Rutherford and 1914

Rutherford is the one who changed the date of Christ’s Presence from 1874 to 1914.

1915 Jan 1 VIEW FROM THE WATCH TOWER
WHEN our worthy President and also his Holiness the Pope requested Christian people to pray God for the cessation of the European war, we declared that the prayer was not in harmony with the Divine arrangement and would not be answered. We pointed out that according to the Scriptures the 2520 years of Gentile dominion ended in September, 1914; and that the war is the one predicted in the Scriptures as associated with the Great Day of Almighty God—“the Day of Vengeance of our God.” We pointed out the Word of the Lord through the Prophet Joel respecting the gathering of all nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat—“the valley of death.”—Joel 3:1-12.
1915 Jan 15 We are deeply grateful to God that October, 1914, finds us still busy in the Lord’s Great Service, and that the year that has gone has been the busiest of our office existence. The Lord has been very good to us, opening doors of opportunity, and we have sought ever to be on the alert to enter in. And now we realize that we stand on the threshold of the Kingdom, and that possibly our next report will not be to Brooklyn, but to Headquarters beyond the veil.
1915 Feb 1 Probably I look ridiculous to you because I did not go to Heaven, October 1st, 1914, but you don’t look ridiculous to me —oh no!…
With ten of the greatest nations of earth writhing in their death agonies, it seems to me a particularly inopportune time to seek to ridicule the man, and the only man, who for forty years has taught that the Times of the Gentiles would end in 1914.
1915 Feb 15 One of our very best free papers has been widely distributed except in such places as suggested. It contains a most interesting article on “The True Basis for Human Equality,” another on “Battering Down the Walls of Hell,” and another showing that neither Pastor Russell nor the I.B.S.A. taught “The End of the World in 1914,” but on the contrary that “the earth abideth forever.” …
We believe that the Times of the Gentiles ended just on time, as shown in Volume II. of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES. The hand of Justice is now doing the breaking—the nations shall be broken as “a potter’s vessel.” The whole cataclysm of trouble may be upon the world during the next ten months or it may be longer deferred. We believe that the time for the setting up of the Kingdom was on September 21, 1914. At that time, when it was due for our Lord to take up His great power and reign, the nations were already angry.
1915 March 1 CHANGES IN “SCRIPTURE STUDIES”

We call attention to a few slight changes which have been made in four pages of Vol. II. and six pages of Vol. III., “STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES.” These are all trivial and do not alter the real sense and lesson, but conform to the facts as we have them today. The pages containing these corrections are as follows:

Vol. II., page 77, line 1, “will be the farthest limit,” reads “will see the disintegration.”
Vol. II., page 77, line 6, “will obtain full universal control,” reads “will begin to assume control.”
Vol. II., page 77, lines 16,17, “end of A.D. 1914,” reads “end of the overthrow.”
Vol. II., page 81, line 9, “can date only from A.D. 1914,” reads “could not precede A.D. 1915.”
Vol. II., page 170, line 16, “at that time they will all be overturned.”*
Vol. II., page 221, line 25, “full favor until A.D. 1914,” reads “full favor until after 1915.”
Vol. III., page 94, line 29, “in this end or harvest,” reads “at the end of this harvest.”
Vol. III., page 126, line 12, “at A.D. 1914,” reads “after 1914.”
Vol. III., page 133, line 21, “ere the harvest is fully ended.”+
Vol. III., page 228, line 11, “some time before 1914,” reads “very soon after 1914.”
Vol. III., page 228, line 15, “just how long before,” reads “just how long after.”
Vol. III., page 362, line 11, “some time before,” reads “some time near.”
Vol. III., page 364, line 14, “must not only witness,” reads “may not only witness.”
1915 June 1

We do not think that the Gospel Age fully ended in September 1914, but merely the Times of the Gentiles. The Gospel Age will not fully end, we believe, until the Gospel Message ends; and that will be when the door is shut, when the last member of the Very Elect shall have passed beyond the veil. It is our understanding that the elect Church of Christ, the Bride, will not remain in the flesh to do much of the teaching of the world, but will be glorified in the Kingdom either before or during the great Time of Trouble, and be ready to supervise the world's instruction from the spirit plane. The great conflict is before us.
1924 Jan 1 The fact that Christ Jesus would return and receive unto himself his bride, the church, is definitely fixed by the above scripture. The time of his coming the Scriptures clearly indicate would be in A. D. 1874. Prophecy now fulfilled, which we call the physical facts, shows that his second presence dates from that time. WT Jan 1, 1924
1925 The End of the World
The end of the world and the second presence of the Lord synchronize as to time. From 1874 to 1911 a period of forty years, was the day of the Lord’s preparation. The year 1914 is so definitely marked in the Scriptures as being the end of the world and the time of the Lord’s presence that there can be no reasonable doubt about it. — Our Lord’s Return 1925
His presence beginning in 1874, he has carried on his harvest work from 1874 forward, but has not interrupted the Gentile dominion until that dominion should end. The end of the Gentile rule, therefore, would mark necessarily the legal end of the present order; therefore, the end of the world. We should expect, then, to find that 1914 marks the beginning of the end of the old world, or order of government; and that this would take place during the presence of the Lord he definitely stated. — Our Lord’s Return 1925
1925 Sept 1 5 The end of 1925 is about here. Some have expected to see the work of the church in the flesh completed this year. Probably this expectation has been induced somewhat by the desire to end earth’s journey of toil and to sit at ease in glory. If so, then is not there a measure of selfishness in such a desire and expectation? Selfishness could not be pleasing to the Lord. It is the very opposite of love.
... 10 Because 1925 is about ended and, as we believe, many of the members of the church are still on earth, there is likely to be a tendency on the part of some to become negligent concerning the interests of the kingdom and of the work that is yet to be done.  Watchtower Sept 1, 1925
1927 May 15
 The Gentile Times ended in 1914, and the nations were then angry, and it was the Lord’s due time to take possession and oust Satan. Seeing then that the Scriptures conclusively prove that the Lord Jesus Christ did not take his great power and begin his reign in 1878, but that he did so in 1914, it follows that the resurrection of the sleeping saints did not take place in 1878.
...
40 It seems impossible to find anything in these parallel events to indicate the resurrection of the sleeping saints in 1878. The only way to interpret prophecy, so far as we know, is by fitting the facts that are known to the words of the prophecy. The known facts that apply to 1878 relate only to the beginning of God’s favor to the Jews and seem to have no reference to the church.
41 Again referring to the quotation from Volume III: The conclusion there reached, that the parallels bear upon the resurrection of the saints, results from the assumption that the Lord was supposed to have taken his power and begun his reign in 1878, and that therefore he would resurrect his saints at approximately the same time. But there is nothing to indicate that Jesus Christ took his power and began his reign in 1878. He could not consistently do so until the expiration of the Gentile Times, and the Gentile Times did not expire until 1914.
 The Watchtower May 15, 1927