Jehovah's Witnesses, is it true that Charles T. Russell predicted the first world war?

No, he did not predict World War One. What he had been predicting was the great battle of Armageddon, when this wicked system of things would be destroyed and then the millennial reign of Christ Jesus over a paradise earth would commence. Russell predicted this earth-shattering event would happen in 1874, but when he was proved wrong, he predicted that Armageddon would be all over by the end of 1914. When that didn't happen, he predicted that the Gentile Times would end in 1914.

Angelmusic said "Charles Russell was able to see from the Bible that the Gentile Times would end in 1914." But he was proved wrong about that, too. With hindsight, the men who are responsible for "dispensing spiritual food" to Jehovah's "earthly organisation" had to confess they had got it wrong:

"The great crowd has come out of the great tribulation. This is the great tribulation or trouble that Jesus said would mark this 'time of the end'. This tribulation began on the Devil's organization A.D. 1914 when Jehovah's newly enthroned King took war action against his enemies in heaven. Jesus said that this tribulation would be cut short so that some flesh could be saved. How was it cut short? By God's stopping the war action up in heaven against the Devil's organization. So after the Devil was hurled down out of heaven the first part of the great tribulation ended. Soon now the climax or last part of the great tribulation will take place... The last part of the great tribulation means destruction of this world... It is during this in-between period, between the first part and the last part of the great tribulation on the Devil's organization, that the great crowd of 'other sheep' come out. Now is that time." From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained, page 197 (1958)

The big change came with the 1995 issue of the 15 October Watchtower magazine. In it, they admitted that they had been mistaken in teaching that Jesus began to separate the sheep from the goats after 1914. As this teaching was still 'God's revealed truth' in the January 1968 Kingdom Ministry, that means they'd been teaching error for over 50 years. Now they said the separating work was future, and would not begin until after Jesus came in great glory with the clouds and the angels AT the great tribulation. Logically, this also meant that their claim that there were two parts to the great tribulation was wrong. It had not begun in 1914. It had not been 'cut short' with Satan being confined to Earth. It was not going to resume at Armageddon. Thus, none of the separating work had even started, let alone been on the go for over 50 years!

"God's people once understood that the first phase of the great tribulation began in 1914 and that the final part would come at the battle of Armageddon." Watchtower 1 May 1999 page 16

They no longer think that. The Gentile Times did NOT end in 1914. The separating work of the sheep from the goats has not even started yet! Only after the great tribulation starts will the separating of the sheep from the goats begin, and only that generation will be the one due to see Armageddon. So much for Charles Russell and his predictions. And so much for the Governing Body who control the "Faithful and Discrete Slave" who are supposed to be "dispensing spiritual food" from "Jehovah's table."

No. The Bible predicted the year of 1914 marked the end of the Gentile Times. SOMETHING would happen dramatically. Although WHAT that would be, they did not know.

At the time, having grown up in the early 1800s, they only experienced peaceful times. So what was coming was unnerving to them. They thought with all this turmoil, Armageddon must be so close. They could not imagine things getting incredibly worse as it is today..

They did not see yet, how many other things needed to be fulfilled before Armageddon would take place. Rev. 17:15-17 shows the end of all false religions by all human governments. Verse 17 shows it is God who puts it into their hearts to do this.

This part was unknown to those living back then. It was not the proper time to be revealed.

I didn't read all of the comments, but two opposers contradicted each other. Carribean Man says: "Yes, he did" and "Greytower said: "No, he didn't." It shows you how even opposers can't get it right about us. They say different things.

No, he didn't say WWI would happen. He and his fellow Bible students, interpreted some Bible chronology, and came to the year 1914 as the "end of the gentile nations." Satan and his demons were cast out of heaven in that year and that year WWI broke out. So this shows great turmoil came to the earth, and war was a symptom of the "end of the gentile times." So WWI and some other other things that occurred validated what the Jehovah's Witnesses (then called Bible Students) were saying.

They were partially off base because we thought that Armageddon would also come at that time. In hind sight we recognize that only one Bible prophesy was going to be fulfilled in that year.

I predict a war will occur next year. Everyone follow me....... Sounds crazy, doesn't it or at least sounds like I am trying to con some people. No different with Russell.

He also had other dates before this one so I suppose if you keep guessing at something you are bound to get something right sooner or later. Especially if you only have to be right within an entire year.

No, but Joseph Smith did. He prophesied that the treaties between nations, started during Civil War, would lead to a world war. He said this many years before the Civil War.

Why argue over how one who was correct in predicting when the end of the Gentile Times of being able to act effectively against God's people would occur? The date 1914 was predicted accurately to be that date. But what many here do not know is Russell was not alone in pointing to 1914. Even the newspapers of the time were astounded and quoted many religious pundits of the time. Now many here act as if those days did not exist.

True many associated with JWs have made mistaken predictions. And that is true. But Gods people have been prone to do stuff like that for a long time. Witness the words of Peter as recorded at Acts 1:6 "So when they had assembled, they asked him: “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” And this after being present for all of Jesus predictions. Then Jesus plainly told them this.in verse 7 "7 He said to them: “It does not belong to you to know the times or seasons that the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction."

What Russell and others correctly did was connect the dots of two ways to determine when the Gentile Times would end, but not Armageddon. One was chronological. The prophecy of the 7 times of Daniel and the sign of the times by Jesus. These tow witnesses confirmed 1914 as the start of the time of the end. Note this fact. Hind sight is the best way to understand Bible prophecy.

Most do not know WW1 was never referred to as such until after WW2 began. After the fact it was commonly called The Great War.

What Russell and others did get wrong was the expectation that 1914 would mark the time when the "elect" would be taken to heaven. We can look back now (with increased Bible knowledge) and smile. But how would we react then? Probably much like they did. After all people are just people. They really have not changed.

What is amazing to me is how correct they were. And that in the face of many centuries of false teachings to unlearn.

Many here have disparaged both Russell and Rutherford,. First & second presidents of the Bible Students, now known as Jehovah's Witnesses. And many here called the ignorant men.

Here is a prediction made by Rutherford in 1922. Some day each individual person will carry in his vest pocket a private wireless telephone with which he will be able get news and be able to communicate with anyone anywhere, (See page 463 paragraph 2 Golden Age of 1922)

if it is true or not, i know of a prophecy of Joseph smith jr. which pre exists the JW watchtower and formation of the church, which said there would be a war beginning with the civil war where brother would fight against brother and would culminate into a world war.

Also, Not many people know that George washington himself was visited by a personage where he was told about 3 world wars. if i remember correctly. so, its not like there wasnt any revelations that existed before the JWs received it.

He did predict war for 1914 and it did indeed turn out to be so. So I suppose we have to credit him for getting one aspect of his prediction right after all. Even a broken clock has its hands indicating the correct time twice every 24 hours. LOL

However, when you examine what actually happened in the 1914 as compared with the details of C.T. Russel's prediction and the many aspects of it that did not come true, it becomes apparent that the outbreak of WWI on July 28, 1914 (not October 1914) was a fortuitous coincidence and not confirmation of the veracity of C.T. Russel's bible chronology.

C.T. Russel was predicting the end of all earthly govts in 1914 at the war of Armageddon and all christians going to heaven in that year. These things did not happen.

Watchtower capitalized on the fortuitous outbreak of WWI in 1914 to lend credence to C.T. Russel's 1914 gentile times teaching. They focus on the outbreak of the war and ignore all the other aspects of the prediction that failed. It's confirmation bias mixed with wishful thinking and excuses about the light getting brighter. "war of armageddon . . . world war I . . . close enough. It's still war, right? So lets keep the year 1914, we'll just chock up the aspects that didn't come true to Russel not having the whole picture - because the light gets brighter and all that . . ." LOL.

Today millions of Jehovah's Witnesses are enslaved to this false 1914 gentile times teaching because of a coincidence that wasn't even remarkably coincidental given the month in which it occurred. As alluded to above, the outbreak of WWI in July creates a discrepancy for the claim that WWI was cause by the ousted and angry Satan. How so? According to Watchtower Satan was ousted very soon after or upon Jesus' enthronement in October 1914. If that were so, WWI would have started on or after October 1914 - not late July 1914.

Even the apostles can make wrong predictions. Some of the things they believed was right. But they asked Jesus "are you setting up your kingdom now?" He told them it is not for you to know the time when he will begin his rulership of earth. Jesus knew it was yet future,. God is gathering enough righteous people to fill the earth, until he has enough time will go on.

No he did not. The war came as a result of Satan being cast down from heaven in 1914. We know this because it is found in Revelation chapter 12 specifically verse 9.