G. K. Wallace
These words are not penned to injure the followers of Judge Rutherford and Charles T. Russell. They are written that they may be helped. They have been lead astray by the teachings of a man who says that he desires to help them.
In regard to such teachers Christ says, “Let them alone: they are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit.” (Matt. 15:14). Russell was a blind guide. Rutherford follows Russell. Jehovah’s Witnesses follow Rutherford and they are all thus being lead by the blind. A statement as severe as the one just made should be substantiated by proof. How may one determine whether or not Russell and Rutherford are blind guides? “And if thou say in thine heart, how shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken.” (Deut. 18: 21-22) Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matt. 7:15) There are a lot of things I do not know about trees. However, I can tell an apple tree if it has apples on it. Most any one can identify an orange tree, if it is loaded with ripe oranges. So one is able to tell a false prophet by his fruits. The fruit borne by these men indicates they were not of God. Note some of the fruit taken from this “Watch Tower” tree. This ripe fruit indicates the kind of tree it is. Some of this fruit is a little over ripe-it is putrefied. “By this time it stinketh.” Now if you will hold your hand over the downward projection from between your eyes the extra ripe fruit will be brought forth. Russell said:
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The kingdoms of this world would end in 1914. (Written before 1914).
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Present governments to be overthrown in 1914.
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That Christendom would be overthrown in 1914.
If these things do not come to pass Mr. Russell says that he has been proven wrong. If this does not happen, he says it, “would that not prove our chronology wrong, yes surely.” These things did not happen and Mr. Russell being the judge he was a false prophet. “Yes surely,” says he, that would prove me and my teachings wrong.” And that it has done. “A faithful witness will not lie.” (Prov. 14:1) Facts show that Russell lied. Therefore, he is not a faithful witness. How dare, then, do they call themselves Jehovah’s Witnesses?
If this odoriferous fruit has not already moved you to nausea we will note some of the wild guesses of Judge Rutherford.
Rutherford is reluctant to admit his connection with Russell. He likes to appear independent. He desires people to think that he is moved by the power of God instead of stealing all his thunder from Russell. The Prefatory to the book entitled, Millions Now Living Will Never Die is a letter addressed to the Judge from Mr. G. C. Driscoll that clearly shows his connection with Russell. Mr. Driscoll is the man who syndicated Pastor Russell. Mr. Driscoll is the man who syndicated Pastor Russell’s sermon in thousands of newspapers in many lands. In order to build up Rutherford before the followers of Russell, Mr. Driscoll taught that Rutherford was inspired. “It will not be necessary for anyone to consider your statements as a guess,” says Mr. Driscoll. The right hand man of Russell has now laid his hands on Rutherford and for him claimed inspiration. On page eight Judge lays claim to inspiration. “It was impossible for a human mind to look down through the corridors of the ages and foretell what the future and what will happen in 1925.” He says a human mind cannot do that. Yet he tells what will happen. Therefore, Judge leads his followers to believe that his mind is divine. Note some of his prophecies:
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The jubilee cycle is to begin in 1925 and the earthly phase of the kingdom shall be recognized. (Remember this was written in 1920)
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In 1925 Abraham will return to the earth in human perfection.
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Isaac and Jacob will also be resurrected in 1925.
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Millions living in 1920 will never die.
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In 1925 people who are very old and ready for the tomb will return to the days of their youth, and live forever on the earth.
This fruit is taken from the book entitled, Millions Now Living Will Never Die (pp. 89, 97, and 98).
Rutherford has lived long enough to demonstrate to the world that he is a false prophet. He says, “Those who accept the ransomer shall return to the days of their youth.” Judge has not returned to the days of his youth he is getting older every day. But those, says he, who accept Christ will return to the days of their youth. He has not returned to the days of his youth, therefore, according to his own statement he has not accepted Christ.
Mr. Driscoll said, “His words were not guesses.” Rutherford said “only God could tell what is in the future.” Since the prophecies of Rutherford did not come to pass we know that God did not have anything to do with it and therefore Judge is proven a false teacher. “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” (Deut. 18:22) Thus all can see that what Rutherford says is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken.
Should Rutherford Be Put To Death?
For the sake of the health of Judge Rutherford it is good that he is not living under the law of Moses. Had the Law been in vogue he would have been put to death in 1925. God said, “But the prophet that shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak even that prophet shall die.” God would not permit such men to live under the old law. The grace of God has spared their lives under the new law. Even though God permits them to live we are warned to not listen to them. “Many false prophets have gone out into the world” and Judge Rutherford is one of them. “By their fruits ye shall know them.”
Their Doctrine Contradicts The Bible
Not only is Rutherford proven to be a false teacher by the failure of his prophecies but every distinctive principle he holds contradicts the Bible.
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They teach that man is wholly mortal. The proof-texts they use are the ones that refer to the body. In Romans 8:11 God says our bodies are mortal. Now where is the text that says that spirit of man is mortal? The statements dealing with the spirit of man they ignore. They are concerned only with the ones dealing with the body. The Bible says the body without the spirit is dead. It does not say the spirit without the body is dead. They are soul sleepers and such passages as 2 Cor. 5:6; Phil. 1:21-24; 2 Pet. 1:13-14; and Matt. 17:1-8 form no part of their doctrine.
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They deny the Bible doctrine about hell. They say there is no hell and yet do more preaching about it than anybody. Where there is no penalty there is no law. They are determined to disregard the law of God and, like Robert Ingersoll, try to ease then conscience by preaching that there is no place of ever lasting torment. However all their preaching and writing cannot destroy the force of one single passage of the Word of God. “And these shall go away into eternal punishment . ’ ’ The Lord says the wicked will be punished eternally. Paul says this punishment will consist of tribulation and anguish. (Rom. 2 :9) Jehovah’s Witnesses say this is not so. However, I had rather believe Jehovah.
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They deny the existence of the kingdom of God. This has ever been a stock argument of the devil. If he can persuade men to regard the kingdom as something future, certainly they will not emphasize its law of induction. When men wake up to the fact that the only kingdom God will ever have on this earth is here now, they will spend more time trying to get men into it that they might be saved, and less time arguing about a Utopia some where in the future. That the kingdom exists on earth today and was in existence in the days of Paul is too plain to be denied. Paul says the brethren at Colosse were in the kingdom. (Col. 1:13) How could they get into the kingdom if it did not exist? They were in the kingdom, says Paul. Therefore the kingdom was in existence. It is claimed by some, however, that John, in the book of Revelation teaches the kingdom to be future. There are many things about the book of Revelation that I do not know. But this one thing I do know-it does not teach the kingdom to be future. John writes only eight verses, and stops, as it were to forestall any such future kingdom idea, and tells us plainly that he was already in the kingdom. “I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus.” What does this passage in Revelation mean? I may not know what it means but I know what it does not mean. It does not mean a future kingdom, for John says he is already in the kingdom. As for me, I shall take what Paul and John have to say and regard Rutherford and all his satellites as false teachers.
We therefore exhort these people to forsake Judge Rutherford and accept Jesus Christ. Throw away his books and take the Bible. No man can take both.
