Category Archives: Governing Body

Governing Body, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, Watch Tower

100 Years Ago: What was Bethel like in January 1917?

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Q. Where did the Watch Tower Society get the idea to call it “Bethel” in the first place?

A. The answer to this question is being saved, not for this post, but the next one. This will give a chance for readers to participate if they think they know the answer. We’ll ask this question on Facebook and Twitter, where we already have a couple thousand followers, and we’ll give credit to anyone who knows. The question is not as obvious as it sounds at first. We’re not asking  why calling it Bethel is scripturally appropriate, or what reasons we might think we have for calling it Bethel now. We are asking why it was called Bethel at the time it was first given that name.

We learn from the 1975 Yearbook that the adjacent buildings, 122 and 124 Columbia Heights, had already been owned together since 1908. It was in 1911 when a rear addition was added.

*** yb75 pp. 52-53 Part 1—United States of America ***
For a time the Society’s headquarters staff was housed largely at 124 Columbia Heights. Later, the adjoining building at 122 Columbia Heights was purchased, enlarging the Bethel home. The year 1911 saw the completion of a rear addition extending nine floors down a precipice to Furman Street. It provided much more space for living quarters and other facilities, including a new dining room.

We also gather from a 1969 Watchtower magazine that it was in 1908 when the two adjacent 4-story buildings were purchased, and that they were converted into a home for about 30 persons in 1909, and then torn down to put up a single 9-story structure, housing about 180 persons in 1927.

*** w69 6/15 p. 380 Expansion at Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses ***
During the dedication program the president of the Watchtower Society, Nathan H. Knorr, described the expansion of the headquarters of Jehovah’s witnesses since its move to Brooklyn in 1909. In 1908 the old four-story brownstone parsonage of Henry Ward Beecher at 124 Columbia Heights and a similar building adjoining it had been purchased. These were converted into a home for the Society’s headquarters staff of thirty persons.
But due to rapid expansion, in 1911 spacious new housing accommodations adjoining the rear of the home on Columbia Heights were completed. Then in 1927, N. H. Knorr explained, further expansion at headquarters necessitated tearing down the buildings on Columbia Heights and putting up a new nine-story structure there, providing, in all, approximately 120 rooms. At that time there were about 180 members of the headquarters family.

So the number was 30 in 1909, and “rapidly expanded” by 1911. We also read that it was about 180 in 1927.

So how many in 1917? That would depend on how rapidly it had expanded by 1911. Another factor would be the number of persons affected when Rutherford dismissed some persons in January 1917 and a larger number left by July 1917. (For reasons many readers will already be aware of, and which we will detail in later posts.)

Based on the description of the expansion, and the number of intervening years, we should expect the number to be between 30 and 180, probably under 110, which would be the midpoint between 30 and 180.

But we can get a pretty good sense of the actual number from the 1920 Census. Here we have 83 persons listed at 122 and 124 Columbia Heights.

It was actually split up as 3 persons at 122, and 80 persons in 124. We would expect that the persons listed here in January 1920 would be a fair reflection of the persons who had remained after July 1917. The Census includes information about their age, gender, and national backgrounds, too.

Most JWs will also recognize many of these names as persons they have read about, and even met in many cases:

1920brooklyn1

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One more rarely seen source of information about Bethel, 100 years ago, is the testimony of Charles Taze Russell in 1914 when he hoped to win a libel suit against a local Brooklyn newspaper.

Recall that 1914 was the culmination of a lot of growth and activity by the Watch Tower Society due to the expectations for October 1914. Naturally, when 1914 proved disappointing, many of these persons left. In addition, 1914 was a year when the Watch Tower Society was spending as if there were no tomorrow. Of course, they would never have spent so much on “moving pictures” for the “Photo-Drama of Creation” if they thought they would need this money in 1915.

Due to those expenses, a lot of persons were laid off from Bethel by the end of 1914. We would expect the numbers in the middle of 1914 to be even higher, then, than the numbers in early 1917. That’s exactly what the evidence from Russell’s testimony bears out, along with a few more hints about the activity there.

These images below may be hard to read, but they indicate about 40 persons who belong directly to the Peoples Pulpit Association who live at “Bethel” in addition to another 60 or 70 who are assistants, wives and helpers to the ministers. This would be 100 or 110 living there in early 1914, and therefore the number of 86 in the 1920 Census appears to be a reasonable reflection of the persons there in 1917.

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David Splane, faithful and discreet slave, Governing Body, Matthew 24, Odd Doctrine

TYPES AND ANTITYPES: Transcript of discourse by David Splane at October 2014 Annual Meeting

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The 2014 Annual Meeting Program video can be found on tv.jw.org (currently found under Programs and Events). The following speech can be found about the 2 hour and 8 minute mark in the video. It ends at about the 2 hour and 25 minute mark.

“David Splane of the Governing Body will speak to us on the theme: ‘Types and Antitypes.’” 

IT’S NOT FUNNY IF YOU HAVE TO “SPLANE” IT 

The following is an unofficial transcript of that talk. It is very informative to note the differences between this, the original talk, and the Watchtower article that was derived from it. Our site’s commentary on the March 15, 2015 Watchtower article is found here.

Transcript begins:

________________________________________________

Let’s get right into our subject: types and antitypes.

Now, years ago, our publications often applied certain Bible accounts and certain bible characters as “types” of something greater. But you’ve noticed that, in recent years, that is seldom done, and the purpose of this talk is to explain why.

First of all what is a type and what is an antitype? Well, the Watchtower of September 15, 1950 defined them this way. It said:

“A type is a representation of something that will come to pass at a future time. The antitype is the reality of the thing which the type represents.”

So that is the definition that was given by The Watchtower. And we might add that Jehovah is usually involved in designing the type.

Now, take the tabernacle. Jehovah was very clear about the construction of the tabernacle: what materials were to be used, the dimensions and so forth. Why? Well, apparently because he had designed the tabernacle to be a type of something greater: his great spiritual temple. And the temple was the antitype.

The sacrifices on the Day of Atonement. Jehovah was very careful about how events on the Day of Atonement were to unfold. And again, we have to realize that something was going to have to picture or foreshadow the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So, the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement, the type, and the perfect sacrifice of Christ, the antitype.

Now consider another example. When the disobedient Israelites in the wilderness were bitten by poisonous snakes, Moses is told by Jehovah to fashion a copper serpent and to place that serpent on a pole. Now that was a type. Now Jesus explains what it was a type of. Let’s turn to John chapter 3, John chapter 3 and verses 14 and 15. John 3: 14 and 15 If you are using an iPad, I’ll give you a chance to catch up. [Laughter] I couldn’t resist. “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone believing in him may have everlasting life.” Now, would anyone doubt that this is a type? Of course not. Because Jesus said it was.

Well notice that in both these examples, the tabernacle and the copper serpent, Jehovah was involved. He designed the type so that it would fit the antitype. He told Moses, for example to fashion a copper serpent and put it, not on a rock, but on a stake. And of course the tabernacle prefiguring the great spiritual temple.

And from the apostle Paul we learn even more about types and antitypes. For example, Paul, in Hebrews: Isaiah and his 2 sons represent Jesus, and the anointed. He also explains that Moses, the mediator of the Law covenant, represents Christ the mediator of the new covenant. And we learn from the letter to the Galatians that Abraham’s relationship with Sarah and Hagar, represents Jehovah’s relationship with the nation of Israel, and with the heavenly part of his organization. Type and antitype.

Now we know that these were genuine types because, the word of God says they are. But here is the question:

Who is to decide if a person or an event is a type if the word of God doesn’t say anything about it? Who is qualified to do that? Our answer? We can do no better than to quote our beloved brother, Albert Schroeder, who said:

“We need to exercise great care when applying accounts in the Hebrew Scriptures as prophetic patterns, or types, if these are accounts are not applied in the Scriptures themselves.”

Wasn’t that a beautiful statement? We agree with it.

Now the study of types and antitypes is not unique to Jehovah’s Witnesses. During the past 2,000 years, Catholic and Jewish scholars have made quite a diligent study of types and antitypes. In fact, there is even a name for the study. They call it “typology.”

The first century Jewish scholar, Philo of Alexandria, for example, suggested that the serpent in the garden of Eden, the tree of knowledge and the cherubs that were guarding the entrance to the garden were all typical of something greater.

And then describing the teachings of such early writers as Origen, Ambrose and Jerome, the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says this:

“They sought for types and of course found them, in every incident and event, however trivial, recorded in Scripture. Even the most simple and commonplace circumstance was thought to conceal within itself a hidden truth. Even in the number of fish caught by the disciples when the risen Savior appeared to them,” he says, “How much some have tried to make of that number:, 153 .”

One scholar made much of Jacob’s purchase of Esau’s birthright with a bowl of red stew. Very significant that the stew was red. To him, the red stew pictured the red blood of Christ. The inheritance pictured the heavenly inheritance. It’s all… By that reasoning, Jacob pictures Jesus, Esau’s birthright pictures the heavenly inheritance, and the red stew pictures Jesus’ precious blood.

Now on the surface that might sound plausible to some, until you think about it. When you think about it you see three problems. First of all, Jehovah didn’t design the type. Jehovah did not tell Esau to sell his birthright. Selling his birthright was wrong, and Jehovah never tells us to do something that’s wrong. Second, who ate the stew? Esau did. So are we to conclude that, by giving up his inheritance, Esau put himself in line for the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ? That doesn’t make any sense. And most importantly, nowhere in Scripture do we read that the event was a type.

Now the study of types and antitypes was not only common among Catholic and Jewish scholars, but were very prominent among Protestant scholars as well. The Puritans, like Edward Taylor, applied many Bible events to themselves. The Baptists and Congregationalists did likewise. So it’s not surprising that the early Bible Students, who generally belonged to these groups were also really fond of types.

And as many of us have been. Many of us have remembered happy moments at the congregation book study studying all about types and antitypes. And it’s true that the study of types could be thrilling!

So now here’s a question. If the study of a certain subject make chills run up and down your spine, could it possibly be mistaken? And the answer is yes.

The case of brother Arch W. Smith is an example. In 1886, Brother Russell published a book that contained a chart linking the ages of mankind to the Great Pyramid of Egypt. Now that pyramid was called by the Bible Students, the “Bible in stone.” They loved the study of the Pyramid. In fact, if you have seen pictures of Brother Russell’s grave, you’ve noticed that there was a pyramid nearby. And that’s because the Bible Students believed very much in the Great Pyramid of Egypt, and some became very engrossed, in measuring certain rooms and certain features of the pyramid and to try to determine, for example, how long they had to wait before they went to heaven, and so on.

And so one who was just thrilled by the study of types was Arch W. Smith. It was a hobby of his, he loved it. In fact he gave a lot of prayerful thought to the dimension of the pyramid, and from time to time he would write in to Bethel and let them know what his findings were, to support the idea that the Great Pyramid had a place in Jehovah’s purpose. He loved it!

But when The Watchtower of 1928 came out and said that Jehovah doesn’t need a stone monument built by pagans to accomplish his purpose, Brother Smith accepted it. He let reason win out over emotion.

Well, in recent years the trend in our publications has been to look for the practical application of Bible events, and not for types where the Scriptures themselves do not clearly identify them as such. We simply cannot go beyond what is written. Now there’s a real advantage in looking for the practical application of Bible accounts, rather than confining certain applications to one class: “This applies only to the anointed.” “This applies only to the other sheep.”

Let’s just see why. Turn to Romans chapter 15 and verse 4. Now remember that Paul is writing to his anointed brothers here. Romans chapter 15 and verse 4. And he says, “For all the things that were written beforehand” . . . Well what things? The Hebrew Scriptures obviously. . . “were written for our instruction so that through our endurance, that through the comfort of the Scriptures, that we might have hope.” What is Paul telling the anointed? He’s telling them that you can learn from these accounts in the Hebrew Scriptures. You can apply principles of the Hebrew Scriptures to yourselves.

Let’s consider an example: Now soon after his conversion, Paul is preaching in the city of Damascus. The Jews are furious and they try to kill him. So anointed disciples take Paul and they lower him down the city wall in a basket. Is it possible that some of those anointed ones they thought of Rahab? Who helped the two spies escape from Jericho by a similar method? Would anyone say to them, “You can’t apply that to yourselves…Rahab pictures the other sheep, you are of the anointed?” No! They could apply the lessons of that account to themselves.

Now let’s consider another example, a modern one. In the Song of Solomon we read of a chaste young virgin who falls desperately in love with a poor shepherd boy. Solomon, who incidentally was still an inspired Bible writer at the time, but he’s a very wealthy man, he tries to lure her away but he’s unable to do so. Now suppose that in a certain congregation there’s a sweet young sister, who falls head over heels for a poor pioneer brother, who’s a real spiritual man but he doesn’t have a penny to his name. Now her friends encourage her to marry a wealthy brother, who is very rich but he doesn’t have a lot of time to spend on spiritual things. The sister remains firm. They say, you wouldn’t have to work! You can pioneer. She says no my love is for that pioneer boy. Would anyone say to her, the Song of Solomon doesn’t apply to you because you’re of the other sheep, not of the anointed?

You see how practical it is to take these Bible accounts and really apply them to the everyday life of people.

What about others of the other sheep today? In this audience there are modern-day Nehemiahs who are spurring the building programs we have. Wonderful young Timothys, graduates of our Bible schools, warmhearted Tabitha’s, hospitable Lydias. And don’t we find exceptional young Circuit Overseers who are like Elihu in giving wise counsel to elders who are much older. And don’t many Christian young women remind us of dear Rebekah who was willing to follow her husband to a distant land for the accomplishment of Jehovah’s purpose?

We deeply appreciate the spiritual heritage that was passed on to us by the early Bible Students. In harmony with Zechariah chapter 4 and verse 10: “We do not despise the day of small things.” However the light does get brighter. And we feel that we must follow the light, wherever it leads us. Our love should be for the truth and not for a particular doctrine or teaching.

Well how would you sum this talk in a few words?

The wrong answer is, “We don’t believe in types and antitypes any more.” We do! We certainly do. Where the scriptures identify them as such, we embrace them. But where the Bible is silent, we must be silent.

Now in the three talks that follow there are going to be important clarifications in our beliefs.

Perhaps a certain adjustment will touch a spiritual nerve, make us rethink a cherished teaching. Our love for Jehovah and the truth will make us receive this information gladly and with open hearts.

Often today we hear brothers say, we’re having a hard time keeping up with the celestial chariot. So are we. So are the Governing Body. We’re not driving the chariot. Jehovah is driving the chariot and we’re running just as fast as you are, trying to keep up. So let’s all do our best to keep up with it. And let us thank Jehovah for continuing to deal with us. And for continuing to provide nourishing spiritual food.

________end of transcript________

Personal notes:

  • In the commentary on the Watchtower article based on this talk ( http://ad1914.com/2015/01/26/2107/ ) we pointed out a few items of interest:

    First of all, the idea is given that these “type-antitype” explanations have already been phased out to some extent over the past few years, but with no official explanation until now.

    The talk mentions that some legitimate examples of “type/antitype” included the tabernacle (shadows), the sacrifices, Abraham’s wife and mistress, and the snake on a pole. The 3/15/2015 Watchtower article replaced the snake on a pole with the sign of Jonah.

    It’s pointed out that this “typology” stuff has had a long history among a lot of religions, Jewish, Catholic and Protestant. (And some ridiculously bad examples are mentioned as if they were more ridiculous than Watch Tower examples.)

    The logic behind using the Rahab and Shulamite examples is twisted and anachronistic. As far as Paul’s companions knew, there never was and never would be an incorrectly explained “other sheep” class represented by Rahab. And what sister says, “The reason I am choosing the broke pioneer over the rich brother because the Song of Solomon applies to me.” In Splane’s illustration, she never actually says that, but Splane indicates that there is some danger that the sister is going to hear an argument meant to to push her into the arms of the rich brother simply because she is not “anointed” — as if only “anointed” sisters should be able to choose the poor penniless pioneer.

    But the speech says, basically, that the Watch Tower teachings took this too far. It says it will only be used from now on if the Bible tells us specifically that it is a “type.” This seems commendable.

    The problem is that this new guideline is watered down considerably in the March 15, 2015 Watchtower article based on this talk. It seems very likely that between the Annual Meeting and the end of the 2014, someone noticed that following the words of this talk would completely ruin the two most important unique doctrines of JWs today:

    1. That the Kingdom of the pagan, Gentile, violent, insane, Jew-killing Nebuchadnezzar was a “type” of God’s non-Gentile Kingdom through Christ Jesus, the perfect Prince of Peace, as represented by the Jewish Davidic/Messianic Kingdom at Jerusalem.

    2. That the “faithful and discreet slave” in Matthew 24:45 was a “type” of the Governing Body.

    Also, found it “funny” how Splane treats the old Pyramid scheme, promoted in the Watch Tower publications from the 1880’s to the 1920’s.

    The March 15, 2015 article tries to keep the idea of being once “thrilled” by these explanations in the past as a good thing. Splane had used it to show that being thrilled doesn’t always mean it was right.

2014-Year of the Kingdom, Centennial, Governing Body

More Evidence for 1914 Kingdom than for Gravity, Electricity, Wind — says JW Governing Body

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The source of this video is Stephen Lett, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, at the “Seek First God’s Kingdom” International Convention for 2014.  A better version of the video is found here: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ6405yjZfo&w=640&h=480] I made a poor copy of it above just in case it gets removed from YouTube.

He says:

God’s Kingdom has been ruling in heaven as we’ve discussed during this convention for a hundred years, and it has produced tremendous effects — tremendous results. In fact, there is more evidence confirming the existence of the Kingdom than the evidence that would convince us that there’s gravity, electricity, wind.

I couldn’t just let that “blow over.” [wind] It was “shocking.” [electricity] I had to let it “sink in.” [gravity] All jokes, aside, though…

The first thing this reminded me of, was the fact that Rutherford blatantly overused claims about facts, proof and evidence (apparently as a reminder that he had a legal background). Rutherford loved to include the word “facts” in things like “Face the Facts” “Declaration of Facts” etc.  Rutherford would say things like, “the physical facts” “the Scriptures and facts” “indisputable facts” “beyond a doubt” and “distinctly indicated” even when he was not just wrong but indisputably wrong:

“The indisputable facts, therefore, show that the “time of the end” began in 1799; that the Lord’s second presence began in 1874.” — Watchtower 1922 Mar 1 p. 7.

 “The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures than 1914.” — The Watchtower, September 1, 1922, p. 262.

“Bible prophecy shows that the Lord was due to appear for the second time in the year 1874. Fulfilled prophecy shows beyond a doubt that he did appear in 1874. Fulfilled prophecy is otherwise designated the physical facts; and these facts are indisputable.“ — Watchtower November 1,  1922, p. 333.

Note the underlined portion: “Fulfilled prophecy” as previously interpreted and as understood by Rutherford, was the same thing as “physical facts” that are indisputable and “beyond a doubt.”

There can be no doubt that Dagon the visible god of the ancient Philistines foreshadowed the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, of which the pope is chief. The Scriptural and the historical evidence fully agree upon this point. …This further supports the conclusion that the Philistines foreshadowed the Roman Catholic Hierarchy. — Riches, 1936, p. 241.

 “The Scriptures and the facts show that the work which the man Elijah the prophet did foreshadows a work done by the faithful servant class under Christ Jesus, and which work ended in A.D. 1918… Jehu came into contact with the prophet Elijah and lived for more than 28 years of the period of the prophet Elisha….Jehovah, during the Elijah period that is from 1878 to 1918, began to prepare a people …brought over into the Elisha period, which began in A.D. 1919. — Riches, 1936, p. 66

So it wasn’t just hyperbole with Rutherford. He defined his accepted understanding of fulfilled prophecy as the same thing as “physical facts” that are indisputable. In effect, if Rutherford believed it, this was the same as “evidence,” and you didn’t dare dispute it. The last quote above from the book “Riches” repeated an idea that Rutherford had been trying to convey in several different ways since Russell died. Russell’s time had been seen as a “Day of Preparation” that was supposed to have prepared the “faithful” to remain loyal to Rutherford’s ideas, just as they had previously remained faithful to Russell’ teachings. Russell was seen as “that faithful and wise servant” of Matthew 24 who had been serving “meat in due season” (“food at the proper time”).

We could go on an on with examples like this from Rutherford.

And what about Lett? It might not be fair to attack the specifics of an unfortunate choice of hyperbole. Apparently, however, it wasn’t really intended as merely hyperbole in Lett’s case, either. He is quite serious in the video. He clearly picked “gravity, electricity and wind” because they are supposedly invisible, just like the invisible kingdom of Christ that started in 1914. There is a strange logic among certain types of non-scientists that invisible things are not real. That it somehow takes “faith” to believe in things invisible to the naked eye. Galileo had a similar problem. Religionists have been heard to speak as if these things are unreal, miraculous or in some sense, “magical.”

It’s hard to know exactly what he meant that evidence was. Possibly he’s so impressed with the growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but this is on par with the growth of Mormons (LDS) and Seventh Day Adventists who have similar beginnings. But growth means Jehovah’s blessing (as long it is the growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses). It is likely some combination of a strong belief in the growth of JWs  combined with his own belief that so many other things he believes in makes him feel that the Watch Tower Society and Jehovah’s Witnesses are right.  Therefore all of it combines in his mind to become evidence. If he feels they are right about everything else, then they must be right about this theory about the Kingdom, too.

Similar to Rutherford, if Lett merely believes the interpretation of 1914 to be fulfilled prophecy, then Lett sees it in the same light as indisputable evidence.

But the real problem is that even if it was hyperbole, we couldn’t excuse it. That’s because the purpose of his speech is to imply that there is at least some evidence somewhere for an invisible kingdom that has been ruling for 100 years.  As it turns out, there isn’t any. Every bit of the evidence for 1914 has been shown to be false, mistaken, and in some cases, made up dishonestly.

So the question for Stephen Lett is not, “Where is this evidence that is supposedly greater than the evidence that would make us believe in gravity, electricity or wind?” No, the real question is:

WHERE IS THERE ANY EVIDENCE AT ALL FOR 1914?

 

We could easily expose the inadequacy of any portion of that evidence. And if you look through the site, you’ll see that this has already been done by many others.

 

Governing Body

Hey Wanna See Something Really Scary?

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Just watch the minute of highlights by clicking on the video below. You can’t miss the themes.

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Here’s the first theme. It’s Stephen Lett (Governing Body) addressing young and old alike.

“The Governing Body has approved this station on a trial basis initially in the English language only. Based on the response from viewers and your support of this new arrangement it is hoped that other languages will enjoy the same in the future.”

“It is evident that JW Broadcasting has Jehovah’s blessing. Those involved in preparing the studio the equipment and the content all said that they could feel Jehovah’s hand directing every step, every decision every day. ..”

“…Sensing Jehovah’s direction on this endeavor…”

“This just emphasizes the fact that when Jehovah wants something done, there is nothing that can stop him.”

 “Some of the materials and all of the work on this studio were donated, which we very much appreciate. Still as you can see there was a significant outlay of funds to complete the project.”

And now, the theme as Stephen Lett addresses young ones, specifically.

“Young ones, you are loved by Jehovah and his organization. Young ones, you are loved by Jehovah and his organization” [repetition theirs]

“As evidence of Jehovah’s love, some may immediately think of the animated series of videos, “Become Jehovah’s Friend,” featuring  Caleb and Sophia… and that has indeed been evidence of Jehovah’s and the Governing Body’s love for little children.”

(Yes, they actually used that last line, even in a video that brought Ted Jaracz back out of the archives.)

And then the conclusion, where the theme is explained outright — in 30 seconds (Click on the video below.):

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“It is hoped that the visual images of Jehovah’s people enjoying a variety of activities will reinforce every young one’s determination to stay solid in the truth. You young ones are dearly loved by Jehovah and his organization.“

“We look forward to using you more and more in Jehovah’s organization as you grow to Christian maturity.”

The CONCLUSION of the matter, everything having been SEEN

Of course, some will draw the conclusion that there is nothing wrong with these themes.  The theme of donations makes this come across as a televangelist’s plea, but we’ll say no more about that for now.

It’s true, there’s a lot more emphasis on “Governing Body” than we’ve seen before, but the emphasis on “organization” has always been there.

Yet, TV.jw.org is focused on something which is, by definition, more visual and visible. But there are two themes at once here to create a catalyst,  combined in a way that will resonate with younger children like it has never done before.  And it’s this:  With the repeated idea of “Jehovah’s hand guiding every step and every decision, every day” and the constant linking of “Jehovah and his organization” we have an overarching theme of putting FAITH in what is VISIBLE.

This idea is surely the antithesis of the type of Christian faith where the Bible says ‘we walk by faith, not by sight.’ But that rarely bothers Witnesses who have always been known for their focus on visible numbers of preachers, reportable hours, number of attendees, number of magazines and books.

Of course, one could always question whether this interpretation is an overreach, but Jehovah’s Witnesses won’t question the idea of putting faith in a visible organization, even when it is spelled out for them explicitly!

Note the March 1, 1979 Watchtower:

*** w79 3/1 p. 14 par. 10 Faith in Jehovah’s Victorious Organization ***
“It identified the new visible theocratic organization…So Jehovah’s visible organization came off victorious once again to his vindication. For dedicated, baptized persons to share in that victory, what did it take? Faith in Jehovah’s theocratic organization. “

Of course, it’s scary that Jehovah’s Witnesses might not notice that it’s scary. But there were a few seconds right there in the middle of this first monthly video with images like the following (don’t click it, it’s just a screen capture):

bloodxfusion

And the narration at that point: “…We need to get her into surgery right away. And we need to prepare for a blood transfusion….”

Be afraid! Be very afraid!

 

Governing Body, Matthew 24, Watch Tower

New! Important CHANGES in March 15th, 2015 Watchtower, Explained & Clarified

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Articles in this series:

If you are one of those few people who REALLY keeps up with the recent changes to current doctrines among JWs, then you should appreciate the upcoming series of articles we are about to post on the subject. If you are one who does NOT always keep up with the recent changes to current doctrines among the JWs then you should REALLY appreciate these articles even more.

There are a some specific doctrinal changes spelled out in the March 15, 2015 Watchtower (the “Study Edition” available on the JW.ORG website).  But the biggest, most important change is about a method for explaining Scripture that will affect many more doctrines than the specific examples mentioned in the magazine.

With this issue, literally thousands of pages of previously printed doctrinal material are rendered obsolete. It also sets a new direction for Bible commentary in The Watchtower that has the potential to completely “reset” SEVERAL of the unique doctrines of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and MOST of the prophetic interpretations. Even the chronological interpretations are at risk of becoming obsolete.  (For example, until the last decade, “1918” was taught as a prophetically significant date that was once mentioned just about as often as 1919 was mentioned. Yet, many JWs are not even aware that 1918 has already been quietly dropped as a prophetically significant date, for reasons that are aligned with the changes set forth in this March 15, 2015 issue.)

To get an idea of how sweeping the general change already is, you would have to know just how much prior doctrine is affected by these sentences from the March 15th Watchtower:

“In times past, it was more common for our literature to take what might be called a type-antitype approach to Scriptural accounts.” (p.3) “Humans cannot know which Bible accounts are shadows of things to come and which are not. The clearest course is this: Where the Scriptures teach that an individual, an event, or an object is typical of something else, we accept it as such. Otherwise, we ought to be reluctant to assign an antitypical application to a certain person or account if there is no specific Scriptural basis for doing so.” (p.18)

The following is a list of 42 of these “prophecies” or “prophetic dramas” found in one of the Watchtower publications that we (JWs) actively taught and studied when I was a younger Witness. Most of these have never been dismissed and they still represented accurate doctrine until now. Learning these teachings took up a large portion of the curriculum for the students of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead while I was at Bethel from 1976 to 1980. One of the weekly meetings, the “Congregation Book Study,” was often devoted entirely to discussions of this type.

3-15-15wt3-15-2

Also note that the 42 examples listed only include those that specified the “great crowd” who would have an earthly hope instead of the “anointed” with the heavenly hope. Because these “prophetic dramas” have been emphasized less, especially in the last couple of decades, many Witnesses didn’t realize that most of these explanations were still “on the books.” In other words they were still considered valid, correct doctrines. At least until now.

DIDN’T THEY TRY THIS BEFORE?

It probably sounds like hyperbole to attach such a potential significance to these new changes. However, we have an excellent reason to believe that these changes are indicative of more changes underway. What’s that reason? Simple. We saw what happened when they tried this before. The Watch Tower Society didn’t try it officially, because not everyone was on board with it. Nevertheless, beginning in the late 1960’s and 1970’s, several members of the Writing Department were already reading Bible narratives and writing and teaching about their meaning in the exact way described in this new issue of the Watchtower.

In fact, the idea of changing this teaching method already came up during the research and writing of the Watch Tower’s first Bible dictionary, Aid to Bible Understanding, completed in 1971. This “Aid Book” as we called it (now slightly revised as Insight on the Scriptures) is nearly devoid of types and antitypes. By 1972, the research behind the Aid Book had already resulted in major changes to the Watch Tower organizational structure, including a re-definition of what the governing body would soon become, and the new “elder arrangement,” which was just being put into place. The following is from an article in the August 15, 1972 Watchtower that reflects some of the thinking on this subject at the time:

*** w72 8/15 p. 502 God Readjusts the Thinking of His People ***
Another thing that has given rise to questions is the use by Jehovah’s witnesses of parallels or prophetic types, applying these to circumstances and to groups or classes of people today. Many people who read the Bible view its accounts all as simply history, but when they begin to study with Jehovah’s witnesses a readjustment of viewpoint takes place as they see that there is more to the accounts than history. …

The question that is sometimes asked is, Did Jehovah stage that ‘dramatic’ event, so that we would have a warning now? Well, would he cause such bad things to happen? Would he maneuver them himself? No. …

It helps us to understand more fully when we keep in mind that the people in ancient times were real, living their daily lives in association with their families and fellowmen, having hopes and desires as we do today, the same general problems with sin working in their members, and many of them faithfully waging a fine fight to serve God.

The article just quoted actually tried to play both sides of the issue in order to introduce the change but also dismiss the need to make too many changes at once. (The 1972 article tended to favor the “type-antitype” status quo.) During the late 1970’s, the brothers in Writing who were the most productive and who were the most capable of Biblical research included the brothers who had worked on the Aid Book, and by that point in time had already been getting assignments to write Watchtower articles on many Bible topics. These articles tended to minimize the “type-antitype” pattern.

Not all Watchtower writers agreed with this change. However, many letters were received that thanked the Watchtower Society for producing these “refreshing and clear” articles that “make it easier to apply the Bible in our daily lives as Jehovah’s Christian witnesses.”

The brothers in Writing who had helped with the Aid Book had become especially involved in those new articles with the “refreshing” style, as some called it. One of these brothers had an excellent knowledge of the Biblical languages, including not just Hebrew but also Aramaic and Syriac. Another other one could write an article in minutes on almost any Bible topic, pretty much from memory, and those articles could usually be used in the Watchtower without any edits or changes. Their work was approved through the appropriate review committee(s), including Governing Body members, and resulted in dozens of Watchtower articles, and several books, which are still easily identifiable by their style when looking through the bound volumes of the Watchtower from those years, or the Watchtower Library CD. Two books were written in this same “refreshing” style in a Bible commentary format. Those two books, Commentary on the Letter of James and Choosing the Best Way of Life (which was a commentary on 1st and 2nd Peter) were released at the summer District Assemblies in 1979. They became the first major examples of books that scrupulously avoided “type-antitype” patterns, even when touching upon subjects that had previously required it. This includes an “untypical” reference to the “faithful and discreet slave” that called upon all Christians to be this sort of person. A recently deceased brother who had been at Bethel during the period described it to Randall Watters like this:

 “There were a couple new books published that were nothing like the typical FWFranzesque prophetic calculus manuals. These books were not typical fare, and you could see the puzzled looks when they reached the book study groups and meetings. Biblical commentary within scriptural context…”

Unfortunately, the Watch Tower Society in general was not yet ready for this type of reading and writing about the Bible narratives. “Heads rolled” when the significance of those changes was noticed by “old school” supporters of these now obsolete doctrinal methods. This included the two mentioned above, and a few others, too, who were not disfellowshipped, but who were dismissed from Bethel. However, this March 15, 2015 issue of The Watchtower now renders that “old school” doctrinal pattern obsolete. The pattern utilized in the Aid Book and in subsequent Watchtower articles and books for the next 7 years, especially from 1976 through 1980 is now considered ‘the way Jehovah approved.’ (Watchtower 3/15/2015 p.7,8)

While we cannot vouch for the exact numerical claims in the quote below, one person has put it this way, on a site where JWs often discuss issues with other JWs:

Now, with this article, nearly half the Watchtower articles that Rutherford wrote (since about 1931) and about a quarter of the Watchtower study articles that Fred Franz wrote (since 1942 – under Knorr) have been downgraded. When I worked with the Gilead students we were still spending about half their time going over these old Bible stories to make sure they understood when the anointed class was meant and when the great crowd was meant. (Anyone who has a copy of the Gilead Notes from up to about 1980 will know what I mean.)

Historically, I find that very interesting, but from a progressive perspective, it was bound to happen now that there is less concern about distinguishing anointed from other sheep, I find it quite refreshing that we no longer need to be worried that we draw the right application to the various people in so many of these Bible accounts.

If you do not have the magazine in printed format, it is available at the following location on jw.org:

http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/w20150315/

That link (on the JW.org site) displays a page that has the following articles listed. Over the next few weeks we will provide a commentary on each of them and link the titles to our commented versions of these articles.

THE WATCHTOWER (STUDY EDITION) MARCH 2015

 

“This Is the Way You Approved”

Why have our publications in recent years often given simpler, clearer explanations of some Bible accounts?

 

Will You “Keep on the Watch”? 

Read this clarified understanding of Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins, which focuses on the parable’s simple, urgent message. 

 

Questions From Readers

In the past, our publications often mentioned types and antitypes, but in recent years they have seldom done so. Why is that? 

 

Learn From the Illustration of the Talents 

This article refines our understanding of the parable of the talents.

 

Loyally Supporting Christ’s Brothers 

How do those whom Christ judges to be sheep support his brothers?

In attempting to comment on those Watchtower articles listed above, this site will attempt to cover each of the articles listed above that cover the updated doctrines.

Watch for the following subjects to be covered across the five articles:

  • The Prior Importance of the “Type Anti-Type” Approach
  • The Good Samaritan – Type-Antitype method reviewed
  • Naboth, Ahab, Jezebel – Type-Antitype method reviewed
  • The Prodigal Son – Type-Antitype method reviewed
  • Elijah and Elisha – Type-Antitype method reviewed
  • The Ten Virgins – Type-Antitype method reviewed
  • The Talents – Type-Antitype method reviewed
  • What happened at Bethel when this same approach was used as an aid to Bible understanding?
  • How can this approach potentially change the explanation of the “Faithful and Discreet Slave”?
  • What will this approach do to the method of explaining all prophecies in Isaiah, Jeremiah and other prophetic books with a formula linking any mention of faithful kings, priests and prophets to the faithful anointed in our day, or linking unfaithful ones to Christendom, or linking any mention of captivity to the imprisonment of Rutherford and others in 1918/1919, etc.?
  • What can this approach do to the “anti-type” fulfillment of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the 1914 teaching?
  • Will this ultimately make 1919 go the way of 1918? (As mentioned, 1918 was once a large part of Watch Tower doctrine and it has been gradually but effectively dismissed over the last several years.)
  • Will this ultimately make the current distinction between Great Crowd and Anointed less important?
Beyond the Veil, Centennial, GB Committees, Governing Body, Parodies Lost, Tazer

An Open Email to the Governing Body

2 Comments
[Please click the link here: (http://ad1914.com/beyond-the-veil-the-explanation/) if you are having any trouble understanding what this is all about.]

October 2, 2014

Greetings from the Great Beyond and a Wishful Happy 100 years!

Dear Governing Body and Juniorgoverningbodycom Governing Body (Helpers),

As you know, I have been “earthly” dead for about 100 years. But that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been paying attention to what’s been happening down there where the rest of you live – if you want to call that “living. I’ve especially been keeping track of what you have been doing to my “baby” – the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society – since I’ve been gone.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, when I say “Great Beyond” I’m not talking about the North Pole or the Australian Outback. Nope, I actually mean “Beyond the Veil,” in the same sense that the Watch Tower used the expression so often after I died.

I died on Halloween, of course, in 1916. They all thought it was some kind of Halloween prank when I showed up here in a toga. That was the most embarrassing night of my life. I even had to explain it to some of the Apostles. I told them that a lot of Second Adventists, even Father Miller himself, believed we should wear “white ascension robes” on that final, fateful day. Then they asked me who “Father Miller” was. After that, I got lectured by Thomas, no less, on why we shouldn’t call anyone “Father” on earth, and why it’s even more important up here.

But I digress.

Speaking of “beyond the veil,” I hope you know that you got me in a lot of trouble with all that talk about me being able to communicate with you guys after I died, and how I’d be able to manage the Watch Tower Society from up here. How was it that Clayton Woodworth and George Fisher put it?

“Though Pastor Russell has passed beyond the veil, he is managing every feature of the harvest work.”

Of course, that was in, The Finished Mystery. Don’t even get me started on that crazy book! You guys kept saying I’d have special powers and privileges to manage the Society from here that I couldn’t manage from your side of the veil.

Well guess what? All that talk about me communicating with you guys after I died, well, let’s just say they take that kind of thing very seriously. They call it spiritism, and I ended up on Peter’s “watch list.” I couldn’t even get Veil-Mail privileges for nearly a century. Veil-Mail, of course, is what I’m using right now. But there are a lot of restrictions so that it won’t be used for any kind of spiritism:

  • Rule#1: All the people I knew in my lifetime on earth have to be dead already, and,
  • Rule  #2: I can’t tell you anything you shouldn’t already know, and,
  • Rule #3: I have to try to keep people from getting hurt by any problems I caused when I was down there. 
  • Also, if I score enough on Rule#3, I get more leeway on Rule#2.  Moses told me that none of the rules are really “set in stone.”

So, when I’m done, I’ll run the Veil-Mail spell-check, the sacred-secret-check, and the writing style updater. (I keep getting little pop-ups saying: “Change recommended: a little too 19th century.”)

I want to be honest, though. Watching my “earthly organization” get “hijacked” the way it did really burns me up –and that’s quite a trick up here in heaven.  But most of you (at least those who can read above a 3rd-grade level) probably know what happened after I died.

Yup, it was that loud-mouth, boastful, former law clerk (who never was a full-time “Judge”), Joe Rutherford. He ignored everything I told him and even defied what I wrote in my will before I died on that awful train ride. But, then, faster than you can change in the twinkling of an eye, that so-called “Judge” was already looking for loopholes and was gathering weak-willed lackeys around him. Then, he went and wrestled the corporation away from the very fellows that I specified should run it after my death. (Did I mention that he was never a full-time judge?)

That self-important back-stabber chased away all the other good and decent folks who were on the board working for me. Then he, along with that strange man, Clayton Woodworth (“CW”), and that lackey, George Fisher, took it upon themselves to “finish” my 7th volume of the Studies in the Scriptures. They didn’t have a clue. They never checked with anyone who knew what points I wanted to make. Have you read it? Really truly actually read it? That book should never have been called The Finished Mystery. The only mystery was why they ever published it. It was ridiculous and an embarrassment. And then as if to add insult to injury, they put my name on it, and called it “the posthumous work of Charles Taze Russell.” If I had been alive, I would have had them put in jail for slander and defamation of my character.

Of course they’re all dead now, but don’t think I’m going to forget how, just a couple years ago, 2012, you folks right now on the “Governing Body” demoted me —you defrocked me— right out of the “Faithful and Discreet Slave” class. And, of course, you just had to pick the 128th Annual Corporate Meeting of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania! Who do you think came up with that “class” explanation in the first place? It’s true that for those last 20 years, I changed it from a “class” to just me, so that I was the one-and-only faithful and discreet slave. So, I can see why you went back to my old “class” idea. But why’d you have to go and change it so it wouldn’t start until 1919? You realize that I died in 1916, right? So, as of 2012, I’m not even counted in that class anymore! I see you made it a lot more exclusive, too. You cut it down from 144,000 to only a few Governing Body members. I like exclusive. But then you go and kick me out of your club altogether by changing the rules.

Anyway, I need to tell you something important that I discovered, but it’s something you should have noticed yourselves. It started mostly with that “CW” –Crazy-Weird, Certifiably-Wacko– Clayton Woodworth.

When I got in trouble for all that “beyond the veil” talk, well, at first I wondered why I had to get blamed instead of, you know, Rutherford, Fisher, or CW.  Well, it was the Apostle Paul who really blamed this one on me. He told me that I was neither “discreet” nor “wise” nor “faithful” by publishing all that talk about how I was the one-and-only “faithful and discreet slave.” Paul told me that this was one thing that Rutherford got right when he finally changed it back to mean “all the living anointed Christians.” Evidently, I set the stage for this “beyond-the-veil” spiritism when I set myself up as someone so special. He said I enabled “I- belong-to-Apollos Syndrome.”

Of course, I also learned pretty quickly that you don’t argue with Paul. You won’t win. I tried to explain to him that it wasn’t really spiritism, exactly, because I wasn’t really dead. After all, I had long been preaching that the big resurrection of the Apostles and all the other “saints” and “Gospel Age overcomers” as I called them, were really alive, not dead — because they all got resurrected in 1878.

So Paul said. “Listen carefully. For one thing, spiritism is the attempt to communicate with spirits. It’s got nothing to do with whether they were dead, undead, resurrected, or whether they’re angels, demons, saints or sinners. It’s about spirits!“

Then he asked me: “And what’s all this about a resurrection in 1878? How on earth did you come up with the idea that I was resurrected in 1878?” Well, for a minute there, I though he was really asking because he was impressed that we managed to figured out all those dates.

Well, you can imagine how my face lit up because I was always so proud of all that work, so I started to explain just how brilliant it was. I told him about how Father Miller’s, I mean William Miller’s, 1844 date for Christ‘s second coming really only corresponded to Jesus‘ birth in the previous age. Get it? Because “Jesus” technically wasn’t the “Christ” until he was baptized 30 years later! And so if you add Miller’s 1844 plus 30, you get  October 1874 — voila! Christ‘s second presence!  And since Christ didn’t get resurrected until 3 and one-half years after his baptism, then that would be like1874 plus 3.5 equals April of 1878.

And, as I’m telling Paul all of this he seemed excited, too. So I went on about how, when Jerusalem was destroyed by AD 70, well that was about 36.5 years after Christ died in 33, and how if you add April 1878 plus 36.5 you get October 1914, …..

And that’s when Paul cursed at me! He didn’t even let me finish. I was just getting ready to tell him about the 40 year harvest, Jubilee cycles, Jacob’s birth year, 6,000 years of man’s existence, and even the Great Pyramid. Paul actually cursed! He called me an athema, or something like that. (I never knew much Greek, but the way he said, I knew it was something bad.)

He said, “You didn’t get my letters? You never saw First Thessalonians?  Where I said: ‘Now as for the times and seasons brothers you need nothing to be written to you.’ What part of ‘you need NOTHING to be written to you’ did you NOT understand?”

And then he added the part that really hurt. He said: “And you told everyone I was resurrected in 1878? Couldn’t you take a hint from what I said to Timothy?”

“And their word will spread like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are among them. These men have deviated from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already occurred, and they are subverting the faith of some.”

I still wanted to tell Paul about the dates, but then you guys -I mean Rutherford, CW, and Ed Brenneisen– just made it worse, because you were still promoting the “veil” idea in 1924.  CW even got a letter complaining that all this “beyond the veil” talk was really spiritism. And of course CW answered with the same lame excuse I tried up here: that they were spirits, they weren’t really dead.

But then you guys just had to go one step further and promote a book that was supposed to be dictated by a fallen angel. And this wasn’t a mistake. You promoted it because it was a book that had been dictated by a fallen angel. And you were proud of it! You even arranged for the Watch Tower Society to give special prices for quantities of 10 or more on the same order.

At least Brenneisen–I liked him–he had the forethought to rename the book from “Seola” to “Angels and Women” so that people might buy it before they could find out its reputation. But after the complaints got to the Watch Tower, you –I mean CW at least–admitted that you were proud to have a book dictated by a demon, a fallen angel, because this fallen angel could provide new light about what the Nephilim and pre-Flood times were really like. CW just wrote back that it was OK since it was a fallen angel who must have wanted to get back into God’s organization.

Now, it’s true that, before I died, I might have mentioned the book to Brenneisen as “interesting,” but I never told him to revise and publish it, and I certainly never supervised the revisions.

That’s why I was so mad at CW! Just like with “The Finished Mystery,” he tries to hanging onto my frock and coattails to get a few extra sales by saying that I supervised the revision. Right there in his Golden Age, 1924 he says: that ‘under my “supervision it was revised and later published by one who was formerly my confidential associate.”

Well, I should have said something, because when Paul found out he nearly hit the ceiling. (And that’s another difficult trick up here.) Now, they were sure I was communicating with you guys, somehow. Paul was so angry he even looked down towards Brooklyn and yelled out “THIS REVISION IS A SNARE AND A RACKET!” I think he said it so loud that it nearly woke up that so-called Judge.

But that’s when I figured it out! CW never actually said that I supervised the revision when I was there on earth. And besides, Brenneisen worked on the revision after I died. And that’s when –like a millennium– it finally dawned on me:  CW really did think I was supervising everything from up here. That’s why they were so quick to claim The Finished Mystery was “the posthumous work of Charles Taze Russell.”  And that’s why he printed in the Golden Age that I had supervised the revision of “Angels and Women.”

Now, who or what CW was really communicating with I’ll never know, although I should have gotten a hint when he wrote me 50 pages worth of letters over one little doctrine he disagreed with. I should have just fired him then, but instead, we let him give just one more convention speech in 1913, before we laid him off for good.  And here’s what he says:

“I came directly under the influence of evil spirits, so much so that for three days I was as completely under demoniacal control as was Mrs. Eddy when she wrote Science and Health….I had prepared a 36 page book…in which…all Scriptures were arranged. .. I know now that all these Scriptures were suggested to my mind by the evil spirits. One of the suggestions was that Brother Russell was doing this to compel the Truth people to do just as he said in everything. Another was (and I believe this was the truth for these lying spirits do sometimes tell the truth)….

Well I don’t have to tell you the whole thing, I’m sure you can look it up in our Watch Tower 1913 Convention Reports. But CW went on like that about having a good book burning, about how he had trouble accepting that I really was that special individual: “That Servant” — you know, “the faithful and discreet slave” that Jesus would trust with all his belongings. (I used to like to have them capitalize it that way, when they called me “That Servant” although Paul reminded me that this probably wasn’t very discreet, either.)

Anyway, CW just got weirder and weirder, but I have to admit that whenever he’d go off into one of his “millennial twilight zones” he was very productive. Joe knew that CW could put a “Seventh Volume” together really fast, and then Joe put him on the new Golden Age magazine. Awake! you call it now. (That’s cute, the way you still abbreviate Awake! with a little “g” in your index.) You know, Joe must have started Golden Age just to show he was boss, too: because in my will I asked that no one start a second magazine, for fear it would detract from The Watch Tower. And I was sure right! I can’t believe some of the malarkey that the Golden Age printed:

No vaccinations? So soon after people just barely survived the Spanish Flu? Germs don’t cause disease? Electromagnetic radio wave cures? In the long run, it might have been crazier than “The Finished Mystery.” Well, maybe not. And then Joe did away with celebrating birthdays. Yeah, birthdays! Hundreds of thousands of poor JW kids would never know the joy of family gatherings and small amounts of personal recognition and special doses of family love. I loved birthdays.  Joe got rid of Christmas, too. And let me tell you guys – JC is still upset over that. JC likes birthdays too! If Joe ever makes it up here, I don’t want to be in the same room when those two meet for the first time. But then you guys will also have to account for Malawi, Mexico, Blood, Hypocrisy, Cover-Ups. You probably won’t even want to read my next Veil-Mail.

But back to the point, you might be wondering why I’m telling you about this 1924 book that you don’t even keep in your Kingdom Hall Libraries any more. Well, here’s why! By now you guys at the Watch Tower have had nearly 100 years to figure out this “beyond the veil” thing for yourselves. But I see you still can’t get rid of the idea.

Your book “Revelation– It’s Grand Climax At Hand.” What does it say?

…the resurrected ones of the 24-elders group may be involved in the communicating of divine truths today.

And The Watchtower even more recently:

It seems that resurrected ones of the 24-elders group may be involved in the communicating of divine truths today. Why is that important? Because the correct identity of the great crowd was revealed to God’s anointed servants on earth in 1935. If one of the 24 elders was used to convey that important truth, he would have had to be resurrected to heaven by 1935 at the latest. That would indicate that the first resurrection began sometime between 1914 and 1935. Can we be more precise?

So now you make the 24 elders the same as the 144,000, and you add 40 years to the 1878 resurrection and make it 1918 — and finally now you change it to “somewhere between 1914 and 1935.

And, by the way. I’ve seen them. The 24 elders are not the 144,000. I’m not supposed to tell you who they are, because well that’s, of course, being involved in communicating divine truths and Veil-Mail would just filter it out if I tried to tell you anyway. But I have to reveal that John thought that was so funny, that laughter broke out for about a half-hour in heaven. He said that he was never that good at math himself, but, come on! “24 equals 144,000?” he asked, and then added, “So what do they say about the four living creatures? That they’re the Great Crowd which no man is able to number?”

Oh and when you find out, you are really going to be surprised at the whole 144,000 idea, too. Turns out that I had that one wrong, myself, but at least I was closer than you. But you know what they say: “The light gets brighter and ….” Well, it’s bound to flicker, I guess, especially with some of the dimly lit, dim wits I’ve seen you put in charge over the last century.

Anyway, at least I hope you’ll finally get all that spiritism stuff out of there. Can’t believe you didn’t figure that out after 100 years. I mean, I know why I made so many mistakes. Because it was just me trying to run everything. But you guys have had like 17 Governing Body members once, and then it dwindled to 8, then 7, and now I look at the latest distribution list, with all those extras. You know, you might as well just settle for an even 12.  I mean, it’s got precedent. And we all know what you really want to remind everyone of, right?

I’ve got plenty more to say, but I’m going to a class on time management. Paul is going to explain to us about Thessalonians where it says “we the living shall not precede those who have already fallen asleep in death.” Turns out that it really has something to do with the fact that we’re not constrained by human time up here. I’m still trying to figure out if I was actually resurrected when I died or if it was many years after and that I was allowed to come back in time to watch you guys in “earth time” since 1916 until now. Well, it’s kind of deep, but I’ve got plenty of time to learn.

So, enjoy your Centennial. Believe it or not, I predicted that you might have some kind of remembrance of it in 2014. I mentioned the 100 years after 1914 twice, and printed letters about it. Really! Look it up. Of course, the only reason you’re celebrating at all is because I died before I ever saw how Deissmann figured out the secret behind the word “parousia.” But you’ve known that for 100 years now, and you still won’t clean it up! And that’s nothing compared to all those much more terrible things going wrong down there with my little “start-up.” Watch it! Wake up! Or you’ll just run it into the ground. You think I can’t see what you’re hiding?

Well, rest assured, I’ll write you again soon. This time, I won’t make it another 100 years.

Charles Taze Russell

P.S.  My buddies up here call me” Tazer” (I like it!) because they say I am “shockingly” honest and funny.