CATEGORY 1
Added on June 24, 2026
INTRODUCTION TO THE ARTICLES
The community of Jehovah’s Witnesses today is, in some areas, very different from the community I became a part of 65 years ago. One area where the change is particularly significant is in relation to the prophetic element of the Bible.
For many years after I became a Witness, the writers of The Watchtower spoke the Bible’s prophetic words with a strong voice. Today, it is as if all the teeth of the writers of The Watchtower have been extracted, and the few times when they speak about the prophetic words of the Bible, they lisp with a weak voice.
The reason is that the view of the Bible of the present members of the Governing Body is very different from the view of the Bible of the leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses and ordinary members in the 20th century.
As a matter of fact, the present members of the Governing Body do not believe in the full inspiration of the Bible.
Belief in the full inspiration of the Bible is built on three pillars:
- Every word in the Bible is inspired by God.
- The nuances and subtleties of the original text are important.
- Every account in the Bible is included with a particular purpose.
The present members of the Governing Body reject point 2). They do not view the nuances and details in the original text of the Bible as important. This is seen in the revised New World translation of 2013, where several thousand small details in the original text are not conveyed into English. The contrast is the original New World translation of 1984, which includes these details and, in my view, is the most accurate English translation ever made.
The present members of the Governing Body also deny point 3) by asserting that most accounts in the Hebrew Scriptures lack prophetic meaning. The consequence of this new view of the Bible is that the present members of the Governing Body, in reality, say that 38 books published by The Watchtower Society and hundreds of articles where accounts in the Hebrew Scriptures are being taken as prophetic dramas and prophecies, are pure fiction![1]
CHRONOLOGY AND PROPHECY ARE BIBLICAL VALUES
I will mention a few points as a background for the articles that will be indexed.
Regarding prophetic time and chronology, I quote Mark 1:15 (above), Luke 21:24 (middle), and Ephesians 1:10 (below):
15 and saying: “The appointed time has been fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Be repentant, YOU people, and have faith in the good news.”
24 and they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations, until the appointed times of the nations are fulfilled.
10 for an administration at the full limit of the appointed times, namely, to gather all things together again in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth. [Yes,] in him.
Jesus started his preaching of the kingdom “at the appointed time,” in connection with Jerusalem, there are appointed times of the nations, and there will be an administration “at the full limit of the appointed times.”
There is no doubt that the Bible mentions different prophetic times. Chapter 12 of Daniel speaks of 3 1/2 times, 1,290 days, and 1,335 days that will be fulfilled, and in Daniel 12:8-10 we read:
8 Now as for me, I heard, but I could not understand; so that I said: “O my lord, what will be the final part of these things?”
9 And he went on to say: “Go, Daniel, because the words are made secret and sealed up until the time of [the] end. 10 Many will cleanse themselves and whiten themselves and will be refined. And the wicked ones will certainly act wickedly, and no wicked ones at all will understand; but the ones having insight will understand.
Daniel refers to several prophecies and says that these, including specific prophetic times, should be understood in the time of the end. So, there is no question that there is a biblical chronology that the followers of Jesus should understand.
Regarding prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures, I quote Romans 15:4 (above) and Colossians 2:16, 17 (below):
4 For all the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope.
16 Therefore let no man judge YOU in eating and drinking or in respect of a festival or of an observance of the new moon or of a sabbath; 17 for those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.
Paul refers to the Hebrew Scriptures, saying that all of them are written for our instruction so we might have hope.
We do not get any instruction or hope from the information that Adam was 130 years old when Set was born. (Genesis 5:3) But in connection with the length of the time of the end, this is important information.
We do not get any instruction or hope from the genealogies and the ages of the people mentioned in Genesis chapter 5. But in connection with the chronological importance of the 6 000 years that the human family has lived on the earth, this is important information.
We do not get any instruction or hope from the lengths of the sabbath years or the Jubilee, the laws about these festivals in Leviticus chapter 25. But Paul says in Colossians 2:16, 17 that these are shadows or types of things that will come. When we study these types and their fulfillments, we get important instruction and hope.
The members of the Governing Body do not accept that the sabbath years and the Jubilee foreshadow particular things in connection with Jesus, or that the other points mentioned have chronological importance.
THE ARTICLES ON BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY AND THE TIME OF THE END
It is shown that 1914 and 1975 are important years. The appointed times of the nations (Luke 21:24) end in the year 1914, and the presence of Jesus and the time of the end begin.
In 1975, humans had lived on Earth for 6,000 years. This is important in connection with the last thousand years of Jehovah’s 7 000-year day of rest. And it is important because it implies a limit on the length of the time of the end.
How the Jubilee in Israel was a prophetic type of the thousand-year reign of Jesus will be discussed in detail.
Jesus shows in Matthew 24:32-36 that his followers should know the generation of his presence, but not the day and hour for the great tribulation. The parts of this composite sign will be discussed in detail.
I have already mentioned the prophetic time periods of 3 1/2 times, 1,290, and 1,335 days in Daniel chapter 12. These time periods identify who the people of God are in the time of the end, and they will be discussed in detail.
[1]. I have written four articles entitled, “The members of the Governing Body do not believe in the full inspiration of the Bible.” Article III has a list of the 38 books. To find the articles, click on the magnifying glass on mybelovedreligion.no and write “full” or another word in the title.
