Was the Watchtower Society Chosen by Jesus in 1919?

Norman Hovland

As all Jehovah's Witnesses know, but are always totally unable to explain, the Watchtower Society just is "Jehovah's Organization". This claim has been repeated so many times in the Watchtower literature that it has become a "truth". Let us look at the language and phrases used:

"The historical facts show that 1919 was the year when the remnant on earth of the 144,000 Kingdom heirs began to be freed from Great Babylon. In that year the message of God's established kingdom began to be preached from house to house and publicly by Jehovah's Christian witnesses in a fearless way. This preaching of the Kingdom as established in 1914 was in fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy in Matthew 24:14: 'This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations." (Babylon the Great Has Fallen!, 1963, p. 515.)

As usual when there isn't a single shred of any evidence whatsoever, the phrase: "The historical facts show", is used. Of course historical facts show no such thing, if anything they show the opposite, which I shall demonstrate in the following.

"TIME OF INSPECTION BY THE SLAVE'S MASTER
Without a question of doubt, it was a real time for inspection of the Master's "slave" class. All the facts of the case argue that the Master came for the work of inspection at the time. Such a thing was to be expected according to the prophecy of Malachi 3:1-5. Of course, the sectarian churches of Christendom had made a wartime record for themselves, an open record that had a heavy bearing on their claim to be disciples and slaves of Jesus Christ. Could they, by even their latest record down till 1919, prove that they themselves were the composite "faithful and discreet slave" class of the heavenly Lord and Master, Jesus Christ? He as Judge would indicate what his findings were by the way he thereafter dealt with the hundreds of religious sects of Christendom." (God's Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached, 1973, p. 349.)

Again a totally hopeless case of meaningless words with absolutely no real facts to back them up. This is at best sheer fantasy. But let us for a moment take this insane drivel serious, let us investigate the claim from Brooklyn. As we can see above, the churches of Christendom were going to be judged by their "record" previous to 1919. Wouldn't it then be logic to assume that the record, previous to 1919, would also be considered in the case of the Watchtower Society? Of course! So what does the Watchtower Society record show us?

Well, absolutely 100% of their prophecies had failed. Russell's "chronology" with the years 1799, 1874, 1878, 1881 and 1914, was all a thundering fiasco, but they would still be "The Truth" up to 1930. But no doubt the Lord, Jesus Christ, who was carrying out the inspection would have read their absolutely latest "blockbuster" publication, The Finished Mystery, published in 1917. This publication would no doubt have a great impact on which he would choose to be his "faithful and discreet slave class". So could the Watchtower Society "prove that they themselves were the composite 'faithful and discreet slave' class of the heavenly Lord and Master, Jesus Christ?" Yes, indeed, what was the Watchtower Society's record?

Let us take a closer look at some of the "truth's" brought forth by this remarkable book. Jesus no doubt was quite intrigued by the fact that the book claimed that he himself was responsible for it:

"The Lord assumes an interest in and responsibility for the complete series of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, the last one of which especially represents the winepress feature (Rev. 14:18-20) ... And I saw (an) ANOTHER angel. -- The Elijah class after the publication of Volume Seven Studies in the Scriptures." (The Finished Mystery, 1917, p. 295)

Now let us look at what Jesus was made responsible for. Apparently his alleged "inspection" in 1919, wasn't altogether fair. It looks like he had already made up his mind as early as in 1879!

"8:3. And another angel. -- Not the "voice of the Lord," mentioned in the preceding chapter, but the corporate body -- the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, which Pastor Russell formed to finish his work. This verse shows that, though Pastor Russell has passed beyond the veil, he is still managing every feature of the Harvest work. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society is the greatest corporation in the world, because from the time of its organization until now the Lord has used it as His channel through which to make known the Glad Tidings." (The Finished Mystery, 1917, p. 144)

Here we get some really astonishing and sensational information. First of all it is made quite clear that the Lord (Jesus) had used the Watchtower Society as his channel "from the time of its organization" which was in 1879! So why go through the motion of staging a mock inspection in 1919? But there is another very interesting piece of information here too. Pastor Russell was still in charge of the "harvest work" even though he was dead! Yikes! And I thought Jehovah's Witnesses abhorred spiritism. Well, let us move on and feast our eyes on the wealth of "truth", coming straight from the "Lord". As all Jehovah's Witnesses are familiar with, the Revelation speaks about the "great crowd" which number nobody could count. Oh yeah? The Watchtower Society of course KNEW the number of the great crowd, which was called "company" back then:

"The number -- of the Great Company will apparently exceed one hundred millions. Num. 4:46-48 and Ex. 28:1 indicate but one priest to each 2,860 Levites, which would make the number of the Great Company approximate 411,840,000." (The Finished Mystery, 1917, p. 103)

But it doesn't end here. Jesus, who was made responsible for this "masterpiece" also, had more "truths" to reveal. Every self respecting Jehovah's Witnesses today knows who the angel Michael and his angels really are. But the Finished Mystery told the faithful the truth:

"12:7. And there was war in heaven. -- Between the two ecclesiastical powers, Pagan Rome and Papal Rome.

Michael. -- "Who as God," the Pope. -- B275; C62.

And his angels. -- The Bishops. The following is the reply given in the Catholic catechism to the question, "Who are the successors of the Apostles?" Ans. "The bishops who are rightly consecrated, and are in communion with the head of the Church, the Pope."

(Fought against) TO WAR WITH the dragon. -- Attempted to get the temporal power away from the civil rulers. -- Rev. 2:12.

And the dragon. -- Imperial Rome. -- B288; Rev. 12:3; 20:2.

Fought and his angels. -- Did everything possible to circumscribe the growing power of the papacy, but all in vain. -- Rev. 2:12." (The Finished Mystery, 1917, pp. 188, 189)

Then we have Job -- the first railroad man.

Jesus must have taken great pride (considering he was "responsible" for this work) in the following explanation of Job 40:15 -- 41:34:

"Job also describes the steam engine -- stationary, railway and marine. The following is a corrected translation of Job 40:15 to 41:34, with comments thereon from the pen of one of Pastor Russell's followers: "Behold now one with great heat (the stationary steam engine), which l have made to be with thee; he will consume fodder (peat, wood, coal) as do cattle. Behold now his strength is in his loins (boiler plates), and his power is within the parts bent in a circle (boiler shell) of his belly. His tail (smoke stack -- opposite the feeding end) will set upright like a cedar; the couplings of his leaping parts (connecting rods, pitmans) will be clamped together. His bones are tubes of copper; his solid bones (grate bars) are as hammered-out bars of iron. He is the greatest of the ways of power. He that made him (the Lord) can make His sword (Word) to approach unto (reveal) him. (Isa. 26:20, 21.) He shall rest under thin shelter (steam jackets) within a covering of fibrous reeds (jute) and clay (mortar). The willows of the valley (the trees overhead) will enclose him around about. Behold (as a pumping engine) he will drink up an overflowing river without much exertion; he will cause the people to trust (that their cellars will keep dry), though a Jordan should rush forth over its border. He will gather it up in his fountains by means of traps and with a perforated nozzle. "Thou wilt lengthen out leviathan (the locomotive) with a hook (automatic coupler) or with a snare (coupling pin) which thou wilt cause his tongue (coupling-link) to drop down. Wilt thou not place a ring (piston) in his nostrils (cylinders) or pierce through his cheeks (Piston ends) with a staff (piston-rod)? Will he make repeated supplication unto thee, (to get off the track)? Or will he utter soft-tones unto thee (when he screeches; with the whistle)?" (The Finished Mystery, 1917, pp. 84, 85)

I mean, how could Jesus resist this evidence when considering who should be his "channel" on earth? But there were other even more compelling "facts" that would weight heavily on the scale in favor of the Watchtower Society. Think about their 100% failure rate in the past, but now Jesus during his inspection no doubt also would have noticed the much published lecture "Millions of people now living will never die", held in 1918. Where Rutherford stated:

"Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old, particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews 11, to the condition of human perfection." (Millions Now Living Will Never Die, p. 89.)

Jesus was of course being responsible for all of this literature, he also knew the facts about all of this. But apparently he and the Watchtower Society took another stab at a date for the end, and who can argue against this accurate and very upbuilding explanation of the Holy Scriptures as we can behold here:

"No doubt Satan believed the Millennial Kingdom was due to be set-up in 1915... Be that as it may, there is evidence that the establishment of the Kingdom in Palestine will probably be in 1925, ten years later than we once calculated. The 70 jubilees, reckoned as 50 years each, expire October 1925. (B 186.) Gen. 15:1-16:3, read connectedly, indicates that Abraham's vision as to when he would receive the Kingdom was not granted until ten years after the Covenant was made, or 2035 B.C. The ages of the animals offered aggregated eleven years, which, applied prophetically, on the scale of a year for a day, equal 3960 years, the length of time from the date of the visions to A.D. 1925 (Z.'07-79). It seems conclusive that the hour of Nominal Zion's travail is fixed for the Passover of 1918. (See Rev. 3:14.) That will be 7 years prior to 1925. At that time there is every reason to believe the fallen angels will invade the minds of many of the Nominal Church people driving them to exceedingly unwise conduct and leading to their destruction at the hands of the enraged masses, who will later be dragged to the same fate .... After the demons, have been turned loose on the swine class, we shall see what happens. (Matt. 7:6; 8:31-34.) Those now fearful that they might learn something will be terror-stricken then for a different reason." (The Finished Mystery, 1917, p. 128.)

What a powerful and convincing track record the Watchtower Society had! How could Jesus have done anything else but the obvious, he had to reject the foul, false sects of Christianity and choose this beacon of truth and integrity, the Watchtower Society, as his "channel of communication". And what does the record show? Well, according to the Watchtower claims he poured his spirit out on them to such an extent that they nearly choked. So let us see what influence "Jehovah's Spirit" had on them. What did they do, now that they had been chosen, and had gotten this incredible amount of spirit?

The Watchtower Society has up to this day continued to paint their history as rosy as possible. Knowing full well what kind of hopeless tripe, drivel and totally false claims were made in the Watchtower literature at the time, we can here see some examples of the incredibly dishonest way Brooklyn treat their history:

"There would, however, be a further application of Joel 2:28-32. Indeed, this prophecy has had remarkable fulfillment since September 1919. At that time a memorable convention of Jehovah's people was held in Cedar Point, Ohio, U.S.A. God's spirit was clearly manifest, and his anointed servants were stimulated to embark on the global witnessing campaign that extends into the present day." (Watchtower, May 1, 1992, p. 13.)

"Particularly in 1919 and 1922 were there modern outpourings of Jehovah's spirit, especially in connection with the two conventions of Jehovah's dedicated people at Cedar Point, Ohio." (Watchtower, June 1, 1981, p. 30.)

"But Jehovah raised them up by his spirit and word of truth. Shortly thereafter, at their 1922 convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, they loyally determined to advertise the King and Kingdom. Jehovah has been guiding them since then, so that his name and kingdom have become known worldwide." (Watchtower, December 15, 1980, p. 19.)

As you can all see, there is a lot of song and dance about these "memorable" conventions in Cedar Point in 1919 and 1922. It is also worth noticing that any mention of what this much praised advertising was all about, is surgically avoided. What then, was the message the "spirit" wanted "Advertised" in 1922? Well, it was the "Millions Campaign" which started in 1920. It was this message:

"The period must end in 1925. The type ending, the antitype must begin; and therefore 1925 is definitely fixed in the scriptures. Every thinking person can see that a great climax is at hand. The Scriptures clearly indicate that the climax is the fall of Satan's empire and the full establishment of the Messianic kingdom. This climax being reached by 1925, and that marking the beginning of the fulfillment of the long promised blessings of life to the people, millions now living on earth will be living then and those who obey the righteous laws of the new arrangement will live forever. Therefore it can be confidently said at this time that millions now living will never die." (Golden Age, Jan. 4, 1922, p. 217.)

"We have no doubt whatever in regard to the chronology relating to the dates of 1874, 1914, 1918, and 1925. It was on this line of reckoning that the dates 1874, 1914, and 1918 were located; and the Lord has placed the stamp of his seal upon 1914 and 1918 beyond any possibility of erasure. What further evidence do we need? Using this same measuring line.... it is an easy matter to locate 1925, probably in the fall, for the beginning of the antitypical jubilee. There can be no more question about 1925 than there was about 1914." (Watchtower, May 15, 1922, p. 150.)

"It is on the basis of such and so many correspondencies -- in accordance with the soundest laws known to science -- that we affirm that, Scripturally, scientifically, and historically, present-truth chronology is correct beyond a doubt. Its reliability has been abundantly confirmed by the dates and events of 1874, 1914, and 1918. Present-truth chronology is a secure basis on which the consecrated child of God may endeavor to search out things to come." (Watchtower, June 15, 1922, p. 187.)

"This chronology is not of man, but of God. Being of divine origin and divinely corroborated, present-truth chronology stands in a class by itself, absolutely and unqualifiedly correct...." (Watchtower, July 15, 1922, p. 217.)

'1914 ended the Gentile Times ... The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures... by then the great crisis will be reached and probably passed' (Watchtower, Sept. 1, 1922, p. 262.)

No wonder all the numerous articles hyping and bragging about these historic conventions NEVER tell us what the message really was, what they were actually "advertising"!

Let us try to sum up some facts here. As the Watchtower Society tells us, Jesus carried out an inspection of all Christianity, and in 1919, after having reviewed the record of all the sects and churches therein, he decided that the sect with the absolute world record in false prophecies would be best suited as his representative on earth. We have also learned that he had actually used them since 1879, and then of course was really responsible for all their false prophecies himself. But as if this wasn't enough, when he had chosen them and poured out his spirit upon them in Cedar Point, in 1919, and 1922, they had launched upon a feverish campaign whose message was yet another false prophecy in form of the date 1925! As we can see from the above quotes, this date was held out as an absolute certainty.

Now, ask yourself this simple question: Is this the effect one would expect "Jehovah's spirit" to have upon anybody? If you are anywhere near being an honest person, you will of course know the answer. And you will of course know the truth about the Watchtower Society's claim of being "chosen by the Lord".

So could any of you faithful and loyal Watchtower Witnesses out there tell us what the "historical facts" show about the choice made by the Lord in 1919? I bet you will be dead silent. After all, the "truth isn't about facts" as one of your best apologists said it.