I believe the original idea of an "earthly hope" was for a non-believers class, but I could be wrong.
The Latest Lie
by agonus 30 Replies latest watchtower medical
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Quandry
I wondered what kind of book it was that it would be considered in the highest esteem to own but not read as if the devil himself had printed it.
This is so true!!! It is hilarious but in a very sad, twisted sort of way!
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sir82
What Drew said.
Russell's views of Armagedon were far less catastrophic than the current view, which is pretty much unchanged since the 30's. The current view is that Armageddon will result in the slaughter of 99.9% of the human family.
But in Russell's time, IIRC, the view was that Armageddon was to be a battle between God's angels and the military forces of the earth. The majority of mankind would not be involved. In fact, they would survive and populate the earth.
This was the basis of the expression "millions now living will never die". The thinking was, 144,000 will be kings and priests in heaven, there will a secondary class in heaven who won't be ruling, and then there would be the rest of humanity on the earth in paradise. Three classes.
However, it is rather disingenuous, the way the WT phrases it. Well over 90% of current JWs have no clue of the organizations's history or its past beliefs, and so when they read what the WT wrote, they of course will think of the current understanding. The WT has to know this, yet they persist in writing things that way.
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bennyk
The Watch Tower Society taught the following in the 1917 publication The Finished Mystery on page 103:
FM103
Was ten thousand times ten thousand, and
thousands of thousands
.— The number of theGreat Company will apparently exceed one
hundred millions. Num. 4:46-48 and Ex. 28:1
indicate but one priest to each 2,860 Levites,
which would make the number of the Great
Company approximate 411,840,000.— T118,
119; Dan. 7:10. 5:12
Personally, I consider nearly 412 000 000 more than a "few."
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glenster
1882 Russell taught that after 1881 additional converts will live their af-
terlife on earth: "But while we still would urge justified believers (who have
never yet consecrated) to now consecrate their time and powers to God's service,
we cannot hold out as a hope, the heavenly prize. We point such to the same
prize for which Abraham and all prior to Jesus ran, viz.: future earthly bless-
ings." ("Watchtower Reprints," July, 1882, p.377)1883 Apparently, being told you aren't going to heaven wasn't a popular
favorite with the followers. Russell relocated them in a compromised way when
he taught that a "Great Crowd"/"Great Company," most of whom were alive at the
time, would be rescued from the Great Tribulation to be a secondary class of
those who would go to heaven. The 144,000 and Christ would be mediators between
the Father and the rest. ("Watchtower Reprints," March, 1883, p.458; "Watchtower
Reprints," 1897, p.2161)Russell taught that those who didn't agree with his outlooks, which would be
most Christians, which he referred to as Christians in name only or "nominal"
Christians--would perish:1914 After WWI broke out on July 28, 1914, Russell wrote:
"Following the style of some writers of today, who tell us of a general Euro-
pean conflagration, St. Peter describes the end of the nominal Church systems of
our day under the figure of a fire. The heavens being on fire shall pass away
with a great noise--great disputation, confusion, etc.; "the earth also and the
works that are therein shall be burned up," writes St. Peter. "The fire of that
Day shall try every man's work of what kind it is," writes St. Paul.--`2 Peter
3:10`; `1 Corinthians 3:13`." ("Watchtower Reprints," Aug.15, 1914, pp.5516,
5517)1914 "Probably not more than one in ten of all the Protestant ministers of
the world would today acknowledge that he still holds fast his faith and confi-
dence in the Bible as God's inspired Message. The other nine-tenths, if cross-
questioned, would privately admit that they had lost their hold, or been shaken
loose, and perhaps would boast of it even in public. Others, through fear of
loss of prestige or salary, would seek to dodge the question and give evasive
answers." ("Watchtower Reprints," Aug.1, 1914, pp.5516,5517)
You have to remember that he meant belief in the Bible on his terms, which
included a created Christ that was to be worshipped and when he invisibly re-
turned. Considering that, he may have cut himself an overly generous slice with
his one in ten.Rutherford's big 1917 figure, 411,840,000, nearly a third of the world's
population at the time, considering the much smaller number of his followers and
how soon he kept saying the worldly system would end, must refer to what those
on Earth who followed Russell/Rutherford would grow to be eventually.1935 On May 31, 1935, at a Washington, DC, JWs convention, Rutherford changed
the destination of the "great crowd," his interpretation of Rev.7:9 (JWs beyond
the alleged literal 144,000), from heaven to Paradise on Earth. ("The Watchtow-
er," Sept.1, 1983, p.12) -
bennyk
glenster writes:
Rutherford's big 1917 figure, 411,840,000, nearly a third of the world's
population at the time, considering the much smaller number of his followers and
how soon he kept saying the worldly system would end, must refer to what those
on Earth who followed Russell/Rutherford would grow to be eventually.*******************************************************
The earlier Watch Tower Society teaching was that the two heavenly classes (i.e. 144 000 ["Messiah class"] and the "Great Company") were being gathered simultaneously since 33 C.E. Rutherford anticipated ("prophecied") that the "Great Company" would ascend to heaven in 1921.
Forty days after Christ's resurrection Hisascension occurred. This confirms the hope of
the Church's glorification forty years (a year for a day) after the awakening of the sleeping saints
in the Spring of 1878. The seven days before the Deluge may represent seven years, from 1914 to
1921, in the midst of which "week of years" the last members of the Messiah pass beyond the
veil. The Great Company class shall be cut off at its end— the fact that we see the first half of this
week so distinctly marked would lead us to expect three and one-half years more of
witnessing by the Great Company class; for it seems to be the Heavenly Father's way to
accomplish His work by weeks and half weeks, from the very beginning of creation until now.
The Finished Mystery, p. 64
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AnnOMaly
WELCOME agonus!
This is paragraph 16 from w.2009, Aug 15, p.15:
"Russell discerned from the Bible that the time had come to make the good news widely known. So in 1879, he started publishing Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, now called The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom. Previously, the truth about mankind's hope was understood by very few people, but now groups of Bible Students in many countries were receiving and studying The Watchtower. The belief that only a few will go to heaven, whereas millions will be given perfect human life on earth, set the Bible Students apart from most of Christendom."
It's not a lie. The Bible Students believed the following (see The Finished Mystery (1917), p. 575-6):
Heavenly hope
The 144,000 'Little Flock' or 'royal' class who lived during the Gospel Age;
The 'Great Company' Levite class who lived during the Gospel Age.
Earthly hope
The 'ancient worthies' or the Jewish faithful of note from the Jewish Age;
The 'servants of the city' - servants or sons of the 'ancient worthies';
The 'people of the kingdom' or resurrected Jews from whatever Age;
'Strangers' - billions of resurrected non-Jews.
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glenster
This is an update on what I have so far on Russell and who would live in
heaven or earth:Regarding Hell as eternal torment:
"I, on the contrary, show from the Scriptures that God has no such plan; that
the passages of Scripture supposed to teach it are symbolical and misunderstood,
and that God's plan is one of justice and love in Christ, and will embrace, with
an opportunity of everlasting life, every member of the human family, either in
the present or in a future life." (Watch Tower, March 1, 1893)
http://www.ctrussell.us/Charles taught Christian universalism except that his stance included himself
in a literal 144,000 of the most righteous--ones that agreed with Charles' dis-
tinctive doctrines and the reasons for his predictions--that would rule with Je-
sus, a great crowd of others like himself would be in heaven, and eventually
everyone else would live on earth.
http://www.archive.org/details/1893ZionsWatchTower
http://www.a2z.org/wtarchive/archive.htm#russell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Universalism(Also see "Studies in the Scriptures," Vol.IV, "The Battle of Armageddon,"
1886, pp.626-639)
http://www.agsconsulting.com/htdbv5/htdb0119.htm -
No Longer Held Captive
Bennyk, habe deine Nachricht erhalten was die Versammelung Giessen sued angeht, wenns dir recht ist kannst mir immer eine Nachricht zukommen lassen. Ich kenne die versammelung gut aus, war Pioneer dort, bin auch ins Bethel gewesen (als springer/urlaubs ersatz). Es waere schoen etwas von dir zu horen. Benny, bist du Auslander, oder bist du Deutscher? was hast du fuer Herkunft? Kennen wir uns? Bin aber kein Deutscher, sondern Schotte.
Bis dann
NLHC
Volks Republik China
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Black Sheep
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