Russell

Russell and the "Anointed gods"

"For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect." (Matt 24:24)

   " I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins for unless you believe that I AM HE, you shall die in your sins." (Jn 8:24)


      Question: WHO is the "Christ" of the Watchtower?

         THE ANOINTED ONES.

   A. "Christ" is defined by the Watchtower:

      1. "Anointed One."

      2. "Anointed" means: . . ."an anointing is an appointing to
         office and so it may be said that one who had
         been chosen or appointed by God was anointed . . . "

      3. Jesus is not Christ at birth; but is anointed to the position:

         'God's declaration meant that he had now begotten the
         thirty-year old Jesus to be a spiritual Son of God. . . God's
         holy spirit descended, to anoint him as the messiah of Christ.'

      4. Yet, the Bible says at Luke 2:11: for TODAY in the
         city of David there has been born for you a Saviour, WHO
         IS CHRIST the Lord.

      5. Others are anointed like Jesus:

           "Just as Jesus was anointed with holy spirit after his baptism
           in water and he thus became Christ or Anointed One, so too
           with his disciples. They were anointed with that in which they
           are baptized."

      6. How many? Only 144,000 are chosen since the days of Christ:

           "Only 144,000 from among the billions of people that have
           lived and died during the past nineteen centuries since the
           days of Christ's apostle?. . . Jesus hinted at the fewness of
           the Kingdom members when he said to his disciples. "Have
           no fear, little flock, because your Father has approved of
           giving you
           the kingdom."

      7. Therefore the Watchtower teaches there is an Anointed class
         of people.

      8. "Anointed" means "Christ".


      QUESTION: Does the Watchtower teach there is a CHRIST
      CLASS?

         IMPORTANT NOTE: From the beginning of publication in
         1879 to 1935, the Watchtower taught that all Jehovah's
         Witnesses were of the Anointed.

         LOOKING THROUGH HISTORY (Part 1): The teaching
         of Charles Taze Russell, the Watchtowers first president.

         A. Russell's views counted with JWs. Why?

            1. His books were considered the "Bible Keys"

            2. He was said to be a "Prophet" of God.



     QUESTION: What did he fight for?

         Answer: To reveal the "Mystery of God"--
         THE MESSIAH CLASS.


      QUESTION: How did Russell get the light on this teaching,
      hidden from man for centuries?

         B. The Mystery--How it was revealed to Russell.

            1. The "due time had come" for the revelation

            2. He prayed for guidance--the answer came.

            3. What was the answer?:

         "Here I first saw that the great privilege of becoming joint-heirs
         with Christ and partakers with him of the divine nature was
         confined exclusively to those who would share with him in
         self-sacrifice in the service of the truth."

            4. The purpose of Jesus and the Church:

         "I also saw that God purposed that Christ and his joint-sacrificers
         are to be God's instruments for blessing the fallen race and
         restoring them to the condition of perfection enjoyed by Adam
         in Eden. . ."

         5. The sacrifice for the sins of men is shared, In reference to
         the 1920 revised edition of Russell's booklet, Tabernacle
         Shadows, the Watchtower said:

         "It will be noted that no basic teaching of the work is altered. . .
         the underlying teaching of this booklet is the share which the
         church has in the sin-offering of Christ."


         6. The Church shares in "life-giving" to other men

   SUMMARY OF RUSSELL'S "REVELATION":


      A. The members of the Church are "joint-sacrificers" with Jesus.

      B. Jesus AND the Church will effect the restoration of mankind.

      C. Russell and his followers were identified by various names
        (according to his theology):

            1. Emmanuel; Isa 7:14 (WT, 8/1882, p. 1, Reprints, p. 377)
            2. Everlasting Father (WT, 5/1882, p.7, Reprints, p.353)
            3. Mother (WT, 9/1/41, p. 265)
            4. The Deliverer; Ro. 11:26-29 (WT, 5/1885. p. 1)
            5. The Prophet to Come predicted by Moses
              (WT, 8/15/01, p. 261)
            6. Great Shepherd (WT, 2/15/1899, p. 67)
            7. Lord of All (Tabernacle Shadows of the Better Sacrifices,
              Old Quarterly #65, p. 43)
            8, One Great Messiah (WT, 1/1/10, p.14)
            9. Mediator, entire (WT, 11/15/02, p. 344)
           10. The Lord Our Righteousness (WT, 6/1881, pp. 7-8,
              Reprints, 237-238)
           11. The Lord (which has died and resurrected) (WT, 1 &
              2/1882, p.4, Reprints, p. 316)
            12. The Christ of God (WT, 5/1885, p. 3)
            13. The Mighty God (WT, 10 & 11/1881, p. 10, Reprints, p.
               298)


      D. WHO IS THE MEDIATOR?

         1. Russell claimed:

         "The Christ, head AND BODY, ARE, THEREFORE, THE
         MEDIATOR for the world in a prospective sense--in the same
         sense as Jesus, the Babe, could be spoken of as the Saviour and
         the King."

         2. However, God's Word disagrees with Mr.Russell:

         For there is one God, and ONE MEDIATOR also between God
         and men, the man CHRIST JESUS.--1 Timothy 2:5.

   SUMMARY OF RUSSELL'S VIEW OF THE MEDIATOR:

            a. Now there is no mediator for mankind.

            b. The mediatorial work will be done only when the mediator
              of many members is complete.

      What happened to Russell's "Christ" class doctrine?

         1. Due to the small number of the Anointed JWs and the fact
           of a growing Great Multitude class, changes in Russell's
           doctrine became mandatory. Some "special claims" of the
           were phased out.

            a. By 1939 the Anointed were no longer considered part
              Christ's sin- -offering.

            b. By the mid-1940's, the JWs of the "Great Multitude"
              did not call their anointed friends--"THE CHRIST".
              Imagine the doctrine that the anointed brother was
              part of the saviour--Christ, and had to die for your sins!
              He probably was just as much a sinner as the average JW!

         2. HOWEVER, the Christ class doctrine continued on, being
           taught in many ways.

            a. The importance of the Lord's Supper (called the "Memorial")
              cannot be underestimated. ONLY THE ANOINTED
              CLASS PARTAKES OF THE BREAD AND THE WINE.
              In many Kingdom Halls, where no Anointed are present,
              those special emblems are passes among the Great
              Multitude with no one partaking!

            b. Russell said:

         Assuredly this is the thought then, that from God's standpoint
         is the one great Messiah, the Elect MEMBERS OF HIS BODY.
         These, as one loaf, constitute from God's standpoint the bread of
         everlasting life for the world. . .


         Contrary to Russell's view, there were not many
         sacrifices of many members needed for the salvation
         of men. Hebrews 10:14,18 states very plainly the truth:

         " For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who
          are sanctified". . . "Now where there is forgiveness of these
          things, there is no longer any offering for sin."

      For more information, see THE SECRET DOCTRINE OF
      JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, Magnani.