Selected comparison · Matthew A. · Book pages 484–487
Matthew 24:3: presence or coming—and where does 1914 enter?
Three questions belong apart: what a word can mean, what the surrounding passages describe, and how a starting date is calculated.
An original short explanation of one grouped entry from The Kingdom Collation, not the complete analysis.
01 · Wording
A possible meaning is not a date.
| Translation | Christ's return | The ending |
|---|---|---|
| NWT | “presence” | “conclusion of the system of things” |
| ESV / NIV | “coming” | “end of the age” |
| KJV | “coming” | “end of the world” |
The book acknowledges that the Greek parousia permits presence, arrival or coming. Presence is not an invented meaning. These three comparison editions are not every translation, and their agreement is not a vote that settles interpretation.
02 · Context
Read the recurring words with the surrounding scenes.
The entry reads Matthew 24:3, 27, 37 and 39 alongside lightning, Noah's days and the Flood. It also follows the ending language through Matthew 13:39–40, 49 and 28:20, including angelic judgment.
The NWT study notes point to the years before the Flood to support an extended presence. Its glossary connects that presence with a concluding period. That is the interpretation to examine fairly—not a claim that the Greek makes presence impossible.
03 · Chronology
An extended period still needs a starting date.
Watchtower's 1914 appendix builds its calculation through Daniel 4, Luke 21:24 and additional passages, including a 607 BCE starting point and a day-for-a-year interpretation. That is a separate argument; the date is not contained in the Greek words of Matthew 24:3.
Allowing “presence” does not establish an invisible presence beginning in 1914. The chronology's premises must carry that conclusion.
The book's concern is how the repeated translation choices reinforce that doctrinal framework. Keep wording, context and chronology distinct so each claim can be tested on its own evidence.
Source and scope
Follow the comparison into the reference.
This guide summarizes Matthew group 10 on book pages 484–487. The linked JW sources show the publisher's own explanation; the assessment here is the book's argument, not an endorsement by those sources.
The public reading sample runs through Ruth and includes all six topic-index pages. The full Matthew entry is outside that opening sample.