We are heading
into the Christmas season again, and you know what that means. Some Jehovah’s
Witness (JW) is certain to show up on your doorstep and hand you a Watchtower
or Awake!
magazine,* scolding “Christendom” — that’s you, Bub —
for celebrating Christmas despite the fact the holiday has “pagan origins.”
Before being guilted into giving up this most glorious season of holiness
and fun, please consider that almost everything in our culture today
has “pagan origins.” For example, we have a pagan calendar. But, do you
really worship the god Thor on “Thorsday” or Woden on “Wodensday?” Probably
not. I know I don’t. Wedding rings are of “pagan origin,” yet JWs wear
them just as you might. So do not allow yourself to be judged in these
areas. Christ has set you free from that pagan mess, so you can live everyday
with Him in mind, and enjoy life with your friends and family. The Apostle
Paul says it best in Romans chapter 14, verses 4-6:
Who
are you to judge the servant of another? … One man regards one day above
another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced
in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord …
[NASB] |
But I’d like you also to consider something else: Does it seem strange
to you that the average JW knows all about the pagan origins of every holiday
in which you like to participate, but he has no clue about the pagan origins
of his own religion?
Russellism
|
The founder of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WTBTS),†
Charles Taze Russell, was a religious eclectic. Webster’s Dictionary
defines an “eclectic” as a person who selects from different systems, doctrines
or sources. That’s exactly what Russell did. He rejected the Christian
faith of his fathers and collected doctrines and beliefs from various pagan
systems and wacko scientific theories that were making the rounds in late
19th-century America. He spliced these together with selected Bible texts
and Second Adventist teachings to form the new religion of Russellism. |
The Second Adventist
Connection
From the Second
Adventists, of which he was one, he borrowed the “invisible presence” doctrine
(among other false teachings) which they had developed in response to a
failed prophecy. Jesus didn’t show up visibly as was predicted for
1874; ergo, He did return in 1874, but He was invisible.
Zion’s
Watch Tower, October 1881, p. 289,
|
When 1874 came and there was no outward sign of Jesus in the literal clouds
and in a fleshly form, there was a general re-examination of all the arguments
upon which the ‘Midnight Cry’ was made. And when no fault or flaw could
be found, it led to the critical examination of the Scriptures which seem
to bear on the manner of Christ’s coming, and it was soon discovered
that the expectation of Jesus in the flesh at the second advent
[sic] was the mistake. |
Other doctrines which Russell “borrowed” from the Adventists were “the
remnant” teaching, much of his chronological understanding, and the labeling
of Christendom (excepting themselves!) as the evil Babylon. He also adopted
their penchant for making false prophecies and then claimed, as they did,
these predictions had been fulfilled figuratively when they did
not come to pass literally.
Quack Science
From quack science, he adopted phrenology (among other wacky ideas) which
is the belief that the shape of one’s skull can indicate one’s character
and desire to worship God.
The drawing power which the almighty exercises over humanity is in different
degrees. Some have a strong desire to worship God, others have a weak desire,
and others have no desire at all. This difference is due to the shape of
the brain. Mankind are born with differences in this respect.
[The
Watch Tower, March 15, 1913, p. 84.] |
Russell’s character,
it turns out, was impeccable. He had a good head, so it was said.
A
dear brother who is a phrenologist, speaking of brother Russell, said the
Lord knew perfectly well when he picked out that head, that there was not
one iota of self-love in his make-up.
[1911
Convention Report, p. 281.] |
Star Gazing
Russell found his gospel in the Zodiac, of all places, and determined that
God’s throne room was in the star system of the Pleiades.
Our solar system of planets is also found to be revolving together around
some other great center … the group Pleiades. And the reasonable suggestion
has been made that the center may be in the heavens, the highest heaven,
the throne of God.
[Zion’s
Watch Tower, May 15, 1895, p. 121.]
No nation has ever claimed the invention of the Zodiac, though doubtless
they would have been glad to have the honor had they invented it … The
higher critics of today, though denying the inspiration of the scriptures
[sic], admit that there is a close and strange agreement between
the Bible and the Zodiac. If then, we find the divine plan written in these
constellations, realizing that men could not have written a Plan that they
did not even understand, it would be only reasonable to ascribe its origin
to God … Indeed, the same Bible which points to the Great Pyramid, points
also to the heavens as declaring the wonderful Plan of Salvation.
[1914
International Bible Students Souvenir Convention Report, p. 252.]
|
God’s Stone Witness
Also from the pagans, Russell adopted pyramidology. Page 17 of Thy Kingdom
Come, the third volume in Russell’s series of Studies in the Scriptures,
reads as follows:
THE TESTIMONY OF GOD’S STONE WITNESS AND PROPHET, THE GREAT PYRAMID IN
EGYPT.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID — WHY OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO CHRISTIANS
— THE GREAT PYRAMID A STOREHOUSE OF TRUTH — SCIENTIFIC HISTORIC AND PROPHETIC
— BIBLE ALLUSIONS TO IT …
|
Then on page
362 of the same book, Russell says of “God’s Stone Witness,” “Its wonderful
correspondencies [sic] with the Bible leave no room for doubt that
the same divine inspirer of the prophets and apostles inspired this ‘Witness’
also.”
Russell believed
and taught that the measurement of a passageway in the Great Pyramid in
Gizeh gave mankind the date (1874) for “the beginning of the period of
trouble.”
Measuring
down the ‘Entrance Passage’ from that point, to find the distance to the
entrance of the ‘Pit,’ representing the great trouble and destruction with
which this age is to close, when evil will be overthrown with power, we
find it to be 3416 inches, symbolizing 3416 years from the above
date, B.C. 1542. This calculation shows A.D. 1874 as marking the beginning
of the period of trouble …
[Studies
in the Scriptures, Vol. 3, Thy Kingdom Come, 1901 ed., p. 342.]
|
Interestingly, in the seven short years between 1901 and 1908, the pyramid’s
“Entrance Passage” grew 41 inches longer to accommodate a necessary change
in Russell’s dating system! The 1908 edition reads like this:
Measuring down the ‘Entrance Passage’ from that point, to find the distance
to the entrance of the ‘Pit,’ representing the great trouble and destruction
with which this age is to close, when evil will be overthrown with power,
we find it to be 3457 inches, symbolizing 3457 years from
the above date, B.C.1542. This calculation shows A.D. 1915 as
marking the beginning of the period of trouble …
[Studies
in the Scriptures, Vol. 3, Thy Kingdom Come, 1908 ed., p. 342.]
|
Now
we know why the Egyptians built their pyramids out in the desert … they
needed growing room! I’m thinking that, if they keep growing at this rate,
they’re going to need more land! Of course, if the “Pinocchio syndrome”
has any factual basis, it may have been Russell’s nose (and not the Great
Pyramid) that was growing in those years.
The Blind Corroborating
the Blind
In the July
15, 1894
Zion’s Watch Tower, p. 226, Russell explains that he could
not change his prediction that 1914 “is not the date for the beginning,
but for the end of the time of trouble.” After all, 1914 was “God’s
date,” he asserted, and not his. Okey dokey, but how do we know
1914 was “God’s date” and not Russell’s? Well, as Russell explained
on the same page (226), the Great Pyramid in Egypt shows its “corroboration
of the dates and other teachings of the Bible.” Amazing! And of course,
the Zodiac undoubtedly corroborated the pyramid ... and the cited 1914
Convention Report informed readers that “there is a close and strange agreement
between the Bible and the Zodiac” ... so we come full circle. And, dear
friends, it’s quite possible the Wizard of Oz put his stamp of approval
on the entire mess, although Russell didn’t specifically make that claim
to my knowledge. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating — if Russell
was not a pagan, we shall have to apologize to King Tut!
Well, to make a long story short, 1914 turned out not to be “the end of
the time of trouble,” and neither did the battle of Armageddon end in A.D
1914, as Russell had confidently prophesied. Nuts! Nevertheless, Russell
died on October 31, 1916 ... still convinced the end of the age was
right around the corner. And of course, all these decades later, it
still is!
The
WTBTS’ Enduring Monument
Despite these disappointments, Russell and his followers were so captivated
by pyramidology that, today, Russell lies not 25-feet away from a 7-foot-tall
replica of an Egyptian pyramid. It stands in mute testimony to the pagan
origins of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. I call it “Charlie’s
pyramid,” although actually, of course, it is not Charlie’s pyramid
at all, since it was erected in 1919 and Charles Russell was dead several
years by then. I’ve gone twice to Russell’s gravesite and pyramid — once
in 1992, and again this year on my way to the “Witnesses Now For Jesus”
convention that is held annually in Pennsylvania.
Rosemont United Cemetery is located on the north side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
It is not exclusively a Watchtower Society cemetery, but many of the anointed
“gods” (the anointed were thought to be one big happy 144,001-member “god
family” along with Jesus Christ1) besides
Russell are buried there. It is just off of Rte. 19 (Perryville Ave.)
on Cemetery Lane located across the road from the Catholic Northside Cemetery.
The pyramid looms large and dominates the landscape. It has the Society’s
name on one side of it, as well as the supposedly “pagan” cross and crown
symbol the Society used at the time. There is an open Bible engraved on
each side, as well, with some names etched into the rock “pages,” though
time has all but erased or made unreadable most of the names etched thereon.
Proclaimers of Half
Truths and Outright Fibs
I noted with amused interest that, although the bogus history book Proclaimers
of God’s Kingdom (published by the WTBTS in 1993) shows Russell’s headstone
on page 64, only the headstone is shown — with none of the
surrounding area. In fact, JWs to whom I have talked about the cemetery
pyramid have accused me of lying about it, because the picture of Russell’s
headstone in the Proclaimers book does not show the pyramid looming
large just behind it. So the Watchtower Society would have you believe,
my dears. Don’t be fooled by that book. It does NOT tell the whole truth
about anything.
A Fractured Fairy
Tale
The most interesting aspect of this WTBTS pyramid to me, however, is how
it shows the entire history of the Society to be a carefully constructed
lie. You see, this pyramid was erected by the WTBTS in 1919, just when
Jesus was supposedly appointing the WTBTS over all his belongings. You
know the story ...
The “Baloneyish”
Captivity
Once upon a time, Jesus “returned” in 1914 in a highly convenient, invisible
fashion (after having supposedly returned in 1874, also invisibly).
On His return, He supposedly found a faithful servant on earth — the “anointed
remnant” of the WTBTS. He promptly (and inexplicably, I might add — if
the slave was faithful, why punish him?) sent this “faithful slave”
into “Babylonish captivity” to be “cleansed” of his pagan practices, etc.
Pagan practices? Like what?
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There were many false doctrines and practices that had not yet been cleaned
out of the organization … With considerable misunderstanding, they had
accepted earthly political governments as the “superior authorities” that
God had ordained according to Romans 13:1 …
Jehovah’s
Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, 1959, p. 91.
|
Isn’t that
what they believe NOW? Perhaps they are about to be shipped off
to Babylon again! But let’s continue …
|
…
many were putting emphasis on so-called “character development” … and there
was considerable creature worship in the organization. Furthermore, such
pagan holidays as Christmas were being celebrated, and even the symbol
of the cross was used as a sign of Christian devotion ... although the
name of Jehovah was used from time to time, it was held in the background
… Organizationally, the Witnesses were still practicing the democratic
style of local congregation government … it was a time of everyone’s doing
what was considered right in his own eyes …
Jehovah’s
Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, 1959, p. 91. |
About this
era, the Watchtower of May 1, 1989 on p. 4, offers this whitewash,
| In
the early part of our 20th century prior to 1919, the Bible Students, as
Jehovah’s Witnesses were then known, had to be released from a form of
spiritual captivity to the ideas and practices of false religion. Although
having rejected such false teachings as the Trinity and the immortal soul,
they were still tainted by Babylonish practices … some were exalting creatures,
indulging in a personality cult that focused on Charles T. Russell … |
Some
were exalting creatures? Oh my dears — all the Bible Students were
worshipping Pastor Russell including that great “stamper-outer” of creature
worship — second President Joseph “Judge” Rutherford! It wasn’t until 1927
that Rutherford got sick and tired of Russell getting all the glory and
“rooted out” Russell worship.2 Russell’s
“character development” teaching was not repudiated until 1927,3
and the democratic election of elders was not outlawed until 1932.4
And what of the other so-called pagan practices like celebrating Christmas,
displaying the cross, and neglecting to sanctify Jehovah’s name? Christmas
was celebrated until 1926.5 Jehovah’s name
was not “sanctified” by the Bible Students until 19296
(many years after their supposed “release”) and the cross was prominently
displayed on every Watchtower magazine until 1931!7
And, as we have already pointed out, the WTBTS
currently teaches
the “superior authorities” of Romans 13 are the earthly governments. So
the question begs to be asked — of what exactly was the Watch Tower Bible
and Tract Society cleansed?
But that aside — I don’t see that “Babylonish captivity” stuff anywhere
in the favored Matthew 24 text, do you? Jesus’ parable in Matthew 24 teaches
pretty straightforwardly that Jesus would return to find a faithful
“faithful
servant,” and reward him. But the WTBTS is not one to let the facts
get in the way of a good story! So, according to the tale, the unfaithful
faithful slave was released from Babylonish captivity after their “purification”
by trial, was again inspected by Jesus in 1919, and given new duties and
great privileges. In fact, they are pretty much the bosses of the world
right now—the big cheese, God’s only channel of communication. In short,
they are IT. Modest, too.
The 1959 book Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Divine Purpose speaks
of the anointed slave’s release from Babylon on p. 91,
|
Now from the year 1919 a glorious new outlook presented itself. These dedicated
servants began to recognize their mistakes and make a public confession
of their wrongdoing in their effort to be restored to his favor, which
they realized had temporarily been lost. They repented of their former
course, expressed the desire to change their ways and prayed for Jehovah’s
forgiveness. |
Yep, and what
was the first thing they did after having been allegedly “cleansed”
from paganism and released in 1919? They built this humongous pagan pyramid
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! But let’s allow the Society to speak
for itself ... Here is a VERY interesting item to read, taken from the
Bible Students Convention Report of January 1919 ...
|
AT
THE GRAVE
On Monday, a party of about 150 was conducted by Brother Bohnet to the
grave of Brother Russell. Upon a hillside, sloping towards the south, we
joined hands around the grave and sang: ‘Blest be the tie that binds our
hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that
above.’
Our last lingering look upon the scene recalled the peaceful manner of
our Pastor’s ‘passing beyond the vail.’ Brother Rutherford’s words came
to mind: ‘I am glad this prison experience was reserved for us, rather
than for our dear Brother Russell.’
We visited the marble works and there watched the workmen slowly but surely
chisel out the monument to be erected as a memorial to the Society. The
Watchtower Society burial lots in Rosemont United Cemeteries, five miles
due north of Pittsburgh City, contain ample grave space for all the members
of the Bethel family, and the pilgrims and their wives — in all more than
275 adult graves. In the exact center of the Bethel lot will be erected
diagonally the Pyramid Shape Monument as designed by Brother Bohnet, and
accepted by Brother Russell as the most fitting emblem for an
enduring monument on the Society’s burial space. The size of this structure
is nine feet across the base, and its apex stone is exactly seven feet
above the ground surface level.
It rests upon a concrete foundation five feet deep and heavily reinforced
with barbed wire, the work of Brother Bohnet, who would not entrust this
important task to anyone else, so we are assured that the job was well
done. The brother gave a full description of the securing of the rock material
at the time he piloted the conventionists to the cemetery and urged us
to help ourselves to souvenir chips in the shop of the granite worker
nearby ...
Each slope of the pyramid will face one of the large lots, and on each
of these slopes is cut in four-inch embossment a Teacher’s Bible, on the
pages of which will appear the names of the ones buried there. The burial
space for Brother Rutherford was indicated and his name, like that of Brother
Russell, will be at the top of opposite Bible pages. A Bible space is being
set apart for the Pilgrims — all in one lot of forty eight grave
space[s], so all their names will appear on the same Bible.
Above the Bibles are spaces for inscriptions in full, W.T.B & T.S.,
I.B.S.A., ‘Dead with Christ’, ‘Risen with Christ’, etc. And above these
the Cross and Crown and Wreath, and the whole capped with the apex stone,
highly polished — its shape of course being pyramidal.
Within the structure, incased [sic] in a block of granite, will
be a sealed metal box in which is a complete set of Karatol Scripture
Studies, the Memorial Tower, and one of every tract, photographs
of Pastor Russell, a copy of the Society’s charter, and many other
things to interest the people who at some future date may open the pyramid
and find them.
It is expected the monument will be in place before the next Decoration
Day. Any truth people desiring a chip of the stone may send postage enough
to carry a piece about the size of an egg, with enough additional to pay
the Society for the trouble of having it wrapped for the mail.”
[Souvenir
Report of the Bible Students Convention, Pittsburgh, PA., January 2-5,
1919, p. 7.]
|
Well, there
it is from the horse’s mouth! I think what the Society itself wrote about
the most fitting emblem for the Society’s enduring
monument is far superior (and more humorous, too) than anything
I could say about it! I must admit to succumbing to a fair amount of restrained
hilarity just typing their momentous words on the subject.
I am sincerely
most grateful for the great care taken in the construction of the Society’s
enduring
monument, without which it might not have endured long enough for
me to have gotten such a charming video tape of it.
I also note the irony of the fact that the “interested people from the
future” are people such as myself — and not JWs — for whose benefit
these things were undoubtedly preserved. These early “anointed” (members
of the elite 144,000 “slave class”) actually preserved their early teachings
in a carefully sealed metal box that was itself encased in a granite block,
as if they expected these “truths” to REMAIN TRUE! But alas, WTBTS
“truth” has moved on to keep up with the times, leaving Russell’s outdated
teachings hermetically sealed in a pyramidal pagan vault.
I have to wonder how many of the “anointed” sent in their postage for their
“pyramid relic,” and wonder how many of these blessed relics may still
be packed away in the attics of these old faithful Bible Students.
It is also interesting that, although in 1919, Rutherford had evidently
planned to be buried near this enduring monument in Pennsylvania,
he was instead buried on the grounds of the very beautiful Beth Sarim in
California (which is yet another enduring monument to the
false teachings and false prophetic ideas of the Watchtower Bible and Tract
Society).
So, if by chance a Jehovah’s Witness stops by in December and wants to
speak to you about “pagan origins,” perhaps you could show them these pictures
of Charlie’s Pyramid, and kindly ask them what they know about the pagan
origins of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.
Yes,
kindly. Our motivation in discussing this topic with the JW
at the door is not “to get even with him” because the Society has
slammed us, but to open his eyes to the deceptive and hypocritical nature
of the Society. He needs to be weaned from the idolatrous devotion
he has to that cultic religious organization. Until he can look at the
Bible without his “Watchtower glasses,” he will be blind to the true
Gospel of Jesus Christ, and unwilling to receive the free gift
of forgiveness and salvation the Father graciously offers him in Jesus.
Love to all, Joy
ENDNOTES:
*
The
Watchtower
and
Awake! magazines are the two bi-monthly
publications of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (also known as Jehovah’s
Witnesses) which, among other things, keeps people informed about the alleged
Pagan practices of other religions.
†
The
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is the government (or clergy) of the
Jehovah’s Witnesses.
1
According to Zion’s Watch Tower, December 1881, p. 301: “Our high
calling is so great, so much above the comprehension of men, that they
feel that we are guilty of blasphemy when we speak of being ‘new creatures’
— not any longer human, but ‘partakers of the divine nature.’ ...Now we
appear like men, and all die naturally, but in the resurrection, we shall
rise in our true character as God’s.”
2
God’s Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached, 1973, p. 347.
3
Watch Tower, June 15, 1927, p. 184.
4
Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom, 1993, p. 213.
5
Ibid., p. 200.
6
Ibid.,
p. 124.
7
Ibid., p. 200.
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