A Forensic Investigation disproving Watchtower’s self-made MYTH
(Chosen by Jehovah as the only True religion on earth)
[ It all began when Joseph Rutherford removed four members of the Watch Tower Society Board of Directors under a legal technicality that equally applied to himself, and then authorized the writing and publication of the book "The Finished Mystery" contrary to Pastor Russell's Will, the Society's official Charter, and without approval of the Board, and then falsely advertising the book to the public as the "posthumous work of Pastor Russell".] Pastor-Russell dot com
1. Why was The Finished Mystery written and published (1917 by the Watchtower Society?
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The internationally famous “Pastor” Charles T. Russell, President of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, had died on Halloween on a train in Pampas, Texas after inspecting and investigating why his goldmine had not been producing any gold.
The year was 1916, two years long past the prophetically significant date of 1914 (According to his own preachment.)
He was only 64 years old. His health was poor. He had experienced migraine headaches his entire life (from a fall suffered in his youth) and the painkillers available in those days were highly addictive and detrimental. (Morphine, Laudanum and Patent Medicines) **
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Russell was plagued by hemorrhoids so painful he couldn’t sit in most chairs without a special cushion support plus enough painkiller to ease his suffering.
With this sudden and unexpected end to his writing, preaching, influence, and prophetic updates as the “mouthpiece of God”, his supporters may well have panicked and wondered,
“Who do we follow blindly now?”
To the rescue came a former Baptist farmer with an underwhelming legal background by the name of Joe. (Joseph Franklin Rutherford) But, you could call him “Judge”. He insisted on it!)
The Judge was stepping into the shoes of a man (Russell) who had mentioned him in his Last Will and Testament--not--as a successor, but as one of six men to be considered if the first six didn’t pan out. In other words, “the mouthpiece of God” spoke and said of Rutherford,
“Well, only as a last resort. . . “
Rutherford’s legal career demonstrated one thing particularly well--he was known for sneaky, “sharp” practices. His first series of actions after Russell’s demise consisted of taking over the WatchTower empire with legal maneuvers and bluffs. That done, what was next?
The next act was to arrogate to himself and handpicked others of his choosing, the completion of C.T. Russell’s STUDIES in the SCRIPTURES, which Russell had left undone.
Russell’s intended purpose for The Finished Mystery was the explication of the hidden meaning of the book of Ezekiel and the last book of the Bible.
One wonders:
”If Russell was God’s mouthpiece--how was Rutherford and his ghostwriting cadre going to divine ‘hidden prophetic meaning?’
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The Watchtower at that time claimed "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 word, because from the time of its organization until now the Lord has used it as His channel though which to make known the Glad Tidings'" (Finished Mystery, p. 144).
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The fact of the matter is--Rutherford intended to assume a miraculous transfer of authority and power--without asking Jehovah first! This was a verse-by-verse commentary on the Bible books of Ezekiel and Revelation The Finished Mystery.
The Finished Mystery would accomplish 3 things.
It would establish continuity with Russell and his ardent followers (Russellites) and the Presidency of the Judge.
It would connect the End Times work of Russell and his disappointedly eager disciples with NEW prophetic declarations and hard-hitting attacks on the establishment.
[“... within seven months the Society’s outside printers were busy on the 850,000 edition. ‘The sale of the Seventh Volume is unparalleled by the sale of any other book known, in the same length of time, excepting the Bible.’”] (The Watchtower 1955 4/1 p. 206)
Finally, it would occupy the thousands of Bible Students and ecclesias all over the world with a list of ENEMIES to watch out for and despise and complain about and work against. This book would, in effect, make targets and martyrs out of Russell’s followers and distract them with rumblings of chaos and End Times hullabaloo.
Russell had attracted quite a large number of “kooks” rabidly preoccupied with Zionism, pyramidology, and phrenology, along with the cataclysm of an impending Armageddon event.Rutherford had to keep those kooks happy, contented, busy or they’d turn on him.
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Lies by Liars
2. Who were the book’s real authors?
Pastor Russell had attracted a number of persons to his in-group who were self-taught experts on various religious pursuits of a speculative and conspiratorial nature. From these minions he chose men experienced in teaching. The Finished Mystery was actually written by Clayton Woodworth and George Fisher - both men were textbook writers for the International Correspondence School. Whatever papers Russell had left lying around were snatched up and pasted in too, in order to justify the book as a whole as the “Posthumous work of Pastor Russell.”
3. What published statements in the book were removed?
What was later claimed by the WTS?
[Under the Espionage Act of June 1917 and Sedition Act of May 1918, the Postmaster General Albert Sidney Burleson was authorized to ban from the mails any matter violating the Act or “advocating or urging treason, insurrection, or forcible resistance to any law of the United States”. Fines could range up to ten thousand dollars and prison sentences up to twenty years.]
Let’s focus upon passages later removed due to violations of the law.
From "Spy Mad" Investigating Subversion in Pennsylvania 1917-1918 by Philip Jenkins:
[In 1918, the FBI and the State Police launched a major investigation of a book entitled The Finished Mystery, a continuation of the writings of Charles Taze Russell, the movement’s founder. This work included a fierce denunciation of war and nationalism. Two Scranton men had written “the most objectionable and vicious portions of the book”, which apart from IWW tracts was the anti-war item most often singled out for condemnation.34 The State Police infiltrated meetings in numerous small towns, and avidly tracked the distribution of Russellite literature.35 Arrests were made across the Commonwealth, mere possession of the book for sale being sufficient to merit prosecution under the Espionage Act. In addition, the German government was said to have financed publication, enabling the book to be distributed free in large quantities. Several Russellite leaders received long prison terms in the affair.]
The 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses commented on the incident on page 119:
["After their trial some period of 1917-1919, Jehovah’s people subjected themselves to scrutiny. Realizing that they had acted in ways that did not meet with God’s approval, they sought forgiveness in prayer repenting of their former course. This led to Jehovah’s forgiveness and blessing. One compromise had been the cutting of pages from The Finished Mystery, this to please those who had assumed the position of censor. Another occurred when The WatchTower of June 1, 1918, stated: "In accordance with the resolution of Congress of April 2nd, and with the proclamation of the President of the United States of May 11, it is suggested that the Lord’s people everywhere make May 30th a day of prayer and supplication." Subsequent comments lauded the United States and did not harmonize with the Christian position of neutrality."]
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Here are the pages censored and removed by the Watchtower publishers, later lamented as being a spiritually weak move.
http://www.jwfacts.com/pdf/Finished-Mystery-1917ed-p247-p255.pdf
IMPORTANT NOTE: To make these documents LARGER hold down CTL (control) and hit the plus several times +++
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New York Times June 18, 1918
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TIMELINE of EVENTS
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[July 1917: The Watchtower Society publishes and releases the book, The Finished Mystery. This book went into circulation up until the late fall of 1917. Early on complaints and allegations were made that the book contained seditious material. However, there were also other charges being made that the Society officers were attending and giving depositions to help Bible Students avoid the draft, claiming conscientious objection … when there was no such organizational doctrine at the time … and worst of all, some of the Society officers were corresponding with members of the military on active duty during wartime, and trying to induce them to dessert.]
[Fall of 1917: The government commenced an investigation into the allegations. They gathered copies of the Finished Mystery book in various parts of the USA. Although, most of these were seized by local authorities acting on their own, and then turned over to the Government. The government mostly investigated the charges of the Society corresponding with active duty members of the armed services … collecting letters and depositions … all this must have been known by at least the top officers of the Society.]
[March 1918: The US Attorney had all the materials in evidence, along with testimony, presented to a Grand Jury to review and determine if there was sufficient evidence to issue an indictment. The Grand Jury took nearly a full month to consider the charges, testimony and evidence … and likely Rutherford and other top Society officer must have known about this event … giving them time to retain counsel and prepare to defend themselves.]
4. Why is The Finished Mystery defended by JW’s?
No question is more important to answer than this one in light of the fact the motive for supporting The Finished Mystery is a very nasty explosion of CYA (Cover Your Ass). The fallout from this ‘explosion’ has completely refuted their dirty little secret.
From the very beginning of Rutherford’s presidency, everything occurring inside the Watchtower Society was demonstrably false. To cover up the dirty-dealing, A self-myth was concocted. Until 2013, this myth, lie, false account trumped up by the fertile and Machiavellian minds at Watchtower headquarters had been repeated and stonewalled for almost one hundred years!
The Watchtower has made an extraordinary claim to have been selected out of all the Christian denominations on Earth as the ONLY TRUE mouthpiece for Jehovah!
The year 1919 had been used to claim all of Jesus’ true believers BELONGED to THEM!
Such extraordinary claims require extraordinary proofs! The most amazing DISproof is easily effected simply by opening the pages of The Finished Mystery and reading what is offered at proof Jehovah is using the Watchtower (under Rutherford) as His mouthpiece and true Organization on earth!
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What is the perpetual myth of the Watchtower’s authority as The Truth?
This lie:
“The faithful and discreet slave” was appointed over Jesus’ domestics in 1919. That slave is the small, composite group of anointed brothers serving at world headquarters during Christ’s presence who are directly involved in preparing and dispensing spiritual food. When this group work together as the Governing Body, they act as “the faithful and discreet slave.” jw.org 2012 Annual Meeting Report
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5. What does this book actually demonstrate in rebuttal to later WT claims?
The following lecture was given in 2008 clearly explaining how The Finished Mystery
Refutes the claims of the leadership of the Watchtower Society
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WaAK8jroeI
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For a printed copy of the above and for a closer look at those documents:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TvOZwNaJmPDgoPa3oXpq78bt-u0taodOYmgeaxHTmFQ/edit?usp=sharing
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