J k e Menace
of JekoWitnesse
A Timely Exposé of One of the Most Dangerous False Cults of Our Day.
By William C . Irvine
T HE self-styled “ Pastor” Russell is dead, but the heresies he spent his life in spreading are very much alive. Dr. A. C. Dixon wrote of Russellism: “ Its plan o f salvation is a plan of damnation.” Of its testimony with re gard to Jesus Christ, Dr. J. M. Gray stated: “ It contradicts almost every fun damental revelation.” Dr. I. M. Halde- man summed up Millennial Dawnism (one o f the many names of this cult) as “ the wicked and blasphemous system which teaches the annihilation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Such a testimony from three outstanding Bible teachers is not easily refuted. Its Christology “ To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because they have no light in them.” Let us compare some of Russell’s teach ings with that of the inspired Word of God. In his Divine Plan of the Ages, Vol. I, p. 179, Russell wrote: When Jesus was in the flesh, he was a perfect human be ing : previous to that time, he was a per fect spiritual being. Since his resurrec tion, he is a perfect spiritual being of the highest or divine order. It was not until the time o f his consecration, even unto death, as typified in baptism at thirty years of age, that he received the earnest of his inheritance o f the divine nature. Compare this with what the Scripture says of Christ in Isaiah 11:5, Micah 5:2, Matthew 1*:23, John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:13-18, Romans 9:5, First Timothy 3:16 and Hebrews 1:7-10. Russell’s teaching concerning Christ as Man appears in Vol II, The Time Is at Hand, p. 107: We must bear in mind, also, that our Lord is no longer a human being. Since he is no longer in any sense or degree a human being, we must not expect him to come again as a human being. What saith the Scripture? Read Luke 24:39 and I Timothy 2:5. “ This same Jesus . . . shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). A chapter from the book, Heresies Exposed, published by Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., New York, N. Y . Used by permission. Page Eight
With reference to the resurrection of our Lord, concerning which the Apostle Paul says, “ If Christ is not risen, your faith is vain” (I Cor. 15:17), Russell would have us believe that: Our Lord’s human body, however, was supematurally removed from the tomb . . . We know nothing about what became of it except that it did not decay or cor rupt (A cts 2:27, 31). Whether it was dissolved into gases, or whether it is still preserved somewhere as the grand me morial of God’s love, of Christ’s obedi ence, and ou/r .redemption, no one knows (Vol. II, p. 129). But we do know, on the authority of Christ Himself, according to John 2:19- 22 and Luke 24:39. Its Theory of Future Life Dr. James M. Gray in Errors of Mil lennial Dawnism wrote of this teaching: “ Millennial Dawnism is wrong to begin with, in its definition of life, holding it to be simply a principle common to all beings, whether God, man, animals or plants. According to their teaching, all existence results from the impartation of this principle into organism, the nature of the existence resulting from the na ture of the organism. Man results spon taneously from the impartation of this principle into a human organism, and by similar reasoning the extinction of his being follows the separation of the two. “ It is this that gives color to its teach ing about the sleep of the soul, and that when a man dies he passes out of exist ence until the resurrection. The answer to this is cumulative. “ In the first place, the New Testament teaches that death does not mean extinc tion of being. Christ commanded: ‘Let the dead bury their dead’ (Luke 9:60), when He was referring to the living. Paul stated, ‘You hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins’ (Eph. 2 :1 ). John affirmed: ‘We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren’ 1 John 3:14). “ In the second place, the New Testa ment teaches that the penalty for sin is more than extinction of being. The rich man ‘lifted up his eyes in hell, being in torments’ (Luke 16:23). Christ said it would have been good for Judas if he had not been born (Matt. 26:24), which is inconsistent with the theory that he has ceased to exist.
“ In the third place, if everlasting pun ishment means only extinction of being, then everlasting life must mean only continuation of being which is the boon even of Satan himself, who is to live for ever (Rev. 20:10). “ In the fourth place, if death means extinction of being, how can there be a resurrection? This implies the coming back to life of the same person who passed out of it. Otherwise a resurrec tion would be a new creation. “ In the fifth place, the Scripture ex pressly states that the soul continues to exist, for Christ warns us in Matthew 10:28, not to fear those who kill the body, but have not power to kill the soul. Even this makes no reference to the spirit. Man has a spirit as well as a soul, and it is by his spirit that he becomes the offspring of God, whose Spirit never dies. “ In the sixth place, the Bible shows us men living after death: Abraham, for example, Moses and Samuel. In the sixth chapter of Revelation, .John has a vision of those to be beheaded in the great tribulation and shows them, anticipa- tively, as souls existing after such be heading. “ Finally, if death means extinction of being, then Jesus Christ became extinct at Calvary. To break the horror o f such a thought, Millennial Dawnism should teach that, after such extinction, Christ was created over again, not as a man indeed, but somewhat after His former estate as an invisible spirit. But if Jesus Christ was annihilated, then the gulf be tween deity and humanity remains un bridged, redemption is a failure, and sal vation beyond the hope of fallen men.” Russell’s books being full of “ dam nable heresies” concerning the person of Christ, any believer who has been in duced to buy his literature ought to burn it, whatever it may have cost him; nor should we receive his followers in our houses, lest we become partakers of their evil deeds (2 John 7). Its Many Names Many of Russell’s publications have been issued under the names of the Inter national Bible Students’ Association and Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. His agents have been known to say that they are selling books for the “ Bible T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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