Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Jesus began ruling as King in heaven in 1914 and that His invisible "presence" has been underway ever since. Does Scripture support it?
Short answer: No. Jesus has reigned at the Father's right hand since His Resurrection and Ascension (Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:20–21), and His return will be public: "every eye will see him" (Revelation 1:7). Jesus warned us not to believe claims that He is hidden "in the inner rooms" (Matthew 24:26), and He refused to give a date (Acts 1:7). Daniel 4's "seven years" were fulfilled in King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:30).
Key verses on Christ's return
- "This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven." (Acts 1:11)
- "every eye will see him, even those who pierced him." (Revelation 1:7)
- "if they say, ‘He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it." (Matthew 24:26)
- "just as lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be." (Matthew 24:27)
- "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority." (Acts 1:7)
Scripture quotations are from the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
What Catholics Actually Teach
First, the Witness view in its own words: "Bible chronology indicates that God’s Kingdom was established in heaven in 1914" (jw.org). Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a felled tree (Daniel 4) was first fulfilled in the king himself, then in a "greater fulfillment" about God's rule. Its "seven times" began "in October 607 B.C.E., when, according to Bible chronology, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians," and they equal "the appointed times of the nations" (Luke 21:24). Since three and a half "times" equal 1,260 days (Revelation 12:6, 14), seven times are 2,520 days. Taking a day for a year (Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6), the 2,520 years "would end in October 1914."
Witnesses also distinguish Christ's "coming" from His "presence" (Greek parousia). On "every eye will see him," they write: "They will discern from events on earth that he is invisibly present" (Reasoning From the Scriptures).
The Catholic Church teaches that Christ reigns now: "Jesus Christ is Lord: he possesses all power in heaven and on earth" (CCC 668). His return in glory "could be accomplished at any moment" (CCC 673), but "Only the Father knows the day and the hour" (CCC 1040).
What Catholics do not teach:
- That Christ's kingship begins at His return. He reigns now (CCC 668).
- That anyone can calculate the date. No one can (CCC 673, 1040).
- That Witnesses are insincere. Their longing for God's kingdom is real.
The Biblical Case
1. Jesus already reigns
After His Resurrection Jesus said, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (Matthew 28:18). God seated Him "at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion" (Ephesians 1:20–21). In the first century St. John already called Jesus "ruler of the kings of the earth" (Revelation 1:5). The kingdom did not wait until 1914.
2. He will return the way He left: visibly
The Ascension happened "as they were looking on" (Acts 1:9), and the angels promised He "will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven" (Acts 1:11). St. Paul adds that "the Lord himself ... with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven" (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
3. Jesus warned against a hidden coming
Jesus said, "if they say, ‘He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For just as lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matthew 24:26–27). The word for "coming" in verse 27 is parousia, the very word Witnesses translate "presence." Jesus compares it to lightning that everyone sees.
4. Parousia can mean a visible arrival
Witnesses rightly note that parousia can mean "presence," as when St. Paul contrasts being "present" and "absent" (Philippians 2:12). But St. Paul also uses it for people arriving in person: "I rejoice in the arrival of Stephanas" (1 Corinthians 16:17); God "encouraged us by the arrival of Titus" (2 Corinthians 7:6). And he speaks of "the manifestation of his coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Christ's parousia is something that appears.
5. Daniel 4 was fulfilled in Nebuchadnezzar
Daniel tells the king, "you are that tree, O king" (Daniel 4:19), and "seven years shall pass over you" (4:22). Then: "At once this was fulfilled" (4:30). (Some Bibles number these verses 4:22, 25, 33, and some render "seven times.") Daniel never links the dream to Jerusalem's fall, to Luke 21:24, or to 2,520 years. The day-for-a-year rule in Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6 is stated for those cases; Daniel 4 never applies it. Even the starting point is disputed: The Watchtower acknowledges that "Secular historians usually say that Jerusalem was destroyed in 587 B.C.E." (jw.org), twenty years after the date the calculation needs.
6. No one knows the time
"But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" (Matthew 24:36). When the disciples asked about the timing of the kingdom, Jesus answered, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons" (Acts 1:6–7). He even warned, "many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them!" (Luke 21:8).
Objections Answered
(a) "'Every eye will see him' can't be literal. Clouds mean invisibility."
At its strongest: Reasoning From the Scriptures asks, "What is indicated by “clouds”? Invisibility." It argues, "If Christ were to appear visibly in the heavens, it is obvious that not “every eye” would see him."
Answer: At the Ascension the apostles watched Jesus rise before "a cloud took him from their sight" (Acts 1:9). Jesus says that at His return "they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory," and "all the tribes of the earth will mourn" (Matthew 24:30). God can make that visible to every eye; Jesus chose the image of lightning seen "from the east ... as far as the west" (Matthew 24:27).
(b) "Jesus said, 'the world will no longer see me.'"
At its strongest: "In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me" (John 14:19). Witnesses add that Acts 1:11 speaks of "the same manner," not the same body, and that the world did not see the Ascension.
Answer: John 14:19 describes the time after the Resurrection, when God "granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance" (Acts 10:40–41). It does not describe the Second Coming, which "every eye will see" (Revelation 1:7). And the risen Jesus has a real body: "Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have" (Luke 24:39; see CCC 645). The same Jesus who ascended will return.
(c) "The world has grown worse since 1914. That is the sign."
At its strongest: Jesus foretold wars, famines, and earthquakes (Matthew 24:7), and World War I began in 1914.
Answer: Jesus called such things "the beginning of the labor pains" and said, "it will not yet be the end" (Matthew 24:6–8). Wars and famines have marked every century. And the Witnesses' own history says that in 1914 "it was believed that the war was leading into a time of global anarchy that would result in the end of the existing system of things," and C. T. Russell later wrote, "we were expecting the wrong thing in October, 1914" (Proclaimers, ch. 6). The date's meaning was explained differently after those expectations failed.
(d) "Parousia is a presence lasting years, like 'the days of Noah.'"
At its strongest: The New World Translation renders Matthew 24:37, "For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be." Its study note says parousia literally means "being alongside" and "refers to a presence covering a period of time rather than simply a coming or an arrival." Since "the days of Noah" lasted years, the presence would also span years (NWT Study Edition, Matthew 24:3).
Answer: Read to the end of Jesus' comparison. The point is not the length of Noah's days but how they ended: "They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be [also] at the coming of the Son of Man" (Matthew 24:37–39). The long years match the ordinary life before the coming; the flood matches the coming itself, sudden and impossible to miss. Jesus draws the lesson Himself: "Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come," and "at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come" (Matthew 24:42, 44). A presence that began unnoticed over a century ago is the opposite of a flood that sweeps everyone away. St. Paul even warned the Thessalonians not to be "alarmed" by any claim "that the day of the Lord is at hand" (2 Thessalonians 2:1–2). The earliest Christians read the passage the same way: "Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven" (Didache 16). Parousia can mean presence; in Matthew 24 it is a presence that arrives like lightning and like the flood.
The Early Church Agrees
- The Didache (late 1st or early 2nd century): "Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven" (16). (newadvent.org)
- St. Justin Martyr (First Apology 52, c. AD 155): the second advent is "when, according to prophecy, He shall come from heaven with glory, accompanied by His angelic host." (ccel.org)
- St. Irenaeus (Against Heresies 5.30.4, c. AD 180): after the Antichrist, the Lord will "come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father." (newadvent.org)
- St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechetical Lecture 15.10, c. AD 350): "The true Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God, comes no more from the earth." He comes "nor secretly as the dew on the fleece; but shining forth openly as the lightning." Echoing Matthew 24, he warns: "If any come making false shows in the wilderness, go not forth; if they say, Lo, here is the Christ, Lo, there, believe it not." (newadvent.org)
Conclusion
Witnesses deserve credit for taking prophecy seriously. But Scripture does not teach an invisible return in 1914. Christ reigns now, and He will return in glory, visibly, at an hour no one knows.
If you are a Witness, read Matthew 24:23–27 and Acts 1:6–11 slowly. Would Jesus warn against a hidden coming and then come hidden? (Witnesses also identify Jesus with St. Michael the Archangel in Revelation 12; see Is Jesus Michael the Archangel?)
Come home. Christ reigns now and will return visibly in glory, and the Catholic Church has awaited that coming, at an hour no one knows, since the apostles. Christ promised, "upon this rock I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18), and His Church never fell away or disappeared. It is the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of St. Peter and the bishops in communion with him. "It is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained" (CCC 816). We invite you to come and see the Church Christ founded, and to enter her.
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FAQ
Do Catholics believe the end is near? Christ's coming "could be accomplished at any moment" (CCC 673), but no one knows when (Matthew 24:36). We watch without setting dates.
Is Jesus King right now? Yes. All power was given to Him after His Resurrection (Matthew 28:18), and He reigns at the Father's right hand (Ephesians 1:20).
What will happen when Christ returns? The dead will rise and the Last Judgment will take place (1 Thessalonians 4:16; CCC 1040).
Sources
Scripture (NABRE, bible.usccb.org): Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6; Daniel 4:19, 22, 30; Matthew 16:18; Matthew 24:6–8, 26–27, 30, 36–39, 42, 44; Matthew 28:18; Luke 21:8, 24; Luke 24:39; John 14:19; Acts 1:6–11; Acts 10:40–41; 1 Corinthians 16:17; 2 Corinthians 7:6; Ephesians 1:20–21; Philippians 2:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–2, 8; Revelation 1:5, 7; Revelation 12:6, 14.
Catechism of the Catholic Church (vatican.va): 645; 668, 673; 816; 1040.
Church Fathers (newadvent.org): Didache 16; St. Justin Martyr, First Apology 52 (ccel.org); St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 5.30.4; St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 15.
Jehovah's Witnesses' official sources (jw.org): "What Does Bible Chronology Indicate About the Year 1914?"; Reasoning From the Scriptures, "Return of Christ"; New World Translation Study Edition, Matthew 24 (note on 24:3); The Watchtower, October 1, 2011, "When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part One"; Jehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom (1993), chapter 6 (wol.jw.org).