Non-Essential Clauses?

This blog has helped to clarify the obvious meaning of the Ruth picture in E4 (see previous entries). Yet, some still attempt to prop up the Executive Trustee’s “present view” by the misapplication of portions of the antitype of Esther, specifically page 284 of E10: “After leaving the nominal church as Youthful Worthies, from 1878 onward, and coming into the Truth, these were as a class taken by Bro. Russell as a symbolic daughter.”

Providing Extra Information

While the two non-essential clauses in the sentence (in grammatical terms only, not in value) do not restrict its meaning, they do provide critical information in our understanding of the action. Set off with commas, Bro. Johnson provides BOTH “from 1878 onward” and “and coming into the Truth” to give us details as to when they became Youthful Worthies.

Had he supplied just the first clause, we would have to consider 1878 as the date when Bro. Russell took them as a symbolic daughter. But the second clause gives us another action that took place BEFORE that could happen. Since no date is given for the second clause, we must look elsewhere.

Luckily, that date is implied only two pages later in the continued application of the antitype: “… since from 1881 onward these things were not certain in individual cases, because all consecrators were not accepted into the high calling.” If all individual consecrations prior to 1881 were accepted into the high calling, then Youthful Worthy individuals could only exist from that date onward. This, of course, destroys the “present view” of there being individuals from 1878-81 and pushes it to the 1881-1914 time frame.

The “class” Word?

That leaves us with only one detail. Was Bro. Johnson using "class" to mean that there was a specific Youthful Worthy class in 1881 or was he referring to group of similar individuals? Again, the answer can be found nearby on Page 347 where it mentions Russell and Johnson, “for to the former belonged charge of all new creatures and the unbegotten consecrated as such during the Parousia, and to the latter belongs charge of the Great Company and the Youthful Worthies during the Epiphany.”

Clearly, we can see that there were only Youthful Worthy individuals from 1881 onward and a Youthful Worthy class from 1914 onward. Additional proof is shown also in E10 on pages iii, 209, 210, 250, 285, 658-659. See also the previous blog entry on Esther.