JWTruth.orgDocumented comparison resource
Search

Predictions and dates · Claim record

The same 1889 volume said the 'battle of the great day of God Almighty' would 'end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership', and that before the end of 1914 the last members of the Church would be glorified and the time of trouble would 'end at that date'.

Claim ID claim-predictions-1889-battle-ends-1914Concerns 1889Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 1889 Verified

The same 1889 volume said the 'battle of the great day of God Almighty' would 'end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership', and that before the end of 1914 the last members of the Church would be glorified and the time of trouble would 'end at that date'. Studies in the Scriptures, Series II: The Time Is at Hand, first edition, 1889Studies in the Scriptures, Series II: The Time Is at Hand (Millennial Dawn vol. 2), first edition, 1889

The organisation’s position or later explanation: Later printings read 'will end in A.D. 1915'. The modern position is that 1914 marked the BEGINNING of the last days and Christ's invisible enthronement.

Show the evidence (2 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

Studies in the Scriptures, Series II: The Time Is at Hand, first edition, “Chapter IV, The Times of the Gentiles”

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'.

Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Page header 'Times of the Gentiles. 101' immediately precedes the passage in the first-edition OCR text.

Scan provenance. Internet Archive community upload (daveignatius); public domain.

Corroborated by. src-sits2-1914-00-p99-p101-1915

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-sits2-1889-00-p101-battle

Primary JW publication Verified

Studies in the Scriptures, Series II: The Time Is at Hand (Millennial Dawn vol. 2), first edition, “Chapter IV, The Times of the Gentiles”

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).

Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. 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.

Scan provenance. 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).

Corroborated by. src-sits2-1889-00-p99-full-establishment, src-sits2-1889-00-p101-battle

Notes. OCR renders 1914 as '1 91 4' in places.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-sits2-1889-00-p77-seven-proofs

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-predictions-1889-battle-ends-1914/. 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.