The Watchtower claims that God’s Kingdom was established in 1914. (Reasoning From the Scriptures, p. 95)

How do they arrive at this misconception, and how can we respond?

Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a disturbing dream which the prophet Daniel interpreted for him in Daniel 4:24-27:

This is the interpretation, O king; it is the decree of the Most High that must befall my lord the king. You will be driven away from among men, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field, and you will be given vegetation to eat just like bulls; and you will become wet with the dew of the heavens, and seven times will pass over you, until you know that the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind and that he grants it to whomever he wants. (Watchtower translation)

A year later, as prophesied, Nebuchadnezzar suddenly went insane and started behaving like wild animals. His reason was eventually restored, and in verse 36 he said, “At that time my understanding returned to me, and the glory of my kingdom, my majesty, and my splendor returned to me. My high officials and nobles eagerly sought me out, and I was restored to my kingdom, and even more greatness was added to me.”

Verse 28 says, “All of this befell King Nebuchadnezzar.”

Despite the fact that Daniel said nothing about there being a second fulfillment thousands of years later, the Watchtower claims the following:

But it also has a larger fulfillment. How do we know that? Verses 3 and 17 show that the dream that God gave to King Nebuchadnezzar deals with the Kingdom of God and God’s promise to give it “to the one whom he wants to . . . even the lowliest one of mankind.” The entire Bible shows that Jehovah’s purpose is for his own Son, Jesus Christ, to rule as His representative over mankind. (Messianic citations omitted) The Bible’s description of Jesus shows that he was indeed “the lowliest one of mankind.” (citations omitted) The prophetic dream, then, points to the time when Jehovah would give rulership over mankind to his own Son. (Reasoning From the Scriptures, p. 95)

It goes on to explain:

The history of mankind would be dominated by governments that displayed the characteristics of wild beasts. In modern times, the bear is commonly used to represent Russia; the eagle, the United States; the lion, Britain; the dragon, China. The Bible also uses wild beasts as symbols of world governments and of the entire global system of human rulership under the influence of Satan. (citations omitted) As Jesus showed in his prophecy pointing to the conclusion of the system of things, Jerusalem would be “trampled on by the nations, until the appointed times of the nations” were fulfilled. (Luke 21:24) “Jerusalem” represented the Kingdom of God because its kings were said to sit on “the throne of the kingship of Jehovah.” (citations omitted) So, the Gentile governments, represented by wild beasts, would ‘trample’ on the right of God’s Kingdom to direct human affairs and would themselves hold sway under Satan’s control.—Compare Luke 4:5, 6. (Reasoning From the Scriptures, pp. 95-96)

For how long would such governments be permitted to exercise this control before Jehovah gave the Kingdom to Jesus Christ? Daniel 4:16 says “seven times” (“seven years,” AT and Mo, also JB footnote on verse 13). The Bible shows that in calculating prophetic time, a day is counted as a year. (Ezek. 4:6; Num. 14:34) How many “days,” then, are involved? Revelation 11:2, 3 clearly states that 42 months (3 1/2 years) in that prophecy are counted as 1,260 days. Seven years would be twice that, or 2,520 days. Applying the “day for a year” rule would result in 2,520 years. (Reasoning From the Scriptures, p. 96)

Asserting that Jerusalem was completely conquered by the Babylonians in 607 B.C.E., the Watchtower gives a calculation showing that the “seven times,” which it also refers to as “the Gentile times” ended in 1914 C.E.:

How, then, is the time calculated down to 1914? Counting 2,520 years from early October of 607 B.C.E. brings us to early October of 1914 C.E., as shown on the chart

CALCULATING THE “SEVEN TIMES”

 “Seven times” = 7 X 360 = 2,520 years

A Biblical “time,” or year = 12 X 30 days = 360 (Rev. 11:2, 3; 12:6, 14)

In the fulfillment of the “seven times” each day equals one year. (Ezek. 4:6; Num. 14:34)

 Early October, 607 B.C.E., to December 31, 607 B.C.E.= 1/4 year

 January 1, 606 B.C.E., to December 31, 1 B.C.E. = 606 years

 January 1, 1 C.E., to December 31, 1913 = 1,913 years

 January 1, 1914, to early October, 1914 = 3/4 year

 Total: 2,520 years

The Watchtower concludes by saying, “What happened at that time? Jehovah entrusted rulership over mankind to his own Son, Jesus Christ, glorified in the heavens.—Dan. 7:13, 14) (Reasoning From the Scriptures, p. 97)

All of this takes a lot of supposing.

It assumes:

  1. There would be a secondary fulfillment (Daniel said nothing about that).
  2. We should move from Daniel 4 to Revelation 11 to determine that prophetic months are exactly 30 days long.
  3. A prophetic “day” always means one year.
  4. “Seven times” means “seven years” or 84 months.
  5. “Seven times” therefore means 2,520 years.
  6. Jerusalem fell to Babylon in 607 B.C.E.

But even if all those assumptions were somehow shown to be correct, there seems to me to be a much more fundamental problem with its conclusion about Jesus and 1914.

The typology is all wrong:

  • Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan king who had taken Israel into captivity.
  • For what Daniel called “seven times,” this beast-like king lost his sanity, behaved like a beast, and other pagans ruled his kingdom.
  • At the end of the “seven times” this pagan king regained his reason and was restored to his domination over the Israelites, albeit a humbler and wiser man so far as his understanding of his own limitations and of God’s sovereignty were concerned.

This means that at the end of the “seven times,” it wasn’t the pagan king who had his kingdom torn away and turned over to a Jewish Messiah-like figure who permanently restored the kingdom to the Davidic lineage.

Rather, it was the pagan king who was restored to his throne and glory and resumed his rule over the Jewish nation.

How does this typology picture all the Gentile nations losing their dominance at the end of “seven times” and Jehovah giving Jesus permanent rulership over the world in 1914?

If you are interested in pursuing this 1914 issue in greater detail, please follow these links to previous articles I have posted over the years on my blog: