious year of Jerusalem’s First Destruction, as 587/586 BC. He did so and i printed it out. This document has been written by Christopher Walker, the former Deputy Keeper of the Department of the Ancient Near East at the British Museum and was revised October – November 2008. I put it in here for you to read. You will find the document if you scroll down on this page.
I posted this document to the writing department at the Watchtower in Brooklyn and asked them what this document meant to our present faith as Jehovah’s Witnesses. They replied after four months and said, “we are going to send two elders to you and they will talk to you about our 1914/607 doctrine”. I opposed such a meeting, because they did not have any new material to present (I had been a Jehovah’s Witness for 25 years and had researched this subject thoroughly), so the consequence was, that they eventually disfellowshipped me, for being rebellious.
The 2520 years starts from Babylons first seize of Judah the year 606 BC
The thing is I have come to the conclusion that the 2520 years starts when Nebuchadnezzar came and seized Judah the first time the year 606 BCE. He took prisoners including Daniel and choosed a king Jehoiakim to rule as Babylons vassal king and they had to submit to the Babylonian yoke.
Jehoiakim eventually switched allegiance to Egypt and Nebuchadnezzar came back 598 and we can read from this quote what he did:
“In late 598 BCE, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II invaded Judah and again laid siege to Jerusalem, which lasted three months. Jehoiakim died before the siege ended[2] and his body was thrown outside the city walls.[8] He was succeeded by his son Jeconiah (also known as Jehoiachin).[3] Nebuchadnezzar deposed Jeconiah and installed Zedekiah, Jehoiakim’s younger brother, as king in his place. Jeconiah, his household, and much of Judah’s population were exiled to Babylon.[9]” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehoiakim)
Jerusalem fell on 2 Adar (16 March) 597 BCE and Zedekiah ruled for 10 years until 587.
Was it the year 606 BC or 605 BC for the first siege done by the Babylonians?
Actually we can see from the scripture in Daniel 1:1 that it was in the third year of the rule of Jehoiakim that Nebuchadnezzar besieged Judah. The third year of Jehoiakim counted from his accession year 609 must be 606. Jeremiah 46:2 says:
“Jeremiah 46:2; Against Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim…” (http://xwalk.ca/exile.html).
The battle against Babylon and Assyria along with Egypt at carchemish, was in the fourth year of Jehoiakim 605 BC, Jeremiah 46:2. This shows us that the first siege of Judah was a year before (606) BC the battle at carcemish, which was fought the year 605 BC. (http://xwalk.ca/exile.html).
We know that Nebuchadnezzar went home, when his father died, to secure his place on the throne. this he obviously did shortly after his siege of Judah 606 BC so that the he could fight with Assyria and Egypt in 605 BC at carchemish after he secured the throne in Babylon.
This makes sense to me, since I for a long time have thought, that it was very fast to go down to siege Judah, just after the battle in carchemish and do that the same year 605 which was the year for the battle at carchemish.
This quote from E.B Elliot 1820, shows that he the year 1820 approximately, suggested that you could count the 2520 years from the first time Nebuchadnezzar came and seized Judah 606 BC.
Beauties of the Truth, A Forum for the Publication of Scriptural Viewpoints, Thought to be Harmonious with Gods Plan of the Ages Volume 15, Number 3, August 2004. Page 2.
“What we do know is that Elliott appears to have picked up John Aquilla Browns time prophetic views regarding the Gentile Times prophecy of seven times or 2,520 years. John Brown wrote a book in 1823 called The Even-Tide, which dated this prophecy from 604 BC to 1917 AD. Elliott lists this interpretation as well as the 606 BC to 1914 AD concept and others as several possibilities for fulfillment of this prophecy. Elliott did not see the 606 BC date as the fall Br of Jerusalem, but rather the first year when Nebuchadnezzar took prisoners from Israel to Babylon.2″ (http://www.beautiesofthetruth.org/Archive/Library/Doctrine/Mags/Bot/90s/2004aug.PDF)
From this quote we can see that around the year 1820 E, B Elliot suggested that you could count from Babylons first seize of Jerusalem 606 BCE as the starting point for the 2520 years which would end in 1914 AD. It seems very logical due to the fact that as it says in Ezekiel 21:27
“thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Remove the turban and take off the crown; this will no longer be the same. Exalt that which is low and abase that which is high”
It was the ruling turban and the royal crown that would be lift off and not explicitly the total destruction of Jerusalem that would be the starting point of the 2520 years. Later in this verse it says:
“A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it. This also will be no more until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.”
Three times it says, A ruin I will make it, which could mean the three times that Nebuchadnezzar seized Jerusalem and took prisoners. The last time he totally destroyed the city and left it desolate and the ruler-ship would be given to him
“whose right it is”
We know from the scripture that this is Messiah Jesus Christ and it will be given to him after the 2520 years 1914. We see these gentiles times 2520 years as the time when the gentile nations would rule over Gods fleshly people the Jews on earth. 1916 we know that the Balfour declaration was signed and the first step towards the restoration of the Jewish people to their homeland was made.
Before the year 606 BCE Judah was an earthly kingdom of God, even though it often was unfaithful.
The prophecy in Ezekiel 21:27 explains:
“thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Remove the turban and take off the crown; this will no longer be the same. Exalt that which is low and abase that which is high. 27 A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it. This also will be no more until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.”
This scripture actually says that Judah was to be overthrown three times 606, 597 and 587, the first time the year 606 its king would loose his turban and his crown would be removed.
The scripture clearly shows that the Lord would make it a ruin three times and the last time 587 BCE it was completely ruined. It has been, in my opinion a mistake, to combine this text in general with the destruction of Jerusalem and the 70 years prophecy “Jeremiah 25:11”, which took place 20 years after Judah became a vassal nation to Egypt the year 606 BCE. Therefore it could be right to start counting the 2520 years from 606. I have studied this so long, but not until recently, I have understood that the whole picture harmonizes.
The 70 years is still about Babylon having domination over all these nations including Judah and Jerusalem, from the year 609 BCE to the year 539 BCE. Jerusalem was totally desolated 50 years from 587 to 537 which is a jubilee period of 50 years. The prophecy in Jeremiah 25:10,11 and the Prophecy in Ezekiel 21:27 should not me mixed together they are two different prophecies.
Rather of most interest is Daniels prophecy in Daniel 12:11
Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand. 11“From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12“How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days!
We see here that this prophecy shows us that 1335 days will pass and happy is he that lives then. If we count from the time when the man of lawlessness gained full power which was 539 AD and add 1335 days we arrive at 1874 AD. That was the same year C.T Russel started his great work. We also see that knowledge surely had increased and we see that even in our days. So we are living on the Lords day since 1874. The year 1914 signifies the end of worldly dominion over Gods people and wee that from the year 1916 when the Balfour declaration was signified.
What about Jehovah’s Witnesses then? Well the year 1914 has always been used by them to proof that God choosed them, but the history shows that Joseph Rutherford seized the Watchtower after C.T Russel died in a very subtle way. He then changed almost all teachings that Br Russel held so dearly. So Jehovah’s Witnesses is Rutherford’s religion that he created in opposition to C.T Russel, after he died.
It is good though to see that even with the recent archaeological research the bible is 100 percent accurate it is just we that do not always understand it correctly.
Here we present the archaeological proofs that Jerusalem was destroyed 20 years after it fell to Babylon the year 606/607.
the 70 years of Babylonian domination in Jeremiah 25:11.
The prophecy of Babylons domination over all these nations in Jeremiah 25:11 is the basic reason why we can say that the “Watchtowers 1914 chronology” is wrong. The prophecy clearly shows that God used Babylon as a tool to punish “all these nations” including Judah and Jerusalem, in that they should have to serve the King of Babylon for 70 years. Nowhere in this text does it say that Judah and Jerusalem should lay desolate waist for 70 years, just that they should be a desolate waist and an object of astonishment. Here is a quote: Jer 25:11:
“And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years“.
Well i have checked and according to Carl-Olof Johnssons book “the gentile times reconsidered” and other sources on the Internet, the Babylonians conquered the Assyrians in the year 609 BC in a great battle. So the empire Assyria was a great empire until the year 609 BC, when Babylon conquered them. So if we count from the year 609 BC, until the year 539 when the Medo-Persians conquered Babylon totally and became itself an empire we come to 70 years. This is exactly what God told us in the prophecy in Jeremiah 25:11 should happen and it really did. So what about the Jews then? the prophecy in Jeremiah 29:10 tells us this: Jeremiah 29:10 (Darby)
“For thus saith Jehovah: When seventy years shall be accomplished for Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in bringing you back to this place“.
So when the 70 years had been accomplished for Babylonnamely the year 539 BC, Cyrus told the Jews in the year 538 BC, that they could go home and rebuild Jerusalem. Many of them did and they where back approximately around the year 537 BC. This does not mean (as the Watchtower says ) that we shall count 70 years back from the year 537 BC. This does not harmonize with the bible, which we have just shown in the text above.
The watchtower says that the prophecy in Jeremiah 25:11 is all about Judah and Jerusalem being laid a desolate waist for 70 years, but this is actually a wrong interpretation. This is one of the reasons they have succeeded in constructing this doctrine about Gods kingdom starting to rule in 1914.
Jehovah’s witnesses is therefore lead to believe that the prophecy in Jeremiah 25:11 is all about Judah and Jerusalem being laid waist for 70 years and Gods people being forced to go and be subjective to the king of Babylon for 70 years. Here is when the watchtower says “we have to count back from 537 BC when the Jews came back to their land 70 years then we come to 607 BC”. One reason they do this is because they focuses on the fact that Israel and Judah should be a desolate waist for 70 years, but this is something they have read into the text, that never was there.
Jeremiah 25:11 is about Babylon having domination over all these nations for 70 year. If this is the case there is no support for starting to count when the Jews came back to their land 537 BC. The only possible solution is to count from when Babylon lost its domination in 539 BC, 70 years back and we reach to the year 609 BC, when they where given domination over all these nations.
I have checked all of the scriptures included in this subject and compared 20 different bibles with the help of a program called “E-sword“. The scriptures i have checked where Zachariah 1:12, Zachariah 7:5, Daniel 9: 1,2., 2 chronicles 36:21. You will notice that the scriptures in most of these bibles translates the text in a way that it says “these seventy years“. This gives us a hint that it just points to Jeremiah 25:11 and talks about the seventy years when Babylon should dominate all these nations for seventy years.
So you can easily see that these four scriptures does not support the idea that Judah and Jerusalem should be a desolate waist for 70 years. Actually it where a desolate waist for 50 years between 587 BC and 537. So the prophecy in Jeremiah 25:11 is about Babylon having domination over “all these nations” for 70 years and nothing else.
This document from the British museum enlightens us to the fact that when the second capture of Jerusalem occurred it was the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar. We know that he became king the year 605 -604 BC and seven year from that we come to the year 598 BC to 597 BC.
The document also tells us the precise date of this first capture of Jerusalem from another table, where the first day of Addar for Nebuchadnezzars 7:th year is given as 15:th of March 597 BC.
Later in this document we read that if we use Jeremiah 52: 1-5 we can calculate the date when Jerusalem was destroyed totally. The text says “in the eleventh year of Zedekiah” so the exact date for the destruction of Jerusalem is July 587 BC. Zedekiah was made king of Judah ten year earlier by the Babylonians, namely the year 597 BC.
The Watchtower tries to overcome this by moving all dates 20 years back, they say that Nebuchadnezzar became King of Babylon 625 BC. This has absolutely no support neither in the scripture nor in the secular research. They do this because they have invested so much in their own calculations about the year 607/1914. They also need this doctrine, to claime dinive given power over all the Jehovah’s Witnesses, so that they can keep focusing on their self oriented interests. The wolves in sheep clothings do not care for the sheeps as the right shepherd Jesus Christ does. He has given his life for them and cares deeply for them.
If you feel safe as a Jehovah’s witness and have friends and life is great you probably do not have to research this and as a result leave the watchtower organization. But if you see all the bad things going on in the organization and also are a person wanting to be loyal to God and his word i recommend you to thoroughly research this subject to the bottom.
Here is the document
Babylonian Chronology and Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of Jerusalem.
Nebuchadnezzar II’s first capture of Jerusalem, is briefly described in a tablet of the so-called “Babylonian Chronicle” series in the British Museum, BM 21946. This chronicle covers a period of 12 years from the 21st year of Nabopolassar which was Nebuchadnezzar’s accession year through to Nebuchadnezzar’s 11th regnal year. The entry for his 7th year may be translated,
“The seventh year: In the month Kislev the king of Akkad mustered his army and marched to Hattu [i.e. Syria]. He encamped against the city of Judah and on the second day of the month Adar he captured the city (and) seized (its) king. A king of his own choice he appointed in the city (and) taking the vast tribute he brought it to Babylon.”
This translation is taken from A. K. Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (Texts from Cuneiform Sources, volume 5, Locust Valley, New York, 1975), p. 102.
The precise date of this capture of Jerusalem can be read off the tables of R. A. Parker and W. H. Dubberstein, Babylonian Chronology 626 B.C.-A.D. 75 (Brown University Press, 1971 reprint), p. 27, where the first day of Addar for Nebuchadnezzar’s 7th year is given as 15 March 597 BC. This precise date (as all of their calendrical tables) depends on modern computer calculation of the day on which the new moon would be expected to have been visible at Babylon, and the authors point out (page 25) that “… it is possible that a certain number of dates in our table may be wrong by one day …It should be noted that there is an additional element of uncertainty for biblical dates given in the Babylonian calendar, since the new moon was visible at Jerusalem thirty-seven minutes before it was visible at Babylon and therefore upon occasion the new month could begin a day earlier at Jerusalem.”
Babylonian days begin at sunset, so if the 1st of Addar is listed as 15 March this actually means 15/16 March, and the 2nd of Addar will be 16/17 March 597 BC. The Babylonian text, of course, refers to the first occasion on which Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem. His second capture of Jerusalem is not recorded in currently available Babylonian records, since the Babylonian Chronicle series is incomplete; so its date has to be calculated on the basis of the Biblical record (in the 11th year of Zedekiah, so July 587 BC),(Jeremia52:1-5).
The relative chronology of the kings of the Neo-Babylonian (“Chaldaean”) and Achaemenid Dynasties has long been known from Claudius Ptolemy’s Canon Basileon. For a recent presentation of the Canon see G. J. Toomer, Ptolemy’s Almagest (Duckworth, London, 1984), pp. 9-14. Since the list was presumably compiled for the purpose of controlling astronomical records, short reigns of less than a year such as that of Labashi-Marduk and the various rebels against Darius and Xerxes are ignored. The number of regnal years assigned to each king in the Canon are confirmed in the case of all kings from Nabopolassar down to Darius II from contemporary economic documents. Thus Ptolemy credits Nebuchadnezzar with 43 years and we have many economic documents dated in each of those 43 years; and the same applies to his successors. The relevant figures are: Nebuchadnezzar II 43 years (604-562 BC) Amel-Marduk (Evil-Merodach) 2 years (561-560 BC) Nergal-shar-usur (Neriglissar) 4 years (559-556 BC) Nabu-na’id (Nabonidus) 17 years (555-539 BC) Cyrus 9 years. (538-530 BC) Modern Assyriologists follow the Babylonian system in which the regnal year begins sometime around the spring equinox, but tend to ignore the overlap to the following year. So Cyrus having captured Babylon in October 539 BC, his first full regnal year would have run from March 538 to March 537, but Assyriologists tend to call it just “538 BC”. The precise date of the return of the Jews from exile in Babylonia will depend on whether one assumes the first chapter of the Biblical book of Ezra uses the Babylonian or the Jewish calendar.
In any case Babylonian chronology certainly does not support the idea of a 70 year exile of the Jews in Babylonia if that is to be counted from the second capture of Jerusalem to the first year of Cyrus. Although precise dates in Babylonian chronology can be derived from a combination of Ptolemy’s Canon and contemporary economic documents, there is a further source of dates in the Babylonian astronomical texts. From about 747 BC (the beginning of the reign of the Babylonian king Nabu-nasir (Nabonassar) Babylonian astronomers were keeping regular records of astronomical observations. These observations survive in the (incomplete) series of what are now called “astronomical diaries” and in other astronomical texts probably derived from these diaries. There also survive fragments of tables for such events as eclipses of moon, the 18-year cycles of which became well understood by the Babylonians. Thus there are in the British Museum fragments of a table of successive lunar eclipse possibilities arranged in 18 year cycles in 24 columns, starting apparently in 747 BC, which if complete would have given 18×24 = 432 years of eclipse data from 747 to 315 BC. It seems probable that such tables of Babylonian data were available to Ptolemy (whose Almagest refers to a few dated Babylonian lunar eclipse observations), and this may explain how it is that the chronology embodied in his Canon Basileon has survived the test of 150 years of excavation of contemporary Babylonian sources. It should in any case be pointed out that the chronology of the Achaemenid kings of Persia is also tied in to a well established Greek chronology by numerous events recorded by Greek historians.
In general for Assyriologists and others engaged in studying the available source material for the Neo-Babylonian and Achaemenid periods the chronology is secure and needs no further discussion. But there are two groups who may take a different view. Firstly, the Jewish Talmud contains some chronological remarks which have been understood to imply a significantly shorter (by several decades) chronology for the Achaemenid Dynasty; but in general Talmudic scholars have been ready to accept this as a mistake. Secondly, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, apparently on doctrinal grounds, seek to establish a date for the second fall of Jerusalem some 20 years earlier than would be accepted by main-stream historians. The British Museum, while using the dates given above, has engaged in correspondence with people on both sides of this particular discussion over the years and would recommend anyone interested to read the following two books which represent the two sides of the argument: Rolf Furuli, Persian Chronology and the Length of the Babylonian Exile of the Jews (Oslo, 2003; ISBN 82-994633-3-5). Carl Olof Jonsson, The Gentile Times Reconsidered: Chronology and Christ’s Return (4th edition, Commentary Press, Atlanta, 2004;ISBN 0-914675-07-9).