UPO~ the earth r!

irl r c % 111 nallons wlth prplexlw: the a l o d the warn (the mwlrsr, dl<ronlenlnl) r a ~ ~ l t t gmcn'e
; hmtrt* falllni llN.111 f@v,lr:tr rnll lor l o o k b ;e th
' a l n t 3 armlnu a w n thr earlh (soclew). for the pmsn of the heavens ~ m l n l a s t l c b m , SIISI, ue soaken
k n mB
I~O that the KincJom uf Qod
.. .
L .$'hod'LooL ~p, 1ltI I@ lour be&, rejob. tor lour nrlemptlon drareth nigh.-JlalL
When se spe 1ltt.w Il111e. I,,j:it~ 18, ,.,,I,,+. t4,
24:33: 3Lrk 13: 29: Luke ?! ~ 5 . 5 -
..
 THIS JOURNAL AND ITS SACRED MISSIGN
:ournal is one of the prime factors or instruments in the aystem of Bible instruction, or "Seminary Extension", now belng
presented In all parts of the civilized world by the WATCHT o w ~ uBIBLE & TRACTSOCIOTX, charkerecl A. D. l X X 4 , "For the Pro-
motion of Christian 1<nowledpew. I t not only serves a s a class room where Bible stutlents may meet in the study of +Ire clibine Word but
also a s a channel of co;:r::~ur~icr~tionthrongh whlch they may be r ~ a c h e dwith a~~i~onncementsof the Society's co~ventionsand of the
coming of its trnveling rci~rerrentativee, styled "Pilgrims", and refreshed with reports of it# ronventlons.
Our "Berean Lwsonn" are topical rehearsals or revlews of our Society's publislled STUDIESmost entertainingly arranged, and very
helpful to all who would merit the oi~lyhonorary degree which the Society nccvrds, viz., ferbi Dei JlittDter (V. D. Af.), which translated
Into Knglish is Mitciater of God's Word. Our treatment of the International Sunday School Zessons is specially for the older Bible
students and teachers. By some this feature is considered indispensable.
This journal stands iirmly for the defense of the only true foundatlon of the Christian's hope now beinc so generally repudiated
-redemption through the precious blood of "the man Christ Jeaus, who gave himself a rarcaorn [ a corresponding price, a substitute] for
all". (1ILeter 1:19 ; 1 T11:1othy 2 :G) Building up on this sure foundation the golil, silver and precious stones (1 Corlnthlnns 3: 11-
been hid in God, ...
16 ; 2 I'eter 1:5-11) of the Word of God, its further mission is to "make all aef~what is the fellowship of the mystery which.
to the intent t h a t now m k h t be made known by the church the manifold wisdom of God"-"which
.has
in other ages
.
was not made known unto the sons of men M it is now revealed".-Ephesians 3: 5-9.10.
It stands free from all parties, sects and creeds of men. whlle it seek8 more and more to bring its every utterance into fullest
subjection to the will of God in Christ, aa expressed in the holy Bcripturea. It is thlis free t o declare boldly whatxoever the Lord
hatit spoken--according to the divlne wlsdom granted unto us to understand hls utterancSes. I t s attltude i s not clogtualic, i~irtconfltient:
for we Itnow wliereof we ailinn, treading with iml~licitfnlth upon the sure promises of God. I t is held a s a trust, to be uvetl only In 11i.r
service; hence our decisions relative to what mag and what may not appear In i t s columns milrt be nccordlng to our judgment of his
good plensure, the teaching of his Word, for the upbuild4ng of bls people In grace and knowledge. And we not only invite but urge o w
readers t o prove all its utterances by the infallible Word to which reference is constantly made t o facilitate such testing.
TO US THE SCRIPTURE8 CLEARLY TEACH
Chat the church is "the temple of the living God", peculiarly "hls workmanship" ; t h a t It8 construction has been i n progr-8 tbroughoub
a the gospel a g e e v e r since Christ became the world's Redeemer and the Chief Corner Stone of his temple, through which, when
finished, God's blessing shall come "to all people", and they flnd access t o him.-1 Corinthiand 3: 16. 17 ; Ephesians 2 :20-22;
Genesis 28 :14 ; Galatians 3 :29.
That meantime the chiseling, shaping, and polishing of consecrated believers In Christ's atonement for sin, progresses ; and when the
last of these "Ifsing stones", "elect and preclous," sball have been made ready, the great h l ~ ~ t Workmnn
er will hring all together
in the first resurrection ; and the temple shall be filled with his glory, and be the meeting place between God and men throughout
the Alil1ennium.-Revelation 16 :6-8.
T h a t the basis of hope, for the church and the world, lies in the fact that "Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every
man," "a ransorn for all," and will be "the true light which Hghteth every man that conceth 4nto the world", "in due timew.-
Hebrews 2 :9 ; John 1:9 ; 1 Timothy 2 :6. 6.
T h a t the hope of the church is that she may be like her Lord "see him M he is," be "partakers of the divine nature',' and share hip
glory a s his joint-heir.-1 John 3 :2; John 17 :24 ; ~ o m a &8 :17 ; 2 Peter 1:4.
-+l'hut tlic prment ml~slonof the church Is the ~erfectlngof the salnts for the future work of service. to develop In herself every
gntce : to be God's witires8 to the world ; and to pregare to be kings and priests in the next age.-dphenlana 4 :12 ; Matthew 24 :
3 4 ; ltebelation 1 : 6 ; 20 : 6.
Thai tl:r hope for the world lies In the blessings of knowledge and opportunlty t o be bron h t to all b Christ's 31illennial kingdom, t h e
~r+::itullonof a!l tlrat 1v.m lost .in Adam, to all the willing and okdient,_at the hangs of their Kedeemer and his gforlhed church,
wlien all the nrllfully wicked will be destroyed.-Acts 3 :19-23; Isaiah 38.
,
p u o ~ ~ s n BY'
ro The Kinemo moving picture projrctior~III~~(~IIIIIC, i~itz~tlt'(l
for itlesperienced persons t o operate, has bcvn cot~~pletecl
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~ - service. ~n tire? cor111t1.v.
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--.
PLEASE~ D D ~ E STEE S SOCIETYIN EVERYCASE. . the operator can stop indefiriitely on any picture or title to
YEARLY SUIISCRIPTION PRICE: UNITEDSTATES.$1.00 ; CANADA AND make remarks.
B ~ I ~ C E L L A N E O U SFOREION,$1.50: GREAT BRITAIN, AUSTI~A~.ASIA. The machine weighs only ten poun(L9 and whether used
AND SOUTHAFRICA,8s. hmerican remittances s11ouid be ~nntle exc'rlsively at home Or
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British. South African. aild Austrnloqlnn remittance# slionltl be friends in tolvn O r C~Ulllry,will well serve for rritnessille
made bratrch Oulcea 'otlly. Rmnittiinccs from scattered foreign TI~FTH jn a jvay tllnt- will be relllenlbered nll(i tlllkei
territory may be iiinde to the Brooklyn oflice, but by International
Postal hfoney Orders only. about. lPilms to be sent out with the projertor, art3:
--(Foreign
- -- -- traltslntiorts
- of thfa jotrmnl nppenr f n nrveral la~lgua#rn)
-- P.\I.I.:HTIXE, ,
showing scenes taken ill col~riec.tion ~vitll
EdilorlalCommittc.: This is pnhlisl,ed tl,e s~,=n Brother 1:utherford's recent trip, proving the fulfill~nelltof
of an editorial rommittee a t least thlye of who111 hnre read and prophecies resljecting the return of the Jews to Palestine.
arlproved a s truth each a i d ererv article appearing in t h e e columns. THE I~II'EBTAL VAI.I,EY, a n excellerlt exan~pleilir~stratitlg
The names of the editorial ccinin~itteeare: J. F. RIITFIERFORD,
W.E. VAN AMBUROH,r. I T E ~ ~ E I ~ Ya. , H. FISHER. E. w. BBENISEV. how the desert shall blossom a s the rose atid yielcl its in-
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g symbolic teachings of the uas-
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r l t h l a ~ m o n t b b ~ c b - t . ~ & ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ H ~ ~ ~ ~ O ~ tki l~~~rpictures,
0 1 m ~ ~keeping
1 u r h abreast
o l ~ with PRESENT TRUTH, will
= - & - - be available from tlme to tlme. Quote "fiIiiliotis" book cita-
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KINEMO MACHINES AND PICTURES
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--
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 AN D W EPALD OF CHR H S TPRESENCE
~
VOL:.XLIII"

THE G E N T I L E T I M E S
Y
And if ye tcill n o t yet for all this heal.r'l.pt1 tinto ,me, fher~I will punish you srueir times nzo1.e for ?jotlr sins."-
Leiliticzu 26: 18.

A NOTIIER test is 011. Wlio will weather thc storm? out of the \viltlcr~~c~ss.
Jt is a test of faith. "According to your faith be becomes co~~viucctl
it u~rtoyou." 1)uriilg the time of tllc 11arvc.st a n~ibtalieill S ( ~ I ( ~ LUrotllvr
there have Iwrn spc~cialtests of faith at fisctl int:.rvals.
As he g o ~ s011 in this \\ay, he
ill his 01\11 llrill~ltliat the Lord niade
~ ~ I I ~ It~~ssc~Il ;is t l ~ a tsm.uirrit;
aild this doubt 1c;~clsto the coilclusiolr 1atc.r o : ~Ihat
Call to milltl the shaki~lgthat came with t 1 1 ~ clisc~~rsio~i,~ ~ ~ ~Russell ~ t h was
t ~]lot
r "tl i ~ ts i ~ r ~ ~ a ;it n t "i11I. J LC%be-
in this jo~rn~al, of tlic covcl~al:ts. '1'1rc~1ic.allre tlrtl slrak- g h ~ sto doi~bt\\ lritt 1:l.t t1:01. 1trr::sc 11 \\ rot(*.it11tl so cx-
ing rtlutil;,q to the t l l ~ l lSollo\\-~tl
ii~rotlrt~rrl~aliing ~ ~ C ' S C S liifi~s~lf. Ko\\r 1 1 ~(Ii,sl.(;::IIYI< tlic l,o~tl'e Y:ord,
with the Sr~llrrdiscussio~rof consc~cr;ltior~ i111t1j~r+ti!ica- I\-hitbh.:iys: "TI.II:t in the Loid it11 :)I1 thin(>11c.art;
tion; then follo~\-cbtltht. trrt coiic.t~rnil~gtlrv S e ~ i ~ ~ i tant1 h l ~ n nnot unto thinr own iintlcr~t~i~rtli~rg. JII all thy
Volume'; and then wrothcr test in 1018 c o ~ r c ( - r l ~tile i ~ ~ g wnys arkno~vlcdgcIrim, and 11t. s11:rlI tLil.c,cbt 111) ~)tltl~s."
harvest and the work. Prom a11 thcsc fiery t c ~ t sthe 'l'hlts disrrgarcling this atl~noiiition, a~rtlI)clillg Icd
greater majority of the cons:.c~.:~tetlhavc cnirrgt~dnn- on by the s ~ b t linfluence ~ of the adversary, hr con-
scathed; but some, berausc of I)ittcr~~css of 11c>al.t,have vinc~shimself that it is his solcniir tlrrty to 1u1tl0 all
become blind of vision, gone out of thr truth alrtl hack tilt? things that D~~otlrc~l. It~rrhc~Il t : ~ r ~ g :LII(I
l ~ t to tl11-11the.
into the world, bei~rgled a\wy by the error of the church's vision in the rigllt way. 110j)rcBj)arc.sa niailu-
wiclted. There is a reason for this. Let us examine the script and charts in support.of same, s e t t i ~ ~forth g his
facts concerning the reason. views. Submitting i t to othrrs ant1 being atlvisc~clthat
Lucifer was a crc~atr~re of ligllt n11t1 po\\.olnallti of 11is tl~oirglrta arc ~vro~ig. 11e c.ol~rirrtc~s t l r i q t,o I I I ( V I I I a
great bcauty. 13clloltling his ornil I~cli~t~ty a11t1l)cillg im- dc~irc~ to prcve~~thinr l'l.o~npc1rrnitti11ghis light to slrl~~e,
pressed with his otrn wistlom and ability, lie coilcluded al:tl disregartls such ntllice. So thoroughly is he irn-
to put into operation a plan of his o~rn,diflclrent from prc~sst~d that he ninct thus tcacl~the pcwple and nntlo
God's arra~lgcnientant] tlla carrying out of \vlricli ~vould that which has hcr11tcr rlg11t. that he 1)c.gi 11stlie p111)l ica-
malre T~ucifcrgreat like unto Jehovah. I n his heart he tion of his tl~or~glrt.:ant1 to send tl~csoforth to the
brcamc disloyal to God, tunltd away from the light and consccratctl. ITir a~.;!r~~nriits sccm plausil)lc to tl~osr\rho
truth, and becamc the wicl<rtl one. Yrol)al)ly his inten- make oiily a supc.~.jit.inl csan~jnntion,arid cspclcially to
tions were good when he first began to exercise his wis- those who have fo~.gotteiiwhat they were taught. Doubt
dom and to be impressed with his own importance. Am- arises in the minds of some who thus read. Now the
bition turned him blind and embittered his heart. Since test is on.
then he has sought by fraud and deceit and other mrong-
ful means to t11n1all away from Jellovall. God has per- QIIES~'IONSDISCUSSED YEAIIS AGO
mitted this dcllection of the great and brilliant crea- About a year ago tl~crcbcgan some agitatiol~con-
ture Luciier to be made promillent in his Word for cerning chronology, the crux of the argument being
'some good purpose. The evideilt purpose is, that all of that Brothcr Russrll was wrong concerning chronolon
his other illtclligent creatures might learn the proper and particularly in error with reference to the gentile
lesson. timc~s. 3loi.c thnli fiftccn years ago these questions were
raised and thrashed out, and so clearly did Brother
AMBITION'S FRUITAGE Russell set forth the facts in Volume I1 of STUDIESIN
Ever and anon there arises some one who has been THE SCRIPTURES and in THE WATCH to we^, that it
following the Lord, for a time at least, who possrsses seemed a waste of time and space now to further die-
a measure of beauty of mind and character, and possiblx cuss the mattcr in this journal; and the subject m@
of person--one who takes himself too ~rrio~lsly. He SUC-' dismissed on that ground.
ceecls in convincing himself that the llortl has appoilltcd Seeds of doubt once sown and permitted to germinate
him to look al'tcr tlrings divine and to lead Cod's people in the heart grow until the doubter turns to agnosticism
. 181.
 T ~ ~ W A T CTOWER
H
or positive opposition. If the person holding the tloubt his work is equivalent to a repudiation of the Lord,
talcex himself too seriously, thinking more highly of upon the principle Ilerctofore announcctl.
his own importance than he should think (12omans 12 :
3), or where he permits bitteriiess to abide in his heart, FULL TEST OF FAITH
darkness is almost certai~ito ellsue. But every one who has a tlcsire ill his 1it.al.t to sl~ilie
Agitation c o n c e r ~ ~tlic
i ~ ~error
g in chroilology lias con- at tlic csl):*lisc of tllo tz:putution of tlic Lord's r:lio?;cn
tinued to increase throughout the ycar. and some have servant, or wlio nzeditates the bl~ildingfor liimself of a
turued into positive opposition to tliat a-liicli lias been reputation arnoi~gstrncn tkat it may be said of hini
written. This has resultcd in some of the Lord's dear that lle was particularly ~visc- such a one is alruobt
sheep becoming disturbed iu mind and c a ~ ~ s i ~them ig certain to have an opportl~nityto attc.mpt to rc.:ilize
to inquire, Why does not 'l'rr~ WATCH TOWEIL say his desires. 1:vel.y one of ill(: ~ o n s ( ~ c r i ~1~110
t ~ t llns
i the
something? I s not its silence tantnlnol~ntto an admis- inclination of heart to follow such self-constitutccl
sion that our chronology is wrong? leatlers is almost certain to have an opportunity to
Prom time to time the questioa of publishing some- have a full test of his faith. For this cause there arise
thing in this journal has been considcred. Each time from time to time conditions which operate as a test
the Lord has seemed to interfere, until now. Why of the faith of God's people.
should such bs the case? Our opiilion is that the Lord Again the test is on. Tliis time it is on chronology.
had permitted the delay in the reviewing of the ques- And followiiig this lead, it will be found that the road
tion of clii onology silicc the agitation was bf>gun in of doubt and opposition will carry o11e into doubting
order to give thosc. who had thc vrrong condition of the second presence of the Lord, the time of the harvcast,
IW::I.~ an opportunity to maaifc~tthmnsrlves. and to the ofice of "that scruant" and tlic oilc who Glletl it,

- givc tlic others an opportunity to have thcir faith tested. the evidciices of the eiid of thc tvorld, tlic ii-::~~,y~ll.:~tion
FAITHFULNESS IS LOYALTY
of thr kingdom, the iimnicss of tllc rc.rtoratio1I of r1ia11,
and finally to a repnciiation of God a~itlour Ilord Jesus
To be iaithful mealis to be loyal. To be loyal to the Christ and the blood wit11 which \re were i)c.uglit.
Lord means to be obedient to the Lord. To abandon The opening crevice for the enemy thu.; to hlnqt at
or 1-cpudiatc tlie lAordYsclioseu instrument means to the Hock of Ages is now made by the raising of t!le
abandori or repudiate the Lord llimself, upon the prin- question concerning the gentile tiaies. Soiiie thus iul-
cipl,: that lie who rcjccts tlic servant sent by the Naster presscd wit11 their own \i%istlolnbegin to liold forth the
tlicrcby rejects tlie bIaster. arguiiieut that the gentile times bcgan with the bc;:in-
Tlicrc is no one in prcscut truth today who call hon- nirlg of the rclijiu of Neltuc~l.:l(llic;:~;~r ill the ycar (i3.7
estly say tl-t~lllc rcccived a l<non.lrtlg!*of tlic divine plan U. C.; 11cnc.c could not cild i n 1914; 11r~1c.c tlic p~-r*-(*~lt
froin any Eolnce other than by the nlinistry of Brother worlc of the church is ivrong, and the course of at t iun
Rnssell, either directly or indirectly. Through liis pro- should be revcrscd. The holding of such views blinds
phet Ezekiel Jehovah foreshado\v~dthe office of a ser- 0110 to the present events, rninimizcs thc importance of
vaut, designating hirn as one clothed with linen, with the tremendous evidcr.ces of the elid of tllc agp, c a u w
a writer's inkhorn by his side, who was delegated to go those who have bren active to cease to he ~vitnessesfor
throughout the city (Christendom) and comfort those the Ilord, and being thus led au-a? by the error of tlie
that sighed by erlliglitoliing their minds relative to God'e wicked one, they fall away from stc~adlastness.-2 Peter
grcot plau. Be it noted that this was a favor bestowed 3: 17, 18.
not by man, hut by the Lord himsclf. But in kecping With gratitude to God for nliat i e has doiie for us,
with the Lord's arraiigement he used a man. Tlle illan with supreme love for him, with a heart's si~lceredesire
who filled that office, by the Lord's grace, was Brother to be lcd by him, with huinble a i d sincere supplication
Rnssell. that hc liold us by the hanil mid kccp 11s in thc light,
Jesus clearly indicated that during his second pres- let us come to an honest exniilinatio~lof the facts.
ence he would have amongst the church a faithful and
wise servant, through whom he would give to the house- "TIMES"
Bold of faith meat in due season. The evidence is over- 'I'hc word ccg~ntilc'Ji~ a term used to distinguish the
whelming concerning the Irorcl's second presence, the nations of earth aside flmm thc Jews, the J c ~ s sbring
time of the harvest, and tliat the oflice of "that servantJ' God's chosen people, with whom he made a covenant.
has been filled by Brother Kussell. Tliis is not man- The "gentile timesJJ is a period of time during which
worship by any means. It mattcrs not who Charles T. the gentiles shall exercise imperial or kinjrly power over
Russell was-~vlietlier he was a doctor, a hod-carrier or the airairs of cnrth. God coilstit~~tcd Isracl his choscw
a sdler of shirts. St. Peter was a fisherinan; St. P a d people above all other peoplrs. (Exodus 19 : 6 ) Tliis
a lawyer. But these matters are immaterial. Above favoi- they were to enjoy pro1 idcd they remained ol~etli-
all, these mcri were the chosen vessels of the Lord. Re- ent to the Lord Jelrovah. For thcir disobedieilce he
gal iless of his earthly avocation, above all, Brother Rus- permitted thrm to be punislied.from tilnc to tir:ie, the
sell nas the Lcrd's ~crvant. Then to repudiate him and punisliment being inflicted by other nations. (Judges
 =MATCH TOWER
3:14;4:2,3; 10:7,8; 1 3 : l ) Jehovah warned thena-
tion of Israel that shonld they fail to profit by these
cliastisements thus inflicted, he would punish them
se'uen times. "If ye will hot yet for all this hearken
unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for
your sins."-Leviticus 26 : 18.
A "time", as used in the Scriptures, bas reference to
a year, either symbolic or literal. Symbolic time is
reckoned according to a lunar year of 360 days. (See
A-89.) The rule for counting symbolic time is a day
for a year. (Numbers 14: 33,34; A-91) One time being
360 years in duration, seven times would be a period of
2520 years.
With Israel God established the true religion, com-
manding that the people should worship him and have
no other god. (Exodus 20: 1-3) Satan, the prince of
devils and the ruler of the gentile nations, established
with those nations the false religion; and the gentiles
were taught to worship devils, symbolized in various
forms and images. Jehovah erected a shield for the
children of Israel by providing in hia law the severest
penalty for worshiping devils. Time and time again
-Israel went off after the false religion, worshiping the
demon gods ;and for this they were punished.--Leviti-
cus 26 :1-16.
It must be apparent to all careful students that the
period of the gentile times would be a period of great
punishment to Israel, and that that period of time must
begin with some specific punishment marking the be-
ginning of the gentile times definitely and must con-
tinue for a definite period of seven times, or 2520 years.
The question at issue is, When did this period of the
gentile times begin and when is the end thereof? These
facts cannot be proven by profane history, because such
history is made by men who acted as agents of Satan's
empire and hence were unreliable; for Satan is the
father of lies. (John 8 : 44) Let everyone who wishes
to be bound by such authority do so; but surely all
Christians will want to stand by the Bible.
An absolutely safe rule to follow, therefore, is this:
Where the testimony of the Bible is clear and plain,
follow that always. Where secular or profane history
is corroborated by the Bible, such testimony may be
considered for what it is worth as cumulative evidence.
Where secular or profane history is contrary to the
. Bible, follow it never.-Romans 4: 3.
OPPONENTS' CONCLUSIONS
To avoid any confusion we will state that the date5B.C.
in this article signify the number of years before Christ,
as we have been accustomed to stating them; exactness
might, however, sometimes call for the previous year,
as the name of the year, aa distinguished from the
number of full years elapsed.
Those who have attempted in recent months to prove
that the chronology as prepared and published by Broth-
er Russell is wrong make statements not only contra-
dicting Brother Russell, but contradictory in themselves.
&me of the Lord's dear chilore& haw permitted these
contradictory and conflicting stateinents to disturb their
minds. This has been the result of a failure to study
carefully the evidence as set forth in the Bible and in
the STUDIESIN THE SCRIPTURES.We speak of them
here as opponents because opposed to or contradicting
the chronology we have. The conclusion of some of
these is as follows, to wit: "That the divine lease of
power to the gentiles began with the accession of N4
buchadnezzar to the throne in the year 606 B. C. ;hence
the accession of Nebuchadnezzar to the throne marks
the beginning of the gentile times, and the 2520 years
therefore would run out in 1914". Again they state that
"Zedekiah was taken captive and Jerusalem fell in the
year 587 B. C.; t l ~ u sshowing that tlic full end of the
gentile times and the fall of gentile governments is
indicated to take place in 1934". ( I t will be observed
that this position is contradictory within itself.)
Another of the opponents says that Nebuchadnezzar
began his reign in the fourth year of Jehoiakim; that
the servitude of Israel to Babylon began the same year;
that the desolation began in the nineteenth ycar of
Nebuchadnezzar; that the fourth year of Jehoiakim and
the first year of Nebuchadnezzar was 606 B. C.; and
that the desolation began nineteen years thereafter,
which shows the overthrow of Christendom in 1933.
Each of these opponents claims that the position
taken is supported by secular history and that therefore
Brother Russell was mistaken in his conclusions about
the chronology. They also admit that their method of
counting time chanyes the period of tibe kings from 613
years to 494 years.
BROTHER RUSSELL'S CONCLUSIONS
The conclusion of Brother Russell, reached from a
careful examination of the Scriptures, is succinctly
stated in Volume I1 of STUDIESIN THE SCRIPTURES,
page 79, as follows:
'The Bible evidence is clear and strong that the 'times
of the gentiles' is a period of 2520 yehrs, from the year
B. C. GO6 to and including -4. D. 1014. This lease of uni-
versal dominion to gentile governments, as we have already
seen, brgnn with N~buchadnezzar-notwhen his reign began,
but wI16.n tlie typlml kingdom of the Ilord passed away, nnd
.the tloniinlon of the whole world was left i n the hnuds of
the gentiles. The date for the beginning of the gentile times
is, therefore, definitely macked as at the time of the removal
of tlie crouvt of God's typical kingdom from Zedekiah, their
last king.''
A careful examination of the Biblical proof herein
set forth demonstrates that in their position on chrono-
ogy the opponents of Brother Russell are wrong, and
that Brother Russell was right. I n arriving at a con-
clusion, Brother Russell did not always state each step
:in detail ; but his conclusions are plainly and definitely
stated and are based upon the Scriptures. We must
indulge the presumption, therefore, that he pursued a
sound course of reasoning in arriving a t these conclu-
sions if we find the conclusions are correct.
 -WATCH TOWER
We now propose to prove that the gentile times, a old when he 1)rgan to reign [(js!8 1i. Cy.1 ; n ~ l t lhtl ~.cli;:rlcd
period of 2520 years, began in the year 606 B. C. and eleven years 1617 I<. C.]in . I P ~ I I , C I I ~111 C I Ihis I . (Iitys
ended in the fall of the year 1914; and that the ouster Nebuchadriezzcir king of Baby1011 canic. lr p, n ~ ~ .I t tblloilt- l
proceedings began promptly thereafter and on time. I n kim became his servant three years: ti1c.n hr tnrnctl ilnd
making this proof we rely upon the Bible and not upon rebelled against him [Nebucliadnezzor 1 ." ( 2 liil~gs23 :
secular or profane history. We consider the points in 36; 24: 1 ) "Against him [Jehoiakin~]c8illrlt. "1) Nt'b11-
the order numbered hereinafter, as follows, to wit: chadnezzar king of Babylon, and bolultl 11in) i ti lettclrs,
to carry him to Babylon."-2 Chl.oniclrs D(i : ti.
POINT I: TENURE OF KINGS The carrying away of Jehoiachin to Babylon was in
The time and duration of the reign of the various the year 617 B. C. Jehoiakim's reign linvi~lgbcgm in
kings of Israel is one of the Biblical methods of estab- 628 B. C., and he having reigned c l e v c ~yc.:~~.s. ~ ~~c~cc.s-
lishing the various dates in our chronology. Saul, sarily it ended in 617 B. C. At that time Nebnchnd-
Israel's first king, began to reign in the year A. M. nezzar wassin the eighth year of his reign. Thus the
3009. The total period of the tenure of the kings of Scriptures prove beyond any question of a doubt that
Israel was, to wit, 513 years. The reign of the kings the captivity did not begin in the first year of Nebn-
ended with the year A. M. 3522. No careful Bible chadnezzar's reign; nor did the desolation begin there.
students will dispute these facts. No other conclusion It is therefore seen that i t is utterly impossible for
can be reached except by juggling the figures and ig- the gentile times to have begun in the first year of
noring the Bible statements. Nebuchadnezzar's reign, to wit, 625 B. C. No one claims
I n THE WATCHTOWER of May 15, 1896, page 112, that the gentile times began in 617 B. C., the year
is set forth a statement of chronology from Adam to Jehoiakim was taken and put to death, as indeed such
1914. These figures are given in Anno Mundi time. a claim could not be successfully made in view of the
- According to this calculation it is proven by the Scrip- evidence hereinafter set forth.
tures there cited that Jehoiakim's reign began in tho
year A. M'. 3500, which corresponds to the year 628 HISTORIC CORROBORATION
B. C. The beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, being It is reasonable to sumose that the Jewish historian
A

definitely fixed, gives us a starting point from which to Josephus, being derply interested in his own people,
count the time and by which to determine the universal would be more reliable in fixing dates than would tlie
reign of Nebuchadnezzar and to reach a proper con- historians of the gentile nations. We do not at all need
clusion relative to the gentile times. the testimony of Josephus, but because it is corroborated
The first year of the reign of N e b u ~ h a d l l ~ xking
r, by tlic Bible we citc it liere for wllnt it is worth. IIe
of Uabylon, was the fourth year of tllc rrign of Jclloirl- ])lni~llydntcs that 110 attack was nintlc 11pon Jcr~lsalcm
kim. "The fourth year of Jehoiakim the so11 of Josiall at the brginning of Nebnchaclnexzar's reign. We quote
king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebucliad- from Antiptities of the Jews, Book X , Chapter VI,
nezzar king of Babylon." (Jeremiah 25: 1; sec also pages 365-367 :
Jeremiah 46 : 2) Since Jehoialtim's reign brgan ill ti28 "In tllc follrtl~;\-(>:tr of .Tt>lloi:~kim,one wllosc name mas
B. C., it follows that the first year of Nebuchailnezzar's Scl~ucIl:ltl~~t.r~:~r took llte go\el.illuent over tile B:tbylor~iar~s ;
\vl~oat ~ I I P s:llile ti~tlt!\vent up with a great army to the
reign was the year 625 B. C. There was no attack made cbityC:~rt,l~c.~l~isl~, 1v1tic.h was at E~~phmtes ; upon a resolution
upon Jehoiakim by Nebuchadnezzar in the year of 625 tltut ltc! 11:til taken to figllt with Necho king of Egypt, under
B. C., the first year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. 'I'lierc \v\'l~oln all S;\-~.i;t tllert wrls. And when Necho understood the
could have been no attack as a king made by him earlier intention of tlte 1ii11gof Babylon, and that this expedition
\v\-llsnitltle against him, he tiid not despise his attempt; but
than that. It was in that fourth year of Jclioiakim's ninrlt. 11:1stt~with- n great b:lnd of men to Euphrates, to
rcign and the first year of Nebuchadnezzar's rcign, to tlrfelld I~i~llsc~lf from Nc~bucl~t~cln~anr. And when they had
wit, the year 625 B. C., that the prophet Jeremiah .joi~~tul t - Ivrtx l)c-:~tett,
I ~ i ~ t t l 11tl clntl lost 11ii111y ~ I I O I I S L I I ~ ~of
S
delivered the divine decree pointing out that i t was his soldirrs. So l l ~ eking of I%ltbylonpassed over the Eu-
God's determination to leave the land of Palestine deso- phrates, nnrl took all Syrin, as frtr as Pelusium, ezcepting
Juden. Rut xvllen Nebuc1ladnt.zz:tr h:td already reigned four
late as a punishment upon Israel. gears, which was the eighth of .Te:~oinkin~'s government over
the EIebre~vs,the? king of Bi~b.vlon111itdt. an cspctlition with
THE FIRST ATTACK minltty forces against the .Jews, rutd rcquluir(*d tribute of
I n the fourth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Jehoiakim ; threatening upon his refusal to make mar ag:~inst
(and therefore the eighth year of the reign of Jehoia- him. He mas affrighted at his threatening, and bought
kim), Nebuchadnezzar made his first attack against ordered his peace wit11 money; and brought the tribute lie was
to bring for three years.
Jerusalem; and in that year Jehoiakim became the "But on the third year, upon hearing that the king
servant or vasfial to the king of Babylon. Three yeara of Babylon made r l n expedition against the Egyptians, he
later, to wit, in the year 617 B. C., the same being the did not pay h i s tribute. . . .
"A little time afterward, the king of Ral)ylon made an
eleventh year of the reign of Jehoiakim, Nebuchatlnez- espedition against Jehoiakim, wlio reccirecl 11im int.3 the
zar. took Jehoiakim a prisoner and put him to dmth. dts; and this out of fear of the foregoing predictions of
The record reads. ".7ahaiskim was twenty and five yeara Jeremiah, as supposing he should suffer nothing that was
 ~b WATCH TOWER
terrible; because lie neither sltut tile gates, nor fought Jrrcmiah the prophet spmking from the month of the
agctillst ttilll. Yet when he was coule into the city, he did I lord. And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnez-
not observe the covenurltd Ile ltad lnade; but lie slew such
as \yere in tile flower of tlteir age. rtrtd sucl~a s were of tlte . .
zar. . They mocked the messengers of God, and
greatest dignity; together with tltrir king Jel~oir~kitl~, \\.hour despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the
lie c o ~ i ~ ~ t ~ u rto~ dbe
e dthrown befor(* the walls. tvitlluut urly
bnriitl, u~ttl 11tude llis soti Jeiloiucl~ilt king of tttcs coul~try,
wrath of the Ilord arose against his people. ... There-
fore lie brought upon them the king of the Chaldccs
and of the city ; tie also took the principal persons in tlignlty
for captives, tltree thousand in number, andled thrtn uwtly [Nebuchadnezzar], who slew their young men with the
to Babylon. Anlorig these was the pl-ophet Ezekiel, \vl~o\\-as sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no com-
tl~etibut young. i l ~ t dthis wvus the erttl of Icing .Jel~oi:tkitn, passion upon .young man or maiden, old man, or him
IIut
wltcbl~hts Ilrlil 1lvc.tl tl~irty-81syellrs, ant1 rei~itt'dc-lcb\-c*~~. that stooped for agc: hc gave thcaln all illto his hand.
I I P \\.us succtbc*tlc*tlit1 the kingclo~n by Jeltoic~cliir~,whost!
Arid all the vessels of llic house of God, grrut and small,
lltother wus Kehusta, a citizen of Jerusalem. He reigned
t!llrBe~ n o ~ ~ t:111d
l t s ten days." and the treasures of the housc of tlie llortl, and the
Jehoiachili reigned only three mont!ls and tell days, treasures of the king, and of his princcs; all diese he
and mas succeeded by Zctlckiah, whose reign began in brought to 13ahylon. And they B u I ~ ?the house of God,
the year 617 B. C. "Jehoiachin was eight years old and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all
when he Began to reign, and he reigned three months the palaces thereof with fire, and dcstroycd all the
ant1 ten (lays in Jerusalem: and he did that which was goodly vessels thereof. And them that had escaped from
evil in the sight of the Lord. And when the vear was the sword carried he away to Babylon ; where they were
expired, kinf Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him servants to him and his sons until the rciga of the
to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the housi of tlie kingdoni of Persia: to fulfill the word of the Lord by
Lord, and made Zedekiah, his brother, king over Judah the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed
-and Jerusalem. Zcdekiah was one and twenty years old
\\.hen lie bcgun to reign, and reigned clcven years in
her sabbaths: for as long as she lay dcsolatc she kcpt
sabbath, to fulfill tlirccscore ant1 tcli yc~ars."-2 Clironi-
Jerusalem." (2 Chronicles 36 : 9-11) Thus it is clearly cles 36 : 12,13, 16-21.
seen that the reign of Zedekiah, which began in ~ l ? NO CAI'TIVITY BEFORE 617 B. C.
B. C.. lasted eleven years and ended in 606 B. C. He Tliis occurrrtl at the cnd of the reign of Zctlekiah, to .
was the last king of Israel.
wit. in the vear GO6 B. C.
POINT 11: DECREE FOR PUNISHMENT I n corro1)oratioa of this me cite the fiwthel. rtcord
&Idecree means a judicial dctcrminatidn by oile Iiav- dealiiig with the same slibjrct nlattrr, nladc I)y Ezckiel
ing authority, defining what must be done. It means the prophet. Ezrltiel coul~tsthe. tii~lcnic*~itio~~c~d in his
a scntencc pronounced that must be enforced. Neces- prophccy from the tlatc tliat lie and ot11c.r Jc\\rs were
sarily decrees are always entered before they are en- taken captive and carried away to Bal~yloi~.(1Gzekiel
forced. Jehovah pronounced through Moses a divine 1: 1,2; 8 : 1; 20 : 1 ) This captivity began iu the year
decree or judgment that should be enforced against 61'7 B. C. I n the seventh year of that captivity, in the
Israel as a punishment, and the dccree is in these fifth month and the tenth (lay of the month, to wit,
words: "1 will make your cities waste, and bring your about the first day of August, 610 B. C.. which was
sanctztarie.~unto desolation, and I will not smell the the fifteenth year of the reign of Ncbuchadnczxar, the
savor of your sweet odors. And I will bring the land divine decree for the punishnic~itof Israel was restatcd
iuto desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein in other phrase by the prophet Ezc.kic.l,.- -1':zc~liic~l 20 : I .
~ h a l lbe astonished at it."-Leviticus 26 :31,32. The same judicial deter~nillat ion of ,J eho\ a11 a&;sct
It must be conceded by all that the t d i n g of certain forth in Leviticus 26: 31-33 was restated by Ezekiel
of the Israelites as prisoners mid carrying them away in the following words: "Tlicrdorr thus saitli thc 1,ord
to Babylon would not constitute an enforcement of Qod: Brcallsc ye have madc yolw iliiq~~ity to 11c rmlrni-
this decree. The putting to death of Jehoiakim in no bered. in that your transgr~sionsarc discovered, so
wise fulfilled the decree. Besides after his death Zede- that in all your doing your sins do appear; hrcbausr, I
kinh continued to be the king of Israel and reigned for say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall b(1 taken
eleven years. Surely during those eleven years the city with the hand. And thou, profane wicked 1)rilict~of
was not in waste ;nor were the sanctuari~sin desolation. Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall Iia\c all
Surely during that period the Jews offered their sacri- end, thus saith the Lord God: llcnlove the diatlcni. and
fices in Jerusalem. When, then, in all the history of take o g the crown; this shall not be the salue: exalt
Israel do we find any record of the enforcement of this him that is low, and abase him tliat is high. I \\ ill
divine decree? The Scriptures answw that it had its overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it sliall br 110 11iol.c.
fulfillment in the latter part of the reign of Zedekiah. '..until he come whose right it is; and I will givc it [tc]
god had restated the decree of judgment against him."-E7,kicl 21 : 24-27.
Istael through *Jeremiah.~ConctmihgZedclriah, the Iast This restatement of the divine decree occurred four
Ir;qng,'we read: a ~ & d i d&at. which was evil in the sight before its enforcement. Brother Russell says t h d
of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before the e~~forccrnent of this divine decree ma& the begin4
 -WATCH TOWER
ning of tlle gentile times; and Brother Russell is right. ture (Daniel 1: 1) is this: Tliat the "third ymr" here
-B-Y9, 71*2,3. means the third yrar of t l ~ cvr~ss:ll:~gcof .Icl~oialiint to
Nebuchadnezzar; or "the third year of Jehoiakin~ Lns
GENTILE TIMES BEGAN 606 B. C vassal king]". It is plainly stated in the Scripturt.~,
God had promised that the sceptre should not depart as heretofore pet forth, that in the cigl~thyear of the
from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until r e i p of Jelioiakiin as king, Ncb~bucl~ittlrtczxarcame
Shiloh come. (Genesis 49: 10) It will be observed that against him and Jehoiakim became his servant and
the decree of punishment did not include the removal paid tribute to Nebuchadnezzar three years and then
of the sceptre. It nlcrrly states: "Ren~ove the diadem, rebelled against him. ( 2 Rings 24: 1 ) 'l'l~crcforc, i t was
take off the crow^^". ' I ' I t ( ~ cro\v11 is a synlttol of im- exactly thrcc ycitrs It~tclrtlio I.'c>ginl~i~~g
ol' 11is vassalt~gc>,
perial dominion or rulership; while the sceptre is a to wit, the ycar (il7 B. C., that Nebuchadnezzilr be-
symbol of imperial authority or right. The enforcelllent sieged Jerusalem and took Jehoiakim, and a t the same
of this divine decree, tl~ercfore, took away from Israel t i n ~ ecarried away the prophets Daniel, Ezekiel, and
the dominion, wlticli dornillion should be enjoyetl by others, including I-Iananiah, Mishael, and Azariali,
the gentiles until thc! coming of him ~vhoscright i t is, whose namcs were changed by the king to Shadracli,
namely, Shiloh, the Blessiah. 'l1l1e gentile times, there- Meshach, and Abed-nego, respectively. Daniel wrote his
fore, could not possibly brgi~luntil the enforcement of prophecy while he was in Babylon; and i t is quite
this divine decree. (Ezeliiel 21 : 24-21) And since it was apparent that he counted time from the date of the
pronounced by t l l ~pro1)ht.t ISeeliiel while Zedekiah was beginning of the vasealage of Jehoiakim as Iring. 39ani-
the king. it conclusi~elyproves that the gentile times festly, then, the argument of Brother Russell's oppo-
did not. begiii with tho captivity of Jehoiakim or of nents that the gentile times begail during the reign of
Jehoiachin, but tlitl i)r,rri~~ wit11 the overthrow of Zede- Jehoiakim must fall.
kiah. YOlNT IV: NEBUCtIADNEZZAR'S DREAM
About August 1, (iO(i1(iO(is] H.C., Nebuchatlnrnzar the Again, opponents of the chrol~ologyas set forth by
king of Ba1)ylon brokr down the city of Jerusalem and Brother Itussell stat(&tllilt the begiltni~~g of the gc'~ttile
destroyed it, tooti %rc!c*kiah imd put out his eyes, altd times is markod I)g tlle nc-c.ossion of N ( ~ ~ u c ~ ~ L ( ~toI I ( ~ z z
desolated the city a~ttl thcb ltl~id. (.J~relr~inI~ 39 : 2-9)
t l ~ cthrone of Babylon, a11t1ill snpport of this contcirt ion
Thus from another lil~clof p1.oof is defi11iti4~ cstablishcd
cite Daniel 2: 1. This argument must likcwise fall.
that the divine dccrrc. \\as enforced in 606 1%. C., encling
1)aniel 2 : 1 ~.cnds:('In the srcolid yrar of the reign
the donlinion of Isl.i~cland permitting t l ~ egentiles to of I S e l ) i ~ ~ I ~ ~ t lI.,
l ~;"r'c~ltnchadncxxnr
(~%%il drcln mead ~ ~ I ~ ~ I ~ I
estal)lish a t r ~ t i o r r ~ n(ll o ~ ~ i i ~ t~i I~clI~' P.n, t this tintc, it
~vllere~viil~ 11is y i r i t IV:IS t r o ~ ~ l ) l (and
~ ~ lhis
, s I ( ~ yl ) t ~ i ~ l \ ~
was that Jcllo~t111.lig~ri~tivcly spealiii~g.witlldrew from from him". '.l'11(1 dl.c.:urn itstllf is s1.t fortli in wrscns 31
tlie stage of actio11 a~ltlpernlitted Satan. through his to 35 of the snnlc chalttc~. Ncbud~atlnczzartlie 1iitl.g
rcprcse~ttative,Xc.l)ucltiitl~lc*m~-, to establish a universal had brollgl~t l)clfo1.(1J l i l l l I I I ; I ~ : ~ C ~nstl.olog(~rs,
:IIIS. SOl'I'l'1'-
cmpirc. llcre it \\.as that Sfittin I)c~c~arne t h 'gocl
~ of Illc
ers, and Cllaltlnrlts to i~ltc~rprct his tlrcam, arid all of
whole worltl'; arid fro111 that time forward his rule them failed. '"1'111~11 .4rioch [tlie ~i~lltilil\ of the king's
through earthly rcprcsentnti~esis symholixcd by a wild gnard] brolrglit ill l)al~ic.l1)cfol.c t l l ~k i ~ ~inghaste. a ~ l d
beast., said thus utlta ltin~.I haw foullcl a man of the em-
tives of Jutlnll, thnt will 11li11i~x kno\tr~unto thc ki~tgthe
POINT Ill : DISClIEl'ANCY EXPLAINED
interprc1t:~tio11.Tltc* king allsw(~rc~t1 and said to 1):111icl,
Opponents of B t . o t l ~ ~l~ussell's
r c o i ~ c l ~ s i oon~ ~chro-
s whose narne was Uelte~linzzar. Art tlion able to m;~lie
nology attempt to show that the divine decree against known unto me the drram which I hay(. sc3cn, an11the
Israel began to he c~tlorcedin the third ypar of the intc>rpretation thereof?"--1)anirl 2 : 25, 2(;.
reigii of Jel~oiakirn,a~ltlcite as authority Daniel 1: 1, It is utterly impossi1)le for this tl.alisaction to 11:~re
which reads: '111 the t11i1.d year of the ~acignof Jehoia- occurred in tlie sc~colldyear of tlie rrign of Neb~icltacl-
kim king of Juilali can~eKcl)~~chadiiezzar king of Baby- nezzar for the following reasons, to wit: (1) l)rcn~~se
loll unto Jerusalem, ant1 I~esirgedit". A careful esam- Daniel, in the secoud ycnr of Nch~lchatll~cznar, wi~s1 1 0 t
ination of this test at once shows that there is a dis- i n Babylon and corrlrl not then linve heen tnken before
crepancy. I n tlie thirrl year of Jehoiakim's reign, as the king; ( 2 ) because he was taken to Rahylon in the
we have heretofore seen. Nebuchadnezzar was not yet year 617 B. C., which was the eighth year of the reign
king of Babyloll. IIe did not beconic, king until a yenr of Nebuclindnexznr; and ( 3 ) I)('('~IIISC Daniel wns i ~ o t
later (Jereminli 25: 1) ; and the plailt Scriptlira1 state- peni~iltc~tl to appcw before the ki~tg1111til nftrr Itc had
ments heretofore cited show that Nebl~cliad11t~7.zar's fi rkt bee11 in llabylon ?l~i-eeyears, according to his own testi-
attack against Jerusalem began in the eighth vear of 'I mony.
the reign of Jehoiakim: Hence it wns inipo~si1)lcfor 'I'he facts heretofore set forth definitely establisll the
him to attack in the third year of JeIloiakimys reign. co~.rrrtne~s of reasons (1) and (2). We proceed to tile
The proper and reasonable'explanation of this Scrip- e~rtmiiiationof -(a) : '
 Man 1, 1922
-WATCH
I n the eighth year of his reign Nebuchadnezzar car-
rictl away to Babylon many of the Jcws, amorig whom
were 1)ailirl and the three Hebrew children. The king
gave an order unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eu-
nuchs, that he should bring certain of these Israelites
"in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skilful
in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and under-
standilig science, and such as had ability in them to
stailtl in the king's palace, and whom they might teach
th.3 Icarnii~gant1 the tongue of the Chaltlcans". I n other
wortls, tliose so selected were to be educated and trained.
"And the king appointed them a daily provision of the
king's meat, and of the wine which he drank; so nour-
ishing them three years, that at the end thereof they
might stand before tlte king. Now among tllesc were of
the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Ifishael, and
Azariah. Now at the es~dof the days [to wit, three
years] that the king had said that he should bring them
in, then the prince of the e ~ ~ n u c hbrought
s them in be-
fore Nebuchadnezzar. And the king communed with
them ;and among them all was found none like Daniel,
IIananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood the3
- bejore the king."-Daniel 1: 3-6, 18, 19.
DATE OF DREAM WAS 614 B. C.
According to the king's decree, this transaction of
Dnnicl's standing before the king could not have oc-
curred until the end 6f the three years of instruction,
which was, to wit, in the year 614 B. C. and in the
eleventh year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Evidently
it was about one year thereafter that Nebuchadnezzar
had the dream in question.
Now to remove all doubt as to the correctiiess of this
conclusion, we find that the Variorum rendering of this
text (Daniel 2 :1) is : "And in the twelfth year of the
reign of Nebnchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed
dreams," etc. The circumstantial evidence produced by
Daniel himself proves that the Variorum rendering is
correct.
The explanation of Daniel 2: 37, therefore, is that in
the interpretation he told the king in substance that
Jehovah had determined that he (Nebuchadnezzar ) should
be the head of the image observed. We are not left to
guess about matters of this kind, because the apostle
Paul plainly says that God "calleth those things which
be not as though they werey'. (Romans 4: 17') Other-
wise stated, Jehovah had determined that Nebuchadnez-
zar should occupy this position; but at that particular
time Zedekiah was the king, had been king for three
years, and reigned thereafter eight years before Nebu-
chadnezzar really assumed the position as head of the
image.
POINT V: TEE REIGN OF CYRUS
The argument hereinbefore made proves that the
. gentile timm a s a period is based upon the tenure of
a office of the Jewish kings. This evidence shows that it
was the year 606 B. C. when the crown (power to ex-
TOWER
ercise dominion) was taken from Israel, and a gel~tile
king permitted to exercise that power. Now x c intro-
duce another line of proof by beginnilig dt a later iixtd
date and counting back, measuring the time by unhn-
peachable Biblical testimony, which also sllows the be-
ginning of the gentile times to be GO6 3. C. The latter
line of proof is a complete corroboration of the forrner.
God had foretold through his prophet Isaial~ (see
chapters 44 and 45) that the kingdom of the Babyloll-
ians under Nebnchadnezzar wonld be ovcrthrowr~ arid
that then 'Israel would be returned to licr ow11 Itlntl.
The Lord's prophet even named the victorious king,
Cyrus. The date of the beginning of thc reign of Cyrus
thcrrforc hecomes important.
The reign of Cyrus is shown by thc tcstimoliy of
many secular or profane historians. This testimoi~yis
here cited for two reasons: (1) because there is scarcely
a doubt about the correctrless of the date as statctl; and
(2) because the date is corroborated by the Scril)tural
proof. Hence the secular history may be used as c~uuu-
lative testimony luuder tlie rnlc. We give brlow a num-
ber of these authorities.
ItEIGN BEC.4N 586 B. C., SAY IlIB'I'OItIANY
Smith's Bible Dictionary, u~lclertlie t ~tlts"Ca [)ti\itics
of >he Jews", pages 93 and 100, says: '"l'lie 13aI1ylo1liail
captivity was brougl~tto n claw I)y the 11cc;rrcof Cy1.u~:
B. c. 536".
Ilible Co.mme~ats(Jamison, Vancc1tt and Brown), Vol.
1, page 285, gives the dtitc of tllr reign of Cyrus and
the issuing of the dccree as 536 13. C.
Szc~intnn's T l i ~ t o r y page
, 40. ~ i v c s536 B. C. as tlie
date of the edict of Cyrus for thtl rctnrn of tht. Jews.
Historiasts' Ilisfory of the IVorld, TTol. 2, p a p 27,
gives 536 B. C. as thc (late of the decree of Cyrus for
the return of the Jcws.
Universal Escplopedin. Yol. 6 . l)agtJ 445, gives 536
B. C. as the tlntr ol the rt~igiiof Cyr~ls.
Sanford's Concise Cyclopedia of Religious Ir'noroledge,
j)agti'' 471. gives the date of thc bcgilmi~igof Cyrus'
reign as B. C.
I n the Scriptures we read: "Now in the first year
of Cyrns X-il~gof Persia. that the word of the Lord
spokm by the mouth of Jerc~i~iiilli might b~ acconi1)lish-
~ t l , the Lord stirred up t l l ~spirit of Cyras Irii~g of
Persia. that he made a proclanlation throughout all his
kingdom, and put it also in n-riting, saying, Thus saith
Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth
hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and he hat11
charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which
is in Judah. Who is there anlong you of all his people?
The TJord his Oorl be with him. and lot hiin go np."
( 2 Cflro~licles3G: 22, 23) "Tl~cn rosc 111) t11~c11ic.f of
the fathers of Judah and Benjanii~~. ant1 tllc l~riests,
and the Levites, with all them whdsc spirit God had
raised, to go up to build the house of the Jlortl which is
in Jerqsalem. . . . Also Cyrus the k i n ~I)rn~r~rl t fnrth
the vessels of the house of the Lord, M-liicl~ S c ~ l ~ ~ ~- . l i r ~ !

nczza. had brought forth out of Jerusalem. All ...
thesc (lid Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the cap-
tivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jeru-
salem." (Ezra 1: 5,7,11) ('And when the seventh month
was come and the children of Israel were in the cities,
the people gathered themselves together as one man to
Jerusalem. ...They gave money also unto the ma-
eons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and
oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring
cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according
to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia."-
Ezra 3 : I,?'; see also Ezra 5 : 12-14.
'Phis Scriptural proof ~liowsthat the Jews' captivity
to 13abylon elided with the first year of the reign of
Cyrus; and the secular historians above cited show that
that year was 536 B. C. I n the next succeeding point
will be observed the Scriptural proof showing that the
date 536 B. C. is correct, which proof also shows that
the date 606 B. C. is the beginning of the gentile times.
- POINT V1: DESOLATION NOT CAPTIVITY
hluch cor~fusionhas resulted from using the words
captivity, servitude, and desolation as synonymous
tenus: The Jews were in captivity niore thail once and
for different periods of time; but there was only one
period of desolation. It is true that tlic Jews were in
captivity during the period of tlcsolation, but such cap-
tivity was merely incidental to the desolation. Their
f i r ~ tcaptivity to Nebuchatll~ezzar began ,in tlie year
61'7' U. C., and not until elrvrl~years thereafter was
the land made desolate, withoilt an inhabitant. What
God intended for us to underetand must be determined
by the language employed in his tlecree for the punish-
ment of Israel. Therein he said : "I will make your
cities waste, and bring pour sanctuaries unto desola-
tion, and I will not smell tlie savor of your slreet odors.
And I will bring the lalld into desolutwn; and your
enemies which dwell thcrrin ~ 1 ~ be ~ 1n~tot1i41ed
1 at it."
(Leviticus 26 : 31, 32) Time and again the Lord re-
stated the decree through the mouth of Jeremiah: "I
- will make Jerusalem heaps. and a den of clragons; and
I will make the cities of Judnh d e s o l a t ~ .~ ~ i t h o lan
r t in-
habitant". (Jeremiah 9 : 11; see also Jrrc~n~iah 33 : 10 ;
34: 22) As heretofore seen, this tlivine tlecrec was en-
forced with the ovcrttirow of Zedelriali in the year 606
B. C.
The period of this drr;olation of the larid is fixed by
the Scriptures as seventy years. The pt~rposcof the en-
forcement of the divine decree as ~ e forth
t in 2 Chroni-
cles 36: 18-20 was "to fulfill thc word of the TJord by
the mouth of Jeremiah, 111iti1thr Innd hnc! ~njoyetlher
sd,l)atlis; for as long as she lay desolate sne kept sab-
bath, to fulfill threescore and ten years". (Verse 21)
The prophet Jeremiah had ?aid : "This whole land shall
be a desolati~n.and an nqtonishment ; and these nations
&all serve the king of lhbjlon aeventy years2'.--Jere
miah 25: 11.
TOWER
DESnl,ATE FOR SEVENTY YEARS
The proof lien4.of'ore adduced shows tliat tlir rcign of
Cyrus began in the year 536 B. C.; and that tlie first
year of his reign marked the end of the dcsolation of
the laud, in which year he issued a decree for the re-
building of Jerusalem. The Scriptures cited show that
this period of desolation was to be seventy years in
duration. Counting back, then, seventy years from 536
13. C. brings us to 606 B. C., con11)lctclycorroborutil~g
the other line of proof showing that 606 U. C. is the
date when the crown was removed from Israel, when the
desolation began, and when the gentile times began.
Incjdcntally, here we remark that mnch has bcrn said
about tlie ni~teteenyears of the reign of Nebucliadurzzar
before the overthrow of Zedekiah; and an attempt is
made to show that this indicates that there is a parallel
of nineteen years to be fulfilled with reference to tlie
close of the gentile times and the complete fall of gen-
tile governments. There is absolutely no justification
for any such conclusion. It is not warranted by reason
nor by Scriptures. The nineteen years have nothing
whatsocvcr to do with thc gentile tinie~,ilic4r beginning,
end, or the overthrow of governments. It has merely
been injected to confuse the minds of some. \Ye niiglit
as well say that because a rat has "nine livr?' it v~111d
take nine years to kill all t l ~ ccots. as to xoy that, 11r-
cause Nebuchadliezzar reiglied nil~ctrrnpears beforo lie .
overthrew Zedelriah, therc~foretlie o~wtlironof gc~iitile
dominioil ivould be nineteen years aftcr 1!)14. 'l'lie ar-
gument is unreasonable, uiiscriptural, aritl ~ioi~sc~isical.
POINT VII: THE END - OUSTER PROCEEDINGS BEGUN
Upon all the evidence there cannot be the sliglitest
doubt about the gentile times. Tlic 1ra.r of univclrsal
dominion to the gentiles could not brgin as long as
there was a vestige of God's typical kingtlom. It mat-
ters not when the lieathen king Nehuchadnezzar began
his reign. The nineteen years of his reign so mlich
spoken of are wholly in~material.f o r c i ~ nto the issnc.
The possession and exercise of i111l)tbrial dominion by
Israel, symbolized by the crown.' ceased when that crown
was removed, to wit, when tlie last ruler of Israel waa
detliroiled. That occurred in 606 U. C. Thcre tlie do.
nlinioil to the whole world was left in the haitds of the
ger:tiles, which date is by every line of proof fiscd as
6OG B. C. There the period of gentile domillion began.
Ueing seven s-ymbolic times in duration, to wit, 2520
years, it ended in 1914 A. D.
But, say those nho oppose Brother Russell's conclu-
sions, what has happened to show that tlie gcntilo times
have ended? Are ~ ~ tlic o tgentile g o v o r l ~ ~ ~still
~ c ~rx-
~~tx
, erci~ingruling power? Are not things going on tliey
'were from the beginning?
\\re answer, Everrtliing has happened that the Lord
foretold would happen. With the close of the [Jeyish)
year 1914, he whose right it is thok unto himself his
great power and began his reign; the nations were an-
 fi WATCH
gry, aiicl the day of God's wrath began.--Lw!:icl
27 : lievclation 11: 1:. 1s.
GENTILE TIMES ENIIED IN 1914
On the first day oP Octoher, 1914, Urotlicr li~iasell
walked illto the cliniilg-rooni at Ilitlicl and, cla1tl)ilig
his hands, aiiiiouiiced ill ~ t ~ i i t o r i ;tolies:
i l ~ "'l'lic g1111tile
tiiiics have ended! 'l'lie kings of earth liavc llatl tlicir
day !" Urotlier ltussell was riglit then. l i e ~vasright
when he wrote Volunlc I1 concerning tlie gentilc tilnes.
If thc contciition of liis opponeilts co~iccrilingclironolo-
gy is right, then everything that tmiiwl)ired in 1014 and
since must be disregarded as evidence of 11essiall's king-
dom. It is admitted by them that the tenure of office
of I~rael'skings must be cl~angetlin order to ngrre with
some liistorians who w ~ r cagriits of Satan. Such a
change would put out of joi~itall our chronology. and
destroy the value of the datcs 1874, 18?8, 1881, 1910,
1914, and 1918. Such would be equivalent to saying,
"Where is the proof of his presc5na?" "My Lord de-
layeth his coil~i::;:."--2 Pctcr :; : 1 ; Jfatthew 24 : 48.
Is any Christian so bliud tliat he cannot see what
hnj11)cnctl in 191-1; and thereafter, evidencing the end
of tlie gerltilc times? 13y way of illustration: A tenant
holds a piece of property under a lease, which lease ex-
pires January 1, 1914. The tenant refuses to vacate.
The landlord, in order to legally olltain possession, must
institute 0nstc.r proceedings. God granted to the gentiles
a lease of dominion for a term of 2620 years, which term
or lease ended about August, 1914. Then came forward
the T,andlord, the rightful Ruler (Ezekiel 21 : 27), and
begail ouster proccedings. It is not to be expected that
he would sucldenly wipe everything out of existence,
for that is not the wav the Lord does things; but that
he would overrule thk contending element;, causing
these to destroy the present order; and that \mliile this
is going on he would have his faithful followers give a
'tremendous witness in the world, so that the teachable
TEXAS CONVENTION
A FOUR-DAY convention of the Bible Students
was held at Dallas, Texas, March 9 to 12, Pil-
grim Brother Edward Stark serving as chair-
man. The other speakers were Brothers V. C. Rice,
S. H. Toujian, G . R. Pollock, 0. Magnuson, Scott
Anderson, A. H. Macmillan, and Brother Rutherford.
The convention was attended by friends from Texas,
Olilahoma, ICan.~as,Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri,
the largest number of friends attending on any one day
being about five hundred. It was indeed good to be
there, and on every face was obscrvcd the happy Chris-
tian smile. Frequently the remarli \Itas made: 'This is
the best convention I have ever attcndcd'.
' These conventions serve as a great uplift and strength
to the friends, particularly the isolated ones. They liave
very little fellourship with others, and coming to a con-
TOWER
21 : ycoyl[l iiiiglit reeog~lizethc 11ideouslic.e~of Satan's em-
pirc! ailtl the blcssc(lncss offered by the 3Iessianic em-
pi,,(; to tlic cull that nlniiy of these might be brought
tllrougli tlic trouble and be rcady for the restor.'1 t'ion
bl:~.ings that are to follow.
T o this end, exactly on time, the ouster proccedings
begait in the Worltl War, followcd clliicltly by famine,
pestilence, and revolution, the re1i:itilitation of Palee-
tine by the Jews, persecution of Christians in*varioua
parts of the earth, oiferises amongst those who claim to
be Jesus' followers, wllilc the love of many waxed cold.
All of these things Jesus stated would constitute a try-
ing time, a trial of faith and patience, which would be
so severe tliat only 'he that endurcth to the end should
bc savcd'. (Matthow 24: 7-13) llrliilc tllc~scoustcr pro-
cecdil~gsare in progress, lie coninla~:dshis followers to
tell the people that Satan's empire has ended; that the
gentile times have elided ;that the world has ended, and
here is the proof of it; that the kingdom of heaven is
a t hand; that the time of restoration is here; that mil-
lions now living will never die; and that "this gospel
[good news] of the Iringdom sliall he preached in all
the world for a witricss unto all i~:~tions, and then shall
the end come".
Are those who oppose the co~iclusions of Brother
Russell concerning clironology obeying this command
of giving the witness? Do wc liild thosc who arc in
harmony with his colielusioiis eo~iccriliiigtlic gc*iitile
times obeying this injunction and preaching the evi-
dences of the kingdom and that millions now living
will never die? Surely everything has happened exactly
as the Lord snit1 it would 1ial)l)eli co~icorlii~ig tlitt cnd
of the gentile times.
What will trali~pirein 1925? Wait 11pon the Lord
and see. Be faithful to present privilcgc~s. Every Chris-
tian's faith is on trial. "According to your faith be it
unto you."
vention of several (laye is to them like transformation
into an entirely diflerent atmosplic~re. The testimony
meetings gave stro~lgeviclencc of tlti,s, the friclltls show-
ing by their testi~noniesthat they are not only rejoicing
in the opportiiiiities of service, but are growing in
knowledge of tlie Lord's plan and thc fruits and graces
of the spirit.
On Sunday morning a question meeting was conduct-
ed by Brother Rutherford and we append hereto a few
of the questions and answers:
Qticstion: Is Jrhu a type of thc p a t company?
A,nsu*or: No. 'l'hc Script~ire~ clml.ly indicntc tliat
Jehu did not represent a spiritual class. Some time ago
the Society requested the Pilgrim brethren not to die-
cuss in their discourses Jehu in antitgl)e, bccausc it has
been deemed a wise course to take.
upon
. ..
talrh distress ol nallons r l t h ~erplexltr; t h an and Ole wares (the resU~ss, dl~conlented) ronrlng: men'# hearts falllns them for fear and lor lwklng ta tbr
t b l a~f i l s l upan the earth (toelev). for tho punn of the bernm (ecdr~lastlclsmj rhsll be shahen.
a n know (hat the KLnOdom of Ood In at 'band. Lo& up, llft m lour brad#, relola, for l o w ndcm~tlon draw& dlh-Matt
When Ye ms thew thin-s hrrln tn nlme to plw.
24:33; Mnri 13: 29: Luke 2 1 : 25-15
 VOL. XLIII MAY 15, 1922
CHRONOLOGY
n
But 8amctify the Lord God in yozir I~enrts;and be ready alzcays to give an answer to every man that asketh you
a reason of the I L O tl~lit
~ is i n you with meekness and fear."-1
w E HAVE no doubt whatever in regard to the
chronology relating to the dates of 1874, 1914,
1918, and 1025. Some claim to have found new
light in connection with the period of "seventy years of
desolation" and Israel's captivity in Babylon, and are
zealously seeking to make others believe that Brother
Russell was in error.
h
The apostle James assures us that "if any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him". We believe that promise and daily pctition for
heavenly wisdom and grace to be guided aright. We
also believe that the prayers of the saints ascend daily
to the throne of heavenly grace for divine guidance as
to what shall appear in THE WATCH TOWER,and we
are very appreciative of that fact.
An accurate understanding of chronology apparently
is not a necessity to salvation. The sub~ecthas been
largely concealed during the dark ages, and doubtless
many saints have made their calling and election sure
without the aid of the chronological features hidden in
the Bible. But they had a knowledge sufficient for
their time. Even now some find it very difficult to
grasp chronology fully, and therefore depend upon the
explanations of others. However, a fuller understand-
ing of the times and seasons affords a great joy to the
. provided in his Word a complete reliable record from
toiling saints of God, and is a s t i m u l ~ ~tos zeal.
. Toward the close of the gospel age, in harmony with
the prophecy of Daniel, God began to opcn the flood-
gates of knowledge along many lines, in preparation for
the incoming kingdom. As people began to awake to
the light, they comnlenccd to investigate and explore in
every direction. Old libraries were ransacked, long-
buried cities were excavated, in search of more light
upon the hidden past.
SOUGHT TO DISCREDIT BIBLE
The worldly-wise have a l ~ a y sdisliked the Bible, b e
cause it discounted their wisdom and held i t up to
scorn. They would rejoice greatly if they could prove
it untrue. With eagerness, tlierefore, have they searched
long and diligently to that end. Any new discovery ie
147
So. 10
.
Peter 3: 16.
heralded far and wide with a great show of wisdoru.
Some of the discovered records give evidence of great
age, and are accordingly given much weight as author-
ity. Conclusions are drawn by comparing various writ-
ings from difFcrent countries, and an endeavor made to
piece together broken fragments, found here and there.
l h t even after their best endeavors, they are often forced
to admit tliat their coilclusioris cannot be proved. C'on-
tradictions are often found in some, and connections
cannot be made in others.
Some of their best "authorities" are found a t times
to be unrc1iol)le; as, for illst:~licc., Josrplius and l'tolcmy.
These mcn lived diving tlie first two centuries after
Christ. They had difliculty in compiling their records;
for complete data were not acccssiblc to them. No doubt
thry did thc b c ~ tl~cy
t coultl untlcl- thrir limitcd circum-
stauces. 'l'licy are acccpted 'as among the best tliat sccu-
lar history can produce. From these and from others,
certain dates have been generally accepted by historical
11-ritera; but to be generally accepted does not necessarily
imply absolute accuracy. However, to impress the ~ ~ ~ i g l i t
gf their wisdom upon their readers, these conclusions
are often stated in positive langyage, and the student is
inclined to accept them a t their face statement without
further investigation. I
But why rely upon uncertainties tvhen the Lord has
Adam to the return of the+Jewsfrom liahylon, and frorn
that time on secular records are reliable? Tllougli to
the casual reader there are apparent brcdrs, God has
so overruled that every such break is fully bridged else-
where. We need not trace all the tangled and broken
threads of secular chronology when we have a straiglit
one to follow. The adversary has always endeavored to
deceive people. No doubt he' has had much to do towards
causing the confusion in the historical records of ancient
histori where he could not dcstroy them altogcthcr.
, But in spite of Satan's attempts thus to break con-
* nections, God.has continued to keep an unbroken line
that his people may not walk in darkness. (1 Thessalo-
nians 5: 1-6) However God has purposely hidden these
from the worldly-wise, who prefer to walk in the light
of their own wisdom.-Daniel 12: 10.
 T ~ W A T C HTOWER
TRUE BIBLE CHRONOLOGY period of 9 1 years after the return of some in 536 B. C.
For the benefit of ,some who mav not be so familiar If we add the 70 years to that we have a total of at least
with these divine records and for* some of the more 164 years, 606 to 442 13. C. under the king of .Babylon.
recent' readers of THE WATCHTOWER, and also that We see in a moment, then, that the desolation and
all may refresh themselves with tliese beautiful trutlis, captivity therefore could liot synchronize. The Uiblo
we herewith epitomize the li~leof -chronology. For de- testimony is clear that the Jews first became tributary
tails as to the first six periods here given we refer the to Babylon three years before the death of Jehoiakim
reader to pages 42 to 50 of Volume 11, STUDIESIN (2 Kings 24: 1 ) ;but Jerusalem was not captured, nor
THE SCRIPTURES : did Nebuchadnezzar appear before the city, at that time.
Years At the end of the three years Jehoiakim rebelled, Nebu-
From creation of Atl:~mto the entl of the flood......,..... 1056
From the flood to the covenant with Abraham ..........--.-. 427 chadnezzar took the, city, Jehoiakim died; and Nebu-
From the covenant with Abraham to the Exodus....-...... 430 chadnezzar left Jehoiachin, a son of Jehoiakim, on the
From the Exodus lo l he tlivisioli of the land .....-....,..-. .... 46 throne. He ruled only three months and was carricd
Period of the .Judgrs of Israel.........-..-.-------.-..-.-.--..-..450 captive to Babylon, together with Daniel and his three
Saul to Zedekiah (21 kings) ....... ................-..--------------.------
513 companions and Ezekiel. Zedekiah, an uncle of Jehoia-
Creation of -4dam to clethrontxmentof Zedekiah 3 chin, was left upon the throne. The city was left, the
The break in the Old Testament records as to the Temple was not destroyed, nor was the government
length of the time the Judges ruled, and the length overthrown.
of the reign of King Saul are carefully covered in the
New Testament. Evidently this is of God's overruling SEVENTY YEARS OF DESOLATION
for the edification of his people. We now desire to review some positive evidcnce'that
- It is in the endeavor to connect secular records with the 70 years of desolntion did not 1)cgili to count from
the Bible record at the time of the "seventy years of thi,ci capture of Jerusalem. Not until the overthrow of
drsolation" that some claim to have found the new light. Zedekiah, 11 years still later, did it count. I n Leviticus
'Practically all agree that B. C. 536 'was "the first year 25 the law of the jubilee is given. Every fiftieth year
of Cyrus" mentioned in Ezra 1:1, a t wllicll time such was to bc a jubilee. Jewish reckoning was thus divided
Jews as desired were permitted to return to Jerusalem. into semi-centuries, an easy nianner of computing time.
From thence we have connected records to the present. Elcry fifty-first year would l)e the first year of another
There can be no exception taken to the line showing jubilee cycle of 50 years. IIad the Jews been obedient
that the last ycar of Zcdekiah \\.as A. M. 3622, as shown to their law, there co~lltlhave 11ec.nno doul~tas to the
above. 'I'hcrc is uo contention about thc first ycar oE chronological record; for tliry cvould never have gone
Cyrus being B. C. 53G. It does make considerable dif- into captivity, and would have preserved their records
ference where these two records are connected as to without interference. Did their disobedience alter Gorl'a
what pear A. &I.we are now .in. outlined time arrangements for. the bringing in of tlie
antitype? No inti~notionof such a changr is fomid, but
THE PERIOD OF CAPTIVITY
on the contrary the evidence is that he held to his
111 Jrlcmiah 29: 10 and 85: 11, 12 a period of cap-' original plan..
tivity of 70 years is mentioned. When did this period Leviticus 26 : 31 to 35 rcalls as follolvs :
b-::in? Thc Bible locates the time definitely as 3522 31 "And I will n~trl;e yolil' cttieq ?r.cr..lr1.:1:1r1111 itry yonr
A. &I.(GO6 13. C.), the 19th p a r of King Nebuchadnez- sanctzcaries zcnto dcrolmtio,a, and I will not sn~ellthe s.1' your
zar.. Secular historians vary considerably. The question of your sweet ot1ol.s.
g lawd illto dcsolntioll : :tntl your
32 "A.nd I will b r i ~ ~tke
hinges upon the date of the omm men cement of the 70 enemies which d\vclll tl~c~l.ein
shtill he f~sto~~isht*tl nt it.
years period, some calling it the "70 years of captivity" 33 "And I will scnttcr yon I I I I ~ O I I F :tile 11cr1lll~11,
t ~ r i t l will
and others the "70 years of desolation". Does the cap- draw out a s\vord nfter you: ilnd your lnittl shall be desolntc,
- tivity synchronize with the desolation? and your cities waste.
Ilaniel 9: 25 states that from the going forth of the 34 "Then shall the land ei~ioljher snbbcttl~s,as long as
It lieth desolate, and ye be in uoz11- cneit~ics'land, czzjen then
commandment to restore and build Jernsalem unto Mes- shall the land rest, and enjolj Rcl. sabbrrihn.
siah the Prince would be 69 weeks of symbolic time, 35 "As long as (t lietlc dcaokrte it shrrll rest: because it
, 483 years actual time. Jesus became Messiah the Prince did not rest in flour ~nbhntlts.rlltr,n t1c tl~"c7twpott it."
at his baptism. A. D. 29, as chown fully in Volume 11, This is a prophetic statc~~iicilt, but atltlrrsscd to the
page 60. 483 years less the 29 A. D. would leave 454 nation. "It did not rcst . . . when ye dzcclt r?jaslfnb]
B. C. as tlie date when Nehemiah received his com- upon it" shows clcarly that 11o11rof the time ~rliilr111c'y
mission from King Artaserxes to rebuild the city qnd were on the land wonld be co~~iitctl.The word here
the walls. 454 B. C. was 82 years a f k r 536 B. C., and rendered 'd~velt' is the same Hebrew word (ynslrnb)
the Jews were still under the dominion of Babylon. that is rendered 'inhabitai~t' in Jeremiah 44: 22. Pa-
Comparing Nehemiah 5 : 14 hnd 13 : 6 we find the Jews shab is rendereii 'dwell' 434 tin~rs,'rcliiain' 23 ti~iic.s,
still under the yoke of Babylon, bringing the date down 'sit' 25 times, 'inhabitant' 31 times, and by various
12 pears later, or to 442 13. CI This would make a other rendering in the King James version. The nation
 *WATCH
was not to be an illhabitant; for it was to the nation
that the statement , .~.made.
i God foreknew what course
it ,would take, aiid so he foretold how he would deal
with it.' The people would be sent into the land of their
enemies; their land, their c i t i e ~and their sanctuaries
would all be laid waste and become desolate. The length
of the time of desolation is not here stated, except that
it would be long enough for the land to "enjoy her
sabbaths". There is no Scripture to prove that' the land
was denuded of every individual.
NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S THREE MOVES AGAINST JEWS
Nebuchadnezzar went against Jerusalem three .times,
in person or by his orders: first, in the eighth year of
Jehoiakim, which was the fifth year of Nebuchadnezzar
(2 Kings 24: 1) ;second, during the three'months reign
of Jehoiachin, who followed Jehoiakim, three years
later, which was the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar (2
Kings 24 :12) Apparently Jehoiachin put up- no de-
fence, but surrendered without a fight. At' this time
-(617 B. C.) Daniel and his companions and Ezekiel
were carried captive to Babylon. It is from this date
that Ezekiel dates his prophecies, Ezekiel 8.:1 ; 40 : 1.
Although Nebuchadnezzar took many captives and
much treasure on the second invasion, he did not remove
the nation. H e left a king upon the throne, many people
in the cities, and the Temple and its sanctuaries. The
government was still recognized, and therefore the pro-
phecy of Leviticus 26: 31-36 could not yet be applied.
It was not yet true "I will make your citiee waste, and
bring your sanctuaries unto desolation. . . . and I will
bring the land into desolation".
The third time was 11 years later. (606 B. C.) The
reCord in 2 Chronicles 36 : 1421 is very explicit, making
mention of the Temple, the cities and the land.
18 "And all the vessels of the house of God, great and
small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the
trensures of the king, and of his princes; all these he
brought to Babylon.
19 "And they burnt the house of God, and brake dotun
the wall of Jerusalem and burnt all the palaces thereof with
are, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
20 "And them that had escaped from the sword carried
he nwny to Bnbylon, where they were servants to him and
his sons until tile reign of the kltlgdom of I'ersla,
21 "To fulflll the word of the Lord by the mouth of
Jeremiah, unfil the land had enjoyed her sabbatlu: for as
long as she [the land1 lay desolate *he kept her sabbath, to
fulfill threescore and ten years."
Here is the complete statement in a nutshell-the
axplanation of the desolation of the sanctuaries, the
waste of the cities, and the desolation of the land,
"without an inhabitant'? nation. No nation was per-
mitted to hold a dwelling on the land while the Jewe
were in Babylon. Here commenced the fulfilling of the,
prophecies of Leviticus 26 : 31-35; Jeremiah 25 : 8-11;
29 :10 ; 44,:22 ; and Daniel 9 : 2. This shows conclu-
sively-that the lmd was ta be desolate, to rest for 70
years; and that the desolation began a t the downfall
of Zedekiah, 606 B. C. and closed at the first year of
TOWER
Cyrus, 636 B. C. Thus 3592 A. M. and U. C. 536 are
joined clearly.
Note again the fiuthcr statenlei~tsof the Scriptures.
Those who returned did not all go to Jerusalem, but
"unto Jerusult,n~and Jntluh, every one t ~ f i t ohis own
city". They did not have to reconquer the land; their
cities were still waiting their return. This shows clearly
that the previous order was restored to considerable
extent, the rehabitation of the country and the cities,
and the reestablishment of the sanctunry at Jerusalem.
(Ezra 2 : 1, 70 ;3 : 1-6)Thus the beginning and the end
of the period known as the "70 years desolation" are so
clearly marked we do not see how blicre can be any
question whatsoever.
UNRELIABLE SECULAR CHRONOLOGY
How can this be harrnollized with secular chronology,
which states that Nebnchadnezzar began to reign in
606 B. C., reigned 43 gears, and died in 5G1 B. C.?
We are not called upon to harmonize the Bible with
secular chronology any more than nre are expected to
harmonize the gospel of the Bible n ith secular creeds.
It is for the students of secular chronology to harmonize
their records with the Bible. "All Script1u.c given by
inspiration of God [and the Scriptures quoted above
mufit have been given by inspiration of God] is prolit-
able for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for in-
struction in righteousness; that the man of God may be
thoroughly furnished unto all good works". The Bible
is clear and connected, while the worldly records are
acknowletlged to be faulty, disconncctcd, unreliable, ant1
fragmentary. Daniel 12: 10 foretells that the worldly-
wise will not accept God's Word, and therefore shall not
understand. They will lean unto their own wisdom and
thus be misled, and on "this account God will send to
them an energy of delusion, to their believing the false-
hood".--2 Thessalonians 2 : 11.
It makes no difference to the student of the Bible
whether Evil Merodach and Belshazzar were the only
two kings to follow Nebuchadnezzan until Cyrus; or
whether, as some claim, there were several others also,
nor how long each one is said to have individually
reigned. The period is fully covered by the records abovr
cited. Besides, the testimony of the larger cycles fully
corroborate them, thus making a cable and not a single
thread. Those who are humble enough to rely upon the
Word of God will be wise enough to understand, and
these are all that are desired by the Lord at the present
time. I n the near future, when all those kings ant1
rulers and historians shall have returned, it will be an
easy matter to straighten out all the snarls. There no
adversary will be permitted to interfere.
Recapitulating then, the Bible record is conclusive
'.
that the first year of Nebuchadnezzar synchronizes with
the fourth year of king Jehoiakim, which was the year
3503 A. M. or 625 B. C. The nineteenth year of Nrlw
chadnezzar coniiects with the eleventh year of Zed~~ki;lh.
and was 3522 A. 116. or 606 B. C. Seventy years I a t y ,
 =WATCH TOWER
when the Jews rctnrned to their land, connects with the with a world-wide witness. The results following~tho
first year of Cyrus, and would be 3592 A. M., or 536 aates of 1918 and 1921 indicate more and more distinct-
B. C. Thus 1922 is 6050 A. M., as shown on THE ly that they were turning-points or mile-stones on the
WATCHTOIVBR-3592 plus 536 plus 1922. chronological highway, ancl clearly foreknown and fore-
told by the Designer of the 1)ivinc Plan of the Ages.
STAMPED WITH GOD'8 APPROVAL The trumpet of liberty for the people has been sounding
It was on this line of reckoning that the dates 1874, with ever-increasing volume since 1918, and the world
1914, and 1918 were located; and the Lord has placed is staggering like a drunken man. Never before has it
the stamp of his seal upon 1914 and 1918 beyond any been so inanifest that '"there is nothing covered, that
possibility of erasure. What further evidence do we need? shall not be revealed; neither hid that shall not be
Using this same measuring line, beginning with the known". (Luke 12: 2) All the signs indicate that the
entry of the children of Israel into Canaan, and count- world is in the rapids of the coming cataclysm, unable
ing the full 70 cycles of 50 years each, as clearly indi- to rescue itself, and yet unwilling to accept divine assis-
cated by Jehovah's sending of the Jews into Babylon for tance.-Jeremiah 51 :8, 9.
the full 70 years, it is an easy matter to locate 1925, It seems that God has permitted the adversary to dis-
probahly the fall, for $he beginning of the antitypical connect every other line of chronology prior to the time
jubilee. There can be no more question about 1925 thar. of Cyrus. No.donbt Satan thought he had succeeded
there mas about 1914. The fact that all the things that completely until God overruled that St. Paul should
some looked for in 1914 did not materialize does aot give just the needed information in his writings. To
alter the chronology one whit. Noting the date marked some this is a test of faith. To the consecrated child of
so prominently, it is very easy for the finite mind to God it is another manifestation of God's careful con-
- conclude that all thc work to be done must ccntcr abont sidcmtion for the needs of his children, of his provision
it, and thus many are inclined to anticipate more t l ~ a n for their protection in matters of instruction ant1 rtlifi-
has been really foretold. Thus it was in 1844, in 1874, cation. If others prefer worldly wisdom, that is their
in 1878 as well as in 1914 and 1918. Looking back wc privilege. God has promised that his instruction will
can now easily see that those dates were clearly indi- perfect the "man of Godyy.We need to put on the 'whole
cated in Scripture and doubtless intended by the Lord to armor of God, that we may be able to withstand in
encourage his people, as they did, as well as to be a the evil day, and having done all [this] to stand [hav-
means of testing and sifting when all that some expectrtl ing assured ourselves of God's full provision for our
did not come to pass. That all that some expect to see protection, we need not to worry, but to rely upon him
in 1925 may not transpire that year will not alter the fully and conficlcntlyl'. A prominent part of this armor
date one whit more than in the other, cases. is the shield of faith, in his Word, wherewith we are'
The preparations for the kingdom have been coming able to qaench (ward off) all these darts of unbelief,
on apace, and the announcement of it is being heralded which are liable to wound even unto death.

WITNESSES FOR THE TRUTH

"These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness."-Revelation 5: 14.

I T HAS been a rule for some time observed by the

Bible Students to have a text for the year and a
text for the week for special consideration and
meGitation. The consideration of these texts is intended
vealed the deep things of his Word.-1
9, 10.
OUR MINDS TRANSFORMED
Corinthians 2:

The mind of the new creature is the battle-ground.

to enable the followers of Christ to keep in mind the
character of the perfect Pattern and to be conformed
thereto. That this is the proper course for the Christian
is abundantly testified to by the Scriptures. The apostle
Paul writing to the church said: "We all, with open
Face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the spirit of the Lord". (2 Corinthians 3:
18) A mirror is used to rcfkct the image of one who
loolts into it. I n this instance the Bible is symbolized
by a mirror, which Bible reflects the character of J &
hovah and of the Lord Jesus. The spirit-begotten
anointed ones have their faces opened or unveiled. This
is the result of the illumination that comes to those who
are anointed of the holy spirit. To such God has re-
The mind is that which,is to be transformed. (Roinana
12 :2) The figure, then, here given by thc Apostle and
stated in other phrase is to this effect: As new crea-
tures in Christ Jesus our vision is opened. We dcsire to
have our minds transformed. To do this we are to look
into God's Word as though we were looking into ti mir-
ror; and looking into it we see the reflection of Jeho-
vah's character and the character of his beloved Son;
ancl thus beholding, the transformation from onc! ile-
gree of glory to a greater degree takes place, even by
the spirit of the Lord.
Last year our week-texts used for the prayer meeting6
related to Jehovah, the Father. This year our week-
tex-ts relate to the Son. These various texts enable us
to view the Lord from different standpoints. How, th-.
Oban Lbe talrb dsue% nf muons afth per~1erlgr- tbt! gm rod
tblm comxn~ upon tbs aanb ( c o d e ) ; r e h m
&o tbrt the K l ~ d o mof &j at
po
r
a
n
ug, 0
tbc hpa- (cccle&cm)
w, *,
onu
far lopr ladempdolr
-
(tw mf.ks dlseonkotnl) rolrrln6, -'a
-*-&*
fmbl'U fanu tbnn
mnip k h to
%1:31: W Is:%B:
-
rad f@ w~r b tbD
tcl pur
31:2CIL
 A WEPALD OF CWRBST'S PRESENCE
POL.XLIII JU~1
E, 1922
SEVENTY YEARS' DESOLATION (PART 1)
wThsm that had escaped from the w o r d carried he [Nebuclurdnezzar] away to Babylon, where they were servant8
to Aim and hzs sons tmtil the reig~aof the kingdom of P e r k : to fulfil2 the word of the Lord by the
mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths; for as long as she lay desoldte
she kept sabbath to fulfill threesm6 and ten yeurs."-9 Chronicles SO: $0, g2.
F ROM time to time Bible students who quite evi-
dently are either unfamiliar with all the teachings
of present truth or unappreciative of the thorough-
going convincingness of what has been brought out
through the SocietyZ"disco\er" some "error" in proved
present truth. Without ~ ~ u t l ntog communicate with
the Society, which could help tl~em,and without making
a thorough search, and althout properly ascertaining
the weight of evidence pnbllslled and the insubstantial-
ity of their own "findmgs" (1 Timothy 3 : 6 ;2 Timothy
4: 4), they rush to communicate their "new" ideaa to
others. A few others, no better grounded in the truth
than these mistaken leaders, follow their injudicious
course, and are led into a state of uncertainty and
doubt; and some of them, especially of the leaders,
forsake the way of present truth, abandon the oppor-
tunities and privileges of co-working with God (2 Cor-
inthians 6: 1 ) and of suffering with Christ (Philip
pians 1 :2 9 ) , separate themselves from those in present
truth, lightly leave their crowns to others (Revelation
3 :XI), and make ~ h i p m kof their glorious hopea.
(1 Timothy 1 :19) The uniform experience in all such
abandonment. of the faith and in the divisions so in-
augurated is that they start out with a loud noise of
professions of loyalty to abstract troth and soon dimin-
ish in numbern and zeal untll either wholly scattered or
~ettledd o ~ uinto a state of inactivity--of "~\~aitlnp
upon
the Lortl", as tiley me plcssed to term their slothfrllness
in service.
On account of their smallness of numbers, each of
thew p u p s regards itself tho Tittle flock". There are
a dozen such schismatic 'little flocks", cha,r&erlzed by
an increasing littleness and by an absence of the pre-
dicted glorious activity in the warfare of the Lamb with
the beast. (Isaiah 61 :2; Revelation IT :14) The r e d t
i s a slight temporary diminution of the amount of work
done in his name, w i t h a more than compensating in-
crease of zeal among those holding the faith.
Tbese occurrences are the periodic siftings and shak-
Sngs which the Lord has foreknown and which are ed-
dently necessary to cleanse and purify the church; for
9here be divisions amcmg you. . .. There mnst also be
188
No. 11
heresies among you, that they which me [divinely]
approved may be made manifest among you." (1 Cor-
inthlans 11: 18, 19) If any finally decide that they
do not desire to reman with us in our service of the
Lord, they most follow their own consciences; but we
may rest in the Lord, sssured that, whoever they may
be that leave us, ;'they went out from w, but they were
not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no
& I ~ M hare continued with us: but they went ant, that
they might be made manifest that they were not dl
of us". (1John 2: 19) These are the promised ahakings
which will shake everything except that which cannot be
shaken. (Hebrew6 12:27) However, let the church fear
not the slftinga and ahakings; for these are part of the
divinely-promised work of the complete Cleansing of
the church as it a p p h e a the end of the way. (Mat-
thew 13 :41 ; Revelation I :15) Rather let the church
of God rejoice at these evidences of the'FatherYsatten-
tion to ita welfare,-John 15 :2.
WEEN Dm THE -8 YEARS BEGIN?
This time it is the matter of the date cd the be@ning
of the seven@ years' desolation of Jndea and of whether
it was all desblotion or all captivity. This is testing the
faith of some. This has been fully and adcgiatdy C ~ V -
ered by Pastor R~nssellin "The Time I s at Hmdyy,
pages 51, 52, and 111 great detail in Dr. John and itlorton
Bdgar's 'Great Pyramid Passages", Volume 2, p~t&es
29-31; to both of which works we refer our rcaders.
But for the benefit of those not having BU the 111for-
mation at hand we will review the salient points, to
bring them again dearly to remembrance.-2 Peter 3 :1.
SEVENTY YEARS' DESOLATION, NOT C A p T m r ~ y
Concerning the desolation Pastor Russell mys: cT&er
dates the seventy years' desolation eighteen years earlier
than shown above. .. . He evidently makes the not un-
common &take of regarding those seven9 years as a
period of cuptivity, whereas the Lard - 4 ~ declares
them to be seventy years of dcsolatia, of the land, that
the land should Iie 'desolate, without an f i b i b f . , $
The yesn were yeam of deaohtion, not cap
 SWATCH TOWER
tivity. This is shown in the Scriptural hiatoncal record, though not inspired, ~ w u l dnot record the se~entyyears
which a n n o t be otherwse un(lcrstood, a i d according to as a "desolate" or "descrtf' state which Ilegan after the
whlch the SCBCII~Y p a l s d1c1 not hegin nntil ufter the destruct~onof Jerusalelt~,had t h ~ snot been the actual
overthrow of the la& king, Zcdckiall, 111 606 13. C.: c.onclit~on,as generally l;uo\\n by 111s people. It may
"Them that haci escaped from the snord cnrrled he hate bee11 poes~l~le fo-r Josephus to be unceitain lu. some
[Nebuchaclnezzar, m GOG B. C.] nt\ ay to Eabjlou, n bere detalls of ol~scureciates, b11t i t is beyond the b o ~ ~ n dofs
they were servants [for scvenl~xcars] to h l ~ nand to possibihty for liml to ha\-e been misttiken about such
his sons, until the I-clgn of the kmg(tom of Persra tun- all m~portant,o~~tstal~dlng ftlct of his people's lustory.
der Cyrus, 53G U. C.3 to fullill the \void of the Lord The Jews of that time were far more hkely to h o w
by the n~outllof Jcrcnnd~,nntll the land had ei~joycd the simple fact, \\-hethcr those w r e seventy years of
her sal>l>atl~sfor a3 long as she luj dcso!ate she kept desolation or of cnptl\ity, than is eonle over-zealous hut
sabbath, to fulfill tl~rccscorcand years*'. (2 Cllroiu- less 1ixornledor nliccinf ormed scl~olar,doctor of dlt inlty,
cles 36 20, 2 1 ) 'l'liis pas=.qy l)ra!s of s~m~lltuneousor student of the present day. For our part, we prcfer
desolutron, scrvltude a i d captl~~t!. to take our stand wit11 tlte dlvincly directed metlilntor,
c ~ R c s th.ll rtccolat ion rneaus "wi th- Moses, the inspired prophet Jerelmah, and the ancient
Other ~ : ~ F ~ ; sho\vlng
out an 1n11ab1tzln.t" are as follo~\ls: h~ctor~nn of the JeinsB nation, a11 of 11-11om agree that
tci . ,~ndtlzy elties sl~allbe
Cc'l'o~ 1 . 1 1 ~thy
1 ~ iand desc~7a
t Ilcce "smtenty gears" tvew years of desoltlcrt wn, rather
laid I\ rt5t.e 1u21h 07d ct,n rnltlnbr t n n i . 'Jcre~nlclfr4 :7. thaq of c.q)tl\ it?- -the ctlptlt lty bcgmi~ngat a11 earher
date a i ~ dbelng a differeilt thing.
"I 1\~11In~dccthe clt~crol Jutla11 clesolnte, wathout an
(nltab rttmt.'' - -J cr?rniah 9 : 11 DETAILS OF PEOFHECY AND FULFILL'LIEST
" h i t h ~ place.
s v h~:h>-e e q :boll be clesolnte. .~crtlrorrt
main ao~dwtthoztt licfr\f, even 111 the citles of Judafi, izud Iu. the ~tliplrcdp r o l ~ ~ofl ~Hoses . ~ one of the im-
in thc stlmcets of- 3el ur:alcm." -,Tcreminh 33 : 10. portant sibbat11 rests \\-as the fiftieth year: "A jr~hlee
[ S O U I ~ ~ ~ofI IMIYCT
~ trumpet^]
"I \\ 111 make the clt~e,of JncI~1ia de~olattottw ~ t k o u t unto you: ye shall not sow, aelthe~reap sl~fljlthnt fiftieth year be
an ~nibcaLztnnt.':--;Tcre~~~tnh 34 : 82. that \i*hlcl~
glou-eth of ~t-elf 111 it, nor guthcr the grapes ~1 it of
Others that mtght hc quctcd +are Jeremiah 2 :15 ;
44 : 22 ;m ~ d51 :31, all ~l\o\\llngthnt the prechcted ST- thy vine undressed. For it is the philee; z t shall be
enty years' desolatioi~I ~ e l t ~-51 l t period sf that length
holy unto you; ge ahnll eat the Increase thereof out of
in ~vhlchthe land should. be "w~thout an ~nhatitant". the field."--Lel dicus 2 5 :11.
Thls stah was never reached, or even begun, until after %he Jews, through unbelief in God's promue(1 abnn-
the overthroqrv of Zedekiah, the removal of the people dance, faded to give the laud its sit1)hath regt on even
to Babylon, and the flight of the small remiia~itinto one of the nineteen j11111lees \rhich trallqnred between
Egypt for fear of the Cl~aldeans(Jeremiah*43 : 1-'i), their entrance into Palest~ne (1515 B. C.) and the
leaving the land, as dlvinely predicted, "desolate, 1~1th- overthro~rof Zedeklrrh (606 B. C.) . God foreknew t11u
out an ~nf~abltant,"for ''threescore and ten years". unlxdlef, and foretold, thpol~g'htlte prophet Itlosm, that
if they faded to keep the la\\- of tlle jltlulee the laud
HISTORICAL CONFIRXATION vra5 dc~tii~cd to ha\ e its ctivlnely-nppolnbtt julnlee rest
The Jewish historian Josephns? I\ ritir~gafter the oc- through n co1111ng ctesclation, durii~gtrhich he would
currence and esprcssing the k~owleclgeof all J e ~ g - scatter then1 among the natioar, a year of desolation
who certainly were conk ersant, tt ith the facts- s a p that without ail nil~nhitantfor. each 11eglecta-l jrrb~leegab-
the seventy gears nere yeare of de,oolntcon after the fall bath year: "And I wlll scatter yo11 among the heathen.
of the c ~ t yw d e r Zedclaah: "He [Nebuchadnczzar] anrl ~i 11 clraw arrt a sward after you : and your land
reduced then1 dl, and sct our tcmple which was at hall be clcsolate, and your cities waste. 'I'lial shall the
Jerusalem on fire [2 Chroiucles 36 : 19-21], nay, re- lalltl enjoy her ~abbnths,as loilg as ~t Ileth desolate,
moved our people entirely out of their own couutry, aut1 ye be in your eneln~e$ land; even then ~ k a l lthe
and transferred them to Bab~lon;lvl~enit so happened land rest, and enjoy her sakbaths. AF long as it lieth
that our city was desolate during the interval of seveoaty desolate ~t shall rest; Because ~t dicl not rest in your
years, until the d q a of Cyrus klng of Persia".--Apion eabhaths, \v\-31eilye dwelt upon ~t.)~-le~-i t ~ c n s26 :33-35.
1:19. The accurate Bible stucicnt a 111 not overlook that the
In anather place Josepln~sreltcrates 11iq statenlent ss prophcated sabbath rest for the land comb~ileda desa-
to the seventy gears of cleso,lation: "But the k111g of lation of the land \nth al).scncr?of the .Jem from that
Babylon, \\.ha brougllt out the two trilxs rJoda11 and land. Thls conhilled rcqurrel~lent llever began until
Bcnjamin], placcd no otlier llatloa in thm coui~try,by after the overthrotv of Ze<;t!il3h. In 606 33. C. It mould
which means all Judea and Jerusalem, and the temple, be a denial of the p r o p h q of Leviticus to assert that
c o ~ t i n r ~tod be a desert for seventy yearsgJ.-Ant. AX, the mere captivity of some of the Jew, their mere
8: 7. servitude as a tributery natlon, met the divinely-fore-
It :a quite obvious that a Jewish historian, even told "desolation tvlthout an idlabitant". The priine
 =WATCH TOWER
reij~nrcmentIVRS desolatzon, riot captivity or servituc2e-
de~oI~lfi09~ con~h19ted w ~ t l lcapttvrty afrd servztuch was
the dl\lilw p~ni~lts.To insist that this seventy year
prophec~Ineunh sen itucle withot~tdesolnt WII.of tlie land
1s to igilore the IVorrl of God gn cn thiotlgh bdoses, and
no such idea can be true uor call those adherug to it
I I ~their course. As will be shown,
hake UocYs ~ ~ C S S I on
f;ll~si~otioui eat; n p n pagan nallrl ilcnloi~ tstic support
and lrac?s into other errolms,a moltlsc; of doubts, and
ultimately illto higher crltlczenl and ~nii(lchty.
I'ROPHECY L?SD FULFILLMEWT
As the aj~poi~:tcdt i n ~ efor the clesolatto~iand sab-
batlc rest of the lnllrt ;tpproachc.rl, the Lord, in harmony
wlth his policy of lnf'olnllr~gof evils to conle, revealed
throz~ghJereiii~ali,u ithout' stet-t~ng \\ lzen, that the period
of coiitemporaaeous dcsolatlon, her\ itucle, and captivity
was to be heveilty yearq Clzus nlbo llltlicatlng the total
length of the ~ t l h ~ l eystc111
e as 50 s SO, or 3,500 years:
'<And t h ~ sn~lzoleland shall bc a desulatzott, aud an
astonishmel~t;and these aat~ollss11a11 sene the klng of
Baljylon seventy years. Ancl ~t shall cotne to pass. when
se~cntyyears are acconzplislled, that I wlll punl~llthe
krizg of Bztbylon, and that ~lat~oiz, gnith the I ~ r d ,for
then miqzuty, and the land of the Chnldeans, and will
make ~t ~erpet~zal [lnstlng] desol,ztionsJ'-- as B5esopo-
tamia stlll 1s.-Jeremiah 25 :11,12.
"After seventy years be acconlplished [by the entire
nation] at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my
good word toward you, in causing you to return to this
~lace.'~-Jeremlal~29 : 10.
The historic record of fulfillnlent of seventy years
desolation is plaii~lystated in the Bible, as well in
Jewish history : "As long as she [the land of Paledme]
lay desolate sllc kept snbbath, to fulfill threescore and ten
yearsN.-2 Cliron~clcs36 : 21.
It would be a quibble to assert that this does not
mean seventy years of sabbath rest in desolation.
The date for the b e p ~ n i u gof the seventy years'
desolation of ,Yeremiah'< propliecy lvas not uu&erstood
clearly a t the time by either the Prophet or the people.
It was not until the first year of Darius the Meder (538
B. C.) that Dnnlel began first to understand from rr
study of the Books of Jeremiah and Leviticus that the
seventy years of desolation were then up: 'cIn the first
ycar of his panus', 538 33, C.]reign, I Daniel under-
stood by books the number of the years, whereof the
word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that
he n.o~tlclaccomplish seventy years in the desolations of
Jerrtsalern". (Dantel 9: 2) As usual, tlie propllecy was
not understood until its fulfillment.
Daniel, as a wise and s~zccessfulgovernor, came at
once into high favor with Dariz~sthe Mede (Cyarases
11-538 B. C.) and then with Cyrus (536 B. C.), and
doubtless did something toward infiuenclng the Persian
mo~mch's mind favorably toward the Jews, in brjnging
to an end the ~evantyyears' empty desolateness of their
land. Cyrus peimltted part of the Jew ta return
that ycar. Part of t h c n ~remazned captive and did not
return till the se\enth )ear of the r e p of Artrsxersea
( h a 1-46'? 13. C.) and otliers ttll the tisentlet11 )ear
of tlle same king- ((Nehemiah 2--454 B. C.) So long
wcrc some stdl m cnptiv~tythat, according to later
history, they wondered rf the "seve~~ty years" were not
figarative, and nmny never ret~~rinled from captivity. If
tho ca $11 lty of some of the Jews and not the desohtton
of Jei*u:alem ancl of J udea constituted the chief feature
in the srvent~-yearsprophecy, then the question might
be properly asked, Ras the period yet encled?-for some
never retunled to their own land. Such coiiaiclerations
show how the neglect or perversion of some part of the
Bibllcal statemelits both makes the Word of God of
none effect and leads off rnto entiless doubts md confus-
ing questions. Thls is charocter~stlcof the deceptive
methods of demons.
NO CAPTIVITY UNDER JEROIAKIM
Blshop Usher, and others following his lead, have
fathered an m~scnpttzralidea that there was a captivity
of the Jews hy hTebuchac1nezzar in the fourth (or thlrd)
year of Jehoiaklm (G25 B. C.) 18 (or 19) years before
the seve~~ty years' desolntiou begail at the fall of Zede-
kinh (606 l3. C.). They unagine that the seventy years'
desolatloll were seventy years' captivity, dating from the
fourth (or tlurd) )-calmof Jehoiakim, and consisting of
18 (or 19) years' captivity alone plus 52 (or 51) years'
captivity and desolat~oncombined. The fact is, as seen
from the above m(2ntloned Scriptures, that there were
~ c i v ~ p~atrys of cn11tn lty coincrdmt w ~ t hseventy year$
desolntton.
The effect of this misconception upon the chronology
of the Bible \vould be to show that the desolat~onwas
iLrnnetce11 years shorter than it really was, or that we
count the nineteen year period twice, and thus make the
period of time prior to the desolation nineteen years
too long.
NO CAPTIVITY NOR VASSALAGE IN 625 B. C
A doctr~neshould never be based on a passage of
doubtful meaning, rcsdlng, or authenticity. Thls error
is based upon the rending of a passage which is inl~ar-
monious (1) with the rest of the Smrptwe record of
the attacks by Nebuchadnezzar upon Judea and Jeru-
salem, and (2) with other Scriptures.
A little scrutiny of Daniel 1: 1, 2 shows that there is
something the matter with it. The passw in our Com-
mon Version reads: ''In the third year [626 B. C.] of
the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judnh came Nebuchad-
nezzar king of Babyion unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.
And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his
hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God,
which he carried into the land of Shinar, to the house
of his god; and he brought lhe vessels into the treasurs
hq11- of his god."
617 B. CrJehoiakimfs eleventh year-and
- WATCH TOWER
These events, ss cpe shall see, actually took plncc in
included
(1) the attack by Nebucl~ndnezzarthree ?/ears after
Jehoiakim Began payinq tnbtlte (620 B. C.) ; (2) the
taking of some of the Temple vessels to Babylon in
617 B. C. when J e l ~ o ~ ~ l ~ eleventh-year
im's and Jehoin-
chin's three-months reigns were formbly ended by Ne-
buchadneasr (617 R. C . ) ;and '(3) the first taklng of
the first captives to Babj-1011 at the same time. Thiz
was eleven years before the final captlvlty and the be-
ginning of the "dewolation" of thc l a ~ l d .
The foreign relntio~uof Jeho~akim wcre hrl~flyaa
follows :
For eight years (628-620 B. C.) he was twblrtmy to
Egypt or at least non-tributary to Bal>\lon: ",411d Phnr-
aoh-nechoh made Eliakim the son of Jouah k ~ n gm
the room of Josiah his fnther, and tun1c.11 hls name to
Schoiakim. ... And Jchoiakim gave thc silver and the
gold to Pharaoh; but he tasetl the land to give the
money according to the conlmnnd~nentof Pharaoh : he
esacted the silver and gold of tllc people of the land,
of every one according to his tasation, to give it unto
Pharaoh-nechoh."--2 Kings 23 :34. 35.
I n his eighth year Jeholakim was forced to begin
pa \ ing trrhute to BnIn lon. Dnnng his eleventh and last
which ~~*ould l ~ othe thtrd year of his vassalage to
Ncl,ucha~lnezznr(63"r- C.), he attempted an alliance
I\ ~ t l lI;',g~l)t.
and refused to pay the pro~n~scd tnhute to
13alwlon. This course brought upon him t l ~ ewrath of
K(.l~~,uchn.clnezzar, a Chaldean invasion, his own death,
a~lcl f i e captivity of 111s successor, Jehoiachin, many
JCIIS~ ~nclud~ng Daniel. (2 Kings 24: 12) Zedekiah
a a h then placed upon thc t.lirnllr BR Nehchadnezmr'~
vassal. and relgnecl eleven \-car-. until dethroned in
606 B. C.
THIRD SEAR OF JEIIOJAKIM'S VASSALAGE
A discrepancy in Daniel 1: 1,2 is mandest in the
date, "the third year of Jehoiakim" (626 B. C.) ; for
this would have been one year prior to the beginning
of Nebuchndnezzar's reign, .which began in the fourth
year of Jehoiakim (625 13. C.), when Nebuchadnezzar
defeated Pharaoh-necl~ohof Egypt: "Against the army
of Pharaoh-necho kiog of Egypt, which was by the river
Euphrates in Carchcn~ish,which Nehchadnezzar king
of Babylon mote in the fourth yeear of Jehoiakim''.
(Jeremiah 46 :2) "The fourth year of Jehoiahm, the
$on of Josiah king of Jndah, that' was the first gear of
Nebuchailnezzar king of Babylon."-Jeremiah 25 :1.
Cmchemish is by the river Euphrates in the land of
Mesopotamia or Babglonis. The king of Egypt had
passed by Judea and a s s some 400 miles to the ea&
Babylon at this time was not a world power but this
victory by Nebuehadnezvlr broke the power of the king
of Egypt, and Kebuchadnezzar was quick to follow his
advantage and drove the king of Ebmt back to his o m
n~~ntry, thns changing the nomind control of Wles-
tine from Egwyptto Babylon. Pharaoh-necho was prob-
ably three or more years on this campaign.--Compare
2 Chronicles 35 :20 ;36 : 1.
The two dates-third and fourth y e a r ~ a n n o tbe
reconc~led;and as the fourth year was the first year
of Nebuchadnezzar, we must conclude that the "third
year'' mel~tloneclin Daniel 1: 2 refers to another third
year than the third year of Jehoinkim's reign proper-
the third year of his var~alageto Babylon, which began
in 620 B. C. and ended 11-ith 111s rebclllon and death In
617 B, C.
According to the Jewish historian Josepl~us,the reign
of Jeholtlliin~included no Chaldean attack on Jerusalem
insthe fir& year of Nebuchadnezzar (Jehoinkim's fourth
yem-625 73. C.), but the first attack come four y e m
later, in Nebuchadnezzar's fifth year (Jehoialrimya
eighth year-621 B. C.), and the vassalage of Jello~a-
kim's country dated from that or the next year (620
B. C. ) . This clarifies Daniel 1:1, 2, showing "the
third pear" to refer to the third of Jehoiakimysrelations
with Babylon, and not tb the third gear of his eleven-
year reign. Josephus says :
"Now in the fourth yenr of the reign of Jelloinkim [625
B. C.] one whose name mas Nebuchndnezzar took the gov-
ernment over the Babylon~ans,who at the same time went
up with a great nrlny to the city Carchemish, which \ras at
E l ~ p l , ~ r iupon
~ t ~ ,a resoltltlon he hncl taken to fight with
Nec-0, king of Egypt, under whom (111 Syria then was.
The king of Rtlbglon passed over Euphrates, and took all
...
Syr~a,as far ns Peluslum, except ittg Juclen.
"But a hen Nebuchndaezzar had already re@~ed four
years [621 B. C.] wllfch w - a ~the ctlgl~thof Jehoink~m's
government oyer the Hebrett-s, the kill= of Babylon tilade
an eswlition with mighty forces against the Jews, and
required tribute of Jellotnkim, ilnd threatened, npon lib
refitwl, to make mar against him. He wTnsaffrighted at his
threatening and bought his peace with money, and brought
the tribute he mas ordered to bring for three years [until
Jeboitlkim's eleventh and last year, 617 B. C ]
"But on #he third ucat [Daniel 1: 11, upon hearing that
the k~ngof the Bnbybnians made [or probably planned]
an expeclitlon against the Egyptims, he did not pay his
tribute ; yet \lrnsdisappointed of his hope, for the Egyptians
durst not fight at this time."LAnt. IX, 15: 1, 2
The Bible record of this is in 2 Kiqp 24:1-25 :7.
Josephus makes no mention of an attack on the Jewe
by Babylon in 625 B. C., but specifically says that Judea
was excepted then f ~ o mthe general attack. The-Jews,
on account of their numbers and the strength of their
inland and easily defended mm~ntainposition, were let
alone for four years (until 621 B. C.), after which
their vassalage to Babylon began. There KW no cap
tiwty of the inhabitants until the fall of Jehoiakirn and
of Jehoiachin in 617 B. C. This is according to Jewish
records, but the commonly accepted idea ignores Jewish
history for the rcason that it cannot make them agree
with the notorio~lsly~zntrustworthypqan records.
The "third year of Jehoiakim" (Daniel 1 :I ) wsa
therefore the third full year of his vassalage to Nebu-
ehndnezzar which wea the end of his eleven-year reign
(617 B. C.). The Daniel 1 :1 record was w15tten in
 WATCH TOWER
Babylon and took the Choldean viewpoint of the third
year of Jehoink~m's relatronship with Babylon. The
events which then took place agree with the Scrlpturd
record of the tukmg of some of the Temple vcssels and
of many =Te\is cuptlve illto Babylon in 617 B. C., eleven
years before the desolation;
FlItST CAYTIVIT,Y BEGAN 617 B C
The record of tllc historian Josephus of the caphvit~es
of the Jcli s 111 617.B.C.-the first of the captivities-
is as folio\\-s :
''Sc~rv :i 11 tile time afterwards (617 B. C.], the king of
E.\b>lo11 made 311 expedxtion against Jehoinkim, whom he
lece~lctl[ ~ n t othe city], and th!s out of fear of the fore-
ng precl~ct~ons
~ C I I of tlus prophet [Jeremiah ], as supposing
that he sllould stiffer nothing that \iras terrible, beakuse he
neither shut the gates nor fought against him; get, when
be wns come into the c ~ t g he
, did not observe the covenants
which he, had made, but he slew such as were in the flower
of their age, and sucli as were of the greatest d~galty,to-
gether with tllelr king Jeholakim, whom he commanded to
be thrown before the \\*rills, without any burial, and macle
h i s son Jel~olsellmkrng of the country and of the city : he
SO took tile pI'lncjpt.il PerSOllS in d i g ~ l i tlor
~ mPttWs,
tlir.ee thouqnnd in number, and led them away to Babylon,
among whom \vas the prophet EzekreI, who was then but
youtlg."--~n t. S, 1;:8.
~h~ Bible record of this captivity at the close of
Jehol&lm9s r e i p is given in 2 Kings 24 :2-6 ;2 Chroni-
cles 36 : 6 ;Daniel 1 :1, 2; and Jeremiah 22 :13-19. I n
t ~ ~matter
is many writers on this sr~lxjecthave been mis-
led by ottempt&g to hsrmonlze thc& events with nnre-
11able pagan records. The pagans in all their affairs
were under den~onisticinfluence, a~dto attempt to fol-
low them in doubtful matters is to fall into error and
enhn,nlenlent.
In the ~ a m egear (617 B. C.), three months later,
toolc place the second part of the initial captn ity of
the Jetvs, under Jehoiachin, to Babylon. (Jeremiah 52 :
28) Thu i s described by Josephus as follows:
"But terror seized on the king of Bztbj Ion, m*ho had given
tl~ekingdom to Jehoinchin and that immediately; he tvns
nfi-aid t b t he should bear him a grudge, bemuse of his
killing of his father, and tberwupon should make the coun-
try revolt for him; wherefore he sent at1 army and b e
sieged Jel~oirrchlni n Jertisnlern ; bnt because he wvas of a
gentle and just dispositzon, he did not desire to see the city
endangered on his account, but he took his mother and
kindred, and deli\-ered them to the comn~anderssent by
the kiog of! Bnbylon, and accepted of their oaths, that
neither should they suffer any harm nor the city, wluch
agi~ementthey did not observe for a single year; for the
king of Bnbplon did not keep it, but gave orders to his
gerlernls to take all that were in the city captives, both
the youth and the handier& men, and bring them bound
to liitn; their number was ten thousand eight hundred and
thirty-tw\o ; as also Jehoiachm, and his mother and friends;
and when they were brought to him, he kept them in
cu.;tody, and appointed Jehoiacllin's uncle Zedekflnh to be
klncW.-Ant. S, 8 :1.
The Bible record of this is in 2 Engs 24: 10-17;
2 Chronicles 36: 9, 10; and Jeremiah 52: 28.
After the departure of Jehoiachin and the Jewish
captives to Babylon, some false prophfi+a among them
at Babylon kept the minds of the captives in unrest'bj
predlctlug only a brief captivity. To quiet this unrest
Jerermah, in 617 B. C., in s letter (Jeremiah 29 : 1-23)
counseled the captives to settle down and make them-
selves as comfortable as possible in ant~clpat~on of a
long period away from home, bemuse the seventy years
-to begin in 606 B. C.-were surely to be accomphhed
at Babylon. (Jeremiah 29 : 10) No one knew then wl~en
the seventy years were to begin. This was not understood
by Damel tdl the first year of Darlus. (Dsmel 9: 1,2)
It is asserted that Jeremiah's letter (617 B. C.) marked
the begmning of the "seventy years"; but this is not
the case. As a matter of fact, the Prophet had uttered
this very warning in 625 B. C. (Jeremiah 25: 1-38;
29 :11,12), eight years before there was any captivity
at dl;for Judea and Jerusalem were not molested in
625 B. C. nor until four years later, when Jehoiakim,
under fear of Nebuchadnezzar's threats, became a trrbu-
tary vassal to Babylon.
m e various nations also were to serve Babylon sev-
enty years, but the servitude of different nations began
a&different bmes, from Phlli&,ia in 625 down to Tyre
in 606 (or 605) B. C., the latter city's preliminary
slege beginning (618 B. C.) thirteen years before ~ t s
fall (605 B. C.) according to the articl-e on N e b u c W
nezznr in 'Smith's Blble D i c t i o w * The predicted
seventy years' servitude of all the nations was, however,
pradlcaliy coincident with the seuwty lreard desolation
of Judea, though some served more than seventy years.
No one date prior to 606 B. C. esn be set ae meeting
all the requmments of the prophecy of Jeremiah 25:
13-28. A seventy-year perlod upon Tyre had been prophe-
sied by Isaiah (23 :15-18);and aa this agrees in terms
with the Jeremiah prophecy (Jeremiah 25 :11, 22), the
seventy years' servitude of Tyre to Babylon could not
have begun earlier than 60G or 605 B. C. Any close
elramlnatlon then of the facts shows that'not even the
prophecy of seventy years' servitude or captivity upon
the nations began to be fulfilled on all of them in 625
B. C. nor earlier than 006 B. C. The expression 'of
Isaiah 23: 15 is that -re shall be forgotten seventy
years [as an independent peopleJ ,according to the days
of one king [kingdom, empire]". Knowing that in
prophecy 'long" is often used for "kingdom" (Daniel
11 :11-14,etc.), the "one king" evidently refers to the
aeventy-year dominion of Babylon from 606 to 536 B. C.
No other explanation of these passages meets all the
condihons of prophecy and fulfillment.
A further dficulty comes b light in comparing
Daniel 1 with Dmiel 2. I n Daniel 1 the statement is
that the four Hebrew lads were given three years train-
ing before presentation to the king. (Daniel 1:5,18-20)
In Daniel 2: 1 it is stated that Daniel was brought
before the king and revealed and erplained the image
dream in Nebukhadnezzar's second year, which would
thus have been a year or tao before they were pre-
sentnil to the king as recorded in Daniel 1:18 1 The
 *WATCH
Variorum Bible faot-note reading for "seoond" is
"twdfth", the ~'secondy'being evidently a slip of a eopy-
ist's pen, like the dip of the pen from eighteen to eight
in 2 Chronicles 36: 9 and 2 IGngs 24: 8.
The "twelfthJ' year of Nebuchadnezzar agrees with
the facts. It would be in the year 614 B. C. (625 minus
11 equals 614), three years otter the captlvity of Daniel
and the other three Hebrew lads, Ezelriel and others,
and the expiration of their three years' training -
three years after 617 B. C., or 614 B. C. (Daniel 1:
6, 19) Thus the disclosure of the truth about Daniel
1:1 and 2 :1 removes the ent~refoundation for the
notion that the Hebrew cnptlvlty began in 625 B. C.
and that 625 B. C. was the beginning of the 70 years.
No one lmew better than the captive Jews in Babylon
when their captivity began. They never dated the initial
captlvity from the first year of Nebuchadnezzar (625
TOWER
B. C.), but from the end of Jehoiachin's three-rnozlths'
reign and the beginning of Zedekiah's (61r B. C.) a
date which by no method of reckoning can be made
the begnning of a seventy years' captivity. References
to this are numerous in Ezelael, as, ''the fifth year of
king Jehoiachin's captivity" (Ezekiel 1:2), "in the
five and twentieth year of our captlvity"(Ezekiel40 :l),
and numerous other verses. The capt~veJews knew
nothing of a captivity beginning In Jeholiikimys foui%h
year, or Nebuchadnezzsr's first year. If there had been
such s captiv~tyit would naturally have beell rnentloned
elsewhere than in the doubtfully-dated Daniel 1: 1.
These fads dispose of the nssertlon thnt the s c ~ a l t y
years' captivity began in G25 13. C., ant1 sho~tthnt so far
as the B~bleand Jewish history are concc~rne~l our cbro-
nology, which places the beginning of the "se'sevenkj
years" in 606 B. C., is correct.

GENERAL CONVENTION A T CEDAR POINT

D URING the past two years there has been a great situated two good hotels, The Breakers and The Cedars,
demand for another geneial convention. The
high cost of transportation and of hotel amom-
modationa hsa been the diief cause for not holding such
which accommodate approximately 3800 people. Coot1
accommodations can also be had at Sandusky. A flat-J*ltc
of $2.00 per day has been made to all of the bretllren
..

a convention. But realizing the importance of a general attending the convention. This will include room ant1
assembly of the Lord's consecrated ones for a season three meals, to be served of first-class food. When the
of fello\rship
-
together,
- an effort has been put forth to capacity of the hotels and other aceommodations on the
mange for a general convention for 1923.- peninsula are exhausted, the overflow will be p l w l 1n
The conventron held at Cedar Point, Ohlo, in 1919, Sondusky in private homes and hotels; and the manage-
is ge11emlly conceded to have been the greatest ever ment of Cedar Point has agreed to provide these qnnr-
held durlng the harvest period, and frequently the ters at the same mte, and to transport by boat all who
brethren are heard to say that they long for another will necessarily have to go from Sandushy to Cctinr
such convention. We are glad to announce that arrange- Po~nt,back and forth, free of charge.
ments are practically complete for holding another gen- We shall have the a~clusiveuse of the auditoriums,
eral convention at Cedar Point on beaut~fulLake Erie, whlch have been improved since we were there before.
beginning September 5 and continuing for eight, and The weather is u s ~ ~ d lideal
y in the &st part of Sep-
posslbly ten, days. tember; and we may find it advant+zgeousto hold out-
door meetings, as was the case m 1919.
TO BE AT CEDAR POINT, OHIO There are a number of colporteurs and others of the
Cedar Point is situated on a narrow peninsula jutting Lord's dear consecrated ones who may find it difficult
out from the Ohio mainland lnto Lake Erie. It has to get to the convention and pay their expenses. Hence
the advantages of the lake from three sides. For quiet- an arrangement has been made that the management of
ness and seclt~sionwe know of no better place. The Cedar Point will employ approxunately two hundred to
friends can be practically alone during the convention ass~stin taking care of the rooms, chechng the linen,
and have meet fellowship together. The grounds are assisting in the dming room and the kitchen. Able-
situated some two mlles across the bay from Ssndusb, bodied brothers and sisters can engage in this service
Ohio, which is reached by ferry, as well as by a roadway ; if they so desire, and for this assistance will receive
and those who will attend from the outside will, be their room and board free. Those who wish to engage
people who are truly interested in knowing something in this work should make application to our Convention
about Gsd'e Word, and it will be a real joy to have Committee in advance of the time of the convention.
thcm present and render any assistance we can to them It IS the Association's desire to have all the colporteurs
in ulldcrota~lct~ngthe divine plan. in the United States and Canada to attend this conven-
tion, if possible.
'L'he Boeckling Company, desiring to how its appre
cir tion of the B~blestudents, has rrrraitged to let the MEETINGS FOR FOREIGN FRIENDS
Awnciation have the exdusive use of the hotels, halls, In addition to the English-speaking brethren, it is the
gyunds, ete, of Cedar Point for its oonwntion, which desire to have the foreign brethren attend this conven-
dl begin September 6 a t maon. On t h i e peninsula are tion, a h ; and thq w i l l have their sepsrate meeting
 mmlne upon tba earth (8mletl). for Iha powers of Lha hearam ( r c l e s l d c L w ) lhd br ahrken . ..
a* enrib dfstresj of nnllons alth perplex1W; tba rr and Ih; a;nu (the m e s s , dlrmntnnted) rosrlog: men'# m r t c fnllfnl them for fear rod tar laaklq te
@b
Lba Klnedom of aod L rt ' b n d IaoL w. Hlt up ,om hudr. njoloa, Isr mp ndcmptlon drbwtb oU-)l.tt
When Ye see them t b l n p begla to mms tn :uq
14: 33: Mark 13: 29: W e 21: 28-8L
 SEVENTY YEARS' DESOLATION (PART 11)
"Thenz that l ~ n descaped from the sword carried he [Nebt~chadnezzar]away to Bab!jlon, where they. toen
servants t o h i m and his sons until the reign of the kingdorlt of Persia: to fulfill the word of the Lord
by the mouth of Jercntiah, until the land had enjoged her sabbaths; for a s long as she lay
dcsolate she lccpt sabbath to fulfilltl~rccscoreand ten years."-2 Chronicles 30: 20,-21.
A PEW of our readers have been somewhat con-
fused in their ~~t~dcrstantliugof present-trnth
chronology by the claim that i t tlocs not agree
with ancient secular history. This carries the inference
that the chronology canilot be correct u~llessi t is in
agreement with secular-pagan history and rhronology,
and that this agrrcmrnt is ciesirable and indispcnsal~lc.
We present some coasideratioiis from which the rcarler
may judge whether it is desirable to aitcinpt to rely
upon prehistoric pagan records derived from gentile
"history" and from the inscriptions on Assyrian monu-
ments.
EARLY PAGAN "HISTORY" UNRELIABLE
A change was made some two hundred years ago from
the ancient and true belief in seventy years' desolation
of*the land to seventy years' captivity. This was done
by ecclesiastics to make the Bible record agree with
pagan records, and was in thorough harmony with the
spirit of compromise that has possessed ecclesiasticism
since the time (325 A. D.) when Constailtine, under
demon influence, transformed the independent true
church of God into a servile religious department of
the pagan governmentwhich it is today. It is nothing
to b(! surprised at that a ch~~rchianit,y con~posedlargely
of pagans and demon worshipers, should prefer pagan
and dcmoii iilfluei~ced records to the straightforward
and truthful records of the Word of God and of Jewish
history.
Tlie pagan historical records, especially of date as
early as the seventy years' desolation, are extremely
obscure. contradictory, and unreliable, so much so as to
fall outsitlo the (lomain of history into the realm of
surmise, gucsswork, hearsay, and conjecture. It is upon
such a secular prehistoric basis that-the error rests that
the seventy pears began nineteen years earlier than
they actually did.
We will illustrate the unreliability of early pagan
records concerning affairs prior to Cyrus, 536 B. C.
Milman in his "History of the Jews" (Volume 1, page
460) speaks of "the intricate and inextricable labyrinth
of Assyrian history and chronology".
The uncertainty of those early pagan records cannot
be shown better than by giving the facts about the
sourccs of infornlation. The entire so-called pagan "his-
tory" of anticluity is a mass of guesses, and furnishes no
sound basis for so important a step as discrediting the
divinely-made prophecy ,and the divinely-recor6,ed ful-
fillment of the seventy years' desolation. Tt.: three
ancient pagan "historians'y from whom data all: taken
1813
are the Greek writers Herodotus (450 B. C.) and
Ptolemy (150 A. D.) and the Chaldean writer Berosus
(260 11. C.). Concerning Herodotus as a cchistorian"
the facts are as follows :
I n the article on "Medesy' "Smith's Bible Dictionary"
says :
"Ttrnt the cl~ronologicnlc1t~tc.s[of IIeroilotus] are improb-
able, cuid even coittradictory, has been a frequent subject
of complaint. . . . Recently it has been shown that the
whole [Herodotus] schen~eof (lutes is artificial, and that
the very names of the kings, except in a si~lgleinstance,
are unhistorical. . . . The Median kingdom did not coln-
mence so early as Herodotus imagined. . . . The Deioces and
Phraortes of Herodotus are removed from the list of his-
torical personages altogether."
Dr. Francis Ilrown, 11. n., of TJnion Theological
Seminary, comments thus on the relative accuracy of the
unconscientious Greek "historians" and the writers of
the Bible:
"The Grt3eks told fairy-tales that entertuii~etltheir readers,
but were largely untrue. Tlie Hebrews, with their nearer
position, and more frequent menlorable contact, had also a
coltzcientiousness and skill in u~inalisticwriting which made
their evidence in regiirtl to tile l~istoryof their neighbors
iinportu~~tid t r u ~ i ~ v o ~ t l ~ y . " ' ~ ~ ~ s y r i o l oIta
g y : Use and
Abuse," p. 50.
GUESSES OF "AUTHORITIES"
When almost any bit of "historf' of the prehistoric
pagan events of the sevalty years is traced to its origin
it is found to be a guess or conjecture, based by "author-
ities" (well-paid guessers) upon some scraps of uncertain
tradition. The ecclesiastically-received history of Baby-
lon of this period originated in a guess by an "author-
ity". This appears in the article on "Bqlshazzar" in
McClintock & Strong's "Biblical Cyclopedia," and shows
the uncertain and conflicting tales on which was based
originally the now discredited notion of seventy years
'dcaptivity" beginning in 625 B. C. First in the article
are given the difEering and contradictory accounts of
Babylon's fall as recorded in the Bible, in Xenophon, r
Greek writer (400 B. C.), in Berosus, a native "his-
torian", and in Herodotus ;then 'Tt appears" so and so
from the Assyrian monuments; and fhally a conjecture
is made by a modern "scholar" (guesser), which is the
basis of the present utterances of ccauthorities" (highcst-
snliiricd guessers) on the pagan history of the scvcrity-
year 1)crioil. There are, indeed, other quite different
ancient records, but these are resolutely ruled out or
ignored by the "authoritieu"-as liable to let the common
people into the fact that the matter is largely a guess.
The history of Babylon, as published by the "author-
ities," includes a certain definite list of lcingg, but othea
 mWATCH TOWER
"authorities" guess t h a t there may have been other kings
who failed t o get into the history or into the inscriptions
on the monuments. How the "authorities7' differ is il-
lustrated in the article on "Belshazzar" in McClintock
& Strong's "Biblical Encyclopedia" :
"A totally difl6rent view is taken by Marcus Niebuhr, who
oonsiders [guesses'] Belshazzar to be another name for Evil-
merodach, the son of Nebuchadnezzar. . . . He considers
[guesses] that the capture of Bttbylon described in Daniel
was not by the Persians, but by the Medes, under Astysges
(1.e. Darius the Mede), and that between the reigns of Evil-
merodach, or Belshazzar, and Neriglassar, me must insert
a brief period during which Babylon was subject to the
Medes."
Thus the "authorities" disagree in their conjectures
on even the number and list of these prehistoric kings of
Babylon. Not even t h e names of the Babylonian kings
are certain, as appears in another extract from the same
article :
"Belshazzar (Hebrew and Chaldean Belslmtstsar) is the
name given in the Book of Daniel to the last king of the
-- Chaldeans. ... Herodotus calls this king, and also his
father, Labynetus, which is undoubtedly a corruption of
Nabonnedus, the name by which he was known to Berosus in
Josephus' 'Contra Apion I. 20.' Yet in Josephus ('Antiquities'
X, 11:2) it is stated that Baltasar mas called Naboandel by
the Babylonians. Nabonadius in the Canon of Ptolemy, Nabo-
nedus in Eusebius, and Nabonnidochus in Eusebius are
evidently other varieties of his name."
Ptolemy, ancient Greek C'historian", made up a list
called "Ptolemy's Canon7' like a chronological table,
which has been much used. This list, however, is un-
reliable in the dates of all events except those marked
by an eclipse or other astronomical phenomenon which
can be checked as to date by astronomical calculation. It
was not compiled for 600 years after 485 B. C., and is
highly inaccurate. F o r example, it says that Xerxes
reigned twenty-one years. He actually reigned eleven
years. It makes the date of Artwerxes' reign nine years
too l a W 6 E i B. C., when it was 474 B. C.-the pagan
record thus supplying an inaccurate date from which
to calculate the "seventy weeks7' of the Jews. Comparing
Daniel 9 :24,25 and Nehemiah 2: 1, it is seen that the
twentieth year of Artaxerxes was 464 B. C. His first year
was 474 B. C. It is upon Ptolemy's Canon, and not upon
the Bible, that the prevalent chronology of the seventy
years is based. The "authorities" here attempt the h-
possible of transmuting guesses into certainties-and
any Bible student is unwise t o follow their leadership
instead of that of the inspired Bible writers.
SUPPOSITIONS, THEORIES, CONJECTURES
The obscurity of pagan records and '%istories" of
those ancient times prior t o 536 B. C., and their',un-
reliability as a basis for belief, appear also in the follow-
ing brief excerpts from articles in "Smith's Bible Dic-
tionary". The worde indicating uncertainty arc! itali-
cized, and show the entire matter to be a mass of guessee
and conjectura.
From the article on "MedcsY7:
"Cyaraxes must Aove been contemporary with the later
years of that Assyrian nlonarch," etc.
"The struggle with these tribes nlay be the real event
represented by 11erodolns," ~ t e .
"Possibly his [EIerodotus'] mau contaln a still larger
amount of truth."
"It was undof~btedlyafter this," etc.
"The Bt~bylonians, who were perhaps commanded by
Nehucl~~tdi~ezx:~r on llle occasion."
"\\'ith regard to the nature of the government established
by the Itides over the conquered nations, we possess but
Zilllr trustworthy evideicce."
"llcrodot~~s i n oitc? gl:~cccornpnres sonccrokat vng?icll/ the
Wctlir~r~ wltl~the I't~rsi~lr~ systc~m."
"It is perhaps most probable that the Assyrian organiza-
tion was continued by the Medes."
"This seems certainly to have been the case in Persia."
.
"Tl~econqucst of the 31edes by . . the Persimis . . . is
anotllthr of tliosc i ? z d i s p ~ l n b l efacts [17'11nt is :I c1isprit:~ble
fact?] of renlote history, \vllich make the inquirer feel that
he aon~etinles:~ttainetlto solid ground."
"According to so~newriters [Herodotus] there was a close
relationship between Cyrus and the last Median monarch."
"~lccordi~~g to Iloodotus, the Media11 rl:ltiolt w:~sdivlclcd
into six tribes, cnllcd Busze, Paretaceni, Struclrates, -4ri-
zanti, Budii, and Rl:lgi. I t is dozcbtfzrl, however, in tohat
sense these are to be consitlered as ethnic divisions."
"\Ye nlay perlbaps nssuwce from the order of Ilerodotus'
list," etc.
"Th? original religion of the Medes must tmdoubtedl~have
keen that s i ~ i ~ p lcrc~ld
e which is placed before us in the
earlier portions of the Zendavesta."
"The custo~r~s of tile hIedes are said to have nearly r e
senlbled tlluse of thci r ncighbors."
From the article on "Persians":
"There Is reason to believe that the Persians were of the
same race as the Medes."
"The religion . .. seems to have been of a very simple
character."
"Neither do they appear to have had any priests."
"They were prohably brought into contact with a form of
religion very different ,from their own.''
"Herodotus ttllls us that the Persians were divided into
ten tribes, of which three were noble, three agricultural,
and four nomadic."
"In remote antiquity it would appear that the Persians
dwelt in the region east of the Caspian or possibly in a tract
still nenrclr India."
"The first E'argard of the Vendidad seents to describe
their wanderings."
"It is inlpossible to determine the period of these move
ments; but there can be no doubt that they were anterior to
B. C. 880, a t which time the Assyrian kings seem to have
come in contact with Aryan tribes east of niount Zagros."
"It is unce~-tainwhether they are to be identified with
the Eartsu or Partsu of the Assyrian monu~nents."
" I f so, \ve nlay s:ty t1111tfroin tllo ~nidtllcof the ninth
to the n~ltldleof the efgI1111century U. U. they occupied
soutl~easternArmenia."
"The lender of this last migration would seem to have
been a certain Achzmenes."
''l'eq~ little is lino1c.n of the history of Persia between this
datc (13. C. 700) and the revolt and accession of Cyrus the
Great nearly a century and a half later."
"Of the circumstnnces i~rlrlerwhich this revolt took place
we have no certain knowledge,"
 = WATCH
BOASTFUL, LYING INSCRIPTIONS
. Considerable reliance is placed by modern higher-
mitic "authorities" on the inscriptions on pagan monu-
ments and on Assyrian clay tablete to help them correct
the inspircd Word of God 1
The inscriptions were made by men, and are no more
reliable than the men themselves. The degree of trust-
worthiness of even the modern oriental aristocrats and
monarchs is generally estimated a t a low figure. 'Who,
for instance, would take the unsupported word of an
oriental sultan on anything today, or of an occidental
diplomat? The ancient s&ns were even less trust-
worthy; their word could not be depended upon. A
statement was a means to an end; a lie was as good as
a truth, if it accomplished the desired purpose. Pagan
monarchs were universally the tools of demons and, al-
most universally, children of their mental- and character-
father the devil, the inventor and perpetuator of lies.
The Assyrian inscriptions were made by demon-con-
trolled devil-worshipers, and are just as trustworthy aa
- might be expected under the circumstances; for in un-
reliability they closely resemble the ancient pagan '%is-
torics" written by men of like character with the rulers.
Occasionally these "histories" tell the truth, but general-
ly spcaltind they relate a mass of fairy tales; and the
mol~umcntsare first cousins to the histories.
hlost of the inscriptions considered of historical value
by the "autl~orities" (guessers) are the boastful state-
ments of I)a,.;nn kings-worshipers of the heathen gods
13~1,Nabu. hI:ud~ik,ctc. Cyrus was uscd by Jcliovali to
help the Jcws, and may have been better than some, but
the following extract from a monumental inscription
eerves to contrast this best of the boastful pagan rulers
with David, the best of Hebrew kings:
"I am Cyrns, king of the world, the great king, the mighty
king, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the
four quarters of the world, son of Cambgses; the great king,
king of Anshall. grandson of Cyrus, the grmt king, king of
Anshnn, great-grandson of Teispes, the great king, king of
Anshan ; and everlasting seed of royalty, whose government
Be1 and Nabu love, whose reign in the goodness of their
hearts they desire. When I entered in peace into Babylon,
wit11 joy nnd rejoicing I took up my lordly dwelling in the
royal pnluce. hI:~rduk,the great lord [through the priests]
moved the understanding heart of the people of Bitbylon to
me, wliile I tl;\ily sought his worship. . . . To Ashur and
Susn, hgi~de, Eshmunak, Znmban, Meturnu, Deri, to the
border of Gutiom, the cities beyond the Tigris, whose sites
had bt,rrl foul:dctl of old-the gods who dwelt in them I
returned to their palaces, nnd caused them to settle in tlieir,
eternal shrines. . . . And the gods of Sumer and Akkad,
whoin Nnbonnid, to the anger of the lord of the gods, had
brooglit into I!:11)ylon, nt t l ~ ecorninand of [the priests, who
wnntcd n ri~or~o~)oly] Mnrclulr, the grcnt lord, I enused In
pence to dwell In their abodes, the dwellings in which their
hearts delighted. May all the gods, whom I have returned
to tlieir cities, pray before Marduk and Nabu for the pro-
longing of my days, may speak a kind word for me and
ray to AInrclnk, lord of the gods, 'May Cyrus the king,' " etc
-Barton's "hrchrrology and the Bible", pp. 385,386.
The superstitious Cyrus evident1J wished to propitiate
dl the gods within eight, and his desire to please also
TO WE,R
Jehovali the God of the Eebrews mnv have occasiolleb
his unexpected leniency to the chose; people. But the
contrast is sharp between the foregoing and the reveren-
tial meekness of the following :
"The Lord is my shepherd; I sl~allnot want. 13e maketh
me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth' me beside the
still waters. He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the
paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yen, though
I walk through the valley of the sl~adowof death, I mill
fear no evll: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff
they comfort me. Tliou preparest a tnble before me in the
presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runnet11 over. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life; ntld I will dwell In the
house of the Lord for ever."-David in the Twenty-l'l~ird
Psalm.
This brings out in the sharpest
- -possible contrast the
difference between pagan demon-worshipers and the ser-
vant of Jehovah. Which is the more trustworthy-Cyrus
or David? It is to the records of the former that the
advocates of the new and improved cl~ronologyappeal.
We continue to rely upon the inspired Word of Jehovah.
RECORDS FALSIFIED BY KINGS
The pagan kings did not hesitate to falsify the monu-
mental inscriptions. They left out whatever did not
suit them, and altered the record of facts when that
pleased their arrogant boastfulness. Two kings reigned
together, but the inscriptions are written as though the
reigns were successive. Some of the inscriptions make
boasting claims as to the lengths of reigns--thonsanda
of years to a reign.
An inscription exists in ~ h i c hin boastful language
Sennacherib describes his disastrous campaign against
Hezekiah (2 Kings 18 :19 ;Isaiah 36,37), but he says not
a word about the miraculous obliteration of his army by
the destroying angel. "Assyrian kings," says Dr. Brown,
"never record their failures; but Sennacherib's admission
that he did not take the city was held to be confirmation
of 2 Kings 19 : 35-37, which describes a,great destruction
of the Assyrian army and a signal deliverance of Scnl-
Salem".
The entire reigns of kings are omitted in the inscrip-
tions at the option of succeeding monarchs. After the
fall of Babylon in 538 B. C. the city was ruled by the
"Darius the Mede" mentioned by Daniel. (Daniel 6 :9,
11) Darius is considered to be Cyaraxes 11, a king of
the Medes, who reigned a t Babylon for two years until
succeeded by the boastful Clyrus, but the inscriptions are
silent regarding his brief reign. His reign was the ful-
fillment of Daniel's vision of the Medo-Persian empire
to the effcct that the BIcdcs would reign first and nftc.r
them the more powerfnl Persians. (Daniel 7 :6 ;8 : 3,4)
',Those that rely on the monuments for the facts will
never know anything about ''Dariw the Mede" or his
two-year reign.
"Take the new Cyrus inscription," says Dr. Francis Brown,
himself an interpreter of the inscriptions. "I mention only
one of the points of dlfaculty mhfch arise when these inscrip
tiona are compared with the statements in the Book of
 %WATCH TOWER
Danlel. They sem to lenve no place for 'Dnrius the Bledian.' ments: lralling tlic~rieagerly when lhcy say nt o~rc.c*wlrrtt
... Tlie Darius wlio from Daniel 5 :31 ; G: 1-28; e t c ,
would appear to have followed the last Babylonian king,
you want tlielli to say, but discrediting tlirui with all your
might when their utterances are troublesome to you. . . .
and preceded Cyrus, seems not to exist, according to the unwilling to wait. . . not courageous enough to be candid,"
inscriptions."-"Assyriology : I t s Use and Abuse," pp. 37,38. etc.-Brown's 6'Assyriology: I t s Use and Abuse".
The fact i s that Clyrus the braggart simply left Darius The foregoing are some of the varieties of unreliabili-
out of his inscriptions; but Dr. Brown takes the pre- ty in the presentation by "authorities" of the monu-
historic pagan record seriously and continues in a way mental records of antiquity. They could not be much
calculated to throw a little doubt upon the Bible: worse. The Bible student following them is in a maze.
"Now here is a historical problem of tlie 6rst order. It H e cannot tell what is true and what false in the
needs no amplification. Tlie issue is clear. I do not know
what adequate solution can be offered for the difficulty. inscriptions themselves, nor can he tell whether the
There is some solution, under which the Bible will suffer "authorities" are dealing honestly and consaientiously
no clatilage, I tun sure, but 20110 can teU u.9 what it is?" with him in their presentation of what in their opinion
A footllotc throws a little more doubt upon the Bible they guess a t or carelessly or willfully misrepresent.
by suggesting that the whole book of Daniel ia a legend:
"A current answer [by a clergyman, of course] affirms the DOUBTS, AND MORE DOUBTS
legendary character of the book of Daniel. But this is not An ancient king once built a great labyrinth of
enough. Tlie origin of the legend is still to be explained." intricate passages, and tradition has i t that when he
Extracts like these display the fact that "authorities", wished to get rid of someone he would have him turned
who have invested much in their training to read difficult loose in some remote corner of the labyrinth. So con-
inscriptions and whose salaries depend on gieat reputa- fnsing were the passages that practically everyone starved
tions, prefer to regard the monume~ltalinscriptions as to tleath without h d i n g the way out. Prehistoric pagan
-more rcliable than tlic Bil~le. Sucli are some of tlie clirol~ology and "history" are a mental labyrinth in
'"defenders of the faith" in the modern theological semin- which the believers of any other than present-truth
aries, and it is under their leadership that are unwitting- chronology find then~selves. Every step of study brings
ly enrolled those that doubt the Scripturally and his- new problems which take long study for solution, if
torically wcll-proved chronology of present truth. tht~ycan be solved at all, and the unfortuuate studc~lt
UNTAUSTWORTHINESS OF ARCHiEOLOGISTS finds himself "ever learning [something], and never able
Dr. Brown, however, is more cautious t h m some of to come to a knowledge of the truth9'.-2 Timothy 3: 7.
the more ardent Assyriologists. I n an address to young As Dr. Brown says :
.
\,qbyriolo~y
18 is trot a 1111'1.e 1<t~y10 111111)('li ~ I O O I ~ XI. t 011'1~s
u 111ntuild ~ ' ~ ~ t t y l i ~s(?rles
a t e d of fuels. I t tllro\\.s clear l i ~ i t t
warrls thecstu(leuts agaiust the wtisuse of a r c h ~ o l o g y . or1 sollie tllings, alld pai.tiul liglit on others, artd reveals dilrr
We quote snatches of his address : outli~cesof yet others. If we put oursel~esin that light, we
"Scierttific advance is through guesses, more o r less rash. niust be williitg to see all it shozoa us. Assyriology is ttot
.enthusiasm,
. . Assyriology has its guesses. . . . Great and infections
but a sad lack of cool judgment and scholarly
sitt11)ly an interpreter titat stands outside attd expluirls our
BiI)les to us. It makes its way into our Bibles, and even
patience. .. . Overliaste in its employment. . The As-.. wlrile it s~uootlisover some of the old difficulties, it s o ~ i l e
ayriologists themselres have been guilty of many sins of times unearths new ones no k s s troublenome. I t is the lm-
.
excessive haste. . . The Biblical scliolar has not only, to perative duty of those who study-most of all those who
his own u~rdoing,taken the hasty coltclusions of tlie special- teach, or expect to teach-the Rible, to rrcognize these new
isla, arid morlred them into his expositiorrs, but he has liiui- l~roblelnsin all their gravitu and far-rchchi~tgimport. . . .
self rlrnwii hasty conclusions from tlieru. . . . Tliere has IVe ouglrt to Iw looking forwrird to a time, and preparing
been in some quarters an unseently voracity; everything has for it, wlteri the average n~rmbershipof our churches shall
beer1 swallowed; tlie sililplest rules of critical inquiry have have a faith so full of living nerves and muscles that i t
beeri forgotten. There has been blind trt~stingto authority, will hold itself upriglit betreath even such searching inqztiries
witltout weighing it, 11rtd all nssuniptiori of fxct ugon the [doubts] ccs these. . . . \Vhosoever undertakes to make use
mere say-so of soltie presur1l:tbly lrortrst scllo1:tr. . . . There of Assyriology in behalf of tlie Old Testanlent cannot slrutl
is .a wide difference between expectiltg a discovery and fkear Ithe doubts thus created]."-"Assyriology : I t s Use and
.
making one. . . T l ~ eXssyriologistx, it iuust be adluitted, Alluse." no. 29.30.
.
have rather a slender bilsis for tlteir date. . . The blame-
- . > r c

~ h ideal
-,- -
i of~ a church is a congregation of university
worthy thing is tliat there ltas been ]to adequate care to
..
guard against ~nistnkes. . A coltstaltt arid enforced shift- graduates all learned and wise (1 Corinthians 1: 26-29),
.
ing of ground. . . Conclusions nlust not be jumped at. . . . trained in arch~ology and able to overcome the doul~ts
He ntust not treat the liyl)otl~esis:IS :in establislled fact, raised ~veeltlyby their pastor and. for salvation from
.
and build a dogmatic espowitiorl u1)on It. . . They 0ug11t unbclicf, tru"&il;g in the nlelltal p~owessof the infitlcl
to dettrutld tliat fact sharply t l i x t i ~ ~ ~ ~ t l sfro111
l ~ c ~guess;
tl
that dt4itiite and intelligible rt:asotIs J)c assigrted for opitiiolis. ,
woll in tlie pulpit before them. Bible students shor~ld
. .
. A colnplete list would e v e us a secure chronological , not begin studping matter based on pagan records, u-itll-
basis for Assyrian history. 111 fact, we 11:tve tto one, complete out seeing how far their course will lead them and being
list, but six or seven partial lists overln~pingeach other. willing to go all the distance into unbelief and to pay
.. . A respectable nutuber of cllronologists have assumed all the price--the crown of gloryfor the faithful.
. .
a Ilreak of forty-six years. . The vice of this method
But have
of handling the inscriptious lies here: that it involves a
playiug fast-and-loose with well-attested historical docu- service yet to render to their Master, worse than waste
 WATCH TOWER
their time on "science [knowledge] falsely so calledy' (1 consecrated child of God may cndravor to scarch out
Timothy 6 : 20), when God has provided a chronologiea2 things to come.-1 Peter 1: 11,12; John 1 6 : 13.
bridge, over the indecipherable pagan chronology of It is not necessary to show how if a change of 10 J pars
the prehistoric period in question, in the shape of proph- were made in the chronology the time from Jacc~hto
ecy and fnlfillmmt of "seventy years' desolationJy? It Jesus would become shortcncd from 1845 to 182G years,
is another divinely-furnished bridge lilre that over the and the entire system of dates based on the "Jowish
period of the Judges. (Acts 13 : 19-21) It would be a parallels" would collapse; how the jubilee system dates
foolish waste of time to attempt to work out the detailed would fall out of placc from its pr~sentsymtnctry ; how
chronology of the Judges; and it is equally wasteful to the 2520-year parallels would disappear; how the cwtire
cast aside the divinely-given bridge over the seventy-year system of dates would be scattered; how there conld he
period of desolation and to try to establish connected, no foundation for faith in the resulting chronological
detailed facts from pagan sources; for that, in fact, is jumble; and how there conld bc no sound reason for
what is implied by reliance upon the currently accepted believing in the prescncc of thc Lord, thc placc and
notioiis al)oat the clironology of Babylonia copied in all work of Pastor Itussell, the end of the age, the harvest
encyclopedias and reference works from the same unre- work, or in a n j of the Ijteratnre published by the So-
liable source. ciety. Many years ago all these matters mere deeply
FURTHER PROOF OF PRESENT-TRUTH CHRONOLOGY considered by Paistor Russell, and he declared, in an
There is a well known law of mathematics called '"the article which u7e will soon republish, that a change of
law of probabilities". Applications of this law are fre- one year would destroy the entire system of chronology.
quent in everyday life in settling matters of doubt. I n a
-family of chiltlrm, if a certain kind of mischief is
comm i tt:d, the probabilities- indeed, the certainty- We
PRESENT-TRUTH CIIRONO1.OGY IS CORRECT
have s110\~11that t l ~ cl)rc.sn?t-trnth chronology ia
are that it was done by a certain one, and that the correct and others are incorrect hccansc :
others assuredly did not do it. If some peculiar damage (1) It is I~asedsqi~nrc~ly on inspired prophecy.
is clone by night to a single house, then by the law of (2) The f~~lfillment is rt3cordetl in thc Bible and in
probabilities it niay have been a pure accident; if done the history of God's choscn pcople, thc Jews.
to t~vohouses in the same manner it probably was not ( 3 ) The seventy ycars arc. all years of desolation.
accidental but by design of some person; but if done to (4) There was no captivity and no vassalage of Judah
three or more houses in the same manner it passes out of in 625 B. C. from which to count thc seventy years
the possibility of accident into the certainty of design. captivity or servitutlc.
The chronology of present truth might be a mere (5) l'agan "history" on the subjcct is unreliable.
happening if it were not for the repetitions in the two ( G ) The opinions of "authoritics" on this pagan
great cycles of 1845 and 2520 years, which take it out '%istory" are guesses ant1 con jectnrrs.
of the realm of chance and into that of certainty. If (7) The monumental inscriptions are untrustworthy
there were only one or two carresponding dates in these because of the untruthf~~lness and uiireliability of the
cycles, they might possibly be mere coincidences, but demon-worshiping and demon-controlled pagan mon-
where the agreements of dates and events come by the archs.
dozens, they cannot possibly be by chance, but must (8) l'he inscriptions omit some important facts and
be by the design or plan of the only personal Being falsify others.
capable of such a plan---Jehovah himself; and the chro- ( 9 ) The archceologists are not conscientiom or honest
nology itself must be right. in presenting the inscriptions.
I n the passages of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh the (10) Reliance upon pagan history or archxology Icada
agreement of one or two measurements with the present- through worse doubts and ever more of them, into in-
truth chronology might be accidental, but the corres- fidelity.
pondency of dozens of measurements proves that the (11) Present-truth chronology is correct beyond the
same God designed both pyramid and plan-and at the possibility of a doubt.
same time proves the correctness of the chronology. Present-truth chronology is based upon divine proph-
The agreement of the chronology with certain meas- ecy and its Biblical fulfillment, that the seventy yeara
arements of the Tabernacle and the Temple of Ezelriel were years of desolation, not part desolation and part
further stamps the chronology as true. captivity. The chro~iologystauds arm as a rock, bascd
It 'is on the basis of such and so many corresponden- upon the Word of God.
cies-in accordance with the soundest laws known to It is a matter of faith in Jeho~rahand in his inspired
sciencethat we affinn that, Scripturally, scientifically, Word. (2 Timothy 3 : 16) Those that lack faith in God's
and historically, pres~nt-truthchronology is correct be- Word and cast about for needless help from admittedly
yond a doubt.- I t s reliability has been abundantly con- lying pagan records, will doubtless receive according
firmed by the dates and events of 1874,1914, and 1918. to their lack of faith. Those that stick closely to the
Present-truth chronology ia a secure basis on which the Word will receive according to their faith.
 THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL
IDENTITY OF BELSHAZZAR -GREATNESS OF THE CITY
A BEJIAI(1C-iDLE CORROBOE~~TION.
"God will bring everg worlc into j u d ~ m e n t ,with every Widden tl~iqtg,w7~etRerit be good, o r rohet7ier it be evil."-Ecclegb
astes 12: 14.
ROM time to time t h e higher critics, who according to
F their ow11 esti~ti:~tc.sof t l ~ e ~ u s c l v easr e wiser tllarl t h e
Scriptines, ~i~tvxt I\ ill1 n ~'c'ln~ltc?
us h e causes s o ~ i ~u cl ~ l ~ : ~ ~i. ~
f ~ I he
t lrnntl of t l ~ cT.ord,
r rrrtt* ~ ~ ~ s i sbet\vtwtr
t t . ~ ~ c ythe Hil~le
record and t h e records of secular l~istoriansto be cleared
UP.
IDENTITY OF BELSHAZZAR
Suc.11 a n itelkt ir:~s:lrisc!~ rcsl)c.c.ti~~::lii~rg.liclsll:~zznr,the
cl~ieffigure in tllc cvcl~rlsof our It ssor~. E'or )'c.:trs the Irigl~cr
critics claimed t h a t tlrere was no sucli n~ari; t h a t the nlonu-
ments showed t l ~ u t h e last king of Babylon was Nabonidus,
\vhon~the Bible does not ~ilention; arid t h a t this wvas evidence
t h a t Daniel was niistcikt.~~.Now they have stoppcatl s:lying
anything :111out tlris itc.111 bt.cause a n i ~ ~ s r r i l ) t i oIIILS
brougl~tto light nllic.11 sl~o\\*st h a t Icing Xi11)oniilos did huve
a son by the ~ ~ i l iof l ~ Uelshazzar
e ; and while this p~irticulnr
inscription does not specifically stute t h a t B e l s l ~ u x ~ :w
kill:: of the city ilnd tlre provhce of Babylon, mrdrr Iris
l'allier Nabonidns, who wus king over the whole Babyloulun
rea1111,yet the inference is fully justified, because the inscrip-
tion a t hand cloes show t h a t Belshazzar was a man of great
wealtl~,:L money-leuder and landlord on a large scale, a
wllolrst~lei1t':~ler in wool. These activities a r e such as nilgltt
be c s l ~ t ~ c t ein
d cori~rc~ction with :I ruler of the period, or,
it~dtwl,of any period where big business was allied with
big l~olitics.
THE CITY OF BABYLON
1:11l~ylo11, a t tlrix titile, Iron1 all dt$srriptIor~smust Irnve
been by l'nr the 11rost w o ~ ~ t l e r f u city
l of tlre world up to t h a t
time, and in sorrle particulr~rsh a s htid no rival since. I t
- was a very \ve:iltliy, luxurious city, not only enrlched by the
plu~iderof tllc pnlti~vsfind telnples of t h e nations conqtlered
round about, but further enrlcl~edby the trlbutes paid by
those nations year by year and by its mercantile truMc with
all t h e nations of t h e world.
It w a s not only the largest city in the world but had t h e
strongest fortress. T h e great plain on which it lay, a
paradise of fertility and cultivation, was intersected by
countless canals, both snlall and great, serving alike f o r
irrigation and navigation. Babylon, built on this fertile
plain, was said t o be fourteen miles from north t o south
and fourteen miles fronr east to west, and t h e walls sur-
rounding i t 350 feet high. I t had one hundred gates. The
river Euphrates flowed tltrougli it, and was banked high
on each side ttre stream with solid massive walls :ind
intersected with water gates made of bronze. The Iris-
torinn says: "Babylon ~ v a st h e strongest fortress in t h e
world. Even a suunll forct? of brave nietl could 11ilve held
i t for years." I t would be the nzltural el'fect of l~avlrlgsuch
r i c l ~ e sand strength under his control to make Ring
shazzur proud and self-confident.
At the time of our lesson t h e army of t h e Medes and
Persians l111der the comtnnnd of Ring Cyrus w a s heslcging
I3:~bylorr. 'J1Irls wns thc Cyrus who the Lord t l ~ r o n n l one
of his prophets declared sliould set free 111s people, tibe
Hebrews. T o all human appearance his besieging of the
city of Babylon would be a hopeless task, a failul-tx, so
strong-was t h a t fortress. Yet t h e Lord had timed the fall
of Nebuchadnezzar's empire, and no doubt providtlnti:tlly
guided to the accomplishment of tlie matter a t t h e time
Intended. \Tllile Belsliazzar and t h e people of Babylon vere
OF BABYLON -VANITY AND SACRILEGE - SEEVICE WITHOUT STIPULATIOX A
h o l t l i ~ ~11i;ll
g rcycl, b:u~qnc.ts, ctc., conviticcd of t h e security,
thcb it~~pregtr:~I~ility
11tiiItli11g11 trt~n(~11
of tlrt~ircity, Cyrus :tt~tlhis :lrlny %vt.re
:tl)o\tb t I 1 t 1 vily i111o N I I I ~ ~ I Ii t r ~ I I I I * li1110
tl~t:~ v a t c r sof the I C I I ~ P I I I ~ritchr
; I ~ ~\vt1~.e1
~ S L I I ~ I I ~ Y I :kirtI
. ~II~~II,
i n the d:~rkness of thc rliplrt, the sol0ic.r~ wrrc n ~ : i r c l ~ r d
through t h e bed of the rivt.1 rliltl qilined an elllfiuncc to tlle
city while i t s unsuspecti~rgtlcf'c~lltlerswere b:urqltcting.
VANITY AND SACl<ILEGE
On this sunie night the ki~rggille :I b:i~~quet in 111s chief
palace to a tlrousand of llis nobles ill111 lords :ind ladies of
t h e e ~ n p i r eresitli~~::in t h e city. Tile enrnly n a s little thougl~t
of. On the contrtlry, Ht~lsl~:tzznrber~stctl of the in~pregru-
~ l been bility of the fortrtws. n11t1 dcc.l:trrd t h a t the gods of t h e
I$ilbyloniar~swere supcrior to ;ill others. I3e pointed t o
tlre sl~bjectnations s u r t ~ o u ~ t d i a~st gevitlctrces of this, and in
~ ar s derision crilled f o r tllr 11oly vt'ssels tililt Irl~elbcen brought
by Iris grr~~ttlfrttl~cr N c ~ l ~ n c . l ~ i ~ t l ifro111
~ c ~ z111t.
z ~ ~. Ir ~ t v i s ITCIII~)IC,
~
t11:~t11e :lnd his lords n ~ i g h tdrink fro111 tlttse to d o honor
to the gods of Babylon.
I t w a s i n t l ~ emidst of this blaspl~eniyand profanation of
t h e holy vessels of Jehovah's Temple t h a t a halid appeartd
:~nclwrote: in letters of fire u11o11the wnll of tlie palace the
words, Alc8re, Mene, I'el~cl, Upharsin. Tlle king, his counsel-
1013, iris 11011lt\s,the r i ~ i s t o c r a qof the world, were astounded
and trun~lwtl. Tlic appr~ritionconvinced them a t once t h a t
solne dire c ; ~ l t ~ l l ~ i nt y~ l ) c ~ ~ d eIdt . was recognized a s being
~ ~ ~ n r i'rlre. wise men, the astrologers, etc.,
of s ~ ~ p c ~ r l r uorigin. -
\vclrr xt.lrl for to give rill explanation and interpretation.
T11c.y crlr~lc,but fuiletl.
Tlre king's n ~ o t l ~ren~t.~ubered
er Daniel and his relationship
wit11 Nel)uclrctdt~t~zz:lr. S l ~ cIrrld probnblg hectrrl of the won-
derful intc~rprtbtittlonof Kc.l~uc11udnczzur'svis1011 by Daniel
when all otllers h:td fi~iled. The Prophet was evidently well
known, a n d not far otf, probably still engaged in some de-
partment of tlie governn~entservice and near t h e palace.
H e soon :tppeared, and his courage on this occasion is worthy
of remark. H e had a most painful dnty to perform toward
his superiors; f o r t h e Iring, as a n autocrat, h a d t h e power
of Daniel's life at his tongue's end.
The king had offered both wealth and honor to t h e wise
man able to give t h e meaning of the remarkable writing,
but t h e Lord's prophet showed t h a t he was not mercenarJr
utrd t h a t 11is Interpretation was not i r ~ l l ~ ~ e n cby e dany such
considerations. His anstver was: "I.et thy gifts be to thy-
self and give thy rewards to anotller; nevertheless I will
read the writing unto tlie k i ~ and g make known to him t h e
inteipreta tiou."
- Bel- SERVICE WITflOUT STIPULATION
We may stop here long enough to learn a valuable lesson,
to the effect t h a t all who \t*ould be t h e mouthpieces of the
Lord, and speak forth his Word, shonltl, llke I)t~nicl, do so
~ w i l l ~ o u tzctll~~~lt~tlon
of ron~l)c~rsntIor~.
Only fro111 t l ~ l sstt~rrd-
po111tcbitrr trrry 1101)~to be entirely free and untt.atnn~cled In
'speal;irlg words of truth and soberness which may be very
distasteful t o those who inquire the n~itldof t h e Lord. H a d
Daniel thanked the king f o r t h e promised gifts, s n d thus
acceptcd tlrelii as a reward f o r his service, Ire mould have
felt obligated to the king t o slich a n extent t h a t it might
have wtirped his judgment, o r have weakened his expression
189
 -WATCH
of t h e Lord's message. And the king in turn wonld hnre felt
that, having paid for the information, it should be :I srrtooth,
favorable message. And so it is with sorrle of the 1,ord's
servants irt niystic Babylon. They have the opportunity
presented to speak the Lord's Word; yet many of them a r e
handicnppctl 11y rensort of having received honors artd robes,
and a r e llrorc o r less inclined to hide ancl cover the message
now due to I3abylon in this i t s Laodicean epoch. They a r e
bound bx the chain of gold around their necks.-Revelation
8 :1422.
The aged Propllet displnyed gentleness a s well a s fear-
lessness in the delivery of his message. It was stated a s
kindly a s the truth would permit, but the truth was not
withheld by reason of fear. H e recounted to the king his
father's es:lltation to power, and ascribed i t not to the god
of Babyloll, but to the God of Israel. H e reminded hirn of
how pride Ir:~d been his father's downfall, resulting in his
degradation to bestial conditions for seven times (seven
years in this instance but apparently calling attention to the
seven times, o r 2520 gears, of gentile dominion). H e re-
minded B13rlsl1azzarof how in the end his father, Nebuchad-
nezzar,hacl acknowledged the God of heaven a s the real ruler
amongst men, and then he charged home to the king that
instead of profiting by this experience, of which he well
h e w , he had lifted up his heart in pride, had ignored the
only true God, ztnd 1111(1 even hrougllt wlint he knew were
the sacred vessels of .Teliovnh's service, to profane thern in
the worship and glorification of idols-"gods of silver, gold,
brass, iron, mood and stone, which see not nor hear nor
know." He point~clout to the king that h e had thus dis-
honored and defied "the God in aliose hand [power] thy
breath is l the God of all life-Acts 17:28.291, and whose
a r e all thy ways [who has full power to control your
course]." This true God he had not glorified, but dishonored.
By thus kindly but plainly showir~gthe king the truth,
the Proplrctt prepnrcrl the way for the exposition of the
fateful words-"hfene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin."
A REMARKABLE CORROBORATION
Students of the Hebrew declare t l ~ n ttheir records and
traditions show that what was writttw (in Ar:lmnic clinr-
acters) was froni the top down and from right to left
(Hebrew custom), and that only the consonants were given,
a s is also ~ k b r e wcustom.
The king was helpless to interpret this ; but Daniel, under-
standing Aramaic, recognized a t once the components of the
-
words Mina - Mina Shekel - Half-mina, a reference to He-
brew coins, which we will explain shortly. T o Daniel these
consonants also stood for the words "Mene," signifying "num-
bered," "Tekel" meaning "weighed," and "Peris" meaning
"divided."
Daniel was expecting the overthrow of the Babylon empire
by the Medes and Persians; for 75 years before h e had
interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream a s recorded in the
second chapter. That was in the twelfth year of Nebuchad-
nezzar, 613 B. C. and this was in 638 B. C. two years before
the first year of Cyrus.
Without doubt also Daniel was divinely guided t o under-
stand these characters and without doubt the Lord h a s just
now brought to light their'numerical values. See t h e letter
WE O W N THY PRESENCE
Now, with glory undefiled,
Reigns a s King thnt lowly child;
Takes his own, his righteous power,
I n the world's most tronblecl hour,
.,. -Lord, we own thy presence sweet,
shining o'er earth's mercy seat l
TOWER
entitlctl "A Ilen~nrknhleConflnnation" contained in our issue
of Jat:u;~ry 1, 1'319. \Ve quote from tllcb It : I T :
"Mene, Blene, Tekel, Upharsin, are C11:~ldaicterms tnken
from the Babylonian table of weights. aiid being trnnsl:tted
from the ancient cuneiform in rnllic-h they were written,
would rcad : A rnirin, a mlnn, n sl~olrcl,n half n~irtn. T h e
table of welghts is a s follows:
20 gerah - 1shekel
60 shekels - 1mina
A min:t therefore equals 1000 gerahs. IIence 'a minn, a niina,
a shrkel ~rndn half 1111nn' o r two nr~tlrt half mirtns plus o
shekel, recluced to gerahs, yields tlttB highly significant
number 2520.
"Thus, when Daniel pointed to this handwriting on the
wall and said unto the gentile monarch : 'God hath n u m l ) t ~ e d
thy ki~lgclornnnd finidled it; thou a r t \\-cigl:hcd in the b:tl:~nce
arid a r t found wanting; thy kingdom is divided and given
to the BIedes and Persians,' we h o w h e alluded not alone
to the literal kingdom of Babylon, nor to the literal BIedo-
Persian cxnpire, which succeeded it. Rather, he wns pro-
phetically dclcl:lring, 'After 2520 years of supremncy the
gentile lease of power will esyire, and the rulership of earth
will then be divided and brolren u p and given to a two-
fold empire1-the hettvenly and tlte earthly phase of the
h1essinnic kingdom. Gentile supremncy began, a s we all know,
with the ovcrtlirom of Ismel's Inst king, in GO% R. C. Just
2B20 ycnru Inter, o r in 1914 A. D., tlte process of diviililcg
began, in exact accordance with 'the handwriting on the
wall.'
"It i s further observed t h a t this number 2520 is distinctive
in thnt i t is the least common multiple of all the digits in
our system of numbc1rs; that is, i t is the least possible
number into which 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 may each and all
be conhined. Thus in a special sense i t is a n all-comprehensive
number. No other number could be more appropriate for
sparrning the wlrole pclriocl of gcntile Icnse of power; ntrtl i t
Is, a t the ffltxne lilrie, cxrlctly scz7eit s y ~ ~ t l ~ oycttrs
l l c 111 clr~rti-
tion. Who indeed could doubt but that our chronology is
correct! And do not present world erents corroborate i t in
every sense? We now behold t h e diriding of earth's king-
doms. I t began exactly on time. T h e nic~sslaniclringtlo~nis
the next thing in order after t h e present dividing work i s
complete. Let u s be patient a little while longer, and soon
we shall see the salvation of the Lord."
The poet Heine has pictured t h e scenes of the lesson as
follows :
"In the monarch's cheeks a wila fire glowed,
And wine awoke his daring mood.
\\'it11 daring hand, in his frenzy grim,
The king seized a beaker and filled to the brim,
Ancl drained to the dregs the sacred cup,
Ancl foaming h e crled a s he drank i t up,
'Jeltovah, eternal scorn I own
T o thee. I a m monarch of Babylon.'
* * '
"Tlle yelling laughter was hushed, and all
\Vas still a s death in the roynl hall.
And see! And see! on the white mall high
The form of a h:tnd went slowly by,
And wrote, and wrote, on t h e broad mall white,
Letters of fire, and vanished in night." 1
Help us hold thy loving hand
Till me ~'encltthnt golrlen strand;
Let u s love thee more nntl more.
And thy gr:~cious name atlore,
Till thy blessed face we see
Throughout all eternity 1
 fi WATCH TOWER
makes the dlsglc~nwlre$111 the broader t o Includt. l ~ i sc~orl~~scl-collie under tlie power of natural wlld beasts, and making -
lors. I l e t ~ p p r w i u t c ~
1):111irl
l a s a nltln of God rule1 11sall uble this a test of hls fldellty to God and to prll~c~iplrs of right-
ec'rvul~tof tlle n r ~ l ~ i r und r , set tlbout a t ollce to do every- eousness, so the Lord's lrrovlde~~ce son~c.tilnrs perli~itv his
f11i11gi l l his power to annul his own decree. "He labored until faitllfol ones to be exposed to t h e \ - I ~ I I O I ~ Iand nlalice ma
tlle going down of t h e sun to deliver him" ; but he found no h a t e :uld ~nisrepresentation and slitzlder of human tongues,
eX('IlSf?. and of open persenltioll 11s ill 1!)1X, f i ~ r111ortlv i c ' i o ~:~I I I ~
Orcti~lurily,I V I I ~ I I the kings d e s l r ~ t lto III* rc~11~11xc.cl from f t ~ rInor(. trrril~lt-~ ~ v c *wily ~ ' ) ~1111111 11118 1\~11cl 1 ~ ~ 1 1 01' ~ 1 sll)e
some decree, they culled upon their \vlsc~Incstl rune1 11111giciuu8, j1111gIc~. \v11ieI1can II;II*III 1)11tfor 11 I I I U I I I I ~Nc~vc~rtI~e~le~s~,
II~. :I#
who usually were skillful in suggesti~lg:I way out of the tllr I ~ r dwas able to clc~livc~r l , is 1101 Irss :ll)le to
l b s ~ ~ i r111.
dilenlma ; but in this case i t mould tIppcB:1rt l l i ~ tthere was a serld his :1nge1 (his providt~l~cc s ) to sllut tllc. I : : I I I I ~of ~ ItSl ~ o s e
col~lbinationof all t h e wise men and rulers of 1::1l1ylo11:tgnillst who \voold do injtlry to his ~)c*ol~lc'.
1)arrlel. They now Ilud l ~ i ~inn their powclr, r~l~cl ~\~oulel SII#-
gwt nothing ~ I It l ~ eway of release. 011 1 1 1 ~c-olltr:~ry,tllthy PUNISHMENT OF THE CONSI'IItA'l'OItS ,
held u p before t h e king t h a t h e mas bound by his dt!~.rt.etlud T h e Scri1)tur:ll rcr.orel i s t h a t oftc~rI):u~ic.l's tlclivc~~.;~l~c~e
that he' could 1 1 ~ tdo otherwise than esecute i t btv.ause n Ring Darius c.:utscd all the c o ~ ~ s p i r : ~ t otor s11c. c-itst into the
failure to clo so would rnenn a ilisllonor to tilt* ~ m p l r ein den of liolls, nlltl tIt:~t ~ I I I I S tlley I \ I ~ ~ I1111 * cIc~s11~11yt~el. Tile
having broken i t s laws and would I ~ I I I ~ : I I I ~11is I ~ P tllrorre. p u n i s l ~ ~ l ~wl~ic.l~
c ~ ~ r tcarullc>Illlon tl~c.sc*I I I I \ I I \\';IS \\ lli~ttl~e'Sc'rf1-1-
Accordingly Daniel was cast to the liolls, but not before t u r r s d r s i g l ~ a t e:I judgmel~t,anti ~ v IrI : I ~ I \ tllcXScril1111r:11:IS-
King Darius had expressed his hope and wish t h a t in some surnrrce t h a t when t h e judgments of t l r ~I,o~-d:trtx :rl)ro:~din
way Tlaniel's God would be able to deliver him. the eartll ( vrllen t l l ~ ya r e gener:~I ) tllr ill h ; ~ b i t ; t ~ ~ oft sthe
T h e cor~sf)ir:~tors were bent upon having matters tlloroug11- world will l e : ~ nrigltteousness. ~ IVllr~rtllt. liil~zelo~n s1;:rll llnre
ly ucco~nltlisltt~el, :und htwce the stone (wl~ic.l~ tr~vcrcdtllc. tlrt~ bc.c?~~ ~ s t : ~ l ~ l i~sIII ~I ~ Itllv
~~ e I rc~igl~ of r i ; . l ~ l c ~ o ~ ~ <s~l l ~ ; l lcl ~ 11:1\~e
s<
nnd \v:ls probal~lyf:lstc&~~rcl to i t s p1:tct. ~ v i t l:ln ~ jro11 IJ:IP) t)eyuli t.vc~y tl+;tl~s*:l.c~ssioll sllall rc*c.t~ivc~ ;I ju-1 rcbc.olllpc.nse
was cloubly sealed with wax, to prove tll:~t it \\.:IS not of rc,\v:trd, evrry s i l l will be punislle.11 ;IIIII c h \ e 5 ~ . ) c~l~cle~itvor
tampered with---one ~t>irl v\'ils the kings, the otllrr t l ~ ; of ~ t the for ~.izllttwusnesswill 11thhlrssc~d:11111 ~.e\v:~rcl( $1. 11o\v sl~et~cli-
lorils of the en~nirc., wlto were atnongst the conspil.;ttol.s, so ly 1 1 ~ 1\vorlil ~ will 1rt1r11r i g I ~ t t ~ o ~ ~ ? ~ I~I Ic: ~ I ~srt*t~cliI)
s i 1 ~ .
=-t11:1t tllexrc*111igl11 110 S I I ~ ) ~ I Y ~ ~ :I ~I ~I tI cI ~~ ~ ~ : or t t i oIl1e1
~ ~ I-011- I I r s ~ t t ~ : ~ I ,I I I ~ ~ I I 1I I 1 . ! y I o ~ of i
(liliol~sor clc*Iivcb~.y of 1):111ic~l cl11r111g111cl r ~ i g l ~ tl.f tI~c>11011s ~ ~ l . o p \ve)llIll ll~ j)rltf<~rrlglllcoll<lll~sslo sill :1111l 1 l l ~ l l ~ I l t>e*t ~t~,
w r e not very hungry ;it tllc3 111on1c~11t 1);lrlit'l mas first cast ul~dcxrprc.sn~tcolltlitio~~s, I I I I I I I *tl~t.
~ clolninion of tI1c. princBe
iir, i t nr:ls rcu.konr(l tllilt tlrf~yn-ouitl c.t~rt:ritrly bt~c.o~~lr so of this worlcl, tlre rigl~tt>ous a r e the one% mlto nsn:tlly ssrlRc>r
before mornirlg. and tllc. rvil tlot~rs vrry ~ n ~ t ~ r : t lClSyI ~ : I ~ I - I I I ~ I I ~ ~ C n tlotll)t
preb\: ~ i l src-hl~e*c~ti~~g (;c)cl IIIIII ; L I I ~I ~ I I ~ ~ ~ I ~ of I I .justire.
I I ~ I I ~ '~'III-
THE MOUTHS OF THE LIONS SliUT t t s s t l l ~ ~ l ) l iis.
o ~tlli~t
~ it' O I I ~I-:III ehsc-;~l)cl 1I1o l c ~ ~ ~ l ~ l ~ l e ~of: ~ l i t i c . ~
Evidently the nlorr tlle king tlrougt~t ~.t.sl~rc.tit~;. l);t11i1~1 ti;<. 1;1\v:11111 1111~clnte~l~rs'or tllc' 1:1\v's o(;i(.e*rsi t 1 tllt~p~.c*srllt
and his God the more his faith in t h a t clirectiol~illcreased. life he is s ; ~ l e: I I I ~ !~et>tlnot f e a r cli\il~clil~terferc~nce.IVe
IIe s p m t a slrq,less night, and arose early in the morning may ~ r ~ : ~ t l isc1r l y tllc~r~t h a t w11e11 tl~cb ?tlillt~r~nial ago sl1:111
rlltd wcwt to 1heb clrn of lions ant1 crlcvl in II volt-1% fttll of 11ave>I)IY~II~ I I I I ) I I ~ ! I I * I ~ I in, ~ I ~ a1111\ V ~ I I > I I j11s1 j1cv1:111y~ v i l lfoIlo\v
sylnputlry rultl sor~.ow: "0 1)1111lel,svrvtlnt of tlte llvilrg c y ~ c l1rr111s~rc~sslo11 ~ nl~rl rc'\vnrtl follow c.uc~~.p goo11 tlt.c.tl, n
Cod, i s illy C:otl mholn thou servest continually able t o worltl-\\iclc. l ~ r f o r ~ ~ ~ r lor t i ocoll\rerslon
n to I ' ~ ~ ~ I ~ ( ~ O \\?Ill IISI~I~SS
cl(.liver thee from the lions?" follow fortl~mitllin every land, in every tol~gur. 111 t l ~ i ~ t
The erelnl)lrl ry conduct of n u l ~ i c ~h;ttl l 11:lcl Its cbft'c~tIrpon glorious tirne the rigl~teoussh:ill flol~risll:11111 the rvil t l o ~ r s
tile Itlng, :IS t ~ a ~ ~ r t ~ s11y st~ t l ~ v o r t l , " ' c ~ o i ~ t i ~ ~ ~ i f111.
1111. ~ ~ . " s l l ~ t l l Ir:tvP the stril~es,nnrl crc.~~tr!i~ll>
i I I 11ntl i T 1111.) c-ol~lil~ut' to
c~o~lfidc~ t11:1t
~ ~ c(iotl
~ c ~ was wit11 1):111lrl,111111 111:11 l l ~ c ~ ( : o\17110111 ~I c.vll t l o c ~ ss l l r ~ l l he. r u t OW 111 1111, ~ ( ~ I ~ O I I 01~:1111.
It18 II
I):tlric*l so sinc.csrc.ly ~vorsl~f[~c~cl :rr~clso irrtelliger~tlytrus:c~cl. '1'111* ir~tcv~sr 1~:tirc~tl of 111~ndvt~~vrrl.y fol- ; I I I > r e ~ ) ~ ~ ~ c ~ . ; c ~ ~ ~ t : ~ i i
must be more po\vc.rful than all otlrer gods. of .Jt.l~ov:tlt is \v14I 11. l ~ r t ~ s r n t eill d tllc, ~ ~ 1 ~ 0 1 . : elo~tl~llt~xs
. 111-
The heart 01 1)ilrius mas glad a s he heclrcl Daniel's voice spired l ~ ySatan, to clc'stroy the prol111c.t 1 ):t~~ie'l. .It tile
saluting him, assul.ing him of his s:lfcty; and he. a t once pwstll~ttime the etSo~.tsof tile evil ollcl ;II.I. tli;~tv~tc~tl, 1111.0 .:!I
caused him t o be. clc~livt~red from the III~II. D:~niel rsy)rc~ssetl tllc. sec.tl of the selpc~r~l, t o ~ v : ~ rtile d \ ~ ~ . ; l l i ~ ~ ~:IIIII t I i ~u
f llir~~:~te~
one reason for t h e 1 ~ 1 ~ 1tle1iverunc.t~.
's ill tllv \vorcls, "131~fore cle~struc.tiol~ of the sc~cbc\ of tllc. I ~ ~ I I I : I I I . 'l1I1~11(:()el, \v11o111\\'ex
11in1 innocency w a s found in n l e n s : ~ l s oht~foretl~t,c., 0 servea, i s :~l)lrto dr1ivc.r u s fro111 :111 sl~rtrc~s of tllc clevil, is
king, ltave I done no Itart." I r e note tht. fi1c.t tlrttt 11:lughti- m:u~ifrst l'rolu the rllir;tc,~~lo~~s tlrlirer:tnc>e of D n l ~ i r l tile
ncss and br:ivtldo a r c ~ ~ ~ l l o1:ickiltg lly $11 tl~c. I'ropl~et's nu- s r r v : ~ l ~of t .Ie~l~ov:~l~, fro111 \vl~:it, 11ur11r111lyspc.:tlri~~a.~v:ls
I~ounccmmtof t h e great f;!vor of God 111:111ife~stcrl OII Ills c.c.rti1111tl1~;1111. Itut 1111. I'lol1l114's \vork \v:ls not fi~~i<l~c-tl,
behalf. al~cl Ilt., like. rtll trllc> sc~rviu~ts of Jellovuh, \vns ilnlllortal
As God's providence was over Daniel, permitting him t o until his work was done.

END OF THE SEVENTY YEARS DESOLATION

Israc'l ., 01
W lllCN (hcl I1:lcl sc~rvcbtl
of e d o ~ ~ 1 1 ~ I chis
:III~
tllrc~elsc+ol~r
Ilis j~llrposcof c.ll:~stisil~g
~ t i ~tygic*:~l
~g p r o ~ I ~ r e y - \ v l ~ rthe
:111(1 11'11 yfWarsof ( l e ~ ~ o l t ~of
. ill \vllic.h tilt) 1t111d11:ttl eh~~joyt-11
tl~
Ilrr s : ~ i ~ l ~ : t t h:ltl
tlie
~~
~ t I:lnd,
l ~ s , esl~irclcl,
like> c,vc.ry otl1c.r fe'nlurch of Goel's 1)1:111,tllcb tleblivc~rrll~cc
Isr;lc>l from I:;~l)yIol~\Y:IS j)ronrl~tlyor1 tilllt>.
'l'l~is rtbt111.11W:IS ill e\':le'l fllltillllle~llt01'
a t tllc 111orttllof .Ic~lr~r~ri:rll, tire. ~)r'ol)l~c't.
I.0l'd'~ \Vord
I\ lto si)tu.ilic...!I) foltl,
tllr rexiurn of tlre ca:~]~tivt*s \\.;IS [Irlfk. Tlle grclclt clock of tile ]lot o l ~ l yof tllr ( l e ~ s l r u c ~ l iof the. tally, 1)ut rllso llli~t I t
o~~
ages poil~tc~d to tile tilne for the return of the exiles, and, would be seventy Seal's before the retilr11 of its i l ~ l ~ r ~ b i t u n t l l
 B ~ o o ~ u wN., . Y..
~h WATCH?TOWER*
-Jerc.nliul~ 25;: 12;"B :*la;, co~oprtl't!2 (:IJCOI ti('~t.s 36.: 1 2 ,- ~1nny ~ ltuve h:td i n miud tl~e.fac-tthat.<Egypt.wnsa courttry of ..
Tltt!. Srril~Lureaboue. cited. esttrblisl~ed tlte ftu.t~~ v i t l lcvr-. great ft.rtility, u ~ t dtltut.it1 cuse.of war i t \vo111cl 11c or I~IIII.II
tuiltty tltut.the s e u a ~ t ypears predicted relilted to tlte elltire . cottveniett~!t o Itnvr . I r ~ : ~ ~ s t ~ -as l r ~ tut Srit.tttlly \vr~y-sIittic~lt
deutructiurt ,of the. city of Jwnsnlem..alul dt~swlatiol~ of their,. 11etwcw .his ciy~it&and E g ~ q ) t.
;arid rurd ~ t o t ~ ~ t t e r etol y the 5clil~tJvityof. the. l~t:ol~le.As a . Tl~e:..\vo~tli~ag :of -. tl~e~~-~~roc~l~irr~i~tit~~~~~: "Tltr.. l,o1*11 . (:otl,. oS
1qr1t1t.r of. fiit.1, ovt-r .3,tHMJ Ilttd. IILYSII tt~kt.lt. J t ~ t oc.ttl)ttrlty . Itt.itv1.11 lllltll glvl~ll Illt! 1111 tlll~l i l l l g l l o ~ ~0s ~ s1111. l~rtrlll,rt1111...
t~1o.t.11ycrttln I~c.f4)r1-,\ ~ I I I ~ I.It~ltuiitldm I 11:ttlbt>t*ltdt.ll~ro~tccl .
U I I ~ Itc-*i~ittlt 't'I1itrg4!d d~tt:~ttol ~ k t ~ M l . l ~l~ottst~-.ttt l ~ ~ t ~ ~ ~. Ii~~~ ~ ' t ~ r ( ~ t l t ~ ~ t
k i l l v . ( . I c r t t i i l ~$2 : 2 ) 111 locating tl!is.l~rllotl of sevntty . \vhic:lt- is iu .clutle~l;"~ n i g h t . s w ~to.intpl,v: n* tl~rtt('yrtts. wits-ti .*
years' cltwolittio~t, t~trt~ty have st:~rted with the first ytSt\r of kIicver..in nnil-.:l servnnt o i .,tlte true: ~ U o t l ~ but. .
. \ve Iti~vr:.
r\:rbt,~tittl~tr;rx~lr ttittrtt~rttyellt:r ltrevious itttcl :we thus thrown . no ~c~orroborittive eciclntcw,t o t l ~ i sc*tl'rc.t: rt~tlit*~. tlte rwortln
out tti~t~tt.~.tt yc3i1rs i ~ ttltrlr c~hrottoIogici11c.iil~.~tlr~tionn. lBro-* of ltis tlnlc? rtbSt.r t o .tltit I t e c ~ t h ~ ~ ~ t ~l ~~gt ot t l.s:~t ~ ~ ~ ~IIIIIIC~! ~~rt~~~h
I I I ~ I I I ' I I L Itist~rlrtttsl t i ~ \ ' t *so ::~t~c*t~l11t~eI tltls ~*PI'III' IIII(I g r t t ~ l ~ ~ t ~ lI tl 0y ltlt~tttloll of . r c ~ l t l l ~ ~ t l l l \Ye '.~ llrc*s.lll r l ~ t t l l ~ t t ~IlIn1 ll~t l ~I I~l l ?~
built ltistoricitl ti it ti^ rtrou~td4t t l t i ~ ttlre ~ t t r ~ J o r iot yf ~ r t ~ l l g i o n s lte:~tltt*~t kiaj$s: tve1.e a t thttt. tiltttc..l~t, 8 t I ~ t ~ t 4 ~of : ~ rt~.oflti~i~tg.':
I~it
writtbrs ttow Itoltl to t h a t errolteous view. However, w e tlte ::o:ocls of. sthe vadou~~rou~~brien~\vlti~~l~~ tlwy ~~ovw~rrtI:~:~tttl
s t a ~ t dby the 1:iblr iurd i t nlone, wllerever i t ditYrrs fro111 . wrote, :rind .spoke.~respectfuly~ i ~ t - : r e f r r c ~ tto t ~ .:ill
o of tltt*ltt)!!,
s e c u l i ~ rItistory. :1111):lrerttly..with a view. t!, ])rrsrlvvittg t l t c * ~ ~ r t ~. sf o~r~, tltoir, x ~ t . ..
Tltc first yerir of Cyrus lllelttio~tt!! ~ I I011r I~SSOII i s 11y I X * ~ I I I I06-erery ~ creed, amotigst-tltth \voldl-Il)c.ra.
gelttBrul consellt considered the twgjlt~til~g of t h e year 5:lli
B. C. E v i k t l t l y this does not llielLn tlltlt i t \V:IS his first "CHIEFLE -THE. POOR-OF ITHIS-JVORLV'.
year of reikming ;IS the king of l'tbrsiti ; but tltt~t, hrtvit~g ,\Vlten we rc*nti~~nl)er ~ t l t t ~ ~ ~ l of t ~ ~tilttt*
t ~ t lttl ~ r~ I I ~ I I ~ I I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
-otltlttered U:~Ltylol~r~lttlttccw~nl)lisltedotltt'r ~ltrlttt~ts s u l ~ s r - 11e~t.11.. in,.Bal~ylo~tl .tl1:tt,.ismihu4lp..:tny o f . tllc. .;It.\vs livirlg :;kt
cluetttly, this ~vitstlte bq'i~t~tirtg of ltis I P ~ ~ IOI Y ~ Pthe 111titetl tltc? tittle oC, t l t i s ~ t . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t c t i ~ i a t t i o ~ 118111 t ~ ~ ~tLvt*t'~ ~ ~ ut3t?rt
~ ~ ~ ~:I t t ~ ~ t
entpirt. of the Slctles tlnd 1'ersi:uts 11ssuccessor to l<itl~ylott l':tlrstltte, tltnt t11t.y llrttl nlrrt-1y Itt.:vtl of i t tltroual~
it1 ~vorl(lelupire.
.
tltrir
pr~rettts,:uttl tlti~t!on1y.n fe\v very :tg$~lntm r ~ ~ t \\-ottttBti~:v tl
CYRUS A REMARKABLE CHARACTER" r n t t r r t ~ l ~ c ~ I~:rvir~s
t ~ c ~ ~ l P V ~ Y I . S W I I tlteb raity :IS t + h I l ~ l t ' fit~ ~wilt ,
nob s I 1 1 ~ 1 t ~ it s~t ~s ~ t l tltt* ~ t ~40t4~1
t . I I ~ I ~ I I \o1111ttt~t~rl11g
~ I I ~ ~ to rtbt1~rttI
tltt* I I I I I Y ~ \ v ~ t t ~ l ~ ~tltittgs
r I t t l C I I I ~ I I I ~ I -!vitlt
I ~ ~ I ~11111 story
\\tIS 11llI.l 5tI.OlUI, . 1;ttt
()II~.
to rl~~lllllll t l l l l 1-11sltllll tlll!~rl'ctll~llt~
8
of Isritt.!'~ re~lt~lst* S~YIIIILIitI~.\.lo~tiit~t c.t~l~li\lty 1s tltttt ( ' y r ~ l s tlrr) r\ tltv $1 i.ltoi(*~no,tnn). 1
was l t i ~ n ~ e11y d tltr prol~ltrt Is:~i:~lt2I)i) ~eitlw l i t rttlvitltc.t~,.
and ciLllell u ~ s ~ d~ ~ ~~ is ~sllt,llllerl~ ~ , \\'ti '5uity1~ rt'rulily~snl)pose ~t l ~ c ~tltet ~~tt:ljority~of tltos+~wltn . -
sltilll Ilrrfonlt Il~HLIs e \ r l l S21yillgto .~t,rltSUletll, . tll~llgltr ltpnlt t l t ~Lortl :i~tcl 1v11o t r ~ s t e ditt tltt. I I ~ ~ I I I ~ H I * S

sllillt be l,llilt; iIncl,to tlte trlltl,lt,r TIIS l.olllttl:ttioll nt:111t~to tlltb fzttltc,rs, ~vt~tv- poor: for it scSo~tts ttt:tt i r t t b \ ( ~ 1 : \ .
Bllall be lilid." (lsitirllt44: 2 8 ) IB,.,,~~,,~,. pivc,s ( s ~ , . , , ~ c n w I ~ o v t ~ r ti ys nlorr r:t\or.t1111~ to r ~ ~ l i c l foi~t ti t~l t i ~ t l ~ ;til~l
~~~~s
a , . l o l t O L l e l ~ i l ~ t l,t , , i t i t r i t O l l s , t . e , l ~ ~ l ~ ~ ~ : ttllitlt l is 1~e:tltlt. Ytht tll~. fi11.t tlt:tt S Y I I I I ~ \vtbrts l~otlt
just, trt,iLting lllell 111,, 11,rIII(lItOt Illt,re,tools lte Useel \1(~:rlttt2-rtlld-~t~:llolls is t t l ~ t ~ ~ t ~ l ittJstiti(vl
t t ~ t l , ~ to 11.v tltt* lit,. r ; ~ l
illtd :tsiel-it tt,rllr ,f tillite l ~ i ~ ~ l , r t . t ltylle
t ~ r l l l ~~ l ~ ~ ~ l ~ t r i 1 l l*n~rt(lvl t i o l 111s
~ ,tlti- c g t l ~ t i \ vtsl t ~ ~ ~ t t s ~ * forl \ ctltt~
~ s 1-1,-
tllc. ,vol.itl ~~~~~l I,rtriously st.t.lt.~ ~ ~ l tlt.l.lttrt.s:
~ ~ MI^^ ~ , l ~~u i l c~ l i of
~lt ~I l l ~c h 'll~~t~tl~lt*: 'l'lli, \ i ~ ttt:t.jot.it>,
~ t I I ~ \ V I & \ I T . n.(-rfb
, v s l l l l ~ l, ., i t t l t r t t t l l l ~ t l l ~ i , , ,l l ~t b ~t l ~t t l t r l r l s s e fmvill('lltJ.(. \v(.ll I~I('IIs('II \\itIt Ili(*lr f ( t ~ ~ ~ i * ;IIOIIII,. t~ 118 \vlti~'l~
a11 liittgs." 111:ut.v of tlt('t~tI1it11 IR'I'II Itortt. Jlrt11~I ~ i t ~i ~l t t f - r ~ t t : t r r\vi i ~ ~I t~ I
Kelluc.lliltll,e7,x~s .tllrory of govrrllnlellt, ,vrls brillg . their nridtl~nra.: rtlrtlry ~ v r c .ittttttrrs~~tl 111 IIIIS~I~(.SS ~ ~ r o ; t ~ - t s ;

I.eI )rt,nt,l~trltivt.s of tilt, I,rol,lt,s o f ,i t l l Iiulels to B:lbyloll nlld and ~ I ~ I perl~nps I F felt tltc~rrtsc~lvt~s too oltl fw sue-It :trt ut1d1.1.-
tllt,rc. l l l t l l ~lI1l.lll e ~~Ol~lOgt,llt,O1lnr l.llollsirlx tltc!, lH.ut,,,f tnking. Tltns (lid the 140rtl sift tht*ln, tltiit I I P t t ~ i ~ lxt :t ~ t l t t ~ r
Il:itiollilljt.\.. t(lll ,v~Il,It (syrlls c.lllllollIIoII lllt. ,,,. tile b:~~'lz'lto.tlli~ Inltcl of ~~rotttist. snc.lt o~tlyrtq l l i t ~ l:I S I ~ ~ ~;r(.:~l I ~ I' I ~
l.ollqllt'ror of tlltx ~ ~llplliilll
~ ,pllll)/rt.,
l ~ 11tsj tllilt tlte,, fof'tl* Lor(l atlt(l fl f l l l l trtl*t 111 111sI ) I . ( ) ~ I ~ / Y ( w .

tlleory of 111spretltbcessor llitt~~ t o t t \ w ~ r out k t ~ sitti~ftlctorily.

~ T h e siftin:: of 1srr~c.l11rgrtn it1 tltv scl~:tr:ttio~tof tltc two
The ~ t t i s t ~pwllle d of Cltlll(1ea \\-en3 tot pittriotic. t'yrus t r i b w from tlrr tcBrt trilws; for tilt. n ~ l ~ isl)rfx:ttl tl of it1nl:~try
ndopted the opposite plan f o r goktwti:~:! tllr wo~rld..H e not in tllr ten tribes grildlli~llydrew tltosr fitithft~lto .Jrl~orrtl~
or~lyKitre liberty to the J t v s to n.tud.tt to tlittir own lruld, to t l t ~t\vo-tril~t!Itltiptlo~tt,\vhost* kirtg \vas of tltc~lint* \vltic.I~
the' I.ortl ltrttl 11ro1111st~tl to l~less. I
:ittd gat\-e tltelu ussista~icel~itck,J~utq~ltc* (lid tlte silllte f o r
tlte people of otlter nations, exiled . i t 1 . B;~l~ylon.
BLESSINGS O F THE-DESOLATION
H I S HEART, ST4RREB.BX JEHOVAH. - It1 ~ist.~~lensin:: nlso t o . rtotr tlr:tt in ti162. 1:tnd . o f ! 111c~irx
JVr :lrtb not.told 11s w1111t:~gt.~lc-it*s tltt~~1,ortl ol~c*rit{rd vc.11~11 I: clll>@~it.V isturtcbl.Wtbrerchc*l~tirttc.d frotit i~loltttriYs o . I I t o r t ~ ~ ~ ~ l t l y ~
h e "stirred npll~tli~.he:irt..bf . R i t t r . ( ' y n ~ sto .frlltil t h e divilter nS Itever to I.clturll to i t :IK:L~II; :t11(1 tIttht~,\vitltout tile t1*n111le .-
wi!l 11s Ictti~lggo tlte a ~ p t i v e s . I-Ie~ct,,we aw.qlt liberty t o I nndltitsl ~(~l*\>icvw,-IInby lertnrt~tlto ~itp1)qtu,ic~b~ \vit:it! mrrs l e f t ~
sulqllisp on tile subject. \ye tllink i t likely that, a s Drlniel*. t@&l~~~ll.~t.ill-tllt' \YOrd of God :lltd tile tfb:trltitlg and connsrl
\\-ns sl)pedily lllnde n high officer in the kingclolu, 1163 had of SOllte of tile filltllflll OnrS tllllotlg fllelll, sll('11 ns 1):lnicnl,
:lccess to tile ItIllg, nlld Quite p~.(?h))[)l'y cnl]e(lrtl)t3 kihgls'at.1 Exrtx.::t~ttl i\'t~ll*lttilll~:l t l ~ ~ ~ ~ f o r l tnl oRl d . ~t if( ) g:t\rt' pl:tcLcb to fl
tellti011 to tile scriptures llrllich n1:trl;ecl l~iltlns the divine more rcrtl Iteitvt-norsltil~nl' tltcb one t n ~ v(:otl : nncl t1tc.y \ v ~ * r ( ~
agent, even referring to him by name.-Isaiah '44: 26-28 ; 45.: led a t 0 a fuller u1)prwintiotl of the privileges they had enjoyed,
1-5; .Terentiah 23 : 1-12. as manifested i n 1's:~lnl 137.
It i s qylte posnlhle, nlsq .thnt~tlleLord used other 1ne1~11d The c.ltickf Inen of l T ~ ~ ~ it1111
to s t i r up tltc klttg's Ilenrt. I'oq-lltlyr Cyrltn rcbllt~c.tt*~l tltrtt
l t ~ l tII1~11J:ltttiti.to::t.tlt~r wit11 t h e -
prltssls r t r t t l 1111~l a ~ h v l l ~tool; ~ r ( , ~ I I OIc~tttlIt1 tlti- 1t1111le-r of IIC
by such a course Ite \vould Artilly ~stttl~llslt Itir~t.wIf I r t tl?e v~q)tltt:: t l t t b ~ ~ r o v l s l ~of t t s 1<111g('yrtls' I I ~ Y ~ I . I ~ (*0111~t~r111ttg
I~.
good will of the I S l ' ~ ~ l i t ~\vho~nt~rnb@red h; ntilliotrs :utrortg~t ' ~ I I Potlrt3rs who retun,t.d fmtu exile me m t l tl1:tt they were -
his'new subjects, and c o ~ n p n r ~ t i r efew-of ls n'llotn Ile lnigltt "tltose ~ v l t o sspirit ~ God h:td r:tIsed to go up to 11uiltl tlte .
feel sure would m a i l thenlsdvrrr o f - h i s generous offer of. Ilousr of the 1,ortl wl1i1.11is i t t .Tt.rus:tlerrt." (Verse 5 ) In whtit
liberty t o return to their tllltive lalltl. I t \\.oultl rll~1)e;lrt h a t w:~y tlte Lord rnisrcl tlte4r spirit, o r clisposition, \vtb a r e not
this w a s the custom of Cyrus in* respect t o 4he~reli,%ions~of I info~nteil. \Ye ntny sup~)ose, Iiowever, t h a t tltose \vhose
a l l the various peol>lcs wltom..he conqW&z BiWeoven, hetib Iteltrtst burned nit11 falth in t h e divine pronlises to Isntel,
 and wlto wc:re zealous to be and to do what \vould be acL ual sort,-grwious trutl~s,valr~nbleLe~rrortsutlcl experic~ncSca,.
ceptttbk. ~ I I(:oti's sigltl, \vorild I)e rtw~tkc~rc~tl by tlre dt*c*r~.!! H , Tl~twttC ~ I I I ~ O I Istlcmlt
plvvitlt~ntirtlI C ~ I I I ~ I I ~tst(4. ~ I ~ I 81s
~ rtna of
of 1ii11p ('yntx , \vi~it.It mtts of God's l i ~ s t i ~ t i t l o ~The h fultl~full ~ e u r tto go for\vurti l ~ n dby obetlience to bcvorue
generosity ol' ('yrus \vits ~ ~ ~ i r ~ ; i l ' t~~Ishis It e d sending back the heirs of those glorious tl~ingsthat Cod ltas pro~r~ised to them
prc.c.ious vt~ssc~ls of' t l ~ cTrnrl~kb,\vlricll ~lrustl~rlrebee11 of that love 111111.
i111t11t4tst~\ 11 1\11'. Tilt- lttl.gt*r vt.s~t'Is1116 ' ' e1111111t~lllt~d-ill 1111, No onc slloi111l Ite urged to cornc! out of Bitbylon. If n i l & .
249!). 'J'ht*st., wit 11 tllt: sttt:tllt.r rtrLicl~%tot s y ~ ~ i f i elunounted
d, ( I o P ~l10t COlIllL (Illt joyfully, "w1tl1 slllgirlg," ulrtltill~Ebelaly
to 5400.-Vt~~~sr11. in ilis heart to the Lord, glttd of tile opportu~lityof ~!llling.
It sl~ouldbe ~toticecl,in reading Ezm's account of the out, glitd of the opporturtiI.y of getting away froill the error
return fro111 c:~l)tivity,tlknt the division of tire nation of and into tlie plrlce of divine fuvor ant1 iitll6~ritllnc*r of the
Jslxel was tlo lortgt.r rcv~ogt~izetl :tl'ter tlte return. They rlre clivint. pro~nises,let llirn sttly i r ~Il:~l~ylor~. If IN! lovcbs l l ~ t t
i u v ~ i r l ~ ~sl~okc.~~
bly of rls "nil 1It1* ~ ~ t ~ oofl ~INI':II~~'~
lc ; tt1111 tl~tw* tl~lngsor t11l.q11rt.xc.1tt ~ I I I I I ~I I, I P stn,i:~II I I I Y I I I I I I I ~ I : ( W of LIt~I)~~lott,
s t : ~ I t ~ ~ t ~r\rtB
t ~ t t11:111th
~ r s r t ~ ~ ~ t ~ ~ t Y11e
l t ~ ~ten l l y .tri11t*sof Ixrrtel tltr I ~ ~ ~ s i nadva~itngt~s
t~ss 111tt1 tq~~~ortunitit~s, tile gre:iter Itonor
\v(.rt. 110 illore "lostw-us delutlrcl Anglo-Is~-,~elitrs assrrt- of mm, the greater con~fortand ease, let Iliiu so indicate to
tl~itr~ \vercJ tl~t* g~'ta:~t
IIIUSS of those c.:lr~Secl:t\v:ly c.rtpti\e fmin the I.orc1 alld refuse to rexlwrrd to the Lord's inessiige.
Juditl~~ v l ~r ~ o t ~ ~ l t ~ to
t ~ trt*tuil~
c ~ t l to I':~lc~sti~le untler the pro-
clnlnatiot~of 1<111:: ('yrtis. "ALL THINGS WOllK TOGETHER FOR COOL)"
IVhile our text has solur ril~plic.atior~to tlll \vho t t t i ~ n y
THE RETURN FROM MYSTIC. BABYLON tiute have loved the Lonl, yet it \\-:Lswrittt'n to Spiritrrill
\Ire 11ilvr i ~ l r i ~ istl(~n ~ d ~ tl~itt 11:ttur:11Isri~el's cuptivity in Isrilel, not Naturi~lIsri~el,ant1 its cl~irbfrst apl~lic.:ttior~is.
Ballylott is St.ril~tul;tlly rt-l~rt~st~~~tt-tl ns a figure of tlte to the Kew Crentiorl. 1'1ol:erly tlreir, tlte qurstiol~sitrise,
c:tl~tivit.y of s l ~ i r i t r ~ iIsr;\rt ~l in ~ n j s t i cBitbslon; rind that How are these things \vorltil~gbetter for us t11irr1 for the
tl~t.i1elivrntl11.t.11) ('.I 111s \v:ls to S I J I I I I ~estent a rrprest.~~tation world? Do riot Ul~ristii~ns die tllr srtlrle :IS ur~briievers,tlte
of tllr drlivt~ri~nc.e of sl~ll'ilu:~l Tsr:rc~litt~s fro111inystic. I::IIIJ Ion srtlne :IS Jews, tlte same its ~ ~ O ~ I : L I I I I Ithe I ~ ~sirnte
: L I ~:ISY ,the
by Clirist : tl1:11tile 1:tII of f::~l~.\-lo~~ bt~fore<'yrns ~ v i ~ fixnr:i-
s Iteittllt~i~? Do they not 11:ivt~their sh;tw of siiakitt.ss, SOITOW,
tive of tl~t*IzLII ~ I I(:rc~;tt." i~ntltl\:tt tlle riles- anel 11iti11in connection tvitlt tileir dyi~tgr s l ) e r l ~ ~ n ~ Sjllirtlly
al' " I : : I ~ I J ~tl113 't~s?
sage, "Alt.~tc*,Jlt-IIO,'l't~ktbl, l-l~lt:rrsi~~," rtppliecl not o ~ ~ ltog rtonr c.;tndispute the t r u t l t f ~ l r ~ r of s s this s ~ ~ g g t ~ s t!i o\Vllcsrt!-
r~
-litt*ri~l 1::tI)~1011, I~ul :~lsot~o\v :tl~l~litbs to ntystic B:~bylon. ill tltcsn, slr:~ll we sax, is tllere r t t t atlvnutrtge in bring :I
In \.it.\\, of tltt~sc~ t11i11ysit is I n ~ tproper that we sltould f:iitllful sl)iritual Isnielitr? If all the world is redee~utvlby
consitlt~r Isr;~t~l's rt,111r11front I ~ : I I ) J I ~its I I to soitir eBxti~nt tht- prwious blood of Christ, if all the world is to 1r:tve a
reprt.st.~~ti~~g lltt* tlt~livt~~.;~~tc~r of t l ~ rzeiilous of sl)iritu:tl blt*ssIt~g under Blessiah's glorious reign of a thous:lr~tlyth:lrs,
J~ritt'l ~ I ' O I I I 111:stie. I ~ : I ~ ~ ~ ~ I I\ I\ It -~-kI II~ \ \ . ilk ~ I ~ I I Z ~ ~ ~tt11t1 S S .if tl~ch:~nc.it.nt wortl~itw:Itrb to ltr~\t% 1111* Ilt.st 111i1c.c. i r ~
"~'olllt~ ell11 ltf Ilt~l.,Illy ~ l t ~ t l ~ l l ~ ~st1
lllilt , I)(! !lot ~~ltt*l:ll<t~rs of tilt. kir~gtlo~t~ t111ltwill ~ I I I * I I 1~ c~sl.~blIsl~etl 1111il1'r1111. wl~olo
httr sills, i l t ~ t l tl~:i(.\cb rthceire not of her phgues."- Iteve- hettrc~~~s, \\-l~:rtwill be tileb : ~ d \ . i ~ ~ ~ tifi ~:gLeI, I to ~ , tt~osr\v110
lution 18 : 4. have been faithful and lojitl sl~iritual1sr:telitc.s-to tltose
But no\\-, :IS t11c.11,c.o~~~l~:~rati\rl.v few, even of the cbnse- who have come out of I I I J sticdUal~ylon,11:lve el1tlurt.1111:lrd-
cr:ttrd cl:~ss, :tvv ~\.illit~g to u~ttlt~t.t:tketlie trials and dim- ness a s gooel soltlif~l'sr11t(1 11:tvc. sougltt to lily eio\vt~ tl~eir.
cultit-s i t t t . i i l c ~ ~ ~tol 1 1 1 t h It.itvi~~g of Ole settled rifTuim, twm- lives 111 tl16- B i r t s t t ~ x(>r\rliatb,
'~ i r ~tilts st-rvii,t*oC l l ~ i *I I I ~ I ~ I I I ~ I ~ I I ,
fort:~blt*clu;irtt-rs. c.l~t\trrtc.t s, c~r~g;~gt.~rtetits, etc.,' e~rtrredinto In tile Sc'rrict~ of tltc truth, 111 tl16~sc.rvic.e of (jotl?
in Nr~bylolt. 1'111. o111.volltls clisl~osrtl to risk the Ilardships The ri(lvtint~rgrsof tltis c.I:tss rlrr r ~ r ~ n ~ t ~ r:tnd o u s ,1:ly Itoltl
:111el to go f'ortl~illto tltr tlt:.lrvt, It.:\\ ill:: tlrr strong w:rlls :trltl upon the present life, ils \vt.ll :IS tl~:tt n l ~ i c . l l ix to c.olrlcl. Irt
~we~ttv~liolt ol s t ~ c ~ t : t t ~ l r ~rtrtb
~ ~ itltost.
s ~ n , \\*lto I ~ r l v tgrtsitt
~ c.ot~ti- the l ~ r + ~ x ttittt(*,
~ n t it is ~ I I P~~~*ivilc.gt! of tltt-sc. to c.njo.y tit(?
I I I ~ I I I111 s c - s to pcntr2 of (:otl, wltic.11 ~~rtssrtli
~ (;4111:IIIII~ I ~ I V I I S I I I B I * ~f't)~.the ~ ~ r i n ~ ~ i1111ti1t~ :\I1 I I I I I I I ~ I I~~~ t ~ t I c ~ r ~ t : ~lttt ~ l / t ~ g .
1lrr sc.tbtl ol' .\ltr~:tlt;un. Tltr call to return to the old pittlrs, is tlltbir privilrge to k l ~ w by faith tl~rtt:111 tl~il~fis atre work-
ill111 to ~'el~ttiltl t h t ~Ttbntl~lrof tltr -Lord, icnd to replnte ing togrtltrr for goo11 to tl16~n1bwnuse tlle.1 love (:od. I t is
t l ~ r r r i ~t lt ~ rvt.ssc.1~ of ::oltl i111tlxiltc.r ( t h e precious trutlls of tlteir privllc.fie to rritlize tlti~t\vh:ttevei. III:I?. I I : I J I to
~ Iothers
~~
tile elivilrt1 \\'o~-tl-srttir~g t11eti1 it1 order as a t first) is a p in tltrb wa~rltl,~lotl~iltg (7111 k u p l ) r ~ t ,so f i ~ r:I* titry itre con-
prt.caitttt3t111.1 the few only; yet 1i1t.w :Ire eltcouri~g(~il by the wntt~tl.'l'ilc 11- r~n'r~i~w rtrltl interests nrt! :I I I yu11.itr.t to 11 ilivir~e
Lortl's pro\ idt.r~ct>s, by the riclii*~I~t.slo\vedupon t l t r ~ nfrom supc>rvisiol~.KO \vondrr tiley cwn have 1)citc.e i n every storm 1
every clu#rtthr-not riches of an e:trtlily kind, but of :I spirit- No \vorlder they are able to rejoice even in tribulation 1

THE TEMPLE REBUILT

TEMPLE ~81'0KSI'IoN111YXICULT -3fAXING UESODY IN THE HEART -
MAINTAINING THE HIGHEST STANDARD -BUILDING THE
TRUE TEXPLE -
TIIE CHTJPGH A TE.\II'LE EVER NOW.
" d l , ~8i1rl lor~ueth,yea, even fnintetl~for the courts of Jeho~nh."--l'salm 84: 2.
The toilsome jounley ended, they iirr:tll~-rtbsttyl i ~ .Tt~ru- t
T HE xt~turni~tg Isr:~t~litrs left their friends in Babylon,
full of zc.:11, :111dto S I I I I I ~t%stt.nt
~ nc11uirt.d by their niore
worldly-~vist. c.ot~~ltittr.iots,~vllo l)rc4tbrred to rt.rn:tin
ill tile forctign 1rr11tl. ' ~ I I I . t~stv)vtqr1111ttv1 Il~rrttI I tltc~ king,
salcm, only to find still grcwtt-r tlisc.o~l~.itgt~~~~c.nts.
very ft:w of t110it111ittlr\.fSr strtsn t111. III:I~.I*
few h11d s t * c * t ~tl~rollgl~
1:ut a :
I)c.Sor.~.,r r t ~ t l Iltow ..
ti111 thy(*oS I ~ I I ~ I I I I ISor
~ I II I~I I I' ,i . 1 1 , ~ 111161 .
I l t c b 11rt~st~nts
of ~r~ottt~y, :IIIII I I I I I t*osIIy ~ ( ' s H I ~ I N of llle tot11l11e 1r1in dcsolrttc, ttccortlll~gto tlte \\'orti ol ( I t v I.ortl, ('or SI.~I.II(.V
~rr<~i<*t>, were with tl1t.111;:11tt1 their Iropcu mn 11igh rts years. ( 2 Cllronicles 30: 21) Tlie n:11I u~ttltlrt: t t ~ r t ~ l 11:ttl ~lt~
they began their j o u r ~ ~ eof y nc~nrly 800 miles, about the been dt~molis11Nby Nebuchndnezzar's orders, tutti ~~titlly of t
distance from Philadelpl~iato Chicago. According to tra- the private .residences \vri-e nlso left in ruins, and now for
dition, they must have been about four ~nonthstrnvrlling, seventy ytbars of Such dtviolntions, "\vitl~outiltlrabit:~rtt," tlte .
whereas an express tlain in our day woiild make the plrlcrt w i ~ s a wil8erness. Trees merc g~.o\vin$ ill \\.ti:tt 7
distance in seventeen houm foruterly were streets. Everything Wits disorder. Auy other :
 ~k WATCH TOWER
rlrlss 1llr111lI~o.rcbf11l1 or f:1ll11 1111tl zt-r~l, 11s thc~se were,
~ ' o l l l d11:lvl' 11. ('11 I l l I ( ' I ' I ~ \'(ls~'0111':1~l'lI.
\Ve 2u.t. lo 1.1 I I I ( 1111)c.r(Irt~tIllc. 1,ol.d tl111s tricls our [.I)II~:I#(~,
a l ~ df i ~ i t li ~~ ~ l tz1+:11, l not 10 tlc~stroy tllt'sc' q ~ ~ : ~ l i t i11ut i ~ s , to
dc.cqtc*r~iu~tl t i s 1111 111-lo c ~ s l : ~ l ~ l iIIS, s l ~ l o tl<.vc.lt)l~11s 111
c l ~ : i r : ~ ( * t1 i~ 1s. \vitl~~ I I I *t>])iv:~II s r : ~ ( ~ l i t t ~ l ~s i * rso ~ ~it, 1s IIOIV
wit 11 tllc* s11irilu;ll Is~~c~lilcs--;~ I l srlc.l~ 1 r y i l ~ gc-xlrc*ric~r~c~i*s, MAINTAINING TIIE IIIGIIEST STAN1)AItI)
1111t1i.rd i v i ~ ~ c~)rovitliv~cr,* will nark out tit our : I I ~ \ : I I I ~ : I ~ ( ~ 1'11:11 1 IN. c ~ s l t ~ * c ~ s"\vill~ok~l s i o ~ ~ : I I I i ~ ~ l ~ : ~ l t iili~l t : ~11ot ~ ~ lrt'l't'r "
if nrcB will but ~)c~rsc\vc~ru* i n our f':tifl~,: I I I I ~ Iovi~:111i1 z t ~ i ~ l . to i~tilivitln:~ls of c.ct11c.r ~ ~ : ~ t i o ~ r i ~ lis i t i ciirll)licbd
.s in tile 1:s-
I t rcql~irotlInert tl1:111n yc:1r to put tl~c~~rrst~lvc~s ill rc :ison- ~ ) r c ~ s s tilt. i o ~"l)roplt*
~ of tho l i ~ ~ ~ i\vI~o l , " \ ~ ( ~ r111('rr t' \v11(~11 1111,
nblv i*o1111itio11 for I i v l ~ l ~:IIIII , 1111~1 1l11,ir 1111iv1lio11 ~ I I I . I I I * I ~ .IIWS 1.1.1 I I ~ I I ( Y ~ . ' ~ Y I I . ~ I >i s 110 I ' I - ~ I S O I I 1 0 I ) ( ~ ~ I ~ v I111:11 - 1111~1.1~
t o ll111 r ( ~ l ) ~ ~ i l iol' l i ~t l~~ gi s 1 1 ~ 1 1 1 j ~ l t h . 'IYIIII 1I1(*ySIIOIIIII I I : I \ I * \vc,l.cb: I I I ~ .It'\vs \vl~:~tc~vc>r ill 1111. I r 1 1 1 t l 1'01. 1111, tbrllirc.pcsrIotl of
bcJgulr so malt to t l ~ i ~of~tlw k 11o~st'of the 1,ord ~1)~':tli'i\\i41 st-vc.11ty yt.:r I'S, :IS forc.loIc1 by . I i ~ r t w i11. :~
of their spiritu:~lrorlclitio~~.Tl1c.y npprar to 11:1vt. In1111c~t1i:r tcl- Thest. "l)c~ol)lrof t l ~ t >1:111tl" ( s ~ ~ l t s t ~ l ~~ I~I Oi \~V ~ ~ t lS:I-
I I :IS y
lg loc*:~trclill t l ~ o i rv:~riou.rc.iticas, ~vltich hat1 ~ I W I lleitller I I I : I ~ ~ ~ : ! I I S )'\vt11.1*ilisl~o~t*tl to I)(: fri(~1111ly to 111tl ~ C ~ ~ I I ~ I I I * ~
c~~tircaly t11~sl rojc>tl 11or c)t.c.~:l)ic~tl Ity c)tllc~~)c'ol)li'(111ri11gtll(>ir lsr:ti*Iilt~s. ::!I(! ~ t r o l ' l ' ~ ~tlktbir r ~ ~ ~ l:tic1 i11 1111, 1111iI(li1)x ot' 1 1 1 4 ~
~ I ~ I S I ~ 1)111 I I I - Ii l~l , I * ~ I I I I ~ I ;10I I : I)I* I ~ ~ i ~ - i ~ ~ l ~ : ~ l )'l'l~tay i l i - i l .II:L(I 11.1111~1~'. 1:lll lI11~11' :lssisf:llll'~' \\.:IS rl'~11sl'lI: 1'01' I I l l ' Isl.:l"lil~'s
1>l'ol1:1l,ly slilrli'il f1'0111 1: !I)> 1011 (~:lrIyi l l 111(* I I ~ ' I I ~ ( ~yr21r; 'L\. ~ V : Iliztstl 1l1:l t if tllc~sc." s t r : ~ ~ ~ g c ~\\'IT(. ~ . s " l ) ( ~ r l ~lvd l i l lo s ~ I : I ~ ( !
: I I I ~ if t l l ~ ys1).*111 I I I ~ I - I *o r 1110rt~ I I I O I I ~ ~ I ('S 11 r o ~ ~ t t 'they, ill 1111. ~vo1.1; of c.o~~strrlc~li~~;' tllc, ~ ( ' I I I I I I111(~?. I, ('011111 \\-it!l
c1oul)tlc~ssrr.:~c.hvtl I1:tlc~slinc. :\l1o111tl~c! fo~u'th n ~ o n t l ~ lly . p r o l t ~ ~ i t ~I,I:I~IIIly :I S I I : I I Y ~:11so ill i l i ( * l ; ~ l i 1111% ~ ~ gI ~ I I : I I . : I ( . I ( * ~ of
~ I I I * sc.vc-111l1111o11111111i~y:ISSI*IIIIII(-~~ 111 . T C ~ I I S ~ I ~ I ~for I I I tho 1111%\vorsI~i])\vItii*l~\vot~l(l I ~ s ~ : I I ~ I ~ s I I I ~ I II ~ ~ I X : *I I; ~ I I .111:1t
$:IS ol' : I ~ O I I ( ~ I I I ( ~ I s(*r\ I~ i(*i>s.-lCzr:t 2: 70; 3 : 3-7. Illis \VOIIIII OIII-11 t l ~ t ~*I O O I . to I:lsily i l l ~ x * l i g i o 111:1tto1~s, ~~s :IIIII
11i~rl1:1ps lo 1 l 1 t a 0111 iilol:tI~~y, ~ ) I I : I ( Y . O I I I I ~ &)I' 1vI1ic.1~ tiit, IAorcl
MAHlNG MELODY IN THE HEART 11:1d so sc~c.l.c.ly c.l~:~stis~-tl Isl'i~t~l.
1v-11I of zoi~l for tllc. I.tr~.tl's c.:rnss. tl!c* l!(bo~)Io c.cslc l~t.;~tc.d \V~II*II " ~ I I I ~p ~ ~ o p l0:' o t l ~ i1:111il" ~ 1'0111111t l l i ~ t tl~t'ir I I I O I I ( ~ . V
11111 V I > I - I I ( ~ ~ - S ~ 1 ~ Ii I1I y
~ i 111'1 ~ t l ~ vI I I ~ W t~I I I I I I V wit11 .joy :IIIII zt-111. :und st-~.vic.c.s\v(kr(b1101 :IIY.(~)::IIII(~, : I I I I I t l ~ : ~lllcy t c.c)ultl 11;rvc:
O I I ( I)(. ~ 1l1(1 s11(yi:1l I'(-:I~IIY(IS o r lI1(4r \ v o r s I ~ i ~\\.:I< ) ~ ) t . : ~ l s i \ ; 111,i1l)t*r 11:ll.l or lo! i l l I \ I I \ I * O I I S ~ ~ I I ( ~ ~oI' ~ O 1I 1I 1 1 ~l,o~.il's I I I ) I I S I ~ ,
111111 \ j i b 1 l 1 i 1 1 l i it S:I(.I~ lo s:~y ll1:11 < i ~ ) g i 1111~ ~ ~ gl , o ~ ~ l '111*:1is(~ < 11 oll'l~lltli~tl 1 Il('111 : l l l i l 111.1111~ lIl('111 ( ' l l t ' l l l i < ' ~ : 1111i1 1'1.01111 Ililt
II:IS IIIY-11 ~ I I I I I I I I C S1l1c. ~ gl'c~;~l~.st l~lc~ssings r111t1ltrivil(~gc&s of ti11111O I I \ ~ : I Y I ~ 111t.y l):srsislc~~~lly O ~ I I I O ~ X Y Ill(, I \~i>rli 1 1 1 ~
~vor.sl~il) c~~~jo.!c.tl 11y tl1c1 I:~l~gc-sl I I I I I I I ~ I I ' ~of t l ~ o Lord's ~)(W]IIP Isr:~c~litc~s. So it will IJI. \\it11 s])iril:r:rl Is~.:~c~l. Tllosck ivlro
tl~rol~gllout tl~i.; gor1)c.l :~*rc.:~lso. Tl~caI)on'clr to p n ~ i s c(:of1 ~ c o ~ ~ s t ~ i ~ ~ ~I i~wt i SoI ~~I I~I I s. : lI ~y( SI.OIII ~ t111, \vo1.111 i11 s11i1.il11:rl
ill s011g Il:ls I,l.i.ll 1'011S1'1'1'1'i1 1 1 ~ ) 0 1 1 111:111 ollly \'pi- :Ill i':lrlllly 111:111t~rs. :IIIII r i ~ ~ ~ o g :IS ~ ~l)r1*111r(,11
iz~b ill ( 'I11~is1 o111yll~os(-\vl~o
1~r1~;~111ros, : I I I I ~ l~t)\v: I ] ) ~ I I * ~ I ) ll1:11 I . ~ : I I~I PI *SIIOIII~I IISO this (YIII"~I%SS11) i~irc11111(.isio11 !)I'1111,III-:II.~ : I I I I I :t(lol)tio~~ illlo (:~)il's
p0wc.r to 1)1':1istbtlrc- I<i~tgof Iii~lfs! fanlily, will filtcl tl~eil~sc~lvc~s ol)l)osc.tl 1)sr~~or:ilisls, lilti~r:~lisls
If tllosc. Is~.:~c~iil(*s, tllc~I I ~ I I S I Iof sc-rv:~~~ts, rt-tll1'11i11;'from allti I~igllc>r critics, a s \voII :IS 11y tllth 111:1ssc-s,lvllo 11:ltc. the
t l ~ r i rl)o1111:1ge ~ I I I I I ~ ( I I I I - I I I ~ ) ~tilt* ~ ~ ~I . IO I\ (~, I I : I I I ~ ] I I * ~ I I I ~ S ~of IS ligl11. I~+.c.:~nst~ it ront11~11111s tl~cdr tl:~~~li~~c~ss-tlo~*lri~~:~l :~r~tl
Go11 to ~ I I I L III:III I I , I*:IIISI* for si11gi11g:IIIII S I I O I I I ~ I I ~. I t I I O ~ ~ I I I ' S oll~c*r\visc~. X i ~ v ~ ~ r t l ~ c ~I ll ~ i ~i siss, 1111% o111y goo~l :IIIII s : (.I:~
]tri~isc,, 11111141I I I I ) ~ III:IVI* ~ \v(~,\vl~oII(~~IJII;'11) 1111' IIOIISI* oL) I*IIIII.SI* 10 ])III.SII(~. 1!1,111&1~ ~':II.is I f ll1:11 o111y II.II(- l s t ~ : ~ ~ * l i l ~ ~ s
sons 111111 I I : I ~ I > I ~ O I I I I ~it111 of 1{:1I)ylo11.~r1s:11I.:III.V 10 lt>ll sllolllil IN* r l ~ l ~ o ~ 1 l i11s z ~ ~llrl~lllrell,
(l :1111l 1I111s 1I1e \ V I l ~ ~ l l lI)(?
abro:ltl t l l ~g1'(3;1t t l ~ i ~ ~ \vl~ic.l~
c s 1111' 1.01.tl 11:1tl1(1o11(~ Sor 11s. sc'p:~r : ttxd ~ f r o n ~ tlre t:krrs.
IVv ~ v ~ :III ~ rs(*r\:111ts
i ~ of silt OII(.I~, 1t11i11.r1111, I)oIII~:I,:(* of SOIII~: O I I ~ . II:IS ~vvlls:~i(l: "The C l ~ r i s t i i ~ i11
~ ttl~tx\vorltl i s
sill, ~ ~ I I ~ I . : I I I I * s11~)1~rsli1i011
I~, :IIIII 11(*:1111, l)111(;oil. ~ I I I ~ O I I ~1 I 1I 1 ~ l i l ; t b :I ~ 1 1 1 1 1 111 1111,OI-IYIII. '1'111~s11ij) Is s:11'ib ~ I Il l ~ t *I ) I V - : I I I so
(:rc111t C1yrtls, II:IS 111~r111ilIt~il 11s lo go l'~.ibi-. A ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~1011;'~ ~:IS~ l l~~ t *~OI.I~:III ~ ~ 1s l :1101~ 111 l ~l l t t~. sl~il)." l y , OIII~ II)\V~-I.S 1111.
tl~c*rc~fo~.c~, our first sf(.])s l ~ o ~ t lIIIJ t l to rc.c.ozl~izc.t l l c . s:~c.l~itic*(~ st:11114;1l.tlof tloc.tri~lc,also; for tlrc uri11is1i.rwllo rc~:rlizc.sIll:lt.
of t l ~ > ( ~ l t : ~: IrI I,I \ ~ I I P I I oiTtbr 11~1isis 111 \:ill! ~ v l ~II:IIII o I~:IIII~II: ~ tIib:~stIl~~.c*i~-fou~.tl~s 6f his 1.0: ;:iiy:~liol~ n o ~ ~ lIIV t l r.c*1)i5llc tl
11s 0111 of ~ I : I ~ I < I I C *illto ~ S his I I I < I I + \ ~ ~ ~ Oligl~t, II~ fol- "II(* 1111tlt by t l ~ c] I I ~ I ~ s I ~ I ~ ~of : I ~str011g
~ ~ I I IIII,:II I)!' 11.11tl1,~vil11l1olils 1I1e
D I I ~:I I I ~ W so^^;: illto our I I I V I I ~ ~ I St ,' \ c - l ~ tlrc' lovillg I t i ~ ~ t l ~ ~ cF~ ~sI sI I I:IIIII
I , , J ~ ~ I . I I I tl~osc> ~~S \ I - ~ I O I I I ~ I V I S ~ I Y > I IIIII>:I~,~ a1111 1*011lil
of our (;oil." : I ~ I ~ ) I ~ I:IIIII ~ I .IISV ~ : : It~ (to~ : I I ~ ~ : I I Ilo~ ~: II. I~) \ V~ \vi>:kk, ~, lo st:trv(*.
T l ~ t *.I]~t!slli~: I S S I I ~ ( > S11s ll1:11, I I I I \ \ I ~ ~ I ~ I :. I ~ I ~ I I ~ I I i~l l -I I ~ I~J:' I I~~(~~~, I I ~ I ~ 1 1 1Ii Ib I \vorlilly
I ) I . I ~ , s11il.il : I I I I I 1111, f111Ivr tr~;1s111*y
spiri11g :IIIII r c ~ ~ ~ * t 111.t~ ~ s l flit*~ i ~s ~o ~ g ~ of g s 0111. li])s, still 111ori> 11:1vi*:1tl1.;1(~11~il ' ' S ~ I Y I I I ~ ( > I . S " illto 111(* ~ I I ~ O I ' I ~ S S ~ Y 111i11istl.y I of
:~pl)riq>ri:tl(~ :IIIII sl i l l 111ort~ : I ~ I ] I I . I ~ ~ * ~ : I OC ~ ( * Ililts
~ : I I . IO~ I I ~ 1 l 1 t s gos])~sl,J I I : I I I ~ of \ ~ I I O I I I I<IIO\V 11i~i1111.r 1111. 1,o1~111or l ~ i s
I ~ r ; ~ r t - s o ~ 111(, ~ g s Joy , :111tl rcb.ioic*ing of l h c nvw I I I ~ I I I ~ - - " S ~ I I ~ - IVortl, :nttl \ ~ I I I >c.o~~sc~clac~~~tly :Ire tlloror~gl~ly 11111)rt~11;1ri~d to
illa: :IIIII 111it1ti11g 111(~1oiIy in our 1111:1rts11111o 11111 I,or(l." l'c.c*tl 1l1c1 1rut. sl1t.011 \vckrc*t11t.y thvc*rso \\.I~I I t l isl)osc*tl. One
( ~ : ~ I I ( , S ~5 : I:I1:) I SI ~111il this joy ;1n11 sil~ging~ I It 1 1 ~I~ibt~rt, ol' t11c: great ~ l i f l i ~ ~ ~ wit11 ~ l l i r (>111~isli:111ily
s toil:^?. is t11:lt i t
this JI~':I~~-~~I:III~~~II~I('RS to tI1(1(;iv('l' of all good, ~~rc.c~ss;~rily II;IS :111111itto(l t l ~ is ~ l r : ~ ~ ~ g t *t11c ~ . s ,"1)01q)lv01' t l ~ cI:III~I,": ~ n d
t i ~ ~ t lr sq ) r t . s s i o ~ ~11o1 , o111y i l l ('l~l.isti:~rlc+nlsls, I)nt : ~ l s oin rc.c.ognizcvl t h r n ~:IS ( :l~l*isI i:~r~s. I t tlocas illjury. not o11ly to
1111 l l ~ r:~c.ts:111i1 \vo1.11~ 01' lil'i-:~ll of ~\.ltic.l~ cao~~slitlltc~ Ille tl~i!('I~risti:~ns,l)y I o ~ v i ~ ~ ~ i ~ st:11111:1rtls ~ g ) l ~ t ~ i(rf o r t11v ~ I ~ Y ~ I T ~ ~ G
I I ~ I I I Iof I III.:I~SI. : I I I < I I I ~ n ~ ~ l : s g i vi+o111i1111:1lly i~~g : I N ~ ~ ~ ~ I I ( I)I(*- I I I ~ will I)(. c~ot~sltl~~rc~tl 1111. stt~~;il:rl~tl ) . 1,111 i f :11so i l ~ j ~ ~ rI iI I'Ps
for^. (:oil I'l.0111 his 11 .oplc.. " s I r : ~ ~ ~ g ~ 1)g ~ r s~, :"L I I S ~ I III ~: I I I ~ of 111(1111 11) 111~Ii1~vi- ~III*IIIS(*I~I>S
Tile sllouls \vi.~-(>tlisc.ol.tl:lr11-sot111~of joy, solne of \vc1t\p- s:~ftl,: ~ n dneeding I I O col~vt~rsior~. I I I ~ : I I I S ~111i~y ~ :119rout\v:~rdly
ing. Tl~oscl~vllol ~ o l i t ~ tfol9\v:~l.il l i l l I I O ~ I O s l ~ o ~ ~ t for c \ d joy. rc~sltc~c.t:~Itle, tlnd perll:tps frtuluc~111l.y:~ttcwtli~r~ts :it pultlic
'I'l~osc.\\ llo IooI~I'II t~~c~l;\r:l~.tl. t l l f t l ~ ) i ~ ~ l l l111~rorc l l ~ ~ l tlli'ir I I I ~ I I I ~ S \vol.sl~ilt.
~ 0 l O l l l O l l ' ;~~ t ' : l l l l l (1'111111(', \\'lbllf I I S I I l l ' ) ~ ~ 1 1 ~ 1l t f1 1111% ~ ~ 1 111- ~ JIUI1,I)IM~; TllE TItUE 1'EMI8IAE
siyl~Ill~.ru~c,c~ of 1111. I ) I ' ~ ~ < ~ ~ o~lc* I I I 111 I * ~ I I I ~ I : I ~ ~ S I I Al~tl II. so lotl;~y 111 1114. 11gl1t ol' 11111 tc~:~c~lri~~gs 01' 1111' r ~ l ) o s l l ~IVI'~ s scscS1l11tt
: I I I I O I I ~ s~)it~i111:1I l s ~ ~ : ~ i ~ 1111~r1, l i l ~ ~ :sI ,~ ( ~ . S O I I I 1v11o ~~ \v(>ibpSOI. 1111. :1111i type' of tl1:lt t r n ~ l ) l i\v:~s ~ 1 I I P ollcb tl-rlt' cbl~urrl )f l l ~ e
111th past, w11c.n tllry sl~oulcl I)(* r t ~ j o i t ~ i ~for ~ ; : t l ~ ef ~ ~ t \ ~ r pliviltg . C:otl, \\'hose names nre \\-rille11 ill Ilt::~vc!ll ( 1 Corin-
'Fll(. Apostle c ~ s l ~ o r tuss to "forgcbt tllc. tllil~gs \vII~(.II :IN> t l ~ i : l l ~3s: 36, 37; 1,uke 30: 20)-tl1:11 it is :L spiritu:tl trll~ple
I)cbl~ind,nnr1 to plrass for\v:~rtl to t l ~ rt l ~ i ~ ~ \vl~ic.il
g s :~r(bI)(.- 1)11iIt111) will1 1ivi11gsto~r(~s, of wl~ii:l~ .JI>SIIS C l ~ r i s tis 11it11-
fore." The lessons \vi. 1#':1r11f1'0111D : I S ~ P S ~ I * I - ~ ( (~* vI (I~~I~I~I ~II ~) I SI I , sclf tllc. o11ic.f cornrr stone, tltc s ~ r fo1111di1tio11. e If(: brcnrl~e
adverse erpcriellccs, w l ~ i l tthey ~ s)~ouldbc: kipt i l l I I I ( ~ I I I O ~ ~ , tllchf o o ~ ~ t l : ~ tof i o ~this l s]drit11:1l I~oosewhen 11c gilvc Ikis life
 = WATCH TOWER '

a runsoul for nluny, 1111tlillus ~ ~ l i l l l1)ossible

e t h e building sense regnrded as the te~llpleOP ( ; ~ t lIIOIV, : I I I I ~ tllf: VILP~OUS
11p or ot111.r l i v i ~ ~st011(1s
g I I ~ I ~ I I1l11s
I I ' I J I I I I ~ ~ : tlntil
I ~ ~ I Jtll(1I I WOII- I I I ~ ~ I I I I I I ~ IMU
N It# builders, ull I I U V ~ I I LS:O I I I ~ ~ I ~ I I I I F10 : do 111
deriul slrtlctnre sllall reucl~ ils gluriolls cui~~pletent%s.- buildlt~gertcah other up 111 the 111ost Iloly f ~ i i l k ,and tftUs
1 l'etsr 2 : 4-7. cor~tril~uting to the structure of the t e ~ u l ~ loer d1urc11 as
n 1vho11.. Tllis work of t~uildingup the cl~urc-11 is vclry clr.urly
\\'hen this for~ntlntior~ of tllv sl~iritu:~lt t * l ~ ~ p\vits l t ~ I:titl,
all wlto I * I I I I I ~to it r~vtliz:ttiv~~ of t l ~ I,I L I ~ I ~ V ~I)!': I IIIII Ic .~gre:~t ~. sc~tSort11 i l l tilt* I~uiltlingof t 1 1 ~typic.~tl ~ I ~ I I I ~t tI ~~~I tthe . l;
work tllert~l~y ictr~ol~~l~lisl~c-ti rt:joic.t.tl :t11+1 ~ ) r : ~ i s t ~~ItIl V 1,ortl. r e b u l l ~ l i ~of~ gt11e tt~111l111s :tft~*rtht, tba~1~Ilvity 111 liiti~ylor~ is
And this ra../oicail~g i r ~the str.t.ngtll it1111 sc.t.~~rity ol' 1 1 1 t h I'ou~~rlu-
very suggestive of t l ~ rn ~ l ~ u i l t l i rof ~ g tht. c.1111rc.11c ~ f t cthe ~
tion of our I~o)~t.u Iitlver t.i.iwrs. l'ri~ise i l t r l.o~.tl! \vc*ll.r up 1o11g ci~ptivity in BitI)ylor~the Orwt--\vl~l~.l~is gnler:llly
fro111evtbry Ilntrt tlrat reitlinc-s tl1t1 rc*tlt~u~l~tior~ t~c.c.o~ni~lislled know11 :IS the O r w t Iteforr~~ation. And truly t l i c ~ e11nsb~~err
by the ~ ~ r t r a i o ~I~loocl ls of ('Itlist, sherl for I L L ~ I I for I~ the a grent re-forn~ittion of the cllurch since t l l ~(lark itgCbS of
rc~~nissloi~ of SJIIS. 1'11o11 I l l i s S I I I - I ~ S U I I I I I I : I I ~ ~ I(111s
I II'IIIIIIR bontll~guuntlt*r thc1 p t ~ l ~yoke. i~l
' I ' l ~ t x work of rc~-forn~r~tIon llils gone stt.r~tlily I'orw:~rtl ;tr~A
struc.ture Ilils ~ N * ( ~ Ign1t111~1lIy
I : I I I I ~ stetk~litj~)rog~.(~sill:. Tile
l i ~ i t ~stones
g a r e taken out of the quiirry (tile ~ v o r l ~;l ):lnd like tliat of tlie typical te~lll~le, i n t h e n ~ i d s of
t tile grent oppo
by the esperiences a i ~ t l ~ d i s c . i ~ of ~ l ithe
~ ~ cI ~I I V S I ~ I I life
~ they sition. (See E z r a 4 :11-24; 5 :3-5; Nehemi:ll~ 4 : 7-23. anel
a r e dinlwd rurrl cliisrlrtl iultl ~)olisllr.tl iultl t111~rtitttql for conlptire STUI)~ES I N THE SC~RIPTVRKS, Vol. 11, C11:lpter ix
t1lttir 11111twsi l l the tc'~~tl>lt. \vl1i141,( i t ~ r i ~ ~ g ti1111. of the nntl Vol. 111, Chrtpter iv.) It'ron~ tile r n ~ ~ l t i t n t lwlro ~ ~ s hild
I)lrsst*i~ctb of (ht. I&rtl--vix., sil~c.c% ISiS, \\.III~II 111' tool( his ))the11 t~rt~111v~d 111td(*r tile j1111)tul rnlv SVIIII. o f tllc. liv111F:
grritt po\vri* 11s king-is I ~ c ~ i l~~oisc-lcssly
~g put tog~~tl~c*r, c~s stones of t h e t r u e t m ~ p l ewere gntl~eredout :rnd tile work
in tlte type, ~vi-tl~out tile soantl of ;I I~;tnl~ut~r--l~y tht* rc-sur- of setting them in order for t h e rebuilding of t h e New
rtuation of tilt* iler~din ( ' l ~ r i s ti111t1 tht. 1.1li111geof t h e living .Jerusnle~n rind its ternplr begtln. History records the op-
ill :I nlon~tmt.i r ~the t \ v i ~ ~ l r l of i ~ ~1111g +.ye; for "blc.sa~l :ire position mllich these re-forn~ers o r builders, encountered;
the clertrl \vi~o(lie in the 1,ord frotr~i11~11r.rlort11 [froill 1878 I ; ant1 truly, 81s in the t s l ~ e ," t l ~ ebuilders, every one hnd his
... they rest froill tllcbir Ii111ors Ifro111 tlrr toit L I I I ~\ve:~ri- sword [ t h e sword of t h e spirit, whic21i i s the Word of God]
Iless of Iitl~orl,but t l ~ e i rworks follow wit11 t l ~ r u ~ . "Tl16.y girded by his side, and so I~uildrcl." (Neheminl~4: 18) Nor
slli~llnot alt-ell, but they s l ~ i ~bth l l c.111111gc~cl i ~ t s t : u ~ t i ~ t ~ t ~ o tnltuy
~ s I ythis attitnde ever be relinqaished until t h e work i s a l l
fro811 t l ~ cIIIIIIIIIII
~ to 11 glorious s11irit11:tl I~ocly.-l:c~vc~l~~Iio~t c o l ~ l ~ ~ l nnd e t e tile glory of ttlc Irrnl llr~sfil11.tl his tvlnl111*.
-3-4 : 13 ; J C o r i n t l ~ i n ~ :1~ :s 51,5 2 9'11~l'llt'lll~1'8 of !Illb IrOl'll'~I I I Y I I I I I ~ IIIIII lht* IAII('I~'H \\'111'1< llr(?
nl\v:tss 81ctlve 111o p ~ ~ o n i t i ic~ltl o ~ ~ nolie
. the less so ~ 1 1 6 . 1 1 tl~cbir
THE CHURCH A TEMI'LE EVEN NOW 111et11oilsa r e subtle trnd t l ~ r ~course ir not easily cliscerr~ible.
I-Ic~ncet h e necessity exists for t.ontinued vigilance against
1;111\vllile the ellurc.11 gIorilit.11 wit11 ('llrist tllc. ILc-:ltl wilt every (~~icro:tc.ll~r~ent of thtb iltlvrly:lry, whether Ire conle @
be the t e ~ l ~ ycoi~iplete
le ~ I I I I ;I ~ i o r i o t ~its , i s in it 113~s I'OIIIIIIV~C u rourir~glion o r a s a wily sc*rptbnt.

BEREAN QUESTIONS ON ARTICLES IN TOWER FOR JUNE 15,1922

SEVENTY YEAItS' 1)ESOLATION (I'AIIT 11) 17. \\'lltlt c.rtn yon ~ullirnr bout prc*sc.t~t-trntl~
cl~ronology?
I. 1s it ~ I I ~ I ~ S ~ I ~ I Ior~ ~ I I; ~I II ~I I ~II*. \ I ~ ~ I I I ~ Ito 1'. lsi, 5.
I O i~~~ g r ~\\.it11
~t!
al~clentp~tgitnrtvor~!s? 1'. IS:;, 11 1. IS. Now \~-oultla drnrlge in t h e drites ilffect preseht-truth
2. \\'hitt slbirit pro~ltl)tetltllr c*h:u~yefn1111st&\ c.11t.y yr:lrsV P- 187, 7 6-
dcsolitlio~rto rwvt.l~ty~ ( ' ~ I I H .'L IS:!, 8 2.
t*i~j~li\.ity?
' I!). IIow would you sum up tire rcbitsons why ~)rc.sc.rrt-
3. IVlly r\re the llngiiil I~istoric~s bc~l'ol.c* l u ? cl~roaologyi s correct? 1'. 187, P 7-cud.
Ti:l(i 1:. (!. u ~ ~ r c ~ l i ; ~ l ~truth
P. 183, 7 3-5.
4. \\Tl~;rta r e tile facts about t l ~ ni~reii;tl~ilitve of llt~rotlotus THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL
nil11 other :~ltc.irr~t Greek l~islor.ii~rts? 1'. IS::, 7 I;-!). ~ r ?189, 7 l,2.
1. Wlio was H r l s l ~ i ~ z n ; 1'.
5. IIom relirtble ore tlie "i~\~tltoritirs"011 this period of ~ l .IN!), 7 3, 4.
2. Describe B i ~ l ~ y l o1'.
ancient I~istol:v?1 '. 153,7 10; 1'. 184, 7 1-3. 8. Coriltl the fttll ol' I:r111xlo11 11:tvc been postporled o r
G. Ilu\v 111ucl1 iltye~~lrcle~~ce ea11 be 1~1:lct~l011 L'tolr~~~y's averted? 1.' 189, 5.
~ l r l o l l ?1'. l<W,7 4. 4. 1tel:tte the c i r c u ~ n s t u ~ ~ ntter~tlir~p
ct~s the appellrance of
7. Illustrute tlte uncertainty of t h e history before 530 B. the htlntlwriting on t h e wall. P. 180, 7 0,7.
C. P. 184, 7 5, col. 2. 5. How (lid Daniel preserve his f r w ~ l o r nof speecll? P.
8. Can the i r ~ s c r ~ p t l o non s Asssritltr ilronul~rnitsIw rrt.lied 189, 7 8-10.
upon? W l ~ ynot? P. 185, 7 1-3. 8. 8 1 1 0 ~ tile manner of Daniel's ir~terpretution to t h e
'3. I-Iow ~~o111dyou describe the rontr:\st betwcvlr t h e king. .'k 190, 7 1,2.
monuti~ent:~l records rind David's record.;? 1'. 185, T[ 5-8. 7. Hot\- was t h e message written and what did the words
30:Did the pc~gari kings always tvll the t r i ~ t l i ill their mean? ID.190. 7 3,4.
n ~ o n ~ ~ n ~ r ni nt r~t ~l r i l ~ t i o 1'n. s ?I8.i. 1[ !)-I2: 1'. IS(;.ll 13. s d~itt?of this event? 1'. 190, 7 5,G.
5. \VII:I~ ~ v i ~the
11. Wlly iure tlie t~whreologistsu ~ ~ t r ~ t s t \ v o r l h LB. y ? IS(;, q 9. How tloes tlie handwriting corroborate the present-
6-8.
12. Does re1i:lnce on pagnn recortls :ttlswer ctonl~ts o r
t r u t h cl~ronology? P. 100, 7 6-8.
raise more donbta? P. 156, 7 9 , l O .
33. IVltnt i s till! (most to 81 c~or~scclutcvl
C l ~ r i s l l c tof
~ ~follow- "'1'111~ ' I ' I ~ l t l ~ l t cc11.1~t111.
~ 11:11j111t. H I O O ~ I 111 AIIIIII'U /\'III.,V 111t11 :
ills ~lllg~llt r(v*orlls? 1'. lN(l, 7 11. 1 11s vlorrl; 1111. HI;III of 1111tt111111111 ~ 1 ) 1 1 t: 111s I.III)I' 11 I I I ~ I ~ I : I ~ I1)1111
. ;
14. IVllnt c91roi1ologic:ll brltlgc*s render it nrhc.tllt.ss lo t l e l l i ~g:~rl):rt'o~ttld l r l ~xitrtb\v.v I + ) ~ I I s :I rit\v-lridt' 11elt t-ot~ti~l~tl :
Ifis 1l:lir 1111c1 i1r:lrd. like r:I\.thlll~lllftlr~s. N ~ I ' I ' : ~ I I I ( ' I ~ tlitl'li ilIo11y tlle ~virld;
pend on pt~giuirecords? 1'. 186, 7 12. A strotry :~c.:~c.i:~'s s1rik.v utt~tt~, sr.;trrf.st1rootl1w.11.\v:ls i r r Iris II:IIMI;
15. How does the l a w of probabilities help nialie prrsent- l I i n fret wert? fleslrlmc-, rnllo~rs. 1):rt.r. :rtrtl t:t\vr~y;ax ~ I I Psi~rrel:
t r ~ i t l lc~l~mnologya certainty? P. 187, 7 1. Ilis brow, n ~ o n r i ~CIVIC, ~ g n ' f . r l ~ ~ i l Ilis
~ g s!v:~rt : t ~ t dxIt:tg,'i'y(.I~e.*t;
16. IV11at three strong proofs a r e there of the truth of All11 'lre:~ihirs sll$tele3Iris e.Vf.3~ ~ P : I I I I PkI l~v t l f3:ic1f~s I'rotrt 1111,irnest.
Ile~rtotefro111cbourt~,corrtrptivn. criiclo, in tllttt lrigll U I I R ~ ~ I Iand, IP~~
the cl~ronology?P. 187, 1 24. Wit11 God aione, his soul had grown, to stature bold and grand."
 THE STRONG CABLE OF CHRONOLOGY
T H E ~vorldhas had nlany s ~ s t r n ~ofs chronology.
Among them were the syst(vns of Nt~bonasscr,
l\lacrtlon, Aicxancler, 'J'yre, liome, the Jews, Crea-
tion, L)iot lctian,' Christ, Armenia, l'ersia, the Hindu,
and the Chinese, cnch counting from some natiohal
event ant1 corerillg certain eras. These systems may be
likened to chains or to strings af brads, cwh date bring
a link: or unit in the whole. 'l'he relations erifiting
bctween the dates have been thnt each date has been
so many years after the prrcrtlilig ant1 so nlaily years
bdore the succeeding dntcs. An crror in ally one of
these miits upsets either all previous dates or all or
some of the later ones.
h411chrcIi:~~lc*e is still ~)l:~r.cltl
by historirnl writrrs upon
POlll(b 01 t l l ( ~ 0
s ~ s ~ O ~ 'i'hc
N . c\lruilology of tllc Assyrian
ilations has been founclcd upon comparisons of events
with the so-called Canon of l'tol~my, which \\-as a string
of datcs which the Creel: historian arranged centuries
aftcr the events, and which has been fount1 full of in-
accuracies. 'J'he Crrrelia every four years celebrated
athletic games called Olympiads, the succession and
nun~herof which were quite faithfully preserved; and
events in Greek history were rkcortlcd as taking place
in such an11 such an Olympiad, often with the ycar in
the Olympiad-first, second, third, or fourth-in which
instances the date of an event, if correctly recorded in
the a ~ ~ i histories,
e ~ ~ t can be rrlietl upon to a consider-
able extent.
OTHER SYSTCJlS ARE CHAINS, NOT CABLES
Every chronology which consists of a mere string of
dates is to be rrlicd upon only as rach successive tide
is correct. No ~ C I I O W I Is~('11Jar
~llr011010g~1 1 ; ~t ~l l ~elltire
system firmly knit together by connecting-links between
dates which are not succcssive. .Every chronology would
be immensely strengthened if it were possible to say
concerning each of the chief datcs that it was, for
example, 1,000 years after another e;ent, 500 years
after another, 200 years before another, and so on. Each
such line of evidence would tend to establish the more
firmly the correctness of the chief dates, and through
them the intermediate ones. But such proofs of truth
are lacking in the secular chronologies, and especially
in ~ e r i o d sof antiquity. All secular chronologies are
mere Pesses when attempt to set (lntes for much
morc than a few hundrctl years before Christ.
The chronology of present truth is, to begin with, a
string of dates, like other chronologies. That is to say,
the dates are each known to be so many years before
and after the succeeding and preceding dates, each step
being proved by the most reliable evidence in existence.
But if this were all the proof of the trustworthiness of
the chronology, it could not truthfully be claimed to
be more reliable than are the secular chronologies. Thns
, far, it is a chain, and no stronger than its weakest Link.
There exist, however, well established relationships
among the dates of present-truth chronology. These
217
intrrnal connections of thc tl;~tcsimpart a much greater
strol~gthth:tn cnn 1)r fol~l~tl
i l l cttl~c~i.
c~li~.c~~~ctlogic~s.
.of tholn are of so rrmarl,al)lc a c.l~al.;~ctt~r
Sornc
i1s t*lo:~l'lyto
indicate that this chronology is not of Inall, but of ('rod.
Being of divine origin and divinely corroborated,
present-truth chronology st:~r~tlsin a CIWS by itwblf,
absolutely and ungu:llilirtlly correct.
INCONTESTABLY ESTABLISHED
JVhen a date is intlicatcd by seve~.allines of c~itlcnce
it is strongly est:ll)lis]lctl. 'l1lle s(bi(blltificIaw of prol~a-
bilities imparts a unitctl strc~~gtl! to the strancis of the
cable of chronology far grrat~vthan the s u n of the
ir~tlivitlrlnl line8 OF evitl(wcc1. 'I'his is n I:tw ~\l~ic-ll is
i1k11)licitlyrt~licdlllloll i l l ~lll~lt~lb~ill\t
i l l i ' t l i l ' ~ : Y~z., ( \ l i l t
when a thing is indicatetl in orlly one it may be
by chance; if it is indicated in two ways, it is aln~ost
certain to be true; and if in more than two nays, it is
usllally impossibl~that it is by chance, or that it is not
true; and the addition of morc proofs removes it en-.
tirely from the realm of chai~ceinto that of proven
certainty.
This principle is applied daily in the ~vcighticst
matters in courts of law. The tcsti~nonyof a siligle
~vitnessmay be colisidered doul)tfnl, but that of only
two or three nitncssrs incontcstahly csti11)li-hcs the
truth. "In the n101lt11of t\vo or tl~rrc11 itl~ess('sshall
every word be established."-2 C'oril1thi;ins 13: 1.
I n the chronology of present trnth there are so many
inter-relationships among the clates that it is not a
mcre string of dntcs, not n cht~il~, 1)11t:L cnl~lnor slrn~lds
iirlnly knit together-a di vi l~t~ly 1111 i fiotl systc3111, I\. i 111
most of the dates having such rcmarliahle relations with
others as to stamp. the system as not of human origin.
The automobile and the law of gravitation are two
remarkable things. The one was invented by man; the
other was discovered by man. Ifan invents man-made
things, but discovers divinely-created principles. Pres-
ent-truth chronology is not an invention; it is a dis-
covery. The various cliscovrrics, unite into a scirniifrc
system of chronolqgy akin to the ~ystemsof science in
physics, chemistry, radiology, and astrono~ny.
'yhe of chronology 1)ecomes \vortlly of the
close attclltion of able n~illtls,I)ec.:~l~sc it sul,ltlics tho
.data for a genuine philosophy of history. 'l'licre is a
science of history taught by able and highly educated
professors in great universities, but in a vague and con-
fused manner; for it is the attempt to reduce to order
the utter confusion which demon control has made of
human affairs in this present evil world. If such men
find the extremely obscure philosophy which they teach,
and concerning which they write in tcxtl)oolrs, worthy of
a lifetime of study, how much morc worthy of attention
is the definite, clear-cut and truly scientific philosophy
of history discernible in the chronological system of
divine truth.
 -
This genuine philosophy of history would now be
WATCH TOWER
taught in the institutions of higher education were it
not for the fact that these institutions are dominated.
by the spirit of the evil one. It is aptly said by President
David Starr Jordan, of Leland Stanford University,
that education today is throttled'by the hand of the
dead past-i. e.. by the tradition and influence of the
dark ages of ;;norance, superstition, apostasy, and
demouisni. T i e institutions of the past are perpetuated
today in the unhallowed alliance of business, state and
church; and it would not be to their interest to have
the truth known, because it condemns this alliance.
Light, however, is breaking in upon even the be-
nighted centers of "higher" learning, and is causing the
abandonnlent of ancient notions in scientific lines, such
as chemistry, physics, and astronomy, where the dis-
coveries of the learned Hebrew, Einstein, and of other
progressive scientists, have rendered impossible the re-
tentian of ideas that constituted what was considered
advanced scientific ground only a few years ago. When
the political and economic power of the unholy alliance
is finally broken, as it will be in the near future, it will
be possible for truth to have a hearing, and in many
directions the allcged wisdom of men will be widely
laown to have been mere foolishuess. "Hat11 not God
..
made foolish the wisdom of this world?. The wisdom
of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again,
The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they
are vain [empty, profitless]."-1 Corinthians 1:20;
3 : 19,20.
PROOF O F IPIVINE ORIGIN
It will be clearly shown that present-truth chronology
displays indisputable evidence of divine foreknowledge
of the principle dates, and that this is proof of divine
origin, and that the system is not a human inventiw
but a discovery of divine truth.
The proof resides in the many connecting inter-re-
lationships among the dates. Without these relations
the chronology would not differ from secular systems,
but with them we believe that it bears the stamp of
approval of Almighty God.
Jehovah had outlined the times and seasons of things
to come, and had them recorded ages in advance. H e
says: 'Who, as I, shall .call, and shall declare it, and set
it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people?
and the things that are coming, and shall cope, let
them shew unto them." Through the prophet Daniel,
Jehovah declared by the voice of an angel: ''Echold, I
will make thee know what shall be in the last end of
the indignation : for a t t h e t i m e appointed the end shall
be." H e said again through Daniel: "A thing was re-
..
vealed unto Daniel. and the thing was true, but t h e
t i m e appointed was long"; and "It is yet for a t i m e ap-
.
pointed.. .that that is determined shall be done.')-
Isaiah 44 : 7 ; Danicl 8 : 19 ; 10 : 1; 11: 35, 36.
These appointed times and seasons are in the power
of Jehovah alone. They may not be ascertained, Lnown
or recognized, even after they have been fulfilled, with-
out divine guidance and the unction of the holy spirit
of God. Of this the Word of God says: "He giveth
wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know
understanding : he revealeth the deep and secret things" ;
and, "It is not for you [now] to know [all] the times
or the seasons, which the Fathcr hat11 put in his own
power. But ye shall receive power [to linow] after the
Holy Spirit is come upon you"; and "Of the times and
the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write 11nto
you. For yourselves know perfectly. ... Ye, brc~tll~.c~~,
are not in darkness, that that day should overtake ~ o u
as a thief. Ye are all children of light [wisdom],
and the children of the day."-Daniel 2 : 21, 22 ; Acts
1: 7, 8 ; 1 Tllcssalonians 5 : 1-5.
Tllerefore i t would be impossible for a natural inan,
or even a spirit being; be he an angel or a devil, to know
in advance all the appointed times I\-hich the Father
has kept secret from all except his begotten and anointed
children. "The prophets have inquired and searched
diligently. . . .searching what, or what manner of time,
the Spirit of God which tvas i n then1 did signify.. .
which things the angels desire to look into." (1 Petrr
1: 10-12) Espcciully tvoulcl it bo beyolid tllc boulldu
of possibility for the evil one to discern in advance the
dates, ages, and marvelous connecting links of the trne
chronology; for these, when disclosed by God, are to he
known first oilly by the true church, to \\lion1 Got1 has
given of his spirit. (Ephesians 3 : 10 ; Hevelation 1: 4)
The demons occasionally may make shrewd guesses as
to events to come within a brief future; but it is
entirely beyot~tltheir power to scc such matters fitr in
advaiice, except as distinctly revealed by God through
the church. Sstrologers sometimes malre predictions
as to coming erents; but when these predictions prove
to be correct, it is found that they have -previously brcn
discussed or puLblished among the Lord's people. The
annual forecasts of prominent seeresses are demonstrated
to be woefully poor guesses, when checked up at the
end of the periods covered. If the- devil, "the strong
man," had known when Christ was coming ta bind hirn
and spoil his organization, he wouId have been prepared
for the event. But he was not prepared; and now his
affairs are being rapidly overturned, because he coultl
not know beforehand the divinely appointed time of
something so important to him.-Ifark 3: 27.
FOREKNOWLEDGE IN CHRONOLOGY
If in a system of chronology there can be shown to
have been a foreknowledge of coming events and seasons,
it must be conceded to have been of divine origin. This
can be shown to be true of present-truth chronology
alone, which stamps it as of heavenly origin.
I n the true chronology the Irlariy 'connecting stra~lds
are proof of the fact that God foreknew the dates and
the events so interwoven with one another.
Many of the intcr-relations of dates are what arc
termed pamllelisms.
 *WATCH TOWER
Parallel dates are two series of dates a certain number one had occurred in china and the other in America,
of ycars apart, and marked by cvcnbs of corrcsponding it would bc nothing noticcablc; but i t bccoltlcss note-
character. The intervening period is usually some worthy that one was in nominal natural Isrncl alld tha
significant number of years, such as 1845 or 2520. The other in nominal spiritual Israel, and that the first is
connected events are al~vaysprominent and readily dis- plainly the type of the second.
cerned. Parallclisn~sof this naturc arc pro01 of ilivirie origir~
The number 1845 is significant because it is the of present-truth chronology, because they show fore-
number of years in the parallel Jewish and gospel knowledge. I n the instance cited, the division of I s r ~ c l
ages. It was 1845 years from the death of Jacob in and that of Christendom, 2520 years apart, are evitlrl~ce
1813 13. C. (probably Fall) to the delrth of Jesus in that when the first division was pcnnittt.d, thc lnttrr
33 A. D. (Spring). Important events which took place one was foreknown. This is true bccausc of thc rc1:ltiuii-
in the gospel age, and which were preceded by similar ship between the two events as rcgards both th:c ant!
events 1845 years before, in the Jewish age, occur a t nature.
corresponding times in the two ngcs. If the two ages When it is fo1111d that thcre is a scrics or sygtc~nof
\Irerelaid one lipon the otlicar, all tlre parallel dates would parallel dates composed of pairs of clatcs 2520 ycars
coincide in position. apart, the foreknowledge becomes obvious. It would
The second fall of the Jewish civilization, beginning be absurd to claim that the relationship discovered was
in 69 A. I)., is a parallel of the beginning of the fall not the result of divine arrangement. God alone has
of the Christian civilization in 1914; for the events such foreknowledge, and this proves that he so overruled
are 1845 years apart and are alike prominent and times and events that they should be linit togt.ther into
readily discernible. a beautiful and harmonious whole too sublitne to be the
It is not so well known that thcre are other corres- .result of chance or of human invention.
-
ponding events on parallel dates 2620 ycws apart, mak- "Let them bring forth, and shcw us nlint shall
ing a series or system of parallelisms. The "times of happen," says Jehovah; "let them shew [even] the
the gentiles" are known to all Bible students (Daniel former things [historical events which have becolnc lost
4: 16,23,25, 32), as marked by the fall of Jerusalem at to human knowledge], what they be, that we may con-
the beginning (GO6 B. C.), and by the beginning of the sirlrr thrm, and lmow the latter m d of tllrm ; or tl(lc.l:~rc
fall of Christendom at the close (1914 A. D.). These us things to come. Sliem us the tliiligs that are to
took place 2520 years apart, and are parallel events on come hereafter, that n.e may know that ye are god.. . ..
parallel dates. Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an
The division of tFe Hebrew nation, for example, into abomination is he that chooscth you." "I nm Gotl, and
two kingdoms, Judah the two t r i b c ~and Israel the ten tlierc is none like me, dcclaring the end fro111 thc bc-
tribes, is an event corresponding to the division of ginning, and from ancient times the things that are not
Christendom into two great religious dominions, Pro- yet done."-Isaiah 41 : 22-24 ; 46 9,lO.
testantism the smaller and purer, and Romanism the Thosc that follow Jehovah's chronology nrr tnnni-
larger and lnorc corrupt. 'J'lle first was in 999 B. C. and fcstly his people; for, said Jesus Christ, "'l'he Spirit
.
tllc second in 1521 A. D., just 2520 years apart. That of truth. . will guide you into all truth; he will shew
there should be two such similar events is nothing yo" things to come"; and "The revelation of Jesus
remarkable; but it is extraordinary that they should Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his
take place just 2520 years apart, when it is known that servants things which must shortly ,come to pass."-
the times of the gentiles are a period of 2520 years. If John 16 :13;Revelation 1:1.

IDENTIFICATION CERTIFICATES

I T WILL be necessary for those attending the Cedar

Point Convention to have an identification certif-
icate to present to the local ticket-agent when pur-
chasing their tickets; for without such a certificate it
will be impossible to secure the reduced transportation
rate of a fare and a half. Ticket agents are instructed
by the railway companics to allow the special rate only
in cmcs whcrc a ccrtificatct itlcntifics tho pnrty as one
entitled to the rate because of their going to the Con-
vention at Cedar Point, Ohio.
We desire to know as soon as possible horn many ill
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who is ilitcnding to go, to write us to that ellcti, and
ask for an identification certificate. IVe will mail these
certificates to ell friencb applying for them; but we
must first I;uoa, in anlple time, to whom we are to mail
thrm.
In the case of a falllily it is not necessary to have a
separattc certificate for each member; for one certificate
will answrr for nll the family, proviilcd tllcy all pnrchaso
tllrir ticl<eta nt tlic ~trtrlctime nt t l ~ csnlno station. If,
. for example, a family of five is going, and three are to
get their tickets together and the other two together at
another Eme, then two certificates are necessary, one for
the group of three, onc for tlic group of tn-o. If one
member of the family has to purchase his ticket alone,