They were pleased with a small band of loyal Bible Students who showed that their heart was with Jehovah and his Word.
Why exactly would 'Jesus and his Father' be 'pleased' with this particular minor Adventist denomination that was basically indistinguishable from similar Adventist sects? In 1919 when supposedly 'selected', the 'Bible Students' taught that:
- Jesus was made king in 1878
- The archangel Michael is the Pope
- ‘Sleeping saints’ were resurrected to heaven in 1878
- Russell was the ‘faithful and wise servant’
- The Great Pyramid of Giza confirms biblical chronology
- Christmas should be celebrated
- The ‘time of the end’ began in 1799
- The ‘Jews to be restored to their homeland’ is literal
- The ‘great company’ (great crowd) has a heavenly hope
- Christ’s presence began in 1874
- Jesus died on a cross
- Jerusalem was destroyed in 606 BCE
- Congregation discipline should be determined by the whole congregation
- The prohibition on eating blood is only a “suggestion” to gentile Christians
- Birthdays should be celebrated
- ‘This generation’ refers to those alive during 1914