Examining The Watchtower's "Other" Date - 1919
All who are familiar with the teachings of the
Watchtower Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses) are very aware of the numerous dates and
years that have been presented as divinely appointed throughout their history. Of these,
the one that has figured mostly in their teachings, as having universal significance, has
been the year 1914. There is however, another crucial year in the
teachings of the Watchtower Society (WTS). This other year is 1919. Although the WTS’s claims
concerning the year 1919 are mostly unknown to the general public, they have a far greater
bearing on the WTS’s presence on the world scene and its claim to being God’s
sole ‘Channel of Truth’ in modern times. In many respects, the year 1919 is of
even greater significance than 1914! Why so? Because the validity of every statement made by the WTS, from 1919 to the
present, stands or falls on the basis of the authenticity of their claim concerning what
took place in that year—1919. For, simply put, the WTS currently claims that in 1919
Jesus Christ made a judgement which resulted in the WTS being selected over every other
Christian Church as God’s true representative on earth! However, an investigation of
the WTS in the period leading up to 1919 reveals that Jesus Christ, as ‘the righteous
judge’ (2 Tim. 4:8), could not possibly have made such a decision.
In the Watchtower Society’s publication: God’s Kingdom of a Thousand Years has Approached (1973), it is explained that the basis for Jesus Christ’s selection of the WTS over every other Christian Church was the quality of the ‘spiritual food’ (ie: teachings) presented between the years 1914 and 1919. Therein we read:
"The serving of food, the right sort of food, at the proper time was the issue, It had to be according to this that a decision must be rendered by the returned Master ... Down to 1919 CE [the WTS] had endeavored to give 'food at the proper time' to the 'household of faith' or the 'domestics' of the heavenly Master ... the quality of the food itself was to be considered. In this respect the [WTS] met the test" (p. 350).
But did they really meet ‘the test’? To
arrive at an answer, we will adopt the WTS’s own criteria and examine the
‘quality’ of the ‘spiritual food’ (the teachings of the WTS) presented
up to 1919.
According to the WTS’s unique and speculative interpretations of Scripture, the decades between the late 1870s and 1914 were of monumental significance for during this time, there had been a revival of “the great truths taught by Jesus and the Apostles” (Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, 1959 p. 17). The WTS maintains that this ‘revival’ began in the early 1800s with the Second Advent Movement but continued in the hands of the self-appointed Pastor: Charles Taze Russell who claimed to be the ‘Faithful and Wise Servant’ spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 24:45-47. (See: WT 1896 March 1, p. 1946; Studies in Scriptures Vol I 1924-1927 eds p. 7; Vol.4, p. 613; Vol. 7, pp. 3, 5, 422, 418; WT 1917 March 1, p. 6049; Harp of God 1921 p. 229). But what were these ‘great truths’ that were being ‘revived’ at that time?
According to the current teaching
of the WTS, Russell
was teaching that in the October of 1914, the ‘Gentile Times’ (Luke 21:24) came
to an end and Jesus was enthroned as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. With this event,
Jesus’ invisible presence (or parousia) began and all the kings of the earth began to
rule ‘on borrowed time’ for ‘The kingdom of the world did become the
kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will rule as king forever and ever.’
(Rev. 11:15 NWT). The first task that Jesus (as the archangel
Michael) undertook was to cleanse the heavens. So he, with the angels of heaven, battled
with Satan and his demonic hordes, casting them from heaven to the earth. With Satan now
restricted to the vicinity of the earth, while all in the heavens could be glad, a period
of great woe began for those who dwell on the earth (Rev. 12:7-12 NWT). In that
same year—1914—the signs of Jesus’ invisible ‘presence’ (the WTS
avoids referring to this event as Jesus’ second coming) commenced, unleashing unprecedented national
warfare and natural disasters in the earth. (Of course, by October 1914, WWI had already
been raging for several months. So, according to the WTS, the outbreak of WWI was a ploy
of the Devil to detract from Jesus’ invisible return and heavenly enthronement. Why
the Devil would do that is somewhat confusing since it was supposedly an invisible event
anyway?).
With the heavenly realms cleansed of Satan and
his demonic hordes’ evil presence, Jesus then turned his attention to the earth and
prepared to cleanse his earthly ‘temple’—his followers on earth. So, the
current teaching of the WTS is that Jesus began to examine all the Christian Churches in
an endeavour to find the one that was, with integrity, holding fast to his Truth. Through
his examination, Jesus discovered that the only one in all the earth who was teaching the
Truth (with such integrity) was Pastor Charles Taze Russell. And so, Jesus chose this man
and appointed him to be the ‘Faithful and wise servant’ spoken of in Matthew
24:45. However we ask: What was it about this man and his ‘church’ that won
Jesus’ exclusive approval? Exactly what level of integrity and truthfulness would
Jesus have found as he examined this man and his group? As we review the history leading
up to 1919, the facts are truly astounding!
The very first thing that needs to be noted is
that what the WTS currently presents concerning Russell’s teaching of that time is
vastly different to what Russell was actually teaching as God’s revealed
‘truth’ at that time – and the fact of this cannot be minimised! Reading
Russell’s writings, we discover the following unfolding of events:
In 1876, after reading an article in the
magazine: Herald of
the Morning, Russell contacted the
editor, Second Adventist Nelson Barbour and initiated a meeting with him. Barbour, who was
also the author of the book Evidences for the Coming of the
Lord in 1873 (published in 1871), convinced
Russell that the Lord had returned invisibly in 1874 and that only a couple years yet
remained before the end of the world. On learning this, Russell ended his secular business
affairs to devote his time and finances to preaching Barbour’s message. In 1877,
Russell then funded the release of another of Barbour’s books, Three Worlds or Plan of
Redemption. However, in 1879,
following a disagreement over Bible chronology and Barbour’s understanding of the ransom of Christ Jesus, Russell and Barbour
parted ways.
In that same year, Russell began publishing the
magazine Zion’s
Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence. Then in 1881, he established Zion’s
Watchtower Society (incorporated in 1884) and began to lead a small group of followers
known simply as ‘Bible Students’. Through the pages of Zion’s Watch Tower, Russell continued to teach that Jesus had
returned invisibly in 1874 and that, following a forty year period of harvest, in the
Spring of 1914 the Bible Students would be raptured and the world would end in the great
Battle of Armageddon.
Claiming that he was the ‘Faithful and Wise
Servant’ - spoken of by Jesus in Matt. 24:45, Russell instructed the Bible Students
through lectures and the printed page. After travelling extensively through the United
States of America, he then travelled abroad and as his teachings were embraced in other
lands, his small band of followers became known as The International Bible Students. Of all his extensive writings,
‘Pastor’ Russell’s greatest published work was his six volume series
entitled: Studies
in the Scriptures (also titled Millennial Dawn). According to Russell, reading these was more
profitable to a person than reading the Bible. He even claimed that to return to reading
the Bible without reference to his ‘Scripture Studies’ would result in spiritual darkness within ten
years whereas, reading the ‘Scripture Studies’ alone would keep the reader in spiritual light
(WT, Sep 15 1910, p. 298). Through the pages of Zion’s Watch Tower, Studies in the Scriptures, numerous other writings and public lectures,
Russell presented his unique teachings and interpretations of prophecy—all of which
he claimed were irrefutably established on the Bible and as such, were God’s words,
not his.
When 1914 failed to bring about the expected
Rapture and end of the word, the disappointed Russell ‘edited’ his teachings,
pushing the date forward to 1915 and, when that too failed, to 1916. However, to formulate
these changes, not only did Russell have to edit the printed text in his Studies in the Scriptures but he also had to change certain measurements
within the Great Pyramid of Giza, which he had maintained was God’s Stone Witness and
Prophet. As the Faithful and Wise Servant, Russell had taught the Bible Students that
through a study of the measurements of the inner chambers and passageways of the Great
Pyramid, he had found his prophetic interpretations and calculations to have been
confirmed—beyond doubt. According to Russell, the measurements in the Pyramid's
dimensions revealed God's plan for the world's salvation (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 3, 1891, 1905 eds. pp. 17,
313, 362). But when the Rapture and
end of the world failed to come in 1914, Russell’s measurements of the inner chambers
and passageways were expediently ‘stretched’ so as to fit his adjusted
predictions. (See later editions the
above Vol. 3 for changes to the measurements).
All of these things (and many others) were
clearly evident to the newly enthroned King Jesus as he examined Charles Russell and his
International Bible Students in the period leading up to 1919. Jesus would also have noted
that Russell taught that he (Jesus) had been crucified on a cross and could not have
missed the cross and crown that adorned the cover of Zion’s Watch Tower magazine nor the cross-shaped windows in the
illustration of the tower itself. Evident also to Jesus would have been the winged sun
disk embossed in the covers of Russell’s Studies in the Scriptures—the pagan Egyptian symbol of ancient Egypt’s
pagan sun-god: Ra. Russell even encouraged the Bible Students to worship Jesus just
as they worship the Father (Jehovah).
But in 1916, while en-route to a lecturing
engagement, Charles Taze Russell died and following a series of bitter in-house struggling
and rivalry, the reigns of a fractured Watchtower Society were taken in the firm grasp of
‘Judge’: Joseph F. Rutherford. For a time, under Rutherford’s leadership,
Russell’s teachings and practices remained mostly unchanged. We note
‘practices’ for in his examination from 1914 to 1919, Jesus would have been
aware that Russell and his followers joyfully joined in Christmas, Easter, Birthdays and
other celebrations—even suggesting that sets of the Scripture Studies be given as Christmas gifts to family and friends.
These practices continued for some time after Russell’s death by Rutherford and the
Bible Students. However, although such practices continued for a time, Rutherford quickly
began to re-organise the WTS, ousting a number
of Russell’s loyal followers and replacing many of Russell’s teachings with his
own.
Rutherford’s next enterprise was to endorse
and release a seventh volume to Russell’s Studies in the Scriptures. This volume had been compiled by two members of
the International Bible Students Association: Clayton J Woodworth and George H. Fisher and
was entitled: The
Finished
In this latest volume, Jesus would see that the
Bible Students were being taught that the special messenger to the last Age of the Church
was Charles T. Russell (p. 53); that in the Book
of Revelation, Michael and his angels represent the Pope of Rome with his Bishops and the
war waged against the Dragon were the Popes’ attempts to take control of the temporal
powers of pagan Rome (pp. 188, 189). Jesus would also discover that the WTS was declaring
that: "in 1918 God would destroy the churches and church members by the millions and
any who happen to escape shall come to the teachings of Pastor Russell" (p. 485); And
that, in that same year—1918, demons would enter the minds of the Clergy (p. 128).
History attests that none of these predictions came to pass. As prophetic statements, they
were proved to be false!
These were the War years and, according to
WTS’s current overview of this era in its history, the WTS of that time maintained an
uncompromising stance of neutrality and that this fact—which separated them from all
the other compromising Christian Churches—was looked upon with great approval by
Jesus. But is that really the case? Is this actually what Jesus saw? No, it’s not!
The facts reveal a very different scenario: During the summer of 1918, Rutherford urged
faithful Bible Students to purchase War Bonds and even went so far as to support a
National Day Of Prayer for Germany's swift defeat held on 30 May 1918 (Watchtower Reprints, 1918, pp. 6257, 6268,
6271). Hardly an uncompromising
neutral stand!
However, in the June of 1918 Rutherford
(together with seven associates) was imprisoned in the US Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta,
Georgia charged with having breached the Espionage Act of 1917. According to an article
appearing in The
New York Times (June 21, 1918),
‘The indictment against the men was based principally on passages in “The
Finished Mystery.”’ But then, on the 14th of May 1919, the charge was reversed
and Rutherford, along with his associates, were exonerated and set free. But, as the WTS
currently claims, these events were no mere happenstance for that imprisonment was an
integral part of the investigative work of Jesus and in fulfilment of Revelation 11:3-12. Therein we find
‘two witnesses’ who have been killed and whose corpses are lying on the broad
way of the great city. This (as the WTS claims) is fulfilled with the imprisonment of
those eight Watchtower officials in 1917 for with that event, the Bible Students were
taken into ‘spiritual captivity’ to Babylon the Great and their work was brought
to an end. They were, in effect, lying as dead corpses in the sight of the world. But
then, with Rutherford and his associates’ release from prison, they came back to life
and began again to preach. All of this, it is claimed, was to fulfill Revelation 11 by
bringing an end to the 1,260 days or 3 ½ years from 1914 to 1918. (see for example: The Watchtower March 1, 2001 p. 15). Why though, did God allow the
Bible Students to be taken into such ‘spiritual captivity’?
The reason the WTS gives for this is that, from
1917 to 1918 God was purifying the Watchtower organisation of all spiritual uncleanness in
preparation for selection by Jesus Christ as his only channel of truth on earth in 1919.
As a result of this cleansing, as Jesus concluded his examination of the world’s
religions in 1919, he was able to look favourably on the Watchtower Society and set them
free from spiritual bondage.
By so doing, in 1919 Jesus signalled to the
inhabitants of the earth that The International Bible Students, under the direction of the
Watchtower Society – alone – had received his divine approval and had been
selected as his
However, if that were the case, then we should
expect that an examination of the WTS in 1919, will reveal that the Bible Students had
been cleansed of all wrong practices and wrong teachings and, as such, were beyond
reproach and truly worthy of being appointed the custodians of all of Jesus’ earthly
interests. Is that what we find? The facts force us to answer: No! We have already seen
just some of the teachings presented up to 1919: 1874 as the year of Jesus’ invisible
return. 1914 as the year of the Rapture and end of the world. 1915/16 as amended dates for
the end. 1918 as a period during which the
Churches would be destroyed and demons would enter the minds of the members thereof.
Clearly, if Jesus - the ‘righteous judge’ (2 Tim. 4:8) was to choose the WTS in
1919, then these would be teachings he must have turned a blind eye to. Although they had
been woefully wrong with all their prophetic statements up to 1919, if Jesus was prepared
to choose the WTS then he must have been prepared to ignore the later failed prophecies
and teachings as well for in the following year, 1920, Rutherford launched The Millions Campaign, declaring that ‘millions now living will
never die.’ Following this, in 1922, at a Convention held in Cedar Point, Ohio he
called upon the Bible Students to ‘Advertise! Advertise! Advertise!’ Advertise
what? ‘the fall of Satan's empire and the full establishment of the Messianic
kingdom.’ And when was this predicted to happen? By the year ‘1925’ (Golden Age, Jan. 4, 1922, p. 217).
As Russell had done before him, Rutherford
claimed that his prophetic calculation was ‘not of man, but of God’ and as such,
‘stands in a class by itself, absolutely and unqualifiebly correct’ (Watchtower,
July 15, 1922, p. 217). But, like all the other calculations, it was completely incorrect.
It was another false prophecy put forward by the WTS! Today, it stands in a long line of
false prophecies and flip-flop teachings presented throughout the WTS’s history.
Clearly Jesus, the righteous judge, in whom is found no deceit for he is the Truth (1 Pet.
2:22, John 14:6) and who will not tolerate those who lie (Rev. 3:9) could not have simply
turned a blind eye to such blatant falsehood!
Peter Gregerson, a former long-serving
Jehovah’s Witness elder, said that after considering the facts the only possible
conclusion to arrive at is that: ‘There is no way Christ Jesus could have looked down
at the Watch Tower Society between the years 1914 and 1918, and chosen them in 1919, to
represent his interests on earth.’
Since it is not the “Faithful Slave”
of Matthew 24:45-47, the entire Watchtower organisation is built upon a false foundation
and has no valid claim to divine approval and appointment. It is none other than an
arrogant, false prophet as described in Deuteronomy. 18:22.
“When
a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass,
that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it
presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”