Absalom

No verified prophetic identification of Absalom as a type was found in the Russell period (1879–1916); the 1908 discussion applies lessons and parallels from his conduct but does not assign him a prophetic antitype. Under Rutherford, a contextual modern comparison appears in 1933, when the clergy and their allies were said to turn people away from God like Absalom, and the same comparison was repeated in 1938. In 1940 the interpretation became explicit: rebellious ones claiming to be in line for the heavenly throne were said to be pictured by Absalom. Under Knorr, the 1944 book The Kingdom Is at Hand broadened the identification by calling Absalom and Ahithophel prototypes of Judas Iscariot and a "man of sin" class. In 1945 the clergy and their allies were again compared with Absalom in a contextual application. Later references through 1976 recount Absalom's rebellion or use him as a moral example, while the explicit prototype language in 1961 and 1965 is applied to Ahithophel, not to Absalom. No verified prophetic identification of Absalom was found in the Franz period from 1977 through 1980.