I became a Witness a few years after Rutherford died, so I know little about the events right after his death. I found this in the March 1942 Informant:
"The effort of the demons is to scatter the Lord’s sheep and to wean and lure them away from the Lord’s Theocratic organization and thereby cause them to fail of performance in the Lord’s “strange work”. “He that gathered not with me scatterth,” and the Lord is using His organization in the gathering work. Instances are now reported that since the death of Brother Rutherford agents of the “evil servant” class, which regarded Brother Rutherford as a barrier and as an object of personal offense, are now calling at the homes of the Theocratic publishers and making inquiries as to the locations of meetings being conducted in the homes. The intent is plainly a demonic effort to infiltrate into the ranks of the newly interested and busily-occupied “sheep” and then try to cause doubts, misgivings, suspicions, division, controversies, and other schemes of the chief of demons to break up the unity and to distract their attention from the Lord’s table and from the work which it is the life-or-death obligation of God’s covenant people to perform. The faithful will safe-guard the Kingdom interests and will resist these efforts of the demons by refusing to give out any information to the crafty agents of the “evil servant” or other religionists."
Can anyone add details to this?
Rutherford's death and "the evil servant"
by Old Goat 13 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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Old Goat
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Old Goat
I'm fairly certain the pyramid monument isn't related to Rutherford's death. It was put up about 1919 as a memorial to Watch Tower workers.
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Found Sheep
I know silly not born yesterday
I just wanted to share
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VM44
An elder in California (age 60 plus) said that the Pyramid Monument was put there by "The Evil Slave."
My understanding is the pyramid was placed there by The Watchtower, so what the elder said is very likely correct, but not in the way he meant it!
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Old Goat
Schulz and de Vienne, the authors of Nelson Barbour: The Millennium's Forgotten Prophet, on their private history blog have a long write up that is destined to be an appendix in their next book. I'm breaking rules by quoting it here, but then I've never been good at obeying all the rules:
A pyramid shaped monument was installed in the Bible Student cemetery in Pittsburgh. The cemetery is occasionally described as Masonic. It’s not. There is a Masonic temple nearby built years later. There is no connection. The pyramid was intended as a general monument with the names of those buried in the Watch Tower plots engraved onto open books. Rather than being a Masonic symbol, the open book motif derives from the book of Revelation. Those who want to cast Russell as part of some great Masonic conspiracy claim the pyramid embodies the “all seeing eye.” It does not. The pyramid symbol refers to Russell’s belief, shared by many others who did not otherwise hold his views, that the Great Pyramid at Gizah was a divinely inspired testimony in stone to Bible truth. We trace the development of this idea in Chapter Three. The use of the pyramid as a monument was suggested not by the back of the US dollar which had an entirely different design in 1920, but by the grave marker for Charles Piazzi Smyth, a prominent pyramidologist and Astronomer Royal of Scotland.
The monument was installed in 1919, some years after Russell’s death. One source suggests Russell designed it, a Bible Student convention report saying: “The Pyramid, as you will note, has an open book carved on each side, intended by Brother Russell for the names of Bethel workers as they ceased their work and were laid at rest, awaiting the great Resurrection of the first-fruits of the Lord.” [1] A Bible Student web page takes pains to blame the pyramid monument on Rutherford rather than Russell. Neither of these statements is correct. The monument was designed not as a memorial to Russell but “as a memorial to the society.” It was “designed by Brother Bohnet, and accepted by Brother Russell as the most fitting emblem for an enduring monument on the Society’s burial space.” According to Bohnet, work started in 1914. The pyramid’s purpose was not Masonic. [2]
[1] Souvenir Notes from the Reunion Convention of Christian Bible Students: Pittsburgh, Pa., November 1-2-3, 1929.
[2] Souvenir Notes from the Bible Student’s Convention: Pittsburgh, Pa., January 2-5, 1919, page 7.
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Finkelstein
The Monument was put up by the ISBA headed by Rutherford in the early 1919.
The said evil slave was an self imposing attack onto those who didn't want to follow Rutherford as the President of the WTS.
There was a definite power struggle being developed by Rutherford and his supporting colleagues and people who wanted to stay
close to Russell's teachings. 2/3 of the IBSA finally broke away from Rutherford and the WTS. by the early 1930's.
What had become apparent that anyone who followed directly with Rutherford right up to his death within the association of the JWS,
people who had been long time members of the IBSA, were identified as the evil slave, who were out to perhaps regain and boost up
their own membership. Religion is a game of power and control and what can be observed within the history of the JWS/WTS.
as at many times the leaders of the WTS. took it upon themselves to demonise opposers to their subjective power of which they've
acquired.
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Old Goat
My topic has been hijacked by a photo! Do we have details of the so-called 'evil servant's' attemtps to "subvert" Watchtower congregations after Rutherford's death?
We can say all sorts of interesting things about the 1917 split. I want details about what happened in 1942.
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Finkelstein
It has to be noted that the Great Pyramid does has symbolic significance with the Free Masons and it also has to be noted that Russell
did occasionally give talks at Free Mason Halls. He might have been inspired by some of this significance embellished with
his Pyramidology beliefs which is not of questionable doubt.
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Chariklo
Pyramid theories abound, don't they?
Russell saw " a divinely inspired testimony in stone to Bible truth", others have seen aliens from Sirius.
Anyone can come up with anything, because none of them can prove it, and which of us believes it has anything to do with so-called "Bible truth"?
