How about some eschatology? Charles Russell, the founder of JWs loved numerology and dates. In his original works, he stated that the "time of the end" began in 1799, and that the battle of Armageddon would take place in 1874. He arrived at this date due to his influence from Nelson Barbour, a prominent Seventh-Day Adventist. After 1874 came and went, Russell then set his sights on 1878, which also passed without incident. Then, he taught that Jesus had indeed returned in 1874, but INVISIBLY, and that 1914 would be the year that the "system of things," or secular world, would be destroyed. He arrived at 1914 by taking certain measurements of the Great Pyramid. When World War I started in 1914, he was pretty happy, but when it became clear the world wasn't ending, he declared that the battle would culminate in 1918 with the destruction of the earth. Russell died in 1916, and after an intense power struggle, Joseph Rutherford became the new president of the Watchtower Society. Soon thereafter, Rutherford and his associates were charged with high crimes and thrown into prison. However, they were released in 1919. Today, the Watchtower society teaches that this is proof that God chose the society in 1919 after a period of testing after Jesus arrived in 1914. However,
until the 1930's, the Witnesses still taught that Jesus returned in 1874, and that the world ACTUALLY DID END in 1914.
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