In one of my previous posts, I explained that Jehovah’s Witnesses predicted that Armageddon would end in 1914, bringing the destruction of all human governments, along with Christendom and its followers, which we know did not come true. However, did the start of World War I in 1914 confirm any truth to some of the predictions made by the Jehovah’s Witnesses?
None of the actual predictions made by the Jehovah’s Witnesses materialized. Armageddon, the end of all human rulership and Christendom and its followers were supposed to come to an end before October 1st, 1914. The start of World War I in the same year was nothing but a coincidence.
World War I broke out on the 28th of June 1914, well before the predicted date of October 1st, 1914. According to the organization, Jesus cast Satan down to Earth on this date and it was because of Satan’s wrath that World War I ensued. However, the war had been building up for many years before this date.
In fact, with the political tensions around that time, and that fact that Charles Taze Russel was constantly changing his predictions as they failed to come about [Research: 1878: End of the harvest and 1881: A revised end of the harvest], it would be inevitable that one of those years would eventually fall on a significant event, similar to how a broken clock displays the correct time twice a day.
Some might reason that a three-month error in such a significant event can be negligible. However, even this small error completely invalidates any of the organization’s claims. The fact of the matter is that the war not predicted, neither was the date itself correct.
If you would like to know more about what the Jehovah’s Witnesses predicted prior to 1914 and how they changed their teaching after those predictions failed, Read: What Happened in 1914 According to Jehovah’s Witnesses?
How Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Link World War I With Their Teaching Today?
After the predictions failed to come true, the organization exploited this coincidence and the outbreak of the war to give themselves apparent credibility.
Today, Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that the reason the World War I broke out was that Satan had been cast down to the Earth after Jesus’ enthronement on October 1st, 1914, A spiritual event that they claim to have predicted prior to 1914. They also teach that Jesus’ presence began in 1914, invisibly.
This is very convenient for the organization because it is basically impossible to disprove an event that allegedly happened invisibly. But remember, just because a theory can’t be disproved, does not make it true – The burden of proof is on the person making the claim.
Before 1914, Jehovah’s Witnesses taught that Jesus’ invisible presence began in 1874, and thereafter, 1914. however, the Bible actually tells us that all power and authority was given to Jesus in 33 AD and he would be present from then (not 1914) until the “end of the age”. Read Matthew 28:18
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18 NIV
For more information on Jesus’ invisible presence according to the Watchtower, I have recently written another article discussing Jehovah’s Witnesses’ claim that Jesus’ presence began in 1914. Read: Did Jesus Invisible Presence Start in 1914?
Another problem with this reasoning is that the war had already broken out in July of 1914, well before October, and political tension had been building up for many years before that. By the time the predicted date had arrived, the war had already begun and was in full swing.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that it was Satans wrath that prompted the beginning of the war, however, according to their own predictions, the war started way before Satan was cast down to the Earth.
Ask yourself, how could Satan have had an influence on the start of the war if he wasn’t even there yet?
Does the Year 1914 have Any Significant Connection to the Bible?
The year 1914 doesn’t match up with the scriptures at all, but Watchtower holds on to the coincidence that some of their predictions happened to fall on the same year as World War I. They do this because it helped them to recruit millions of members for another 100 years. In fact, after the end did not come in 1914 as they actually predicted, the teaching was changed, claiming that people who were alive in 1914, would still be alive to see Armageddon.
When people who were alive in 1914 started dying off, it became apparent that this was also a false prophecy and they were forced to change that teaching too.
Today, Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught an overlapping generation doctrine, a teaching that desperately clings to the “1914 cornerstone” of the Watchtowers’ apparent credibility.