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Chronology and 607 BCE · Claim record

Between printings, the measurement itself was changed: where the 1891 and 1898 printings read '3416 inches' and gave the date 1874, the 1910, 1914, 1915 and 1918 printings read '3457 inches' and give the date 1915, with the sentence altered from 'the close of 1874 was the chronological beginning' to 'the close of 1914 will be the beginning'. From 1898 onward the passage stands on p. 342 in every printing examined.

Claim ID claim-chronology-pyramid-measurement-revisedConcerns 1910Later reinterpretation
Later reinterpretation · 1910 Verified

Between printings, the measurement itself was changed: where the 1891 and 1898 printings read '3416 inches' and gave the date 1874, the 1910, 1914, 1915 and 1918 printings read '3457 inches' and give the date 1915, with the sentence altered from 'the close of 1874 was the chronological beginning' to 'the close of 1914 will be the beginning'. From 1898 onward the passage stands on p. 342 in every printing examined. Millennial Dawn / Studies in the Scriptures, vol. 3 — Thy Kingdom Come, 1891Millennial Dawn, vol. 3 — Thy Kingdom Come (1898 printing), 1898Studies in the Scriptures, Series III — Thy Kingdom Come (839,000 Edition), 1910Studies in the Scriptures, Series III — Thy Kingdom Come (1,385,000 Edition), 1914Studies in the Scriptures, Series III — Thy Kingdom Come (1,104,000 Edition), 1915Studies in the Scriptures, Series III — Thy Kingdom Come (1,595,500 Edition), 1918

Show the evidence (6 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

Millennial Dawn / Studies in the Scriptures, vol. 3 — Thy Kingdom Come, “Chapter X — The Testimony of God's Stone Witness and Prophet, the Great Pyramid in Egypt”

1891 · p.336 · C. T. Russell · Tower Publishing Co.

“Then measuring down the “Entrance Passage” from that point, to find the distance to the entrance of the “Pit,” representing the great trouble and destruction with which this age is to close, when evil will be overthrown from power, we find it to be 3416 inches, symbolizing 3416 years from the above date, B. C. 1542. This calculation shows A. D. 1874 as marking the beginning of the period of trouble; for 1542 B. C. plus 1874 A. D. equals 3416 years. Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1874 was the chronological beginning of the time of trouble”

The method is set out on the preceding page: one inch of passage is read as one year. The junction of the First Ascending Passage with the Grand Gallery is taken as the birth of Christ; the measure back down to the Entrance Passage, 1542 inches, gives 1542 BCE; the descending passage is then measured from that point to the mouth of the Pit.

Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Page 336 opened and read in this session; the figure 3416 and the date 1874 confirmed. The 1891 typesetting uses a 'ct' ligature that the scan's OCR renders as '6l' or '6t' (for example 'destru6lion', 'fa6l', 'jun6tion'). These have been expanded to 'destruction', 'fact' and 'junction' in the quotation; no other word has been altered.

Scan provenance. Internet Archive item 'millennialdawn03inruss', the 1891 Tower Publishing Co. printing (University of Pittsburgh copy). Public domain. Page-level text was extracted from the item's djvu.xml, one block per leaf, and the printed page number was read from each page's own running head. Note for anyone re-checking this item: the item's page_numbers.json is one lower than the printed page throughout — it maps the leaf whose running head reads 336 to page 335 — so the running heads, not that file, are authoritative here.

Corroborated by. src-pyr-md3-1898-descending-3416-1874, src-pyr-ss3-1910-descending-3457-1915

Notes. This is the measurement that was later altered. The same sentence in printings from 1910 onward reads 3457 inches and 1915.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-pyr-md3-1891-descending-3416-1874

Primary JW publication Verified

Millennial Dawn, vol. 3 — Thy Kingdom Come (1898 printing), “Chapter X — The Testimony of God's Stone Witness and Prophet, the Great Pyramid in Egypt”

1898 · p.342 · C. T. Russell · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“we find it to be 3416 inches, symbolizing 3416 years from the above date, b. c. 1542. This calculation shows a. d. 1874 as marking the beginning of the period of trouble; for 1542 years b. c. plus 1874 years A. d. equals 3416 years. Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1874 was the chronological beginning of the time of trouble”

The 1898 printing carries the descending-passage calculation in the same terms as 1891: 3416 inches and the date 1874.

Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Page 342 of the 1898 printing opened and read in this session; the figure 3416 and the date 1874 confirmed. The 1898 printing is already set to the pagination used by the later printings, so this passage stands on p. 342 here and on p. 342 in the 1910, 1914, 1915 and 1918 printings — the same page, with the figure changed.

Scan provenance. Internet Archive item 'millennial-dawn-vol.3-thy-kingdom-come-edition-1898'. The item has a French-language title and description but reproduces the English 1898 printing. Public domain. The item has no page_numbers.json, so page-level text was extracted from its djvu.xml and the printed page number read from the running heads: the leaf carrying this passage falls between one headed 'The Great Pyramid. 341' and one headed 'The Great Pyramid. 343'.

Corroborated by. src-pyr-md3-1891-descending-3416-1874

Notes. This printing fixes the lower bound of the revision: the original figure was still in print in 1898. It also shows that the passage already stood on p. 342 before the figure was changed, so the change was made within an existing setting of the page rather than in a general resetting of the book.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-pyr-md3-1898-descending-3416-1874

Primary JW publication Verified

Studies in the Scriptures, Series III — Thy Kingdom Come (839,000 Edition), “Chapter X — The Testimony of God's Stone Witness and Prophet, the Great Pyramid in Egypt”

1910 · p.342 · C. T. Russell · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“we find it to be 3457 inches, symbolizing 3457 years from the above date, b. c. 1542. This calculation shows A. D. 1915 as marking the beginning of the period of trouble; for 1542 years b. c. plus 1915 years A. D. equals 3457 years. Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1914 will be the beginning of the time of trouble”

The same sentence as in 1891 and 1898, with the measurement of the descending passage given as 41 inches longer and the resulting date moved from 1874 to 1915. The tense also changes: the close of 1874 ‘was’ the beginning becomes the close of 1914 ‘will be’ the beginning.

Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Page 342 of the 839,000 Edition opened and read in this session; the figure 3457 and the dates 1915 and 1914 confirmed. The title page reads 'SERIES III / Thy Kingdom Come / 839,000 Edition' and '1910'. The Internet Archive catalogue record gives the year as 1906, which the title page does not support; the title page has been followed.

Scan provenance. Internet Archive scan. Public domain. Page-level text was extracted from the item's djvu.xml, one block per leaf, and the printed page number read from each page's own running head.

Corroborated by. src-pyr-md3-1891-descending-3416-1874, src-pyr-ss3-1914-descending-3457-1915, src-pyr-ss3-1918-descending-3457-1915

Notes. The revised figure was therefore already in print in 1910, four years before 1914 passed. The change cannot be explained as a response to the disappointment of 1914.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-pyr-ss3-1910-descending-3457-1915

Primary JW publication Verified

Studies in the Scriptures, Series III — Thy Kingdom Come (1,385,000 Edition), “Chapter X — The Testimony of God's Stone Witness and Prophet, the Great Pyramid in Egypt”

1914 · p.342 · C. T. Russell · International Bible Students Association

“we find it to be 3457 inches … This calculation shows A. d. 1915 as marking the beginning of the period of trouble … Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1914 will be the beginning of the time of trouble”

The printing whose title page reads '1,385,000 Edition' and '1914' carries the revised figure.

Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Page 342 opened and read in this session; figure and dates confirmed. Title page reads 'SERIES III / Thy Kingdom Come / 1,385,000 Edition' and '1914'.

Scan provenance. Internet Archive scan. Public domain. Page-level text was extracted from the item's djvu.xml, one block per leaf, and the printed page number read from each page's own running head.

Corroborated by. src-pyr-ss3-1910-descending-3457-1915

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-pyr-ss3-1914-descending-3457-1915

Primary JW publication Verified

Studies in the Scriptures, Series III — Thy Kingdom Come (1,104,000 Edition), “Chapter X — The Testimony of God's Stone Witness and Prophet, the Great Pyramid in Egypt”

1915 · p.342 · C. T. Russell · International Bible Students Association

“we find it to be 3457 inches, symbolizing 3457 years from the above date, b. c. 1542. This calculation shows A. D. 1915 as marking the beginning of the period of trouble; for 1542 years b. c. plus 1915 years A. D. equals 3457 years. Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1914 will be the beginning of the time of trouble”

A further intermediate printing carrying the revised figure, in the same words and on the same page as the 1910, 1914 and 1918 printings.

Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Page 342 of the 1,104,000 Edition opened and read in this session; the figure 3457 and the dates 1915 and 1914 confirmed, and the printed page number read from the page's own running head ('342 Thy Kingdom Come.'). The title page reads 'SERIES III / Thy Kingdom Come / 1,104,000 Edition' and '1915'. The Internet Archive catalogue record gives the year as 1914, which the title page does not support; the title page has been followed.

Scan provenance. Internet Archive scan. Public domain. Page-level text was extracted from the item's djvu.xml, one block per leaf, and the printed page number read from each page's own running head.

Corroborated by. src-pyr-ss3-1910-descending-3457-1915

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-pyr-ss3-1915-descending-3457

Primary JW publication Verified

Studies in the Scriptures, Series III — Thy Kingdom Come (1,595,500 Edition), “Chapter X — The Testimony of God's Stone Witness and Prophet, the Great Pyramid in Egypt”

1918 · p.342 · C. T. Russell · International Bible Students Association

“Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1914 will be the beginning of the time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation”

A printing issued after 1914 had come and gone still carries the sentence in the future tense, and still carries, on p. 364, the statement that ‘The four years from 1910 to the end of 1914 … will doubtless be a time of “fiery trial” upon the Church’.

Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Pages 342 and 364 opened and read in this session, the printed numbers read from the running heads. The title page was also opened as an image and is clearly legible: 'SERIES III / Thy Kingdom Come / 1,595,500 Edition / INTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION / BROOKLYN, LONDON, MELBOURNE, BARMEN, COPENHAGEN, OREBRO, CHRISTIANIA, GENEVA / 1918', with a University of Illinois accession stamp of 4 February 1920 above it. The year 1918 is the title page's own, not the Internet Archive catalogue's. The printing also carries Russell's Author's Foreword dated 1 October 1916.

Scan provenance. Internet Archive scan. Public domain. Page-level text was extracted from the item's djvu.xml, one block per leaf, and the printed page number read from each page's own running head.

Corroborated by. src-pyr-ss3-1910-descending-3457-1915, src-pyr-ss3-1916-foreword

Notes. A printing made four years after 1914 still carries the sentence about 1914 in the future tense, and still carries on p. 364 the statement that the four years from 1910 to the end of 1914 "will doubtless be" a time of fiery trial upon the Church.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-pyr-ss3-1918-descending-3457-1915

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-chronology-pyramid-measurement-revised/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.