The year 1914 can be discerned by evidence in the Bible. As an example of a date that is not specifically in the Bible, is the year in which Jesus became the Messiah or Christ. At Daniel 9:24, 25, it pinpoints the date of his arrival as the Christ, for it says that "there are seventy weeks that have been determined upon your people and upon your holy city, in order to terminate the transgression, and to finish off sin, and to make atonement for error, and to bring in righteousness for times indefinite, and to imprint a seal upon vision and prophet, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. And you should know and have the insight that from the going forth of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until Mes·si´ah the Leader, there will be seven weeks, also sixty-two weeks."
When was the "going forth of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until Mes·si´ah the Leader" ? According to the Bible writer Nehemiah, the word went forth to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem “in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king.” (Nehemiah 2:1, 5-8) Historians confirm that the year 474 B.C.E. was Artaxerxes’ first full year as ruler. Therefore, the 20th year of his rule was 455 B.C.E. Now we have the starting point for Daniel’s Messianic prophecy, that is, 455 B.C.E.
Daniel provides how long the time period leading to the arrival of “Messiah the Leader” would last. The prophecy mentions “seven weeks, also sixty-two weeks”—a total of 69 weeks. How long is this period of time ? Several Bible translations note that these are, not weeks of seven days, but weeks of years. That is, each week represents seven years. This concept of weeks of years, or seven-year units, was familiar to Jews of ancient times. For instance, they observed a Sabbath year every seventh year. (Exodus 23:10, 11) Therefore, the prophetic 69 weeks amount to 69 units of 7 years each, or a total of 483 years.
All we must do is count. If we count from 455 B.C.E., 483 years takes us to the year 29 C.E. That was exactly the year when Jesus was baptized and became the Messiah ! (Luke 3:1, 2, 21, 22) At this time, some of the Jews were expecting the Messiah, such as the Samaritan woman, who told the men of the city: "Come here, see a man that told me all the things I did. This is not perhaps the Christ, is it ?” (John 4:29) Furthermore, when John the Baptist was baptising in the Jordan river, Luke 3:15 says that "as the people were in expectation and all were reasoning in their hearts about John: “May he perhaps be the Christ ?” (John 3:15)
The date when John began his ministry is seen at Luke 3:1, which says that it was "in the fifteenth year of the reign of Ti·be´ri·us Caesar." Secular history has established Tiberius' ascension to the throne on September 15, 14 C.E., as a pivotal date. Thus, the "fifteenth year " of his reign was from September 28 C.E. to August 29 C.E. Shortly after John began his ministerial work, Jesus approached him to be baptised by him and hence then became the Christ, in 29 C.E. However, the religious leaders did not discern the timing of Jesus as Christ, for Jesus told them: "When evening falls you are accustomed to say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is fire-red’; and at morning, ‘It will be wintry, rainy weather today, for the sky is fire-red, but gloomy-looking.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but the
signs of the times you cannot interpret."(Matt 16:1-3)
Likewise of Jesus enthronement as king of God's kingdom in 1914 that began his invisible "presence".(Matt 24:3, 27, 37, 39) Most cannot or will not examine the evidence to determine the critical time period we are living in. The apostle Peter wrote: "Beloved ones, this is now the second letter I am writing you, in which, as in my first one, I am arousing your clear thinking faculties by way of a reminder....For you know this first, that in the
last days there will come ridiculers with their ridicule, proceeding according to their own desires and saying: “Where is this
promised presence of his ? Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, all things are continuing exactly as from creation’s beginning.”(2 Pet 3:1, 3, 4)
Jesus gave features of the "sign of (his) presence" at Matthew 24:4-14., in which four of Jesus apostles asked him: "Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the
sign of your presence and of the
conclusion of the system of things ?”(Matt 24:3) The
King James Bible renders the Greek word
pa·rou·si´a as "coming" at Matthew 24:3, 27, 37, and 39 instead of "presence". However, this Greek word is rendered as "presence" at Philippians 2:12 because a contrast is seen, saying: "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence (
pa·rou·si´a) only, but now much more in my absence (
apousia), work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."(
King James Bible) The base Greek word for "coming" is
erchomai, as seen at Matthew 24:30.
At Matthew 24:7, 8, Jesus says that the beginning of his invisible "presence" in kingdom power would be seen by "nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress." Just as signs serve to help a person lead them to their desired location, and is not the location, so likewise of the "sign" that Jesus gave to determine when he would be enthroned as king, is made of up several features, such as "nation against nation...food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another", with these events being showing the starting time of his invisible "presence" as king of God's kingdom, as the "beginning of pangs of distress".
Revelation 6 provides more details, for at verse 2, it says that a "white horse" has rider that is given a "crown", and that he goes "forth conquering and to complete his conquest." Who is given a "crown" that represents ruling authority ? Revelation 19:11 says that Jesus is riding upon a "white horse", which stands for righteous warfare. Also, Daniel 7:13, 14 says that in heaven "someone like a son of man happened to be coming; and to the Ancient of Days he gained access, and they brought him up close even before that One. And to him there were given rulership and dignity and kingdom, that the peoples, national groups and languages should all serve even him." This "son of man" is no other than Jesus Christ receiving the right to rule God's kingdom.
However, immediately upon receiving kingdom power, what then happens ? Revelation 6:4 says that "a fiery-colored horse (came forth); and to the one seated upon it there was granted to
take peace away from the earth so that they should
slaughter one another; and a
great sword was given him." What does this picture ? Global warfare. When was the first time that entire earth was involved in war, that 'peace was taken away from the earth' ? WWI, that started as a result of a young Serbian, Gavrilo Princip, assassinating the Arch-Duke of Austria-Hungary, Francis Ferdinand, on June 28, 1914, that erupted into world war a little over a month later, and eventually involved 93 percent of the world's population.
In addition, at the parallel account at Luke 21, Jesus said that "pestilences" would also mark the "beginning of pangs of distress".(Luke 21:11) A few months before the end of World War I, there broke out a pestilence, that mankind has never seen the likes of before - the Spanish Influenza, in March 1918. It killed more people in approximately 18 months than all that died during World War I, some 13 million, and epidemiologists estimate that perhaps 50 to upwards 100 million people died during 1918-19 because of the Spanish Flu, "the most destructive in recorded history".(
2005 Encarta Encyclopedia)
Thus, those who are willing to "put the pieces together"(Greek
sy·ni´e·mi ) can discern that the year 1914 was when Jesus was enthroned as king of God's kingdom, but unseen by any human eyes, but discernable by piecing together the different features of "sign of (Jesus) presence" and the other interconnected Scriptures. Most cannot or will be recognize this critical date. Jesus said that "just as the lightning comes out of eastern parts and shines over to western parts, so the
presence of the Son of man will be. Wherever the carcass is, there the
eagles will be gathered together."(Matt 24:27, 28) An eagle's eyes have around 1 million light-sensitive cells per square millimeter of retina, while humans only have about 200,000 cells. Ornithologists state that an eagle can spot a moving rabbit from about a mile away. If the eagle is flying 1,000 feet high in the sky, it's believed it can spot prey over about three square miles.
Thus, only those who are like "eagles", having spiritually keen eyesight or discernment will recognize when Jesus was made king of God's kingdom, whereas the masses of those who call themselves "Christian" will not. That is why Jesus gave
features of the "sign of (his invisible) presence" at Matthew 24:7, 8, for only by
understanding the features of this "sign" can a person grasp when Jesus became king unseen to the human eye.
