Type/antitype 1935–1974

Nebuchadnezzar

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Also known as Nebuchadrezzar · Nebuchadnezar · King Nebuchadnezzar · Nebuchadnezzar II · Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon · King of Babylon

The prophetic significance assigned to Nebuchadnezzar changed repeatedly between 1877 and 2000. In 1877 he typified fallen Adam and the human race; in 1882 his government was identified with the golden head of the prophetic image. In 1888 his seven years of degradation were applied to 2,520 years of Gentile domination, a meaning repeated in 1928 and 1933. In 1930 and 1931 Nebuchadnezzar was explicitly identified as Satan's earthly representative, and the 1931 publication denied that he could typify Jesus Christ in destroying Jerusalem. In 1934 a more flexible explanation identified him with regal power exercised by either Satan or Christ, depending on the prophetic scene. From 1935 through 1940 he was identified as a prophetic type of Christ Jesus executing Jehovah's judgments, reversing the explicit rejection of 1931. In 1941 he was again called Satan's visible representative in the context of Babylonian rule. Between 1943 and 1954 publications continued identifying him with Satan or Lucifer and associated his great-tree dream with Lucifer's former heavenly overlordship. By 1958 the interpretation emphasized world domination exercised by divine permission rather than a personal identification with Satan. In 1961 the golden head was expressly identified with the Babylonian royal dynasty. Explanations in 1963, 1964 and 1974 retained the connection between Nebuchadnezzar's rulership and the suspension of Jehovah's exercise of world sovereignty. From 1977 through 1990 the king continued to represent Babylonian political rulership, whereas the greater fulfillment of the tree prophecy concerned Jehovah's universal sovereignty and the establishment of Christ's heavenly Kingdom. The 1999 and 2000 explanations retained this distinction. Verified interpretations were found in every presidency: Russell, Rutherford, Knorr, Franz and the Governing Body.

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Rutherford

Joseph F. Rutherford · 1917–1942

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  1. 1935–1940 Reversal

    In prophecies about the conquest and destruction of Jerusalem and the execution of judgment against God's enemies, Nebuchadnezzar was identified with Christ Jesus as Jehovah's conquering Servant and Executioner. This reversed the explicit 1931 denial that Nebuchadnezzar could typify Christ when destroying Jerusalem.

    4 quotes
    The climax of the filling of the clergy and their allies brimful with shame and contempt is yet future, and that will be done by the hand of Christ Jesus, whom Nebuchadnezzar pictured when God used him, in respect to those now making up the ruling elements of the earth.
    The Watchtower, June 1, 1935
    Nebuchadnezzar was a great warrior, conquering the nations, and in this he pictured Christ Jesus, the Conqueror of the whole world.
    The Watchtower, October 15, 1937
    Nebuchadnezzar the king played the part of the servant of Jehovah who executed Jehovah's commandments, and therefore in the drama Nebuchadnezzar pictured or foreshadowed Christ Jesus, the Elect Servant and Executive Officer of the Almighty God and who executes the vengeance of God upon all his enemies.
    Safety, 1937
    That was another picture of the fall of antitypical Jerusalem, that is to say, modern-day “Christendom”, and this will take place at the hand of the King of the Theocratic Government, Christ Jesus, whom Nebuchadnezzar foreshadowed: “At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort.” (Ezek. 21: 22)
    The Watchtower, May 1, 1940

Knorr

Nathan H. Knorr · 1942–1977

1 reading
  1. 1958–1974 Reversal

    Nebuchadnezzar was explained primarily as a symbol of permitted world domination rather than personally identified with Satan. His removal and restoration illustrated a prophetic pattern related to the suspension and eventual restoration of Jehovah's exercise of rulership toward the earth. The golden head was associated with the Babylonian royal dynasty. This interpretation was repeated and developed from 1958 through 1974.

    6 quotes
    He stood as a symbol of world dominance, which, at the moment, he was exercising by permission and according to the purpose of the Most High God.
    Your Will Be Done on Earth, 1958
    In like manner, while government of mankind has been continued by worldly political systems during the larger “seven times” since the ruin of God’s typical kingdom of Judah in 607 B.C., the rulers not in God’s covenant for the kingdom have acted like crazed Nebuchadnezzar.
    The Watchtower, April 1, 1959
    So the gold head represented Nebuchadnezzar, or, more exactly, the dynasty of Babylonian rulers beginning with Nebuchadnezzar as Jerusalem’s conqueror and ending with Belshazzar’s death sixty-eight years later.
    The Watchtower, June 15, 1961
    In this way world domination as typically symbolized in the kingdom of Judah was transferred from the king on “Jehovah’s throne” in Zion to the victorious Gentile world power. In this way Gentile Babylon, as ruled by King Nebuchadnezzar, took up the world domination and had no more interference from the kingdom of Judah. Thus Babylon’s king became a symbol of world domination by God’s arrangement.
    Babylon the Great Has Fallen! God's Kingdom Rules!, 1963
    But when Judah was cut down and went into exile in 607 B.C.E., then world domination as typically symbolized in the kingdom of Judah passed into the hands of Gentile rulers, beginning with Nebuchadnezzar.
    The Watchtower, December 15, 1964
    Since Nebuchadnezzar occupied the position of world ruler by God's permission, his being deprived of that position must have been symbolic of something relating to the exercise of divine sovereignty.
    The Watchtower, March 15, 1974