may be that it will still continue to turn many away from their heresies, as attention is focused upon it again. Russell was never more at sea than when he tried to deal with prophecy. T h e r e his imagination knew no bounds. So the big mistake he made had to do with the return of Christ. Yes, in spite of the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ stated clearly “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matt. 24:36), “Pastor” Russell actually set the date for the Lord’s coming. He said it a number of times. I will quote several passages from Se ries XI, Studies in the Scriptures: “ Sometime before the end of A.D. 1914 the last member of the divinely- organized Church of Christ ‘the royal priesthood,’ ‘the body of Christ,’ will be glorified with the Head” (p. 77). “ Their reign (the heirs of the heav enly kingdom) over the world can only date from A.D. 1914—when the Times of the Gentiles have expired” (p. 81). “We consider it an estab lished truth that the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God, will be accomplished at the end of 1915” (p. 99). “ The ‘Times of the Gentiles’ will fully run out with the year A.D. 1914 . . . and Christ’s Kingdom fully established” (p. 170). “ The present governments must all be overturned about the close of A.D. 1914” (p. 242). Then he got it down to the actual month: “The Gospel age harvest will end October, 1914 . . . and likewise the overthrow of ‘Chris tendom’ so-called, must be expected to immediately follow” (p. 245). Now stop and consider what he has predicted: Christ will come, set up His kingdom, the Gentile king doms will be destroyed, the govern ments overturned, and the organized churches overthrown — all in the month of October, 1914! My friends, the devil often over reaches himself, and he certainly did in this case. Not only did Russell repeat himself again and again in making these predictions, but he went a step further. T his amazing statement ap 1914 should pass with the world’s affairs all serene, and with evidence that the ‘very elect’ had not been ‘changed’ and without the restoration of natural Israel to favor under the New covenant. What then? Would that prove our chronology wrong? Yes, assuredly” [the ital. are hisl.
Jehovah’s Witnesses left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels . . . And these shall go away into everlasting pun ishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Rutherford in his book The Harp of God has much to say on this sub ject, but I shall quote only a few passages: “ For a long time men have been taught that the punishment for the wicked, those who disobey God, is everlasting torment or torture in a hell burning with unquenchable fire and brimstone” (p. 47). He is right about that, and the very description he refers to fell from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself: “ . . . hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43,44). R utherford continues on page 48: “A reasonable, loving God could not torment any of His creatures. A Creator that would put in operation a stream of endless torment would be a fiend and not a reasonable God.” This would be true of God if He had not made provision through His Son, the Saviour who died on Calvary for the sins of the whole world, to escape hell. No one needs to go to hell. He goes by his own choice. But if he rejects Christ there is no other way. Paul made this plain: “ The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the pres ence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thess. 1:7-9). We read on page 256 of Ruther ford’s book Creation: “ The doctrine of eternal torment was never heard of for more than four thousand years after Adam was sentenced to death. It is an invention of the devil . . . for supporting . . . his original lie; namely, that there is no death . . . The doctrines of eternal torture and inherent immortality are intended to support each other and both being false both must fall.” Jehovah’s Witnesses have brought this unscriptural teaching up-to-date in their later publications. In the book. Theocratic Aids to Kingdom Publishers, the Jehovah’s Witnesses are being instructed in methods of reducing to absurdity the arguments
continued of those who disagree with them. They suggest the use of their booklet entitled Hereafter which “makes ab surd the literal application of the clergyman of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus . . . It ridicules the idea of a dead man’s lifting his eyes. Then, after showing the impossibil ity of anyone’s getting a bucket of water, much less a drop, to one in a place as hot as hell is, the state ment appears, ‘the literal interpreta tion of this Scripture text is shocking to reason and justice and is worse than absurd’ ” (p. 213). M y friends, if the teaching of eternal punishment is “ shocking to reason and justice” how is it that the One who loved us most, the Son of God who gave His life for our re demption, has more to say about it than does anyone else? The thought of hell is terrible to all of us, and we long to win our loved ones and friends and acquaintances to Christ that they might not go to that awful place. Still we know that “ the Judge of all the earth will do right.” And as surely as there is a glorious heaven for those who will receive Jesus Christ as Saviour, just as surely is there an everlasting hell for those who will not have Him to rule over them. Do not allow Satan to deceive you into believing anything else. No more solemn words were ever written than those of Revelation 21:8: “ But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Russell's Big Mistake Jehovah’s Witnesses teach many other errors, such as their weird views on ransom, theocracy, restora tion, second chance, self-righteous ness and salvation by works. They renounce the organized church and the clergy, calling them instruments of Satan. They do not believe that earthly governments are ordained of God. They hold out hopes of a strange earthly man-made paradise; they have no understanding of the place of the nation of Israel in God’s plan. They do not “ rightly divide the Word of truth” in any respect that I know of. They are leading masses of peo ple into darkness and despair. But Russell made one big mistake, and although Rutherford tried to rec tify it, he did not succeed, and it cost them thousands of followers. It
peared in The Watch Tow er of Oct. 1, 1907: “ But let us suppose a case far from our expectations. Suppose that A.D
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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