What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe Happened in 1914?
Short answer
Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus began ruling as king in heaven in 1914. They believe this happened invisibly, so they do not expect a future visible return.
Mainstream Christianity, including Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox teaching, holds that no one can know the timing of Christ’s return. Scripture instead describes his return as visible, bodily, and unmistakable to everyone (Acts 1:11, Revelation 1:7).
Some Christians have neighbors, coworkers, or family members who are Jehovah's Witnesses and describe 1914 as the year Christ began ruling as king. If you were not raised in that tradition, this claim can be confusing because it does not match what most churches teach on Sunday mornings. This page explains what Jehovah's Witnesses teach about 1914, how they arrive at that date, and what mainstream Christianity teaches instead about Christ's return.
What Jehovah’s Witnesses teach about the year 1914
Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus Christ became king in heaven in the year 1914. They believe this event was invisible to human eyes and took place in the spiritual realm, not on earth. In their teaching, 1914 marks the start of Christ’s heavenly rule and the beginning of the "last days." They also connect 1914 to Satan’s removal from heaven, based on their reading of Revelation 12.
This teaching sits at the center of Watch Tower Society doctrine and shapes how Jehovah’s Witnesses read Bible prophecy. It is also the reason members treat their door-to-door preaching work as urgent: if the "last days" already began in 1914, every year that passes is understood as time running out before Armageddon arrives.
How the Watch Tower Society calculates the year 1914
The 1914 date comes from a specific interpretation of a prophecy in the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 4 describes King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a great tree cut down for "seven times" (Daniel 4:16). Jehovah’s Witnesses read this as a symbolic prophecy about God’s kingdom being set aside for a fixed period, connected to what they call the "Gentile Times" mentioned in Luke 21:24.
They calculate "seven times" as 2,520 years, treating each prophetic "time" as 360 days and each day as a literal year, then start counting from 607 BC, their date for Jerusalem’s destruction by Babylon. Add 2,520 years, and the count lands on 1914. Most historians and biblical chronologists date Jerusalem’s destruction to 587 or 586 BC instead, based on Babylonian historical records, roughly twenty years later than the Watch Tower Society’s starting point.
Why Jehovah’s Witnesses teach an invisible presence, not a future visible return
Jehovah’s Witnesses teach an invisible presence because they believe Christ’s second coming already happened, unseen, in 1914, so they do not expect a future visible return. This teaching rests partly on how they translate the Greek word parousia, usually rendered "coming" in most Bibles. Their New World Translation renders it "presence" instead, describing an ongoing invisible rule rather than a single visible arrival.
In this view, Jesus rules as king from heaven right now, unseen by people on earth, and the visible effects of his rule, including the destruction of human governments at Armageddon, are still future. This is why Witnesses believe Christ is already ruling, even though most of the world cannot yet see it.
The history of revised dates in Watch Tower teaching
The Watch Tower Society has revised its expectations about end-time events more than once in its history. In the movement’s earliest years, founder Charles Taze Russell taught that 1914 would bring the world’s full, visible end. When that outcome did not occur, the organization reinterpreted 1914 as the start of an invisible rule instead.
The Watch Tower Society also linked the year 1925 to expectations of a coming resurrection of Old Testament figures, an expectation that did not come to pass, and decades later its literature associated 1975 with the possible end of 6,000 years of human history, again without the anticipated events occurring. These revisions are documented in the organization’s own publications and in independent histories of the movement. Mainstream Christian teachers point to this pattern as one reason to treat specific date-setting about Christ’s return with caution.
Why mainstream Christianity rejects date-setting for Christ’s return
Mainstream Christianity rejects setting specific dates for Christ’s return because Jesus himself said the timing is unknowable. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus states, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox teaching all treat this verse as a clear limit on human speculation about timing, since even Jesus, during his earthly ministry, said he did not know the hour.
Mainstream theologians reason that later calculations claiming to know it go beyond what Scripture allows, and the repeated pattern of revised dates in Watch Tower history is often cited as an example of that caution. Mainstream Christians hold that watching and readiness matter more than calculating a specific year (Matthew 24:42–44).
What the Bible teaches about the nature of Christ’s return
Scripture describes Christ’s return as visible, bodily, and unmistakable to everyone on earth, not invisible or hidden. Acts 1:11 records the angels’ words to the disciples after Jesus ascended: "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." Jesus ascended bodily and visibly, so the angels describe his return the same way. Revelation 1:7 says, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him." Jehovah’s Witnesses interpret "every eye shall see him" as a spiritual perception, while most Christian traditions read it more plainly, as literal, universal sight of a visible event, including "they also which pierced him," a detail that only fits a publicly visible event.
Matthew 24:27 compares Christ’s coming to lightning that flashes from east to west, sudden and obvious to everyone at once, not a quiet change recognized only by insiders. Taken together, these passages describe a single, future, visible event, not an invisible transition already underway.
How to talk about this with a Jehovah’s Witness you know
The most respectful approach starts with recognizing their sincerity as careful readers of Scripture. Jehovah’s Witnesses who hold this teaching are not acting in bad faith; many study the Bible seriously and structure their lives around the hope of a coming Paradise earth. Disagreeing with the 1914 teaching does not require dismissing a Witness’s sincerity or their love for Scripture.
Good conversations usually center on the text itself, especially Jesus’ own words in Matthew 24:36 about not knowing the day or hour, and gentle, specific questions about parousia or the 607 BC date often open better conversation than a broad argument. If you have Jehovah’s Witness friends or family, patience and genuine warmth matter more than winning a debate.
Key Bible verses
- "Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him." Jehovah’s Witnesses use this phrase to calculate 1914. — Daniel 4:16
- "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." Jesus said the timing of his return was unknown even to him during his earthly ministry. — Matthew 24:36
- "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." His return is described as visible, like his ascension. — Acts 1:11
- "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him." Mainstream Christian teaching reads this as a literal, universal, visible event. — Revelation 1:7
Frequently asked questions
What does 1914 mean to Jehovah’s Witnesses?
Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus began ruling as king in heaven in 1914. They believe this event was invisible and marks the start of the "last days."
Did the Watch Tower Society predict other dates that did not occur as expected?
Yes. The organization’s literature associated both 1925 and 1975 with expected end-time events that did not take place, and it originally expected 1914 itself to bring a visible end to the present world.
What does Matthew 24:36 say about knowing the day of Christ’s return?
Matthew 24:36 records Jesus saying that no one, not even the angels, knows the day or hour. Mainstream Christians read this as a caution against setting specific dates.
Will Jesus’ second coming be visible or invisible, according to the Bible?
Mainstream Christian teaching holds that Christ’s return will be visible, bodily, and unmistakable to everyone on earth, based on passages like Acts 1:11 and Revelation 1:7. This differs from the Jehovah’s Witness teaching of an invisible presence beginning in 1914.
Does the Bible mention the year 1914?
No. The Bible does not name the year 1914 anywhere in its text. The date comes from the Watch Tower Society’s own chronology and calculations, not from an explicit biblical statement.