1.
Throughout the world, millions of sincere students of the bible, believe a prophetic period of 2,520 years started in 607BC and ended in 1914 when its believed Jesus Christ started ruling from the heavens as Jehovah's (Yhwh's) King of kings.  This date 1914 has become the most important date on which millions hang their entire beliefs and live their lives.

How did the 1914 calculation originate? 
2.
Charles Taze Russell in 1870, formed a group of Bible studiers in Pennsylvania America known as Russellites. He formulated this 2,520 year calculation based on a dream give to Nebuchadnezzar by God, Daniel 4:10-17 ~ “‘I saw a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was enormous. “‘As I viewed these visions in my head while i was on my bed, I saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from the heavens. He called out loudly: “Chop down the tree, cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit!  But leave the stump with its roots in the ground, with a banding of iron and of copper,  Let its heart be changed from that of a human, and let it be given the heart of a beast, and let seven times pass over it.... that people living may know that the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of man kind and that he gives it to whomever he wants"

3.
This details a prophetic dream given by Jehovah to Nebuchadnezzar of a tree, representing Babylonian world rule.  A 'holy watcher' from God, commands the Babylonia (tree) dynasty to be chopped down but its stump and roots are to be preserved for a period of 'seven times'. After which Jehovah would start to rule mankind by handing over this world rulership to the one he approved (Jesus Christ).  Russell turned this reference of 'seven times' into a formula.  Seven times were changed to seven years, then into days, seven x 360 days giving 2520 days, this was then turned back into years (a day for a year) arriving at 2,520 years.

4.
Instead of applying it logically to start at the time when a 'holy watcher' or angel did inscribe the writing on the wall to chop down the last of the Babylonian dynasty (Belshazzars feast) in the year 539 BC, when Babylon fell to the Persians, (ref Daniel chapter 5).  Russell applied the start year to when he calculated the Jerusalem temple was burned down by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, in 606 then later 607 BC.  Although the correct date for this destruction of Jerusalem was 587 BC.  By applying 2,520 years to commence in 607 BC, it would end in 1914 when Russell believed Armageddon would start.  He died in 1916 with no Armageddon.  ( ref, Charles Russell ).

5.
Nine years later in 1925 a large group of his followers rethought the calculated date for Armageddon and concluded that in 1914 Jesus was crowned King and started his invisible presence and a last generation period started, (Matthew 24:34).  They began preaching that persons living in 1914 who recognised their teaching on this, would not die before Armageddon arrived, and would see the start of Christ's 1,000 year reign, all within one generation.

6.
Since 1914, more than 110 years have passed.  That generation that saw 1914 are now all dead with no Armageddon.  So has the 1914 date been scrapped or reworked.  There were three alternatives, 1. Do nothing,  2 Admit the date 1914 was wrong and rework it, or  3. Contrive some way to extend a “generation”.  Its no surprise that the third has been adopted considering the negative effects 1 & 2 would have caused on their members. So the generation has been extended using a new 'linked generation teaching' now accepted by millions. It would logically have been more correct to examine the bible evidence relating to number 2  and the provable scriptural evidence.

Example of  'linked generation' teaching.

7.
A person living in the year 1914, claiming to be one of the anointed 144,000, at a minimum age of say 20 years, and lived on to a generous old age of 90, dying in 1984.  Could now be coupled together with another lapping over anointed person.  This second person lapped over the first by say their last 10 years of life could it is claimed extend the generation period on.  If they were 20 in 1984, and also live to a generous old age of 90, dying in 2054.  This would extend this surreal generation a further 70 years.  Making this linked double generation  a potential maximum length of 140 years.  Providing of course no further lap over lives are added, which if so could go on infinitum.

8.
There is no scriptural president for this  stretching of a ‘generation’.  It is somewhat  unworthy of people who regard Jehovah's word as truth.  Jesus said “this generation will by no means end” means “this generation”, not “this generation extended by a lap over generation will by no means end”,  ref  The over lapping generation.

9.
As the entire beliefs of millions hang on the years 607 and 1914, its worth scripturally investigating these dates to see if they hold up to internal bible evidence.

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THE TREE DID IT REPRESENT GOD'S RULE BY ZEDEKIAH?

10.
Incorporated in this 2,520 year calculation, was that the termination of Jehovah's rule on earth was represented by Zedekiah at Jerusalem, and it was this that was illustrated by the tree in Daniel chapter four being chopped down.  It is maintained that Nebuchadnezzar in his 19th year of being king destroyed the temple at Jerusalem, blinded and imprisoning Zedekiah for rebelling (2 Kings 25). But consider the evidence:

a) The tree vision was given by Jehovah to Nebuchadnezzar not Zedekiah, it related to a period starting when the Babylonian dynasty was chopped down by God.  Jehovah controlled the date for the chopping down of this illustrative tree, having His angel write on the wall, a proclamation to cut down the Babylonian dynasty, a day before the dynasty is brought to its end in 539BC (ref Daniel Chapters 4 & 5).

b) Daniel's prophecy of 'seven times' following the cutting down of the tree, could not be applied to Zedekiah in Jerusalem as Daniel explicitly says at Daniel 4:22  the tree symbolises the king of Babylon and his Dynasty and not Nebuchadnezzar's appointed representative Zedekiah in Jerusalem.

 “‘The tree that you saw that grew great and became strong, whose top reached the heavens and was visible to all the earth,.. 22 it is you, O king, because you have grown great and become strong, and your grandeur has grown and reached to the heavens, and your rulership to the ends of the earth" Daniel 4 20 & 22.

c) A previous vision to Nebuchadnezzar of a symbolic statue was a parallel vision of this same time period, in no way would anyone argue, that the statues head of Gold depicting Nebuchadnezzar really represented Zedekiah's rule at Jerusalem.  Both these visions related to the same thing, the period of Babylonian world rule.

d) Zedekiah could hardly be reckoned as Jehovah anointed king.  God had already allowed the previous Babylonian vassal king Jehoiachin to be removed by Nebuchadnezzar and the nation brought by God's instruction under servitude to Babylon.  God would hardly have replaced him with another king in contradiction of his expressed command to serve His servant the king of Babylon (Jer 25:9, 27:6,12-14,17,20-22, 43:10).

e) Zedekiah who was an uncle of Jehoiachin was not anointed by God to reign as king in Jerusalem.  He was appointed to the job of vassal representative by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:17).  Later he rebelled against his Babylonian master despite God warning him against carrying out this totally unnecessary self-destructive action.  Hardly can it be construed that his rule represented Jehovah's rulership.

f) The seat of God's rule continued at Jerusalem with or without an anointed king being present.  Some 600 years later, Jesus in 33 recognised that God's symbolic seat of rule was still represented at the temple in Jerusalem without any anointed king representing him.  Just before his death, Jesus presented himself at this seat in Jerusalem as Jehovah's anointed king in a preview pattern for his true coronation as king 1,000 year later (Luke 19:34-44).

g) Jehovah established a unique relationship with Babylon, not only was Nebuchadnezzar his servant, but God backed his authority as a world ruler and the Babylonian dynasty for a set 70 years. Ordering surrounding nations to subject themselves willing to this rule for these 70 years.  A truly unique situation, something Jehovah had not done with any previous national power outside of Israel.  The exiled Daniel reminded Nebuchadnezzar of this  "You O king of kings (Nebuchadnezzar) to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory, into whose hand he has given human beings, wherever they live," Daniel 2:37-38. Jehovah backed Nebuchadnezzar using him as His representative world ruling king, not Zedekiah.

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CONFUSION OVER TWO 70 YEAR PERIODS
11.
The date 539 BC for the end of the Babylon dynasty is accepted by all parties bible and historians. This was the end of a seventy year rule by the Babylonian world power which Jehovah had originally supported.  It began 70 years earlier in 609 BC when Babylon defeated the previous Assyrian world power under Nabopolassar and his son Nebuchadnezzar, and became the ruling world power.  A period of servitude was imposed on all the nations in the area by Jehovah, to serve Babylon for 70 years  (Jer 25:11-12).  The date 609BC is supported  by bible chronology and accepted by historians as the year when Babylon became the world power and the 70 year Babylonian imposed servitude on all surrounding nations including Israel started. This Babylonian world power was granted by God to last exactly 70 years until 539 BC, when God's written proclamation was written on a wall in Babylon stating the Babylonian dynasties 70 year rulership was up. To be superseded by the next Persian world power.

FIRST 70 YEAR SERVITUDE PERIOD                 609 BC    70 year dynasty of the Babylonian world power set by God       539 BC | | |_______________________________________________________________________________________________| | | |<----------------------------- 70 years  of servitude by many nations to the Babylon world power ---------------------->|

12.
A second 70 year period referred to as the wasting, desolation or devastations of Jerusalem is referred to in Daniel 9:2. Jehovah had repeatedly warned Jerusalem to willingly serve Babylon for the duration of its 70 year rule under an easy servitude.
"Nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on their own land said Jehovah, to cultivate it and live there.  I told king Zedekiah of Judah the same thing: Bring your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people and live.  Why should you and your people die by the sword, serve the king of Babylon and live, why should this city become wasted?" Jeremiah 27:11-12. 
Judah refused to obey Jehovah and three times over the first twenty 22 years of the servitude, rebelled against Babylon.  On the third time, God punished the nation and sanctioned the temple and city to be burned and remain desolated or wasted for 70 years punishment. This happened in the 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings 25:1-24, Jeremiah 52:12-14. 
Nebuchadnezzar's 19th year was 587BC when he completely destroyed Jerusalem and the 70 year punishment  of desolation started. 
This 70 year punishment finished in 517BC, some 22 years after Jehovah had brought the Babylonian world power to its end in 539BC.  Daniel 22 years after Babylon had been defeated by the Medo Persion world power says that in the first year of Darius (517BC) he discerned that the 70 years of devastations on Jerusalem had been completed,  Daniel 9:2.

At the end of this is an attempt at demonstrating how the Jewish Nation was punished for 70 years on a seven times punishment for failing to keep 10 important 50th Jubilee years.

 

SECOND 70 YEAR DESOLATION PERIOD                 587 BC    70 year desolation of Jerusalem by God       517 BC | | |_______________________________________________________________________________________________| | | |<--- 70 years  of desolations on Jerusalem, punishment by God for failing to keep His the important sabbaths -->|

TWO OVERLAPPING SEVENTY YEAR PERIODS FIRST 70 YEAR SERVITUDE PERIOD                  609 BC    70 year dynasty of the Babylonian world power set by God       539 BC Babylon world power starts Babylon ends | | |<----------------------------- 70 years  of servitude by many nations to the Babylon world power ---------------------->|< 22 years >| |_______________________________________________________________________________________________|________|_ | |   | | | SECOND 70 YEAR DESOLATION PERIOD |               | |   587 BC    70 year desolation of Jerusalem by God       517 BC | | | | |<-70 years of desolations on Jerusalem, punishment by God for failing to keep His important Jubilee sabbaths >|

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SEVEN TIMES?

13
Russell's formula of seven times converted to seven years then into 2,520 days then back into 2,520 years is a very concocted calculation.  How long is 'Seven times?  Seven in the scriptures is a number often used to signify 'completeness',  'bringing a period or work to a completion''  or  "finishing a work completely'  (Jos 6: 2-4, 15, 1Ki 18:42-44, 2Ki 5:10, 12 Ps 12:6, Pr 24:16, Ps 119:164).

14.
'Times' is translated in the scriptures ten times from the Aramaic word "iddan" as 'an appointed time period' or 'set season'.  The phrase 'Seven Times' carries the scriptural weight of: 'an appointed period of time for completing some action'.  If  'Seven Times' count from when God's servant Babylon, represented by the tree, is chopped down in 539 BC by the Persian world power, then an appointed complete period would follow when God would have no representative enthroned ruling king.  This set period would continue until the time appointed arrived for God to present the Kingship to the one whom He appoints, scripturally identified as Jesus Christ.  No need for manipulated formulas.

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HOW LONG IS A BIBLE GENERATION?

15.
It would seem Russell's calculation based on 607BC was far from accurate and scripturally unsound for establishing the Kingdom timetable and the start of the rulership of Christ.  Before we examine a more accurate scriptural way in understanding the Kingdom timetable we need to address, just how long is the bible generation Jesus referred to at Matthew 24:34.

"The disciples approached him privately, saying: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?” 22 In fact, unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short. 30 Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, 31 And he will send out his angels with a great trumpet sound, and they will gather his chosen ones together from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to the other extremity. 34 Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things happen. 35 Heaven and earth will (rather) pass away, but my words will by no means pass away" Mat 24: 3-34.

16
A generation can be defined as “contemporary people all living during one definitive period of time”.  Used in this sense the bible sites two examples of definitive generations.

1)  Jesus reference to the last Jewish generation in the first century.
"All the righteous blood spilled on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar will come upon you.  Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation" Mat 23:35-36.  'This generation' ran from 30 to 70 when the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem a 40 year period within which all the events Jesus prophecies for this generation occurred.

2)  The generation that come out of Egypt in the Exodus.
" Jehovah's anger blazed against Israel and he made them wander about in the wilderness for 40 years, until all the generation that was doing evil in the eyes of Jehovah came to its end" Numbers 32:13.  This generation covered those from the age of  20 to 60 a  generation period of 40 years (Num 14:29-33).

17.

This scriptural evidence supports the simple logic that a contemporary bible generation has a definitive time of 40 years. The word was also used by Jesus to refer to the period between his second presence and the conclusion of the system of things  "when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?" Mat 24:3. Jesus confirmed that all the things prophesied to occur between these two events, starting at his presence and ending at a conclusion of the system of things, would be contained within a 40 year generation, "this generation will by no means pass away until all these things happen" Mat 24:34.  No need for any linked generation manipulation.
  (ref THE BIBLE FINAL GENERATION).

18.
There is a better and more scripturally sound, dating method.  Using the most important date in all human history, the year Christ paid a ransom and repurchased all mankind a great benefit at his death, in 33AD.  From this critical year Christ's second presence and the beginning of his rule can be calculated.  Once Kingdom rule starts it will be followed by a 40 year generation period ending in a conclusion of this world system.

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NEW INFORMATION ON THE KINGDOM TIMETABLE

THE 4,000 YEAR KINGDOM PLAN TWO COVENANTS HINGE EACH SIDE OF THE PIVOT DATE 33 AD Start of God's personal 1st covenant ends 2nd begins Maturity of the Covenant with Abraham Pivot Date = Christ's Death New Kingdom contract 1968 BC 33 AD 2033 AD | || | |<----Preparation Contract ------>||<------Application Contract---->| | Abraham Covenant || Kingdom Covenant | |<--------- 2,0000 years--------->||<-------- 2,000 years --------->| ___|_________________________________||________________________________| | || | | || | |<--------------------------- 4,000 years ------------------------- | | Abraham Covenant ends 33 ->|<-New Kingdom Covenant begins 33 | Ransom Sacrifice

         

22.
The year 33, Jehovah set for the death of his son is the central point on which His entire plan hangs. It is the absolute key date. The Kingdom construction contract is presently in force and still being worked on in order to complete this second contract for obtaining 144,000 living stones which are being built into a royal rulership to be completed by 2033AD.

For more detailed information on God's Kingdom timetable see ~ REVEALING THE SONS OF GOD