Winstein--1a
Actual Jehovah's Witnesses leaders' history (compare to p.9)
Gaining False Profits
JWs leaders'
history
Borrowed origin of some basic doctrines
Another original church is being restored from a Great
Apostasy
Charles Taze Russell
John Aquila Brown
William Miller
New light
George Storrs and George Stetson
Joseph Seiss
Pyramidology
Jonas Wendell
Nelson H. Barbour
Sales
Prophecies intended to shore up a weak case
Prediction:
End Times of the Gentiles--1914
144,000
Zionism
Health insurance payments
You don't
know hell till you've read Russell
You shouldn't be superstitious about a war, earthquake, etc., being a sign
of the end unless there's a war part one
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc., are coming back to run things
Israel
will be recreated in 1914--the millennium will be "Israelitish"
You shouldn't be superstitious about a war, earthquake,
etc., being a sign
of the end unless there's a war part two
Armageddon is Biblically,
historically, and scientifically shown to end
the end times in 1914, or Oct. of 1915 or
1914, or at least begin the
end of the end in 1914, and end in 1914...or 1915...or a few
years
after 1916, or maybe I just don't know
Nice little pup dogs and flowers
are unimportant
Kind understanding for "inferiors" part one--darker skinned people
Love and money: Miracle
Wheat and Charles' divorce from Maria
Kind understanding for "inferiors" part two--women
Who is this Russell
that the winds and the seas don't obey him?
1914
Scientific reasons for predictions about 1914:
"The Photo-Drama of Creation"
Russell may have needed to put a decimal point in his 144,000
You shouldn't
be superstitious about a war, earthquake, etc., being a sign
of the end unless there's a
war part three
Joseph F. Rutherford
"The Finished Mystery"
1919 and Theocratic
Selective Service
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc., are coming back to run things, and they're
going to live in one of Rutherford's mansions and drive one of his Cad-
illac V-16s
Satanic celebration of the birth of Christ
Rutherford shoves Charles Russell out of the lime"light"
Human
governments are led by Satan (Rom.13:1-7?)
Invisible browsing from heaven part one
Intolerance for dissent
The name Jehovah's Witnesses
Satanic Mother's Day
Strict regimentation
The great crowd/the birthday
deadline for those who can go to heaven
Jesus was nailed to a tree
Shun the blight of so-called
"love"--only marry for sex
Having children is discouraged
Nathan H. Knorr
If Jerusalem won't come to Fred Franz, then Fred Franz will move Jerusalem
Satanic birthday cupcakes
Satanic
Christian charity
Satanic efforts for human rights
Satanic fellowshipping
JWs leaders tell followers
to stop worshipping their created Jesus
Satanic fellowshipping with the disfellowshipped
Jesus was blown
up
Satanic personality--as in "practically any"
1919 starts to take on the present JWs leaders' definition
Satanic Chubby
Satanic higher education
Satanic worship of Apollo 11
The beginning of control
by the Governing Body
Frederick W. Franz
Satanic sand the floor, wax on--wax off,
paint the fence
Dowsing for evidence
Signs of The End
Satanic birthday cupcakes, Christmas trees,
etc.
Satanic higher ed. is for selfish gain and deprives JWs leaders of the
results of JWs'
literature sales time
Milton George Henschel
Invisible browsing from heaven part
two
Lemon Pledge
Satanic homosexuality
History rewritten to make it seem like a JWs leader predicted
something
Don Alden Adams
History rewritten again to make it seem like a JWs leader
predicted
something about 1914 and 1918/1919
Intelligent design
"Complaints about
the JWs leaders' use of reference material: the issue of in-
telligent design"
We must preserve
the sanctity of our stance on blood--truth and others'
lives, we're not crazy about
"Complaints
about the JWs leaders' use of reference material under the heading
'We must preserve the sanctity of
our stance on blood--truth and other's
lives, we're not crazy about'"
The deadline for how
late a JW can have been born, 1935, and be able to
join the 144,000, which the JWs leaders claim to
belong to, is dropped
The GB declares itself the only Faithful and Discreet Slave
The GB increases marketing and appears on the Internet
The GB requires "theocratic warfare" about child abuse
A few highlights in summary
Playing prophet badly is harder to pull off on TV
Actual Jehovah's Witnesses leaders' history (compare to p.9)
Practically anybody who teaches a conservative view about the Bible teaches
that you should believe in God
and that you shouldn't lie, steal, or murder, be
a false prophet, etc.--the ideas best indicated by the Bible and related
evi-
dence. But you can't distinguish the exclusiveness of a 144,000 (that number in
Rev.7:1-8; 14:1-5 taken literally)
Christians chosen to rule the Earth from
heaven, as the JWs leaders have always claimed to be chosen from as God's reli-
gious
teachers on Earth (see below), with the basics.
So they have a history of having an assortment of distinctive teachings, such
as their ban of the medical use
of blood and major blood products, and use
forced points, misuse research material, omit pertinent evidence, and misrepre-
sent
the more common alternatives to make these distinctive JWs leaders' rules
seem to be the only reasonable teachings about
the Bible. Prophecy efforts seem
to be meant to persuade people who would want to see a sign of God before agree-
ing
with those otherwise unlikely things, and they've been taught with the same
methods.
It amounts to over a century of claiming to have Bible-based reasons to make
predictions without predicting
any tangible miraculous things, and an unscrip-
tural way of forgiving the false prophecies or covering them up,.
That's the
focus of this page.
To put it simply, it doesn't matter to me what my reader's belief or non-be-
lief choices are. As long
as you don't like lying that could lead to a little
kid dying unnecessarily in a hospital, c'mon in the classroom.
In the process of showing these things, I ask some of the critics of the JWs
to see one or two things differently,
too. Some criticize the JWs followers as
being dumb or lying. They're probably, on average, as bright and sincere
as
anyone else, but look at why they believe these distinctive things--the leaders
are responsible for the literature
that creates the rules for the group.
If you ever wonder why rules about birthday parties being Satanic and Jesus
"appearing" invisibly in 1914 and
such are there, the indication is that it's
not due to the leaders using sloppy research and interpretation or could actual-
ly
believe they're prophets, but due to the JWs leaders' claim of belonging to
an exclusive 144,000, which the leaders seem
more concerned to appear to seem
true for literature sales than sincerely believe. The view of the main source
material,
the Bible, regarding the spread of falsehoods and false prophesy isn't
compatible with the claim of a literal 144,000 exclusiveness.
If you see it like that so far, you might still say, "So what? So some guys
are selling literature about
Satanic birthday cupcakes and such." The JWs lead-
ers' literature is spread door-to-door most anywhere in the world
it can be,
the distinctive rules cover issues that are obscure or unknown to most people,
and if anyone is treated unfairly
or hurt in the deal, friends or families brok-
en up over the strict disfellowshipping rules (p.3), anyone hurt or
killed in
Nazi Germany or Malawi due partly to JWs leaders playing prophet with customized
ideas about what being "worldly"
means (p.6), or followers or their children die
over the JWs leaders' rules that ban the medical use of blood and major
blood
fractions (pp.12-42), then the already overindulged vanity of the JWs leaders
isn't worth honoring.
If anyone wonders if that's being too cynical about sincere difference of be-
lief in the possible, I ask that
you look at the evidence and see that the JWs
leaders are a lot more cynical than me.
Gaining false profits
What is a prophecy man who gains the world with no soul to lose? (Sorry.)
(Mark 8:36; Matt.16:26)
At one extreme are self-fulfilling prophecies: the sun will come up in the
East tomorrow, etc.
At the other are miraculous ones: to consistently give the number between one
and a million another is thinking,
or predict the date of something miraculous
(a Rapture or Armageddon, etc.) successfully.
Somewhere in the middle are more or less remarkable but ordinary ones, like a
political expert guessing who
the next president will be of a few likely choices
or some of the more remarkable ones in the next paragraph.
According to Juan Baixeras at the next link: "The idea of applying years to
days can be traced back to Jewish
rabbis in the first century CE. In the ninth
century more rabbis applied it to Daniel’s prophecy in connection
with the time
periods of 1,290, 1335, and 2300 days in reference to when the Messiah would ap-
pear. Among Christians
it first appears in the twelfth century by a Roman Cath-
olic abbot named Joachim of Floris. As time passed, an incredible
amount of
dates were arrived at by different interpreters. Dates were regularly changed
as one date after another
passed without the predicted event taking place."
http://www.originalchristiandoctrines.com/#!1914/ci6j
According to the Museum of Modern Hoaxes web site: "After 1524 apocalypticism
waned in southern Europe.
But in northern Europe such beliefs continued to re-
main very influential, first amongst German protestant reformers of
the sixteen-
th century, and then amongst English Puritan reformers of the seventeenth cen-
tury. The puritans
exported their apocalypticism to America where predictions
of imminent doom have tended to find willing audiences ever
since."
From before Jesus to the present, there have been a variety of interpretations
about the 70 weeks of Daniel
9:22-27. The Watchtower uses the "gap theory" of
the dispensationalist interpretation given among the versions at
the next link.
"Do-it-yourself"ers can learn to take as good a hand at it on p.1b.
If the JWs leaders' doctrine on medical use of blood and major blood compo-
nents isn't a view of the God
of the Bible by scriptural guarantee, the burden
of proof shifts to the claim of the Governing Body that they create literature
as
fallible men who are that infallible God's sole channel of information, God's
only chosen religious leaders, on Earth.
Their effort to distinguish themselves this way hasn't been by only giving
what's best indicated by scripture
and related history as the intended ideas of
scripture, and leaving anything else to be unknown or a matter of personal
opin-
ion, or they wouldn't have much of a case for being unique among Bible believ-
ers, let alone God's sole channel
of information.
From Russell through Rutherford and Governing Body leaders and presidents
since, the Watch Tower/JWs leaders
have a history of short-sighted attention-get-
ting and income increasing and alleged original church re-establishing via
lots
of bad predictions, forced points to insist on ideas that aren't the better in-
dicated ones, and revisionist history
to cover it up afterward. I waded through
a lot of it to make a timeline of some highlights (see below).
Although Russell makes some statements of modest uncertainty about his predic-
tions for several years
before WWI and with some of them afterward, possibly for
damage control since he kept getting them wrong when they were
specific about
remarkable things and it could be determined and more might leave the flock if
he failed again in 1914,
he otherwise gives them in a dogmatic way and changed
some of the dates of earlier editions of his books to cover up failures.
Other indications that he was playing prophet are that through it all he
claimed that only the "little flock,"
aka "the elect," which he eventually de-
fined as a literal 144,000 (Rev.14:1-5), he was part of would go to heaven (see
1878
below) and rule the world with Jesus and the Bible notables of Hebrews 11,
and that his writings were indispensable if
you wanted to understand the God of
the Bible (see the listing for 1910 below). The literal 144,000 alone should
be
a clear enough indication of the arbitrary foundation of his vanity.
Since most of the relatively distinctive stuff he taught was borrowed from
Barbour and others (see below),
the emphasis shifted to forcing these teachings
as the only reasonable interpretations of the Bible while trying to string
peo-
ple along that he might come up with a correct prediction. He selected the news
events and editorials of
the day that fit the theory to make his numerology seem
to have substance.
One way to test such a thing is similar to how you might test astrology. Giv-
en the personality traits
of each time period it uses, some may imagine the
facts to fit the theory. But taken the other way around--given
a large group of
people to study for personality traits to assign to birth date periods, you
wouldn't come up with the
same rules as astrology. Likewise, give each of a
large group of people a Bible and a study of the highlights of
human history to
assign to Bible dates and make predictions, you wouldn't come up with the same
results as Russell.
Many would show the good sense not to make any predictions
for specific years at all.
One reason some wouldn't hazard such a thing is that the Bible gives false
prophesy as a serious sin.
It's a form of lying that can make for unnecessary
divisions between people and worse. Russell and his followers
ignored this
clear Bible teaching and approached this subject like people taking a chance on
lottery tickets.
As the prediction failures piled up, they didn't ignore the
prophet as having done something bad and misleading but counted
the failures as
no worse than failed lottery tickets and hoped the next one might be the winner.
As you can see on the timeline below, some of his requirements to belong to
the 144,000 he claimed to belong
to, rules meant to indicate exclusive divine
guidance, are matters of playing prophet even if he'd never tried to predict
anything.
So despite whatever conciliatory statements he used sometimes, he was playing
prophet--badly, with modest language
just before WWI and with some things after-
ward to avoid diminishing his marketing group, but playing it. It was
the cus-
tomary way of the day to establish you were restoring the original church from a
great apostasy. It was
meant as a way to make a weak case or minority personal
opinion seem to have divine corroboration.
I think the combination he was shooting for was "I'm not swearing you have to
agree with the dates to fellowship
(and buy my stuff), and a prediction might
turn out wrong sometimes, but as best I can tell from the Bible, science, math,
and
the Great Pyramid, I'm onto the rarified truth you need to be in my little
group that's going to heaven to help Jesus rule
the world." Except for the per-
iod just before 1914 had gone on a bit, or revisions to his earlier literature,
he
usually left off the first two phrases of the intro to that. When he added
them, it was probably just to cut himself
some slack about the year of a pre-
dicted miracle.
Rutherford followed suit except he was less likely to show honest uncertainty
about his predictions, shifting
blame to the followers when his prediction for
1925 didn't work out (see 1925). The failed 1919 prophecy was probably
Ruther-
ford's choice since it appeared under his work as editor of "The Finished Mys-
tery" (see 1917). While
Russell was more of a holier-than thou-loner with a
little welcome uncertainty showing through, Rutherford soon established
the out-
look, followed by subsequent JWs leaders, to maintain Russell's 144,000 preten-
sion with even more distinctive
rules, with strict regimentation and a harsher
treatment of any dissent.
Most of those ideas for dates are no longer used (how could they be?) by the
current JWs leaders. But:
- Some of them, like 1914 (a prophecy failure at the time) and 1919 (another
prediction that failed), with
subsequent related failed predictions dropped and
current meanings added afterward, are examples of arbitrary historicism
at best
and later falsified as though correct predictions had been made for them at
worst. The current Watchtower
ideas that 1914 and 1919 showed prophetic ful-
fillment are required of followers by the JWs leaders.
Various JWs leaders have altered the record about their previous failed pre-
dictions or referred to a tiny
percent of their failed predictions (1925, 1975)
as "mistakes," adding that false prophets don't admit to mistakes, sometimes
shifting
the responsibility for people being misled to the followers for having
had unrealistic expectations.
One, it's doubtful someone could divide followers off from heaven with a lit-
eral 144,000 vanity, keep making
predictions that don't come true, divide off
believers as not saved who don't agree with their minority view modern personal
opinions
with weak cases, divide the followers left by adding disfellowshipping
as required over persistent dissent for such things,
and sincerely think they're
getting any special messages from God other than to tell the silly little bas-
tards to
shut up.
And two, according to the Bible, an apostle or prophet or anyone else can make
an uninspired human mistake,
but putting out false predictions or forced points
that personal beliefs are required by the Bible, cynically use false
methods to
make them seem true, to the extent of requiring that those who persistently dis-
agree aren't saved or even
need to be disfellowshipped, without a miraculous
sign from God that he wants us to take them seriously, is the method
of opera-
tion of a false prophet whatever they prefer to call themself.
- If the previous JWs leaders were false prophets and the current ones aren't
honest about it but largely continue
their habit of covering for them as pre-
vious sole channels of God on Earth, it undermines the basis of the credibility
of
the claim of the current leaders to be God's sole channel, or even just cred-
ible sources, of information.
I don't want to seem cranky about religious leaders sincerely believing in
something different but harmless,
but I don't think I need to worry about that.
I better be more evidential than editorial, but there's more evidence than
I
need.
Since those things are indicated by the evidence below, yet some people are
persuaded to pick the Watchtower
leaders' literature as having a sign of being
the only Bible God-guided religious guidance on Earth by mistake,
and since I show on later pages that the Watchtower transfusion ban is a mat-
ter of making a rule out of very
arbitrary interpretations and strictly per-
sonal beliefs as to play prophet,
and since it's led to some people making a tragic wrong choice at a hospital,
it makes the JWs leaders something
worse than someone who modestly took an unin-
spired guess that didn't come out right. To me, it ethically amounts
to murder-
ing more than an interpretation. For them to persist in their elitism despite
that makes them over-indulged,
over-indulgent brats.
Considering the methods used by the JWs leaders to affect exclusive rulings
about the medical use of blood,
there's an inadvertent confession to be seen
here:
"Avoid bloodguilt from (1) eating blood [blood transfusions], (2) sharing in
bloodguilty organizations" ("The
Watchtower," June 15, 1978, p.25)
****
1914 is mentioned on p.1 as when the current JWs Governing Body teaches the
second coming of Jesus--that
"all eyes will see" (Mark 13:26; Matt.23:27; 24:30;
2 Thes.2:8; 1 Tim.6:14; Rev.1:7)--happened: Jesus invisibly returned
in that he
began to rule Earth from heaven, which began the end times before Armageddon.
(Armageddon has frequently
been Biblically and otherwise "proven" to be just a
little bit into the future at any one time, with various false predictions
set
for it.)
1918-1919 is taught as when invisible Jesus deliberated from his throne in
heaven over who had the one true
religion, and the spring of 1919 is taught as
when Jesus picked the JWs leaders as his sole channel on Earth (Malachi 3:1-5)--
"the
faithful servant" of Matt.24:45, and condemned all other religions, "Baby-
lon the Great," in 1919. The JWs leaders'
view of "Babylon the Great" is a JWs-
centric variation of a Reformation era interpretation--it mainly targets the
Catholic
church and mainstream historical Christianity (Christendom meant in a
derogatory sense). Until about a generation
or so ago, it included overt anti-
Semitic bashing (p.6).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_times#Jehovah.27s_Witnesses http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whore_of_Babylon
See the listing for 1995 to see how these stances have been altered recently.
If I read it correctly, it holds
that Jesus turned his attention to Earth in
1914, picked the JWs leaders as his sole religious representatives in 1919,
but
he hasn't taken the throne in heaven yet.
The particulars of it have changed over the years, but to make it easier to
follow, I recommend this overview:
Jesus told his followers he's be with them
always at Matt.20:28, and Jesus said all judgment was his to make at John 5:22.
The
JWs leaders' stance is just 'centric pseudo-exegesis--a scriptural-sounding
way to say "We're the only ones with the correct
teaching"--and they play pro-
phet in requiring agreement to whatever rendition of it they offer at the time
for salvation.
Since current Watchtower literature refers back to these things as showing Bi-
ble prophesy was fulfilled,
you should know some of the things left out of cur-
rent Watchtower literature that Jesus would have noticed about the
JWs leaders
up to and including 1919, when he's supposed to have picked the JWs leaders as
his sole religious leaders,
and how such things have gone since Jesus is sup-
posed to have taken the helm.
****
Thanks to the Freeminds web site for a lot of the prediction (and other odd)
attempts by Russell and subsequent
Bible Students and Jehovah's Witnesses lead-
ers. It offers a lot of JWs leaders' literature quotes from the book
"Spiritual
Food at the Proper Time" by an elder of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
http://www.freeminds.org/history/part1.htm
On those web pages, some of those quotes given for a year were made during
that year and some are later quotes
that refer back to that year. To make sure
of the time the quote was originally made, check the name of the publication,
abbreviated
as initials, with the page that gives the full names and dates for
those publications, shown at the third link below.
The Edit > Find feature
helps with that.
http://www.freeminds.org/history/key.htm
Believe me, the examples below are a smattering of highlights of attempts by
Russell and JWs leaders to predict
or redefine the miraculous. I've never seen
such a barrel of crap in my life.
I put the quotes in the order they were made in with the exception of a few
segments used to cover some of
the highlights for an issue.
****
****
JWs leaders' history
Borrowed origin of some basic doctrines
Another original church is being restored from a Great Apostasy
Charles Taze Russell
Some of the highlights to look for in the timeline lower on this page:
He also saw how making a Bible-related case for a prediction could attract at-
tention and might make you popular
in the heyday of William Miller, Ellen White,
and pyramidology. He let on some modest uncertainty, such as just before
1914,
but otherwise claimed to be of the little flock, the Elect, eventually defined
as a literal 144,000 (Rev.14:1-8),
going to heaven and played prophet, and set
up some dummy corporations to pour the worldly gain into (see 1909).
See the
listings for "144,000" and the second listing for 1910 on the time-line below
for his descriptions of his exclusive
religious importance and further reasons
to think he played prophet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_%28archangel%29
As mentioned before, the followers approached it with the incongruous secular
approach of people playing the
lottery. I guess that's also why, as popular as
he was while he built up false hopes, he became about as forgotten
as a losing
lottery ticket.
Russell relied on the historicism of Nelson Barbour and pyramidology for his
timetable, bolstered it with news
editorials he selected to fit his theories,
and said it was proven by scripture. Despite only proving himself to
be a
false prophet when he hazarded a tangible miraculous event and a specific date,
he impressed a minority of Christians
as acting like they thought a prophet
might--with a lot of scriptural-sounding arbitrary calculations and pretensions
of
their certainty.
He taught the end times were from 1799 to 1914. Jesus took the throne in
heaven, and began to rule the
Earth by his invisible presence (Rev.1:7, "all
eyes will see," in the sense of "all will know") in 1874. By the end
of 1914,
he would be seen (as in "seen") by everybody.
1874 to 1914 would be 40 years of the worst trouble the world has known. From
1910 to 1914, the non-Russell
churches, Christendom (which he meant in a deroga-
tory way, also calling it "nominal Christianity" and "Babylon"), would
be put
through a fiery trial and destroyed. (When it kept growing instead, this des-
truction was meant to be
shown in selecting articles by members of it which were
critical of certain outlooks or trends as though they represented
a lack of
faith in Christendom overall, and due to Christendom not sharing Russell's own
forced point arguments for
various minority or personal teachings.)
Between 1874 and 1914 there would be a Rapture of the true Christians--Russell
and Russell types who agreed
with about anything he wrote--a very small group.
After the 1st one didn't happen, the Raptures happened at the death of
each true
Christian and became invisible, too, sometimes by denying he'd predicted them.
A secondary class of near-Russell types, or followers who didn't become Rus-
sell-types soon enough--by 1881,
were initially given as living forever on
Earth, then he relocated their destination to heaven, although they wouldn't
be
allowed to help run things. Those who survived Armageddon otherwise would be
perfected to live forever on Earth
(and rue the fact that they didn't agree with
about anything Russell wrote sooner, I suppose).
By the end of 1914, Armageddon would cause the end of human government. Abra-
ham, Isaac, and other Bible
notables of Hebrews 11, would return to life, and
144,000 Christians, which included Russell and Russell-types of the apostolic
age
and Russell's contemporaries, would help Jesus, then literally seen by all,
establish the Father's kingdom and rule the
Earth. His version of Christian
Zionism had it that Palestine would be re-established at that time with a liter-
al
144,000 Jewish people.
He taught you shouldn't be superstitious about wars, earthquakes, etc., as
signs or omens indicating these
things were about to happen.
As 1914 approached, he admitted to miscalculating and fudged and gave Oct.,
1915, the corrected date, or Oct.,
1914, the original date, as choices. After
WWI broke out at the end of July, 1914, Russell saw it was the only thing
spe-
cial going on to attach to his predictions, made an about face about signs and
omens, taught that the war was a
sign that Armageddon was due soon, and pre-
tended he predicted it. But the war not only wasn't any of the miracles
he pre-
dicted (the end of human government, etc.) but was something he'd taught to not
see as a supernatural indication
of anything, and it started sooner than either
of Russell's dates, especially the corrected one (Oct., 1915).
Armageddon, etc., was due by the end of 1914...or 1915. In his last year,
1916, he said Armageddon, etc.,
would happen in a few years.
He didn't predict the most significant thing that would happen to his predic-
tions, the real Armageddon
of them, either--that his successor, Rutherford,
would trash Russell's will and change Russell's doctrines, such as to
change the
invisible return of Jesus from 1874 to 1914, the Great Pyramid from a divine
revelation to a statue by Satan,
the initial destination of Abraham, etc., to
one of Rutherford's mansions in San Diego, deny the Jewish people a place
in
God's kingdom, and use different years to keep putting Armageddon, etc., a lit-
tle into the future and getting it
wrong.
Having ripped this stuff off from Russell like Russell got it from Barbour,
Rutherford announced that the true
gospel wasn't taught till a couple of years
after Russell died. The deadline by which to join the 144,000 was updated,
he
relocated the secondary Christians to a future of living forever on Earth, and
consoled them about that by promising
them exclusiveness--everyone else, non-
Rutherford-types, on Earth would be dead.
Despite the current JWs leaders' claim that Russell predicted the beginning of
the end times to begin in 1914
(actually Russell chose 1799) which would be when
Jesus returned to be figuratively seen (actually Russell predicted Jesus
would
be literally seen in 1914), all that's really undeniably true in Russell's pre-
dictions is that Russell knew
1914 would happen after 1913, but so did president
Wilson. Beyond an awareness of current events shown by many people
who read the
news, if more biased than most, Russell didn't predict anything miraculous and
establish himself as a true
prophet, only the other kind.
Some of the predictions are among the most distinctive things he taught, which
were meant to be the main basis
for his claim to be part of an exclusive 144,000
followers who, with the Bible notables of Hebrews 11, would be the only
ones
that would go to heaven to help Jesus rule the Earth, while the non-Russell
churches would be destroyed.
(That would show evil Christendom, which thought
he was a self-absorbed eccentric businessman.)
"No, dear friends, I claim nothing of superiority, nor supernatural power,
dignity or authority; nor do I aspire
to exalt myself in the estimation of my
brethren of the household of faith, except in the sense that the Master urged,
saying,
"Let him who would be great among you be your servant." "No, the truths
I present, as God's mouthpiece, were not
revealed in visions or dreams, nor by
God's audible voice, nor all at once, but gradually." "Neither is this clear
unfolding
of truth due to any human ingenuity or acuteness of perception, but to
the simple fact that God's due time has come; and
if I did not speak, and no
other agent could be found, the very stones would cry out." (Reprints, 1906, p.
3821)
http://www.pastor-russell.com/legacy/zwt15july06.html
I heard that last phrase somewhere before (Luke 19:40).
****
John Aquila Brown
1823 According to the research done by Juan Baixeras, shown at the next link:
"In the early 1800’s
a man named John Aquila Brown published an explanation of
the 2,300 days of Daniel in chapter 12, showing these as ending
in 1844. This
view was also adopted by William Miller, the pioneer of the Second Advent move-
ment."
http://www.originalchristiandoctrines.com/#!1914/ci6j
(See below--Miller predicted the 2nd coming would happen in March 21, 1843 to
March 21, 1844.)
"John A. Brown also developed another explanation that is intimately related
to the year 1914 as that date
figures in the teachings of JW. Brown was the
real interpreter of the 'seven times' of Daniel chapter four, the interpretation
that
produces the 2,520 years by means of the day-year formula. Brown first
published this interpretation in 1823 and
his method converted the 'seven times'
into 2,520 years in exactly the same way found today in Watch Tower publica-
tions.
This was twenty-nine years before Charles Russell was born, more than
half a century before the book 'The Three Worlds'
(co-authored by Russell, which
is where most JW think that this teaching originated) appeared.
"Brown however used 604 B.C.E as his starting point and so arrived at 1917.
After the failure of the expectations
of 1844, a split of various Second Advent
groups resulted. One of these groups centered around a man called N.H.
Barbour.
Barbour studied Brown’s work and adopted much of his interpretation, but changed
his starting point to
606 BCE and arrived at the year 1914. Actually this is a
miscalculation since that would be only 2,519 years.
This would have the end
date at 1915."
http://www.originalchristiandoctrines.com/#!1914/ci6j
You might click around at the web site at the link above to see another way
possible for a believer to play
with some of the same numbers and come to other
conclusions. I don't recommend playing prophet about it, though.
****
William Miller
(Russell later taught that Jesus invisibly returned--began a rule of Earth
from heaven--in 1874.)
New light
1881 "If we were following a man undoubtedly it would be different with us;
undoubtedly one human idea
would contradict another and that which was light one
or two or six years ago would be regarded as darkness now; But with
God there is
no variableness, neither shadow of turning, and so it is with truth; any know-
ledge or light coming from
God must be like its author. A new view of truth
never can contradict a former truth. 'New light' never extinguishes
older
'light,' but adds to it." ("Zion’s Watch Tower," Feb, 1881, p.3)
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/light-gets-brighter.php
See the last listing for 1910. Russell taught that anyone who used the Bible
alone would end up in darkness,
but those who used his writings would be in the
light. This is still the JWs leaders' stance.
****
George Storrs and George Stetson
According to M. James Penton, who wrote "Apocalypse Delayed The Story of Jeho-
vah's Witnesses," 1985, p.19,
Russell got his beliefs in the 'ransom' doctrine,
the paradise earth 'restitution' doctrine, 'negative feelings' towards
the
churches, conditionalism (soul sleep) and celebrating the 'Lord's Supper' or
'Memorial' once a year on 'Nissan 14'
from the Second Adventist, George Storrs.
("Watch Tower Reprints," pp.288,289,3821,3823)
https://books.google.com/books?id=kSZL8BWc9KcC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=M.+James+Penton+russell+George+Storrs.&source=bl&ots=FXaz9RwKZu&sig=SZ5MmL405xEO_ucuR6ZIDfdnb8Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjul_W0yoHLAhUMOiYKHcFxCdQQ6AEIKDAC#v=onepage&q=M.%20James%20Penton%20russell%20George%20Storrs.&f=false http://corior.blogspot.com/2006/02/some-prophetic-speculations.html
****
Joseph Seiss
Another possible influence on Russell was Lutheran minister Joseph Seiss,
whose "Miracle in Stone," 1877, about
the Great Pyramid pyramidology, was quoted
by Russell ("Thy Kingdom Come," 1891, 1908 ed., pp.327,328). Seiss taught
that
Jesus rose in spirit form (a current JWs leaders' view, too), and taught in 1856
that Jesus was expected to return
as an invisible presence then be visible.
Seiss thought the year 1914 had prophetic significance ("Jehovah's Witnesses--
Proclaimers
of God's Kingdom," 1993, p.134). Russell rejected Seiss' chronology
to create his own (which is apparently not hard
to do after so much ground work
has been laid down; see p.1b).
http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/ams/index.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Seiss http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/Contents/bsllinks/Russell.htm
****
Pyramidology
The "pyramid inch" was an imagined unit of measurement of what turned out to
be an inaccurate measurement of
the perimeter of the base of the pyramid. Tay-
lor used an earlier measurement that claimed one side of the pyramid
was 9,140
inches. Not realizing that none of the sides of the base are actually that
long, Taylor multiplied this
by four to get 36,560 inches. He imagined that if
you you use a variation of the British inch, 1.00106 British inches,
called a
"pyramid inch," and a "sacred cubit" based on it, you get 365.242 sacred cubits
for the perimeter--the length
of the solar year in days.
He inferred relationships between measurements made of the pyramid with the
"pyramid inch" and the geometry
of the Earth and the solar system, believed the
overseer of the construction of the pyramid was Noah, and began what is
now
called "pyramidology" of the Great Pyramid.
Taylor's ideas were further popularized and expanded by Charles Piazzi Smyth.
In 1865, Smyth measured the pyramid.
Otherwise a good scientist, he accepted
Taylor's premise on the terms that he be seen to tweak and improve it. Accord-
ing
to "THE SECOND COMING--All the best from the Skeptic, 1986–1990," edited by
Barry Williams and compiled by Richard
Saunders:
"Finding that one of the casing stones of the Great Pyramid was approx-
imately
25 inches, equal to Taylor’s cubit, Smyth decided that the inch
(one twentyfifth of a cubit and approximately
one 10 millionth part of
the Earth’s polar radius) must have been the divine unit of length. When
it was discovered that the original casing stone was a bit over 25 inches
(25.025 in fact), Smyth proposed that
the “Pyramid inch” of 1.001 was the
actual divine unit (the British unit presumably got worn down a
bit in
the pocket of one of the Lost Tribesmen).
Smyth "found a mason’s boss on a slab of stone and declared it to be the
Divine Standard.
The 'science' of Pyramidology was now firmly established.
It survived the revelation that one of Smyth’s followers
had been caught
trying to file down the boss to make it more accurate and the discovery
that surviving
Great Pyramid casing stones were all of different sizes."
Smyth and his followers, "who included the founders of the Jehovah’s Wit-
nesses, using his Pyramid
Inch, decided that various internal structures
of the Great Pyramid were a record of the past history of the world
(nat-
urally beginning in 4004 BC), and that was not all. Further measurements
showed that the future
history of the world was also contained in the
stones. The end of the world was variously predicted as happening
in 1874,
1914, 1920 and 1925."
(Russell gave 1874 as the time of Jesus' invisible return, and he gave 1914 as
his first date for Armageddon
(the destruction of human government and non-Rus-
sell churches, etc.) at the end of the end times, eventually settling
for it be-
ing the beginning of the end of the end, which would end on other dates he got
wrong. Rutherford predicted
Armageddon in 1920, and he predicted that in 1925
millions then living wouldn't die and Abraham, etc., of Heb.11 would
reappear.
It's getting harder to imagine what was so exclusive about their 144,000.)
Smyth was partial to Melchizedek (Gen.14:18-20) as the overseer of the con-
struction of the pyramid.
Smyth interpreted measurements made with his new im-
proved "pyramid inches" as referring to years. The years attributed
to ends of
the interior passages included the alleged times of the Exodus and Jesus' cruci-
fixion. He first published
his findings in 1864 in "Our Inheritance in the
Great Pyramid," later updated and called "The Great Pyramid: Its Secrets
and
Mysteries Revealed."
William Matthews Flinders Petrie made measurements that were more accurate in
1880--none previously were based
on first-hand observation (Taylor) or logic
(Smyth). He found that each side of the base was 9,120 to 9,130 inches
long--
smaller than Taylor had claimed, and scientific support for Taylor's ideas,
therefore Smyth's tweaks of them,
fell away.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flinders_Petrie
Isaiah 19:19,20 "In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst
of the land of Egypt, and
a pillar to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign
and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; when
they cry to the
LORD because of oppressors he will send them a savior, and will defend and de-
liver them." The
pyramid is in the midst of Egypt and a border is claimed to
have run through it when it was divided into north and south
sections. The Gem-
atria numerical value of the passage is supposed to equal the height of the pyra-
mid when
it had a capstone.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gematria
Why the Great Pyramid of Giza would be to the glory of the God of Isaiah at
some time after Isaiah wrote it
isn't clear. Then again, he said something
there would. It could be a general idea of a very impressive monument
to what
God's creation can do, or imaginable due to the speculations below. A Christian
interpretation of the
surrounding verses about the Egyptians worshipping the God
of Isaiah in what is now a mostly Sunni Islam country would
need to avoid being
imagined as a generalization for the present. Islamic people believe Muhammad
was a prophet,
that he corrected the teachings of a corrupted Bible, and they
don't generally believe Jesus was crucified, etc.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/comp_isl_chr2.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_view_of_Jesus%27_death
Matt.21:42 "Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the scriptures: "The
very stone which the builders
rejected has become the head of the corner; this
was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes"?'" The symbolization
of
Jesus as a capstone that the builders rejected is imagined to correlate with the
missing top block of the pyramid,
although it was used by the builders and re-
moved a lot later. The builders could be connected in figuring they
didn't be-
lieve in the God of the Bible, yet some pyramidologists may figure them for hav-
ing been led by Noah or
Melchizedek. Go figure.
http://sacredsites.com/africa/egypt/the_great_pyramid_of_giza.html
The opening points to true north. It was calculated that only once did it
point at the north star
Draconis at the same time that parallel scored lines,
cut into the hall 40 feet from the opening, pointed at the Pleiades:
2,141 BC.
Pointing north was likely a concern of the builders, although shifting of the
Earth over thousands of years
might prevent someone from being too fussy about
it beyond that. But we don't know if the parallel lines were cut
into the walls
to point to where the Pleiades appeared during one year or for some other reason.
Considering the scored lines as representing 2,141 BC (not established), then
counting by a year per "pyramid
inch" (with no evidence the ancient Egyptians
wanted anyone to do it) back to the opening, the opening was considered to
rep-
resent 2,141 BC. Counting from the opening down the descending passage to the
ascending passage, the entrance
to the ascending passage was considered to rep-
resent 1,453 BC, which they imagined to be the year of the Exodus (shaky
possi-
bility). Counting up to the end of the narrow ascending passage they got 33 AD,
which they thought was
when Jesus was crucified (generally figured for there-
abouts). Counting up to the end of the Grand Gallery, they
got 1914, which pyr-
amidologists later claimed to be a prediction of the start of WWI.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exodus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
This is where Charles Taze Russell got another special motive for using 1914
in playing (equally shakily) with
historicism. He mistakenly considered it,
with borrowed historicism, as a kind of corroboration of facts. When
Charles be-
gan using it in his literature sales, it was an upcoming year commonly specu-
lated about in the fairly
popular pyramidology of his time, and a tempting year
to use when playing with Bible-related historicism. By the
time 1914 came
around, Russell had two dates for his prediction, Oct., 1915 (corrected date--
not using a year "0" between
the BC and AD years) and Oct., 1914. None of the
miracles he predicted happened. He claimed he predicted Biblical
Armageddon
after WWI broke out on July 28, 1914, though he'd previously taught that you
shouldn't see a war as an indication
that it was about to happen, WWI didn't
begin on one of Russell's two dates, and it wasn't Biblical Armageddon.
(See
the entry for 1914 below.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watch_Tower_Society_unfulfilled_predictions
However interesting pyramidology could be as a Bible-related speculation, the
parts the base of the idea are
constructed with are arbitrarily imaginable, un-
known, or even known to be wrong.
It's playing prophet to express dates arrived at with it as certainties and
needed for a conservative interpretation
of the Bible. Also see 1878 and the
second listing for 1910 for further reasons to think Russell did so.
To take such ideas beyond that, with further speculations (that kept changing)
and predictions (that kept coming
out wrong and being covered up) to express
dates arrived at with it as certainties and needed for a conservative interpre-
tation
of the Bible, is to play prophet, as Russell both occasionally denied
doing yet otherwise did. To keep offering these
speculations as certainties yet
fail at them, use "it happened invisibly" excuses, and cover up for previous
failures,
yet keep giving the latest rendition as anything better than specula-
tion, to give it as what is believed by the little
group who will go to heaven,
is to play prophet badly and insincerely, as is shown in the timeline below.
With pyramidology a fairly popular speculation among Christians in the late
1800s, Russell relied on pyramidology
for short-sighted public support of his
minority/personal view interpretations and predictions. Some of his state-
ments
about predictions show a modest uncertainty, mainly in the years just be-
fore 1914, but most are ultimately dogmatic.
He described his series of books
that included his distinctive outlooks, Studies in the Scriptures, as required
more
than the Bible itself for a proper belief in the God of the Bible (see the
1st entry below for 1910).
http://www.freeminds.org/history/part1.htm
****
Jonas Wendell
****
Nelson H. Barbour
1874 According to Wikipedia: "The Second Adventists affiliated with Nelson H.
Barbour expected a visible
and dramatic return of Christ in 1873, and later in
1874. They agreed with other Adventist groups that the "time
of the end" (also
called the "last days") had started in 1799. Soon after the 1874 disappoint-
ment, Barbour accepted
the idea that Christ had actually returned to the earth
in 1874 invisibly. 1874 was considered the end of 6,000 years
of human history
and the beginning of judgment by Christ. Charles Taze Russell and the group
that later was known
as Bible Students accepted these views from Barbour."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_H._Barbour http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eschatology_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses#Early_expectations_.281871.E2.80.931881.29
(Russell and subsequent JWs leaders have taught this as the immediate future
for those not part of the group
who go to heaven.)
Sales
1876 Charles Taze Russell joined Nelson Barbour in publishing and selling
"Herald of the Morning" in
1876. Russell joined Barbour in claiming to believe
the second coming of Jesus happened in 1874. Although Matt.24:29-31;
Rev.7:1
give Jesus' second coming as a big event that all eyes will see, Barbour taught
that it referred to Jesus' invisible
"presence" ("all eyes will see" taken fig-
uratively as in "all will know," which didn't happen either). Russell
agreed
and taught it till he died in 1916.
****
Prophecies intended to shore up a weak case
Prediction: End Times of the Gentiles--1914
According to the True Bible Code web site: "The original calculations were
mostly based on dates from John
Aquila Brown, who in 1823 published The Even-
Tide in which he claimed that the "seven times" of Daniel 4 were a period
of
2520 years running from the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign in 604 B.C.E. to
1917 C.E. While Brown
never equated the 2520 years with the 'Gentile Times,'
other writers soon did."
http://www.truebiblecode.com/understanding120.html
The number "2,520" comes from multiplying a 360 day year times seven for 2,520
days, then considering the days
to be years. This is not required by the Bible.
Daniel 4:25 is the source of "seven times." According an article about the
book of Daniel by Robert I
Bradshaw:
"Nebuchadnezzar had cause to call upon Daniel's services as an interpreter of
dreams when once again his other
advisors failed. The interpretation showed
that unlike the earlier dream this one referred to Nebuchadnezzar personally
rather
than to his Empire. The king's pride in his accomplishments was about to
bring about a period of chastisement during
which he would lose his mind and be
driven from position of power. Daniel warned the king that the dream would be
fulfilled
unless Nebuchadnezzar repented of his wickedness (4:1-27). However,
his advice was soon forgotten and the dream fulfilled.
At the end of seven
'times' Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged the his life was in God's hands, was re-
stored and gave praise
to God (4:28-37). No further events dating from the
reign of Nebuchadnezzar are recorded."
http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_daniel.html
This idea of counting Daniel's seven times as 2,520 years and using it to make
a prediction passed though the
Millerites and Nelson Barbour with contributions
from pyramidology to Charles Taze Russell.
For decades now, Watchtower literature has taught that Russell correctly pre-
dicted 1914 as the beginning
of the end of the worldly system of things, the
current JWs leaders' teaching. It's supposed to have been seen on
Earth since
1914 with worse wars, earthquakes, crime, famine, and disease than before be-
cause in 1914 Jesus assumed
control of the Earth from heaven, his invisible
presence "seen" on Earth since then, and let the Devil be free to cause
it for a
little while. This isn't what Russell predicted.
Russell taught the idea he got from Nelson Barbour that "the conclusion of the
system of things," also
called "the Gentile times" or "time of the end," began
in 1799, and 1914 was taught as "the end of the system of things."
(I think he
should have given one of the two ends a whole different name and stuck with it.)
It would culminate in Armageddon
in 1914.
1914 was 2,520 years after the fall of Jerusalem, which happened in 606 BC,
according to Barbour. (About
everyone else in the world has the fall of Jerusa-
lem at 587 or 586 BC.) Barbour got 2,520 by adding seven 360 day
years together
for 2,520 days, Dan.4:25, then considering days as years to count from when he
thought Jerusalem fell.
This is numerology--nothing in the Bible indicates you
need to do it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Judah https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/580s_BC
Russell taught that Jesus invisibly began to rule the Earth from heaven in
1874, which was 6,000 years after
the creation of Adam and Eve. The Earth was
created 42,000 years (six 7,000 year "days") before Adam.
(WAY too recent for Adam and Eve. Millions of people would have been there to
say, "Hey, where did you
come from?" at that time. Homo sapiens showed up about
150,000 years ago. He was farther off with the creation
of the Earth, which is
billions of years older than that. See "The Photo-drama of Creation" at 1914.)
539 AD to 1799 AD were 1,260 "days"/years which Russell called the years of
the ability of the Papacy to persecute,
but they only fell within the years it
had stronger political authority (see 1891). It's just something he wanted
to
include as part of his pandering to Catholic bashing, and he didn't call much
attention to it.
From 1874, the time of Jesus' invisible return, to 1914 were to be 40 years of
trouble, the worst the world
had ever seen, and a harvest of true believers.
The church, the "little flock," the Elect, eventually defined as a literal in-
terpretation of the "144,000"
of Rev.14:1-5, though immediate context is symbol-
ic and doesn't suggest a literal number, would be raptured--rise to
meet Jesus
and go to heaven--sometime between 1874 and 1914. Different dates (1878, 1881,
a few years after 1916)
were given for that as things went along without it hap-
pening. He taught that God stopped electing people to his
"little flock" of
144,000 in 1881, but in 1916 he changed the deadline to a few years after 1916.
(See 1877, 1878, 1881,
1904, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1922, 1935, 1995, and
2007)
Near-Russell types were initially forecast as living forever on Earth then
Russell changed their destination
to heaven. Anyone else who survived Armaged-
don would live forever on Earth.
The Rev.14:1-5 literal 144,000 isn't to be confused with the Rev.7:2-4 literal
144,000, which Russell taught
as made up of Jewish people who would live in a
restored Palestine.
What decided the run-off, I'm not sure. Apparently that they'd be good Jewish
people but not so good
they'd try to run anything. (I considered the possibili-
ty he meant Jewish people who agreed with everything he
said, but I think one
percent would be too big for Christians, so forget it.)
He predicted the non-Russell churches would be destroyed from 1910 to 1914,
Palestine would be re-established,
Abraham and other Bible notables of Hebrews
11 would return to life, the battle of Armageddon would end human government,
and
Jesus would have the Bible notables, and Russell and the rest of his
144,000, help him rule the Earth from heaven by the
end of 1914.
Jesus, the Bible notables, and Russell's 144,000 would have direct access to
the Father, and they'd be mediators
between the Father in heaven and the near-
Russell types in heaven and perfected people on Earth.
(I guess part of the modesty he meant to show was intended to reassure follow-
ers that once he helped rule
the world he wouldn't lord it over the secondary
followers that they rued the fact that they hadn't agreed with everything
he
said sooner: "You know, I thought that 1881 invisible Rapture was stupid at the
time, but it did have some qualities....")
As 1914 approached, non-Russell churches were intact and growing, but Russell
badmouthed them a lot and used
things like Presbyterian pastors accepting ideas
of evolution and the mainstream belief in the Trinity as indications they
weren't
really faithful. He accused most of not believing in the Bible meaning
of the crucifixion (keep in mind he taught
a created Jesus who was to be wor-
shipped). Some of the reasons Russell used to deny the Trinity have been used
by
the JWs leaders in recent years--see pp.7-10.
Russell corrected the miscalculation by Barbour (there's no year "0" between
the BC and AD years) and the end
was to be Oct., 1915 (corrected date) or Oct.,
1914 (original date). I guess it gave his prediction another year
of breathing
space which moving the fall of Jerusalem back to a different year it didn't
happen wouldn't provide.
He taught you shouldn't interpret wars, earthquakes, etc., as signs that Jesus
was about to establish his kingdom
on Earth.
After WWI broke out in July 28, 1914, Russell about-faced about omens and in-
terpreted it as a sign of the
end and claimed a hit. He was off by a bit over a
year and two months by his corrected calculation (Oct., 1915),
or a bit over two
months by Barbour's original date (Oct., 1914). Didn't seem to bother him.
The end was beginning in 1914 and would end ending at the end of 1914...or
1915....
In 1916, he predicted the end would end ending in a few years. He came to an
end in 1916. WWI ended
and Armageddon and the other miracles never began.
The establishment of Israel, which someone could have made predictions about
with secular reasons by just following
the news, didn't happen till 1948. Rus-
sell ended up with a distinction mainly created with a lot of bad predictions
about
miraculous things--God just wouldn't see His way clear to cause all that
trouble just to give Russell the one-in-the-world
credibility he craved. God
left him with the same evidence you'd see if Russell hadn't made any calcula-
tions
to predict miracles with at all.
http://www.rense.com/general53/endt.htm http://www.religionfacts.com/jehovahs_witnesses/history.htm
Another might have dropped the idea. The second Watchtower president, Judge
Rutherford, decided to
build on it.
In the late 1920's, Rutherford figured that Jesus had really taken the throne
in heaven, so was invisibly present
on Earth, since 1914, with Rev.1:7--"all
eyes will see"--taken in the sense of "everyone will be aware." I recommend
you
take his interpretation of it in the sense of "nobody" since even Russell's Bi-
ble Students in 1914 had no idea
of it--they thought that happened in 1874. How
you could tell either one with an invisible Jesus and dates with invisible
cred-
ibility, I dunno.
The years since 1914, not 1874 to 1914, were the worst the world had ever
seen. This is to interpret
Jesus as telling his followers to see wars, earth-
quakes, etc, as signs of his return instead of him telling them not
to be super-
stitious about such things which were due to happen every now and then (Rus-
sell's original interpretation,
which I think is more sensible).
Fred Franz, a later JWs president, wanted to iron out the miscalculation with
the year "0" and liked 1914 better
than 1915, too (due to Russell's makeshift
connection between WWI and the beginning of the end) so kept it and moved the
fall
of Jerusalem back to a different year it didn't happen--607 BC. (See 1943
and 1944)
Until late 1995, JWs leaders said some of those alive in 1914 would still be
alive when Jesus returned again,
which all eyes would see in the sense of see-
ing, which was recently dropped because Jesus has taken too long to do it.
They
just won't take a holy hint.
"Let the honest-hearted person compare the kind of preaching of the gospel of
the Kingdom done by the religious
systems of Christendom during all the centur-
ies with that done by Jehovah’s Witnesses since the end of World War
I in 1918.
They are not one and the same kind. That of Jehovah’s Witnesses is really 'gos-
pel,' or 'good
news,' as of God’s heavenly kingdom that was established by the
enthronement of his Son Jesus Christ at the end of
the Gentile Times in 1914.
(Luke 21:24) ("The Watchtower," May 1, 1981, p.17)
See Gal.1:6-9. Paul taught that if anyone teaches anything contrary to the
good news he taught, let them
be accursed.
In 1993, the 1914 idea was amended to Jesus turning his attention to Earth, he
hadn't taken the throne in heaven
yet, in 1914. Otherwise, he's still supposed
to have picked the JWs leaders as the sole religious leaders on Earth
in 1919,
etc.
Apologies to the Bible Students who still follow some of Russell's teachings
and would rather people didn't
think Russell started the Jehovah's Witnesses.
The JWs leaders don't like to call much attention to what Russell actually
wrote,
either. Personally, I'm not entirely thrilled with either one. But the
JWs leaders blood doctrine is partly
based on their claim of being God's sole
channel taken from a literal 144,000, and that's partly based on their teachings
that
Russell's Bible Students predicted something miraculous about 1914. The
most miraculous thing in it to me is that
anyone bothered with the idea, let
alone anyone currently makes agreement with it a requirement for salvation.
And does evil Christendom teach that you need that to be saved? No. Well,
they're evil Christendom.
****
1876 "At the commencement of our Christian era, 606 years of this time had
passed, which deducted
from 2520, would show that the seven times would end in
1914. We will ask, but not now answer, another question:
If the Gentile Times
end in 1914, (and there are many other and clearer evidences pointing to the
same time) and we
are told that it shall be with fury poured out; a time of
trouble such as never was before, nor ever shall be; a day of
wrath etc., how
long before does the church escape? as Jesus says, "watch that ye may be ac-
counted worthy to escape
those things coming upon the world". ("Bible Examin-
er," Oct., 1876, pp.27,28)
(See 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917,
1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1877 In "Three Worlds and the Harvest of this World," 1877, by Nelson Bar-
bour and Charles Taze Russell,
Barbour used historicism to count 2,520 years
from 606 BC, when he thought Jerusalem fell, to 1914 AD, which was announced
to
be the "End Times of the Gentiles." He overlooked the fact that there's no year
"zero"--2,520 years from 606
BC is 1915 AD.
(See 1912--Russell fudged as 1914 approached and gave Oct. of either 1914 or
1915 as the "End Times of the
Gentiles." Also see 1943-1944: the year "zero"
was removed from the 2,520 count--the fall of Jerusalem was moved
back a year so
as to preserve then-current JWs leaders' historicism ideas about 1914.)
http://corior.blogspot.com/2006/02/evolution-of-606-to-607-bce-in.html
"The seventh trumpet sounds from Aug. 1840, until 'the time of trouble,' or
day of wrath is ended. Hence,
it doubtless ends with the times of the Gentiles,
and this forty years of conquest; and therefore, sounds until A. D. 1914;
at the
end of which, Babylon the great, will have fallen, and the 'dragon' be bound:
that is, the nations will be subdued,
and 'the prince of this world cast out.'"
("Three Worlds and The Harvest of This World," 1877, p.143)
(See 1876, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917,
1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
Barbour convinced Russell to help him teach the Rapture (followers, including
ones who'd passed away, would
rise into the sky to meet with Jesus) would occur
in April, 1878.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture
(See 1878, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1935, 1995,
and 2007; also see 1880 for Rev.7:1-8
taken to refer to a literal 144,000 Jewish
people)
1877 The Gospel era will be closed and the saints will be raptured to heaven
in 1878. ("Three Worlds,"
1877, pp.84,124)
1878 April, 1878--no Rapture.
(See 1877, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1935, 1995,
and 2007; also see 1880 for Rev.7:1-8
taken to refer to a literal 144,000 Jewish
people)
****
144,000
Here's a summary and some highlights to help you follow this issue in the rest
of the timeline below.
Initially, Russell taught that the Harvest of the "elect," an elite group that
included himself and whoever
agreed with everything he said (which would be a
little group) was to last until 1881, although that date changed as time
went
by. Russell eventually specified that the elect, otherwise called the "little
flock," was the 144,000 of
Rev.14:1-5 taken literally to be 144,000 followers.
("Watchtower Reprints," 1881, p.224; 1880, p.172)
That's less than the current population of Boise, Idaho for most of two mil-
lenniums of God drawing people
to himself. It makes John 3:16 come out differ-
ently. I guess it depends how you say the word "so"--God "so"
loved the world....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise,_Idaho
He later added that followers who didn't agree with everything he said soon
enough (Oct.2, 1881) would live
on Earth, then moved their destination to heav-
en, although they wouldn't be allowed to help rule the world. Others
who sur-
vived Armageddon would be perfected on Earth, and a literal 144,000 (Rev.7:2-8)
Jewish people would live in
a restored Palestine (see 1880 in the timeline below
this section).
Otherwise, he was a Christian universalist: eventually, everyone else would
live on earth (see 1881 "You don't
know hell till you've read Russell") except
he arbitrarily elected himself into a literal 144,000 elite of those who agreed
with
his distinctive doctrines and reasons for his predictions. His plans for
who ought to admire and follow him went
to the most extreme limit of mankind
imaginable. This was not a humble man....
The next Watchtower president, Rutherford, and later Watchtower leaders have
bumped the date to join the
144,000, from which JWs leaders are picked, forward
as time has gone along. The current JWs leaders are a president
and a Governing
Body of around a dozen guys. As of this writing, 2007, they've allowed that
they can't be sure
of a deadline for joining the 144,000. (I think I could have
predicted that one.)
Rutherford kept the 144,000, etc., and moved the secondary followers, the
sheep class in heaven (see the last
paragraph for 1917), to a future on Earth
when it's restored as a Paradise (where Russell originally put them) (see 1935
in
the timeline below). If they died before Earth was restored to a Paradise,
they would be in the "sleep" of death
until resurrected to live there.
Russell's idea about 144,000 Jewish people in a restored Palestine didn't make
the quota in time (see 1914)
and the whole idea was dropped by Rutherford in
1932 before Israel was established.
Rutherford ruled that the 144,000 are the only JWs who can eat at the Lord's
Supper ceremony.
This is still the JWs leaders' stance.
According to Raymond Franz (see 1975 and 1983), JWs who believe they're part
of the 144,000 but aren't part
of the Governing Body have no say in the deci-
sions made by the Governing Body. They can take part in the Lord's
Supper,
though, and the Earth-bound ones can't.
(Also, since everyone on Earth would be a Jehovah's Witness, I guess they
wouldn't have to go door to door
anymore. If they did, nobody'd be home.)
The JWs leaders teach that the 144,000 are the only JWs who have Jesus as
their mediator and are born again.
The other JWs have the 144,000 as their
mediator. ("The Watchtower," Nov.15, 1979, pp.24-27)
2002 “All of this should impress upon the minds of the other sheep why the
Christian Greek Scriptures
focus so much attention on Christ and his anointed
brothers and their central role in the outworking of Jehovah’s
purposes. The
other sheep therefore consider it a privilege to support in every way possible
the anointed slave
class while awaiting 'the revealing of the sons of God' at
Armageddon and during the Millennium. They can look forward
to being 'set free
from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the children of
God.'—Romans
8:19-21.” ("Watchtower," Feb.1, 2002, p.23)
http://www.jwfacts.com/index_files/mediator.htm
The "other sheep" of John 10:16 are Gentiles (Eph.2), not Christians who will
live forever on Earth instead
of heaven.
Jesus is the only mediator between God and men at 1 Tim.2:5.
All Christians are born again without class distinctions at John 3:3,5; I Tim.
2:5; I Cor. 12:3,13; John 6:53-58;
John 1:12; I John.5:1; 2 Cor.5:21; John 5:39-
40; Rom.8:5-17; Gal.3:26,28; John 12:26; Matt.5:11-12; I Cor.12:27.
The great crowd of Rev 7:9-17; 19:1 is in heaven with the 144,000 of Rev.7:
4-8. They're in God's temple,
Rev.7:15, in heaven, Rev.11:19; 14:17.
All Christians are to eat at the Lord's Supper ceremony according to Jesus at
John 6:53-58.
A JWs leaders' timeline about the 144,000:
1880 Russell taught that the 144,000 of Rev.14:1 are the "little flock" he's
part of, not those of the
"nominal church" of corruption, by which he meant most
all other Christians. "Christendom" isn't a derogatory word
unless it's meant
that way, and he meant it that way. (Practically none of them taught a created
Jesus you worship,
let alone when he invisibly appeared, etc.) The ability to
join the 144,000 would end in Oct., 1881:
"Dearly beloved, if we believe these things, our works will attest our faith.
If you and I believe that the
door to the 'high calling' closes in less than a
year, should we not increase our efforts to bring all Christians into
the light
of present truth--the knowledge of the bridegroom's presence--that they and we
may be more fully separated
from the world." ("Watchtower Reprints," Nov., 1880,
pp.155,156,172)
1882 Russell taught that after 1881 additional converts will live their af-
terlife on earth: "But while
we still would urge justified believers (who have
never yet consecrated) to now consecrate their time and powers to God's
service,
we cannot hold out as a hope, the heavenly prize. We point such to the same
prize for which Abraham and
all prior to Jesus ran, viz.: future earthly bless-
ings." ("Watchtower Reprints," July, 1882, p.377)
1883 Apparently, being told you aren't going to heaven wasn't a popular
favorite with the followers.
Russell relocated them in a compromised way when
he taught that a "Great Crowd"/"Great Company," most of whom were alive
at the
time, would be rescued from the Great Tribulation to be a secondary class of
those who would go to heaven.
The 144,000 and Christ would be mediators between
the Father and the rest. ("Watchtower Reprints," March, 1883, p.458;
"Watchtower
Reprints," 1897, p.2161)
1916 Russell taught that the ability to join the alleged literal 144,000
would end in "perhaps a year
or two or three." ("Thy Kingdom Come," forward to
1916 edition, pp.i,ii)
1935 On May 31, 1935, at a Washington, DC, JWs convention, Rutherford changed
the destination of the
"great crowd," his interpretation of Rev.7:9 (JWs beyond
the alleged literal 144,000), from heaven to Paradise on Earth.
("The Watchtow-
er," Sept.1, 1983, p.12)
1935 Rutherford replaced 1918 with 1935 as the close of the "high calling" to
be among the alleged literal
144,000 JWs. ("The Watchtower," June 15, 1992, p.
23, and "Jehovah's Witnesses, Proclaimers of God's Kingdom," 1993 p.166)
1935 Rutherford taught that the "Temple" in heaven was cleansed by Jesus
Christ in 1932, which paved
the way for an understanding of Rev.7:13,14 and the
new identity of the "Great Multitude." The dates 1918 (the
coming of Christ to
the temple) and 1932 (the temple cleansed) were the key building blocks to iden-
tifying the "Great
Multitude" as an earthly class. "The great multitude, there-
fore, could not come into existence until the Lord Jesus
Christ appeared at the
temple and began his judgement, and therefore the great multitude could not ap-
pear prior to
1918." ("The Watchtower," Aug.1, 1935, pp.233,234,236)
1938 Rutherford taught that the "New Covenant" only applied to the
"anointed"--"other sheep" do not have
Christ as their mediator and they're not
spirit-begotten (born again). ("The Watchtower," 1938, p.7072)
"If one is a Jonadab, he is not in Christ; and if he is not in Christ he can-
not share in the death and resurrection
of Christ. Therefore it would be im-
proper for him to partake of the Memorial emblems." "In the temple, that
is,
the secret place of the Lord, he instructs his anointed as to the meaning of the
prophecies now being fulfilled..."
("The Watchtower," March 1, 1938, pp.74,75)
"The Jonadabs...(are) not even justified, because the receiving of life ever-
lasting depends upon their faithful
obedience within God's organization and
faithfully abiding there until the wrath of God is passed at Armageddon." ("The
Watchtower,"
April 1, 1938, p.104)
(Rutherford taught that Earth-bound JWs will have to earn their keep with
works till the end of the millenium.)
1974 Under Nathan Knorr's presidency, most of the New Testament was directed
to just the 144,000: "Also,
it is to the spirit-anointed Christians who will
rule in that kingdom that most of the Christian Greek Scriptures is directed,
including
the promises of everlasting life." ("The Watchtower," June 15, 1974,
p.376)
1985 Under Fred Franz' presidency, the Earth-bound "other sheep" were des-
cribed as "relatively guiltless,
when compared to the majority of mankind alien-
ated from God." A "degree of righteousness is credited to them."
They're "not
already declared righteous for life" but "need additional help, or steps to be
taken." ("The Watchtower,"
Dec.1, 1985, p.1418)
2007 Under Don Adams' presidency, the deadline for how late JWs can be born
and be part of the 144,000,
which the JWs leaders claim to be part of, was
dropped. ("The Watchtower," May 1, 2007)
The JWs leaders have been playing prophet, whether or not claiming outright to
be prophets, by claiming
such 144,000 exclusiveness, and the regimented abidance
they require to distinctive rules (about a literal 144,000, that
Jesus invisibly
returned in 1914 and picked the Watchtower leaders' as his sole religious lead-
ers in 1919, that birthday
parties are idolatry, etc.) seem partly meant to
justify the exclusiveness. Notably, for this article, the JWs leaders
lead the
only Christian religion that requires the JWs leaders' ban of blood and major
blood fractions.
(See
1877, 1878, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1935,
1995, and 2007; also see 1880 for Rev.7:1-8 taken
to refer to a literal 144,000
Jewish people)
****
Back to the regular timeline
1879 Barbour renounced his prophetic calculations and Russell's ransom idea
for the crucifixion, and,
after some debates in "Herald of the Morning," split
with Russell, who began damage control for his calculations.
Barbour continued
with "Herald of the Morning" and Russell went on his own to start selling
"Zion's Watch Tower and
Herald of Christ's Presence" in July, 1879.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taze_Russell
According to the Watchtower Information Service web site, "The high initial
circulation, 6,000, was possible
because H.B. Rice, a Second Adventist prophet
of California, had to close down for lack of finance and so donated his sub-
scriber
list to Charles. Charles’ sect was now an independent entity.
"Tract production and distribution in 1880, including hiring of 300 New York
boys to distribute tracts at church
doors, cost Russell $42,000. Such commit-
ment meant no turning back. So, to reduce costs Russell introduced
tracteering
as a Christian duty within the sect. Being thus kept busy diverted their atten-
tion from failed prophecy
and instilled a sense of commitment in all. The 'keep
them busy' stratagem is still successful a century later."
http://www.watchtowerinformationservice.org/index.php/stories-biographies/russell-jw-prophet/
****
Zionism
1880 Regarding Rom.11:15, Russell taught that there would be a restoration of
a literal 144,000 (Rev.7:2-8)
Jews to Palestine due by the end of 1914.
"As has been many times shown, the times of the Gentiles last about thirty-
five years from the spring of 1880;
and the return of the Jews to Palestine is
rapidly becoming an indisputable fact.
"The apology for presenting this subject, is, that the return of the Jews, and
the time of trouble are becoming
apparent facts; and it is believed that the two
facts will be the means, in the next 35 years, of the conversion of the
144,000
Jews, and the great multitude of all nations, who will come up out of or after
the great tribulation, with their
robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb--
'Rev. 7'." ("The Watchtower," June, 1880, pp.107,108)
The Rev.7:2-8 144,000 isn't to be confused with the Rev.14:1-5 144,000, which
is the "little flock"--"the elect."
(See 1877, 1878, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1910,
1914, 1916, 1917, 1922, 1935, 1995, and 2007)
Russell took part in the Zionist movement in a Christian Zionist way. Pales-
tine wasn't restored in
1914 as he predicted. By the time Russell died, he was
among a lot of people, mostly with religious beliefs that
put them outside of
Russell's claimed 144,000, who made the political forecast or hoped it would
happen someday if only
for a shelter for a persecuted people. Russell didn't
predict the date of the establishment of Israel, which was
May 14, 1948.
Russell joined some of the earliest Christian efforts to promote Zionism (de-
nounced by subsequent Watchtower
president Rutherford). Christian Zionism often
uses one of the interpretations imagined for Rom.11:17-24. It
may also inter-
pret and add specifics to other verses as prophecy, as other writings of Rus-
sell's show he was prone
to do (see 1886 and 1908).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Zionism
Though Russell tried to tie this significant concern of the day to predictions
of his that failed, he was basically
right about millions of Jewish people even-
tually moving to Palestine, and he helped the movement. (It was mostly
com-
prised of people who weren't followers of Russell, so it wouldn't work as a sign
that God meant to have people
convert to Russell's personal religious views.)
(See 1932--Rutherford continued support for Zionism for a while then renounced
it in "Vindication." If
anything, he then seemed anti-Semitic--see the timeline
on p.6.)
On one hand, it gave persecuted Jewish people a land of their own. On the
other, Russell didn't think
it through to have a similarly thoughtful plan for
those who were displaced and became refugees, which remains a sore point
in the
Middle East.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_refugees
****
1880 The door to join Russell's little flock of Russell types would close in
Oct., 1881. Besides
Russell and his little flock ruling from heaven with Jesus,
Russell predicted that a larger group, near-Russell types,
would look on admir-
ingly:
"That the 'great company' learn the song, is shown also by 'Rev. 19', when
they say, 'verses 1 and 2', 'True
and righteous are His judgments, &c.' Then
the enthroned company say: 'Praise our God, all ye his servants, and
ye that
fear Him, both small and great.' The answer shows that they have reached the
condition of complete harmony
with God--they can sing in harmony in every note--
'I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude... saying, 'Alleluia,
for
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to
Him, for the marriage of the Lamb
is come.' ('Verse 5-7'.) They will realize
that the 'body' or 'bride' is complete, and that they can have no share
in that
high calling, as the door to that position will then be closed; yet they rejoice
to see [as we do] God's great
loving plan as it embraces the sin destroyed race,
and they are filled with God's praise. 'Verse 9' contains a promise
written
specially for this 'great multitude,' viz.: 'Write, 'Blessed are they which are
called to the marriage supper
of the Lamb.' It is then too late for them to
share the honors of the bride--the marriage being over, but the supper,
or feast
of rejoicings is postponed until this 'great company' shall have 'washed their
robes and made them white'--coming
through great tribulation.' 'Rev. 7:14'."
("Watchtower reprints," Dec., 1880)
1881 Russell taught that he expected a Rapture of the literal 144,000, the
Bride of Christ, as being
spewed from the mouth of soon to fall Babylon, Chris-
tendom, by the fall of 1881:
"To our understanding this 'spewing' and 'falling' dates from 1878, the exact
parallel of time to the giving
and 'leaving desolate' of the fleshly house. And
now the call is 'Come out of her, my people! that ye be not partakers
of her
sins and receive not of her plagues,' and while we expect that most of the sec-
ond company will not be freed
from her bondage until afterward, we do expect
that all who constitute part of the bride will be separated before the Autumn
of
1881, then 'the voice of the Bride will no more be heard in her.'"
"Yet we believe that while those living 'virgins' go into the wedding by com-
ing into a knowledge of the Bridegroom's
presence, etc., during the seven years
harvest [from 1874 to 1881] yet the parable is having as it were a fulfillment
on
a still higher plane during the same seven years, viz.: The going into the
condition of readiness for marriage of all the
chaste virgins, the dead (by res-
urrection) and living (by translation or change.) In going into the spiritual
condition
'We cannot precede them.' (E. Diaglott, '1 Thess. 4:15'.)"
"...the wise of the virgins 'who are alive and remain' must all come in, to a
knowledge of the bridegroom's
presence, by the fall of 1881, when the door--op-
portunity to become a member of the bride--will close." ("Watchtower
Reprints,"
Jan., 1881, p.177,180,181)
The article at the next link indicates that William H. Conley was probably the
main financial supporter of
the group originally, too. Conley, helpful in char-
ity causes, moved on to mainstream historical Christianity and
stopped funding
Russell, so Russell turned from him. (See 1884)
http://www.freeminds.org/history/russellnotfirst.htm
****
Health insurance payments
1881 "Does some one object that so living and not laying up treasure on earth
would lead to want when
sickness comes? I answer, it would bring you into a
position where your trust in God's promises would have opportunity
for exercise.
But living thus closely to God you could claim all of the promises. 'No good
thing will He withhold
from them that walk uprightly.' 'For we know that all
things shall work together for good to them that love God (and
show it by obedi-
ence to his word) to the called according to his purpose.' Besides I suggest
that sickness is
spoken of in scripture as being largely the result of sin, and
the work of 'Him that has the power of death; that is, the
devil.' The whole
world through sin has come under his control, but when any become disciples of
Christ they are
transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of
God's dear Son. These, it would appear, are no longer
subject to Satan except
as his power may be permitted of Jesus and overruled for our good." ("Watch Tow-
er Reprints,"
Jan., 1881, p.187)
https://archive.org/stream/1881ZionsWatchTower/1881_Watch_Tower_djvu.txt
"Look again, but in another direction; Note the increase of special healing of
diseases since 1874. Some
are in answer to prayer, some in answer to anointing
with oil and prayer, and some without prayer, or oil, or anything.
Thus in var-
ious ways to-day, ye see increasingly that the lame walk, the deaf hear, the
dumb speak, blind eyes are
opened, and the Gospel (good tidings) of a "restitu-
tion for the groaning creation, of all things spoken by the mouth
of all the
holy prophets" (`Acts 3:21`.) is preached.
"The healings of our day are as pronounced and as true, as were those at the
first advent, except that the
dead have not yet been raised from the tomb. Nor
is it in any one place, but everywhere, that this power is manifested
and this
feature of restitution work is beginning. We hear from Sweden, and Germany and
Britain, in much the same
strain, as from all over this land. Among the remark-
able insurances coming under our notice recently, is that of
a family in Louis-
ville, Ky.,* in which four deaf and dumb persons were perfectly and instantly
healed. One of
them aged eleven years, had never spoken or heard from birth.
The two small towns of Midway and Primrose, Pa., have during
the past month been
much excited by six remarkable cases of faith cure from various maladies. One
old man, Hamilton
Smith, Midway, Pa., had been so crippled by rheumatism that he
could not stoop down; but was instantly healed, and to a
reporter who called to
inquire regarding his healing, demonstrated his suppleness by kicking higher
than his own height,
and the night he was cured he jumped over a fire board
fence with ease. He declares that he is stronger than ever,
and that he is be-
coming young again. And in fact this seems true. He is seventy-two years old
but in a short
time his white hair has commenced to resume its original color;
the wrinkles are leaving his face, and his complexion becoming
fresh so that he
might pass now, for a man of fifty.
"We might multiply instances; one of a woman healed after an illness of six-
teen years, who is now thirty-seven
years old but might readily be mistaken for
twenty. She though ignorant of the views presented in the TOWER relative
to our
being now in the dawn of Millennial Day, expresses herself as satisfied that:
*Mrs. Ann Mack, No. 2700 Lytle St., Louisville.
"she has entered on the 'Resurrection Life' as she calls it.
"If these be not evidences of the beginning of Restitution work, what are
they? This is the right time
for the work of healing; in the time of the first
advent, restitution and restitution works, healing, etc., were not due;
they
were premature and were only performed to manifest forth beforehand, Christ's
glory and to illustrate the powers
of the world (age) to come, which now is at
hand. In his miracles, as in everything else, Jesus dealt with the end
of that
age as though it had been the Gospel age which it only typified; hence the works
of the restitution which he
and the disciples performed, no less than offering
himself then as their King, and Reaper, were but illustrations of the
end of the
Christian age, his assumption of kingly powers, etc., now fully due, because the
'body,' the church, is complete,
and the time for this blessed SEED of Jehovah
('Gal. 3:29') to bless all the families of earth, is at hand.
"If all could see that the world's hope is restitution to perfection, many
more of that class would be prepared
to ask the Lord in faith for physical
healing and might go on unto the perfection of human nature, instead of into the
tomb.
Not only is the time at hand when he that believeth need not enter the
tomb, but such may go from strength to strength.
If men but realized the Scrip-
ture teaching, better, and did not get the heavenly hope of the Gospel church,
the 'body
of Christ,' mixed with the restitution hope of the world, they would
be much better prepared to receive the blessing of
restitution now within their
reach. The basis of restitution simply stated is this: Man became a sinner and
in
Adam his right and hold upon life was lost. Since then, death has reigned
over all. But Jesus was made flesh
in order that he by God's favor might redeem
all. He paid the full penalty, DEATH, and thus redeemed ALL. (`Rom. 5:17-19`.)
"Now, all may return to life and perfection because ransomed by Jesus. This
restitution might have taken
effect as soon as Jesus died and rose and ascending
on high presented the sacrifice on man's behalf. Jesus might
have returned at
once to restore all things but another work intervened the selection of the
Christian church--'the
body' 'the Bride' of Christ Jesus, to be his joint-heir
in the reign of blessing and work of restitution. Now, the
work of restitution
is fully due because the selection of the body of Christ, from the world is com-
plete, and the
work of restitution is beginning while the sifting of the conse-
crated saints progresses to completion. Men shall
be and now may be, released
by faith in him who gave the ransom which not only releases from pain and sick-
ness, but
ultimately from every degree of death, to perfect life." ("Watchtower
Reprints," 1885, pp.748,749; also see pp.782-784)
(Russell didn't want people who donated money to him to worry that they
wouldn't have enough money for medical
care if they needed it. He claimed that
now that the "little flock" of Russell and followers had been chosen as the
only
ones to go to heaven, a follower who followed his teachings about how to follow
the Lord properly would be less
liable to get sick and might be one of those who
received a miraculous healing.)
****
1881 "We now have taken prophetic measurements and allegories together, five
different points seeming
to teach the resurrection of the dead in Christ and
change of the living between the fall of 1874 and 1881. Two or
more witnesses
are enough to prove any case, as a rule, and certainly God has given us abundant
evidence." ("Zion's
Watch Tower," Jan. 1881, pp.4,5) (WT, Dec., 1880, repr 172)
[Rapture of the Saints, including C.T.Russell and other Bible
Students] (WT,
Jan., 1881, repr 180; WT, Dec., 1880, repr 172)
In May, 1881, Russell denied he made his Dec., 1880/Jan., 1881 prediction that
the Bride class--him and the
Russell-type followers--would undergo a Rapture in
Oct., 1881 (which was an early example of another Watch Tower trend).
He
claimed that Oct.2, 1881 would just be when the door would close on those who
could join the Bride class:
1881 "The WATCH TOWER never claimed that the body of Christ will be changed
to spiritual beings during
this year. There is such a change due sometime. We
have not attempted to say when, but have repeatedly said
that it could not take
place before the fall of 1881." "The seven years of favor to the church, com-
mencing with
1874, will end in 1881--about the 2nd of October." "We have no
desire to dogmatize nor to keep any one out, but we
believe (and therefore
speak) that the favor which ends this fall, is that of entering the Bride com-
pany." "What may
be the outward indication that the door is shut, we know not,
but will expect to see some evidence of it."
"Now notice how aptly these three distinct dates (1874, 1878, 1881,) are
marked by the pyramid, in ending the
grand gallery, and see how ably it supports
the teaching of the Bible, viz: that the gospel favors and privileges have
been
ending during these seven years--and will entirely cease this year." ("Zion's
Watch Tower," May, 1881, pp.5,6)
http://books.google.com/books?id=kSZL8BWc9KcC&lpg=PA31&ots=FVdxaXvM-v&dq=%22The%20WATCH%20TOWER%20never%20claimed%20that%20the%20body%20of%20Christ%20will%20be%20changed%22&pg=PA31#v=onepage&q=%22The%20WATCH%20TOWER%20never%20claimed%20that%20the%20body%20of%20Christ%20will%20be%20changed%22&f=false http://www.truthandgrace.com/russell.htm
The Wikipedia article at the link given above mentions the Red Cross later be-
ing brought to task by the FDA
to better regulate the safety of their blood sup-
ply, information which was used by the JWs leaders of that time as propaganda
to
characterize the blood supply as so dangerous that people were better off never
using it on medical terms, which
wasn't true. (See the listing about Gene
Smalley for 2006.) You didn't see the JWs leaders' humanitarian charity
groups
criticized that way, did you ? Oh, yeah, I forgot--they didn't have any.
1881 About his Rapture prediction, Russell taught: "The philosophy of the
plan, as well as the general
statements of the New Testament, teaches the higher
and spiritual and invisible character of the coming of Christ to receive
His
saints to Himself. To ignore that philosophy and those teachings is to ignore
the relation of the natural
and the spiritual as seen in the two Adams, the two
Dispensations, the two Jerusalems, the two bodies and the two-- 'First
the nat-
ural, afterward the spiritual,' in almost every element of the plan." (Watch-
tower Reprints," June,
1881, p.237)
****
You don't know hell till you've read Russell
The possibility that it could mean seperation from God short of eternal agony
in literal flames was skipped
by Russell in order to force a choice for his
version. (He tended to add that his version was kinder.)
Thanks to Leolaia at the Jehovah's Witness Discussion forum web site for her
very good research showing the
belief in a place of torment in the afterlife was
part of the belief of the post-exilic writers and was popular for centuries
be-
fore, during, and after the apostlic age--not an invention of the post-apostlic
church as Russell and the JWs leaders
have taught.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/139767/luke-16-19-24?page=2&size=20
Regarding Hell as eternal torment, Russell wrote:
Charles taught Christian universalism except that his stance included himself
in a literal 144,000 of the most
righteous--ones that agreed with Charles' dis-
tinctive doctrines and the reasons for his predictions--that would rule
with Je-
sus, a great crowd of others like himself would be in heaven, and eventually
everyone else would live on earth.
Russell's idea of who ought to admire and
follow him wasn't boundless--it was limited by the greatest imaginable group
of
mankind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Universalism
****
1881 1881 was the close of "high calling" to be among the 144,000.... Fall
of Babylon. ("Jehovah's
Witnesses, Proclaimers of God's Kingdom," 1993, p.632)
(In 1922, "1881" was replaced by "1918", later by "1935", see "The
Watchtower,"
June 15, 1992, p.23, and "Proclaimers...." p.166)
(See 1877, 1878, 1904, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1935, 1995,
and 2007; also see 1880 for Rev.7:1-8
taken to refer to a literal 144,000 Jewish
people)
****
You shouldn't be superstitious about a war, earthquake, etc., being a sign
of the end
unless there's a war part one
1884 "Now consider the subject of the signs of the times. Remarks on this
subject are too often
made which betray a want of intelligent comprehension of
the nature of the signs that are according to Scripture to indicate
the 'time of
the end.' A careless reading of our Lord's prophetic discourse on the Mount of
Olives seems to be
the cause of much of this misapprehension. His predictions
of wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, and
earthquakes, are quoted as
if they and such like things were to be the signs of the end of the age. A lit-
tle
accurate attention to the order of his statements would at once show that,
so far from this being the case, he mentions
these as the characteristic and
common events of the entire interval prior to his coming. Wars and calamities,
persecution
and apostasy, martyrdom, treachery, abounding iniquity, Gospel
preaching, the fall of Jerusalem, the great tribulation
of Israel, which has, as
we know, extended over 1,800 years; all these things were to fill the interval,
not to be signs
of the immediate proximity of the second advent. How could
things of common, constant occurrence be in themselves
signs of any uncommon and
unique crisis?
"What commoner all through the ages than wars and rumors of wars, famines,
pestilences, and earthquakes?
These, as marking the course of the age, can nev-
er indicate its close."
"No, there was nothing special to alarm the antediluvians before the day that
Noah entered into the ark; nothing
special to startle the men of Sodom ere the
fire from heaven fell; and like as it was in those days, so will it be in these.
All
going on just as usual, no single sign to attract the world's attention.
'None of the wicked shall understand' the true
state of affairs, only the 'wise'
enlightened by the word of prophecy." ("Watchtower Reprints," Sept., 1884,
p.661)
Russell taught that Jesus told his followers not to be superstitious about
wars, earthqakes, etc., as signs
of the end because those things happen regular-
ly and he didn't want his folllowers to go around making false predictions.
(That
was Russell's job.) I actually agree with him about something. He flip-
flopped on it in 1914 when WWI gave
him a major event and he wanted to pretend
he predicted it, though.
(See 1876, 1877, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917,
1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
****
1885 (GTW note: I have absolutely no way to know if this is related or not:
"In 1885 the U.S. manufacturer
Parke-Davis sold cocaine in various forms, in-
cluding cigarettes, powder, and even a cocaine mixture that could be injected
directly
into the user’s veins with the included needle. The company promised
that its cocaine products would 'supply
the place of food, make the coward
brave, the silent eloquent and...render the sufferer insensitive to pain.' In
1886
Coca-Cola is invented and its original formula includes cocaine. Around
1903 cocaine is eliminated as a direct ingredient
of Coca-Cola.")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine
(Cocaine has been known to give users a false sense of extra-normal abili-
ties.)
****
1889 "we present proofs that the setting up of the kingdom of God is already
begun...and that the
'battle of the great day of God Almighty' (Rev. 16: 14)
which shall end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's
present
rulership.... The gathering of the armies is plainly visible from the stand-
point of God's word." ("Studies
in the Scriptures II--The Time is at Hand," C.T.
Russell, 1888-9, 1891, 1895, 1898, 1901-20, 1923-7)
(The 1915 edition of "The Time is at Hand" changed "1914" to "1915.")
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917,
1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1891 "THE 'Time of the End,' a period of one hundred and fifteen (115) years,
from A.D. 1799 to A.D.
1914, is particularly marked in the Scriptures....
Though our information pointing out the date of this period is furnished
in Dan-
iel's prophecy, we know that he understood nothing at all concerning it, as he
said: 'I heard, but I understood
not.' (Dan. 12:8). In answer to his anxious
inquiries he was told that the words were closed up and sealed until
the Time of
the End. It follows, therefore, that no one could understand the prophecy be-
fore 1799....
"But 1799 was only the beginning of the period known as 'the Time of the End,'
within the limits of which every
vestige of that system shall pass away.... We
have thus shown that 1799 began the period called the Time of the End;
that in
this time Papacy is to be consumed piece-meal." (C.T.Russell: Studies in the
Scriptures III--"Thy Kingdom Come,"
1891, 1895, 1898, 1901-20, 1923-7; pp.23,24,
48,59)
http://www.pastor-russell.com/volumes/V3/Study_02.html
1891 "We have thus shown that 1799 began the period called the Time of the
End; that in this time Papacy
is to be consumed piece-meal; and that Napoleon
took away not only Charlemagne's gifts of territory (one thousand years
after
they were made), but also, afterward, the Papacy's civil jurisdiction in the
city of Rome, which was recognized
nominally from the promulgation of Justin-
ian's decree, A.D. 533, but actually from the overthrow of the Ostrogothic mon-
archy
A.D. 539--just 1260 years before 1799. This was the exact limit of the
time, times and a half of its power, as repeatedly
defined in prophecy. And
though in some measure claimed again since, Papacy is without a vestige of tem-
poral
or civil authority today, it having been wholly 'consumed.' The Man of
Sin, devoid of civil power, still poses and
boasts; but, civilly powerless, he
awaits utter destruction in the near future, at the hands of the enraged masses
(God's
unwitting agency), as clearly shown in Revelation." ("Studies in the
Scriptures III--Thy Kingdom Come," 1891, 1895,
1898, 1901-20, 1923-7, pp.58,59)
Russell's real concern was to rationalize a way to tweak the historicism of
the Millerite movement forward
in time a bit, credit himself with making them
right, and make them useful to appeal to his marketing group:
"Mr. Miller's application of the three and a half times (1260 years) was prac-
tically the same as that we
have just given, but he made the mistake of not
starting the 1290 and 1335 periods at the same point. Had he done
so he would
have been right. On the contrary, he started them thirty years sooner--about
509 instead of 539, which
ended the 1335 days in 1844, instead of 1874. It was,
nevertheless, the beginning of the right understanding of the
prophecy; for,
after all, the 1260 period, which he saw correctly, was the key; and the preach-
ing of this truth (even
though in combination with errors, and misapplications,
and false inferences) had the effect of separating and purifying
'many,' and at
the very time the Lord had foretold." ("Studies in the Scriptures III--Thy King-
dom Come," 1891, 1895,
1898, 1901-20, 1923-7, pp.86,87)
http://www.ctrussell.us/ctrussell/ctrussell.nsf/22284ee7f683acc9862566bd000b278c/edeeb08415ed53ad8625645200830499?OpenDocument
At the link given above, Russell also gives Daniel 12:1-3 as identifying arch-
angel Michael as Jesus and appearing
at the time of the end, although Russell is
forcing the interpretation of Jesus as Michael as though scripturally declared.
Subsequent Watchtower leaders have continued to require agreement with the
teaching that Jesus is archangel
Michael (see the section on "Archangel Michael"
on p.8).
1891 "And, with the end of A.D. 1914, what God calls Babylon, and what men
call Christendom, will
have passed away, as is already shown from prophecy."
("Thy Kingdom Come," 1891, p.153)
1891 The 40 years of judgment and trouble began in Oct., 1874, and would end
in Oct., 1914, which is
when there would be a tremendous struggle that would
culminate in a change from evil leadership to that by saints.
This would include a 36 year harvest of the true believers from 1874 to 1910
then four years of fiery
trial of the church. (Studies in the Scriptures, vol.3,
"Thy Kingdom Come," 1891, pp.341,342,363,364)
Part of Russell's calculations were made with measurements of the Great Pyra-
mid--later, the measurements
changed, and the book was revised (see the last
listing for 1897).
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917,
1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc., are coming back to run things
1897 According to Russell's "Studies in the Scriptures: The Battle of Arma-
geddon" ("Studies in the
Scriptures" vol.4), during the millennium, which would
begin at the end of 1914, Abraham Isaac, Jacob, and other Bible
noteworthies
would be resurrected and rule the world:
"These, 'Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets' and ancient worthies
referred to by our Lord and by
the apostles (Matt. 8:11; Heb. 11:4-40), having
passed their trial, will be awakened from death perfect--fully restored
to human
perfection; and will not require a 'resurrection by judgment' a thousand years
long, as will the residue of
mankind. And this perfection will enable them to
communicate with the spiritual Kings and Priests direct, without need
that the
spirit beings assume fleshly bodies for the purpose of communicating the laws,
etc., for the world. Just as
Adam, while perfect, before his transgression,
could commune direct with the heavenly powers, so will these worthies commune,
when
restored to the same state of perfection." (p.619)
"The beginning of the earthly phase of the Kingdom in the end of A.D. 1914
will, we understand, consist wholly
of the resurrected holy ones of olden time--
from John the Baptizer back to Abel--'Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the holy
prophets.'
(Compare Matt. 11:11; Luke 13:28; Heb. 11:39,40.) While these ancient
worthies will have neither part nor lot in the spiritual
Kingdom, because not
'called" thereto, that high or "heavenly calling' not being possible until after
the ransom had
been paid by our Lord Jesus, yet they will occupy a position of
preferment above the world, having attested their faith
and love during the
reign of evil, in a manner approved of God. Thus they were prepared and proved
worthy to be the
earthly ministers and representatives of the spiritual Kingdom.
In harmony with this it is written in the Psalms, as addressed
to the Christ--
'Instead of [being longer considered] thy fathers [they] shall be thy children,
whom thou mayest make
princes [chief ones, captains] in all the earth.' Psa. 45:
16" (p.625)
http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/Contents/bsllinks/Russell.htm
(This idea was continued, choosing dates which were a little into the future
each time, by Rutherford--see
1918.)
****
Israel will be recreated in 1914--the millennium will be "Israelitish"
1897 According to the same book by Russell quoted above, Israel would be re-
created in 1914.
"Not until the full end of Gentile Times (October, A.D. 1914) should we expect
the earthly phase of God's Kingdom;
for in giving a lease of dominion to the
Gentiles until that date God made no mistake and his plans alter not. The earth-
ly
phase of the Kingdom of God when set up will be Israelitish; for such is
God's engagement or covenant with Abraham and
his natural seed. Even the chief
favor, the spiritual Kingdom, was offered first to fleshly Israel, and would
have been
given to them if they had been ready at heart to receive it on the
conditions attached to it--to suffer with Christ and
afterward to be glorified
with him. (Rom. 8:17) Israel indeed desired and sought the best God had to
give; but 'Israel
hath not obtained that which he seeketh for: but the election
[the 'little flock" selected from both Jews and Gentiles]
hath obtained it, and
the rest were blinded --not forever, but until the election of the spiritual
seed, the Kingdom
proper, is completed. Rom. 9:31-33; 11:7,23,25-32
"While Israelites in various stages of unbelief will be gathered back to Pal-
estine under divine favor, according
to promise, yet none shall be in any degree
reckoned as a part, or even as supporters of, or associated with the earthly
phase
of the Kingdom, except as they shall first recognize Christ Jesus as the
Son of God, the only Redeemer and Deliverer for
Israel and the world." (pp.624
and 625)
****
You shouldn't be superstitious about a war, earthquake, etc., being a sign
of the end
unless there's a war part two
1897 From the same book by Russell quoted above, pp.566 and 567:
"Yet it is against the kind which 'deceive many' that our Lord cautions us
here, and again, later on in his
prophecy, in which connection we will examine
particularly the antichrists which have deceived many.
"The History of Eighteen Centuries Briefly Foretold--Matt. 24:6-13; Mark 13:7-
13; Luke 21:9-19--
"And ye shall hear of wars and rumors [threats, intrigues] of wars: see that
ye be not troubled; for all these
things must come to pass, but the end is not
yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:
and
there shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All
these are primary sorrows." Matt.
24:6-8
"Thus briefly did our Lord summarize secular history, and teach the disciples
not to expect very soon his second
coming and glorious Kingdom. And how aptly:
surely the world's history is just this--an account of wars, intrigues,
famines
and pestilences--little else."
(In 1914, Russell did an about-face on this regarding WWI, and later Watchtow-
er leaders followed him in this
regard by changing what "the End Times" desig-
nates to the years after 1914, and trumped up cases for there having been
an in-
crease in wars, earthquakes, etc., since 1914, which indicated that Armageddon
was due soon.)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917,
1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
Armageddon is Biblically, historically, and scientifically shown to end
the end times
in 1914, or Oct. of 1915 or 1914, or at least begin the
end of the end in 1914, and end in 1914...or
1915...or a few years
after 1916, or maybe I just don't know
Summary of some highlights
1897 "...this measurement [of a length of an interior passageway discovered
inside the Pyramids--it has
no reference in Scripture] is 3416 inches, symboliz-
ing 3416 years.... This calculation shows A.D. 1874 as marking
the beginning of
the period of trouble" ("Studies in the Scriptures III--Thy Kingdom Come" by C.
T. Russell, 1891, 1897
ed., p.342)
1904 Russell referred to the "3416 inches" again later: "We cannot therefore
see how any longer measure
for the passage could be possible." ("Zion's Watch
Tower," Nov.1, 1904, p.326)
According to Morton Edgar, a big supporter of Russell at the time:
"Formerly the north wall of the Subterranean Chamber was said to mark the date
1874 A.D., but with the new
measure of 3457 inches this date was shifted forward
41 years to 1915 A.D." He later found both measurements were
wrong, but still
decided "Both dates, 1874 and 1914, are now seen to be indicated by the end of
this Descending Passage."
http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/contents/treatises/edgar%20gp%20discourse.htm
Later editions of Russell's books were revised to incorporate the new measure-
ment, with Oct., 1914 given
as when the final struggle would begin that would go
on into Oct., 1915.
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917,
1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
Back to our regularly scheduled timeline
Nice little pup dogs and flowers are unimportant
1900 Russell taught that animals and plants will continue the cycle of birth
and death in the future
paradise on Earth, so good Christians won't waste time
on dogs and flowers, and that the better Christians don't do it
now.
"These conditions prevailing in the animal and vegetable worlds will bring no
pain, neither sorrow nor crying
(`Rev. 21:4`) because all of the former things
will have passed away. Amongst these will be present misconceptions
by which we
are inclined to attribute to the lower animals human feelings and sentiments--
some even carrying these
mistaken notions to flowers --loving and talking to
their flowers as others do to a pet dog--imagining reciprocal feelings
and sen-
timents.
"Restitution will not only bring to men greater knowledge but also sounder
minds, in harmony with the divine
mind,--so that their loves and hopes, like the
divine promises, will measurably pass by the lower creatures and think and
plan
for and be absorbed in uplifting man--'the groaning creation.' And already
those who receive a knowledge
of the divine plan and with it the spirit of the
Lord, find themselves no longer disposed to waste valuable time and affection
upon
dogs, flowers, etc., while the Lord's 'brethren' need sympathy and aid and
counsel in the narrow way, and while mankind
in general are in so deplorable a
condition as at present--mental, moral and physical. And such a change of sen-
timent
is an evidence of their attaining more of 'the spirit of a sound mind.'--
See '2 Tim. 1:7'." ("Watchtowers Reprints," June
1, 1900, pp.2640,2641)
Besides, if it's supposed to be Paradise on Earth, what are these terrible
problems people are supposed to
be having so regularly that other people will
have to console them so much they won't have time for pup dogs or gardening?
The
man was one of the silliest prophets I ever heard of.
****
1902 In his contention with parts of the Presbyterian Creed Revision, Russell
indicates his disapproval
of evolution, which he says is becoming a popular idea
among Presbyterians and imagines it to be another reason to discredit
their
faith. Russell had predicted Christendom would be destroyed from 1910-1914, but
it kept growing, so he meant
to indicate the ruination of it this way. First a
part of the creed is given, then Russell's response:
1902 Article IV.--Of the Creation.
"We believe that God is the Creator, Upholder, and Governor of all things;
that He is above all His works and
in them all; and that He made man in His own
image, meet for fellowship with Him, free and able to choose between good
and
evil, and forever responsible to his Maker and Lord."
"[We can endorse this statement too; but wonder how the large and growing num-
ber of evolutionists in the
Presbyterian denomination can endorse it without
mental reservations and twinges of conscience. If Adam was created
in God's
image, was meet for companionship with him, and free, and capable of deciding
his destiny by his actions, he
surely was far removed from being a monkey-
man;--and surely, too, far superior to his posterity today, all of whom are
sadly
deficient in the divine image and qualifications for companionship with
their Creator. Even the saints, with their
much advantage every way, are still
lacking in these respects, and are accepted of God only on a basis of faith in
their
Redeemer.]" ("Watchtower Reprints," June 15, 1902, p.3025)
Part of Russell's view on it is related to his chronology, which is that
humans have only existed for about
6,000 years--from Adam and Eve to 1914.
(Also see 1904, 1914, 1961, 1968, 1971, 1985, and 2004 for Russell's and the
JWs leaders' views against evolution.)
****
Kind understanding for "inferiors" part one--darker skinned people
1902 Russell seemed to dislike certain racist outlooks. But at one point he
wrote: "The secret
of the greater intelligence and aptitude of the Caucasian un-
doubtedly in great measure is to be attributed to the commingling
of blood
amongst its various branches; and this was evidently forced in large measure by
circumstances under divine
control. It remains to be proven that the similar
commingling of the various tribes of Chinese for several centuries
would not
equally brighten their intellects; and the same with the peoples of India and
Africa." ("Zion's Watch
Tower," July 15, 1902, p.216)
1904 "CAN THE ETHIOPIAN CHANGE HIS SKIN?"
"We answer, No. But all will admit that what the Ethiopian cannot do for him-
self God could readily
do for him. The difference between the races of men and
the differences between their languages have long been arguments
against the
solidarity of the human family. The doctrine of restitution has also raised the
question, How could
all men be brought to perfection and which color of skin was
the original? The answer is now provided.
"God can change the Ethiopian's skin in his own due time. Prof. H. A. Ed-
wards, Supt. of Schools in
Slater, Mo., has written for the public press an
elaborate description of how Julius Jackson, of New Frankfort, Mo., a
negro boy
of nine years, began to grow white in September, 1901, and is now fully nine-
tenths white. He assures
us that this is no whitish skin disease; but that the
new white skin is as healthy as that of any white boy, and that the
changed boy
has never been sick and never has taken medicines." ("Watchtowers Reprints,"
Feb.15, 1904, pp.3319,3320)
Russell taught that the skin color of Adam and Eve, originally perfect, was
Caucasian.
****
(See 1877, 1878, 1881, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1935, 1995,
and 2007; also see 1880 for Rev.7:1-8
taken to refer to a literal 144,000 Jewish
people)
1904 In a paragraph headed "SCIENCE FALSELY SO CALLED," Russell taught that
"Our wise men, anxious to disprove the Bible record of the Creation, 'prove'
much by the stone formations of the
earth's crust; and freely talk about mil-
lions of years being necessary to produce the stone conditions which are every-
where
apparent. Their long arguments and wise conclusions were made to look
very silly recently by an accident near East
St. Louis. A car of lime and a car
of potatoes were partly submerged together in the river. The slacking lime
fired
the car and the astonishing result was that every potato was turned to
flinty stone in less than twenty-four hours.
The Lord's people have no need to
feel ashamed of the old Book."
(Also see 1902, 1914, 1961, 1968, 1971, 1985, and 2004 for Russell's and the
JWs leaders' views against evolution.)
1906 "The Kingdom of God is already begun, which is pointed out in prophecy
as due to begin the exercise
of power in A.D. 1878, and that the 'battle of the
great day of God Almighty' which will end in 1914 with the complete
overthrow of
the earth’s present rulership, is already commenced." ("Studies in the Scrip-
tures," Vol.2,
1906, p.101)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917,
1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1907 Russell doesn't seem to fully endorse phrenology (reading the shape and
bumps of human heads to
determine character traits) but writes "Phrenology so
far as understood fully corroborates the picture given us in the
arrangement of
the Tabernacle of Israel surrounded by the camp."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology
Phrenology, basically a pseudoscience of judging people by their looks, was
later incorporated in the bastardized
Darwinism of eugenics, notably in Nazi
Germany during the dozen years the Watchtower endorsed it (see listings for
1930,
1933, and 1942 on p.6).
1908 Russell wrote that he wasn't claiming his "Studies in the Scriptures"
books were faultless, but
"Even our enemies must concede, and many of them do
concede, that the facts as they have developed year by year since we
began these
presentations in 1876 have most wonderfully, most remarkably, corroborated our
expectations and continue
to do so. For instance, the Jews had not thought of
returning to their own land when, in 1878, we pointed out that
the time for fa-
vor to that people had chronologically begun, in fulfillment of Isaiah's pro-
phecy, 'Comfort ye, comfort
ye my people, saith my God. Speak ye comfortably un-
to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her appointed hour is accomplished,
that her
iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all
her sins.' (Isa. 40:1,2.)
Zionism was not dreamed of at that time, and began to
take practical form seventeen years afterward." ("Views from the
Watch Tower,"
Jan.1, 1908, p.5, Reprints 4110) (See 1880.)
http://ctr-rlbible.com/?p=425
Russell created some revisionist history to make it seem like he predicted
something in 1878 that was otherwise
undreamed of and only went from an idea to
the forming of a practice of it seventeen years later--in 1895. Compare
that
with the facts at the next link, such as in the section titled "British Influ-
ence":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism
For example: "Benjamin Disraeli wrote in his article entitled 'The Jewish
Question is the Oriental Quest' (1877)
that within fifty years a nation of one
million Jews would reside in Palestine under the guidance of the British."
1908 Perhaps Russell tried to seem a little less ridiculously insistent about
being a prophet while trying
to get people to believe his side of his divorce
proceedings, especially since the date of his biggest prediction--the
visible
return of Jesus--was coming up and stood to make him look even more foolish as a
claimant of exclusive guidance
by God, if that's possible at this point.
As 1914 approached, Russell hedged his bet a little in a talk about 144,000
literal followers going to heaven,
a number that he claimed would be completed
in 1914: "Whatever the number is, if anyone is disposed to dispute the number
and
think that it is symbolical. I do not know that it is a literal number; I
am inclined to think it is. But no
matter whether it is literal or figurative,
there is a limited number." ("What Pastor Russell Said," 1917, p.230)
The number will be a number. Good. Russell here exhibits a customary stance
to be followed by later
JWs leaders who have continued, even further narrowed,
Charles' claim of exclusiveness, by further eliminating candidates
for the af-
terlife--a warm self-regard with a snotty disdain of most all others.
(See 1877, 1878, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1935,
1995, and 2007; also see 1880
for Rev.7:1-8 taken to refer to a literal 144,000
Jewish people)
1908 The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society moved from Pittsburgh, PA, to
Brooklyn, NY.
****
Love and money: Miracle Wheat and Charles' divorce from Maria
Two nouns, two topics--which nouns go with which? (Buzz.) Sorry--trick ques-
tion. The first
two nouns go with each other.
"Miracle wheat"
A couple of accounts of Russell's controversial dealings in the sale of "Mir-
acle Wheat" are at the next links.
The first one indicates that John A. Bohnet,
who helped Russell establish a dummy company, the United States Investment
Co.
Ltd., which Russell managed, helped Russell with the scam with sales of Miracle
Wheat by writing false reports of
the miraculous productivity of the wheat, and
tending to the orders and shipments of it, in Russell's Zion's Watch Tower.
Af-
ter Russell's death, Bohnet was made a board member of the Watch Tower by Rus-
sell's lawyer Rutherford.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/52873/secret-corporations?page=1&size=20 Research sources
http://ctr-rlbible.com/?page_id=2926
"The public press is telling of the origin of "Miracle Wheat" in answer to
prayer. The description has the
earmarks of truth to it, in that it gives the
address of the man whose prayers are said to have been answered-- "K. B.
Stoner,
a farmer of Fincastle, Botetourt county, Virginia." It would appear from the
account that the original stalk
of wheat appeared in the midst of a crop of the
ordinary kind, but with "142 heads of grain." We quote:--
"What is most remarkable about the wheat is this: Whereas there is produced in
the wheat sections of that country
an average at the best of seventeen bushels
to an acre, the average yield of the "miracle wheat" during the last three
years
has been fifty-six bushels to the acre; and whereas from eight to ten pecks of
seed are required to plant an acre
in Virginia, Mr. Stoner uses only two pecks,
and, in comparison to the yield of ordinary wheat in the neighborhood, which
is
eight bushels for each bushel of seed, Mr. Stoner gets about seventy-five
bushels for one. An ordinary stalk of wheat
covers about four inches of space.
The miracle wheat covers twelve."
Assistant Agriculturalist H. A. Miller is given as confirming this in a gov-
ernment report.
"IS IT RESTITUTION WHEAT?
"If this account be but one-half true it testifies afresh to God's ability to
provide things needful for the
"times of restitution of all things which God
hath spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began."--
`Acts
3:19-21`."
"The litigation revealed that ‘Pastor’ Russell's activities in the
religious
field were carried on through several subsidiary societies and
that all of the wealth that flowed into him through
these societies was
under the control of a holding company in which the 'Pastor' held $990 of
the $1,000
capital and two of his followers the other $10.
"Thus Russell apparently controlled the entire financial power of the
Society and was not
accountable to anyone. The Eagle column goes on to
say:
"After the 'work' had been well started here, 'Pastor' Russell's
Watch Tower publication advertised wheat seed for sale at $1.00 a
pound. It was styled 'Miracle
Wheat,' and it was asserted that it
would grow five times as much as any other brand of wheat.
There
were other claims made for the wheat seed, and the followers were
advised to purchase it, the proceeds to go to the Watch Tower and
be used in publishing the 'Pastor's'
sermons. The Eagle first made
public the facts about this new venture of the Russellites and it
published a cartoon picturing the 'Pastor' and his ‘Miracle Wheat’
in such a way that
'Pastor' Russell brought suit for libel, asking
$100,000 damages. Government departments
investigated the wheat
for which $1.00 a pound was asked, and agents of the Government
were important witnesses at the trial of the libel suit in January
1913. The 'Miracle Wheat'
was low in the Government test, they
said. The Eagle won the suit."
"Prior to entering court the Eagle has said:
"The Eagle goes even further and declares that at the trial it
will show that 'Pastor' Russell's religious cult is nothing more
than a money-making scheme.
"The court’s decision vindicated the Eagle's statement and proved its re-
liability.
"All during this time the ‘Pastor's’ sermons were being printed
in newspapers throughout the world, notably when he made a tour of
the world in 1912 and caused
accounts to be published"--"his adver-
tised sermons telling of enthusiastic greetings at the
various places
he visited. It was shown in many cases that the sermons were never
delivered in the places that were claimed."
Therev1957 provides these sources for the scandal, trial, and verdicts:
"From originals (now microfilmed in New York) of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle,
the following
articles with dates and pages: Miracle Wheat Scandal, Jan-
uary 1, 1913, 1-2; Russellite Beliefs, January 22, 1913,
2; Testimony on
Wheat, January 23, 1913, 3; Financial statements proving Russell's absolute
control, by
Secretary-Treasurer Van Amberg, January 25, 1913, 16; Govern-
ment experts testify on "Miracle Wheat" and ascertain
its ordinariness,
January 27, 1913, 3; Prosecution and Defense closing arguments, January 28,
1913, 2;
Russell loses libel suit, January 29, 1913, 16.
"The Watchtower Society has maintained that Russell never made money on
the 'Miracle Wheat,'
and that proceeds from its sale were 'contributions'
to the organization. They fail to note that Russell controlled
the Watch-
tower Society, owning 990 of the 1,000 shares of its stock. Any contribu-
tions to it
were also to Russell!"
1909 "Then followed another surprise and blessing. Brother Rutherford placed
in our hands a
bundle of papers, explaining that during our absence a number of
other friends had concluded that it would be the Lord's
will that we should be
relieved of certain burdens and annoyances which have been our portion for some
time, in connection
with Mrs. Russell's request that the monthly allowance be
increased from $40 to $100, which was allowed by the Court, but
which we were
unable to comply with, because all of our property, except that which brought
the income of $40 per month
(which Mrs. Russell had been receiving), had been
donated to the WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY. The dear friends
concluded
to surprise us on the return home by clearing off these obligations. They
handed us receipts aggregating
over $9,000, showing a payment of Mrs. Russell's
alimony into 1913, with Court costs, attorneys' fees, etc. Our heart
returned
thanks to the Great Giver of every good gift for this, a fresh manifestation of
his loving care and for such
evidences of brotherly love." ("Watchtower Re-
prints," July 1, 1909, p.4424)
(Russell hadn't paid his ex-wife Maria the extra alimony the court awarded
her till Rutherford got donations
from the followers to pay it.)
Some significant highlights in Charles' divorce from Maria Frances Ackley Rus-
sell:
- the marriage was an 18 year celibate marriage based on a mutual commitment
to writing the literature that
Russell put out. She played a significant role
in the success of his business as a contributor and associate editor.
- Charles said he disapproved of her becoming a supporter of women's rights,
overly-ambitious, and said she
had Satanic mental illness to the degree that her
word wasn't reliable. (See 1911)
His lengthy defense of himself in the matter, which reads like one of his
Watch Tower articles meant to explain
the reasonableness of seeing him as a
saint and any critics as slanderous enemies yet not let on a glimmer of why the
reader
should think they had any reason to criticize (gee, I wonder how this
marriage broke up?), is at the next link:
http://www.biblestudents.com/htdbv5/r3808.htm
- He wrote advising others that it would be improper to say things like "Good
morning" to her (a precursor
to current JWs leaders' shunning rules--see p.3).
In a letter of July 9, 1896, Russell wrote: "To avoid misunderstanding, let me
say, under the circumstances
it properly devolves upon you to make the advances
on the line of social amenities between us. It would be improper for
me to take
the initiative in the matter of amenities such as, 'good morning,' 'good night,
'etc." (Exhibit 2, Superior
Court)
Reviewing the evidence, Justice Orlady ruled in Mrs. Russell's favor with
barely concealed anger:
"The indignities offered to [Mrs. Russell] in treating her as a menial
in the
presence of servants, intimating that she was of unsound mind and
that she was under the influence of wicked
and designing persons, fully
warranted her withdrawal from his house, and fully justified her fear
that he intended to further humiliate her, by a threat to resort to legal
proceedings to test her sanity.
There is not a syllable in the testimony
to justify his repeated aspersions on her character and her mental
condi-
tion, nor does he intimate in any way that there was any difference be-
tween them
other than that she did not agree with him in his views of
life and methods of conducting business. He says
himself that she is a
woman of high intellectual qualities and perfect moral character. While
he denied in a general way that he attempted to belittle his wife as she
claimed, the general effect of his
own testimony is a strong confirmation
of her allegations.
Although Charles' plea for sainthood, at a link above, somehow overlooked
this, the court decided Charles falsified
events--the dispute over editorship
began after the couple had separated, Maria didn't seem mentally ill, etc.--and
decided
in her favor over the divorce, including about her claims about his
cruelty, such as in using slander to have their friends
shun her.
Maria testified that though she was Secretary and Treasurer of the Watch Tower
Society, she was never allowed
to look at the Society's financial records--only
Charles saw them. Unknown to her, his business involvements included
the Bra-
zilian Turpetine Company, Pittsburgh Asphaltum Company, Silica Brick Company,
and Pittsburgh Kaolin Coke Company.
In court, Charles denied knowing about the Salon company or that it was organ-
ized in the Watch Tower building
and run by three girls there. All three--Alice
Land, Gabrielle Logan and Laura Whitehouse--testified that Russell
himself ap-
proached them and asked if they would allow their names to be used to create a
company--Logan, Land &
Whitehouse--for the purpose of purchasing goods at whole-
sale prices from manufacturers for an association called the
Solon Company or
association, and Mr. Russell was their representative.
Charles then told the court he remembered suggesting the idea to the ladies
and that Mr.John G. Koehne, of
Cleveland, Ohio, and Mr. Clayton J. Woodworth, of
Scranton, Pa., were the two principals who transacted the business.
(Clayton
shows up a lot in JWs history and "..."GTA Brooklyn.") (Thanks to Farkel for
the research at the next
link.)
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/77218/russell-man?page=1&size=20
According to one calculator found there, "measuringworth.com.," $1,200 in 1909
is worth $27,432 in 2006 U.S.
dollars. The overall income of Russell's organi-
zations was in the millions in 1909, according to the same articles.
Another thing the exjws article shows is that Russell established a negative
view of charity practiced by Catholics
and Protestants.
"Presumably because there were seven Catholics on the jury," Russell
said, "the
Eagle's attorney was prompted to refer to the Sisters of Chari-
ty and their noble work as nurses without
referring to the fact that those
nurses are well paid and that the hospitals, in large measure, are sup-
ported by state taxation." Russell's organization was pure, according to
his arguments-which also took into
consideration the Church's wealth--pre-
cisely because it did not engage in acts of charity; the Church, he
im-
plied, used charity as a cover for sneaky thievery:
"The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society was held up to scorn because it
did
not have any hospital work, nor draw any revenue from taxations, and
because the female members of the Society
do not visit the workshops of
the land weekly or monthly on pay day and exact donations to its work. Our
society was held up to scorn because we do not send a wagon around the
city collecting groceries and provisions
for the upkeep of our work; be-
cause we do not take up collections, even on Sunday; because we have never
solicited a penny or a dollar from anybody; and because we never have
fairs, grab-bags, 'chances,' or 'raffles.'
Our society was held up to rid-
icule because it offers its literature free to the poor while other simi-
lar societies charge both rich and poor alike for their tracts and other
publications."
This has been continued in Watchtower incarnations since with the recommended
charity being an important work
for salvation--to volunteer to spread Watchtower
leader's literature and send all the money to the Watchtower organization.
Otherwise,
the JWs have mainly been encouraged to help other JWs. (see 1951,
1969, 2003, and p.2)
(This self-centered variation of the Golden Rule applies to the JWs leader's
outlooks on defense, sometimes
mistaken by non-JWs for pacifism, too. See p.6)
Also see "Theocratic warfare" on p.3.
Rutherford became the president of the Watch Tower with about as much respect
for Charles' will (see below
after 1916) as Charles had for the legal decision
about his alimony.
In 1929, Rutherford, estranged from his wife Mary and son Malcolm, and who'd
been Charles' lawyer, showed he
shared Russell's outlook on the importance of
himself and his business verses that of a separated spouse, though.
He had a
mansion, Beth-Sarim, "House of the Princes," built at 4440 Braeburn Road, San
Diego, CA, to live in till Abraham,
etc., whom he'd prophesied would come back
to life, came to claim it. They didn't show up, nor did his wife and son
at his
funeral.
http://www.freeminds.org/history/mystery_years.htm
****
1910 The change from 1914 to 1915 as the year indicated by pyramid measure-
ment appeared in "Thy
Kingdom Come" (copyright 1891) (1910 edition--"Studies In
The Scriptures," vol.3, p.342)
Russell taught Oct., 1914 (adding Oct., 1915 as the preferable option in 1912)
to be the end of the Gentile
times, at which time Armageddon would start.
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917,
1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1941-2?, 1938, 1941, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1910 1910 (like 1881) was predicted for a "Rapture of the Saints" based on
measurements of the corridor
in the Great Pyramid of Giza. ("Thy Kingdom Come,"
1891, 1895, 1898, 1901-20, 1923-7, p.364, but omitted in post-1910 editions)
(See 1877, 1878, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1935, 1995,
and 2007; also see 1880 for Rev.7:1-8
taken to refer to a literal 144,000 Jewish
people)
1910 "Furthermore, not only do we find that people cannot see the divine plan
in studying the Bible by
itself, but we see, also, that if anyone lays the
'Scripture Studies' aside, even after he has used them, after he has
become fa-
miliar with them, after he has read them for ten years--if he then lays them
aside and ignores them and goes
to the Bible alone, though he has understood his
Bible for ten years, our experience shows that within two years he goes
into
darkness.
"On the other hand, if he had merely read the 'Scripture Studies' with their
references, and had not read a
page of the Bible, as such, he would be in the
light at the end of the two years, because he would have the light of the
Scrip-
tures." ("Zion's Watch Tower," Sept.15, 1910, p.298)
****
Kind understanding for "inferiors" part two--women
1911 "God may do what he will with his own. But we do see a reason why he
makes a choice.
Woman is a figure of the Church and man is a figure of the Head
of the Church. So we are told that woman should not
be a teacher in the Church,
but man should be the teacher.
"And even outside of the Scriptural question, in human affairs, we seen no way
in which a woman's interests
are endangered, because every woman is either a
sister of a man or the mother of a man or the daughter of a man.
Hence the two
sexes are so intimately related that it is unnecessary, for instance, that the
whole family should go
to the polls to vote, but the family is represented by
the man and thus all have share in whatever shall be done in a city
or town or
country.
"If this were otherwise we could imagine a very unsatisfactory condition in-
deed. It would imply that
man had lost one of the very prerogatives which is an
element of manhood. On the other hand, it would imply a dereliction
on the part
of the woman. The Apostle reminds us of a woman's sphere. And any mother whose
son does not
respect her should keep very quiet. She has that child during all
the years of infancy and youth. And if in
all those years she does not command
respect from that child, she is to blame.
"We believe that if women would get the proper focus on this matter there
would be an end to woman-suffrage.
They would feel that they had a duty at
home. There are exceptions to every rule. But Christian parents have
said to
us, If I had known the Truth sooner, I would have known how to be a better
father, a better mother; but I was
not taught anything as to the responsibili-
ties upon me as a parent and what was meant by the proper training of a child."
("Watchtower
Reprints," Jan.15, 1911, p.4749)
****
1912 In 1877, Nelson and Russell had miscalculated 2,520 years from 606 BC to
be 1914 by incorporating
a year "0" between the BC and AD years. The correct
calculation would be 1915 AD. As 1914 approached, Russell
fudged and gave Oct.
of either 1915 or 1914 AD as the "end times of the Gentiles"--when Armageddon
(the end of human
government, Abraham, etc., would come back to life to rule the
Earth, etc.) would happen.
1912 "Many of our readers will recall our reference to this subject in a ser-
mon preached at Allegheny,
Pa., January 11, 1904, and published in the Pitts-
burgh Gazette. We make an extract from that sermon as follows:
"'We find, then, that the Seven Times of Israel’s punishment and the Seven
Times of Gentile dominion
are the same; and that they began with the captivity
of Zedekiah, and, as will be seen from the Chart, they terminate with
the year
1915. According to the best obtainable evidences on the subject, synchronized
with the Scriptural testimony,
Zedekiah’s captivity took place in October, 605
1/4 years before A.D. 1. If we will add to this 1914 1/4 years,
we will have
the year, October, 1915, as the date for the end of Gentile supremacy in the
world—the end of the
lease of 2,520 years, which will not be renewed. Instead,
he whose right the kingdom is, shall take possession of
it. This, therefore,
marks when the Lord himself shall assume control of the world’s affairs, to end
its
reign of sin and death, and to bring in the True Light.'
"There surely is room for slight differences of opinion on this subject and it
behoves us to grant each other
the widest latitude. The lease of power to the
Gentiles may end in October, 1914, or in October, 1915. And
the period of in-
tense strife and anarchy 'such as never was since there was a nation' may be the
final ending of the
Gentile Times or the beginning of Messiah’s reign."
"But we remind all of our readers again, that we have not prophesied anything
about the Times of the Gentiles
closing in a time of trouble nor about the glor-
ious epoch which will shortly follow that catastrophe. We have merely
pointed
out what the Scriptures say, giving our views respecting their meaning and ask-
ing our readers to judge, each
for himself, what they signify. These prophecies
still read the same to us. Should we ever see reason for changing
our belief,
be assured we will be prompt to advise you respecting the same and give you the
reason for it. However,
some may make positive statements of what they know,
and of what they do not know, we never indulge in this; but we merely
state that
we believe thus and so, for such and such reasons.
"Finally, let us remember that we did not consecrate either to October, 1914,
nor to October, 1915, or to any
other date, but 'unto death.' If for any reason
the Lord has permitted us to miscalculate the prophecies, the signs
of the times
assure us that the miscalculations cannot be very great. And if the Lord's
grace and peace be with
us in the future as in the past, according to His prom-
ise, we shall rejoice equally to go or to remain at any time, and
to be in His
service, either on this side the veil or on the other side, as may please our
Master best. (Watchtower
Reprints," Dec.1, 1912, p.5142)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917,
1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
Who is this Russell that the winds and the seas don't obey him?
1913 This involves five different quotes of Russell's, each made in one of
five different years--1883
to 1913. I put this on the time line in the time of
the last quote because the claim is implied on the page at the
next link that
the combination of quotes show Russell predicted global warming.
http://www.pastor-russell.com/legacy/warming.html
Global warming is a fact, but it's weird that the Wikipedia article on Russell
currently (Aug., 2009) echoes
the previous article in crediting him for predict-
ing global warming. The Wikipedia misinformation seems to be due
to editing by
an overly-ambitious Russell fan who used quote-mining and eliminated most of
what Russell actually wrote.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taze_Russell
The claim that what he predicted about the polar ice caps is the current sci-
entific understanding of global
warming needs to include Russell's qualifying
conditions, especially if the claim is that Russell was so accurate that
it's
compelling evidence that God communicated through him.
As noted before, Russell predicted a period of trouble--that 1874 to 1914,
initiated by an invisible return
of Jesus, would be 40 years of the worst trou-
ble the world has known. Returns of invisible people are very difficult
to
prove beyond an arbitrary possibility, but it wasn't the worst 40 years on
earth. (See "Signs of the End" at
1987.)
Russell guessed about the possibility (didn't predict) that his 40 year period
of trouble could end with drastically
different climate than that hospitable to
human life--"fearful signs." It didn't. ("Zion's Watch Tower," Aug., 1896,
p.
189)
He predicted that when the 40 years was over in 1914, the next millenium would
be initiated by the visible
return of Jesus, which he predicted would happen in
Oct., 1914, then Oct., 1915, and finally a few years after 1916.
That millenium
would be immediately preceded then accompanied by climate changes such as the
shrinking of the polar
ice caps which would move toward the equator (I don't
know why) "Without affecting the torrid zone," which he claimed was
already un-
derway in 1903 and 1913. ("Zion's Watch Tower," Sept., 1883, p.8, May, 1903, p.
131, Jan., 1913, p.11)
He claimed that the climate changes would be the kind that would lead to a
Garden of Eden-type climate by the
end of that millenium--the end of "Cyclones,
earthquakes, thunderbolts, and alternations of drouth and deluge, and of bliz-
zards
of cold and simoons of heat." ("Zion's Watch Tower," Sept., 1886, p.1)
(A "drouth" is a "drought" and a "simoon" is "a
hot dry violent dust-laden wind
from Asian and African deserts.")
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drouth http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/simoon
That didn't happen--Jesus didn't appear a few years after 1916 or since so
that millenium didn't begin.
Russell's claim hinges on that having been immin-
ent so it's disqualified. But just to be thorough, we currently
have global
warming which has caused the polar ice caps to get smaller, if not drift toward
the equator, but has heated
up the rest of the planet, too, not excluding the
"torrid zone." Global warming hasn't stopped the occurrence of
earthquakes, and
is expected to cause increases in extreme weather events such as the rest of
those Russell listed,
not end them. Weather conditions didn't became typical of
Paradise, and Paradise isn't what an alarmed scientific
community expects global
warming to create.
According to Wikipedia articles about the "Instrumental temperature record"
and "Global warming," our current
global warming problem is due to human activi-
ty "since the mid-20th century," not acts of God to create Paradise since
the
late 1800's. There was a phase of global warming in Russell's day due to solar
radiation and volcanoes, which
might be interpreted as acts of God. But there
was a cooling plateau from 1945 to 1976 mostly attributed to sulphate
aerosol,
and a temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century due to fossil
fuel burning and deforestation.
"The period for which reasonably reliable instrumental records of near-surface
temperature exist with quasi-global
coverage is generally considered to begin
around 1850." "The United States National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) also
maintains
a temperature record since 1880." "Most of the observed warming oc-
curred during two periods: 1910 to 1945 and 1976
to 2000; the cooling/plateau
from 1945 to 1976 has been mostly attributed to sulphate aerosol.
"Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's
near-surface air and oceans since
the mid-20th century and its projected contin-
uation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ą 0.18 °C (1.33
ą 0.32 °F)
during the last century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
concludes that increasing
greenhouse gas concentrations resulting from human ac-
tivity such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation caused most
of the observed
temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century. The IPCC also con-
cludes that variations
in natural phenomena such as solar radiation and volca-
noes produced most of the warming from pre-industrial times to
1950 and had a
small cooling effect afterward."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
According to Wikipedia: "An increase in global temperature will cause sea
levels to rise and will change the
amount and pattern of precipitation, probably
including expansion of subtropical deserts. The continuing retreat
of glaciers,
permafrost and sea ice is expected, with warming being strongest in the Arctic.
Other likely effects include
increases in the intensity of extreme weather
events, species extinctions, and changes in agricultural yields."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
Russell predicted temperatures around the world would become the same as he
claims, in his 1913 quote, was
the case before the flood of Noah's ark, which he
interpreted literally. He used the water canopy idea of Isaac Vail's
"The
Earth's Annular System," 1912, to claim that temperatures around the earth got
more varied, and the polar ice caps
formed, when a water canopy fell to create
the flood--a "Deluge Effect." Russell claimed that the conditions before
the
"Deluge effect" were being recreated as evidenced by the shrinking of the polar
caps in 1913. None of that
is taken seriously in science, which neither sees it
as developing since the early 1900's nor expects it to happen later.
("Zion's
Watch Tower," Sept., 1883, p.8)
http://www.biblestudents.net/htdb/r5159.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_geology
"WHY THE POLAR ICE?
"Geology testifies to a Glacial Period, when great icebergs, carried by floods
of water, rushed from the poles
toward the equator. Geologists have traced
great valleys cut by these icebergs. On their findings they base
the theory
that the earth was once ice-covered. Instead of attributing the ice to the per-
iod of the Deluge,
4,400 years ago, they add a handful of naughts; and the more
they add, the prouder they feel of their achievements, because
they think that
they are getting away from the Bible and discrediting it.
"But scientific Bible students are having their faith in God's Word estab-
lished more and more. Without
affecting the torrid zone, the warmer tempera-
ture is now extending itself into the frigid zone quite rapidly. 'Greenland's
Icy
Mountains' will soon be things of the past. The poles are warming up. The
ice caps are dissolving. Last
winter was called the 'straw hat season' of Alas-
ka, because of the higher temperature than ever before known." ("Zion's
Watch
Tower," Sept., 1883, p.8)
https://archive.org/stream/1913WatchTower/1913_Watch_Tower_djvu.txt
Russell also claimed that the quick change to disparate temperatures of the
earth caused by the falling of
that water canopy "accounts for the remains of
tropical animals and of plant life found imbedded under hundreds of feet
of ice
in the polar regions." ("Zion's Watch Tower," Jan., 1913, p.11) It doesn't--see
the article at the next
link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_geology
Russell compared the effect of the water canopy to that of "the white glass of
a hot-house," a greenhouse.
This isn't to be confused with the actual "green-
house effect" that keeps the earth warm.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect
One change that went on in Russell's lifetime and since that he and others may
have noticed is that urban areas
were growing, and some urban areas are warmer
than nearby countryside, but he didn't report that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_heat_island
****
1913 "Some have a strong desire to worship God, others have a weak desire,
and others have no desire
at all. This difference is due to the shape of the
brain. Mankind are born with differences in this respect.--'Psa.
51:5'"
("Watchtower Reprints," March 15, 1913, p.5201)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology
Years after Russell passed away, this outlook of phrenology contributed to the
racist use of eugenics.
During Rutherford's presidency, the Golden Age sup-
ported eugenics (p.6).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics
****
1914
Having gone through some turmoil with his following over earlier predictions
not coming true, no doubt including
that Christians he'd condemned reminded him
that Deut.13:1-5 condemns a false prophet to death, Russell both
- tried to keep things from getting worse by denying the trustworthiness of
his chronology to forecast the
events of the next couple of years
- yet defend his chronology as a blessing for having awoken people to Rus-
sell's version of the truth.
If Russell was going to be another prophetic founder of a modern church that
restores the original church from
a great apostasy, he wasn't going to let being
lousy as a prophet get in the way.
And as the year rolled in:
1914 "If later it should be demonstrated that the Church is not glorified by
October, 1914, we shall
try to feel content with whatever the Lord's will may
be. We believe that very many who are running the race for
the prize will be
able to thank God for the chronology, even if it should prove not accurate to
the year, or even out
of the way several years. We believe that the chronology
is a blessing. If it should wake us a few minutes
earlier or a few hours ear-
lier in the Morning than we would otherwise have waked, well and good! It is
those
who are awake who get the blessing.
"If 1915 should go by without the passage of the Church, without the Time of
Trouble, etc., it would seem to
some to be a great calamity. It would not be so
with ourself. We shall be as glad as any one if we shall all
experience our
change from earthly to spirit conditions before 1915, and THIS IS OUR EXPECTA-
TION; but if this should
not be the Lord's will, then it would not be our will.
If in the Lord's providence the time should come twenty-five years
later, then
that would be our will. This would not change the fact that the Son of God was
sent by the Father,
and that the Son is the Redeemer of our race; that He died
for our sins; that He is selecting the Church for His Bride;
and that the next
thing now in order is the establishment of the glorious Kingdom at the hands of
this great Mediator,
who during His Mediatorial Reign will bless all the famil-
ies of the earth. These facts remain the same. The
difference would be merely
that of a few years in the time of the establishment of the Kingdom.
"If October, 1915, should pass, and we should find ourselves still here and
matters going on very much as they
are at present, and the world apparently mak-
ing progress in the way of settling disputes, and there were no time of trouble
in
sight, and the nominal Church were not yet federated, etc., we would say that
evidently we have been out somewhere in our
reckoning. In that event we would
look over the prophecies further, to see if we could find an error. And then
we
would think, Have we been expecting the wrong thing at the right time? The
Lord's will might permit this.
Our expectation as a Church is that our change
is near. Nothing of Restitution blessings can come to the world until
after the
Church has been glorified.
"Another thing to be considered, should our hopes not be so soon realized as
we expect, would be as to whether
we were surely of the elect class. But we are
not worrying ourself at all. 'Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof.'
There are no people in the world so blessed as those who have the Truth and are
serving the Truth. There
is plenty of work to do." ("Watchtower Reprints,"
Jan.1, 1914, pp.5373,5374) (See 1877, 1878, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1910,
1916, 1917,
1922, 1935, 1995, and 2007; also see 1880 for Russell's Christian Zionist idea
of a literal 144,000 for
Rev.7:2-8)
****
Scientific reasons for predictions about 1914:
"The Photo-Drama of Creation"
1914 Russell helped create a collection of phonograph recordings, slides, and
movies (a combination that
was popular at the time) called "The Photo-Drama of
Creation" which began showings in 1914, was shown till 1916, and was
very popu-
lar. Most of the presentation was made by lecturers he coached. Portions pre-
sented records
of his voice, which were accompanied by movies in which he at-
tempted to portray the lecture in sync with the records.
Some of the science,
let alone compromises between it and Russell's interpretations of scripture,
don't hold up very
well, but you might want to click a link or two below to look
at an example of the entertainment of the time.
I'm guessing Russell worked on the Photo-Drama for a couple of years to re-
lease in 1914 to offset any predictable
negative reactions likely over his pro-
phecies of Oct., 1915-1914 miracles not working out.
Russell taught that the Earth was created 42,000 years (six 7,000 year "days")
before Adam, who was created
near the end of the sixth "day," and Eve (or Adam
and Eve) at the start of the seventh "day."
Part of his chronology, upon which he based his prophecy attempts, had it that
Adam and Eve appeared 6,000
years prior to 1873 AD, 1874 was the year Jesus be-
gan to rule the Earth from heaven--invisible on Earth, there would
be a 40 year
harvest period from 1874 (unseen "seen" Jesus) to 1914 (seen "seen" Jesus), and
a Messiah reign of 1,000
years, in which various miracles (Abraham, etc. would
appear, etc.) would happen, would begin in Oct., 1914, or Oct., 1915
(corrected
date), etc.
http://www.agsconsulting.com/pdoc/pdoc06.htm http://www.agsconsulting.com/pdoc/pdoc07.htm http://www.agsconsulting.com/pdoc/pdoc08.htm
4,128 BC (6,000 years before 1873 AD) was when Adam and Eve appeared, accord-
ing to Russell. According
to the Wikipedia article at the next link, Homo sa-
piens appeared about 250,000 years ago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_evolution
Well, he's getting closer--give him a little credit.
Russell was an anti-evolutionist except for specialized evolution within a
species with no higher form of life
evolving from a lower one. Humans were a
special creation that hadn't evolved from anything prior.
In 4,128 BC, humanity had spread around the world for thousands of years. Peo-
ple inhabited the Americas since
10,000, possibly 40,000 years ago. The Mesopo-
tamian age had been going along for a couple of thousand years.
There were al-
ready millions of people on the Earth. One thing a date-setting prophet has to
do is get his timing
right, and Russell was way off for his dates on both ends
and the time of the fall of Jerusalem in the middle.
(Also see 1902, 1904, 1961, 1968, 1971, 1985, and 2004 for Russell's and the
JWs leaders' views against evolution.)
For the flood in Noah's day, Russell taught the canopy theory--that the Earth
was surrounded by a canopy of
water, high in the atmosphere, which fell to Earth
to create the flood. After that, the polar ice caps were formed,
thunderstorms
were possible, etc.
http://www.agsconsulting.com/pdoc/pdoc16.htm
This theory would require a variety of attending miracles to pull off. Other-
wise, the Wikipedia article
at the next link explains how it isn't indicated by
evidence.
****
Russell may have needed to put a decimal point in his 144,000
1914 "The evidences seem to be that there are still quite a number of vacan-
cies in the elect number,
because there are people coming into Present Truth and
consecrating who have come directly from the world. This would
seem to indicate
that there are not at present a sufficient number fully consecrated to complete
the 144,000.
If there were, these would be given the preference over those not
consecrated." ("Watchtower Reprints," March 1, 1914,
p.5411)
(See 1877, 1878, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1910, 1916, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1935, 1995,
and 2007; also see 1880 for Rev.7:1-8
taken to refer to a literal 144,000 Jewish
people)
****
Take special note of the following in relation to current JWs leaders claims
that Russell predicted anything
about WWI:
1914 "We had expected that if the Gentile Times should end with the present
year, this would surely mean
that all the Bride class would participate in the
First Resurrection change from earthly conditions to Heavenly conditions
before
the end of the present year. Although this was not stated positively, it was
pointed out to be the logical
conclusion.
"Now it does not look so. We see Scriptures which are not yet fulfilled and
which, we are convinced,
could not find accomplishment before the end of this
year.
"There is still a possibility that we have made no mistake in respect to the
time, but have erred in respect
to the things expected. For instance, it may be
that the Times of the Gentiles do expire with the present year, but
that the
Lord will not dispossess them nor take from them their earthly dominion so
quickly as we had anticipated.
Considering that they have been in power for
2,520 years, dispossession in one year might seem very sudden--indeed, to
accom-
plish it in five, or ten, or twenty years, might seem not an unreasonable time."
"The great crisis, the great clash, symbolically represented as a fire, that
will consume the ecclesiastical
heavens and the social earth, is very near. But
when we have said this we have said about all that it is safe or
proper for us
to say. We have never claimed inspiration nor prophetic vision. All that we
have ever claimed
is that 'Wonderful things in the Bible we see,' and that the
dearest is the love of the Heavenly Father and our Heavenly
Lord Jesus, and that
the time for the establishment of the Kingdom is very nigh." ("The Watch Tow-
er," May 1,
1914, pp.132-134)
Summary: as tensions build in Europe, Russell threw open all possibilities
regarding what could happen and
when except that the destruction of the non-Rus-
sell churches and Armageddon were very near. He claimed he never
played prophet
but he had, both in the elitism of his "144,000" claim, accompanying damnation
for most others, and having
made specific predictions like the two just noted.
The destruction of the non-Russell churches and human government didn't
happen.
The Bible doesn't require followers to make up stories about Armageddon being
around the corner all the time,
just about always being ready since Jesus could
come back any time.
1914 (GTW note: my Dad was born in Carnegie, PA, on June 5th.)
****
You shouldn't be superstitious about a war, earthquake, etc., being a sign
of the end
unless there's a war part three
1914 On July 28, World War I began: Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
after it failed to meet the
conditions of an ultimatum it set on July 23 follow=
ing the Sarajevo assassination.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
1914 After WWI broke out on July 28, 1914, Russell reverted to form for the
Aug.15, 1914, Zion's Watch
Tower and wrote:
"St. Paul, referring to our day and to present conditions, declares the Lord's
Message, 'Yet once more will
I shake, not the earth only, but also the heavens.'
By inspiration the Apostle informs us that this will be the last great
shaking
which the world will ever have, because in this troubled time in the early dawn
of the Millennium, everything
shakable will be shaken and destroyed so thorough-
ly that nothing will remain except that which is unshakable--that which
will
fully have the Divine approval. The Apostle says that the only thing remaining
unshakable will be the Kingdom
of God in the hands of The Christ--Head and
Body.--'Hebrews 12:18-27'."
(That didn't happen, even from a Eurocentric point of view, and it's a shaky
possibility that Paul wrote the
book of Hebrews--the writing style is too dif-
ferent, and the writer claims their original motivation to be Christian
came
from "others" instead of a vision of Christ himself.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_to_the_Hebrews
Russell called WWI the earthquake of Rev.16:18.
(Didn't happen.)
Russell wrote that WWI would be part of the battle of Armageddon. "Then the
great Armageddon of the Bible
may be expected. Every man's hand will be against
his neighbor. Various factions and parties will proclaim
panaceas, and will
endeavor to force them upon the public. As a result, foretold in prophecy,
'there shall be
a Time of Trouble, such as never was since there was a na-
tion.'--'Daniel 12:1'."
(Nope. He'd have had better luck trying for a prophecy for the Time of the
Guy who Got Things Wrong.)
"Following the style of some writers of today, who tell us of a general Euro-
pean conflagration, St. Peter
describes the end of the nominal Church systems of
our day under the figure of a fire. The heavens being on fire
shall pass away
with a great noise--great disputation, confusion, etc.; "the earth also and the
works that are therein
shall be burned up," writes St. Peter. "The fire of that
Day shall try every man's work of what kind it is," writes
St. Paul.--`2 Peter
3:10`; `1 Corinthians 3:13`." ("Watchtower Reprints," Aug.15, 1914, pp.5516,
5517)
(With Russell's hokey new prophet routine, I guess you'd hope to win the ec-
clesiastical war he imagines by
default, but he was wrong again. Christianity
grew bigger than before.)
As the big date, Oct., 1914, approached, Russell fudged again:
1914 "The present terrible war is not the great Time of Trouble in the full-
est sense of the word, but
merely its forerunner. The great Time of Trouble of
the Scriptures will be brought on by anarchy--the general uprising
of the peo-
ple; as the Prophet says, 'every man's hand against his neighbor, no peace to
him that goeth out or to him
that cometh in.'--'Zechariah 8:10'."
"While it is possible that Armageddon may begin next Spring, yet it is purely
speculation to attempt to say
just when. We see, however, that there are paral-
lels between the close of the Jewish Age and this Gospel Age.
These parallels
seem to point to the year just before us--particularly the early months."
("Watchtower Reprints," Sept.1,
1914, pp.5526,5527)
1914 Even giving himself a couple of months (Oct., 1914 and Oct., 1915, the
latter being his corrected
calculation) for something to happen which he could
attach to his prediction, Russell settled instead for calling WWI a
sign of im-
pending Armageddon and pretended he predicted something.
Though Russell taught not to look to wars, earthquakes, etc., as signs, his
corrected prediction missed the
time by a bit over a year and a couple of
months, and his original date missed by over two months, he taught that WWI,
which
began on July 28, 1914, the fast culmination of a complex of events set
into motion on June 28, was the start of Armageddon
(the Bible kind, not "Arma-
geddon" as a secular figure of speech), which it wasn't. It didn't result in
the end
of historical mainstream Christianity (which he referred to a variety of
the basic tenets of disparagingly), the overthrow
of all human government, Jesus
being seen in the sense of "seen," or the setting up of God's rulership by Abra-
ham,
etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taze_Russell#Theology_and_teachings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armageddon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_World_War_I
When his predictions weren't fulfilled in 1914, he used 1915 again--that's
when it would end. In the
last year of his life, 1916, he said Armageddon would
happen "in a few more years." (See 1915 and 1916 below)
Encouraged by the ability to attach some new interpretations to the biggest
news of the day, WWI, his recent
welcome uncertainty, at least about this, was
replaced by playing prophet confidently and contradicting himself with various
dates--and
he still couldn't predict anything miraculous. WWI started too early
for that and didn't turn into any of the miracles
Russell promised--it just
ended.
Russell ended up with an invisible Jesus that "all eyes will see" with nothing
miraculous attached to him to
make the idea better than a silly, let alone com-
pelling, way to establish prophetic ability, a batch of failed predictions,
a
few years left before Russell's remaining predictions of miraculous events were
shown wrong, with Russell claiming
to the end that his predictions were based on
scripture, and, at least as importantly (see 1910), his own writings.
Nevermind
how ironic it made his case that it was an apostasy to deviate from scripture
when preaching God's word, Russell
had the old stick-to-it-iveness.
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1917,
1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1914 "Probably not more than one in ten of all the Protestant ministers of
the world would today
acknowledge that he still holds fast his faith and confi-
dence in the Bible as God's inspired Message. The other
nine-tenths, if cross-
questioned, would privately admit that they had lost their hold, or been shaken
loose, and perhaps
would boast of it even in public. Others, through fear of
loss of prestige or salary, would seek to dodge the question
and give evasive
answers." ("Watchtower Reprints," Aug.1, 1914, pp.5516,5517)
You have to remember that he meant belief in the Bible on his terms, which
included a created Christ that was
to be worshipped. Considering that, he may
have cut himself an overly generous slice with his one in ten. Oy,
what goyim.
If he'd have gone around teaching this as monotheism in the time of Christ, they
wouldn't have picked up
rocks to stone him. They'd have been too puzzled.
****
1915 The Watchtower Society also printed new copies of Russell's "Studies in
the Scriptures" in 1915
with 1914 changed to 1915 in various places (for exam-
ple, on p.81, Vol.2 in 1908 changed for the 1915 version).
http://www.spiritwatch.org/jwgospel.htm
1915 "Furthermore, Science declares that there is a far mightier Center,
around which these countless
millions of suns revolve, accompanied by their
planets and satellites. This great Center seems to be associated with
the Plei-
ades, particularly with Alcyone, the central star of this renowned group. For
this reason the suggestion
has been made that the Pleiades may represent the
Residence of Jehovah, the place from which He governs the Universe."
("Zion's
Watch Tower, June 15, 1915, p.185)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades
Russell claimed God is in a location--here, he passes along the suggestion
that it's Alcyone in the Pleiades,
which is in the Taurus constellation. Rus-
sell was probably partial to Alcyone due to the use of it in making calculations
based
on the Great Pyramid. (See the sections on pyramidology, 1925, and 1928.)
1915 "In view of this strong Bible evidence concerning the Times of the Gen-
tiles, we consider it an
established truth that the final end of the kingdoms of
this world and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God will
be accomplished
near the end of 1915." ("The Time is at Hand," 1889, "1914" revised to "1915"
for the 1915 edition,
p.99)
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/failed-1914-predictions.php
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1916, 1917,
1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1916 "...we anticipate that before a very long time--perhaps a year or two or
three--the full number
of the Elect will be completed, and all will have gone
beyond the Veil and the door will be shut." ("Thy Kingdom Come,"
forward to 1916
edition, pp.i,ii)
(See 1877, 1878, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1935, 1995,
and 2007; also see 1880 for Rev.7:1-8
taken to refer to a literal 144,000 Jewish
people)
Since Russell's prediction for Armageddon miracles hadn't come true, the 3416
measurement and the beginning
of the period of trouble were changed for the 1916
edition of "Thy Kingdom Come" to "We find it to be 3457 inches, symbolizing
3457
years.... Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1914 will be the begin-
ning of the time of trouble...."
I don't think Russell could predict he was going to sneeze in ten seconds, and
if he got it wrong he'd say
it happened invisibly then deny that he said it.
1916 "We see no reason for doubting therefore that the Times of the Gentiles
ended in October 1914; and
that a few more years will witness their utter col-
lapse and the full establishment of God's Kingdom in the hands of Messiah."
("Watchtower
Reprints," vol.6, Sept.1, 1916, p.5950)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1917,
1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1916 Russell died on Oct.31 (Hallowe'en), 1916. His grave in Rosemont United
Cemetery, Pittsburgh,
PA, is by a statue of a pyramid put there in 1924 in com-
memoration of him by friends of the Watchtower Bible and Tract
Society. (If
things get too quiet at JWs headquarters, maybe someone could measure it and make
more bad predictions
with it. "Oo, look--Guy Fawkes Night!" Sorry.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taze_Russell#Death
According to various sources, his last words were "Make me" (or "Bring me") "a
Roman toga," which his travelling
companion, Menta Sturgeon, fashioned for him
out of bed sheets. (At the next link, you might use the Edit > Find
feature to
find the quote in a lengthy article about Russell's life.)
http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/Contents/history/bio%20ctr.htm
Especially since the writer, an admirer of Russell's, compares it to the dress
of a Roman leader, the obvious
joke is to say he died dressed like one of the
people who killed Christ, but I'm going to guess he probably wanted to wear
something
like a hospital gown.
****
Joseph F. Rutherford
After a schism in Russell's group over how to proceed, Joseph Franklin Ruth-
erford trashed Russell's will
to become the president of the "Watch Tower Bible
and Tract Society" in Jan., 1917. Leadership went from zany and
elitist but
friendly in some ways to zany and elitist but regimented and cranky. His pre-
diction that God would
destroy churches and millions of members of them in 1918
didn't come true, but he started making changes in doctrine in
1918.
He continued some of Russell's ideas--that he was part of the 144,000 that
would go to heaven, Jesus was created
but was to be worshipped and had returned
invisibly, an Armageddon that kept moving a bit into the future, that Abraham,
etc.,
would be resurrected and rule the Earth, Christian Zionism (for a while),
etc. He felt the need to make his mark
by giving them this own dates to be
wrong about.
He created a Governing Body to preside over and regimentation for followers
got stricter. He predicted
the world would descend into total chaos in 1920
(God didn't help him with that, fortunately), had an unfortunate sales
PR method
of putting the followers into sometimes dangerous conflicts to stir up interest
(without going to the front
lines, door to door, himself--this isn't Martin Lu-
ther King), and predicted 1925 as the year the Millennium would begin
and we'd
see Bible notables Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David reappear, later adding that
they'd live in one of Rutherford's
mansions in San Diego.
http://www.strictlygenteel.co.uk/index2.html http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/77958/best-rutherford-info?page=1&size=20
Apostle Paul taught to sacrifice selfish concerns in the name of assimilating
with the Jews and Gentiles, to
make your case and hope it persuades--not to
barge around getting in people's faces with sound trucks and damnation up
front.
(1 Cor.10:31-33; 11:1)
The other JWs leaders made their biggest failure in showing a sign of God--
none of them thumped him one.
Second Watchtower president Rutherford continued teaching about Armageddon ex-
cept WWI wasn't as destructive
as hoped so he eventually rescheduled Armageddon
for 1918 then 1925 then....
****
1917 "My advice is, then, give your children an education up to public school
limit, not even attempting
to take them through high school, for they get plenty
of Higher Criticism [sic] in the high schools, and it will not be
long before
they have it in the common schools also." ("What Pastor Russell Said, "1917,
pp.57,58) (See 1969,
1989. 1992, and 2006)
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/wrong-with-being-jehovahs-witness.php
****
"The Finished Mystery"
1917 The Watchtower leaders teach that Jesus picked the Watchtower leaders as
his sole channel of information
on Earth in 1919. One of the things Jesus would
have noticed about the Watchtower leaders since 1914, besides their
claim of
"144,000" exclusiveness, false prophet record, and created Christ who was to be
worshipped problem with monotheism,
is that in 1917 the Watchtower released Vol.
7 of "Studies in the Scriptures": "The Finished Mystery," which is at the
next
link:
http://www.archive.org/details/TheFinishedMystery
The title of "The Finished Mystery" is supposed to mean that it contained ex-
planations that would end a number
of mysteries about the book of Revelation.
It reminds me of something one of Jonathan Winters' characters might say in-
stead,
for some reason. It includes this information:
(Actually, Matthias replaced Judas--Acts 1:21-26--and Paul joined later.)
- The angel referred to by apostle John in Rev.3:14 is Charles Taze Russell:
"The 'angel' of Rev.3:14 represented
the messenger who appeared to St.John." (p.
12) "The special messenger to the last Age of the Church was Charles
T. Rus-
sell..." (p.53)
http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/finishedmystery.htm
- Nelson Barbour is "the evil servant" of Matt. 24:48-51 (pp.54,386).
(As noted earlier, Russell copped some of his more distinctive ideas from Bar-
bour, but after the April, 1878
Rapture prophecy didn't come to pass, Barbour
stopped backing Russell about the predictions and Russell's ransom explan-
ation
for the crucifixion and, after debating them a while in Barbour's "Herald
of the Morning," they split up.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taze_Russell#Split_with_Barbour
- "Another angel" of Rev.8:3 is The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society: "And
another angel--Not the 'voice
of the Lord' mentioned in the preceding chapter,
but the corporate body--the WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, which
Pastor
Russell formed to finish his work." "The WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY
is the greatest corporation
in the world, because from the time of its organiza-
tion until now the Lord has used it as His channel through which to
make known
the Glad Tidings." (p.144)
(Zion's Watch Tower organization was formed in 1879 with Russell's claim of an
invisible Second Coming in 1874,
predictions, and claims of an exclusive rela-
tionship with God already underway. The idea of a Watch Tower president
presi-
ding over a group and claiming it to be God's sole group on Earth bound for
heaven began long before 1914 and
continued beyond 1919 with those two years not
thought at the time to make a difference in those matters as has been claimed
by
the JWs leaders in recent years, never mind how hard it would be to miss a Matt.
24:29-31-type thing, let alone Jesus
starting to give you special guidance, at
the time.)
("The Finished Mystery" suggested regimented devotion to the Watchtower organ-
ization instead of an individual,
but the outlook didn't materialize for the
Governing Body instead of a president till 1976, years after Rutherford's tenure
as
president. See 1919, 1976, others.)
- The "severed hair" of Rev.5:1, and Rev.24:25,26, means "...in 1918, when God
destroys the churches wholesale
and the church members by the millions, it shall
be that any that escape shall come to the " (posthumous) "works of Pastor
Rus-
sell to learn the meaning of the downfall of 'Christianity'" (pp.398,399,485).
(In 1918, God didn't destroy all the non-JWs churches and people in them.
Non-JWs, more inclined to call a
JWs leader false prophet a false prophet,
didn't all take to studying Russell's bad predictions, meant to give credibility
to
his claim of being of a literal 144,000 who were restoring the original
church from a great apostasy, to learn the meaning
of the "downfall of Chris-
tianity.")
- Rev.14:20 mentions 1,600 stadia, aka furlongs, which is 137.9 miles, which
is the distance from Scranton,
PA, where "The Finished Mystery" was written
to the Lackawanna Railroad station (half was written 5 blocks from the station
and
half was written 25 blocks from the station, so the average distance between
the two was used) to the Hoboken Ferry to
the Barclay Street Ferry and past two
Fulton Ferries to the Brooklyn Bethel Watch Tower headquarters (p.230).
http://www.strictlygenteel.co.uk/finishedmystery/fmtitles.html
(That last one's a popular favorite among researchers of early JWs leaders'
history. I guess Russell
saying that is one of the things apostle John is sup-
posed to have seen in a vision of the future at Rev.3:14 or ?--see
above. It
doesn't record that apostle John is supposed to have said, "Please, let me write
this--you'll shmutz
up the works.")
- Rutherford made some new calculations about those beyond the 144,000 literal
followers (including him):
"As the number of the Bride of Christ is to be 144,000, it would be reasonable
to think that each number of
this class may have 144,000 to look after, as
144,000 X 144,000 equals 20,736,000,000 (twenty billion seven hundred and
thir-
ty-six million), evidently just about the right number to be cared for--144,000
would be quite a host for each
individual of the Bride class to look after. So
we can see the necessity for the work of the Great Company." (p.138)
"Referring to Rev.21:17: "We should expect to find the number of those rescued
during the Millenium shown somewhere
in these measurements, and this we also
find. The cubit, in symbolism, is flexible in length, like the word 'day.'
If
we multiply the number of square furlongs in the city by the 144 measures of a
man the result is 144,000 by 144 or
20,736,000,000, the estimated number of the
sheep class at the end of the Millenial Age." (p.23)
(In 1935, the future of those not part of the 144,000 was relocated to a fu-
ture life on Earth.)
(See 1877, 1878, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1921, 1922, 1935, 1995,
and 2007; also see 1880 for Rev.7:1-8
taken to refer to a literal 144,000 Jewish
people)
- Those non-Watchtower followers who turned from Christendom, then human gov-
ernment, would be destroyed in
1920:
"As the fleshly-minded apostates from Christianity, siding with the radicals
and revolutionaries, will rejoice
at the inheritance of desolation that will be
Christendom's...so will God do to the successful revolutionary movement;
it
shall be utterly desolated, 'even all of it.' Not one vestige of [Christendom]
shall survive the ravages of
world-wide all embracing anarchy, in the fall of
1920. (Rev. II: 7-13)" (p.542; the 1926 edition replaces "fall of 1920"
with
"end of the time of trouble")
"And the mountains were not found. Even the republics will disappear in the
fall of 1920. And the
mountains were not found. Every kingdom of earth will
pass away, be swallowed up in anarchy." (p.258; the 1926 edition
omits this)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc., are coming back to run things, and they're
going to live
in one of Rutherford's mansions and drive one of his Cad-
illac V-16s
1918 Rutherford first gave the speech "The World Has Ended; Millions Now
Living May Never Die" on February
24, 1918. On March 31, 1918, "May" was
changed to "Will." Joseph Rutherford began declaring that God's Kingdom
would
be reestablished on Earth, millions now living would never die, and Bible not-
ables Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and
the prophets of Hebrews 11 would physically re-
turn to Earth (as Russell taught would happen at the end of 1914, 1915,
and a
few years after 1916) in 1925.
Since you don't want them to get a shabby house, Rutherford had a couple of
mansions built in San Diego--Beth-Sarim
in 1929 and Beth-Shan built in 1939.
Rutherford used this as a reason to get a couple of Cadillac V-16s, one poten-
tially
for them and one to use himself, and lived in Beth-Sarim till he died.
(See 1929)
(If it ran out of gas, was Moses supposed to strike a rock? No, no, no,,,,)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
1919 and Theocratic Selective Service
The JWs leaders have claimed for years now that Jesus picked them as his sole
religious leaders on Earth in
1919. Part of that story uses Rev.11. The
anointed Bible Students are given as the Two Witnesses whose work,
"The Finished
Mystery," 1917, was "killed" when seven of the Society officers were sentenced
to federal prison, then
"resurrected"/revived eighteen months later with the
release and claimed "exoneration" of them. Jesus then put them
in charge of the
Master's household and care of all his belongings on Earth. (See 2000.)
This is connected to the return of Jesus in 1914--that he's had an invisible
presence on Earth since he started
ruling it from heaven in 1914,...
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
...that Jesus fulfilled a prophetic 1,260 days (Dan.7:25: time, times, and
half a time; time is one year=360
days, times is two years=720 days, and a half
time is half a year=180 days, which adds up to 1,260 days; a month was 30
days;
also see Rev.12:6,14) waging war with Satan and casting the demons to Earth from
1914 to 1918, then picked Rutherford
and associates as his leaders on Earth,
picked from the Faithful and Discreet Slave class of Matt.24:45, in 1919.
http://www.freeminds.org/history/exonerated.htm
For more about the court case, Rutherford in prison, etc., associated with the
current JWs leaders' ideas about
1919, see p.6.
****
1919 "Is not the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society the one and only channel
which the Lord has
used in dispensing his truth continually since the beginning
of the harvest period?" ("The Watchtower," April 1,
1919, p.6414) (Rutherford
suggested regimented devotion to the Watchtower leaders instead of an individ-
ual,
but the outlook didn't materialize till 1976. See 1917, 1976, and others.)
1920 "As the fleshly-minded apostates from Christianity, siding with the rad-
icals and revolutionaries,
will rejoice at the inheritance of desolation that
will be Christendom's...so will God do to the successful revolutionary
movement;
it shall be utterly desolated, 'even all of it.' Not one vestige of [Christen-
dom] shall survive the
ravages of world-wide all embracing anarchy, in the fall
of 1920. (Rev. II: 7-13)" ("The Finished Mystery," p.542) (The
1926 edition re-
places "fall of 1920" with "end of the time of trouble.")
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1922, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1921 "The Jewish harvest covered a period of forty years, ending in A.D. 73.
We should expect, then,
the general harvest of the gospel age to end in 1918."
("The Harp of God," J.F.Rutherford, 1921, 1924-8, 1937, 1940, p.236)
(See 1877, 1878, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1922, 1935, 1995,
and 2007; also see 1880 for Rev.7:1-8
taken to refer to a literal 144,000 Jewish
people)
1922 "There is no one in present truth today who can honestly say that he
received a knowledge of the
divine plan from any source other than by the minis-
try of Brother Russell, either directly or indirectly." Russell
was the "faith-
ful and wise servant" of Matthew 24:45. "Then to repudiate him and his work is
equivalent to a
repudiation of the Lord...." ("The Watchtower," May 1, 1922, p.
132)
1922 Again, 1918 was declared to be the close of the "high calling" to be
among the 144,000. ("The Watchtower,"
June 15, 1992, p.23, and "Jehovah's Wit-
nesses, Proclaimers of God's Kingdom," 1993 p.166)
(The original deadline was 1881, which was changed to be a few years after
1916. 1918 was later replaced
by 1935, and in 2007 the deadline was removed.)
(See 1877, 1878, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1921, 1935, 1995,
and 2007; also see 1880 for Rev.7:1-8
taken to refer to a literal 144,000 Jewish
people)
1922 "It is on the basis of such and so many correspondencies---in accordance
with the soundest laws
known to science--that we affirm that, Scripturally, sci-
entifically, and historically, present-truth chronology is correct
beyond a
doubt. Its reliability has been abundantly confirmed by the dates and events of
...1914.... Present-truth
chronology is a secure basis on which the consecrated
child of God may endeavor to search out things to come." ("The
Watchtower,"
June 15, 1922, p.187)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1925,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1923 (GTW note: my Mom was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Nov.11th.)
1925 "The year 1925 is here. With great expectation Christians have looked
forward to this year.
Many have confidently expected that all members of the
body of Christ will be changed to heavenly glory during the year.
This may be
accomplished. It may not be. In his own due time God will accomplish his pur-
poses concerning
his own people. Christians should not be so deeply concerned
about what may transpire during this year that they
would fail to joyfully do
what the Lord would have them to do." ("The Watchtower," Jan.1, 1925, p.3)
1925 "Our thought is, that 1925 is definitely settled by the scriptures. As
to Noah, the Christian now
has much more upon which to base his faith than Noah
had upon which to base his faith in a coming deluge." ("The Watchtower,"
April
1, 1923, p.106)
http://www.bibletopics.com/biblestudy/88a.htm
1925 Rutherford backed off from his 1925 prediction while pointing the finger
of blame for the idea at
the followers: "Some anticipated that the work would
end in 1925, but the Lord did not state so. The difficulty was
that the friends
inflated their imaginations beyond reason; and that when their imaginations
burst asunder, they were
inclined to throw away everything." ("The Watchtower,
1926, p.232)
http://www.freeminds.org/history/part3.htm
(Rutherford's 1925 predictions aren't mentioned in "Jehovah's Witnesses, Pro-
claimers of God's Kingdom," 1993,
in the section "Notable Dates"--the official
1993 version of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society's history of predictions.
(See
1918, 1929, 1941-2?, 1942, and 1997.)
http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/list_false_dates.htm
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1925 "Some one asked me the other day: Suppose you should be here in 1925
what would you do? I
said, I believe I will be home in the Pleiades before
then...." ("The Watchtower," Nov.1, 1920, p.334) (See the sections
on pyramid-
ology that mention the Pleiades, 1915, and 1928.)
1926 "Human footprints seven feet long found in California...(made by) giants
(mentioned in) Genesis 6" ("The
Golden Age," Jan.13, 1926, p.238)
****
Satanic celebration of the birth of Christ
1927 or? According to "Jehovah's Witnesses--Proclaimers of God's Kingdom"
(1993), 1926 was the last year
Christmas was celebrated at Watch Tower headquar-
ters. I'm not sure when the JWs leaders came out against it--1927
or ? ("Jeho-
vah's Witnesses--Proclaimers of God's Kingdom," 1993, p.200; "Yearbook," 1975,
pp.147-149) (See 1929,
1931, 1951, 1983, and 1988)
****
1928 "The constellation of the Pleiades is a small one compared with others
which scientific instruments
disclose to the wondering eyes of man. But the
greatness in size of other stars or planets is small when compared
with the
Pleiades in importance, because the Pleiades is the place of the eternal throne
of God." ("Reconciliation,"
p.14) (See the sections on pyramidology, 1915, and
1925)
The idea of God having a spirit body in a location was continued but the claim
that the location was in the
Pleiades was cancelled in 1953.
1928 "It is more reasonable to conclude that the great pyramid of Gizeh, as
well as the other pyramids
thereabout, also the sphinx, were built by the rulers
of Egypt and under the direction of Satan the Devil." "Then
Satan put his know-
ledge in dead stone, which may be called Satan's Bible, and not God's stone wit-
ness. In
erecting the pyramid, of course, Satan would put in some truth, be-
cause that is his method of practicing fraud and deceit."
("The Watchtower,"
Nov.15, 1928, p.344)
http://books.google.com/books?id=kSZL8BWc9KcC&lpg=PA212&ots=FVdxaYvM1w&dq=Satan's%20Bible%2C%20and%20not%20God's%20stone%20witness&pg=PA212#v=onepage&q=Satan's%20Bible,%20and%20not%20God's%20stone%20witness&f=false
****
Rutherford shoves Charles Russell out of the lime"light"
1928 Since "the death of the apostles...the gospel of the kingdom of God and
of his Christ was not preached
until after 1918 A.D." ("The Watchtower," Dec.1,
1928, p.364)
I guess that blows Charles' sainthood deal. In one of the more notable exam-
ples of JWs leaders shunning
or cutting someone off, Rutherford cut off Russell.
And Rutherford was one of Russell's oldest and dearest friends.
You should have
heard from the people that didn't like him--oof!
A couple of reasons to see this as calculating and not sincere:
While dropping many of Russell's attempted prophesy dates, Rutherford kept the
606 BC (not when Jerusalem fell)
to Oct., 1914 calculation that included a year
"0" between the BC and AD years though Russell had already made a correction
for
it known--Oct., 1915. WWI hadn't started on either of Russell's prediction
dates, but Russell tried to make
a go of incorporating WWI into his prophesy
claims. It was so clearly more of a PR move of the moment than that anything
evidential
was shown about his predictive abilities that Russell veered from his
prophet pretensions, fudged, and admitted uncertainty
at the end. Nevertheless,
Rutherford went with the 1914--WWI connection, with its year "0" and Armageddon
always
just up ahead, for PR except without the modest uncertainty part.
Rutherford also maintained Russell's idea of a created Christ who was to be
worshipped though quite a long
time had gone by for someone supposedly intent on
cleaning theological house not to have noticed the obvious problem it
created in
reconciling it with monotheism. At least it would lend support, if not credi-
bility, to the aspect
of exclusiveness of Rutherford's "144,000" claim since
most Christian preachers knew better than to teach it.
****
Human governments are led by Satan (Rom.13:1-7?)
1929 Rutherford reinterpreted Rom.13:1-7--forcing the idea past the possibil-
ity of a generalization
about human leaders, Rutherford claimed that he couldn't
conceive of "higher authorities" as earthly human leaders so they
must be God
and Christ:
"The improper application has really been the basis for the false doctrine of
the 'divine right of kings' or
rulers to rule and oppress the people. … The
apostle is, in substance, telling the members of the church that they
should al-
ways be obedient to God, and that the motive for such obedience must be love for
God and a delight in doing'
his will."
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/superior-authorities.php
So JWs leaders began calling the secular authorities "demonic" and such in-
stead. ("The Watchtower," June
1, 1929, pp.163,167 and June 15, 1929, p.179)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satan
See the second entry for 1935--it's related that it made it easier for Ruther-
ford to:
- ban saluting the flag and singing the national anthem (which remains a ban
though Rutherford's 1935 Rom.13:1-7
idea was reversed in 1962)--see 1935. (I'm
not sure when national holidays were banned, but it's related to this,
too.)
- drink liquor during Prohibition: "God never authorized a prohibition or any
other sumptuary law to control
the consciences or actions of others." ("The
Watchtower," 1929, p.121)
- ban civilian military service: "For this reason the Bible Students devoted
to the Lord refuse to take military
service, because they are true followers of
Christ and must obey God's law." ("The Watchtower," 1929, p.117)
(See 1927 or ?, 1931, 1951, 1983, and 1988)
Russell had already claimed a literal 144,000 exclusiveness, so characterized
the rest of Christianity as unfaithful
and human government leaders as unchris-
tian, which was continued with Rutherford. The biggest problem in such a
rigid,
one-dimensional outlook on government would be Rom.13:1-8, so Rutherford tried
to make it seem like he had a
scriptural obligation to have one with this forced
interpretation. As a minority interpretation, it would suit the
144,000 preten-
sion better, too.
Rutherford's determination about this vanity would also play an important part
in setting the followers up
for an inflexible course with trouble and death up
ahead in Nazi Germany. (See the listings for Oct.7, 1934 and others
in the
"Timeline of JWs leaders in regard to human government, war, propaganda, and
persecution" on p.6.)
****
1929 Rutherford had a mansion, Beth-Sarim, "House of the Princes," built at
4440 Braeburn Road, San Diego,
CA, to house "David, who was once King over Is-
rael; and Gideon, and Barak, and Samson, and Jepthae, and Joseph, formerly
the
ruler of Egypt, and Samuel the prophet and other faithful men who were named
with approval in the Bible at Hebrews
the eleventh chapter." Rutherford got a
couple of Cadillac V-16s, one of which was potentially for them and the other
for
himself.
Another large house, Beth-Shan, "House of Security," was built across from
Beth-Sarim in Fairmont Canyon for
the same purpose in 1939.
Rutherford lived in Beth-Sarim, supposedly till Abraham, etc., showed up as
he predicted. Exactly how
he'd know the Bible figures if he met them wasn't
made clear--a sign of God, I'd think, which he never received.
****
Invisible browsing from heaven part one
1929 1874 was still taught as when Jesus invisibly returned: "The Scriptural
proof is that the second
presence of the Lord Jesus Christ began in 1874 AD."
("Prophecy," 1929, pp.65-66) Combined with the idea given at
the 2nd listing
for 1925, Rutherford taught that Jesus invisibly returned in 1874 but didn't be-
come enthroned in heaven
till 1914.
Christ's Second Advent was explained as a "turning of attention" to the earth
from heaven. ("Presence-—Literal
or Symbolic?" in "A People For His Name: A His-
tory of Jehovah's Witnesses and an Evaluation," by Timothy White, pp. 223-224)
(I don't know. That must have been slippery to inspire confidence in: in
1874, Jesus began invisibly
browsing from heaven? Compare 1993.)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
1930 Rutherford bumped the invisible Jesus up from 1874 to 1914 (minus pyra-
mid connotations) in 1930.
"Jesus has been present since 1914." ("The Golden
Age," 1930, p.503) (See 1876, 1891, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1918,
1920, 1922,
1925, 1929. 1933, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1957, 1973, 1997, and 2000)
This was asserted without explanation till "The Truth Shall Make You Free,"
1943, which removed 1874 from JWs
chronology by moving the creation of Adam
ahead 100 years.
The Watchtower under Knorr and later JWs leaders revised the history of the
pre-1914 Bible Students and wrote
that pre-1914 Bible Students didn't expect
Jesus to appear in the flesh to the people of Earth in 1914 but only invisibly
assume
heavenly power (his "second presence").
A couple of examples:
"For example, it learned that Christ’s second presence was to be in the spir-
it, and not in the flesh
as many professed Christians believe. His rule would
be from the heavens. This was a new revelation of great
importance to God’s
people who had been anxiously awaiting his second presence toward the end of the
nineteenth
century." ("The Watchtower," July 15, 1965, p.428)
"...a prophecy providentially caused sincere 19th-century Bible students to be
in expectation. By linking
the 'seven times' of Daniel 4:25 with 'the times of
the Gentiles,' they anticipated that Christ would receive Kingdom power
in
1914." ("The Watchtower," Sept.15, 1998, p.15)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
Intolerance for dissent
1930 "(Dissenting Bible Students are) Evil Servants (slaves) (and identified
with the) man of perdition
(who would be) destroyed." ("The Watchtower," 1930,
pp.275-281) (Intolerance for dissent increases.)
****
1930 "How are we to know whether one is a true or a false prophet? If he is
a true prophet, his
message will come to pass exactly as prophesied. If he is a
false prophet, his prophecy will fail to come to pass."
("Watchtower," May 15,
1930)
1930 "The false prophets of our day are the financial, political and clerical
prognosticators....
They assume to foretell future events; but their dreams or
guesses never come true.... In 1914-1918 these same three
classes told the
whole world that the great world war would end all wars and make the world
safe...their prophecies
did not come true. Therefore, they are false prophets;
and the people should no longer trust them as safe guides...."
("The Watchtow-
er," May 15, 1930, pp.155,156)
(Irony fans rejoice. See 1917 "The Finished Mystery," 1920, 1925, and 1941;
also see 1990.)
****
The name Jehovah's Witnesses
1931 Rutherford changed the name of his religious group to "Jehovah's Wit-
nesses," a reference to Is.43:10,
to distinguish his group from the splinter
groups that broke away after Rutherford wrested control from the people Russell
intended
to run things and Rutherford made changes. (1932 Yearbook, pp.22-23)
****
Satanic Mother's Day
"It was in 1919 that the Federation of Churches of the United States issued a
paper endorsing the League of
Nations as the political expression of God's king-
dom on earth. In that same year the Congress of the United States
enfranchised
women, and this act was ratified by such legislators in 1919 and early in 1920.
Note that this was after
the World War had ended and Satan had been cast out of
heaven and had begun to prepare his forces for Armageddon. (Rev.
12:12; 16:13-
16) The women of America in particular began to compete with the men as pro-
phets of peace and
to have a part in guiding and dictating the policies and pol-
itical operations of Christendom. Since then they have
wielded a great influ-
ence in the church organizations and in the councils of state. God foreknew
this, to be
sure, and caused his prophet Ezekiel to write concerning them:
'Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters
of thy people,
which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them.'—13:17.
"The women make monkeys or dupes of men. The men have before effeminate, soft
and easily influenced and
have lost their real manhood and sturdiness in the af-
fairs of state and home. For instance, when men are sitting
at a table and a
woman approaches, all the men arise and pay her homage and thereby elevate her
to a place above men.
The men remove their hats upon entering an elevator, if a
woman is present; and these things are said to be acts of respect
and to show
that man is a gentleman. But it is subtle, and the real meaning is much differ-
ent from that.
It is a scheme of Satan to turn men away from God and from his
announced rule of the proper position of man and woman.
The Lord has declared
that no effeminate man shall inherit the kingdom of heaven (I Corinthians 6:9).
This proves that
the scheme or habit of paying homage to women is not of God,
but from the great enemy of God. It is a veneer of being
a proper thing, and
therefore it is more subtle than otherwise.
"The so-called 'Mother's Day' was observed in America first in 1914, the very
year that Satan's world ended
and when he knew his time was short to get ready
for the great battle of Armageddon. To induce the people to bestow
special hon-
or and worship upon mothers would be one step towards turning the people away
from the worship of God,
and this is one of his means of preparing for Armaged-
don. In all the churches today much is made over 'Mother's
Day', but in not a
single one of them are the people ever told that God is the Father, and that the
'mother' is his
organization, and that all honor and worship is due to Jehovah
God. On the contrary, the men of Christendom are taught
to pay their honor to
creatures, and not to the Creator; and this by the clergymen, whose duty and ob-
ligation is to
teach the people the truth of God's Word.
(Irony fans note: JWs leaders had followers worship a created Jesus till past
Rutherford's lifetime.
For mainstream Christian worship of God, which is given
to God alone, see pp.7-10 of this article.)
"On the face of it the arrangement of 'Mother's Day' seems harmless and calcu-
lated to do good. But
the people are in ignorance of Satan's subtle hand in the
matter, and that he is back of the movement, to turn the people
away from God.
The slogan is, 'The best mother who ever lived,' the purpose being to establish
creature worship, or
at least to divert the attention of man from the proper
worship of God." (pp.155-159)
http://www.strictlygenteel.co.uk/vindication1/vindication1_2.html
Rutherford's getting a little hard up for a way to distinguish the cult, isn't
he? If some of you kids
out there don't know how to love your mother without
making it idolatry, you're going to have to stop doing it till you
know how to
do it right.
http://www.holidays.net/mother/
Assuming Rutherford used the reasons the recent JWs leaders have used for such
things, he didn't want JWs to
give special honor to anyone but God...and him
(and his distinctive rules)...all year long. Is this who you really
want making
special rules about not honoring someone too much? (See 1927 or ?, 1929, 1951,
1983, and 1988)
****
Strict regimentation
1932 Rutherford replaced the offices of elder and deacon in local congrega-
tions with a Service Director
appointed by the Watchtower Society and a Service
Committee elected by the congregation which organized the local preaching
activ-
ity. In 1938, congregational elections were discontinued--all who held office
in the congregation would
be appointed by headquarters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Jehovah's_Witnesses
****
1932 "Jews" are "no longer important to God." "Jehovah's Witnesses" are the
"Israel of God."
"...during the World War the Jews received recognition of the
heathen nations. In 1917 the Balfour Declaration, sponsored
by the heathen gov-
ernments of Satan's organization, came forth, recognized the Jews, and bestowed
upon them great
favors..." "The Jews have received more attention at their
hands than they really deserved." ("Vindication," Vol.2,
1932, pp.257-8) (Ruth-
erford harshly renounced the Christian Zionist view of Russell's he'd continued
to teach till
this time. See 1890.)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
The great crowd/the birthday deadline for those who can go to heaven
1935 On May 31, 1935, at a Washington, DC, JWs convention, 2nd Watchtower
president Rutherford added
that the JWs who weren't a part of the 144,000 JWs
who went to heaven would be part of the "great crowd," his interpretation
of
Rev.7:9, who'd live in eternal Paradise on Earth. ("The Watchtower," Sept.1,
1983, p.12)
See 1917: the JWs who weren't part of the 144,000 were taught as also having a
future in heaven. From
here on, they were given as expected to live in Paradise
on Earth. (See 1995)
1935 replaced 1918 as the close of the "high calling" to be among the 144,000,
apparently a date picked because
that's when the other announcement was made and
to keep some hope going about it. The "Great Crowd," all JWs except
8000 then
alive of the 144,000, was not considered to be made of anointed Christians, was-
n't "born again," wasn't
to partake in communion, and wouldn't have Christ as a
direct mediator. ("The Watchtower," June 15, 1992, p.23, and "Jehovah's
Witness-
es, Proclaimers of God's Kingdom," 1993 p.166)
(It's been part of the JWs leaders' rules since that the "other sheep" of John
10:16 should be thought of,
along with Rev.7:9, as referring to the "great
crowd" of JWs who will live on Earth, aren't "born again," etc. JWs
are still
to take 144,000 as a literal number of JWs who go to heaven.
(Jesus' quote at John 10:16 is typically interpreted by non-JWs to mean Chris-
tianity originated in Jewish
culture but would spread into the Gentile culture.)
(See 1877, 1878, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1995,
and 2007; also see 1880 for Rev.7:1-8
taken to refer to a literal 144,000 Jewish
people)
****
1935 "Saluting of flags...singing national anthems...banned" as "an act of
worship"--idolatry.
("Jehovah's Witnesses In The Divine Purpose," 1959, pp.143,
144)
(Idolatry is belief in whatever other than God as God, not a thing or sym-
bol per se. The things so
worshipped by others are nothing to Christians ac-
cording to 1 Cor.8-11:1,17-34--pp.37,38--whether the things of false
worship or
the Lord's Supper. The right or wrong belief is what matters. Scriptural
worldliness is to not
love God or not love thy neighbor as thyself as by lying,
stealing, etc., regardless of other social boundaries--see "The
Watchtower out-
looks on worldliness" and "The Watchtower outlooks on neutrality" on p.6).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idolatry
(The pledge of allegiance is to promise to have liberty and justice for all
with others of the country, not
a requirement resting on religious choice. The
generic "under God" part of the time could be objected to or not spoken
if the
agnostic or atheistic choice was taken, but Rutherford's stance of the pledge
being idolatry seems to be a concoction
he made up by combining the pledge with
his 1929 forced minority view interpretation of Rom.13:1-7 to mean government is
ruled
by Satan. That interpretation of Rom.13:1-7 was reversed in 1962 but this
ban remains. See 1994 and the first
entry for 1995.)
1936 Any who reject message of JWs after 1918, plus all small children who
might die at Armageddon, will
have no hope of a resurrection. ("Consolation,"
May 6, 1936, p.508; WT 1938, pp.133,313,314,326,376,327; 1939, p.170)
****
Jesus was nailed to a tree
"Xulon" may be translated "tree" at Peter 2:24; Acts 5:30, 10:39, 13:29; Gal.
3:13 and refers to Deut.21:22,23,
where the Hebrew word "'etz" is normally ren-
dered into Septuagint Greek as "xulon." Both Hebrew 'etz and Greek
xulon can
mean "tree, wood, stake, stick" depending on context.
http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Malik/crucifixion.htm
Rutherford turned a personal opinion into another rule for his 144,000 elitist
pretension and clarified that
the JWs leaders require the stance that Jesus died
on a torture stake.
The certain wrongdoing is Rutherford and subsequent JWs leaders playing pro-
phet again by requiring agreement
with the forced point that it wasn't a cross
and that followers have to avoid the use of a cross symbol, which they've
ac-
cused of being idolatry and/or of pagan origin and connotation. The only real
scriptural case to make is to
only worship God--avoiding idolatry is avoiding
misdirected worship, not a taboo of things.
See 1 Cor.8-11:1,17-34 on pp.37,38, where Paul compares the things of an idol
temple to the things of the Lord's
Supper: whether someone worships the one true
God or not makes the important difference--not the things. If Paul
gives thanks
to the one true God he can eat at an idol temple and isn't an idolator, and
someone could eat at the Lord's
Supper without true faith and not be a Chris-
tian.
Paul describes the one who imagines a negative connotation for such a thing as
needing to avoid it becase they'e
weak in their faith. The JWs leaders' view is
doubly weak here in both claiming their especially righteous "144,000"
vanity
(they lost me already) yet taking the stance of one Paul describes as weak in
their faith.
The JWs leader' stance is also weak in making the facts fit the theory histor-
ically--history records a lot
of non-Christians who did bad things with a stick
or stick-shaped thing like a club, spear, knife, or sword (see the symbolic
use
of spears at the next link), so that line of concern would rule out both stakes
and crosses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spear
At Gal.6:14 and 1 Cor.1:17-25, apostle Paul preached and boasted in the
cross--not the literal cross, and regardless
of any pagans executed on stakes or
crosses--but the cross as symbolic for what Jesus did for people on one, the
usual
meaning the symbol has for Christians.
The JWs leaders have played prophet for their 144,000 exclusiveness by making
a rule that the use of a cross
by non-Christian cultures creates a sort of guilt
by association for the cross symbol is a pretension created in spite
of Paul's
scriptures about that. A JW might consider avoiding the cross symbol in the way
Paul avoided idol temple
food circumstantially if someone was around who could
mistake him for promoting idolatry, which is what the JWs leaders'
teach the
mainstream historical vew of Jesus and the holy spirit is. But what Paul
boasted about was common ground
irrelevant of that difference, and see pp.7-10
for how the JWs leaders present a comparison of their Jesus and holy spirit
stances
with the mainstream ones.
Rutherford played prophet again. It wouldn't be the last time.
****
Shun the blight of so-called "love"--only marry for sex
1937 "That Delusion Called Love": "God's consecrated people do well to re-
frain from marriage unless
they find themselves continually tormented with de-
sire for sexual intercourse, in which case they should marry."
"For those of
the younger or older who have need to marry on this score, let them dispose of
the matter in candor and
honesty." It encouraged followers that the recommended
course is "shunning the blight, the delusions and illusions
of 'love' so called
and courtship, which bring reproach on the holy name of Jehovah." ("The Golden
Age," Jan.27, 1937)
(See 1938 and 2000)
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/wrong-with-being-jehovahs-witness.php
****
The records were made from 1934 to 1942. Rutherford had the JWs continue to
use the practice he started
in 1934 of having them use sound trucks to spread
his recorded messages.
See the "Timeline of JWs leaders in regard to human government, war, propagan-
da, and persecution" on p.6.
****
Having children is discouraged
1938 "...mark the words of Jesus, which definitely seem to discourage the
bearing of children immediately
before or during Armageddon.... It would
therefore appear that there is no reasonable or scriptural injunction
to bring
children into the world immediately before Armageddon, where we now are." ("The
Watchtower," Nov.1, 1938, p.324)
(See 1937 and 2000)
Who let this nut in the bedroom?
A: Maybe if I talk to one of his bodyguards, I could get backstage to get to
meet the Judge in private--see
what he wants me to do with that stick.
B: You really don't get out much, do you?
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
"In the Kingdom the 'great multitude' will look to the Lord to guide as to se-
lecting each a mate for himself.
Why, then, should a man who has the prospect be-
fore him of being of the great multitude now tie himself up to a stack
of bones
and a hank of hair?" "The Watchtower," Sept.15, 1941, p.287
Nov., 1941 "Armageddon is surely near, and during that time the Lord will
clean off the earth everything
that offends and is disagreeable." ("Children"
by Rutherford, 1941, p.366)
(GTW note: that's a pretty awful description of WWII, if that's what anyone
connects it with, since it would
describe all the fatalities as people who had
it coming to them. It stopped the Nazi movement from taking over, but
not all
overindulgence of human selfishness, and it wasn't Biblical Armageddon. Arma-
geddon, along with substantiation
for Rutherford being a prophet, didn't hap-
pen.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armageddon
(Unsurprisingly, this was a period of peak PO 'ed feelings about JWs as the al-
ready troubled families of
the WWII era found that Rutherford had JWs with sound
trucks and phonograph players spreading their renewed hope that soon
God would
kill everyone on Earth but them, and trying to talk prospective converts out of
fighting the Nazis--see the
timeline on p.6. Fortunately, the JWs leaders' pro-
phets were still batting .000 and God 1.000 in this playoff.)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1941-2? In Rutherford's last book: "hence those faithful men of old may be
expected back from the dead
any day now. The Scriptures give good reason to be-
lieve that it shall be shortly before Armageddon breaks."
"In this expectation
the house at San Diego, California, which house has been much publicized with
malicious intent
by the religious enemy, was built, in 1930, and named `Beth-
Sarim,' meaning `House of the Princes.' It is now held
in trust for the occu-
pancy of those princes on their return" ("The New World," 1942, p.104)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1942, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
At the Jehovahs-Witness.net site, RR reports that he knew Bible Students of
Rutherford's time who told
RR that when Rutherford hadn't appeared to give a
speech at a convention, some friends of his found that he'd fallen to
the bottom
of his basement stairs where he'd hit his head, died several days before, and
his face had been nibbled by
rats. (It's possibly true or just wishful thinking
that became an urban legend.)
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/2417/did-you-know-rutherford?page=1&size=20
Another unusual thing about his death is that there's some uncertainty where
he's buried. He wanted to
be buried in a crypt he had built by Beth Sarim, but
the local authorities wouldn't permit it.
According to "Visions of Glory: A History and Memory of Jehovah's Witnesses"
by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison,
1978, "His lieutenants, squabbling with local
authorities who refused permission to bury Rutherford in a crypt at Beth
Sarim,
did not disclose his death to his followers. The news was released by a local
mortician. [The New York
Times, Jan. 10, 1942]" Rutherford was buried three
months later, on April 26, in Woodrow Cemetery next to the Watchtower
radio sta-
tion of the time--WBBR.
Rutherford also continued the tradition of Watchtower leaders who taught that
many of his little group then
living wouldn't die before Jesus returned but
died before the next leader did it and died.
****
Nathan H. Knorr
1942 The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society leadership was taken by president
Nathan H. Knorr on Jan.13,
1942. The 3rd Watchtower President, Knorr, was as-
sisted with the writings of Vice President Frederick W. Franz.
In these times
of controversy for JWs, Knorr, unlike Rutherford and his heavy security, didn't
care to be as much of
a front man. The JWs' allegiance was shifted from a per-
son (like Rutherford) to the heads of the organization,
but the Governing Body
hadn't really come into power yet. It was during this period that the JWs lead-
ers first
banned blood transfusions. Although Russell and Rutherford had taken
credit for their authorship, the JWs leaders'
literature writers stopped sign-
ing their names to their works, a practice still followed by the JWs leaders'
literature
writers. (A JW might suggest it's due to modesty; I would suggest
other things.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Homer_Knorr
1942 "The faithful acts of the men who were known as fathers in Israel are
recounted in the eleventh
chapter of Hebrews. Genesis 12:1-3; 28:13,14; Acts 7:
2-5.... These men will be the visible representatives of the
Theocracy, which
is the government created and built up by the almighty God as his capital organ-
ization and which
shall rule the world. Further proof that these princes will
shortly take office upon earth as perfect men is found
in the prophecy of Dan-
iel. But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest and stand in thy
lot at
the end of the days. (Daniel 12:13) Daniel's lot is that of these
princes. Proof is now submitted that we are
now living at the end of the days,
and we may expect to see Daniel and the other mentioned princes any day now!"
("Consolation,"
April 27, 1942, p.13)
http://www.bible.ca/Jw-Prophecy.htm
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1943,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1942 In the fall of 1942, Nathan Knorr made a speech which served as the
basis for the booklet "Peace--Can
It Last?" Page 21 contains the claims that
"The association of worldly nations will rise again" and "ascend out of
the
abyss" "(Rev. 17:8) again after the end of the war?" Later JWs leaders' liter-
ature has claimed Knorr made
a successful prophesy in that the League of Na-
tions, which failed in preventing WWII, would arise again, which came true
with
the formation of the United Nations.
However, p.26 of the booklet shows Knorr also predicted that the peace to
come "will be very short-lived" and
would lead to Armageddon. Things didn't
turn out as his 1943 prophecy predicted, either (see below). Various
millenar-
ian prophecy-believing Christians were saying things similar to his idea of the
return of something like the
League of Nations, even earlier than Knorr did.
The idea of the United Nations appeared when Roosevelt and Churchill led twen-
ty-six nations, including the
Soviet Union and China, in a "Declaration by Uni-
ted Nations" on Jan.1, 1942.
According to the article at the first link below, "The declaration committed
the twenty-six not to cut separate
peace deals with the Nazis and to subscribe
to the principles of the Atlantic Charter for the post-war world. The
Charter
provided the political basis for countering Nazi ideology; it caught the imagin-
ation of people around the
world, including the young Nelson Mandela and other
anti-colonial activists."
1943
LAWYER: At any rate, Jehovah God is now the editor of the paper, is that
right?
F.FRANZ: He is today
the editor of the paper.
LAWYER: How long has he been editor of the paper?
F.FRANZ: Since its inception
he has been guiding it.
LAWYER: Even before 1931?
F.FRANZ: Yes, sir.
LAWYER: But you don't make any mention in the fore part of your Watch Tower
that "We are not infallible and
subject to correction and may make mistakes"?
N.H.KNORR: We have never claimed infallibility.
LAWYER: But you don't make any such statement, that
you are subject to cor-
rection, in your Watch Tower papers do you?
N.H.KNORR: Not that I recall.
LAWYER:
In fact, it is set forth directly as God's Word, isn't it?
N.H.KNORR: Yes, as His Word.
LAWYER: Without
any qualification whatsoever?
N.H.KNORR: That is right."
(Action for Libel: Olin R. Moyle v. F.W.Franz, et al, May 10--May 27 1943, New
York Supreme Court, Appellate
Division, sections 2596-7, 4420-1)
As mentioned on p.1, the Watchtower leaders claim they are fallible men who
don't print errors because their
editor has been infallible God, and the printed
words have been his without qualification, since the inception of the paper.
****
If Jerusalem won't come to Fred Franz, then Fred Franz will move Jerusalem
(Thanks to an old folk tale, not found in Islam itself, for the idea for the
title.)
1943 The JWs leaders' Bible chronology was altered in "The Truth Shall Make
You Free," chapter 11.
The creation of Adam was bumped up 100 years (it
stopped inserting 100 years into the period of the Judges and used the
oldest
and most authentic reading of Acts 13:20, and accepted the spell-out numbers of
the Hebrew Scriptures).
The JWs leaders' idea of 6,000 years of human history
now had it end in 1972 instead of 1873, which removed any imaginable
prophetic
significance for 1874. There wouldn't then be any confusion created by 1974
about 1914 being the year
of the beginning of the end times and when Jesus in-
visibly returned (invisible returns of Jesus being the kind of theological
points
the average believer could get confused about).
http://www.strictlygenteel.co.uk/truthfree/truthfreetitles.html http://www.spiritwatch.org/jwgospel.htm
It also solved the problem of the JWs leaders' 606 BC to 1914 AD 2,520 year
span calculation by Barbour that
Russell used being one year off (there's no
year "0") by moving the start of the Gentile Times back to 607 BC. The
corres-
ponding claim of 606 BC being the time of the fall of Jerusalem wasn't moved to
607 BC as well till 1944 (see
below). The article at the next link explains a
bit about how Franz falsified the record with his priority being
to preserve the
intended integrity of the JWs leaders' historicism and claims for the 1914 date.
http://corior.blogspot.com/2006/02/evolution-of-606-to-607-bce-in.html
"Beginning in 606 B.C., and being seven in number, when would these 'times'
end and the righteous overlordship
of God's kingdom be established?.... In Neb-
uchadnezzar's time the year began counting from the fall of the year,
or about
October 1, our time. Since he destroyed Jerusalem in the summer of 606 B.C.,
that year had its beginning
in the fall of 607 B.C. and its ending in the fall
of 606 B.C. Inasmuch as the count of the Gentile 'seven times'
began its first
year at the fall of 607 B.C., it is simple to calculate when they end."
(Again, even Russell's Bible Students were unaware of any Matt.24:29-31-type
change in
Jesus' presence in 1914, which is hard to square with the very dramat-
ic awareness everyone is supposed to have about
the second coming--"every eye
will see him" including "every one who pierced him" (Rev.1:7). If God had just
started
using you as his sole channel of information on Earth, don't you think
your teaching would become unerring, and don't you
think you'd know? In 1914,
the Watch Tower Bible Students were just thinking that Jesus' invisible presence
continued
to be around since 1874 but wouldn't give any interviews except by way
of angel messengers sent from Jesus to Russell,
with some prophecy messages
about when the end of human government, etc., would occur apparently garbled
during transmission.)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
1946 "The disaster of Armageddon, greater than that which befell Sodom and
Gomorrah, is at the door."
("Let God be True," 1946, p.194)
I don't know if I can stand the suspense.
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
Satanic birthday cupcakes
Finally, we're starting to distinguish the 144,000 with the really important
stuff. The Devil wants to
lure you from the light with the creamy frosting.
And if that shouldn't work, he invented festive balloons. He may
have had a
hand in children frolicking in merriment--I'm not sure.
1951 "Doubtless many things practiced by Christians today were also practiced
by pagans; but when these
practices are steeped in false worship contrary to Bi-
ble principle they become objectionable. The celebration of
birthday anniver-
saries centers the mind on the creature and exalts the creature, giving him and
his birth undue importance.
Romans 1:25 (NW) warns of those who 'venerated and
rendered sacred service to the creation rather than the One who created.'"
("The
Watchtower," Oct.1, 1951, p.607) (See 1927 or ?, 1929, 1931, 1983, and 1988)
Rom.14 gives holidays as matters of personal conscience. Some wanted to cele-
brate Mosaic law feasts.
Paul could have worried that it would have the conno-
tation of a need to be under Mosaic law, which is over for Christians,
but
didn't. Whether you celebrate Mosaic law feasts or not, just know it's optional
and make sure your faith is
strong either way.
Despite the JWs leaders alleging that certain things have pagan connotations
and should be avoided with blanket
bans, 1 Cor.8-11:1,17-33 parallel an idol
temple and a meal offered by an idolater with the Lord's Supper to show that
the
things per se aren't important, whether or not you have strong faith and worship
the one true God is in either kind
of situation:
The common meat in Corinth came from idol temple sacrifices. If you thank God
for everything, including
whatever the temple is made of and the animal used for
the food, before you eat, you're not an idolater. If you're
an atheist and eat
at the Lord's Supper, you're still an atheist. Christians don't have off-limits
foods and such.
Just have strong faith in either situation. Other than that,
Paul recommends circumstantial abstinence if it comes
up that you can't eat
without giving someone the mistaken idea that you favor idolatry. (If you can
tell them
you worship the one true God, do that and dig in.)
If your faith is weak and you can't think of a food or holiday without making
a non-Christian connotation,
then don't indulge in it. However, if your faith
is weak, I don't know how you could claim to be of a literal 144,000
of excep-
tional faith.
Col.2:16-23 reaffirms those ideas about Christians not having taboo foods and
holidays--just have faith in
Jesus.
One reason the JWs leaders give for ruling against birthday parties is they're
supposed to be a form of creature
worship. I know most people aren't thinking
of a birthday party as more than love or fun--they don't think of it
as obei-
sance (prostrating on the ground in deference) let alone worship with sacred
service for the person the celebration
is for. But while you probably wouldn't
perform obeisance/worship at a birthday party, obeisance/worship to a "god"/an-
gel
is a violation of monotheism (Ex.34:14; Col.2:18), yet the JWs leaders re-
quire it for a "god" (the JWs leaders' version
of Jesus/archangel Michael) at
Philip.2:10; Heb.1:6, others (pp.6b,8). Oy, goyim.
This is a good time for a reminder that the whole reason such a flaky JWs
leaders' rule is there is that the
JWs leaders cook it up for their claim of a
literal 144,000 exclusiveness.
****
Satanic Christian charity
1951 "THE charity drives in connection with Thanksgiving, Christmas and New
Year's Day occur as regularly
as the perennial monsoons. In a downpour of edi-
torial and oratorical tears the cry for money to help the poor goes
out from
press and pulpit, while on the relentless winds of advertising-by radio and
television, billboard and poster,
and by many tricky devices-the heart-touching
appeal is carried to the public. So great is this deluge of propaganda
and so
emotionally touching is the appeal, in many instances the poor and needy them-
selves are victimized as the principal
contributors. The saddest part of this
distressing picture, however, is the fact that in addition to the ever-increas-
ing
number of those in need of physical assistance the people in general are
spiritually and morally destitute and in a perilous
condition.
"But why, thoughtful persons ask, do such conditions exist? In native Africa
the religion of witchcraft
and demonism is the basic cause, for it keeps the
people in ignorance, superstition and fear. The same is true among
all primi-
tive races. The backward living conditions in India are primarily due to age-
old religious superstitions
and fears. In godless communistic countries, it is
'Red religion', or the worship of the state, that holds the people
in virtual
captivity and slavery. And in Christendom, surprising as it may seem to some,
the false religious teachings,
creeds, traditions and commandments of men are
both directly and indirectly responsible for the physical and spiritual
misery
of the poor, notwithstanding Christendom's showy display of charity.
"It does not shift Christendom's responsibility to say that the increasing
numbers of widows, orphans, cripples,
and the mental, moral and physical wrecks
of this age are only by-products of wars, crimes and calamities. It is
Chris-
tendom herself that is largely responsible for such death-dealing conditions.
Had Christendom chosen to do so
she could easily have prevented World Wars I and
II. If Christendom chose to be Christian her land would not be filled
with
crime, violence and immorality. And if the people of Christendom were taught
God's laws and commandments
her spiritual poverty would not exist.
"The little charitable help the poor get from Christendom is like the crumbs
the beggar Lazarus picked up from
the rich man's table, while the dogs licked
his ulcerous sores. Neither the crumbs nor the licking remedy the beggarly
con-
dition. Only Jehovah can effect a rescue.-Matt. 19:16-24; Luke 16:19-21; John
12:3-6." ("The Watchtower,"
Dec.1, 1951, pp.731-733)
Summary of the JWs leaders' points: evil Christendom has drives to give to the
poor and handicapped (the Golden
Rule, etc.), whereas the JWs leaders don't have
false religious teachings--they have followers take money from the poor
to send
to the JWs leaders. The problems of the world are due to human selfishness,
which is a trait the JWs leaders
are disheartened to find among those of evil
Christendom. Financing the JWs leaders should be the concern of the
poor--God
help them. (Personally, I didn't think it made a real good case for the JWs
leaders.)
****
Satanic efforts for human rights
1952 Summary: the JWs leaders' taught that racial segregation is bad, but to
accept the status quo for
now where it's enforced--to rebel against it is Satan-
ic. Why would Martin Luther King have been disfellowshipped?--see
the entry at
the link below for "The Watchtower," Feb.1, 1952, p.95.
http://www.quotes-watchtower.co.uk/racial_attitudes.html
****
1952 "We should meekly go along with the Lord's theocratic organization and
wait for further clarification,
rather than balk at the first mention of a
thought unpalatable to us and proceed to quibble and mouth our criticisms and
opinions
as though they were worth more than the slave's provision of spiritual
food. Theocratic ones will appreciate the
Lord's visible organization and not
be so foolish as to pit against Jehovah's channel their own human reasoning and
sentiment
and personal feelings." ("The Watchtower," Feb.1, 1952. p.80)
****
Satanic fellowshipping
1952 "We might wonder, then, since this congregation which God is developing
or bringing into existence
is based on love, why anyone should ever want to talk
about disfellowshipping or putting people out of this congregation.
There cer-
tainly must be some reason. Well, the reason for disfellowshipping is that some
persons get into this
congregation of God that do not love Christ." "Those who
are acquainted with the situation in the congregation should
never say ‘Hello’
or ‘Goodbye’ to him. He is not welcome in our midst, we avoid him."
"Such an
individual has no place in the clean organization or congregation of God. He
should go back to the wicked
group that he once came from and die with that
wicked group with Satan’s organization." ("The Watchtower, March 1,
1952, pp.
131,134) (See 1955)
http://jehovah.net.au/disfellowship.html
****
1952 The "generation" of 1914 that will live to find Paradise forever on
Earth, previously said to be
able to live to be 30-40 years old when that hap-
pens, can now live to be 70-80 years old when it happens. ("The
Watchtower,"
Sept.1, 1952, p.542)
http://www.quotes-watchtower.co.uk/1914_generation.html
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1953 "Some attribute striking qualities to these constellations or star
groups and on the basis of such
they then offer private interpretations of Job
38:31,32 that amaze their hearers...when viewed Scripturally they are completely
without
foundation." ("The Watchtower," Nov.15, 1953, p.703) (God isn't given
as located in the Pleiades anymore. See
the sections on pyramidology, 1915,
1925, and 1928.)
http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/astrology_and_watchtower.htm
****
JWs leaders tell followers to stop worshipping their created Jesus
The JWs leaders have finally gotten a partial grip on first century Jewish
monotheism and stopped worship (Heb.1:6)
of the JWs created "god" (John 1:1--
NWT) Jesus by translating "proskuneo" "obeisance." Ex.34:14 (don't worship/give
obeisance
to a "god") remains a problem, though. A whole different word would
be better, but they haven't rewritten the NT
that much yet (p.6b).
****
1954 When the JWs leaders referred back to the earliest JWs leaders, they
followed the lead that one
of them, Charles Taze Russell, showed early on--they
covered up for them:
"Why, then, do the nations not realize and accept the approach of this climax
of judgment? It is because
they have not heeded the world wide advertising of
Christ's return and his second Presence. Since long before World
War I Jeho-
vah's Witnesses pointed to 1914 as the time for this great event to occur."
("The Watchtower," 1954, June
15, p.370)
(The Jesus/1914 part of Russell's prophetic train wreck was that Jesus would
be seen as in "seen" to rule the
Earth in 1914, 1915, etc.)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1955 "In the light of the fulfillment of Bible prophecy it is becoming clear
that the war of Armageddon
is nearing its breaking-out point." ("You May Sur-
vive Armageddon into God's New World," 1955, p.331)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983, 1987,
1995,
1993, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1955 The name "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society" (1896-1955) was changed
to "Watch Tower Bible and
Tract Society of Pennsylvania."
****
Satanic fellowshipping with the disfellowshipped
1955 "If a publisher refuses to do this and ignores the prohibition on asso-
ciating with the disfellowshipped
one, that publisher is rebelling against the
congregation of Jehovah, and 'rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stub-
bornness
is as idolatry and teraphim." "If after sufficient warning the pub-
lisher persists in associating with the disfellowshipped
person instead of
aligning himself with Jehovah’s organization he also should be disfellow-
shipped." ("The Watchtower,
Oct.1, 1955, p.607) (See 1952)
http://jehovah.net.au/disfellowship.html
****
Jesus was blown up
The JWs leaders teach Jesus was blown up: "was disposed of by Jehovah God,
dissolved into its constituent elements
or atoms." ("The Watchtower," Oct.1,
1955, p.518) I think this would have left a mess on the inside of the tomb.
I
don't know if the JWs leaders' still explain it that way, but having him "an-
nihilated" doesn't sound better. No
wonder they're not allowed to have Christ-
mas.
A couple of verses the JWs leaders refer to for their view are:
1 Peter 3:18 "Why, even Christ died once for all time concerning sins, a
righteous [person] for the unrighteous
ones, that he may lead you to God, he be-
ing put to death in the flesh, but being made alive in the spirit." (NWT)
1 Cor.15:44-46 "It is sown a physical body, it is raised up a spiritual body.
If there is a physical body,
there is also a spiritual one. It is even so writ-
ten: 'The first man Adam became a living soul.' The last
Adam became a life
giving spirit. Nevertheless, the first is, not that which is spiritual, but
that which is physical,
afterward that which is spiritual." (NWT)
Resurrection
According to the Catholics United for the Faith web site:
"In Revelation 6:9-10, John sees a vision of the souls of the martyrs who died
for Christ. Additional
passages such as 1 Samuel 28, Matthew 10:28, Luke 16 and
1 Peter 3:19 validate the existence of one’s soul after
death.
"Verses that JWs use to the contrary, like Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, must be read in
context. God had not revealed
very much about the afterlife in the Old Testa-
ment, and this passage only asserts that the dead will not be remembered
in some
sense, not cease to exist.
"Also be aware that the Bible uses the word 'soul' in several ways. Sometimes
it is the seat of human
emotion (Psalm 42:2), sometimes it is the whole per-
son--'a living being'-—(Genesis 2:7), and sometimes it is the
immortal spirit
which animates a body (Matthew 10:28, Revelation 6:9-10, common usage). JWs
will try to limit
the meaning of 'soul' to exclude the third (and most common)
meaning, but this is not biblical."
John 2:19-21 Jesus will raise himself after the crucifixion works better for
the mainstream view.
Both views have Jesus raised by the Father, Son, and holy
spirit (see the threefold formula section on p.8). In the
mainstream view, Je-
sus' body would die but not his spirit, and as the Son of God could help raise
the body which hadn't
corrupted and was then in a glorified form. The JWs lead-
ers' archangel Michael became dead in body and spirit and,
three days later, the
spirit was recreated without a body which God disposed of somewhere. That
wouldn't be a
resurrection, that would be to be disembodied with the spirit be-
ing remembered by God for three days before bringing
the spirit back to exis-
tence.
By either view of Jesus, Jesus said that if you destroy this temple (his body)
down, he would make it rise
again in three days (John 2:19-21). After the res-
urrecton, Jesus arose in a pneumatikos, a spirit-powered body.
Some didn't rec-
ognize him at first but others did, Thomas felt the holes in Jesus' hands, Je-
sus ate food, yet he
could walk through a door and ascend to heaven, so it was
some kind of body powered by God's spirit so not susceptible
to corruption that
might or might not make the normal physical manifestation.
I figure by either Jesus view he was transformed to go from heaven to human
form and he'd need to be transformed
for the ascension. The mainstream view has
it that Jesus' body was transformed yet recognizable for the resurrection,
so I
guess it would transform however it had to to enter heaven. The JWs leaders'
view has it that Jesus said
if you tear this temple down, he'd make it stand in
three days, but God made the body disappear before the resurrection.
The main-
stream view is better regarding Jesus' claim about raising his body in three
days.
****
1957 About the world: "It is on its deathbed and the prophecies of God's Word
foretell its end within
the generation of men that has been living since 1914."
(Matt.24: 33,34)" ("The Watchtower," Sept. 1, 1957, p.568)
When Charles Russell about-faced on wars and earthquakes, etc., being signs of
the end a little after WWI broke
out, I wonder if he could have predicted what a
big longstanding mess it would make?
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1961 "The blood in any person is in reality the person himself...poisons due
to personal living, eating and
drinking habits...The poisons that produce the
impulse to commit suicide, murder, or steal are in the blood. Moral
insanity,
sexual perversions, repression, inferiority complexes, petty crimes--these often
follow in the wake of blood
transfusion." ("The Watchtower, Sept.1, 1961, p.564)
Which segues into:
1961 Taking a "blood transfusion" is "grounds for disfellowshipping." ("The
Watchtower," 1961,
pp.63,644)
1961 1975 will end 6,000 years of man's existence and the Millennial reign
will begin. The 6,000
years of man's existence was bumped up again (compare
1943, in which the 6,000 years was said to end in 1972.) (Again,
don't you kids
try that at home.)
1961 "When, in Genesis 1:30, God says: 'To every wild beast of the earth and
to every flying creature
of the heavens and to everything moving upon the earth
in which there is life as a soul I have given all green vegetation
for food,'
are we to understand that this absolutely excludes the idea that any animals ate
meat at that time or before
that?" "Besides this, Noah was to take into the ark
every sort of food that is eaten to 'serve as food for you and
for them.' (Gen.
6:19-22)"
"All those creatures, human and subhuman, were able to live without flesh for
a whole year inside the ark.
Why could not every one of those living creatures
live without flesh during 1,656 years prior to the Flood, or back to
the time
when God specified to Adam and Eve in Eden what he had given to earthly crea-
tures as food?"
(Also see 1902, 1904, 1914, 1968, 1971, 1985, and 2004 for Russell's and the
JWs leaders' views against evolution.)
1962 Reversing Rutherford's ruling of June 1, 1929, the higher powers of Rom.
13:1-8 are again called
worldly governments. ("The Watchtower," Nov.15, 1962)
(See 1929) The JWs leaders maintain their elitist definition
of "Worldly,"
though.
****
Satanic personality--as in "practically any"
1963 "Clearly, not all dedicated and even mature Christians posses the holy
spirit to the same measure.
There is no doubt that unselfishness, depth of de-
votion, self-control, humility, mildness of spirit, studiousness as
regards
God's word and zeal in God's service have a bearing on how much of the holy
spirit we have. It also appears
that inherited qualities have no small bear-
ing on the extent to which we permit the holy spirit to have a free flow in
our
lives or tend to obstruct its activity. Thus the more colorful the personality
the more difficult for the
holy spirit to saturate it fully. The colorful per-
sonality has more need of self-control and must in particular
guard against the
snare of creature worship. Richness of personality seems to work against spir-
itual-mindedness,
as the colorful person tends to lean more on himself, even as
those who are rich in material things tend to put their trust
in them instead of
Jehovah God." ("The Watchtower," Feb.15, 1963, p.108)
You're going to hell if you have more personality than Nathan Knorr? Damn,
and I though they were strict
before.... (Sam Kinison impression): people open
up the pearly gates (click) "ROAR" (slam) "Oh!" People pounding
on the pearly
gates--"Let me outta here! I thought it was the gate to heaven--it was the gate
to hell! Oh!
Oh! OHHhhhh!"
Far be it from me to make sport, but the guy's saying you're going to hell if
you have more personality than
him. This could explain how the 144,000 disap-
peared from early Christian history without a trace, though.
Frankly, if you
can knock the Jews after the Holocaust, you're not the first person I want to
learn self-control from
(see p.6, 1946, 1963, 1975).
****
1919 starts to take on the present JWs leaders' definition
(Again, "The Finished Mystery," 1917, predicted that the non-JWs churches, and
all their flocks, would be destroyed
in 1919. Russell had said they would be
destroyed from 1910-1914 and just ended up badmouthing them a lot, too.)
****
1967 "What vital thing has now been added to the good news of the kingdom of
God that Jesus Christ and
his zealous apostles used to preach nineteen hundred
years ago? This, namely, the birth of God’s Messianic
kingdom in the heavens at
the end of the Gentile Times in 1914. And after the ensuing war in the invisi-
ble heavens
and the ouster of Satan the Devil and his demons from heaven and
down to earth, this announcement was sounded forth, to
be added to the good
news, as stated in Revelation 12:9-12...." ("The Watchtower," Dec.15,1967, pp.
753,754)
According to apostle Paul:
Gal.1:6-9 "I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you
by the grace of Christ, for
a different gospel; which is really not another;
only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel
of
Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel
contrary to what we have preached
to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said
before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel
contrary to
what you received, he is to be accursed!" (NASB)
It's applicable because the JWs leaders require agreement to their 1914, etc.,
ideas about Jesus for salvation.
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1968 "During world war I, God's people expected it to lead directly into Ar-
mageddon, but Jehovah prevented
such a climax at that time. We didn't succumb
to such an expectation during world war II." ("(Our) Kingdom Ministry,"
Jan.,
1968, p.5)
(See the listing for every year of WWII in the "Timeline of JWs leaders in re-
gard to human government, war,
propaganda, and persecution" on p.6 for
examples of the JWs leaders prophesying that Armageddon was imminent.)
1968 "According to reliable Bible chronology, Adam and Eve were created in
4026 B.C.E.. There is
another way that helps confirm the fact that we are liv-
ing in the final few years of this 'time of the end.' (Dan. 12:9)
The Bible
shows that we are nearing the end of a full 6,000 years of human history. What
significance does this
have?" "When God gave his laws to ancient Israel, one of
those laws involved keeping the sabbath day holy. On the
seventh day of the
week there was to be no labor." "How fitting it would be for God, following
this pattern, to
end man’s misery after six thousand years of human rule and
follow it with His glorious Kingdom rule for a thousand
years!" ("Awake!" Oct.8,
1968, pp.14,15)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human#Habitat_and_population
(Also see 1902, 1904, 1914, 1961, 1971, 1985, and 2004 for Russell's and the
JWs leaders' views against evolution.)
(Armageddon, etc.--see 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912,
1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918,
1919, 1920, 1922, 1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938,
1941, 1941-2?, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1969,
1982,
1983, 1987, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
Satanic Chubby
1969 "For example, when dances like the 'twist' and all its later develop-
ments are introduced, the
young accept them eagerly and without question, while
their parents raise their eyebrows or smile indulgently for a while
and then
take them up with almost equal fervor, ostensibly in order to project the youth-
ful image themselves.
What they fail to realize is that such dances have their
origin in pagan fertility dances that were performed in times
past as a part of
immoral religious rites. And just as they were designed to arouse the sexual
emotions of the
participants in the religious orgies, so their modern-day coun-
terparts contribute to the loosening of moral inhibitions.
"Those who subscribe to the modern morality that allows for premarital sex re-
lations have no objection to
this. But what of those who have no such end in
view, who may be indulging themselves simply because it is the custom?
Such
ones should not deceive themselves. They are still affected emotionally in the
same way. Stimulation
of this sort inevitably leads to improper inclinations,
and those who entertain wrong desires can be just as completely
overtaken as the
twenty-four thousand were in succumbing to the Baal of Peor in the days of Is-
rael.-Num. 25:1-9."
("The Watchtower," Feb.15, 1969, p.113)
http://toptwentyclub.blogspot.com/2009/09/artists-1962.html
****
Satanic higher education
1969 "Many schools now have student counselors who encourage one to pursue
higher education after high
school, to pursue a career with a future in this
system of things. Do not be influenced by them. Do not let
them 'brainwash'
you with the Devil’s propaganda to get ahead, to make something of yourself in
this world.
The world has very little time left! Any 'future' this world of-
fers is no future.... Make pioneer service,
the full-time ministry, with possi-
bility of Bethel or missionary service your goal. This is a life that offers
an
everlasting future!" ("The Watchtower," March 15, 1969, p.17)
http://www.watchtowerinformationservice.org/index.php/doctrine-changes/new-light-on-education/
An earlier example: "All this study put into many books which do not issue
forth through Jehovah’s Theocratic
Organization, has merely wearied mankind...."
("J W Yearbook," 1946, Text for November 23)
This stance of the Watchtower leaders since Russell was relaxed for a bit in
1992, but otherwise higher education
that interferes with spreading JWs leaders'
literature is still discouraged. (See 1917, 1989, 1992, and 2006)
****
1969 "In July of 1969, President Nathan H. Knorr addressed 81,000 Witnesses
at Dodger Field in Los Angeles.
'Why are we looking forward to 1975?' he asked.
And then he answered his question by stating, 'It is firmly maintained
that by
the autumn of the year 1975, the battle of Armageddon will have been fought and
God's new world will have been
established' (Los Angeles Herald Examiner, July
21, 1969)."
http://christinprophecy.org/articles/the-jehovahs-witnesses/
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1982, 1983, 1987,
1993,
1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1969 In an interview, Nathan Knorr compared his claim that most clergymen are
hypocrites, such as for
agreeing with teachings about evolution, with Jesus' ac-
cusations of hypocrisy, said God may use atomic energy for Armageddon,
and gave
the JWs leaders' stance requiring JWs to refuse the medical use of blood.
(link inactive)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68ysCiXR6rc
****
Satanic worship of Apollo 11
If Elton John is the Rocket Man, then Knorr is the Retro Rocket Man:
1971 The JWs leaders warn that Christendom is idolatrous--in a figurative
sense, worships the sun--in
that it's not as committed to the Creator as to
something else: science.
"They pay more respect to these modern scientists and intellectuals, they at-
tribute more to these, than they
do to Jehovah. These have become the symbolic
'sun' that Christendom worships and to which she looks for salvation.
Christen-
dom’s general acceptance of the unprovable Theory of Evolution is one of the
evidences betraying her
as a worshiper of such a 'sun.'”
"Christendom’s infection with the worship of false gods, the gods of demonism,
betrays itself very slyly.
For instance, on July 20, 1969, when for the first
time a human astronaut set foot upon the moon, who was glorified thereby,
ac-
cording to the way that the scientific group responsible for it named things
that were involved? Certainly
not Jehovah, the Creator of the moon, but the
mythological sun-god. How so? Because the man-made spacecraft
with which the
successful moon-shot for putting Americans on our lunar satellite was made was
named Apollo, Number Eleven.
Phoebus Apollo was the sun-god of the ancient
Greeks and was also the twin brother of Artemis (or Diana), the moon-goddess.
This
Apollo of the Greeks has been traced back as being the first king of Baby-
lon, namely, Nimrod, the 'mighty hunter in opposition
to Jehovah.' (Genesis 10:
8-10) Since that first landing on the moon, further moon-shots have been made
in spacecrafts
of the 'Apollo' series. All a part of sun worship!" ("Know Je-
hovah--How?" p.157, 1971) Thanks to BluesBrother
at the Jehovahs-Witness.net
site for the quote.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/178853/apollo-programme-evidence-pagan-worship?page=1&size=20
(Also see 1902, 1904, 1914, 1961, 1968, 1985, and 2004 for Russell's and the
JWs leaders' views against evolution.)
****
1973 "Of all men used by God to prophesy, Jesus is outstanding. Based on
what he said, along with
the words of Daniel and John, Jehovah's witnesses
pointed to the year 1914, decades in advance, as marking the start of
"the con-
clusion of the system of things." ("Awake!" Jan.1, 1973, p.8)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1982, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
http://www.freewebs.com/glenster1/1975GovBody1a.jpg?0.4233935628038099 Standing (left to right): Daniel Sydlik, Theodore Jaracz, Raymond Franz (re-
signed in 1980), Lyman Swingle,
Lloyd Barry (died in 1999), Milton Henschel (de-
ceased, 5th president), William Jackson (deceased) Karl Klein (died Jan.,
2001),
Grant Suiter (deceased), Albert Schroeder, and Leo Greenlees (forced resigna-
tion)
Sitting (left to right): Ewart Chitty (forced resignation), Frederick Franz
(deceased, 4th president), Nathan
Knorr (deceased, 3rd president), George Gangas
(deceased), John Booth (deceased), and Charles Fekel (deceased)
The beginning of control by the Governing Body
****
****
Frederick W. Franz
Satanic sand the floor, wax on--wax off, paint the fence
1981 "It is not in harmony with the spirit of 1 Corinthians 13 : 4-7 or Isai-
ah 2:4 for a Christian
to learn karate, judo, or other martial arts. A brother
would be disqualified as an elder, a ministerial servant,
or a pioneer if he
took up the study of such martial arts and practiced them. A person publicly
advocating such
could be dealt with in line with 2 Thessalonians 3:13-15. As in
the case of a person who takes up professional boxing
and continues in such a
course, he would be expelled from the congregation." ("The Watchtower," July 1,
1981, pp.30,31)
1981 "Truly, all the foregoing demonstrates that the pathway of Jehovah's
people has been and is
like the bright light that gets ever brighter. (Prov.4:
18) As they came out of the gross darkness enveloping 'Babylon
the Great,' the world
empire of false religion, it was not to be expected that they would see all
things immediately
in their true light. (Rev. 17:5) The brilliance of revealed
truth could have had a blinding, even a confusing, effect
upon them spiritually.
This could be compared to a person's coming out of a totally dark room into
bright sunlight.
It would take time for the person's eyes to adjust to the sud-
den glare of brilliant sunlight." ("The Watchtower,"
Dec. 1, 1981, p.26)
(That might be impressive if anything extraordinary for the eyes to behold,
not counting very public prophecy
flops, was announced before it happened. Ac-
tually, back then, all they had as distinctions were some forced minority
inter-
pretations, some of which they've replaced with other forced minority interpre-
tations, a lot of prophesies
that turned out wrong, most of which they don't
write about anymore or changed the meaning of after the fact, some faithful
fol-
lowers/customers, and a lot of damnation for other religions. Jesus (conserva-
tive view) would have gotten
predictions and medical ideas, etc., right. I'm
sure Jesus could have made himself quickly clear and taught on any
subject the
JWs leaders define their religion with without blinding anyone into a stupor.
Speaking of vision problems):
1982 "So the expression 'every eye will see him' means that everyone will
then" (1914) "understand or
recognize that Christ is present" ("Paradise," 1982,
p.146) (The JWs leaders maintained the Nelson Barbour view that
Russell main-
tained about Rev.1:7.)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1983,
1987,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1987,
1993,
1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1983 "We need to face up to the fact that Christmas and its music are not
from Jehovah, the God of truth.
Then what is their source? Reason should sug-
gest that they are from someone whose sole aim now is to mislead as
many people
as possible. The Bible tells us that this is the goal of Satan the Devil. Yes,
Satan the Devil
can ingeniously make Christmas music appear to be of God and the
singing of it a Christian duty that honors Him and His
Son. In reality, it does
just the opposite." ("The Watchtower," Dec.15, 1983, p.7) (See 1927 or ?, 1929,
1931,
1951, and 1988)
1984 "Why not read other's literature?" "Witnesses do not go to people's
doors searching for truth or
enlightenment. Rather, they already have devoted
countless hours learning the truth." "...people who believe
that 'there is good
in all religions' might consider it narrow-minded to think otherwise." "Jeho-
vah's Witnesses
are not ignorant of others' beliefs. They have gained consider-
able basic knowledge of the doctrinal beliefs of
religions" from "'What Has Re-
ligion Done for Mankind?' as well as numerous articles in The Watchtower and
Awake!
"God's Word warns Christians that 'Satan himself keeps transforming himself
into an angel of light. It
is therefore nothing great if his ministers also
keep transforming themselves into ministers of righteousness. But
their end
shall be according to their works.' (2 Corinthians 11:14, 15) Satan so success-
fully appeared as 'an
angel of light' that he was able to deceive even a perfect
human, Eve. (1 Timothy 2:14) So it would be foolhardy,
as well as a waste of
valuable time, for Jehovah's Witnesses to accept and expose themselves to false
religious literature
that is designed to deceive. They have no intention of
falling into the sad course of the Jews, whom Paul said 'exchanged
the truth of
God for the lie.'-Romans 1:25, NW; Revised Standard Version.
"Furthermore, some of the religious literature that people may urge Jehovah's
Witnesses to read is written
by, or contains the thoughts of, individuals who
have apostatized. True Christians are commanded to shun such apostates"
(and
that they can) "not have been interested in listening to apostates, nor in ob-
taining any poisonous writings that
these might distribute 'for the sake of dis-
honest gain.' Why finance their wickedness by buying their literature?
(Titus
1:11) As loyal Christians .. holding appreciatively and loyally to the channel
from which we first learned
Bible truth." ("The Watchtower," May 1, 1984, p.31)
I'll try to make this editorial short and sweet. The JWs leaders wanted their
claims of exclusiveness,
meant to be shown by a dozen or so rules, to be be-
lieved without it being checked, which goes against the common sense
of how a
fair trial is conducted. Either side might lie, so you want to hear both sides
and see what's left on
the plate, then judge from that. Otherwise, whoever went
first in a trial could win every time: "Your honor, this
is what I say, this is
what they'd say. I'm right--they're wrong." Fair judgement isn't based on
that.
You want to hear both sides and weigh evidence against gossip before ren-
dering judgement.
The JWs leaders sent their followers door to door, where they might run into
all manner of outlooks opposed
to the JWs leaders' claims of exclusiveness,
therefore income. The JWs leaders' teachings like the above, combined
with
harsh disfellowshipping rules, were the JWs leaders' efforts at Bible-based-
sounding reasons to discourage followers
from learning about the methods the JWs
leaders used to affect their exclusiveness, and to make sure that if someone got
wise
to the JWs leaders, they wouldn't be around very long to spread the infor-
mation to others in the target marketing group.
1984 "The Catholic Church occupies a very significant position in the world
and claims to be the way
of salvation for hundreds of millions of people. Any
organization that assumes that position should be willing to
submit to scrutiny
and criticism." (Awake!" Aug.22, 1984, p.28)
1985 "(Our) beliefs and practices are not new but are a restoration of first-
century Christianity."
("Reasoning From The Scriptures," 1985, 1989, p.203)
(GTW note: recent minority view outlook religious groups that use the Bible,
as the JWs leaders do, NWT debated
translations to the side, may refer to them-
selves as restoring the early church and try to get into any blank spots in
the
early record, if not by the methods the JWs leader's use. There's often an ac-
companying claim about there
having been a great apostasy due to their idea
bumping into the main of what's recorded in history, and the one claiming
to re-
store the original church often claims to be a prophet. The JWs leaders have
tried those, too. Such
efforts sometimes come with food rules--the JWs leaders
from Rutherford on have used their blood rules for that.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Apostasy
****
Dowsing for evidence
1985 The Watchtower book "Life—-How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or by Crea-
tion?" 1985, says
that the chance of a simple protein molecule forming at ran-
dom in an organic soup are ten to the 113th power. I
wondered where that num-
ber came from--the Watchtower book gives it as something evolutionists say.
It's one of the many cases of the Watchtower using quotes out of context or
regardless of the source of information,
in this case a quote of Dr.Jean Sloat
Morton, a six-literal-day creationist who, in turn, was quoted by paranormalist
and
dowser Francis Hitching.
http://evolutionwiki.org/wiki/Francis_Hitching
"Chapter 4 of the Creation book relies heavily on the writings of paranormal-
ist Francis Hitching, who has
already been shown to have borrowed heavily from
six-literal-day creationists. Here is another case in point. On
page 44, para-
graph 18 states:
"The proteins needed for life have very complex molecules. What is the chance
of even a simple protein
molecule forming at random in an organic soup? Evolu-
tionists acknowledge it to be only one in" [10 to the 113th
power] "(1 followed
by 113 zeros). But any event that has one chance in just" [10 to the 50th pow-
er] "is dismissed
by mathematicians as never happening. An idea of the odds, or
probability, involved is seen in the fact that the
number" [10 to the 113th pow-
er] "is larger than the estimated total number of all the atoms in the uni-
verse!"
"It turns out that it was taken from pages 67, 70-71 (pp. 50, 52-53 paperback)
of Francis Hitching's book The
Neck of the Giraffe, in a panel entitled 'Can
Life Form by Chance?'"
"Hitching was merely quoting someone else's argument, which he reproduced in
some detail with full attribution.
The panel quotes Dr. Jean Sloat Morton, ap-
parently a six-literal-day creationist, writing in Impact, December 1980, number
90.
Impact is a publication of the Institute for Creation Research in San Die-
go, and is quoted elsewhere in Creation. Hitching's
quotation said:
"'...let us consider a simple protein containing only 100 amino acids. There
are 20 different kinds of
L-amino acids in proteins, and each can be used re-
peatedly in chains of 100. Therefore, they could be arranged
in" [20 to the
100th power] "or" [10 to the 130th power] "different ways. Even if a hundred
million billion" [10
to the 17th power] "of these combinations could function
for a given purpose, there is only one chance in" [10 to the 113th
power] "of
getting one of these required amino acid sequences in a small protein consisting
of 100 amino acids."
"Creation is really plagiarizing the work of a young-earth creationist in the
ICR pamphlet Impact, via Hitching."
An example from 115, or 130-140, AD by Papias: "Taking occasion from Papias of
Hierapolis, the illustrious,
a disciple of the apostle who leaned on the bosom
of Christ, and Clemens, and Pantaenus the priest of [the Church] of the
Alexan-
drians, and the wise Ammonius, the ancient and first expositors, who agreed with
each other, who understood
the work of the six days as referring to Christ and
the whole Church."
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/papias.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papias_of_Hierapolis
(Also see 1902, 1904, 1914, 1961, 1968, 1971, and 2004 for Russell's and the
JWs leaders' views against evolution.)
****
Signs of The End
1987 "The Sign of the Last Days--When?," 1987, by Carl Olof Jonsson and Wolf-
gang Herbst, and "The Gentile
Times Reconsidered," year?, by Carl Olof Jonsson,
take a critical look at the JWs leader's dating methods used to arrive
at 1914,
and their claims that since then wars, earthquakes, famines, and pestilences
have gotten worse, which are signs
that indicate that Jesus became invisibly
present on Earth since 1914, etc.
http://www.freeminds.org/doctrine/cojonsson.htm http://www.watchtowerinformationservice.org/dates/the-watchtower-society-backpedals-on-earthquakes/ http://www.ldolphin.org/quakes2.html http://corior.blogspot.com/2006/02/part-1-summary.html
It's been a number of years since I read it, so I'll take a whack at covering
a few of the topics it covers
below. The mess started when, after WWI broke
out, Russell about-faced and taught that Jesus meant followers were
supposed to
take wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes as signs that Armageddon was
near.
Jesus refers to wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes at Matt.24:6-13;
Mark 13:7-13; and Luke 21:9-19.
"A crucial time was drawing close. In 1876 the Bible student Charles Taze Rus-
sell contributed the article
"Gentile Times: When Do They End?" to the Bible Ex-
aminer, published in Brooklyn, New York, which said on page 27 of its
October
issue, 'The seven times will end in A.D. 1914.' The Gentile Times is the period
referred to in another
Bible translation as 'the appointed times of the na-
tions.' (Luke 21:24) Not all that was expected to happen in
1914 did happen,
but it did mark the end of the Gentile Times and was a year of special signifi-
cance. Many historians
and commentators agree that 1914 was a turning point in
human history. The following quotations illustrate this:
"A turning point in human history
"'The last completely 'normal' year in history was 1913, the year before World
War I began.'—Editorial
in the Times-Herald, Washington, D.C., March 13, 1949."
One way to see the JWs leaders' claim about 1914 is as an outgrowth of Rus-
sell's claims about it (shown
above). It was arbitrary numerology and prophet-
playing by a man whose predictions about miraculous things all turned
out to be
wrong but made a lot of calculations and created a lot of persuasuve rhetoric to
put on airs about being of
an exclusively God-guided group to attract attention
and sell literature (continued with subsequent JWs leaders' pretensions
of
"144,000" exclusiveness).
Another way to see it is to wonder if Jesus meant to tell his followers not to
be superstitious about wars,
earthquakes, etc., or they'd be regularly imagining
signs of the end around them, or if he meant to tell them not to do
that. Rus-
sell originally taught it the first way (which I agree with), only choosing the
second way when 1914
didn't give him anything to try to save face with but a war
(not Biblical Armageddon).
Another way to test the claim is imagine it in reverse: if you weren't given
the JWs leaders' prophecy about
1914, and were given the information at the
links below, would you pick 1914 specifically as when all four things got worse?
The analysis should include that the world population has multiplied the most
in the last century or so, mainly
due to advances in medical care over that pe-
riod, which includes improved mass media and transportation allowing the
chari-
table people and governments to better know if a group needs food or other aid
and send it to them.
The number of fatalities in a recent year for a type of tragedy should be
weighed against an increased number
of people who weren't killed by the tragedy.
Compare percentages--if the percentages aren't worse, even if you imagine
Jesus
meant to tell his followers to worry about omens regularly and the Bible meant
Jesus would return invisibly, you'd
have Jesus simply telling his followers that
the human race would be healthy enough to keep growing.
Rev.6:8 "And I saw, and behold, a pale horse, and its rider's name was Death,
and Hades followed him;
and they were given power over a fourth of the earth, to
kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild
beasts of the
earth."
- Wars
- Pestlences
"Originally, the term..." contagious disease "...referred to a contagion (de-
rivative
of contact) or disease transmissible only by direct physical contact.
In the modern day, the term has sometimes been broadened
to encompass any com-
municable or infectious disease. Often the word can only be understood in con-
text, where
it is used to emphasise very infectious, easily transmitted, or es-
pecially severe communicable disease."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contagious_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infection#Historic_pandemics
A sample of the JWs leaders' stance about earthquakes: "In comparison with the
previous 2,000 years, the average
per year has been 20 times as great since
1914." ("Reasoning from the Scriptures," 1985, p.236)
Thanks to a post by dozy at the Jehovah's Witness Discussion Forum web site
for this response he got from the
National Earthquake Information Center to a
question about the Watchtower's claims about earthquakes:
"National Earthquake Information Center .. There is absolutely no way to de-
termine the number of earthquakes,
of any magnitude, that occurred during the
2,000 years before 1914. If the NGDC database contains a certain number,
those
are only the earthquakes that happened to be felt and written about in the his-
torical literature. It does
not include the much larger number that either oc-
curred in unpopulated areas or were not noted in the existing literature.
Going
by any meaningful statistics, there is no increase in the frequency of earth-
quakes. Any increase in damage
and casualties can be ascribed to the rapid in-
crease in population and the attendant growth of the built environment."
"I would be happy to discuss this with a representative of the Watchtower So-
ciety should they wish to contact
me. Sincerely, USGS/NEIC"
Thanks to a post by BluesBrother at the same web site for showing that the
March 22, 2002 "Awake!" has a new
direction for JWs leaders' efforts to bolster
their prophecy claims:
"Note, though, that the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy does not require an in-
crease in the number or
power of earthquakes. All Jesus said was that there
would be great earthquakes in one place after another.
Furthermore, he stated
that these events would mark the 'beginning of pangs of distress.' (Matthew 24:
8) Distress is
measured, not by the number of earthquakes or how they rate on
the Richter scale, but by the effect that they have upon
people."
That would just be a prediction of a population increase, though, and should
a period characterized by things
that cause death be a time for that?
Remember as you deliberate on this that the JWs leaders not only teach that
1914 is a dividing line after
which all four things got notably worse, they
moreover called it the year Jesus took the throne in heaven and his presence
in-
visibly returned to Earth (despite how that mischaracterizes Rev.1:7--"all eyes
will see") (changed in 1993 to 1914
being when Jesus invisibly turned his atten-
tion toward the Earth), and even insist on it to the point of requiring it
for
salvation and disfellowship anyone who persists in disagreeing. It's not kept
in perspective as someone's
personal speculation as such a thing is generally
considered to be in Christianity.
In a way, this is easy to explain: if you know you'd be forcing points to the
point of lying and playing false
prophet if you insisted on the JWs leaders spe-
cifics on the subject for salvation, you're imagining what the JWs leaders
have
been doing. The most reasonable thing to make of the evidence isn't anything
supernatural but just that the
JWs leaders' methods to promote the sales of
their literature are meant to maintain the marketing group that Russell and
Rutherford
established.
1967 "'In one place after another pestilences.' (Luke 21:11) As World War I
ended, some 21 million
people were felled by the Spanish flu. Since then, heart
disease, cancer, AIDS, and other pestilences have killed
hundreds of millions."
("Awake!" Sept.8, 1967, p.7)
Cancer and heart disease can be influenced by the environment but basically
aren't pestilences. According
to Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical
Words, loimos/pestilence means a "any deadly infectious malady."
http://gospelhall.org/bible/bible.php?search=LO&dict=vine&offset=60 As others, including Alan Feuerbacher in the article at the next link, have
pointed out, the
increase in death from cancer and heart disease in recent years
indicates more people are living to an older age to die
from them. The irony of
the JWs leaders' inclusion of those things to pad their fatality figures is it
makes Jesus
out to have warned that in the last days more people would live to
an old age.
http://corior.blogspot.com/2006/02/part-3-unassailable-proofs.html
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982,
1983,
1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
1988 "You will find valuable information in the older publications." ("(Our)
Kingdom Ministry,"
Jan., 1988, p.7)
1988 "The three essentials for establishing the credentials of a true pro-
phet, as given through Moses,
were: The true prophet would speak in Jehovah's
name; the things foretold would come to pass (Deut. 18:20-22); and his
prophes-
ying must promote true worship" ("Insight On the Scriptures," Vol. 2, "Jehovah
to Zuzim," 1988, p.696)
****
Satanic birthday cupcakes, Christmas trees, etc.
1988 "Kindergarten or day-care programs, for instance, feature birthday and
holiday parties that can
be fun for children. So the child needs to understand
why Jehovah's servants do not participate. Otherwise
he may grow to hate his
parents' religion. This last point is important to consider. If a child is not
taught
from infancy that some forms of 'having fun' are wrong, such as birthdays
and holiday parties, they may grow to hate their
parents' religion (which is ad-
hering to the teachings of the Watchtower Society as one of Jehovah's Wit-
nesses).
"This tragedy can be avoided with proper teaching from as early in the in-
fant's life as possible...the chapter
explains that the only two birthday par-
ties mentioned in the Bible were celebrated by pagans, who did not worship Jeho-
vah,
and that at each party 'someone's head was chopped off.' (Mark 6:17-29;
Genesis 40:20-22) How can you use this information
to reach your child's heart?
Think about it.... 'His ability to quote scriptures makes him very effective
in the
house-to-house ministry, since many householders are amazed and cannot
resist the offer of Bible magazines he presents."
("The Watchtower," Aug.1,
1988, pp.13,15)
The JWs leaders are playing prophet again. Rom.14 (see p.36) gives the Chris-
tian view of holidays.
Some wanted to celebrate Mosaic law holidays though Mo-
saic law was over for Christians. I'm sure Paul could have
thought like a JWs
leader and wondered if having such an observance could evoke the idea of being
under all of Mosaic
law. Yet he taught that we're not to judge one another over
the matter but understand it as a matter of personal
decision--just makes sure
your faith is true.
Birthday celebration isn't known to be advocated by the early church leaders.
Some followers commemorated the
martyrs on the anniversaries of their deaths--
their "birth" into a better life--Natalitia. The church fathers lived
in a day
when Christians were a minority in a largely pagan culture, one in which you
could be executed for being Christian
and not worshipping the emperor. Some
church leaders wanted to encourage Christians to have days to commemorate the
days
the martyrs held to their faith unto death, the resurrection (later Eas-
ter), and the last supper, which were more specifically
Christian things com-
pared to birthday parties, which were more general things.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Supper
The JWs leaders' stance was taken from an early 200's AD opinion by Origen,
who has a bad opinion about birthday
parties which he backs up by noting that
the Pharaoh and Herod having the only birthday parties noted in the Bible and
that
someone's head was chopped off at each. (Gen.40:20-22; Matt.14:6-10) Ac-
cording to Wikipedia, "Origen denounced
the idea of celebrating Jesus' birthday
'as if he were a king pharaoh.' He contended that only sinners, not saints,
celebrated
their birthday."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas
It sounds like Origen didn't like the idea of Natalitia, or, more likely, that
while Christians were a minority,
there were cultural trends of the time gener-
ally associated with birthday parties, possibly getting drunk or even false
wor-
ship ("king pharaoh"-style?), which caused Origen to associate it with sin to
avoid. This could account for
someone from his time and place discouraging such
a celebration or festival for the birth of Jesus, a stance which to many
of us
seems more than a little curious.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm
As it says in "Why December 25?" by Elesha Coffman at the next link, "Not all
of Origen's contemporaries agreed
that Christ's birthday shouldn't be cele-
brated, and some began to speculate on the date (actual records were apparently
long
lost). Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215) favored May 20 but noted that
others had argued for April 18, April 19,
and May 28. Hippolytus (c.170-c.236)
championed January 2. November 17, November 20, and March 25 all had backers
as
well."
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2008/august/why-december-25.html
However, despite Origen's personal opinions, the general idea of a birthday
party per se isn't ruled against
in the Bible, and some even see a precedent for
scriptural approval for the celebration of a birth as possibly meant as
held for
Job at Job 1:1-5, in how many would rejoice at the birth of John the baptist at
Luke 1:13-15, and shown by
the praise of the heavenly host at the birth of Jesus
at Luke 2:10-14. If celebrating the birth of someone good is
good in the Bible,
what's supposed to be bad--doing something annually? It may be Job's family did
that.
Out of all that's given in pertinent scriptures, the only thing that's
clearly banned by the Bible is beheading people
as entertainment. (Don't you
do that, you kids out there. I don't want to hear you had to because all the
other
kids are doing it.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday
The JWs leaders' ban also bans Easter as a so-called pagan Christendom holi-
day. Actually, it's another
Rom.14, 1 Cor.8-11, pp.36,37, matter. If a long
ago origin of a related holiday matter (Satanic bunnies?) most people
haven't
considered as the intended meaning for centuries bothers you, don't have the
celebration, and if it doesn't,
go ahead. Christmas or Easter might also be a
matter of a JWs leaders' difference of view about Jesus, but I'm sure
a JWs
leaders' view could come up with a JWs customization for it short of a ban of
the whole thing. My criticism
is that the JWs leaders play prophet again in
going beyond what can be guaranteed as an intended meaning of the Bible and
make
a necessary ban despite the scripture describing it as a matter of personal con-
science.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michaelmas
Paul taught we aren't to have the Mosaic-type unclean things rules which
create ethically unnecessary artificial
divisions between people. Christianity
was to spread to Jewish and Gentile people anywhere in the world. You'd
have an
impossibly hard time avoiding everything that was used in pagan worship. Some
people worshipped nature--that's
everything. There were Roman festivals all
year 'round. So to make a workable system of avoiding not just pagan
worship,
idolatry, but any related things--from all history, yet, someone has to play
prophet (against this scriptural
concern) and pick some things and not others.
How did they get in the act? According to Paul, such things per se
aren't a
consideration--belief in only the one true God is (p.37).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_festivals http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_worship
When JWs leaders do that in regard to an idolatrous significance a thing had
long ago--the previous use of
a tree since used as a Christmas decoration, etc.,
the JWs leaders contradict their own version of the meaning of "things
offered
to idols" (Act 15:29)--that the meat lost an idolatrous connotation away from
the idol temple. JWs leaders
use this idea to allow the medical use of minor
blood fractions as far enough removed from recognizable as whole blood
as to
make it permissible. The ancient meanings some attached to holidays or related
foods or decorations, or
even current disagreement about who Christ was regard-
ing Christmas or Easter given that some celebrate them in a secular
way, are
generally far removed from current concerns or don't have to be the meanings a
person attaches to them in their
own home.
The JWs leaders' ban also bans national holidays as worldly--see the entry for
1935 about the JWs leaders'
ban of saluting the flag and the section about "The
Watchtower outlooks on worldliness" on p.6. Rutherford's 1929
interpretation of
Rom.13:1-7 as referring to God and Jesus as the higher authorities, so govern-
ment was considered
Satanic, was reversed in 1962. That should leave the JWs
leaders' view to be that the government is basically or
generally given as a
good thing in upholding law and order, but the JWs leaders' expanded version of
what the Bible
means by "worldly" ironically includes involvement with the gov-
ernment as if they defaulted to a Charles Taze Russell
view, whish was also an
expanded idea of what "worldly" means.
The JWs leaders play prophet again in going beyond what can be guaranteed as
an intended meaning of the Bible
and giving it as a necessary view for Bible be-
lievers and requiring followers to disfellowship persistent dissenters.
It's
just an artificial way of creating a "144,000," etc., exclusiveness and another
unnecessary division between people.
(And it's an unnecessary prevention from
JWs having something they might like.) (See 1927 or ?, 1929, 1931, 1951, and
1983)
****
Satanic higher ed. is for selfish gain and deprives JWs leaders of the results
of JWs' literature sales
time
1989 "A university degree may or may not improve your employment prospects.
But one fact is indisputable:
'The time left is reduced'! (1 Corinthians 7:29)
For all its presumed benefits, would four years or more in a university
be the
best use of that remaining time?—Ephesians 5:16." "In view of these facts, many
Christian youths
have decided against a university education. Many have found
that the training offered in congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses-—the
weekly
Theocratic Ministry School in particular—-has given them a real edge in finding
employment." ("Awake!"
May 8, 1989, pp.13-14, "What Career Should I Choose?)
(See 1917, 1969, 1992, and 2006) More from the same article
discouraging col-
lege education is at the next link.
http://www.quotes-watchtower.co.uk/education.html
1990 "We cannot take part in any modern version of idolatry--be it worshipful
gestures toward an
image or symbol or the imputing of salvation to a person or
an organization." ("The Watchtower," Nov.1, 1990, p.26) (See
1930 and 1943.)
That claim refers back to Rutherford getting the Bible Students (which Ruther-
ford later called Jehovah's
Witnesses) to take his tracts door to door in 1919.
It wasn't predicted before 1919 and doesn't substitute for what was
predicted:
the wholesale destruction of the churches and flocks of the other religions--
"Babylon" to the JWs leaders--of
the world. To say that Russell and Rutherford
and their followers caused that to happen would be like saying the
United States
was annihilated by an outsider throwing some JWs leaders' pamphlets over the
border that most people in
the U.S. didn't read.
The JWs leaders' long-standing discouragement of higher education as Satanic
was temporarily relaxed to a matter
of personal conscience, but higher education
that interfered with spreading JWs leaders' literature was still discouraged
as
shown by the listing for 2006. (See 1917, 1969, 1989, and 2006)
Someone skeptical of the sincerity of the JWs leaders' prophecy claim (oh,
where will we find such a person?)
could imagine that they taught that selling
their literature was an important work for salvation (p.3), so discouraged
giv-
ing to charity (see 1951), going to college, reading books that were critical of
the JWs leaders distinctive stances,
helping causes for human rights (see 1952),
entering the military (see p.6), etc., at times even having children (see 1938),
as
matters of doing something other than gathering money for them. It had be-
come hard to find anything better than
minimum wage jobs without higher educa-
tion by this time, though.
1992 Frederick W. Franz died on Dec.22, 1992.
****
Milton George Henschel
****
Invisible browsing from heaven part two
1993 "As the events following 1914 began to unfold and the Bible Students
compared these with what the
Master had foretold, they gradually came to appre-
ciate that they were living in the last days of the old system and that
they had
been since 1914. They also came to understand that it was in the year 1914 that
Christ's invisible presence
had begun and that this was, not by his personally
returning (even invisibly) to the vicinity of the earth, but by his
directing
his attention toward the earth as ruling King." ("Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaim-
ers of God's Kingdom,"
1993, p.137)
A similar message:
"This means, then, that Jesus’ ‘sitting down on his glorious throne’ for judg-
ment, mentioned
at Matthew 25:31, applies to the future point when this powerful
King will sit down to pronounce and execute judgment on
the nations." ("The
Watchtower," Oct.15, 1995)
The JWs leaders teach that Matthew 24:45-47 indicates that Jesus picked the
Watchtower leaders as his religious
leaders on Earth in 1919. Yet he hasn't
fulfilled Matt.25:31 and taken the throne yet (?). His "presence" is
so invis-
ible it isn't here at all--he'll arrive later. As with Rutherford in 1929, it's
taught that Jesus began
invisibly browsing from heaven, except this time start-
ing in 1914 and picking the JWs leaders as God's channel on Earth
before he got
to the throne (which I thought related to ruling), which will happen later (?).
My guess is that they call it "turning attention toward the Earth" in 1914,
but I'm not sure what they call
expelling Satan from heaven to cause trouble on
Earth snce 1914, or choosing the JWs leaders in 1919, if you're supposed
to as-
sociate sitting on the throne with making a rule and he hasn't sat in it yet.
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982,
1983,
1987, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
****
Lemon Pledge
1993 "At the momentous 1935 Washington, D.C., convention of Jehovah’s Wit-
nesses, someone asked
Brother Rutherford, the Watch Tower Society’s president,
about whether school children should salute the flag.
He answered that it was
unfaithfulness to God to ascribe salvation by saluting an earthly emblem; he
said he wouldn’t
do it. This impressed Bill and me. We talked about it with
our parents and looked up Exodus 20:4-6, 1 John
5:21, and Matthew 22:21. Mom
and Dad never pressured us or made us feel guilty." ("Awake! July 22, 1993,
p.13.
See 1935 and 1994.)
1994 "Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that saluting a flag, singing a national
anthem, and reciting
a pledge of allegiance are religious acts. Their Bible-
trained conscience does not permit them to participate in
such acts of worship.
(Matthew 4:10; Acts 5:29) No matter what country they live in, this is their
stand in imitation
of Jesus Christ, who said that his followers would be 'no
part of the world, just as (he was) no part of the world.'—John
17:16."
("Awake!" Jan.8, 1994, p.2) (See 1935 and 1995.)
Neither is a case of idolatry (worshipping whatever other than God as God) or
more than a basic promise to
be a good citizen of the country (the sort of basic
stance of Rom.13:1-7). The JWs leaders' stance on neutrality
isn't explicitly
required by the Bible and is ordinarily a matter of personal interpretation or
opinion. The credibility
of the JWs leaders' stance of requiring their follow-
ers to agree that their stance is a Bible requirement is weakened
further by
contradiction.
See the article at the next link: Watchtower presidents Rutherford, Knorr,
Franz, and Henschel are shown in
their passport photos for which they signed an
oath of allegiance to the United States. In the case of Rutherford,
it was pri-
or to the 1935 onward ban (3/28/22), but for Knorr (6/8/68), Henschel (9/16/52),
and Franz (?/8/88), it
was after the JWs leaders' ban of oaths or pledges of al-
legiance to the country took effect.
http://masonemerson.freeyellow.com/christianwinessescom/id312.html
"Because Christians can be loyal both to God and to earthly governments they
can take oaths of allegiance to
defend the Constitution, as is required of citi-
zens in some countries in order to get a passport." ("The Watchtower,"
Sept.15,
1964, p.551)
According to the jwfacts site, the JWs leaders ruled against such pledges and
oaths as idolatrous and worldly
and out of the question--except when making an
identical oath to a country for a passport or citizenship (so the JWs could
more
freely travel to sell JWs leaders' literature and for whatever reasons the JWs
leaders had to travel).
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/malawi-mexico-oath-allegiance.php
Compare the JWs leaders' ruling that JWs in Malawi shouldn't get 25 cent mem-
bership cards for the Malawi
Congress party and the beatings, rapes, destroyed
houses, concentration camp stays, etc. followers suffered there with
thousands
fleeing to other countries. See the listings for 1960, 1964, and 1968 on p.6.
https://gtw6437.tripod.com/id20.html
****
Satanic homosexuality
1995 "True, some individuals may very well be prone to homosexuality...a
Christian cannot excuse immoral
behavior by saying he was 'born that way.'
Child molesters invoke the same pathetic excuse when they say their craving
for
children is 'innate.' But can anyone deny that their sexual appetite is per-
verted? So is the desire
for someone of the same sex." ("Awake!" Feb.8, 1995)
"See that you never despise any of these little ones, for I tell you that
their angels in heaven are continually
in the presence of my Father in heaven."
(Matthew 18:10, New Jerusalem Bible)
Many liberal and reform branches of Judaism and Christianity don't consider
homosexuality a sin unlike many
literalist and conservative branches.
For example, many liberal Christians say Matt.19:12 indicates that Jesus under-
stood that some people are
born with a sexual orientation and others are made
that way by people so would accept innate homosexuals. The same
view holds that
Paul in Rom.1 only counts it a sin for people to perform homosexuality against
their nature--that Rom.1:26
refers to people appeasing false gods like Aphrodite,
Diana, and other fetility gods with temple prostitution.
****
1995 "Jehovah has established a limited number, 144,000, to make up the lit-
tle flock, and he has
been gathering it since Pentecost 33 C.E. Logically, the
calling of the little flock would draw to a close when the
number was nearing
completion, and the evidence is that the general gathering of these specially
blessed ones ended
in 1935." ("The Watchtower," Feb.15, 1995)
(See 1877, 1878, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1935,
and 2007; also see 1880 for Rev.7:1-8
taken to refer to a literal 144,000 Jewish
people)
1995 "Therefore, in the final fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy today, 'this
generation' apparently refers
to the peoples of the earth who see the sign of
Christ's presence but fail to mend their ways. In contrast, we as Jesus'
disci-
ples refuse to be molded by the life-style of 'this generation.'" ("The Watch-
tower," Nov.1, 1995, p.19)
"This generation" is no longer people who were alive in 1914, which includes
JWs. Now it's the non-JWs
who suffer the judgement of Jesus when the events of
Matt.24 happen. The "great crowd" is made up of those who survive
Armageddon
("These are the ones that come out of the great tribulation," Rev. 7:14, NWT)
while "other sheep" includes
both those and the ones resurrected to Earth during
Christ's thousand year reign.
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982,
1983,
1987, 1993, 1997, 1998, and 2000)
1997 "In the early 1920's, a featured public talk presented by Jehovah's Wit-
nesses was entitled 'Millions
Now Living Will Never Die.' This may have re-
flected over optimism at that time. But today that statement can be
made with
full confidence. Both the increasing light on Bible prophecy and the anarchy of
this dying world cry
out that the end of Satan's system is very, very near!"
("The Watchtower," Jan.1, 1997, p.11)
http://www.freeminds.org/history/gen_back.htm
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982,
1983,
1987, 1993, 1995, 1998, and 2000)
****
History rewritten to make it seem like a JWs leader predicted something
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982,
1983,
1987, 1993, 1995, 1997, and 2000)
****
2000 "Although Noah's three sons were all married, none fathered children un-
til after the Deluge."
"While this does not imply that it is wrong to have
children today, many Christian couples decline to have children so
as to become
more fully involved in the urgent work that Jehovah has given his people to do.
Some couples have waited
for a time before having children; others have decided
to remain childless and consider the possibility of bearing children
in Jeho-
vah's righteous new world." ("Watchtower," Aug.1, 2000, p.21) (See 1937 and
1938)
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/wrong-with-being-jehovahs-witness.php
****
Don Alden Adams
****
History rewritten again to make it seem like a JWs leader predicted
something about
1914 and 1918/1919
2000 "In the latter part of the 19th century, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
U.S.A., a group of sincere
Bible students was organized and became the nucleus
of God's modern-day witness class. These Christians drew attention
to the
Scriptural evidence that the conclusion of the present world system was at hand.
True to Bible prophecy, this
world's "conclusion" began in 1914 and was marked
by the outbreak of the first world war."
(See 1876, 1877, 1884, 1889, 1891, 1897, 1906, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916,
1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922,
1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1941, 1941-2?, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1982,
1983,
1987, 1993, 1995, 1997, and 1998)
"In June 1918, Satan frantically tried to wipe out those Bible students....
He also sought to destroy their
legal corporation, the Watch Tower Bible and
Tract Society. Responsible officers of the Society were imprisoned....
But in
1919, these officers were released, enabling them to continue their ministry.
Later, they were fully exonerated."
"When 'the time of the end' began, therefore, Jehovah again had a watchman on
the scene, alerting people to
events having to do with the fulfillment of His
purposes... Until this day, that watchman class--anointed Christians, the
Israel
of God--has been acting in harmony with Isaiah's description of the prophetic
watchman.... This is a watchman
who takes his task seriously!
"What did this watchman see? Again, Jehovah's watchman, his witness class,
announced: 'She has fallen! Babylon
has fallen, and all the graven images
of her gods he [Jehovah] has broken to the earth!'" "This time, following
World War I, it is Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion,
that is toppled from its perch of authority....
In 1919, Babylon the Great
could not prevent the Bible Students, as Jehovah's Witnesses were then known,
from escaping
from their inactive state and embarking on a worldwide witnessing
campaign that still continues.... That signaled
a fall for Babylon the Great,
just as the release of Israel in the sixth century B.C.E. signaled a fall for
ancient
Babylon. ("The Watchtower," Jan.1, 2000)
http://corior.blogspot.com/2006/02/latest-wts-lies.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudohistory
The Jan.1, 2000 "The Watchtower" made another case for the outlooks the JWs
leaders require for followers
about 1914 and 1919, and are current JWs leaders'
teachings. You can check the top of the time-line and compare for
yourself. A
few points: Russell had taught not to see a war as a sign of the end and only
changed his stance after
WWI broke out, his couple of prediction times, Oct.,
1915 and Oct., 1914, weren't about WWI and missed the start of it,
anyway--WWI
started earlier than either, and none of the miracles he predicted happened--Je-
sus didn't become seen
as in "seen," Abraham didn't appear, Biblical Armageddon
didn't happen, etc.
The 1919 prediction was another failure: the non-JWs churches and their flocks
weren't destroyed as predicted.
Rutherford just badmouthed them with transpar-
ent elitism like Russell had done in lieu of those churches being destroyed
as
Russell predicted for 1910-1914. It was when Rutherford and company got out of
jail and made a special sales
effort. One of the important writings of theirs
of the time that was sold was "The Finished Mystery," which I doubt
Satan, be-
lieved to be the father of lies (John 8:44), was frantically trying to stop un-
less he was PO 'ed that he
didn't get a writer's fee. Even someone with current
JWs leaders' outlooks would have to agree since it was so far
off in even pre-
dicting the future views of the JWs leaders.
I guess that's what happens when you stop caring about "the truth will set
you free" and care more about "the
truth will set back sales." Crooks and JWs
leaders share one of the definitions of "enemy": someone who'd tell the
truth
about their past record to provide evidence that show the JWs leaders to be
caught at something not only wrong
but deceptive and harmful--not an outlook
you'd expect to go along with a "144,000"-rarified virtue.
The current JWs leaders' views of 1914 and 1919 were fashioned after each had
gone by. Nothing miraculous
was shown in prediction ability in either case to
cause the mainstream historical churches to reconsider JWs leaders' minority
in-
terpretations, another in a long line of efforts at arbitrary historicism that
JWs leaders used like the lure of
the lottery and changed as they went along,
predictors who couldn't predict anything remarkable, quack medical ideas, etc.,
let
alone cause those churches to topple in destruction. I know the JWs leaders
want to promote their stuff to sell it,
but that's silly.
Time hasn't been kind to the old predictions, either. More recently, the
claims about them became watered
down to unlikely interpretations of an invisi-
ble "presence" for Jesus of Matt.24:29-31 that started in 1914 (that nobody
was
aware of any change about at the time--they thought the predictions that were
made failed), earthquakes dropped
from supposed "signs" of Luke 21:10,11, the
promise that some people alive in 1914 would be around when Jesus returned
vis-
ibly has been dropped, and other religions are doing far stronger than the JWs
leaders' for religions that are
supposed to have "fall"en in 1919, etc.
****
2002 The JWs leaders recently became more accepting of followers getting pro-
fessional help for
mental problems.
"If depression persists, seek professional help. The sooner you do so, the
sooner you can be on the road
to recovery. Seek out an understanding doctor who
is familiar with the condition." ("Awake!" July 22, 2002)
http://dr-jeff-morris.tripod.com/id40.html
(Compare that with the listing for 1963 under "Blood transfusions aren't the
only things the Watchtower leaders
have had distinctive medical ideas or rules
about" on p.11 and the quotes from JWs leaders' literature at the next link.)
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/quotes/psychiatry.php
2003 "When it comes to organized charity, though, we need to be cautious as
we evaluate the many appeals
we receive.
"Giving That Does the Most Good
"There is a kind of giving that is even more important than charity. Jesus
alluded to this when a rich
young ruler asked what he had to do to get everlast-
ing life. Jesus told him: "Go sell your belongings and give to the
poor and you
will have treasure in heaven, and come be my follower." (Matthew 19:16-22) No-
tice that Jesus did
not just say, 'Give to the poor and you will get life.' In-
stead, he added, "Come be my follower." In other
words, as commendable and ben-
eficial as charitable acts are, Christian discipleship involves more. Jesus'
chief
interest was in helping others spiritually." "In fact, among his final
instructions to them was the command: 'Go
therefore and make disciples of people
of all the nations.'—Matthew 28:19, 20."
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/quotes/charity.php
Similar to the JWs leaders' narrowed view of the Golden Rule whereby accept-
able defense is defense of another
of the JWs (p.6), charity work, like disaster
relief, is encouraged between JWs (see the site at the first link below).
Non-
JWs leaders' charity organizatons are to be considered skeptically, and involve-
ment in them is unnecessarily
ruled out (the JWs leaders' prophet playing creat-
ing unnecessary division) if having an origin in mainstream Christianity
(the
American Red Cross, Salvation Army, YMCA, YWCA, World Vision, Caritas, Christian
Children's Fund, Society of Saint
Vincent de Paul, outreach programs, etc.).
("Watchtower." June 1, 2003, pp.3-7) (See 1909, the listing for 1951 called
"Satanic
Christian charity," and 1969)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses/Practices_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses#Disaster_relief http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Red_Cross http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Salvation_Army http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YMCA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YWCA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Vision_International https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caritas_International http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChildFund http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Saint_Vincent_de_Paul http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzedakah http://www.just-tzedakah.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadaqah http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alms
****
Intelligent design
If the easiest thing to do in reconciling belief in God with evolution is to
just figure God did it the way
evolutionism indicates, the JWs leaders, with
their commitment to feigning elitism about what a Bible believer's interpreta-
tions
have to be, screw it up by adding various things that go against the gen-
eral understanding of science.
The JWs leaders declare that the Bible (meaning their collection of stances on
it) is incompatible with evolution:
Adam must be a literal person Jesus was de-
scended from for the JWs leaders' ransom argument for the meaning of the cruci-
fixion
(see "Ransom" on p.8), which is given as incompatible with evolution,
etc. ("Awake!" Sept., 2006)
(Also see 1902, 1904, 1914, 1961, 1968, 1971, and 1985 for Russell's and the
JWs leaders' views against evolution.)
****
"Complaints about the JWs leaders' use of reference material: the issue of in-
telligent
design"
Rama Singh, Professor of Biology at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada,
was quoted
out of context in the Jan., 2015 "Awake!" to leave the false impres-
sion that he supported the JWs leaders' stance to
doubt evolution.
"Rama Singh, professor of biology at Canada'a McMaster University,
says:
'The opposition to evolution goes beyond religious fundamentalism and in-
cludes a great many people
from educated sections of the population.'"
So he wrote to the editor of "Awake!" asking for
an apology.
"So I am asking you first to remove the misquotation from your article
immediately and second print an unconditional apology for what I consider
is a deliberate damaging action on your
part to my reputation."
Also see:
"Complaints about the JWs leaders' use of reference
material under the heading
'We must preserve the sanctity of our stance on blood--truth and other's lives,
we're not
crazy about'" on p.1a cont.
"Complaints about the JWs leaders' use of reference material:
the issue of de-
termining when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem" on p.1c.
"Complaints
about the JWs leaders' use of reference material: the issue of
pedophilia" on p.5.
"Complaints
about the JWs leaders' use of reference material: the issue of the
identity of Jesus and the holy spirit" on p.6b.
"Complaints about the JWs leaders' use of reference material: the issue of
early Christian history and related research
material" on p.9.
****
2005 "What is the best way to make contributions for the benefit of needy
brothers in other lands?
At times, we hear about brothers in another land who
have come into material need because of persecution, disaster, or
other diffi-
cult circumstances. Some brothers have been moved to send funds directly to the
branch offices in
such lands, requesting that the money be used to help a cer-
tain individual, a particular congregation, or a designated
building project.--
2 Cor.8:1-4.
"While such loving concern for fellow believers is commendable, often there
are needs that are more urgent
than those that the contributor has in mind.
"In come cases, the designated need has already been cared for. Of course, we
can be confident that when contributions
are sent to the local branch office for
the worldwide work, the Kingdom Hall Fund, or disaster relief, those donated
funds
will be used as directed by the contributor. The brothers in all the
branches have been thoroughly trained to respond
quickly to unanticipated needs.
In all cases, the branch keeps the Governing Body informed regarding the matter.
If
additional assistance is needed, the Governing Body may invite nearby
branches to help or funds may be sent directly from
headquarters. 2 Cor. 8:14,
15.
"Therefore, all contributions intended for the worldwide work, building pro-
jects in other lands, or disaster
relief should be sent to the branch office in
the land in which you live, either through the congregation or directly.
In
this way, 'the faithful and discreet slave,' through the organizational arrange-
ment set in place by the Governing
Body, cares for the needs of the worldwide
brotherhood in an orderly manner.--Matt.24:45-47; 1 Cor.14:33,40." ("Our King-
dom
Ministry," p.7, Jan., 2005)
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/quotes/charity.php
2006 "Do you not agree that to continue enjoying divine blessings, we must
resist seeking things for
ourselves at the expense of Jehovah's worship? That
is so whether the activity or interest diverting our attention
is the pursuit of
wealth, get-rich-quick schemes, ambitious plans for advanced education to have a
desirable career
in this system, or programs of personal fulfilment."
"Such things may not be sins in themselves. However, do you not see that from
the standpoint of everlasting
life, those really are dead works? In what sense?
They are spiritually dead, vain and fruitless. If one persists
in them, such
works could lead to spiritual death. It happened to some anointed Christians in
the apostles' day.
It has happened to some in out time. You may know of some
who were gradually distracted from Christian activities
and from the congrega-
tion; now they show no inclination to return to Jehovah's Service." ("Watch-
tower," April 15,
2006, p.27) (See 1917, 1969, 1989, and 1992)
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/wrong-with-being-jehovahs-witness.php
****
We must preserve the sanctity of our stance on blood--truth and others' lives,
we're not crazy about
According to Randall Watters of freeminds, the current Governing Body is "even
more rabid than Ted Jaracz (head
of the WT's Service Dept.) is about obeying the
blood injunction." Gene Smalley has been at Bethel since at least
1967 and
wrote the "Watchtower 'Questions from Readers' columns. And many blood doctrine
announcements and changes
have been found there since 2000."
Kerry Louderback-Wood wrote about that pamphlet in her essay "Jehovah's Wit-
nesses, Blood Transfusions and
the Tort of Misrepresentation," (Journal of
Church and State, Autumn 2005), which is at the site at the next link.
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-140409175.html
My abbreviation of some of the criticisms her report makes of the JWs lead-
ers'/Smalley's tract is given below.
She wrote that her mother died as a result of the JWs leaders' policies and
handling of them, and makes the
case that the JWs leaders' organization should
be held responsible by law for using deception in their literature to persuade
readers
to agree with their rules. She gives evidence that Smalley's 1990 JWs
leaders' tract is deceptive in various regards
including that it:
- misrepresented Joseph Priestly as supporting the JWs leaders' stance, though
Priestly doubted that the idea
of not eating blood was a moral concern or a gen-
eral rule for Christians, by using select statements of Priestly's pros
and cons
on the subject found in an appendix of his book "The Theological and Miscellan-
eous Works of Joseph Priestley."
- quotes Dr.John S. Spratt as stating "The cancer surgeon may need to become a
bloodless surgeon" without explaining
that he didn't mean doctors should follow
the JWs leaders' rules about blood but only that doctors may need to rely more
on
red cells (banned for medical use by the JWs leaders) than whole blood: "can-
cer surgeons should consider administering
only packed washed or washed frozen
red cells for urgent correction of blood loss."
- cites a 1960 study that claimed there's a death for every 13,000 bottles of
blood used. (p.49) It bolsters
the case with warnings about the chance of get-
ting Lyme disease, Chaga's disease, hepatitis, or AIDS from the medical
use of
blood. In doing so, it:
1. misrepresents the possibility of contracting Lyme disease from a transfu-
sion as "unlikely, but experts
are wary" whereas in 1990 there wasn't known to
be a case of someone contracting it from a transfusion.
2. warns of the possibilty of getting Chaga's disease from a blood transfu-
sion. The Watchtower article
says that the insect that spreads it is common in
a widespread area of the U.S., that there have only been five cases of
the di-
sease in the U.S., and two of them were linked to transfusion. It gives a New
York Times, May 23,
1989, quote by Dr.L. Altman: "Additional cases may have gone
undetected because (doctors here) are not familiar with Chagas'
disease, nor do
they realize that it could be spread by transfusions." The June 15, 2004 Watch-
tower adds that
"the threat comes from about 100,000 infected immigrants from
high risk countries." The JWs leaders don't make clear
how remote the possibil-
ity is or that the blood supply is easily sanitized with the use of gentian
violet.
3. warns of the risk of getting HIV-2, quoting a June 27, 1989 New York Times
article as saying it "is not
consistently detected by the AIDS tests now in use
here." The tract leaves out that the article also says HIV-2 is
widespread in
Western Africa, that of the six infected in NYC two lived in Western Africa
(four had incomplete information),
that "several European companies have devel-
oped new AIDS tests that cover both strains of the virus" and that the tests
would
be implemented soon after FDA approval, and that current tests gave incon-
clusive results 45-90 percent of the time when
HIV-2 was present but blood banks
discarded blood with inconclusive results and people from West Africa were asked
to
refrain from donating blood.
4. indicates the risk of getting hepatitus C, the most common disease trans-
mitted by blood, was indicated
by stating "between 8 and 17 percent of those
transfused in Israel, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and the United States
con-
tracted it" without giving the source. It gives the Feb.13, 1990 New York
Times as a source of the
information that if other viruses that cause hepatitis
appear, they'll be designated hepatitis E, etc.
The tract leaves out that the same article gives one in 200 donors as having
hepatitis C so recommends putting
off surgery that would call for a transfusion
could either wait for a few months, when the FDA would approve the test for
hep-
atitis C, or store their own blood beforehand (which the JWs leaders didn't ap-
prove of). As she wrote:
"As of the pamphlet's 1990 publication date, the risk
of diseases (not death), except for Hepatitis C, was far more remote
than the
Society's earlier quoted death rate of 1 per 13,000 bottles. As previously dis-
cussed, the Hepatitis
C test was soon to be released, mitigating this risk to
one in 100,000 in the U.S." (I'll add the update that the
chart she supplies
shows that the risk of getting Hepatitis C dropped to 1 in 1,935,000 by the year
2000.)
- the tract mischaracterizes survival with a low blood count.
1. While it's true a normal hemoglobin count, a measure of the oxygen-carrying
ability of blood, is 14 or 15,
it quotes "Contemporary Transfusion Practice" by
the American Association of Blood Banks as saying it was "difficult to
detect a
deficit in work capacity" in anemic patients with a count of 7, and that other
patients had "moderately impaired
function," but doesn't mention that the book
adds a correlation between low hemoglobin levels and heart attack. The
risk is
higher for those with pre-existing heart or circulatory problems when the count
is 7, and those with healthy
hearts have a significant risk of heart attack,
kidney failure, or pulmonary edema when the count is below 5.
2. While it's true "when a person loses a lot of blood in an accident or dur-
ing surgery, if the loss is rapid
and great, a person's blood pressure drops,
and he may go into shock," it's true that the bleeding should be stopped and
the
volume in their system should be restored--the tract recommends saline, Ringer's
solution, and Hetastarch, it's
true that the oxygen deprivation makes the heart
beat faster to compensate, and a resting patient uses 25% of the oxygen
avail-
able, and "most general anesthetics reduce the body's need for oxygen," the
tract doesn't mention that the heart
can only beat so fast and the blood only be
diluted so much safely. "Contemporary Transfusion Practice" says "Together,
all
compensations available for anemia are unable to transport sufficient oxygen for
workloads above a certain level,
and the compensations themselves impose a sig-
nificant workload." Even at rest, the oxygen deprivation can mean
organ failure
and death.
3. The example the tract uses of someone surviving a low hemoglobin count is
far from the kind of example that
should have been used to show what typically
happened. It gives the example of a woman who survived a hemoglobin
count of
1.8 g/liter after "she was successfully treated...[with] high inspired oxygen
concentrations and transfusions
of large volumes of gelatin solution [Haemac-
cel]." The tract uses this example for the argument that "skilled physicians
can
help one who has lost blood and so has fewer red cells. Once volume is re-
stored, doctors can administer oxygen
at high concentrations."
But the tract doesn't give the attending physician's explanations. She spent
thirty-four days in the
hospital--ten in intensive care. The tract doesn't say
that the doctors "found no other case of a patient with such
a low haemoglobin
who has survived without a transfusion of blood or artificial oxygen-carrying
substances." The
tract doesn't say that the doctors credited her survival part-
ly to the fact that "women can withstand haemorrhage better
in the early post-
partum period"--she'd undergone induced labor due to jaundice.
As Kerry Louderback-Wood notes, the tract doesn't say that "her blood pressure
became unrecordable several
times, the medicine to increase her blood pressure
caused severe hypemataemia (too much sodium in one's blood), bile leaked
into
the woman's abdomen, she developed oedema of the hands and forearms requiring
diuretic therapy, or that she developed
a chest infection. Incredibly, her only
permanent disability was that she developed palsy in her right vocal cord."
The pamphlet gives the woman's doctors as speaking positively of using hyper-
baric chambers--that those "with
acute blood loss have been successfully treated
with hyperbaric chambers." But the article cited doesn't say that--it
speaks
negatively of hyperbaric chambers: "oxygen transport to the tissues could be in-
creased by the use of an hyperbaric
chamber, but the period of exposure to very
high oxygen partial pressures is limited because of toxicity problems and this
form
of therapy is better suited to the case where further treatment (such as
blood transfusion) is envisaged in the near future.
By contrast, our patient's
problem of severe anaemia was likely to continue for several weeks."
The tract might also have noted that hyperbaric chambers are not commonly
available. They're found more
often around beaches that scuba divers go to, and
are used to help wounds heal in big cities.
4. The pamphlet doesn't give the prognosis for patients with low blood counts.
A study of pre-operative Jehovah's
Witnesses gave a 1.3 percent mortality rate
for patients with hemoglobin concentrations of 12 g/dL, but a 33 percent rate
for
those less than 6 g/dL. Poor cardiovascular health of increased the mortal-
ity rate 4.3-fold, so it would be very
unlikely that a patient with a heart
problem and a low hemoglobin count of 6 would have a favorable outcome. Due
to
this high risk of organ failure or death, the usual "lowest" acceptable level is
about 7--"red cell transfusion...is
almost always needed when the level is less
than 6 g/dl." Doctors would probably use transfusions earlier if they
thought
the patient had a poor heart or circulatory system.
- The JWs leaders'/Smalley's brochure mischaracterizes the ability of prema-
ture infants to survive a
low blood level.
The tract quotes a study on premature infants by Dr.James Stockman III:
"With few exceptions, infants born prematurely will experience a de-
cline in hemoglobin in the first
one to three months.... The indica-
tions for transfusion in the nursery setting are not well
defined.
Indeed, many infants seem to tolerate remarkably low levels of hemo-
globin concentration with no apparent clinical difficulties."
1. The JWs leaders'/Smalley's tract seems to imply to JWs parents that prema-
ture infants with a low blood
count are common and doctors unnecessarily push
blood transfusions--that the infants don't need a transfusion since Dr.
Stockman
said many infants can survive low hemoglobin levels.
But the JWs leaders'/Smalley's tract leaves out that Dr. Stockman gave two
situations for which a transfusion
is necessary:
(1) "certainly before ten percent of blood volume" had been withdrawn for
blood sampling, and
(2) when stabalized premature infants continue to show hemogloibin levels low-
er that 10, show low available
oxygen, and have one of various other problems
which include "poor feeding, dyspnea, tachycardia, tachypnea, diminished
activi-
ty, and pallor."
Dr. Stockman recognizes that once a preterm infant has stabilized, transfu-
sions are not needed if hemoglobin
is "greater than 10 to 11 g/dl." The Society
could have more accurately summarized Dr. Stockman's recommendation
by claiming
that most preterm infants do not need transfusions once they have stabilized,
but those who need frequent
blood sampling or continue to have hemoglobin counts
lower than 10, along with other problems, may need a transfusion.
The JWs leaders'/Smalley's pamphlet adds other doctors' discussions of hemo-
globin counts and the decision
to transfuse but leaves out Dr. Stockman's recom-
mendations about premature infants who've had either a loss of blood
volume or
consistently low hemoglobin levels.
2. The JWs leaders'/Smalley's quote that the decision to transfuse is "not
well defined" may create the fear
that the medical community unnecessarily
pushes the use of blood transfusions. The preceding two paragraphs describe
the
doctor's decision based on a hemoglobin level of "10" as "cloaked in tradition"
and "shrouded in obscurity," and,
as noted above, have preceded this with the
statement that it was "difficult to detect a deficit in work capacity" in anemic
patients
with hemoglobin levels of "7." This may leave the impression that "not
well defined" means that doctors just guess
at whether or not they should trans-
fuse a newborn.
But Dr. Stockman was contrasting the doctor's "not well defined" decision
about newborns relative to the situation
in "older adults and children...." Dr.
Stockman emphasized that a doctor should make a complex analysis of the many
tests
that show the physiological nadir most infants experience in their three
month, post partum transition from the fetus.
Dr. Stockman noted that the deci-
sion should take into account hemoglobin and erythropoietin levels, reticulo-
cyte
count, oxygen affinity/release levels, and PO2 readings. Dr. Stockman's
article was not a conclusion that pediatricians'
recommendations for premature
infants were poorly-informed, but rather that they should be well-informed about
the greater
number of variables to make decisions that were less clear-cut than
a decision involving a transfusion for a healthy infant,
older child, or adult.
- Smalley's brochure mischaracterizes the degree to which JWs parents have the
legal right to dictate a child's
bloodless treatment.
Courts are often asked to order transfusions for the children of JWs parents.
In the legal information section
"You Have The Right to Choose," Smalley's pam-
phlet tells parents that certain legal precedents guide courts to recognize
a
JWs parents' rights to make medical decisions for their children:
"In 1979 the U.S. Supreme Court stated clearly: 'The law's concept of
the family rests
on a presumption that parents possess what a child
lacks in maturity, experience, and capacity for judgment
required for
making life's difficult decisions simply because the decision of a
parent [on
a medical matter] involves risks does not automatically
transfer the power to make that decision from the
parents to some
agency or officer of the states.'—-Parham v. J.R.
"The same year the New York Court of Appeals rules: 'The most signifi-
cant factor
in determining whether a child is being deprived of adequate
medical care...is whether the parents have provided
an acceptable course
of medical treatment for their child in light of all the surrounding
circumstances. This inquiry cannot be posed in terms of whether the
parent has made a 'right' or a 'wrong'
decision, for the present state
of the practice of medicine, despite its vast advances, very seldom per-
mits such definitive conclusions. Nor can a court assume the role of a
surrogate parent'—-In re
Hofbauer."
But the JWs leaders'/Smalley's tract leaves out that these cases don't involve
JWs minors who need immediate,
life-saving blood transfusions.
1. Parham v. J.R. deals with parents wanting to get psychiatric help for their
minor by civilly committing
an uncontrollable minor against the minor's objec-
tions. The relevant facts of "Parham...." don't involve the parents'
refusal to
accept medical treatment on religious grounds. In fact, concurring Justice
Stewart wrote that a state
has the constitutional grounds to preempt the par-
ent's decision, and defended this position by referring to a seminal
case
against a Jehovah's Witness parent who required her minor niece to sell JWs
leaders' literature in violation of
the state child labor laws.
2. In re Hofbauer deals with the parents' choice to use nutrition instead of
chemotherapy to treat Hodgkin's
disease. The JWs leaders/Smalley left out that
the Hofbauer court distinguished the concerns of the case from cases
that in-
volve a parents' religious refusal of medical treatment, including a reference
to a specific Jehovah's Witness
blood case.
These legal precedents allow that many courts may order blood transfusions for
minors over and against the
parents' wishes and the alleged "right" of JWs to
make martyrs of their children.
- The JWs leaders'/Smalley's tract says erythropoietin works "very quickly"--
that doctors can administer erythropoietin
and the patient develops red blood
cells "three to four times faster than normal." A reader might think "very
quickly,"
as it applies to a commonly held need for red cells in an medical
emergency (like the effort to save a car wreck victim),
is a few minutes or
hours, maybe a day or two. The tract doesn't explain that erythropoietin takes
four or more
weeks to create enough red blood cells to make a difference.
- The tract mischaracterizes complicated surgery as simply being safe without
a transfusion.
While most surgeries do not require blood transfusions, some surgeries--coron-
ary bypass, hip or knee replacement,
hepatic resections (liver surgery), and
radical prostatectomy (prostrate removal)--are a higher risk.
But Smalley's pamphlet simply states that bloodless surgeries are safe and
quotes as support a study by Dixon
B. Kaufman conceming renal (kidney) trans-
plants: "The overall results suggest that renal transplantation can be safely
and
efficaciously applied to most Jehovah's Witness patients."
I could put that in my article in one of the sections about the JWs leaders'
self-serving misuse of research
material. It's another case of using a quote
out of context to make a source that isn't a support seem like one.
I put the quote used by the Watchtower Society in capitals (I don't have ital-
ics in Windows Notepad and want to keep
the distinction clear in my copy).
"Jehovah Witnesses had an increased susceptibility to rejection epi-
sodes.
The cumulative percentage of incidence of primary rejection
episodes was 77 percent at three months
in Jehovah's Witnesses versus
44 percent at 21 months in the matched control group. The consequence
of early allograft dysfunction from rejection was particularly detri-
mental to Jehovah's Witness who
developed severe anemia (hemoglobin
(Hgb)* 4.5 per cent) - two early deaths occurred in the subgroup
with
this combination.
"THE OVERALL RESULTS SUGGEST THAT RENAL TRANSPLANTATION CAN BE SAFELY
AND EFFICACIOUSLY APPLIED TO MOST JEHOVAH WITNESS PATIENTS
"but those with anemia who undergo early rejection episodes are a high-
risk
group relative to other transplant patients."
The JWs leaders' pamphlet by Smalley devotes pages to anemia yet omits the
nearly doubled rate for organ rejection
and the warning by the study that "those
with anemia...are a high-risk group."
Again, if anybody is going to be hurt or killed by such things, I'd like to
see a sign of God for it.
I'm seeing methods that aren't that, or an indica-
tion of an exclusively honest and righteous 144,000, either, but the
JWs leaders
lying to create an impression of exclusiveness and not caring if someone is
killed over it.
(See the listing about the Red Cross for 1881. For my coverage of how the JWs
leaders handle the scriptural
matters of the medical use of blood, see pp.11 to
42 of this article.)
Also see:
"Complaints about the JWs leaders' use of reference material: the issue
of in-
telligent design" on p.1a cont.
"Complaints about the JWs leaders' use of reference material: the issue of de-
termining when Nebuchadnezzar
destroyed Jerusalem" on p.1c.
"Complaints about the JWs leaders' use of reference material: the issue of
pedophilia" on p.5.
"Complaints about the JWs leaders' use of reference material: the issue of the
identity of Jesus and the holy
spirit" on p.6b.
"Complaints about the JWs leaders' use of reference material: the issue of
early Christian history and related
research material" on p.9.
"Complaints about the JWs leaders' use of reference material: the issue of the
medical use of blood and major
blood fractions" on p.14.
****
2007 "But this does not mean that he should introduce additional material
from his own personal research
and thus possibly overshadow what has been pub-
lished in the magazine. Extensive research has already been involved
in produc-
ing the study article, and the points to be emphasized are those included in the
paragraphs under consideration.
When outside material is introduced, it often
detracts from what 'the faithful and discreet slave' has prepared for the
con-
gregation. (Matt 24:45-47) The impression may be given that the additional in-
formation from the conductor's
research is of equal or greater value." (Letter
to Elders, April 3, 2007, "RE: Guidelines for Watchtower Study Conductors")
http://www.jehovah.net.au/whats_wrong.html
In April, 2007, these were the members of the Governing Body (followed by the
year they joined it): John E.
Barr (1977), Samuel Herd (1999), Theodore Jaracz
(1974), Stephen Lett (1999), Gerrit Lösch (1994), Guy Pierce (1999), David
Splane
(1999), Anthony Morris (2005), and Geoffrey Jackson (2005).
****
The deadline for how late a JW can have been born, 1935, and be able to join
the 144,000,
which the JWs leaders claim to belong to, is dropped
2007 "From the late 1800's until 1931, the main thrust of the preaching work
was the gathering of the
remaining members of the body of Christ. In 1931, the
Bible Students took the name Jehovah's Witnesses, and in the
November 15, 1933,
issue of The Watchtower, the thought was expressed that this unique name was the
'denarius' referred
to in Jesus' parable recorded at Matthew 20:1-6. The 12
hours mentioned in the parable were thought to correspond
to the 12 years from
1919 to 1931. For many years after that, it was believed that the call to the
heavenly Kingdom
had ended in 1931 and that those called to be joint heirs with
Christ in 1930 and 1931 were 'the last' called. (Matthew
20:6-8) However, in
1966 an adjusted understanding of that parable was presented, and it became
clear that it
had nothing to do with the end of the calling of the anointed.
"In 1935 the 'great crowd' of Revelation 7:9-15 was understood to be made up
of 'other sheep,' Christians with
an earthly hope, who would appear on the
world scene in 'the last days,' and who as a group would survive Armageddon.
(John
10:16; 2 Timothy 3:1; Revelation 21:3, 4) After that year, the thrust of
the disciple-making work turned to
the gathering in of the great crowd. Hence,
especially after 1966 it was believed that the heavenly call ceased in
1935.
This seemed to be confirmed when almost all who were baptized after 1935 felt
that they had the earthly hope.
Thereafter, any called to the heavly hope were
beieved to be replacements for anointed Christians who had proved unfaithful.
"Without a doubt, if one of the anointed unrepentedly falls away, Jehovah does
call another individual to take
his place. (Romans 11:17-22) However, the num-
ber of genuine anointed ones who have become unfaithful is likely
not large. On
the other hand, as time has gone by, some Christians baptized after 1935 have
had witness borne
to them that they have the heavenly hope. (Romans 8:16,17)
Thus, it appears that we cannot set a specific date for
when the calling of
Christians to the heavenly hope ends." ("The Watchtower," May 1, 2007)
Again, the JWs leaders' distinctive rules, like their ban on the medical use
of blood and major blood fractions,
seem mainly meant to try to justify the
claim of being the only Christian leaders of a literal 144,000 who go to heav-
en.
That claim, in turn, is meant to bolster confidence in distinctive rules.
(See 1877, 1878, 1881, 1904, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1935,
and 1995; also see 1880 for Rev.7:1-8
taken to refer to a literal 144,000 Jewish
people)
****
2008 "Choosing to play violent and immoral games is like choosing to play
with Radioactive waste.
The damaging effects may not be immediatley obvious,
but they are inevitable. Exposure in high doses of radiation
can destroy the
lining of the stomach and allow bacteria from the intestines to invade the blood
stream, resulting in
sickness. Simularly, exposure to sex and violence can
damage your moral senses." ("Awake!" Jan., 2008, p.19) (Thanks
to Witness 007)
The quote from the JWs leaders reads like unintentional irony. Causing unnec-
essary harm (dividing people)
or death (in Germany, Malawi, and hospitals) by
playing prophet, selling people a con that one has a unique ability to
recieve
guidance from God which guided them to make guarantees about what the Bible re-
quires for salvation beyond
what evidence can be said to guarantee, and that
those requirements include the JWs leaders' definitions of disfellowshipping,
worldliness,
and the medical use of blood, is a violent and immoral game.
A Game Revolution web site article, updated Oct. 19, 2005, "The Truth About
Violent Youth and Video Games,"
gives charts by the U.S. Department of Justice
Bureau of Statistics which show that violence by young people in the U.S.
has
decreased in the years of the last several GTA games.
http://www.gamerevolution.com/features/violence_and_videogames
It also says the 2004 FBI crime report shows that the murder rate in 2004 was
the lowest it's been in 40 years,
the same year the most popular game was "Grand
Theft Auto: San Andreas."
****
2011 After the Watchtower claimed defectors are "mentally diseased," the En-
glish police began to
investigate to determine if it violated the UK Racial and
Religious Hatred Act 2006.
"Suppose that a doctor told you to avoid contact with someone who is infected
with a contagious, deadly disease.
You would know what the doctor means, and you
would strictly heed his warning. Well, apostates are 'mentally diseased',
and
they seek to infect others with their disloyal teachings." "Watchtower," July 15,
2011, p.11
According to telegraph.co.uk, Rick Fenton, a Watchtower spokesman, backed up his
organization's condemnation:
"Any one of Jehovah's Witnesses is free to express
their feelings and to ask questions. If a person changes their
mind about Bible-
based teachings they once held dear, we recognize their right to leave."
As explained elsewhere in my article, the harmful, at times fatal, efforts of
the GB to affect exclusiveness
for marketing involves discouraging JWs from re-
search that would lead them to realize the dubious methods the GB uses.
The GB
has a dozen or so distinctive rules, or methods for teaching fairly distinctive
rules, and among those rules
is the Governing Body policy that JWs, including fam-
ily members with separate living quarters, who show persistent disagreement
with
any of those rules should be shunned by JWs in good standing.
The issue here is that the GB (ironically) characterizes their critics as people
to be avoided like disease.
This is clearly to keep the paying customers away
from unsatisfied customers who predictably may provide such research
and discour-
age payments.
What is fostering religious hated if not disingenuous religious leaders requir-
ing followers to have contempt
for defectors, who persist in disagreeing with
trumped-up strictly religious rules by those leaders...
(predictions, the explanation of the alleged Biblical need to forgo the medical
use of blood/major blood products
even unto pain of death, mischaracterizations of
various non-JWs' Bible interpretations and research sources and of non-JWs,
etc.),
...to the degree you must avoid the defectors as though they were diseased?
Rick Fenton's spin on the GB, consistent with the GB's shunning rules, puts the
blame on critics of the GB:
the claim is that the GB shunning rules, and the GB's
characterizations of those to be shunned, represent Bible requirements
that JWs
can take or leave (simply leave--not be shunned for in notable and unfounded con-
tempt). The misdirection
attempted is that the issue is simply that you should
have the religious freedom to accept the Bible or not, and that the
GB recognizes
that right--a right covered by the UK Racial and Religious Hatred Act of 2006.
Rick Fenton implied a Rutherford-type claim that the GB is being unduly perse-
cuted and an ironic request
for protection by the R and RH Act.
The UK Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006:
Supporters of the Bill responded that all UK legislation has to be inter-
preted in the
light of the Human Rights Act 1998, which guarantees freedom
of religion and expression, and so denied that an Act
of Parliament is capa-
ble of making any religious text illegal.
The House of Lords passed amendments to the Bill on 25 October 2005 which
have the effect
of limiting the legislation to "A person who uses threaten-
ing words or behaviour, or displays any written material
which is threaten-
ing... if he intends thereby to stir up religious hatred". This removed the
abusive
and insulting concept, and required the intention - and not just the
possibility - of stirring up religious hatred.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_and_Religious_Hatred_Act_2006
The act was meant to allow people their religious texts but discourage efforts
beyond that to turn people
against people and cause unsubstantiated harm. All
that's left is for the accusers of the GB to provide the evidence
of them as
guilty of that. I can join others who are able to supply that:
http://glenster1.webs.com/gtjbrooklynindex.htm
****
The GB declares itself the only Faithful and Discreet Slave
The GB increases marketing and appears on the Internet
The GB requires "theocratic warfare" about child abuse
The Governing Body proclaims itself the sole Faithful and Discrete Slave
The freewheeling, ScenicViewer, Truthexplorer , etc., think that the biggest
change was when the Governing Body appointed
themselves as the Faithful Slave.
According to the jwsfacts.com site:
For decades the Slave
included all anointed Witnesses but from 2009 on the
Governing Body made statements claiming increased authority.
Finally, during
the 2012 Annual Meeting, the Governing Body announced it alone had the role of
the Slave.
144,000 > Russell > Jesus + 144000 > 144,000 (notably including the GB) >
Governing Body
The Governing Body claimed the sole role between Jesus and the JWs followers.
I figured they wanted JWs to consider them
as such before that anyway. The
millions of followers, even those who dared imagine they were part of the
144,000,
never had any say in how things were run and still don't. ("Watch-
tower," July 15, 2013)
The GB makes Internet videos and more theocratic warfare
Beth Sarim, talesin, Coded Logic, etc., think the biggest recent changes have
been the appearance of the JW dot org logo
and major "branding" (considered as
even more overt money grubbing), literature carts in parks, malls, etc., and the
Governing
Body using the Internet to show videos of their speeches. The deli-
very of M. Stephen Lett's teaching was criticized
as being odd (as if teaching
infants). Smiddy emphasized that Vin Toole (representing the legal department
of
the Australian Branch of the Watchtower Society--regarding the refusal of
the medical use of blood/major blood products--to
the Australian Parliament) and
Geoffrey Jackson (Governing Body) were caught lying under oath (which the GB has
taught
for decades as Theocratric Warfare--hiding the truth from God's "ene-
mies," being evasive, or withholding truthful or
incriminating information) at
the A.R.C. (Australian Royal Commissioj) and waited to see if any charges were
laid against
them for it.
https://www.jw.org/en/ http://tv.jw.org/#en/home https://www.jw.org/en/videos/ http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/blood-transfusions.php http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/433530003/misleading-australian-royal-commission?size=5&page=3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_warfare#Jehovah.27s_Witnesses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governing_Body_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses#Current
Over 1,000 JWs child abuse cases not reported by elders in Australia
"Jehovah's Witnesses failed to report 1,000 alleged perpetrators, child sex
abuse royal commission hears" By Nicole Chettle
Updated 27 Jul 2015, 3:42pm
"More than 1,000 members of the Jehovah's Witnesses
have been identified by
the church as perpetrators of child sexual abuse since 1950 but not one was
reported
to police, an inquiry has heard.
"A Jehovah's Witness elder, Max Horley, said
he destroyed notes from a
meeting about the assault of BCB. Justice McClellan then asked Mr Horley if
he would do the same thing today if someone reported a serious allegation of
sexual assault to him. 'Yes,'
Mr Horley said. 'That's our practice.'
Watchtower closures indicate business failing or just being streamlined?
Pete Zahut thought that the Watchtower selling properties (such as moving
their HQ out of Brooklyn and reducing Branch
offices), laying off Bethelites,
getting rid of the Special Pioneers, etc., may indicate deep problems. Beth
Sarim
added that the Special Pioneers did all the work for the Borg (Brooklyn
organization).
I can only guess what the GB have in mind about Special Pioneers--some kind of
replacement?
****
A few highlights in summary
- After Jesus didn't show up in 1874, Russell opted for Barbour's unlikely in-
terpretation of scripture to
teach Jesus invisibly returned in 1874, and would
be seen in the sense of seeing in 1914. 1874 to 1914 would be the
time of the
worst trouble the world has ever known. The non-Russell churches would be des-
troyed from 1910 to
1914. When everyone would literally see Jesus, they'd also
see Abraham, etc., of Heb.11, 144,000 Jewish people living
in a restored Pales-
tine, and Armageddon would make a general mess of things for everybody who
didn't agree with everything
Russell taught, which would be most people.
- - Russell predicted that the end would begin ending by the end of 1914, then
1915 (corrected calculation--no
year "0") or 1914 (original calculation--in-
cludes a year "0" but agrees with the calculation about the Great Pyramid).
Russell
began to fudge about whether or not he could predict anything.
- Russell taught you weren't supposed to use wars. etc., as a sign of the end
of the end. But the month
after WWI started, and despite it starting earlier
than either of his prediction dates, Russell decided to call the war
a sign of
the upcoming end of the end--the upcoming beginning of the end which would in-
volve everyone being able to
literally see Jesus, Abraham, etc.
- Russell predicted that the end would begin ending by the end of 1914, then
the end of 1915, then a few years
after Oct., 1916. Russell taught that evil
Christendom didn't believe everything Russell taught because it didn't
have the
light (which seems like an awfully unreasonable reason for God to destroy it).
- in the late 1920's, after Jesus declined to destroy all the churches except
the tiny percent that agreed
with everything Russell taught, Rutherford called
1914 the time Jesus invisibly returned--the start of the end times before
Arma-
geddon. God would now destroy everybody who didn't agree with him.
Since there wasn't any evidence that even the 1914 Bible Students (later JWs)
understood that it happened in
1914--in 1914, they were thinking Jesus invisibly
returned in 1874, Rutherford decided that Russell's strong point was
to change
the idea of not seeing a war as a premonition till after a war started then be-
gin seeing it as one.
Rutherford taught that wars, earthquakes, and famines got
worse since 1914, and "this generation will not pass away" (Matt.24:34)
was
taught to mean there were Bible Students/JWs alive in 1914 who would still be
alive when Armageddon happened.
Rutherford, despite Russell's correction, re-
verted to using Nelson Barbour's 606 BC to 1914 AD calculation that included
a
year "0."
1918-1919 became taught as the period in which Jesus decided who had the one
religion by which people can be
saved, and that he picked the Bible Students led
by Rutherford, which Rutherford called Jehovah's Witnesses.
- The earthquake claim was dropped, and the top age was increased for JWs of
1914 who could be around for Armageddon--"this
generation..." until the top age
was dropped, and it's now taught that JWs at any time, now or later, will be
present
for it. Armageddon may happen anytime, yet people who reject the JWs
leaders' idea of Jesus invisibly returning in
1914 will be rejected by God.
- Jesus has done something in 1914, but not taken the throne yet, although he
chose the JWs leaders as his
sole religious leaders on Earth in 1919 (see 1993).
In other words, the JWs leaders now just teach that 1914 is just when Jesus
took invisible heavenly control
of Earth, although not on the throne yet, then
waited a few years to pick the Watchtower leaders to teach his religion.
All it amounts to is playing prophet badly with historicism for over a century
as a messy way of claiming to
have the one true religion, yet someone is counted
as not saved if they look at it and disregard it. Since the JWs
leaders not
only hold onto a year when Jesus would have seen that the JWs leaders' doctrines
had notable differences
from the current ones, but when Russell, later Ruther-
ford, made false prophecies and taught things they and later JWs
leaders have
covered up, denied, and even lied about, it seems kind of harsh having JWs
shunned for not making anything
better of it.
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/607-1914.php
I also see a comparison between how current JWs leaders teach the history of
their historicism/eschatology
and how they strain to inject their own views of
Jesus and the holy spirit into a revisionist history of early Christianity,
and
leave out their own early history of the late 1800's and on, in the "Should You
Believe in the Trinity?" brochure
(p.9).
****
Playing prophet badly is harder to pull off on TV
One of the claims of such faith healers is that the healing may not work if
you flag in your faith. (Seeing
a doctor could indicate skepticism about the
healing.) In that some said they believed it, and they may have not
sought
proper medical help, and possibly died, it reminds me of the JWs leaders' pre-
tension about being God's sole
channel of information on Earth meant as part of
the support for their claim of a Bible guarantee for a blood transfusion
ban.
This is more cynical than elitism alone. And it's a little more reckless than
playing the lottery to support
it uncritically.
Peter Popoff went bankrupt later that year, but has recently gotten onto TV to
use a healing act and make more
money. Unfortunately, once some people decide
they believe something, they don't want to cross things off the list even if
it's been shown to be wrong or hurts
anyone unnecessarily.
I don't want to seem intolerant or cranky about people whose belief or non-be-
lief choice is different
and are harmless or even do good. But there's a dif-
ference in criticizing insincerity that causes harm.
You might be thrown if you try to understand it as a matter of the sincere be-
lief of the victim if the question
in this case is the responsibility of their
religious leader. Are they liable if they knowingly misled someone to
do some-
thing that caused them harm?
Peter Popoff's insincere affected exclusiveess = the JWs leaders' insincere
affected exclusiveness.
Radio transmitter gimmick = quotes out of context to make it seem there's
support in research books that aren't
supportive, misrepresenting the
comparison of their distinctive stances with alternative stances, forced points,
and
omission of pertinent evidence.
Throw away nitro-glycerin and insulin = refuse the medical use of blood and
blood products for yourself and
your kids.
Same ethics.
The JWs leaders are shown to be play prophet in claiming a literal 144,000
elitism, requiring regimented agreement
to minority interpretations and personal
opinion and bad predictions as though scriptural to justify the exclusiveness,
and
use forced points, mangle research material, and misrepresent critics to
make the JWs leaders' rules about them seem like
the only ones that are reason-
able. Yet the flock, while losing some members when predictions failed, kept
growing.
I think the difference is due to the widespread exposure of a TV figure com-
pared to the relative obscurity
of JWs leaders' literature, especially conflict-
ing older JWs leaders' literature at any one time since the JWs leaders
choose
not to keep copies of it in the JWs Kingdom Hall libraries, or obscure because
it's been re-written afterwards
to cover up things the leaders got wrong or
don't want to admit they changed. The leaders teach the followers to
avoid peo-
ple or literature that's persistently critical of them, that such criticism
comes from people who hate God,
and they keep the publishers diligently going
door to door with new material.
There's been lot of bad behavior over bad predictions, but the JWs leaders
maintain whatever damage control
they can over the failures, changes, and weak-
nesses in their case for elitism shown in their literature.
****
"We should...gratefully accept...counsel (from the) 'faithful slave' (on) our
choice of music and entertainment...we
are grateful that the 'faithful and dis-
creet slave' continues to help us..." ("The Watchtower," July 15, 1998,
pp.13,
14) (See 1969)
(GTW note: No. Just no.)
