The following information is an excerpt taken from the publication called: The "Report" Volume I pages 221-236. |
You may be surprised to know that many Bible events can be dated by proper use of the Scriptures. In addition, secular history and the Bible are in complete agreement and in full harmony on many points of interest for serious Bible students. Let's examine a few of these.
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Therefore, the person interpreting the dream would first have to RECALL the dream to Nebuchadnezzar! Only the True God, Jehovah could actually do such a thing. The stage is now set for a dramatic event. First, the wise men of Babylon were consulted by the king. the wise men of Babylon. Remember, they had to recall the dream first, to the king. And that was a very difficult task indeed! now, the king becomes infuriated and decides to take drastic action which endangers even Jehovah's servants living in Babylon! The Bible states: |
"Because of this the king himself became angry and got very furious, and he said to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And the order itself went out and the wise men were about to be killed; and they looked for Daniel and his companions, for them to be killed." -- Daniel 2:12, 13
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Now, that is quite an interpretation! Jehovah revealed all that Nebuchadnezzar was, all that he had become, the head over everything, every nation, every kingdom -- Jehovah had given all this into his hands! Jehovah made him WORLD RULER! Yes, he was the "head of gold." But wait! This poses a serious problem for the Watchtower Society and its aforementioned explanation. Yes, the problem of Israel and its Davidic line representing Jehovah's "supreme rulership on earth" up until the time the temple was destroyed. Why? VERY IMPORTANT Let's go back to the timing of the Dream and of its nterpretation as recorded by Daniel himself. At Daniel 2:1 we read:
Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, and his spirit began to feel agitated, and his very sleep was made to be something beyond him." |
"God's Word, the Bible itself clearly states these facts!" And you are right, it's just that simple. But still, at this point, you may be saying: "Well, what does all that mean...I don't get the point...why is that fact so important?" -- See 2 Kings 25:8.
Well simply put, this is very important because it means that this "dream," and it's interpretation by the prophet Daniel, actually occurred some 17 years before Jerusalem was destroyed! Yes, 17 years before! Therefore, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon was really the "head of gold" by Jehovah's permission at least 17 years before Jerusalem was destroyed! Now how can the Watchtower Society teach that `Judean kings, Jehoiakim (who was on the throne at the time of Daniel's interpretation), Jehoiachin and finally Zedekiah, represented "Jehovah's Supreme rulership on earth" when Daniel the prophet has made known by means of the interpretation of the "dream" that Jehovah God indeed had already given Nebuchadnezzar "ALL the dignity, kingdom, might strength . . . WHEREVER THE SONS OF MANKIND ARE DWELLING."
Actually, the fact that Jehovah had indeed given the dominant position of world ruler ship and kingdom to Babylon is consistent with what Jeremiah urged during his day, before the destruction of Jerusalem. We must remember that Jeremiah was made "prophet" to not only Jerusalem and its inhabitants, but also to the "nations." (Jeremiah 1:5, 10) Therefore, his message was not limited to Israel alone. The account says that he began his prophetic mission during the "thirteenth year" of Josiah's reign and continued as such until the "eleventh year of Zedekiah" when "Jerusalem went into exile." (Jeremiah 1:2, 3) It was during the reign of Zedekiah that Jeremiah continually urged the people to "come under the yoke of Babylon" and submit to his (Nebuchadnezzar's) rule. And this was certainly by the order of Jehovah. For notice how after instructing Jeremiah to "make for yourself bands and yoke bars" and send them to the "kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Sidon and Judah" at Jeremiah 27:2-5, the prophet is to make clear this all important point at Jeremiah 27:6-8:
Jeremiah 25:8-13 gives us the clue when it says: |
`Jerusalem, the cities of Judah and her kings, her princes, Pharaoh the king of Egypt, all the kings of the land of Uz, the kings of the Philistines, Ashkelon and Gaza, Ekron, Ashdod, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Sidon, Dedan, Tema, Buz, Zimri, Elam, Medes, and all the kings of the North who are near and far away, one after the other, and all the other kingdoms of the earth that are on the surface of the ground.' is a relatively simple task when we let God's Word speak for itself. There is no conflict or lack of harmony with the sacred scriptures and the historical evidence we have today. Let us consider the evidence presented in the Bible. |
First, the Bible record tells us when Daniel and the first exiles were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar. At Daniel 1:1, 2 we read: Therefore, all we need to do is accept what the Bible is saying at face-value. There is nothing complicated about that. So then, if we consider that Zedekiah ruled for eleven years, Jehoiachin ruled for three months and Jehoiakim ruled for eleven years, then we know that Daniel must have been taken captive in the last year of Nebuchadnezzar's being the Crown Prince. Historical records show that in the spring of 605/604 BCE the Crown Prince Nebuchadnezzar (his father Nabopolassar was king) attacked Egypt at Carchemish. After heavy losses on both sides, Egypt was decisively defeated and pursued through Syria by the Babylonian Army. Nabopolassar dies during this time and Nebuchadnezzar hastens to Babylon to claim the throne. -- See Babylon, by Joan Oates, page 128. -- Daniel 6:1-3; Psalms 90:10
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607 BCE AS TEMPLE DESTRUCTION DATE
The Jewish nation was already in captivity during Jeremiah's time BEFORE Zedekiah was taken from the throne. This can be verified by considering a letter Jeremiah wrote as recorded at Jeremiah 29:1-3 where the letter was addressed to "priests, prophets, and all the people in exile." Jeremiah 29:4, 7 also records the letter as stating: the exiled people, whom I have caused to go into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon . . . Also, seek the peace of the city to which I have caused you to go into EXILE, and pray in its behalf to Jehovah, for in its peace there will prove to be peace for you yourselves." seventy years [for] Babylon I shall turn my attention to you people [already down there in exile], and I will establish toward you my good word in bringing you back to this place." |
Therefore those people, already in exile would have to wait until the fulfillment of 70 years ran to it's completion before they would be released to return to their homeland! From checking the context we can see that Zedekiah was still on the throne and the temple had not been destroyed at this time. (Please consider verse 21) Therefore this would mean that the seventy year period spoken of by the mouth of Jeremiah had actually already started before the temple was destroyed! No, there could not have been a 70 year period that would run from the time of the TEMPLE DESTRUCTION up until the Jews were released from Babylon captivity in 537/536 BCE as the Watchtower Society has purported!
Therefore, it becomes quite apparent, from reading the accounts of Daniel 9:2 and 2 Chronicles 36:21, that both accounts clearly mention the fulfillment of a 70-year period running upon the Jews, or more accurately upon "Jerusalem" itself. Therefore, since both accounts cite as their source the "books"/the `writings of Jeremiah,' -- these writers under inspiration (Ezra who wrote 2nd Chronicles and Daniel), must have spiritually "discerned" from the writings of Jeremiah and the 70 year Babylonish domination, that the Jewish nation and land thereof would be "devastated" and/or "desolated" for a specific 70 year period, though the two 70 year periods need not coincide or run parallel in time fulfillment with the 70 years of Babylon's World Domination.
Written By: Donald C. Burney |