Manifested Destiny

E4, P. 39: “The manifestation of the Youthful Worthies is another proof that we are in the Epiphany. The Youthful Worthies could not have been manifested as a class until after Sept. 16, 1914.”

This is yet another clear reference that a few brethren blur in order to prop up the Executive Trustee’s “present view” of the Youthful Worthies. These brethren say that the Youthful Worthies already existed as a class, but were revealed (an accurate definition of the verb manifest) as a class after Sept. 16, 1914.

The problem is that they simply read it as a change of state, such as from invisible to visible. They fail to see the importance of the date in the sentence structure and how it affects the subject in the sentence! The date follows the modal perfect "could not have been" (modals are used to indicate degrees of certainty, and ability), which suggests that it was impossible for something to happen to the subject in the sentence before a certain time. This helps us understand that the date is critical for any possible activity and that a change must occur with the subject. So, what made it possible so that the Youthful Worthies COULD BE REVEALED AS A CLASS sometime AFTER that date? The last member of Christ’s Body was brought into the Body which allowed the Youthful Worthies TO EXIST AS A CLASS ON that date! And that is exactly what happened, since we all know it took time for them to be revealed once they existed.

The Great Company's Existence

Brother Johnson helps us out even more with the word “existence” when mentioning the Great Company in PT Sept. 1930, under the article “Our Lord's Second Advent Mission For His Own.” Here, he really spells it out:

• “What is ‘the day of His coming’? We answer, the Parousia Day; for that is the time, at its beginning, when His Second Advent set in. What is the period ‘when He makes manifest’ especially? We reply, the Epiphany Day; for that is the special time when, by the bright shining of the Truth, He makes persons, principles and things manifest.”


• “In view of the fact that the time of trouble and the Epiphany are identical, and in view of the fact that the Great Company as a class, as distinct from individual crown-losers living throughout the Age”…“first comes into existence and is developed in the time of trouble.”


• “at that time there was no Great Company as yet, the Great Company being an Epiphany development, though there were then individual unmanifested crown-losers.”


• “now it is proper to point out manifested crown-losers as such, since now is the time for the separation of the crown-losers and the crown-retainers, even as our Pastor told us that after antitypical Elisha would be manifested, separate and distinct from antitypical Elijah, it would be proper to point out such manifested individuals of antitypical Elisha as members of the Great Company.”

A Parallel Manifestation Example

The following is given the same year that Rutherford disputed the existence of these “Modern Worthies.” PT 1920, page 158:

• “The manifestation of the Youthful Worthies is another proof that we are in the Epiphany. The Youthful Worthies could not have been manifested as a class until after Oct. 1914 when the last member of Christ’s Body was brought into that Body.”

In the very next paragraph:

• “The Manifestation of ‘that evil servant’ is also another proof that we are in the Epiphany.” Of Rutherford he then says, “But his coming upon the stage of action as ‘that evil servant’ being due after ‘that Servant’s’ work was complete, his activity is one that belongs to the Epiphany; and his manifestation, therefore, proves that we are in the Epiphany.”

Brother Johnson explains clearly that Rutherford came into existence as “that evil servant” only after Bro. Russell had completed his service. It takes place in the Epiphany, shown in parallel with the existence of the Youthful Worthies as a class in the Epiphany.