1914
The Watch Tower Society and the end of the Gentile Times in 1914
Well documented Prediction was reinterpreted End TimesBiblical NumerologyDate SettingJehovah's Witnesses
Quick facts
- Predicted date
- 1914
- Who predicted it
- Charles Taze Russell, Watch Tower Society
- When announced
- 1889
- Reasoning
- Seven prophetic "times" of 360 years each, 2,520 years in all, counted from 607 BC (the date the movement assigned to Jerusalem's fall) to 1914. Most secular historians date the fall of Jerusalem to 587 or 586…
- What happened
- The war that began in 1914 was a major historical event, but the expected end of existing governments and the establishment of Christ's kingdom on earth did not occur. Russell died on October 31, 1916.
- Historical status
- Well documented. The prediction and its date appear in primary or reliable secondary sources.
- Outcome label
- Prediction was reinterpreted
- Editorial certainty
- High: multiple primary or independent sources
- Editorial review
- Pending. This entry has not yet been checked line by line against its sources. Treat details as provisional.
Prediction
What did Charles Taze Russell predict?
From 1889, Watch Tower publications taught that Bible chronology showed the "Gentile Times" would end in 1914, and early writing expected major changes to follow, including the end of existing governments.
Interpretation by the author
Why did they believe it?
Russell's Studies in the Scriptures argued that Jerusalem's fall to Babylon began a period of Gentile rule that would last 2,520 years. Counting forward gave 1914.
In the early expectation, the year would see the end of existing political powers and the beginning of Christ's kingdom on earth, with believers glorified.
Scripture as used by the author
Biblical basis cited
Daniel 4, in which Nebuchadnezzar's madness for "seven times" is read as a pattern for a longer period, and Luke 21:24 ("until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled").
Method
How the date was calculated
Seven prophetic "times" of 360 years each, 2,520 years in all, counted from 607 BC (the date the movement assigned to Jerusalem's fall) to 1914. Most secular historians date the fall of Jerusalem to 587 or 586 BC, which is why the starting point is itself disputed.
Historical record
Historical context
The date was first proposed by Nelson Barbour and was adopted by Russell, who set it out in The Time Is at Hand (1889). World War I began in August 1914, and Watch Tower writers saw the outbreak as consistent with their expectations.
Historical record
What happened when the date passed?
The war that began in 1914 was a major historical event, but the expected end of existing governments and the establishment of Christ's kingdom on earth did not occur. Russell died on October 31, 1916.
Historical record
What happened afterward
The organization continued under Joseph Rutherford and, from 1931, as Jehovah's Witnesses. The expectations were adjusted over several years.
Interpretation
Later reinterpretation
Jehovah's Witnesses teach today that 1914 marks the date when Christ began ruling invisibly in heaven, and that this began the "last days" of the present world. This reinterpretation developed in stages in the decades after 1914, and historians of the movement, such as M. James Penton, date its consolidation to the 1920s and 1930s.
Scripture
Passages cited
-
Daniel 4:16 (KJV)
"Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him."
The "seven times" at the center of the calculation.
-
Luke 21:24 (KJV)
The phrase "times of the Gentiles".
Excerpts are from the King James Version (public domain). Listing a verse here does not mean this site agrees with how the author used it.
Sources
Sources and further reading
- Charles Taze Russell. The Time Is at Hand (Studies in the Scriptures, Volume 2). Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. 1889. Primary source The original statement of the 1914 argument.
- M. James Penton. Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. 1985. Academic A critical history by a historian and former member.
- Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Jehovah's Witnesses: Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. 1993. Primary source The organization's own official history. Read alongside Penton for contrast.
Found an error or a better source? Send a correction. See also the methodology.