A direct confirmation that Judge Joseph Rutherford, 2nd President of the Watchtower organization, had a weak spot for good whisky, can be found in the following hilarious Watch Tower article.
The U.S. congress had passed the spirit prohibition law, and the Judge was absolutely furious that these "servants of Satan" tried to take his booze away.
The Watch Tower, which according to Fred Franz had Jehovah as editor during these days, directly stated that Christians could not "participate in" such a prohibition. In other words, they had to smuggle and drink booze to be loyal to God.
The JWs are unfortunately a much more boring sect these days.
The Watchtower,
November 1, 1924
Prohibition
Since the time of Abel there have been some good men
who desire to eliminate evil from the earth. Various
methods have been employed to this end and all without
success. The Jews tried the method
of keeping the Law,
and were not able to keep either the spirit or the letter
thereof. Some have tried to make themselves righteous,
but have learned that such is impossible. Others have
been trying to eliminate evil by
legislation. This method
also has failed.
God is not limited in power. He could destroy evil at any
time. He has permitted it for some good reason. The fact
that he has permitted it and has not destroyed it is a
sufficient reason for Christians not to attempt to run
ahead of the Lord in its elimination. One of the reasons,
which seems apparent, is to give all intelligent creatures a
full opportunity to acknowledge, accept, and
serve
Jehovah as God or to follow the way of the devil; in
other words to give an opportunity to prove man's
loyalty to his Creator. God has permitted man to have
experience with evil, that he might learn lasting lessons;
and when the time comes for God to establish
righteousness in the earth, those who learn the lessons as
he has arranged them will become righteous. The great
Creator has made man a free moral agent, placed good
and evil
before him, and given him the choice of
selecting one and rejecting the other.
The real issue before man is God or the devil. God has a
well-defined plan concerning man, which plan will
successfully eliminate all evil from
the earth. Every part
of the divine plan Satan, the mimic god, has tried to
copy. The devil's counterfeit plan has been for the
purpose of deceiving mankind, making God appear a
liar, and his Word untrustworthy. Up to this
time Satan
has succeeded well in blinding the people.
We have now come to a crisis in the affairs of man.
Legally the devil's dominion is at an end. The rightful
King, the beloved Son of God, is here and has taken his
sovereign power. Satan desires to hold the people in
subjection to himself. Hence it must be expected that he
will resort to every possible means of fraud and deceit to
accomplish his end.
Duty of the Christian is Plain
What is the duty of each Christian under the
circumstances? We answer: His duty is plain. Having
entered into a covenant with God by sacrifice through the
merit of Christ Jesus, and having been begotten to the
divine nature, he has solemnly agreed to do the will of
God. Any other course willingly taken would be
disloyalty to God, and therefore a repudiation of his
covenant. There is no possible ground of compromise
for the
Christian. To be a Christian one must be on the
Lord's side; and when he willingly ceases to be on the
Lord's side, he ceases to be a Christian. Surely every
true Christian will agree that these statements are sound
and
true.
Recently the President of our Association, responding to
a question concerning the Eighteenth Amendment of the
Constitution of the United States, which prohibits the
manufacture, sale and transportation of intoxicating
liquor within the United States and which is known as
the prohibition law, said: "Prohibition is a scheme of the
devil," referring of course to the law above mentioned.
Some of the brethren have made strenuous protests
against this statement. Because of the seeming
misunderstanding we deem it proper for The Watch
Tower to state the Scriptural view of the matter.
In the outset it must be conceded by all fair-minded
people the prohibition
is either the result of God's will
being done on earth or else a scheme of the devil. Let
each one judge which it is in the light of the undisputed
facts.
A desire to eliminate intoxicating liquor and all other
evils is a
proper and laudable desire. All Christians
should be in accord with that desire. But how to
accomplish that end is a different thing. The devil has a
way of appearing to accomplish it, and his way is that of
fraud and
deceit.
God's way of accomplishing that end if righteous and
complete. In his own due time he will completely
eliminate intoxicating liquors and all other evil
influences. He has said to man: "For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." -- Isaiah
55:9.
God's way is not popular with the majority of mankind
at present. All true Christians are for God's way. He
who seeks the approval of the world and who is a friend
of the world is an enemy of God. (Jas. 4:4) The Lord's
friendship and his approval are the only things worth
while.
Intoxicating liquor is a great evil. The devil
stands for all
things evil. He is the very personification of wickedness.
Then how could prohibition of intoxicating liquor be the
devil's scheme? St. Paul answers: "For Satan himself is
transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no
great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the
ministers of righteousness." (2 Cor. 11:14,15) In the
prohibition scheme he appears as an angel of light; his
ministers likewise. Fraud and deceit
are Satan's principal
methods of operation. He is the god of this evil world,
and has long deceived the nations and blinded their
minds to the truth of God's plan. -- 1 Cor. 4:4.
Satan Beguiles Ruling Factors
More
than a century ago good men and women, seeing
the evil of intoxicating liquor, started a movement to
expel it from the earth. In America they organized the
Prohibition Party. That party is now dead, and had
nothing to do
with the enactment of the Eighteenth
Amendment. But even had that party succeeded in its
plan, such would not have been God's way.
Long ago Satan caused the union of church and state in
Europe, and therefore the downfall of
the clergy. He
desired to accomplish the same thing in America. Union
of church and state is repugnant to the fundamental
American principles. To accomplish his end Satan knew
that he must resort to fraud and deceit by
putting forth
something that had the appearance of good. The World
War furnished the opportunity for him to act, and he did
act.
Jesus taught his followers to pray: "Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven," and also
taught them to wait for his second coming for the setting
up of that kingdom and the establishment of
righteousness. Satan induced the clergy to believe that
they could set up God's kingdom on earth
without
waiting for the Lord, and that to accomplish this they
must bring into the church men of wealth, influence and
power. The clergy fell under this temptation, brought in
the profiteers, politicians and other men of
influence, and
made them the chief ones in their congregations. The
ruling factors have long been under the influence of
Satan, whether they knew it or not. The chief ones
amongst the rulers are those of commercial power.
It is a
well-known fact in America that this power has
nominated the candidates for the leading parties for
several years, and has elected the one they desired.
Next, the commercial powers were induced to see that if
liquor could be taken away from the laboring man the
result would be beneficial to bankers, manufacturers and
merchants. Big business, the real controlling power of
the politicians of the land under the supermind of their
guiding and invisible god (Satan), set about to unite the
forces of the Democratic and Republican parties to
accomplish their purpose. It was an easy matter to get the
preachers to do the shouting and to make the noise,
because they felt that now big business and big
politicians were with them and that they could set up the
Lord's kingdom in earth. The World War furnished the
opportunity, and an appeal was made to the people by
the
politicians and the preachers to patriotically support
the movement for prohibition in order to win the war,
and thus many were induced to support it.
The appeal was made to the order-loving ones by the
preachers that it was
the will of God that prohibition
should be enacted; and the people were again deceived,
and acted accordingly. By the combined action of big
business, big politicians, and big preachers they induced
the Congress to take the
necessary steps to amend the
Constitution, and the state legislatures to ratify it. At the
time, the New York _Tribune_ editorially said: "This
legislation seems to be propelled by some invisible
force." It was indeed an
invisible force, and that force
was the devil. The result was a union of clergy with big
business and big politicians in a combination to control
the American people.
Can any Christian, who believes God and his Word, for
one moment think that the Lord God of righteousness
used the Democratic and Republican parties, and the
higher critics and evolutionists, and those who deny the
blood of Christ Jesus, to enact the prohibition law; and
that such was his will and plan? Does the God of
righteousness need any such unholy alliance as this to
accomplish his will on earth? Does any Christian believe
that this is the plan of God? If not, then whose scheme is
it?
God's Word Gives Wholesome Advice
It is well known that the ultra-rich, the politicians, and
even many clergy are supplied with all the intoxicating
liquor they can consume, while they are making the
greatest noise for the enforcement of the prohibition law.
As an illustration: One influential clergyman, who led the
fight in his vicinity for prohibition, shortly after the
enactment of the law had his house burglarized.
The
burglars found his cellar stocked with liquors, and
indulged in same so freely that they broke up his
furniture. The clergyman refused to prosecute the guilty
ones because it would expose the fact that he, an
advocate of prohibition, had stocked up well in advance,
that he might to need to deny himself things that he was
willing to take away from his neighbors merely for
show.
It is also well known that many of the agencies
employed
to enforce the prohibition law have taken the illicit liquor
away from the bootlegger and either used it themselves
or sold it to others. Many of the prohibition law officers
have connived with others to steal
great quantities of
liquor from warehouses, and have then wrongfully sold
it to others or divided it amongst those particularly
favored by them. Can any Christian for a moment
believe that prohibition, as we now see it, is
the result of
God's will done on earth?
Intoxicating liquor is a great evil, and the saloons a curse
to humanity. The good American people do not want
either. They are also sick and disgusted with pious-faced
frauds, who
parade in the name of Christ, hypocritically
claiming to representing God and righteousness, who
join hands with the conscienceless politicians and
profiteers to enact and enforce a law, and claim it to be
the carrying out
of God's will. When Jesus was on earth
he denounced above everything else fraud and
hypocrisy. God's Word admonishes Christians to
abstain from every form of evil. Fraud and hypocrisy are
amongst the greatest evils.
Let
the people adopt the Lord's way, accept Christ and
his kingdom, and be submissive thereto; and their ways
will be right. But so long as the people adopt Satan's
fraudulent methods and ignore the Lord's way they can
not
accomplish a lasting good. All Christians should
refuse to stultify themselves by joining hands with any
scheme that has the appearance of good when in truth
and in fact it is honeycombed with fraud and deceit, and
denies
the Lord and his methods of accomplishing the
blessing of mankind.
No Christian advocates the use of intoxicating liquor.
The question is not concerning the existence of the evil,
but the *method* of elimination of that evil.
Instead of
running ahead of the Lord and joining hands with some
scheme that is contrary to the Lord's way, the Christian
should remember the scripture: "Be patient therefore,
brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold,
the
husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth,
and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early
and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts;
for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Take,
my
brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of
the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of
patience." -- James 5:7,8,10.
Reformation Impossible by Legislation
The Lord Jesus is now present.
His kingdom is at hand.
Satan, in his desperation to deceive the people, has
appeared as an angel of light and has put forth a thing, to
wit, prohibition, which appears to be good but which in
truth and in fact is a
fraudulent scheme to turn the minds
of the people away from Christ and his kingdom. God,
in his own due time, will eliminate intoxicating liquor
and all other evils from the earth; and when he does so,
there will be no
apostate preachers ("Ministers of Satan
appearing as ministers of righteousness"), no politicians
and no profiteers advocating prohibition that their own
selfish ends may be accomplished. There will be no
fraudulent
agencies claiming to enforce the law, and at
the same time violating it. Shortly Satan will be aborn of
his power. (Rev. 20:1-4) The eyes of the people will be
opened to the truth. The Lord will rule them in
righteousness.
He will have no dishonest agencies
representing him; but, as he says, "when thy judgments
[the Lord's] are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world
will learn righteousness." -- Isa. 26:9.
Experience shows that it is
impossible to reform men of
evil merely by legislation. This does not mean that men
should not be reformed, but when the great Jehovah God
has plainly told us in his Word how these reformations
will be brought about, every
Christian should adopt the
Lord's way because it is right and every Christian should
refrain from the devil's way because it is wrong. -- 2
Cor. 6:15-18.
The Christian would be more popular with the world to
advocate the
present scheme of prohibition. It is better to
be right than to be popular. The Christian's allegiance
must be to God and his kingdom. Remember the issue
now is, The Lord's kingdom against Satan's rule. If we
are followers
of the Lord, then let us hear and obey his
Word: "Wait yet upon me, saith the Lord...For then will
I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call
upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one
consent." --
Zeph. 3:8,9.
The Lord could prohibit intoxicating liquors at any time,
but it is not yet his due time. It follows, then, that the
scheme put forth at this particular time in the light of the
evidence is not God's plan or
scheme but that of the
devil. In God's due time his kingdom will rule the
nations and enforce righteousness. He will so reform the
hearts of men that they will refrain from evil. For a
Christian to be loyal to the Lord he
must now stand for
the Lord's way, and not for any other.
With the kindliest feeling toward all who desire the
elimination of every form of evil from the earth, as
Christians we must follow the Lord's way and wait upon
him. The evidences are so conclusive at this time that his
kingdom is at hand that there can be no doubt in the mind
of one who is really informed on the Bible. Let each
believer in the Bible then ask himself: Has God
brought
about the present condition of prohibition? If not, then
should I advocate it? Is God going to reform through
Christ's kingdom the world and eliminate evil and bring
blessings to the people? If so, then I must be on
the
Lord's side.
Prohibition is not a political question. If the people of the
world wish to make a prohibition law and enforce that
law, well and good. That is not our affair. A Christian
can not consistently participate therein. He must keep
himself separate from the world. The sole question is,
Who is on the Lord's side? If we are on the Lord's side,
our way is clear: Be patient and wait upon him to fully
establish his rule in the earth.
