Has the Watchtower Ever Lied, Covered Up, or Changed Important Doctrines, Dates, and Biblical Interpretations?/Program 2

By: Lorrie MacGregor; ©1989

Who are the leaders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses? Are they credible? is that information accurate and honestly written? We’re going to look at that right now. The beliefs of the Jehovah’s Witness­es concerning their worldwide Governing Body, the group that meets in Brooklyn, New York.

Introduction

Ankerberg: Welcome! During this program tonight we’re going to show you portions of a documentary film entitled, Witnesses of Jehovah. It’s about the Jehovah’s Witnesses in this country and covers many interesting areas.

Now, the first excerpt that we’re going to go to tonight has to do with, who are the leaders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses? Are they credible? As I said last week, in looking at any religious organization; number one, who are their leaders? Are they credible? Number two, what book, what documents, does a group of people consider authoritative? And is that information accurate and honestly written? We’re going to look at that right now. We’re going to examine a historical excerpt concerning the second president of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. His name is Judge Rutherford. Please listen.

Excerpt from Witnesses of Jehovah

Narrator: Through hard-fisted inside political manipulation, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, a Missouri lawyer, who had given himself the title of “Judge” became the second president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in 1917. In 1918, Judge Rutherford’s lecture entitled Millions Now Living Will Never Die was the beginning of a worldwide recruiting effort called “The Millions Campaign.” Not too surprisingly, it proclaimed the coming destruction of the existing world. It would happen soon – in 1925.

Judge Rutherford: “Based on the promises set forth in the divine Word, we must reach the positive and indisputable conclusion that millions now living will never die!”

Narrator: In 1920, the Millions book was published. In it, Rutherford claimed the Bible proved that in 1925 Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other faithful men of old were to be resurrected, to rule henceforth as princes on the new “Paradise Earth.”

Fully convinced that Rutherford’s prophecy was true, many Witnesses sold their homes and businesses and took to the road. Living in cars and trucks like itinerant peddlers, they spread the warning. As 1925 drew closer, some farmers even refused to plant crops because they believed the end was at hand. Finally, 1925 came, and as in 1914, nothing happened. Once again, the Watchtower Society’s prophecy had proven false.

As Russell had done, Rutherford doggedly held to the story that the end was just around the corner. In 1929, the Judge had this palatial mansion constructed. It was deeded to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, so they and other ancient worthies would have a place to live when they were resurrected. Located in an exclusive district of San Diego, it was given the name “Beth Sarim” — Hebrew for “House of the Princes.” The world entered the Great Depression, but Rutherford lived like a millionaire, spending the winter months at Beth Sarim, summering in Europe. As Americans suffered through poverty and deprivation, Rutherford enjoyed the use of two 16-cylinder Cadillacs.

Under Rutherford, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society became a well-oiled corporation. New books, literature and tracts poured forth in a flood to be sold door-to-door by faithful Witnesses. He drove his followers to labor hard for the Lord. He advised young couples not to marry but to put all their energies into proclaiming the kingdom. Even portable phonographs were utilized at the doorstep.

Rutherford: “Because the people have been induced to believe that Christianity and religion are the same thing,…”

Narrator: Around the world, zealous Witnesses paraded in front of churches on Sunday mornings bearing placards with the slogan, “Religion is a snare and a racket.” Keeping up with the times, the Society constructed its own radio station, and by 1933, there were 403 stations nationwide broadcasting Rutherford’s abusive railings against the clergy, politicians, and what he referred to as “the greedy commercialists.” On the radio and in print, he continually stressed that the end of the world was just months away. The end finally came, but only for Rutherford. In 1942, he died at Sarim, the house he had built as a luxurious testimony to God’s name.

In retrospect, perhaps the only “testimony” this lovely mansion ever gave was to the “cash value” of false prophecy. In 1948, the Society quietly sold the property, covering up an embarrassing chapter in its history. Today, most modern Jehovah’s Witnesses are unaware that Beth Sarim ever existed. With Rutherford’s passing, the flamboyant era of charismatic personalities passed as well.

---

Ankerberg: Alright, Lorri, tell me about this Judge Rutherford. He took over Charles Taze Russell’s place. Did he change any of the teachings of Russell? And what about some of these things that he actually declared and put into print?

MacGregor: Well, Judge Rutherford, and incidentally, he was not a judge. He was a lawyer who on one occasion dismissed a case because the judge didn’t show up and thereafter took the title. He also gave himself the title “President of the New York Bar.” Since the New York Bar Association has never heard of him, I wonder which establishment he was talking about! It certainly wasn’t the legal profession.

But he took over the Society in the midst of tremendous chaos; after all, the “Faithful and Discreet Slave,” Charles Taze Russell, the man whom God had named, was dead. And so, as the Society always does when things don’t work out – when prophecies fail; when doctrine is wrong – “new light” comes! And so he redefined for the people Matthew 24:45-47 which talks about this “Faithful and Discreet Slave.” I’ll just take a moment to read it so people understand. “Who then is the faithful and discreet slave whom the master put in charge of his household to give them the food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.”

And so he said, “Hey, it’s not a man! It’s not even me. It’s the organization. From now on, we’re in charge of everything God does! Everybody else is of the devil. You want ‘food in due season’? You want ‘light from above’? You’ve got to come through us, the “faithful and discreet slave.”

Ankerberg: How did that differ from Charles Taze Russell’s interpretation of the “faithful and discreet servant”?

MacGregor: Well, Charles Taze Russell applied it to himself…

Ankerberg: Personally?

MacGregor: He was the individual, personal “faithful and discreet slave.” Rutherford was not too popular and he had to do a lot of infighting and manipulating and putting down of previously faithful brothers in order to grab control of the corporation. And so he named the organization rather than himself, but then he ran the organization.

Ankerberg: What does it mean to the Jehovah’s Witnesses for somebody to be the “Faithful and Discreet Slave” or “Servant”?

MacGregor: Well, they believe that is the only channel through which Truth can come.

Ankerberg: In other words, God speaks through that man or that group of men only to all humanity.

MacGregor: Only. Yes, “To give food in due season.” They believe God has appointed them over everything. So they think that when God looked at them in 1919 and said, “Hey, here’s the faithful people. This is us!” and Rutherford took over the helm. And, of course, his most embarrassing false prophecy was written in 1918, which we saw on the clip, that 1925 would mark the return of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the faithful prophets of old. Of course, they had to have a suitable palatial residence. And when they didn’t show up, I mean, he moved in.

Ankerberg: I want to get this straight. We’re talking Abraham in the Old Testament, Isaac and Jacob were supposed to show up and go out there in California and live?

MacGregor: Yes. You see, they were going to direct the administration of the organization on the earth. They were the “princes of old.” And, you know, you would think the man would get egg on his face from all these false things.

Ankerberg: Where did he say that? Document that for all the people that are watching.

MacGregor: Okay. He said it in his book, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, on page 89.

Ankerberg: So all the Jehovah’s Witnesses that want to, they can look in there, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, and they’ll find that right there.

MacGregor: Yes. It may be conveniently missing from the local Kingdom Hall libraries, but if they visit the headquarters in Canada, the United States, and other countries, they can generally go to the library and pull these various books.

Ankerberg: Do most Jehovah’s Witnesses know about these predictions of Russell and of Rutherford, especially this one concerning Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?

MacGregor: No. They’ve been conveniently covered over, all except 1914, which they have altered to mean something different: the end of the Gentile times instead of the end of the world. I got a real kick out of his later saying in 1931 from the Vindication book, page 338. You can look it up. He says, “There was a measure of disappointment on the part of Jehovah’s faithful ones on earth concerning the years 1914, 1918, and 1925, which disappointment lasted for a time.” They also learned to quit fixing dates.

Did you notice how the blame shifted? It wasn’t his fault. I mean, he set the date but it was blamed on the poor little publishers out there trying to do what was right. He said, “Well, you know, you ran ahead of Jehovah. Shame on you!” And he managed to transfer all the blame off himself to them. But this was an amusing time in Society history. During this same time a book was written. It’s called The Way to Paradise. It was not written by Rutherford but he obviously okayed it. And on pages 228 and 229 people were told that there would be no more death after 1925. So it was suggested that they add a room onto their house and get an undertaker to decorate it. Now, you may wonder why you would need an undertaker to decorate your house. Because there would be no more death and the undertakers would be out of work. So it would be the Christian thing to do to get them to do the decoration.

When your room was finished, you were allowed to call up Jerusalem because Abraham would be headquartered in Jerusalem. Now, how he got from Beth Sarim in California to Jerusalem, only Jehovah’s Witnesses of that day know. But they could request, “Abraham, we have our parents’ room ready now.” And he would say, “Okay, fine. I’m going to arrange for their resurrection.” And the people were told that their parents would appear in the room in due course. And so, it’s hard to believe that people would actually believe that.

Ankerberg: Why is that so devastating when you go back. “So, they said it!” What’s the impact of that?

MacGregor: Well, here is the man heading up the so-called “Faithful and Discreet Slave,” the only channel for Truth. And he has told a blatant lie! And I must say, he had a very high opinion of himself. He allowed this to be written while he was president, and this is in Vindication 3, page 383. And I got quite a kick out of this quote, it said, “For busy people. [This is an advertisement.] We have made a selection of more than 75 of Judge Rutherford’s concise, straight to the point explanations of the most perplexing problems in the Bible and have arranged them in 13 attractively bound booklets. Each treatise can be read in just 15 minutes. [And listen to the claim.] And more genuine satisfaction and profitable pleasure derived therefrom in that length of time than can be gotten from studying the Bible by yourself in a whole year.”

Ankerberg: Alright. Right now, I’d like to show you an excerpt that has to do with the beliefs of the Jehovah’s Witnesses concerning their worldwide Governing Body, the group that meets in Brooklyn, New York. You’ll hear the claims made about the 12 to 14 men – the number keeps changing of the group that’s there – and the complete authority that they have over every Jehovah’s Witness. I want you to listen very carefully.

Excerpt from Witnesses of Jehovah

Narrator: Today, fueled by the anxieties of a nuclear age, the Watchtower Society is a multi-national corporate giant, spreading its new message of doom to every corner of the globe. Standing between God and the millions of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is an autocratic ruling council called “The Governing Body.” Because Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the Word of God is channeled to humanity through this elite committee alone, these men rule with unchallenged authority. Every Witness is subject to their dictatorship, from the cradle to the grave. Raymond Franz, author of the book, Crisis of Conscience, was a member of the Watchtower Society’s Governing Body for 9 of his 60 years as a Jehovah’s Witness. His account of their secret sessions is revealing.

Raymond Franz: I must say that it was one of the most disillusioning experiences in my life. It came as a rude awakening to me to see what actually went on. I envisioned the Governing Body as a body of men to whom the Bible, God’s Word, was the controlling force in every one of their decisions; who really dug into the Scriptures to make sure that everything that they did was soundly based upon the Bible. And when I got into the Governing Body, I found that the Bible was rarely appealed to. It was rarely used. It mainly was a matter of discussing organizational policy and how to apply this organizational policy.

And I found that again and again, when issues came up, even though Scriptures might be presented, if there was an organizational policy, that policy would take precedence over Scripture. And I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ words in Matthew 15:6 that, “They have made the Word of God null and void because of their tradition.”

Narrator: While the organization may not always consult Scripture in determining policy, they never hesitate to cite Scripture as proof of their authority. The Watchtower Society claims that it is the Faithful and Wise Servant. Or, as Jehovah’s Witnesses have translated it, the “Faithful and Discreet Slave” spoken of in Matthew 24.

---

Ankerberg: Alright, Lorri, when we look at that, it’s hard for we who are not Jehovah’s Witnesses to understand how that much authority could be given to a group of men to rule your life entirely in every way. Tell us some more about the claims they actually have made concerning their authority.

MacGregor: Yes. As we discussed before, they believe they are this “slave” class, this “Faithful and Discreet Slave” class. They teach that the full number of this class is 144,000 who have the heavenly hope, and then a remnant of them, somewhere around 9,000, remain on earth. And of course, the Governing Body is chosen from these and they dictate the doctrines of the Society from headquarters.

But they also have another interesting claim for their organization besides being the “Faithful and Discreet Slave.” They claim that the organization is a “wife” to Jehovah God and a “mother” to the followers. And it’s interesting that they always can find a Scripture to support their doctrine, even if it’s out of context. In this case they’ve chosen Proverbs 6:20, which reads, “My son, observe the commandment of your father and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.”

This whole chapter of Proverbs 6 is parental advice. “Obey your father and listen to your mother.” But they have turned it around to be God the Father and their organization [the mother]. So you’ve got to obey the teachings of “mother.” And this is kind of an interesting thought. From their references, and we can read it out of The Watchtower magazine, and it says here,

The world is full of Bibles. Which book contains the commandments of God? Why then do people not know which way to go? Because they do not also have the teaching or law of the mother which is light. Jehovah God has provided his holy written Word for all mankind and it contains all the information that is needed for men in taking a course leading to life. But God has not arranged for that Word to speak independently or to shine forth life-giving truths by itself. His Word says, “Light is sown for the righteous.”

Ankerberg: Yeah, but Lorri, let me stop you right there. If Jehovah’s Witnesses are listening, and they’re saying, “But listen, if the Scripture does say that there is a “faithful and discreet slave” and the Jehovah’s Witnesses are that and they’ve got the Scripture, what’s wrong with that from a scriptural viewpoint?”

MacGregor: Well, first of all, they’ve taken that particular Scripture out of context. Secondly, they claim to be the only channel of God. And all we have to do is put them to the test. If they’re really from God, if what they say is correct, their doctrines will not change; because God is unchangeable. And we can, as we’ll do in later programs, examine their prophecies. We’ve looked at some of the early prophecies already. There are more which have failed. They go on to say that the Bible is “an organization book,” in this quote, and can only be understood through the “mother” organization, and the children – that is all the followers – had better obey and respect “mother.” This stops a lot of the criticism. Jehovah’s Witnesses might like to criticize, but they’re not going to be given the chance.

Ankerberg: Okay. Give us the documentation where you’re reading there.

MacGregor: Okay. The Watchtower of May 1, 1957, page 274.

Ankerberg: Okay. What evidence would you give to Jehovah’s Witnesses who are really interested in searching for the truth that might point them in a different direction.

MacGregor: I would say to them, “Look at the claim that the ‘Remnant’ is true; look at the claim the ‘Remnant’ is the ‘Faithful and Discreet Slave.’ If they are, they must submit themselves to the biblical test for the Remnant.” Zephaniah 3:13 says, “The remnant of Israel will do no wrong and tell no lies, nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths.” And I challenge the Jehovah’s Witnesses to search out these things we’re bringing forth, documented out of their own literature. They will find out that their organization is not the truth. Jesus says in John 14:6, He is “the truth and the way and the life.” It is not some organization. Until they stop looking to an organization, they will never find Jesus Christ.

Ankerberg: One quick question. Some people would say, “Why should they believe your documentation?” Because you said it was hard for them to find and it may not even show up at the headquarters in Brooklyn. What can they do if they have a hard time finding some of these older books like Russell’s books and Rutherford’s books?

MacGregor: Well, they can ask a lot of questions as to why they can’t find them. We talked to one fellow who said quite a few of them ended up in the furnace. And we can see why.

Ankerberg: Alright. But we can actually show you photocopies of the Awake magazines or any of these books that we’re quoting. Next week we’re going to continue looking at excerpts concerning the Watchtower Society. We’re going to turn to their belief concerning a two-class religion: the 144,000 that are going to heaven, and all the rest that are only going to Paradise Earth. Why? What’s the teaching, and what about that biblically? I hope that you’ll join us.

 

Read Part 3