06-21-2010, 07:45 AM
Aid Book and Insight compared, and 1914 &1975
Hi Brendan and others who posted on The Aid to Bible Understanding thread.
This post is a little late but I’ve only just rejoined the café.
When ‘Insight’ was published it was said that it was a replacement for the ‘The Aid to Bible Understanding, The reason given was that the society wanted re-publish this publication in color with more or less the same text.
One ‘less’ part is a missing junk of information and wording change in the Chronology section. I gather that Ray Franz, who did much of the research, found the evidence for date of 607 BCE for Jerusalem’s destruction questionable. Although this is not directly stated in the Aid book there is enough information there for the keen student to start questioning the society’s intransigent stand concerning this date.
I attempted to arrive at the 607 date using scripture only and found I could manage to do so only if I cherry picked scriptures, i.e. using only those verses that gave the desired result and ignoring others.
My understanding is that 537 BCE is a pivotal date from secular sources used as an anchor by the society for counting backwards and forwards. The society then simple added 70 years to arrive at 607 BCE for the destruction of Jerusalem. Unfortunately the same secular source dates the destruction of Jerusalem round 587 BCE, some 20 years later, which of course puts 1914 and the subsequent appointment of the FDS completely out of kilter. No wonder the brothers rejected it out of hand, the credibility of the organization’s claim to appointment was at stake.
If you are interested in dates the following is a teaser. Using 607 BCE as the date when Nebuchadnezzar first attacked Israel, Dan. 1:1; Jer. 25:1-12 and
587 BCE when Jerusalem under Zedekiah was destroyed yields the following.
Using the society’s reckoning of 7 times, but instead of converting it to lunar years let’s convert the 7 times (7 X 360 day lunar years = 2520 yrs) to solar years, 7 X 365=2555yrs. Add this to 607 BCE and we arrive at 1948
At midnight on May 14, 1948, the Provisional Government of Israel proclaimed a new State of Israel. On that same date, the United States, in the person of President Truman, recognized the provisional Jewish government as de facto authority of the Jewish state (de jure recognition was extended on January 31, 1949).
Do the same sum with 587 BCE (Jerusalem’s destruction) and we arrive at 1968, which was after the six day war, when Jews reclaimed Jerusalem.
Recalling its resolutions 252 (1968) of 21 May 1968 and 267 (1969) of 3 July 1969 and the earlier General Assembly resolutions 2253 (ES-V) and 2254 (ES-V) of 4 and 14 July 1967, respectively, concerning measures and action by Israel affecting the status of the City of Jerusalem.
I do not claim that these dates have any prophetic significance whatsoever, but they are interesting nonetheless.
1975 also has an interesting outcome. If we accept the brothers counted the years from Adam correctly and if we accept that there may have been a 360 day year prior to the seventh/eighth century BCE, and convert all the years between then and 1975 to a 360 day year.
700 + 1975 = 2675 yrs X 365 = 976,375 / 360 = 2712 yrs (360 day years). Add the difference 2712 – 2675 = 37 yrs. to 1975 + 37yrs and we arrive at 2012
For research on Calender changes the link below it useful.
http://www.bethelcog.org/church/worldwid...w-calender
Hi Brendan and others who posted on The Aid to Bible Understanding thread.
This post is a little late but I’ve only just rejoined the café.
When ‘Insight’ was published it was said that it was a replacement for the ‘The Aid to Bible Understanding, The reason given was that the society wanted re-publish this publication in color with more or less the same text.
One ‘less’ part is a missing junk of information and wording change in the Chronology section. I gather that Ray Franz, who did much of the research, found the evidence for date of 607 BCE for Jerusalem’s destruction questionable. Although this is not directly stated in the Aid book there is enough information there for the keen student to start questioning the society’s intransigent stand concerning this date.
I attempted to arrive at the 607 date using scripture only and found I could manage to do so only if I cherry picked scriptures, i.e. using only those verses that gave the desired result and ignoring others.
My understanding is that 537 BCE is a pivotal date from secular sources used as an anchor by the society for counting backwards and forwards. The society then simple added 70 years to arrive at 607 BCE for the destruction of Jerusalem. Unfortunately the same secular source dates the destruction of Jerusalem round 587 BCE, some 20 years later, which of course puts 1914 and the subsequent appointment of the FDS completely out of kilter. No wonder the brothers rejected it out of hand, the credibility of the organization’s claim to appointment was at stake.
If you are interested in dates the following is a teaser. Using 607 BCE as the date when Nebuchadnezzar first attacked Israel, Dan. 1:1; Jer. 25:1-12 and
587 BCE when Jerusalem under Zedekiah was destroyed yields the following.
Using the society’s reckoning of 7 times, but instead of converting it to lunar years let’s convert the 7 times (7 X 360 day lunar years = 2520 yrs) to solar years, 7 X 365=2555yrs. Add this to 607 BCE and we arrive at 1948
At midnight on May 14, 1948, the Provisional Government of Israel proclaimed a new State of Israel. On that same date, the United States, in the person of President Truman, recognized the provisional Jewish government as de facto authority of the Jewish state (de jure recognition was extended on January 31, 1949).
Do the same sum with 587 BCE (Jerusalem’s destruction) and we arrive at 1968, which was after the six day war, when Jews reclaimed Jerusalem.
Recalling its resolutions 252 (1968) of 21 May 1968 and 267 (1969) of 3 July 1969 and the earlier General Assembly resolutions 2253 (ES-V) and 2254 (ES-V) of 4 and 14 July 1967, respectively, concerning measures and action by Israel affecting the status of the City of Jerusalem.
I do not claim that these dates have any prophetic significance whatsoever, but they are interesting nonetheless.
1975 also has an interesting outcome. If we accept the brothers counted the years from Adam correctly and if we accept that there may have been a 360 day year prior to the seventh/eighth century BCE, and convert all the years between then and 1975 to a 360 day year.
700 + 1975 = 2675 yrs X 365 = 976,375 / 360 = 2712 yrs (360 day years). Add the difference 2712 – 2675 = 37 yrs. to 1975 + 37yrs and we arrive at 2012
For research on Calender changes the link below it useful.
http://www.bethelcog.org/church/worldwid...w-calender