Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bible Chronology in the Light of Archaeology, April 8, 2000
By A Customer
This book was originally written as a challenge to the teaching of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society that the seven times of the prophecy in Daniel chapter four refers to the 2520 year period from 607 B.C. to 1914 A.D. I have the second edition and am eager to get the third edition advertised here.It would be a shame for people not interested in this particular debate to pass over the book. I recommend it to any Christian or Jew interested in Bible chronology of the peiod, or even to any Bible researcher or scholar looking for better ways to present technical material. Some religious people are skeptical of archaeology's ability to date any Bible events with precision. Jonsson presents a convincing case that Neo-Babylonian chronology is correct and shouldn't be judged by the unreliability of Assyrian chronology. For example, there is no doubt about the number of Neo-Babylonian rulers or the years of their reigns. The author explains that thousands of dated business documents have been unearthed in Babylonia, and that documents exist for every king and every year of each king's reign. The case is further proved (maybe redundantly) by references to astronomical diaries, Berossus, Claudius Ptolemy, and inscriptions that harmonize with the business texts. Jonsson traces the speculation on the chronology of Daniel used by Jehovah's Witnesses to the William Miller movement in the 1800's. What is even more interesting is that he traces William Miller's speculation back to England, showing that neither is an isolated phenomenon, but that both prophetic hopes are part of an continuous chain going back hundreds of years, with one generation of expositors influencing the next. The author respects the Bible and doesn't believe that studying archaeology is hazardous to faith. He presents an interested case to harmonize Jeremiah's 70-year prophecy of servitude to Babylon with the historical reality. Christians interested in the histories of end-time prophecies will be interested in Jonsson's histories of interpretation for some passages in Daniel. Jonsson traces the first known claim that a day-for-a-year principle should be applied to Bible prophecy (to a rabbi in the first century), the first such Christian claim (12th century), the first claim that the Gentile times of Luke 21:24 refers to the seven times in Daniel 4, the first claim that 1260 days in Daniel means 1260 years (1195 A.D.), the first computation of the 7 times of Daniel 4 to mean 2520 years (1823 A.D.), and the first claim that the Greek word "parousia" as used by Jesus in Matthew 24 should be understood as "presence" instead of "coming" (about 1874 A.D.). Jonsson's charts and appendices are very helpful. My favorite is a chart or graph showing the years 614 B.C. through 495 B.C. He shows the overlapping Babylonian, Jewish, and modern calendars. The problem, of course, is that different calendars begin their years at different times of the year, and that leads to confusion. He marks dates that are pinpointed with precision by archaeology and astronomy on the calendar. I'm studying the Book of Daniel as a hobby using numerous sources. Ancient sources that refer to the period refer to the Olympiad, the Seleucid year, or the Babylonian year that certain events happened. It would be nice to run across a similar calendar extending to the first century A.D. to relate all these calendars to our modern calendar. The book also has charts that simplify some of the histories of exegesis I referred to above. I've tried to do histories of exegesis myself. I suspect it took Jonsson an awful lot of time.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
EXCELLENT, AND DANGEROUS TO JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, December 25, 2004
To any non-Witnesses, you may not understand why Jehovah's Witnesses view the whole 586 BCE date with such alarm. Witnesses teach that the beginning of the Gentile Times began in 607 BCE and through some pretty bizarre plucking of their favorite scriptures from the book of Revelation, ended in 1914 C.E. They teach that Jesus "returned invisibly" that year and that the "Faithful & Discreet Slave Class" (the ruling Governing Body members who place themselves above God), were chosen by Jesus (invisibly of coure) in the year 1919.
The entire religion revolves around these dates. Therefore, when it was discovered that Jerusalem fell not in 607 BCE but in 586 BCE, it threw them into a total panic. If their date of 607 BCE was wrong, then that would throw the dates of 1914 and 1919 out the window, along with their self-imposed authority over millions of Witnesses who view these guys as literally, the next best thing to Jesus Christ. In order to keep the average Witness from finding out that their central doctrine was based on a lie, the Governing Body members disfellowshipped (excommunicated) anyone who knew the truth and who they saw as a threat to their power.
The few trolls who give this book a bad review are brainwashed and furious Witnesses who can't handle the truth about The Truth. They'd rather attack anyone who can challenge their faith rather than face the truth.
This book helps blow the lid of all the lies and deceit that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has promoted for years. But much to their sorrow, we've got the internet now, and they can't control what we read anymore.
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15 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitive, thoroughly researched, compelling, July 25, 2000
Broadly researched, meticulously documented, passionately written, The Gentile Times Reconsidered, by Carl Olof Jonsson carefully examines the historical support for the starting date of the Watch Tower Society's 1914 time prophecy. The 1914 date is critical to the Watch Tower's theology. If you are not familiar with the 1914 prophecy, or dating of Biblical events, keep surfing. If you are, this is the definitive book on the subject. Having studied the topic for about six months on my own, I was delighted to obtain this book, which was out of print for several years. This Third Edition, revised and expanded in 1998, presents new evidence, and tracks recent reinterpretations of 1914 in the Watchtower organization. The core of the book is 14 corroborating lines of archaeological and astronomical evidence fixing the date for the destruction of Jerusalem. "It is like fastening a painting to a wall with dozens of nails all over it, although but one would suffice." (p. 184) While Jonsson warns the reader that the information is "of a technical nature, accompanied by detailed documentation," I found it fascinating, like the forensic science in a murder mystery. Having established that date, Jonsson deals with related issues from the Watchtower's time prophecy. He presents several satisfying interpretations of the "70 year" prophecy that harmonize the Bible and history, then critically examines the "Seven Times" of Daniel 4. My attention wandered a little near the end discussing some theological permutations, but overall, this is an excellent book.
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