Please allow me to ask about what is your take on Daniel’s 7 times, 2300, 1260, 1290 and 1335 days since his prophecy of 70 weeks of years pointed correctly to the first coming of Jesus?

Ever since C.T. Russell first came on the scene the Bible Students and now Jehovah’s Witnesses, have been mesmerized by the seven times of Daniel’s prophecy. What is particularly interesting to me, though, is that the little Bible study group that Russell formed was intent on determining the basic doctrines taught in the Bible. They wanted to know the ABCs of Christian doctrine. In just a few years, they were able to unearth long-lost truths regarding the condition of the dead, the nature of the soul, the true relationship between Jehovah and Jesus and God’s purpose for the earth. The rediscovery of those things was monumental.

But in contrast, it is most striking that the Bible Students had virtually no understanding of prophecy, though they imagined they did. The Finished Mystery is a testament to their ignorance. Nevertheless, at the same time Russell was spearheading the work Christ commanded to be done —namely, preach the good news of the Kingdom —The International Bible Students were captivated by chronology that supposedly reveals the exact year of Christ’s return, this in spite of the fact that Jesus clearly stated that no one knows the day or hour. (Although the Watchtower only uses the term derogatorily in connection with the churches, the Society does indeed teach that the Second Coming took place in 1914)

Also, at the time the Allegheny study group was unraveling the tangled mess of errors taught by the churches they came to unquestioningly believe that an invisible presence of Christ had already begun —imagining Jesus to have been invisibly present since 1874. What ought to give every one of Jehovah’s Witnesses reason to pause and reflect is the fact that in spite of the fact the Bible Students were just unlearning all of the doctrinal error imposed upon them by the nominal churches, they presumed to understand all of the sacred secrets associated with the return of Jesus.

Of course, around 1930 the Watchtower reset the date of the invisible presence from 1874 to 1914; but the very notion of an invisible parousia contradicts the promise Christ made to his disciples when he assured them that he would be with them all the days until the conclusion –or the end of the age as some translations word it.

So, if Jesus is invisibly present among his true disciples all the days leading up to the time of the end when the parousia takes place, shouldn’t we expect the parousia to be something extraordinary and not more of the same? The very fact the so-called invisible parousia can be shifted around by 40 years during the time Christ was supposed to be present is a sure indication of the fraudulent nature of the invisible parousia doctrine.

Now, as regards the seven times: Since Jehovah has allowed an operation of Satan to be put into place —an operation aimed at deceiving the chosen ones into accepting a false parousia, which Paul forcefully forewarned would be accompanied by written messages and verbal pronouncements by Christian authorities —it is evident (at least to me) that the entire 1914 doctrine is the foretold operation of Satan that immediately precedes the actual coming of Christ, an operation that is accompanied by deceptive signs and wonders, such as WWI erupting right on the mark and the subsequent persecution of the Bible Students, which has since been regarded as being the fulfillment of dozens of prophecies. (Articles on the deluding influence

Since God has made allowance for the deluding influence, it seems reasonable that God provided the seven times in prophecy as the “scriptural” basis for the delusion that Satan orchestrates. (What Do the Seven Times Mean?) God has acted similarly by inspiring the wording of passages like John 1:1, for example, which is greedily gulped down like tantalizing bait on a hook by the masses of deluded Trinitarians.

Although the debaters of chronology take issue with the year Jerusalem was destroyed, since it is the anchor point for the beginning of the cryptic seven times interpretation, the fact of the matter is, there is no valid basis for the underlying assumption that the trampling of Jerusalem began five centuries before Jesus foretold that Jerusalem and the rebuilt temple would again be made desolate. Anyone who reads Jesus’ words in the 21st of Luke who is not laboring under the Watchtower’s deluding influence can readily appreciate that Jesus was foretelling that Jerusalem would be trampled upon at some point in the future. It is inconceivable that the apostles who queried Jesus regarding when the temple would be destroyed would have supposed that the trampling had already begun and was ongoing. (The Appointed Times of the Nations)

UNTIL 2,300 MORNINGS AND EVENINGS

When Jesus spoke of the impending desolation of Jerusalem he referenced the prophecy of Daniel. Jesus surely knew the connection. Not coincidently, the eighth chapter of Daniel speaks of the trampling of the holy place, the very thing Christ foretold. No wonder the passage says “let the reader use discernment.” No doubt due to the deluding influence the prophets and visionaries of Bethel have not used discernment. The Watchtower’s interpretation is not even worthy of consideration —it is simply absurd to suppose that the holy place was set in its proper condition during WWII by the adjustment of a few bylines in the Society’s corporate charter. (Let the Reader Use Discernment)

 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?” So he said to me: “Until 2,300 evenings and mornings; and the holy place will certainly be restored to its right condition.” – Daniel 8:13-14 

Contrary to popular belief, the time of the end has not begun. Neither has Christ returned. That being the case, that means that the prophecy of Daniel is still sealed. It is enough, for now, to simply discard the Watchtower’s interpretations as the nonsensical claptrap that it is in order to anticipate the true revelation. That being said, it seems that the prophecy is encrypted to say 1,150 days —since each day is composed of one morning and one evening, meaning 1+1=1. Worded differently, one morning and one evening equals two mornings and evenings, equals one day. Hence, 2,300 mornings and evenings equals 1,150 days –each day having one morning and one evening. 

What must be understood, is that “Jerusalem” represents Christ’s congregation. That is because Jesus sacrificed his life in Jerusalem and the 120 were doused with holy spirit in an upstairs room in Jerusalem, making the holy city the birthplace of Christianity. Furthermore, the prophecy of Zechariah portrays Jehovah touching down upon the Mount of Olives outside the walls of the holy city in order to defend it. So, the desolation and trampling of “Jerusalem” equates to the destruction of the organization in modern times. And the restoration of “Jerusalem” symbolizes the advent of the Kingdom –including the full number called to be heirs. The 1,260-day period is the appointed times for the nations to trample what belongs to God. The 1,150 days closely relates to the other prophetic periods; namely, the forty-two months, time times and half a time, equating to 1,260 days and related periods such as the questioner presented. 

It is well to keep in mind that the 1,260 days parallels the three and a half year ministry of Jesus —beginning with his baptism and ending with his death. Then there is a forty day post-resurrection period when Jesus revealed himself to his disciples on numerous occasions. Then another ten days after his ascension to the outpouring of the holy spirit.

In all likelihood the closely related time periods mark off various developments, beginning with the desolation of Christ’s holy place. Then the restoration and the manifestation of Christ —his visible parousia —and the subsequent revelation of the sons of God and their shining as brightly as the sun in the established Kingdom of their adoptive Father.

Although it is impossible to say with certainty at this point, the span between 1290 and 1335 days may be the actual number of days from the time the last remaining son of the Kingdom is killed until Satan’s system is finally obliterated at Armageddon; hence, “Happy is the one who keeps in expectation and who arrives at the 1,335 days.” —Daniel 12:12

As regards the 70 weeks the Watchtower is actually correct. The reason they are right is that the prophecy was fulfilled in the first century and does not factor into the delusion. Conversely, the reason the Watchtower cannot understand the prophecies related to the Second Coming is explained at Isaiah 29:10: “Jehovah has poured a spirit of deep sleep on you; He has closed your eyes, the prophets, and he has covered your heads, the visionaries.”

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