Last night I read portions of the 1961 WT book called ' "Let Your Name Be Sanctified" ' and I notice some very interesting comments in chapters 17 and 18 in it about Rutherford. Notice what is said on pages 335 - 336. [See http://www.strictlygenteel.co.uk/sanctified/sanctified18.html for my source for this material.]
"2 Under threat of being mobbed, the Theocratic
Convention of Jehovah's witnesses was held in Detroit, Michigan, July
24-28,1940. Watch Tower President Rutherford was then a very ailing man;
yet he featured on the program, delivering the public talk "Religion as
a World Remedy — The Evidence in Support Thereof." A year later, on
August 6-10, another Theocratic Assembly was held, in St. Louis,
Missouri. This presented more hopeful prospects for the witness work in
the future. Here 3,903 symbolized their dedication of themselves to God
by water baptism, like that of Jesus; and at the public address on
"Children of the King," an estimated 115,000 heard the failing president
speak. Later that year he took to his bed, as the gloom of World War II
thickened, its outcome doubtful.
3 Rutherford now arranged for a feature of the
work by means of which great expansion had been gained to be
discontinued. He called in the Society's regional and zone servants, in
connection with whom stimulating local assemblies had been held. In
their place special pioneer Kingdom publishers were appointed for work
in different localities in small groups. This arrangement began December
1, 1941. Was the end expected?
4 Rutherford was abed on the Pacific Coast when
the United States of America was plunged into World War II Sunday,
December 7,1941. Two men of the anointed remnant (one since 1913 and one
since 1922) and one of the "other sheep" (since 1934) were summoned
from Brooklyn headquar-
ters out to Rutherford's bedside at the home called "Beth-sarim," San
Diego, California. On December 24,1941, he gave these three his final
instructions. For years he had been hoping to see the faithful prophets,
including Elijah and Elisha, resurrected from the dead and installed as
Kingdom "princes in all the earth" in God's new world. (Psalm 45:16)
But on Thursday, January 8,1942, Rutherford died at seventy-two years of
age, as a faithful witness of Jehovah God, completely devoted to the
interests of God's kingdom. He had proved himself fearless in support of
Jehovah's side of the paramount issue of Universal Domination." [After writing the above I noticed that pages 338-339 of the "Sanctified" book says that an "issue of The Watchtower... "... announced the death of J. F. Rutherford as "a faithful witness, ..." '.]
Notice the book acknowledged Rutherford's "Beth-sarim" home. Notice that regarding Rutherford the book says 'For years he had been hoping to see the faithful prophets,
including Elijah and Elisha, resurrected from the dead and installed as
Kingdom "princes in all the earth" in God's new world.' From my readings of Rutherford's books I am starting to understand why he said that Christendom worships Satan and the demons. That is partly because in one of Rutherford's book he says the demons are putting thoughts into people's minds and that the people of Christendom are thus unknowingly and unwittingly worshiping Satan and the demons as a result. I started getting the impression that Rutherford believed much (though perhaps not all) of what he wrote in his WT books. My copy of the 1989 copyright edition of of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (on page 525 of Volume 6 of Micropaedia, in the article called "Jehovah's Witnesses", says "The Witnesses ... regard world world powers and political parties as the unwitting allies of Satan. ... Their suspicions of Satan's wiles also extends to religious denominations ...." Furthermore even if Rutherford was drunk at times, even if on many times, in his books he writes coherently and thus to me he does not appear to have been drunk while writing his books.
The author of the book called "Sanctified" said Rutherford hoped to see the faithful prophets resurrected from the dead and the author of the book called "Sanctified" said Rutherford was "... a faithful witness of Jehovah God, completely devoted to the
interests of God's kingdom". The Britannica Encyclopaedia (in the 1984 copyright edition, on pages 131-132 of Volume 10) in an article about the Jehovah's Witnesses' religion indicated that Knorr never attended college (for the article said that Franz '... was the first head of the society to have attended college ...") and that Knorr joined "... the Watch Tower shortly after graduation ..." from high school. I thus think it is very possible that Knorr was a true believer in the WT/JW religion. If he was and if he was the author of the "Sanctified" book, then he was probably sincere about what he wrote about Rutherford. Was the author right about what he said about Rutherford in what I have quoted above? I think that is very possible, even if Rutherford was power hungry (and I see evidence that he was) as President of the Watch Tower.
One comment in the "Sanctified" book that suggests that Knorr was not its author (unless he is not humble) is that pages 337-338 of the book refers to Knorr as being a "faithful successor" of Rutherford. But, writing anonymously makes it easier to disguise one's lack of humility. The book seems to be referring to Rutherford (and perhaps including his team along with him) as the Elijah class and Knorr (and perhaps including his team along with him) as the Elisha class, for note what it says on pages 337 - 338. There it says the following.
"The Elijah class was not taken aloft and then dropped to its
destruction. No; but it finished with success and in integrity. It left
the interests of God's kingdom to a faithful successor who would cling
to the commission from God through the anointed Elijah class, just the
same as this successor had stuck to the Elijah
class to the end. The carrying out of the Elijah commission kept on without a hitch.
8 The anointed Elisha class undertook the
responsibility of carrying out fully the divine commission as symbolized
by Elijah's official garment. Five days after Rutherford's death the
boards of directors of the Watch Tower corporations for New York and for
Pennsylvania held a joint meeting and unanimously elected N. H. Knorr,
one of the anointed remnant, to be president of both corporations of the
Society. There was grief over the passing of a faithful fellow worker,
but there was no interruption of the work for the sentimental purpose of
mourning over the dead. The change in personnel did not cripple the work, because this is not a man's organization but God's visible organization on earth."
Page 359 identifies the Elisha class as the then existing "the remnant of Christ's brothers". In this regard see also page 364.
Since the Bible says that Elijah and Elisha were prophets I think it is very revealing that the WT/JW religion refers to the so-called 'anointed remnant' group of the Rutherford era as the Elijah class and the so-called 'anointed remnant' group of the Knorr era as the Elisha class. Such classifications seem at odds with the WT saying the Watch Tower society, its Governing Body, the faithful and discreet slave, and the 'anointed remnant' are not prophets.
Page 367 of the "Sanctification" book makes the following bold statements.
'In the present "time of the end" Christendom will not be the only part
of Satan's old world that will suffer execution by "Jehu's sword."
The radical, communistic elements who make war upon Christendom and upon
Jehovah's witnesses will also be executed at Armageddon along with all
the rest of the symbolical "goats." The Elisha class is fully in favor
of this annihilation of every one of Jehovah's foes, no matter of what
bloc of nations they are today. The Elisha class proclaim this coming
destruction of these opposers of Jehovah's universal sovereignty by
making known His prophecies on the subject. An example of this occurred
in the latter half of 1956 when Jehovah's witnesses, being assembled in
conventions, addressed a Resolution to the then Russian Premier,
Nikolai Bulganin, calling attention to Communist persecution of
Jehovah's witnesses and warning such persecutors of divine retribution.
They boldly proclaim that man's salvation from the Communist menace and
oppression is only by means of "Jehovah's arrow of salvation,"
Jehovah's universal war.'
The 'voice' and general theological mindset of Rutherford carried on into the Knorr era and all the way through into the present era of the WT/JW religion.
In writing this post does that make me an apologist for Rutherford, in some respects? Perhaps so, be even if that is the case I am sincere in what I wrote and I believe it was important for me to write it.
