Predictions and dates1880s1890s1910s1920s1940sEvidence collection
Expediente de pruebas · predicción explícita
1914
La fecha más conocida de la enseñanza de los testigos era, en su origen, la fecha para la cual todo habría terminado. Aquí está lo que decía el texto de 1889, cómo rezaban esas mismas frases en 1914, y qué dice hoy la organización que significa 1914.
Última revisión 19 de septiembre de 2026
Qué se predijo
The Time Is at Hand (1889), the second volume of C. T. Russell’s Millennial Dawn, listed what the end of the ‘Gentile Times’ in 1914 would prove. Among them: that God’s Kingdom ‘will have obtained full, universal control, and that it will then be “set up,” or firmly established, in the earth’, and that ‘some time before the end of A.D. 1914 the last member of the divinely recognized Church of Christ … will be glorified with the Head’.Source: Studies in the Scriptures, Series II: The Time Is at Hand (Millennial Dawn vol. 2), first edition, 1889
we consider it an established truth that the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God, will be accomplished by the end of A.D. 1914.
the 'battle of the great day of God Almighty' (Rev. 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership, is already commenced.
La posición de la organización o su explicación posterior: Impresiones posteriores cambiaron la frase a 'near the end of A.D. 1915'; el prólogo de Russell de 1916 calificó la expectativa de la glorificación de la Iglesia de 'natural mistake'; Proclamadores, págs. 133-135, describe las primeras expectativas como no todas correctas.
Mostrar las pruebas (1 fuente)
Publicación primaria de los testigos de JehováVerificado
1889 · pp.98-99 · C. T. Russell · Tower Publishing Co. / Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
“we consider it an established truth that the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God, will be accomplished by the end of A.D. 1914.”
Follows a passage saying these things had been preached for eleven years and that Communism, Socialism and Nihilism showed the present powers being shaken.
La posición de la organización o su explicación posterior: Impresiones posteriores dicen 'will end in A.D. 1915'. La postura actual es que 1914 marcó el COMIENZO de los últimos días y la entronización invisible de Cristo.
Mostrar las pruebas (2 fuentes)
Publicación primaria de los testigos de JehováVerificado
1889 · p.101 · C. T. Russell · Tower Publishing Co. / Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
“the 'battle of the great day of God Almighty' (Rev. 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership, is already commenced.”
Same sentence says the Kingdom was due 'to begin the exercise of power in A.D. 1878'.
1889 · pp.76-78 · C. T. Russell · Tower Publishing Co. / Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
“Firstly, That at that date the Kingdom of God ... will have obtained full, universal control, and that it will then be 'set up,' or firmly established, in the earth. ... Thirdly, It will prove that some time before the end of A.D. 1914 the last member of the divinely recognized Church of Christ ... will be glorified with the Head”
Russell lists seven things that the end of the Gentile Times in 1914 would 'prove', including that the time of trouble 'will reach its culmination and will end at that date' (Sixthly, p. 78).
Nota de procedencia y verificación for Studies in the Scriptures, Series II: The Time Is at Hand (Millennial Dawn vol. 2), first edition, Chapter IV, The Times of the Gentiles
Nota de confianza.Opened the OCR text of the first-edition scan; page header 'Times of the Gentiles. 77' and '78 The Time is at Hand.' bracket the passage.
Procedencia del escaneo.Internet Archive, community upload (daveignatius, '1889 The Time Is At Hand 1st Ed'); full text file 1889_The_Time_Is_At_Hand_1st_Ed_djvu.txt. Public domain (pre-1929 US publication).
Cuando en 1894 algunos lectores escribieron para preguntar si la cronología podía estar equivocada, la respuesta fue categórica.
our readers are writing to know if there may not be a mistake in the 1914 date. ... We see no reason for changing the figures—nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble.
Declaración explícita · 15 de julio de 1894Verificado
En julio de 1894, Zion's Watch Tower dijo a los lectores que dudaban de la fecha de 1914: 'They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours', y añadió que 'the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble'. Source: Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, 15 de julio de 1894
La posición de la organización o su explicación posterior: Proclamadores (1993), pág. 135, reconoce que los primeros Estudiantes de la Biblia 'first thought that global troubles culminating in anarchy... would precede that date', y añade: 'But then, ten years before 1914, the Watch Tower suggested that worldwide turmoil that would result in the annihilating of human institutions would come right after the end of the Gentile Times.'
Mostrar las pruebas (1 fuente)
Publicación primaria de los testigos de JehováVerificado
15 de julio de 1894 · pp.226 (standard citation); Reprints pp. 1676-1677 (the passage falls under the [1676] marker) · C. T. Russell (editor) · Tower Publishing Co., Allegheny, Pa.
“our readers are writing to know if there may not be a mistake in the 1914 date. ... We see no reason for changing the figures—nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble.”
Reply to readers who, seeing labour unrest, doubted conditions could last until 1914.
Nota de procedencia y verificación for Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, Can It Be Delayed Until 1914? (editorial reply to readers)
Nota de confianza.Wording and 'July 15, 1894' issue header confirmed in the scan OCR; Reprints marker [1676] precedes the passage. Original page number 226 is the standard citation but not read from the scan.
Procedencia del escaneo.Internet Archive upload by Veillez.org of the 1894 volume (Reprints pagination visible, e.g. '[1676]'). Public domain.
Notes.Important: the sentence explicitly says 1914 was expected to be the END of the time of trouble.
Consultado. 19 de septiembre de 2026 · Identificador de la fuente.src-zwt-1894-0715-gods-dates
The First World War began in 1914. No visible Kingdom was established and the Church was not glorified. Late in 1914, asked whether the Kingdom might be delayed ‘five, ten or even twenty-five years’, The Watch Tower replied: ‘we are not a prophet; we merely believe that we have come to the place where the Gentile times have ended.’Source: The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, 1 de noviembre de 1914
First edition, 1889
‘… by the end of A.D. 1914’
we consider it an established truth that the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God, will be accomplished by the end of A.D. 1914.
Esas mismas frases dicen ahora 1915. En octubre de 1916 Russell calificó la expectativa anterior de «un error natural». No encontramos ninguna edición que cambiara «terminará» por «comenzará», afirmación que los críticos repiten a menudo; nosotros no la hacemos.
La posición de la organización o su explicación posterior: Prólogo de Russell de 1916: 'Our mistake was evidently not in respect to the ending of the Times of the Gentiles; we drew a false conclusion, however, not authorized by the Word of the Lord.'
Mostrar las pruebas (2 fuentes)
Publicación primaria de los testigos de JehováVerificado
1914 · pp.99, 101 · C. T. Russell · International Bible Students Association, Brooklyn (copyright 1889 Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society)
“will be accomplished near the end of A.D. 1915. ... which will end in A.D. 1915, with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership”
Same two sentences as the 1889 edition, with 'by the end of A.D. 1914' altered to 'near the end of A.D. 1915' and 'will end in A.D. 1914' altered to 'will end in A.D. 1915'.
Nota de procedencia y verificación for Studies in the Scriptures, Series II: The Time Is at Hand, 1914 printing ('1,452,000 Edition'), Chapter IV, The Times of the Gentiles
Nota de confianza.OCR text of the 1914-dated printing opened; both altered sentences confirmed. A later printing (Digital Library of India scan, DLI 2015.173447, with the 1916 Author's Foreword) carries the same 1915 wording. I did NOT find any edition changing 'end' to 'begin' in these sentences; that specific claim is unverified.
Procedencia del escaneo.Internet Archive upload by Veillez.org (University of Illinois library copy; title page dated 1914). Public domain.
Notes.The 1914 printing's 'Thirdly' item (p. 77) still reads 'some time before the end of A. D. 1914'; only pp. 99 and 101 and the chart were changed to 1915, so the revision was partial (confirmed by the independent source auditor).
Consultado. 19 de septiembre de 2026 · Identificador de la fuente.src-sits2-1914-00-p99-p101-1915
Publicación primaria de los testigos de JehováVerificado
1 de octubre de 1916 · pp.i-iv (foreword) · C. T. Russell · International Bible Students Association
“The author acknowledges that in this book he presents the thought that the Lord's saints might expect to be with Him in glory at the ending of the Gentile Times. This was a natural mistake to fall into ... Our mistake was evidently not in respect to the ending of the Times of the Gentiles; we drew a false conclusion, however, not authorized by the Word of the Lord.”
Russell's own 1916 acknowledgement that the expectation of the Church's glorification by October 1914 was mistaken, while maintaining that the Gentile Times ended in 1914.
Nota de procedencia y verificación for Studies in the Scriptures, Series II: The Time Is at Hand, later printing with Author's Foreword dated 1 October 1916, Author's Foreword
Nota de confianza.Foreword text opened in the DLI scan OCR; signature block 'Charles T. Russell, Brooklyn, N.Y., October 1, 1916' present.
Procedencia del escaneo.Internet Archive / Digital Library of India (State Central Library, Hyderabad copy; DLI catalogue date 1927). Public domain.
A finales de 1914, cuando se creía que los tiempos de los gentiles habían terminado pero el Reino no se había establecido de forma visible, The Watch Tower respondió a la pregunta de si el Reino podría retrasarse 'five, ten or even twenty-five years': 'we are not a prophet; we merely believe that we have come to the place where the Gentile times have ended'. Source: The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, 1 de noviembre de 1914
Mostrar las pruebas (1 fuente)
Publicación primaria de los testigos de JehováVerificado
1 de noviembre de 1914 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
“may it not be that the kingdom will not be ushered in for five, ten or even twenty-five years? Our reply is, we are not a prophet; we merely believe that we have come to the place where the Gentile times have ended.”
Late-1914 discussion of what to expect now that the Gentile Times were believed to have ended; commonly cited as 1 November 1914, p. 329.
Nota de procedencia y verificación for The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, The Expectations of the Church (section)
Nota de confianza.Wording confirmed in the 1914 bound-volume OCR; the passage lies between the NOVEMBER 1, 1914 and NOVEMBER 15, 1914 issue headers and under Reprints marker 5567, so the issue is confirmed as 1 November 1914 (confirmed by the independent source auditor). The page number (329, standard citation) is not legible in the scan.
Procedencia del escaneo.Internet Archive upload by Veillez.org of the 1914 volume. Public domain.
Consultado. 19 de septiembre de 2026 · Identificador de la fuente.src-wt-1914-00-not-a-prophet
También se dijo que las fechas de esta sección quedaban confirmadas por las medidas de la Gran Pirámide de Guiza. Una de esas medidas se revisó discretamente entre tiradas, antes de que llegara 1914; véase la página sobre Russell.
Una revisión en 1904
Ten years before the date, The Watch Tower changed one part of the expectation. In July 1904 it announced that the ‘anarchistic culmination’ of the time of trouble would come after October 1914, ‘very speedily thereafter’, rather than before it. The organisation’s own 1993 history records this. What did not change in 1904 was the expectation that the Church would be glorified by 1914 (which Russell called ‘a natural mistake’ in 1916) or, in the book, that the trouble ‘will end in A.D. 1915’.Source: Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, 1 de julio de 1904Source: Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993
he Hamilton Times of the next day, and thus reached many more than were able to hear it. The “truth” people all looked and felt joyful in the Lord, and, as our train pulled away from the station, about fiftv of U3 joined in singing, “God be with you till we meet again.” UNIVERSAL ANARCHY— JUST BEFORE OR AFTER OCTOBER. 1914 A. D. What seems at first glance the veriest trifle and wholly un¬ related to the matter, has changed our conviction respecting the time when universal anarchy may be expected in accord with the prophetic numbers. We now expect that the anarch¬ istic culmination of the great time of trouble which will pre¬ cede the Millennial blessings will be after October, 1914, A. D. — very speedily thereafter, in our opinion — “in one hour,” “suddenly.” Our readers familiar with the presentation of the subject given in Millennial Dawn will recall that the date, October, 1914 A. D.,
Similarly, they also first thought that global troubles culminating in anarchy (which they understood would be associated with the war of 'the great day of God the Almighty') would precede that date. (Rev. 16:14) But then, ten years before 1914, the Watch Tower suggested that worldwide turmoil that would result in the annihilating of human institutions would come right after the end of the Gentile Times.
La posición de la organización o su explicación posterior: jv, pág. 133, nota i, atribuye la fecha de 1874 a una cronología 'flawed because of relying on an inaccurate rendering of Acts 13:20' y dice que 'a clearer understanding... was published in 1943'.
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Publicación primaria de los testigos de JehováVerificado
1 de marzo de 1922 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
“The indisputable facts, therefore, show that the 'time of the end' began in 1799; that the Lord's second presence began in 1874; that the harvest followed thereafter”
Shows the Society still taught an 1874 invisible presence eight years after 1914. Study questions in the same volume ask 'How has God confirmed the dates 1874, 1914 and 1918?'
Nota de procedencia y verificación for The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, (article reviewing Russell's role; 'The indisputable facts')
Nota de confianza.Wording confirmed; nearest page header reads 'March 1, 1922'. Page number not legible (the task's '1 Nov 1922 p.333' reference was not the passage located; treat that citation as unverified).
Procedencia del escaneo.Internet Archive upload by Veillez.org of the 1922 volume. Public domain.
1 de abril de 1923 · p.106 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
“Our thought is, that 1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures, marking the end of the typical jubilees. Just exactly what will happen at that time no one can tell to a certainty; but we expect such a climax in the affairs of the world that the people will begin to realize the presence of the Lord and his kingdom power.”
Denies that pilgrims were told to cease talking about 1925.
Nota de procedencia y verificación for The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, Questions and answers (on reports that pilgrims were told to stop talking about 1925)
Nota de confianza.Issue header 'APRIL 1, 1923' and page markers 105/106 precede the passage in the scan OCR.
Procedencia del escaneo.Internet Archive upload by Veillez.org of the 1923 volume; public domain.
Consultado. 19 de septiembre de 2026 · Identificador de la fuente.src-wt-1923-0401-p106-1925
Publicación primaria de los testigos de JehováVerificado
1993 · pp.133 (and footnote i) · Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York
“From Mr. Barbour ... Russell also came to be persuaded that Christ's invisible presence had begun in 1874. ... [fn. i] A clearer understanding of Biblical chronology was published in 1943, in the book 'The Truth Shall Make You Free,' and it was then refined the following year”
Official account that the 1874 presence date rested on flawed chronology corrected in 1943-44. The chapter also records early expectations that 1914 would bring the Church's glorification and that 'months and then years passed, and the Bible Students did not receive their heavenly reward as they had anticipated.'
1943 · pp.239-241, 300-302 · Watchtower Bible and Tract Society
“the 'times of the Gentiles' ... would continue and extend to the fall of A.D. 1914. ... the Government at its birth in A.D. 1914 ... Christ's coming to the temple in 1918 was entirely unexpected, even to his devoted faithful followers.”
1943 chronology places the end of the seven times and the Kingdom's birth in 1914 and Christ's coming to the temple in 1918; the book does not mention 1874 (grep found no occurrence). Proclaimers (p. 133 fn. i) identifies this book as where 'a clearer understanding of Biblical chronology was published in 1943'.
Nota de procedencia y verificación for The Truth Shall Make You Free (book), Chapters 'Seven Times' and on the Kingdom's birth
Nota de confianza.Passages and page markers (239-241, 300, 302) read in the OCR. The claim that this book is where the presence date moved from 1874 to 1914 rests on jv p.133 fn. i plus the absence of 1874 here; a sentence explicitly saying 'presence began in 1914' was not found.
Procedencia del escaneo.Internet Archive / Digital Library of India scan. Copyright 1943; short quotation only.
The 2,520 years began in October 607 B.C.E. ... The period ended in October 1914. At that time, 'the appointed times of the nations' ended, and Jesus Christ was installed as God's heavenly King.
2005 · pp.215-218 · Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York
“The 2,520 years began in October 607 B.C.E. ... The period ended in October 1914. At that time, 'the appointed times of the nations' ended, and Jesus Christ was installed as God's heavenly King.”
Opens: 'Decades in advance, Bible students proclaimed that there would be significant developments in 1914.' Current official framing of 1914 as an invisible enthronement.
1 de noviembre de 1995 · pp.10-21 · second article, par. 6 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
“Jehovah's people have at times speculated about the time when the 'great tribulation' would break out, even tying this to calculations of what is the lifetime of a generation since 1914. ... Rather than provide a rule for measuring time, the term 'generation' as used by Jesus refers principally to contemporary people of a certain historical period, with their identifying characteristics.”
Redefines 'this generation' as the wicked contemporaries of the last days; first article (doc 1995804) sets out the lexical argument.
Notes.Note the framing 'Jehovah's people have at times speculated' where the calculations were published by the organisation itself (w84 5/15; rs p.97).
Consultado. 19 de septiembre de 2026 · Identificador de la fuente.src-w-1995-1101-p10-21-generation
La expectativa de 1889 era un fin visible de toda gobernación terrestre para 1914. La enseñanza actual es una entronización invisible en 1914 que inició un período que ya supera el siglo. Ambas son declaraciones de la propia organización; los lectores pueden compararlas.
Respuestas habituales
“1914 was right: the war proved it.” By 1904 The Watch Tower had moved the expected ‘anarchistic culmination’ to ‘after October, 1914 — very speedily thereafter’. It still expected the Church to be glorified by 1914 (Russell called that ‘a natural mistake’ in 1916), and the 1914 printing of the book still said the trouble ‘will end in A.D. 1915’. A war between nations that left every government standing, followed by a century of continued rulership, is not what any of those texts anticipated. Readers can compare the 1904 wording with the present teaching of an invisible enthronement.Source: Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, 1 de julio de 1904Source: Studies in the Scriptures, Series II: The Time Is at Hand, 1914 printing ('1,452,000 Edition'), 1914
Confianza. Todas las citas anteriores a 1930 de esta página se leyeron en una primera edición o en un escaneo contemporáneo del Internet Archive (material de dominio público); los elementos de 1943, 1993 y 2005 se leyeron en la biblioteca en línea de la organización o en un escaneo de biblioteca. La tirada de 1914 y el prólogo de 1916 se abrieron por separado. Calificación: predicción explícita, con una reinterpretación posterior.
Fuentes citadas en esta página
Show all 13 sources, in date order
Each opens a full record with links, provenance and a confidence note.
Publicación primaria de los testigos de JehováVerificado
1889 · pp.76-78 · C. T. Russell · Tower Publishing Co. / Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
“Firstly, That at that date the Kingdom of God ... will have obtained full, universal control, and that it will then be 'set up,' or firmly established, in the earth. ... Thirdly, It will prove that some time before the end of A.D. 1914 the last member of the divinely recognized Church of Christ ... will be glorified with the Head”
1889 · pp.98-99 · C. T. Russell · Tower Publishing Co. / Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
“we consider it an established truth that the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God, will be accomplished by the end of A.D. 1914.”
1889 · p.101 · C. T. Russell · Tower Publishing Co. / Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
“the 'battle of the great day of God Almighty' (Rev. 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership, is already commenced.”
15 de julio de 1894 · pp.226 (standard citation); Reprints pp. 1676-1677 (the passage falls under the [1676] marker) · C. T. Russell (editor) · Tower Publishing Co., Allegheny, Pa.
“our readers are writing to know if there may not be a mistake in the 1914 date. ... We see no reason for changing the figures—nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble.”
1 de julio de 1904 · pp.197 (Reprints p. 3389), as commonly cited; page not read from the scan · C. T. Russell · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
“he Hamilton Times of the next day, and thus reached many more than were able to hear it. The “truth” people all looked and felt joyful in the Lord, and, as our train pulled away from the station, about fiftv of U3 joined in singing, “God be with you till we meet again.” UNIVERSAL ANARCHY— JUST BEFORE OR AFTER OCTOBER. 1914 A. D. What seems at first glance the veriest trifle and wholly un¬ related to the matter, has changed our conviction respecting the time when universal anarchy may be expected in accord with the prophetic numbers. We now expect that the anarch¬ istic culmination of the great time of trouble which will pre¬ cede the Millennial blessings will be after October, 1914, A. D. — very speedily thereafter, in our opinion — “in one hour,” “suddenly.” Our readers familiar with the presentation of the subject given in Millennial Dawn will recall that the date, October, 1914 A. D.,”
1 de noviembre de 1914 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
“may it not be that the kingdom will not be ushered in for five, ten or even twenty-five years? Our reply is, we are not a prophet; we merely believe that we have come to the place where the Gentile times have ended.”
1 de octubre de 1916 · pp.i-iv (foreword) · C. T. Russell · International Bible Students Association
“The author acknowledges that in this book he presents the thought that the Lord's saints might expect to be with Him in glory at the ending of the Gentile Times. This was a natural mistake to fall into ... Our mistake was evidently not in respect to the ending of the Times of the Gentiles; we drew a false conclusion, however, not authorized by the Word of the Lord.”
1 de marzo de 1922 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
“The indisputable facts, therefore, show that the 'time of the end' began in 1799; that the Lord's second presence began in 1874; that the harvest followed thereafter”
1943 · pp.239-241, 300-302 · Watchtower Bible and Tract Society
“the 'times of the Gentiles' ... would continue and extend to the fall of A.D. 1914. ... the Government at its birth in A.D. 1914 ... Christ's coming to the temple in 1918 was entirely unexpected, even to his devoted faithful followers.”
1993 · p.135 · Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
“Similarly, they also first thought that global troubles culminating in anarchy (which they understood would be associated with the war of 'the great day of God the Almighty') would precede that date. (Rev. 16:14) But then, ten years before 1914, the Watch Tower suggested that worldwide turmoil that would result in the annihilating of human institutions would come right after the end of the Gentile Times.”
1993 · pp.133 (and footnote i) · Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York
“From Mr. Barbour ... Russell also came to be persuaded that Christ's invisible presence had begun in 1874. ... [fn. i] A clearer understanding of Biblical chronology was published in 1943, in the book 'The Truth Shall Make You Free,' and it was then refined the following year”
2005 · pp.215-218 · Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York
“The 2,520 years began in October 607 B.C.E. ... The period ended in October 1914. At that time, 'the appointed times of the nations' ended, and Jesus Christ was installed as God's heavenly King.”