diff --git a/integration/use-date-false/google/protobuf/timestamp.ts b/integration/use-date-false/google/protobuf/timestamp.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3b5664604
--- /dev/null
+++ b/integration/use-date-false/google/protobuf/timestamp.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,219 @@
+/* eslint-disable */
+import * as Long from 'long';
+import { util, configure, Writer, Reader } from 'protobufjs/minimal';
+
+export const protobufPackage = 'google.protobuf';
+
+/**
+ * A Timestamp represents a point in time independent of any time zone or local
+ * calendar, encoded as a count of seconds and fractions of seconds at
+ * nanosecond resolution. The count is relative to an epoch at UTC midnight on
+ * January 1, 1970, in the proleptic Gregorian calendar which extends the
+ * Gregorian calendar backwards to year one.
+ *
+ * All minutes are 60 seconds long. Leap seconds are "smeared" so that no leap
+ * second table is needed for interpretation, using a [24-hour linear
+ * smear](https://developers.google.com/time/smear).
+ *
+ * The range is from 0001-01-01T00:00:00Z to 9999-12-31T23:59:59.999999999Z. By
+ * restricting to that range, we ensure that we can convert to and from [RFC
+ * 3339](https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3339.txt) date strings.
+ *
+ * # Examples
+ *
+ * Example 1: Compute Timestamp from POSIX `time()`.
+ *
+ *     Timestamp timestamp;
+ *     timestamp.set_seconds(time(NULL));
+ *     timestamp.set_nanos(0);
+ *
+ * Example 2: Compute Timestamp from POSIX `gettimeofday()`.
+ *
+ *     struct timeval tv;
+ *     gettimeofday(&tv, NULL);
+ *
+ *     Timestamp timestamp;
+ *     timestamp.set_seconds(tv.tv_sec);
+ *     timestamp.set_nanos(tv.tv_usec * 1000);
+ *
+ * Example 3: Compute Timestamp from Win32 `GetSystemTimeAsFileTime()`.
+ *
+ *     FILETIME ft;
+ *     GetSystemTimeAsFileTime(&ft);
+ *     UINT64 ticks = (((UINT64)ft.dwHighDateTime) << 32) | ft.dwLowDateTime;
+ *
+ *     // A Windows tick is 100 nanoseconds. Windows epoch 1601-01-01T00:00:00Z
+ *     // is 11644473600 seconds before Unix epoch 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z.
+ *     Timestamp timestamp;
+ *     timestamp.set_seconds((INT64) ((ticks / 10000000) - 11644473600LL));
+ *     timestamp.set_nanos((INT32) ((ticks % 10000000) * 100));
+ *
+ * Example 4: Compute Timestamp from Java `System.currentTimeMillis()`.
+ *
+ *     long millis = System.currentTimeMillis();
+ *
+ *     Timestamp timestamp = Timestamp.newBuilder().setSeconds(millis / 1000)
+ *         .setNanos((int) ((millis % 1000) * 1000000)).build();
+ *
+ *
+ * Example 5: Compute Timestamp from Java `Instant.now()`.
+ *
+ *     Instant now = Instant.now();
+ *
+ *     Timestamp timestamp =
+ *         Timestamp.newBuilder().setSeconds(now.getEpochSecond())
+ *             .setNanos(now.getNano()).build();
+ *
+ *
+ * Example 6: Compute Timestamp from current time in Python.
+ *
+ *     timestamp = Timestamp()
+ *     timestamp.GetCurrentTime()
+ *
+ * # JSON Mapping
+ *
+ * In JSON format, the Timestamp type is encoded as a string in the
+ * [RFC 3339](https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3339.txt) format. That is, the
+ * format is "{year}-{month}-{day}T{hour}:{min}:{sec}[.{frac_sec}]Z"
+ * where {year} is always expressed using four digits while {month}, {day},
+ * {hour}, {min}, and {sec} are zero-padded to two digits each. The fractional
+ * seconds, which can go up to 9 digits (i.e. up to 1 nanosecond resolution),
+ * are optional. The "Z" suffix indicates the timezone ("UTC"); the timezone
+ * is required. A proto3 JSON serializer should always use UTC (as indicated by
+ * "Z") when printing the Timestamp type and a proto3 JSON parser should be
+ * able to accept both UTC and other timezones (as indicated by an offset).
+ *
+ * For example, "2017-01-15T01:30:15.01Z" encodes 15.01 seconds past
+ * 01:30 UTC on January 15, 2017.
+ *
+ * In JavaScript, one can convert a Date object to this format using the
+ * standard
+ * [toISOString()](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Date/toISOString)
+ * method. In Python, a standard `datetime.datetime` object can be converted
+ * to this format using
+ * [`strftime`](https://docs.python.org/2/library/time.html#time.strftime) with
+ * the time format spec '%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%fZ'. Likewise, in Java, one can use
+ * the Joda Time's [`ISODateTimeFormat.dateTime()`](
+ * http://www.joda.org/joda-time/apidocs/org/joda/time/format/ISODateTimeFormat.html#dateTime%2D%2D
+ * ) to obtain a formatter capable of generating timestamps in this format.
+ */
+export interface Timestamp {
+  /**
+   * Represents seconds of UTC time since Unix epoch
+   * 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z. Must be from 0001-01-01T00:00:00Z to
+   * 9999-12-31T23:59:59Z inclusive.
+   */
+  seconds: number;
+  /**
+   * Non-negative fractions of a second at nanosecond resolution. Negative
+   * second values with fractions must still have non-negative nanos values
+   * that count forward in time. Must be from 0 to 999,999,999
+   * inclusive.
+   */
+  nanos: number;
+}
+
+const baseTimestamp: object = { seconds: 0, nanos: 0 };
+
+export const Timestamp = {
+  encode(message: Timestamp, writer: Writer = Writer.create()): Writer {
+    if (message.seconds !== 0) {
+      writer.uint32(8).int64(message.seconds);
+    }
+    if (message.nanos !== 0) {
+      writer.uint32(16).int32(message.nanos);
+    }
+    return writer;
+  },
+
+  decode(input: Reader | Uint8Array, length?: number): Timestamp {
+    const reader = input instanceof Uint8Array ? new Reader(input) : input;
+    let end = length === undefined ? reader.len : reader.pos + length;
+    const message = globalThis.Object.create(baseTimestamp) as Timestamp;
+    while (reader.pos < end) {
+      const tag = reader.uint32();
+      switch (tag >>> 3) {
+        case 1:
+          message.seconds = longToNumber(reader.int64() as Long);
+          break;
+        case 2:
+          message.nanos = reader.int32();
+          break;
+        default:
+          reader.skipType(tag & 7);
+          break;
+      }
+    }
+    return message;
+  },
+
+  fromJSON(object: any): Timestamp {
+    const message = globalThis.Object.create(baseTimestamp) as Timestamp;
+    if (object.seconds !== undefined && object.seconds !== null) {
+      message.seconds = Number(object.seconds);
+    } else {
+      message.seconds = 0;
+    }
+    if (object.nanos !== undefined && object.nanos !== null) {
+      message.nanos = Number(object.nanos);
+    } else {
+      message.nanos = 0;
+    }
+    return message;
+  },
+
+  fromPartial(object: DeepPartial<Timestamp>): Timestamp {
+    const message = { ...baseTimestamp } as Timestamp;
+    if (object.seconds !== undefined && object.seconds !== null) {
+      message.seconds = object.seconds;
+    } else {
+      message.seconds = 0;
+    }
+    if (object.nanos !== undefined && object.nanos !== null) {
+      message.nanos = object.nanos;
+    } else {
+      message.nanos = 0;
+    }
+    return message;
+  },
+
+  toJSON(message: Timestamp): unknown {
+    const obj: any = {};
+    message.seconds !== undefined && (obj.seconds = message.seconds);
+    message.nanos !== undefined && (obj.nanos = message.nanos);
+    return obj;
+  },
+};
+
+declare var self: any | undefined;
+declare var window: any | undefined;
+var globalThis: any = (() => {
+  if (typeof globalThis !== 'undefined') return globalThis;
+  if (typeof self !== 'undefined') return self;
+  if (typeof window !== 'undefined') return window;
+  if (typeof global !== 'undefined') return global;
+  throw 'Unable to locate global object';
+})();
+
+type Builtin = Date | Function | Uint8Array | string | number | undefined;
+export type DeepPartial<T> = T extends Builtin
+  ? T
+  : T extends Array<infer U>
+  ? Array<DeepPartial<U>>
+  : T extends ReadonlyArray<infer U>
+  ? ReadonlyArray<DeepPartial<U>>
+  : T extends {}
+  ? { [K in keyof T]?: DeepPartial<T[K]> }
+  : Partial<T>;
+
+function longToNumber(long: Long): number {
+  if (long.gt(Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER)) {
+    throw new globalThis.Error('Value is larger than Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER');
+  }
+  return long.toNumber();
+}
+
+if (util.Long !== Long) {
+  util.Long = Long as any;
+  configure();
+}
diff --git a/integration/use-date-false/metadata.bin b/integration/use-date-false/metadata.bin
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cebb47a0f
Binary files /dev/null and b/integration/use-date-false/metadata.bin differ
diff --git a/integration/use-date-false/metadata.proto b/integration/use-date-false/metadata.proto
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..96ba61b71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/integration/use-date-false/metadata.proto
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+syntax = "proto3";
+
+import "google/protobuf/timestamp.proto";
+
+message Metadata {
+    google.protobuf.Timestamp last_edited = 1;
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/integration/use-date-false/metadata.ts b/integration/use-date-false/metadata.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d3e38244a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/integration/use-date-false/metadata.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+/* eslint-disable */
+import { Timestamp } from './google/protobuf/timestamp';
+import { Writer, Reader } from 'protobufjs/minimal';
+
+export const protobufPackage = '';
+
+export interface Metadata {
+  lastEdited: Timestamp | undefined;
+}
+
+const baseMetadata: object = {};
+
+export const Metadata = {
+  encode(message: Metadata, writer: Writer = Writer.create()): Writer {
+    if (message.lastEdited !== undefined) {
+      Timestamp.encode(message.lastEdited, writer.uint32(10).fork()).ldelim();
+    }
+    return writer;
+  },
+
+  decode(input: Reader | Uint8Array, length?: number): Metadata {
+    const reader = input instanceof Uint8Array ? new Reader(input) : input;
+    let end = length === undefined ? reader.len : reader.pos + length;
+    const message = globalThis.Object.create(baseMetadata) as Metadata;
+    while (reader.pos < end) {
+      const tag = reader.uint32();
+      switch (tag >>> 3) {
+        case 1:
+          message.lastEdited = Timestamp.decode(reader, reader.uint32());
+          break;
+        default:
+          reader.skipType(tag & 7);
+          break;
+      }
+    }
+    return message;
+  },
+
+  fromJSON(object: any): Metadata {
+    const message = globalThis.Object.create(baseMetadata) as Metadata;
+    if (object.lastEdited !== undefined && object.lastEdited !== null) {
+      message.lastEdited = fromJsonTimestamp(object.lastEdited);
+    } else {
+      message.lastEdited = undefined;
+    }
+    return message;
+  },
+
+  fromPartial(object: DeepPartial<Metadata>): Metadata {
+    const message = { ...baseMetadata } as Metadata;
+    if (object.lastEdited !== undefined && object.lastEdited !== null) {
+      message.lastEdited = Timestamp.fromPartial(object.lastEdited);
+    } else {
+      message.lastEdited = undefined;
+    }
+    return message;
+  },
+
+  toJSON(message: Metadata): unknown {
+    const obj: any = {};
+    message.lastEdited !== undefined &&
+      (obj.lastEdited = message.lastEdited !== undefined ? fromTimestamp(message.lastEdited).toISOString() : null);
+    return obj;
+  },
+};
+
+declare var self: any | undefined;
+declare var window: any | undefined;
+var globalThis: any = (() => {
+  if (typeof globalThis !== 'undefined') return globalThis;
+  if (typeof self !== 'undefined') return self;
+  if (typeof window !== 'undefined') return window;
+  if (typeof global !== 'undefined') return global;
+  throw 'Unable to locate global object';
+})();
+
+type Builtin = Date | Function | Uint8Array | string | number | undefined;
+export type DeepPartial<T> = T extends Builtin
+  ? T
+  : T extends Array<infer U>
+  ? Array<DeepPartial<U>>
+  : T extends ReadonlyArray<infer U>
+  ? ReadonlyArray<DeepPartial<U>>
+  : T extends {}
+  ? { [K in keyof T]?: DeepPartial<T[K]> }
+  : Partial<T>;
+
+function toTimestamp(date: Date): Timestamp {
+  const seconds = date.getTime() / 1_000;
+  const nanos = (date.getTime() % 1_000) * 1_000_000;
+  return { seconds, nanos };
+}
+
+function fromTimestamp(t: Timestamp): Date {
+  let millis = t.seconds * 1_000;
+  millis += t.nanos / 1_000_000;
+  return new Date(millis);
+}
+
+function fromJsonTimestamp(o: any): Timestamp {
+  if (o instanceof Date) {
+    return toTimestamp(o);
+  } else if (typeof o === 'string') {
+    return toTimestamp(new Date(o));
+  } else {
+    return Timestamp.fromJSON(o);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/integration/use-date-false/parameters.txt b/integration/use-date-false/parameters.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0a0d69154
--- /dev/null
+++ b/integration/use-date-false/parameters.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+useDate=false
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/integration/use-date-false/use-date-test.ts b/integration/use-date-false/use-date-test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b949f31f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/integration/use-date-false/use-date-test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+import { Metadata } from './metadata';
+
+describe('useDate=false', () => {
+  it('generates types that compile and encode', () => {
+    const output = Metadata.encode({
+        lastEdited: {
+            seconds: 123456789,
+            nanos: 234567890,
+        }
+    }).finish();
+    expect(output.length).toBeGreaterThan(8);
+  });
+});
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main.ts b/src/main.ts
index 3e5ca8fd9..fa185363a 100644
--- a/src/main.ts
+++ b/src/main.ts
@@ -400,7 +400,8 @@ function makeTimestampMethods(options: Options, longs: ReturnType<typeof makeLon
 
   const fromJsonTimestamp = conditionalOutput(
     'fromJsonTimestamp',
-    code`
+    options.useDate
+      ? code`
       function fromJsonTimestamp(o: any): Date {
         if (o instanceof Date) {
           return o;
@@ -411,6 +412,17 @@ function makeTimestampMethods(options: Options, longs: ReturnType<typeof makeLon
         }
       }
     `
+      : code`
+      function fromJsonTimestamp(o: any): Timestamp {
+        if (o instanceof Date) {
+          return ${toTimestamp}(o);
+        } else if (typeof o === "string") {
+          return ${toTimestamp}(new Date(o));
+        } else {
+          return Timestamp.fromJSON(o);
+        }
+      }
+    `
   );
 
   return { toTimestamp, fromTimestamp, fromJsonTimestamp };
@@ -572,7 +584,7 @@ function generateDecode(ctx: Context, fullName: string, messageDesc: DescriptorP
     } else if (isValueType(ctx, field)) {
       const type = basicTypeName(ctx, field, { keepValueType: true });
       readSnippet = code`${type}.decode(reader, reader.uint32()).value`;
-    } else if (isTimestamp(field)) {
+    } else if (isTimestamp(field) && options.useDate) {
       const type = basicTypeName(ctx, field, { keepValueType: true });
       readSnippet = code`${utils.fromTimestamp}(${type}.decode(reader, reader.uint32()))`;
     } else if (isMessage(field)) {
@@ -656,7 +668,7 @@ function generateEncode(ctx: Context, fullName: string, messageDesc: DescriptorP
     if (isScalar(field) || isEnum(field)) {
       const tag = ((field.number << 3) | basicWireType(field.type)) >>> 0;
       writeSnippet = (place) => code`writer.uint32(${tag}).${toReaderCall(field)}(${place})`;
-    } else if (isTimestamp(field)) {
+    } else if (isTimestamp(field) && options.useDate) {
       const tag = ((field.number << 3) | 2) >>> 0;
       const type = basicTypeName(ctx, field, { keepValueType: true });
       writeSnippet = (place) =>
@@ -887,7 +899,9 @@ function generateToJson(ctx: Context, fullName: string, messageDesc: DescriptorP
           ? code`${from} !== undefined ? ${toJson}(${from}) : undefined`
           : code`${toJson}(${from})`;
       } else if (isTimestamp(field)) {
-        return code`${from} !== undefined ? ${from}.toISOString() : null`;
+        return options.useDate
+          ? code`${from} !== undefined ? ${from}.toISOString() : null`
+          : code`${from} !== undefined ? ${utils.fromTimestamp}(${from}).toISOString() : null`;
       } else if (isMapType(ctx, messageDesc, field)) {
         // For map types, drill-in and then admittedly re-hard-code our per-value-type logic
         const valueType = (typeMap.get(field.typeName)![2] as DescriptorProto).field[1];
@@ -897,7 +911,7 @@ function generateToJson(ctx: Context, fullName: string, messageDesc: DescriptorP
         } else if (isBytes(valueType)) {
           return code`${utils.base64FromBytes}(${from})`;
         } else if (isTimestamp(valueType)) {
-          return code`${from}.toISOString()`;
+          return options.useDate ? code`${from}.toISOString()` : code`${utils.fromTimestamp}(${from}).toISOString()`;
         } else if (isScalar(valueType)) {
           return code`${from}`;
         } else {
@@ -978,7 +992,9 @@ function generateFromPartial(ctx: Context, fullName: string, messageDesc: Descri
     const fieldName = maybeSnakeToCamel(field.name, options);
 
     const readSnippet = (from: string): Code => {
-      if (isPrimitive(field) || isTimestamp(field) || isValueType(ctx, field)) {
+      if (isPrimitive(field) || isValueType(ctx, field)) {
+        return code`${from}`;
+      } else if (isTimestamp(field) && options.useDate) {
         return code`${from}`;
       } else if (isMessage(field)) {
         if (isRepeated(field) && isMapType(ctx, messageDesc, field)) {
@@ -992,7 +1008,7 @@ function generateFromPartial(ctx: Context, fullName: string, messageDesc: Descri
               const cstr = capitalize(basicTypeName(ctx, valueType).toCodeString());
               return code`${cstr}(${from})`;
             }
-          } else if (isTimestamp(valueType)) {
+          } else if (isTimestamp(valueType) && options.useDate) {
             return code`${from}`;
           } else {
             const type = basicTypeName(ctx, valueType);
@@ -1015,7 +1031,7 @@ function generateFromPartial(ctx: Context, fullName: string, messageDesc: Descri
         chunks.push(code`
           Object.entries(object.${fieldName}).forEach(([key, value]) => {
             if (value !== undefined) {
-              message.${fieldName}[${i}] = ${readSnippet('value')}; 
+              message.${fieldName}[${i}] = ${readSnippet('value')};
             }
           });
         `);