Rebuttal #3: 

 

The1914 Doctrine

 

#3 Objection: 

 

Concerning the doctrine of Jesus having returned (invisible presence) to take His throne over the Earth in 1914 after having thrown Satan out of Heaven, we can refute this as not scriptural. Background: The WT calculates Prophecy from Daniel to come up with 1914 when Jesus returned invisibly, having battled with Satan (as the Archangel Michael). Scripture says Satan, having been thrown to the Earth with his demons and the heavens thus cleansed, is angry. Then Satan started WWI through the evil men he uses as proxies. This scenario is somewhat plausible on the surface, as WWI was so horrendous that the amount of death and destruction had never occurred on such a scale in mankind’s history.

 

WT says that in 1914, Jesus Christ returned from his seat at the right hand of God in Heaven to begin His invisible rule over the Earth. By 1919, Jesus had inspected all the Christian Churches and found them lacking, but recognized the anointed of the Watchtower as faithful servants and used them to begin the greatest campaign to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. The WT further says that the generation that saw these times (1914) will not pass away before the climax of the end times, the Tribulation Time, and Har Magedon (Armageddon), which will be followed by Jesus taking His throne on Earth to rule over His Earthly Kingdom. (Mark 13:29-30). 

 

Here is the problem. That generation that could have been aware of the events in 1914 has passed away now. The WT no longer cites "this generation" fulfillment related to 1914, though they still hold on to 1914 because it is their foundational doctrine. They changed their doctrine to say something else about what "generation" means; now they call it "overlapping generations." This change allows the end not to come in the original generation, in proximity to 1914. No other Bible scholars claim that this is when Jesus returned in His invisible presence (Parousia), took His throne as King, and established the Kingdom of God. Jesus warns us in Matt 24:26 about those claiming He has returned. Whether to "the inner rooms" (i.e., in the invisible heavens)  or those that say He is out in a field; do not believe them. (If one were perhaps 10 years old, at the youngest, to have a memory of WWI, that person would now be age 119+. While an individual could live to 119, that generation has indeed passed away.)

 

If you are interested, you can research this 1914 doctrine online at their website, but I came across a scripture I had never known was in the Bible that clarifies when Satan was cast out of Heaven. It was uttered by Jesus himself. Why shouldn't I believe Him instead of accepting a man-made doctrine? Should I consider what Jesus said in Luke 10:18 to be only a "vision into the future", rather than take Him literally? There is no reason I should doubt Jesus’ timing in what He said there. I believe Jesus over the men at the WT. That scripture is:

 

 

Luke 10:17-18 KJV

17Then the seventy (seventy-two) returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." 18 And He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning.”

 

 

Two points here: First, the demons were cast out in Jesus' NAME, not Jehovah's name, and second, Jesus said to them, "He watched" Satan fall from Heaven. This account is also summarized in Revelation 12:7-10.

 

But because the Archangel Michael in the Revelation 12:7-10 account did battle with Satan, the WT reasons that Michael must be Jesus, because who else would be strong enough to battle Satan? Yet Jesus said what He said in Luke 10:18, and we know the exact time and context. Jesus was not in Heaven like Michael was at that time. They also cite the Bible wherein when Jesus comes to the Earth to pass judgment, He will descend with the voice of an archangel (1 Th 4:16). I don't reason that "with the voice of an archangel" means He is an archangel, specifically Michael. We already know that the Father gave Him a name above all other names and His station is higher than all the angels (Phil 2:9-11). Therefore, Jesus is not the Archangel Michael, and it was while on Earth during his ministry that Jesus said he saw Satan fall like lightning (Luke 10:17-18).

 

Furthermore, in Luke 11:1-4 KJV (The Lord's Prayer), we see Jesus teaching the disciples how to pray. When He says "Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven (my underline) …"We have to ask: Was God's will being done in Heaven at that moment if Satan was still allowed access to the heavens? Most certainly, Jesus, who cannot lie, would not say that God's will was being done in Heaven if the destroyer of mankind still had the authority to access Heaven. No, no, no. Satan had been cast out just as Jesus had remarked earlier in Luke 10:18.

 

I know of others who reason that the scriptures indicate Satan was thrown out of Heaven before the Earth was even created. But that can't be true, as we have the account in Job where Satan was still accessing the throne of God and had a conversation with God (Job 1:6-7). Is it possible that the account in Revelation 12:7-10 has not yet occurred? Perhaps. We are told in Rev. 12:11 that the brothers of Christ were being accused day and night, but the brothers overcame Satan because of the blood of the Lamb. When Jesus uttered Luke 10:18, He had not yet gone to the cross and shed His blood. Perhaps the timing of the dragon's battle with Michael has not occurred. Still, it seems more logical that after Jesus died, was resurrected, and ascended to Heaven, that Satan had been conquered and would no longer be allowed in Heaven. I imagine that God, after sending his precious son to die for mankind because of what Satan did to Adam and Eve, would not allow him any longer access to the throne of God. Jesus was sitting there at God's right hand. If anyone has researched this and would like to suggest the timing (based on scriptures), please share it with me using the contact form on this site.

 

#3 Recap:  If we believe what Jesus said in Luke 10:18, then we believe that He watched (or saw) Satan fall from Heaven like lightning at the moment that His disciples had been casting out demons in HIS NAME. At that time, Satan's demons had been made subservient to the "power of God in men by means of the Holy Spirit." Jesus empowered them. Jesus was on Earth tending to His disciples when, as He says, He saw Satan fall; it was the Archangel Michael who battled with the dragon and threw him down, just as the Revelation scripture says. How humiliating for  Satan that an Angel of less status than Jesus threw him down. I am compelled to believe the scriptures, and it was in Luke 10:18 when Jesus said He saw Satan fall: Not 1914! Yet, even if this battle did not take place but would take place at the time of the Tribulation, we still can't find support for the doctrine that it took place in 1914. The 1914 is a false doctrine.