1914

Today we have technology that can tell us when rain will come even before it comes. We have the technology that can tell us where and when a comet could come close to earth. Back then a person who didn't have this technology would notice the clouds and predict that rain or snow was coming or can tell which season it is just by looking at his surroundings.

The last days. It sounds scary when you say it. What are some features of the last days and how do we know when it began? First some features of the last days.

First “Nation will rise against nation”;‘peace will be taken away from the earth.’ (Matthew 24:7; Revelation 6:4)

The two world wars of this century, along with dozens of other conflicts, have taken peace away from the earth. The First—and so the Second—World War became different from all wars previously fought,its on a different in scale, intensity, extensiveness and material and human cost.The World Wars killed more people, consumed more wealth and inflicted more suffering over a wider area of the globe than any previous war. Wars now afflict women and children more than soldiers. The United Nations Children’s Fund calculates that in the last ten years, two million children have been killed in wars.

“Food shortages” (Matthew 24:7; Revelation 6:5, 6, 8)
In 1996 the prices of wheat and maize rose dramatically. The reason? World reserves of these cereals had fallen to a mere 50-day supply, the lowest figure on record. Rising prices for basic foodstuffs mean that hundreds of millions of the world’s impoverished people—many of them children—go to bed hungry.

“Earthquakes in one place after another” (Matthew 24:7)
During the last 2,500 years, only nine earthquakes have each killed over 100,000 people. Four of these quakes have occurred since 1914.

“Increasing of lawlessness” (Matthew 24:12)
As the 20th century draws to a close, lawlessness, or lawbreaking, has become widespread. Terrorist attacks on civilians, cold-blooded killers, and mass murders are among the horrible aspects of these violent last days.

“In one place after another pestilences” (Luke 21:11)
During the 1990’s, likely 30 million people will die of tuberculosis. Disease-carrying bacteria are becoming more and more drug-resistant. Malaria, another deadly disease, strikes between 300 and 500 million people every year and kills an estimated 2 million. By the end of this decade, AIDS is expected to cause 1.8 million or more deaths a year. “Today humanity is experiencing an epidemic of epidemics.

“This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth.” (Matthew 24:14)
In 1997, Jehovah’s Witnesses spent well over one billion hours preaching the good news of the Kingdom. More than five million Witnesses regularly take this message to people in many lands all over the earth.


Now, 1914.

The Messiah’s presence begins with an event that fulfills a recurring theme of the Messianic prophecies. He is crowned as King in heaven. (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Isaiah 9:6, 7; Ezekiel 21:26, 27) Jesus himself showed that his presence would be tied to his kingship. In several illustrations, he likened himself to a master who leaves his household and slaves behind, traveling for a long time to a “distant land” where he receives “kingly power.”

He gave one such illustration as part of his answer to his apostles’ question about when his pa‧rou‧si′a would begin; another he gave because “they were imagining that the kingdom of God was going to display itself instantly.” (Luke 19:11, 12, 15; Matthew 24:3; 25:14, 19) So during his time on earth as a man, his coronation was still a long time away, to occur in the “distant land” of heaven. When would it happen?

When Jesus’ disciples asked him: “What will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?” Jesus responded by giving them a detailed description of that future time. Read Matthew, chapter 24; Mark, chapter 13; Luke, chapter 21; see also 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Revelation, chapter 6.

This sign amounts to a detailed portrait of a troubled era. It is a time marked by international wars, rising crime, deteriorating family life, disease epidemics, famines, and earthquakes—not as localized problems but as globe-embracing crises. Does this sound familiar? Every passing day confirms that the 20th century perfectly fits Jesus’ description.

Historians agree that 1914 was a turning point in human history, a pivotal year after which many of these problems began to get out of control, escalating on a global scale. Yes, physical world events in fulfillment of Bible prophecy all point to 1914 as the year when Jesus began to rule as King in heaven. Furthermore, a prophecy in Daniel chapter 4 provides chronological evidence that leads us to the very same year—1914—as the time when Jehovah’s appointed King would begin his rule.

Some wonder, though, Why is the world so troubled if the Messiah is ruling in heaven? Is his rule ineffective? An illustration may help. A country is run by an evil president. He has set up a corrupt system with tentacles extending into every corner of the land. But an election is held; a good man wins. Now what? As is the case in some democratic lands, a transition period of some months ensues before the new president is inaugurated.

How would these two men act during such a period? Will the good man immediately attack and dismantle all the evils his predecessor has wrought throughout the country? Would he not, rather, concentrate on the capital city first, setting up a new cabinet and serving notice on the former president’s crooked cronies and henchmen? That way, when he comes into full authority, he can operate from a clean, efficient seat of power. As for the corrupt president, would he not take advantage of the short time he has left to extract from the land all the ill-gotten gains that he can before he loses all power?

In effect, it is similar with Christ’s pa‧rou‧si′a. Revelation 12:7-12 shows that when Christ was made King in heaven, he first hurled Satan and the demons out of heaven, thus cleaning up the location of His government. Having suffered this long-awaited defeat, how does Satan behave during the “short period of time” before Christ exerts his full authority here on the earth? Like that corrupt president, he tries to get everything he can out of this old system. He is not after money; he is after human lives. He wants to alienate as many people from Jehovah and His reigning King as he possibly can.

No wonder, then, that the beginning of Messiah’s rule means a time of “woe for the earth.” (Revelation 12:12) Similarly, Psalm 110:1, 2, 6 shows that the Messiah begins his rule ‘in the midst of his enemies.’ Only later does he completely crush “the nations,” along with every facet of Satan’s corrupt system!! I'm not sure if I mentioned this but The Greek word parousia translated means presence.

Now, here is a little math to come up with 1914. Since the Common Era did not begin with the year zero but began with 1 C.E., and the calendar for the years before the Common Era did not count back from a zero year but began with 1 B.C.E., the figure used for the year in any date is in reality an ordinal number.

That is, 1990 C.E. really represents 1989 full years since the beginning of the Common Era, and the date July 1, 1990, represents 1,989 years plus a half year since the beginning of the Common Era. The same principle applies to B.C.E. dates.

So to figure how many years elapsed between October 1, 607 B.C.E., and October 1, 1914 C.E., add 606 years (plus the last three months of the previous year) to 1,913 (plus the first nine months of the next year), and the result is 2,519 (plus 12 months), or 2,520 years. Or if you want to figure what date would be 2,520 years after October 1, 607 B.C.E., remember that 607 is an ordinal number—it really represents 606 full years—and since we are counting, not from December 31, 607 B.C.E., but from October 1, 607 B.C.E., we must add to 606 the three months at the end of 607 B.C.E. Now subtract 606 1/4 from 2,520 years. The remainder is 1,913 3/4. That means that 2,520 years from October 1, 607 B.C.E., takes us 1,913 3/4 years into the Common Era—1,913 full years brings us to the beginning of 1914 C.E., and three fourths of a year in addition brings us to October 1, 1914 C.E.

Why 607 B.C.E and why is that date important? Remember I mentioned Daniel chapter 4. These are deep things in the bible so I hope you can follow along and let me know if you have any questions.

The Bible foretold period of “seven times,” after which God would give world
rulership to the one he chose. (Daniel 4:3-17)

→ “Seven times” = 2,520 years based on formula above.
(Compare Revelation 11:2, 3; 12:6, 14;Ezekiel 4:6.)
→ Beginning of “seven times”: 607 B.C.E.
(Ezekiel 21:25-27; Luke 21:24)
→ End of “seven times”: 1914 C.E.
Jesus Christ was then enthroned
in heaven, began to rule amid
his enemies (Psalm 110:1, 2)
Satan was ousted from heaven;
woe to mankind (Revelation 12:7-12)
Last days began (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

Kinda long so you may have to go bit by bit to understand the 1914 date. The 607 B.C.E. Date. Thus it is that whenever ordinal numbers are used, we must always subtract one to get the full number. For example, when we speak of a date in the 20th century C.E., does it mean that there have been a full 20 centuries? No, it means 19 full centuries plus some years. To express full numbers, the Bible, as well as modern mathematics, employs cardinal numbers, such as 1, 2, 3, 10, and 100. These are also called “whole numbers.”

Ancient peoples, including the learned Greeks, the Romans, and the Jews, had no concept of zero. To them, everything began counting from one. When you studied Roman numerals in school (I, II, III, IV, V, X, etc.), did you learn a figure for zero? No, because the Romans had none. Since the Romans did not use the number zero, the Common Era began, not with a zero year, but with 1 C.E. This also gave rise to the ordinal arrangement of numbers, such as first (1st), second (2nd), third (3rd), tenth (10th), and hundredth (100th). In modern mathematics, man conceives of everything as starting from nothing, or zero. The zero was probably invented by the Hindus.

A prophetic year is also called a “time,” and a study of Revelation 11:2, 3 and 12:6, 14 reveals how one “time” is reckoned as 360 days. In prophecy a year is occasionally also represented symbolically by a “day.”—Ezek. 4:5, 6.

In Bible prophecy the word “year” is often used in a special sense as the equivalent of 12 months, each month having 30 days, for a total of 360 days. Notice Ezekiel 4:5, 6: “We must suppose that Ezekiel knew a year of 360 days. This is neither a true solar year nor is it a lunar year. It is an ‘average’ year in which each month has 30 days.”

Our study of time in the Bible now brings us to the expression “year.” From the beginning of man’s history, it is mentioned. (Gen. 1:14) The Hebrew word for “year,” sha‧nah′, comes from a root meaning “repeat; do again” and carries the idea of a cycle of time. This was appropriate, since each year the cycle of seasons was repeated. An earthly year is the time it takes for the earth to make one complete revolution, or trip, around the sun. The actual time that it takes for us here on earth to complete this trip is 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes 46 seconds, or approximately 365 1/4 days. This is called the true solar year.

Though time is universal, no man,woman, or child living is able to say what it is. It is as unfathomable as space. No one can explain where the stream of time began or where it is flowing. These things belong to the limitless knowledge of Jehovah, who is described as being God “from time indefinite to time indefinite.”—Ps. 90:2.

But time is important because it gives dates to when things happen. I hope that this post answered your 1914 question. If it didn't let me know and Sorry for my wall of text. It's just how I explain things.