Bro. A. Gohlke's India Trip Report

...On Jan.15, more brethren came from Mysore, some who formerly were with the dawn group but who have from the Scriptures, reason and facts become convinced recently that the door of entrance to the High Calling closed in 1914, that God is now selecting the Spirit enlightened, non-Spirit-begotten consecrated ones, etc...

PT. 1978 Pg. 30

The Current Executive Trustee is not Qualified

Bro. Johnson's stern warning to JFR and other Levites for changing the dates of "that Servant":

E5 Pg. 173

...In the Lord’s name we serve these Levites notice to refrain from further presumption and fraud in tampering with the priestly writings of "that Servant." They are not qualified for the work of correcting them, and do it at their peril (Lev. 10: 1, 2)!

(55) In fixing this date, 1918, the Society leaders caused much disappointment to thousands of the brethren; and their and others’ fixing wrong dates, we are satisfied, will produce further disappointments.

(56) Statements in "Pastor Russell’s Sermons" (pp. 287, par. 1, and 289, par. 3) are cited by not a few as a proof that our dear Pastor taught that the reaping began in 1878 and ended in 1918. We reply that in the book of sermons printed late in 1917 by the Society these dates will be found on the pages cited above; but not in the sermon as our dear Pastor published it. The sermon in question was first published in 1908, and correctly gave the dates 1874 and 1914 as the beginning and end of the Harvest. Our Pastor never changed those dates in that sermon. They were changed after his death, seemingly to palm off as his certain time features that he never taught, thereby misleading many, even as was done by the interpolated verse, 1 John 5: 7. The one responsible for this change has much to answer for. Such a course cannot but arouse distrust that other misleading changes have been made, or may yet be made, in his writings...

Letters of General Interest PT. 1969 Pg. 32

Dear Bro. Jolly:...

Thank you for the Vow and Morning Resolve cards. The lighter background makes them easier to read. We enjoy the P.T. and B.S. with their many citations from the Bible and the Truth writings. The advancing Truth fits the former Truth like "hand and glove."

Your Sister by His grace, E.F., Ohio

Changed Work for Little Flock after 1914

PT. 1969 Pg. 71-74

...God evidently knew that by the Fall of 1914 enough prospective Little Flock members to finally fill up the entire 144,000 were Spirit-begotten, and that they would make their calling and election sure; and that therefore it would not be necessary to beget any more individuals of the Spirit after the Fall of 1914 to take the places of others who had lost their crowns, as had been the case from 1881 to 1914.

CHANGED WORK FOR LITTLE FLOCK AFTER 1914

It is evident that the remaining Little Flock members did not in the Fall of 1914 or shortly thereafter begin the eagerly-anticipated and joyous work of blessing all the families of the earth, nor have they yet begun it. The symbolic olive tree has failed to bring forth fruitage as yet in blessing the world in the Kingdom. Instead, God had another work for them to do first. As mentioned above, the time since 1914, the Time of Trouble, or Epiphany period, is God's special time for the cleansing and development of the Great Company class (2 Tim. 4: 1; Rev. 7: 14) and for the development of the Youthful Worthies as a class...

...For example, the Priesthood set forth the truth on the door of entrance into the High Calling closing with the setting in of the Time of Trouble in 1914, and that those consecrating thereafter would not have any hope of Little Flockship, but rather of Youthful Worthiship...

Both the new creatures and the Youthful Worthies receive the Holy Spirit, though the latter are not now begotten to a new nature by it. The Holy Spirit's witness to both is very similar (E Vol. 15, pp. 652-654). Therefore, in the case of those consecrating from 1881 to 1914, it was (and still is) not evident (except in rare cases) whether they were Spirit-begotten, and therefore are new creatures, or not Spirit-begotten, and therefore are prospective Youthful Worthies. Hence there was no Youthful Worthy class as such before 1914. But in the case of those consecrating after the closing of the door of entrance into the High Calling, in the Fall of 1914, it is evident that none of the 144,000 crowns has been available for them and, accordingly, that none of them is Spirit-begotten; hence from then on the Youthful Worthies came into existence as a class.

"The advancing Truth must agree with the past Truth. It does not repudiate the formerly received Truth, but makes it clearer and brings out further details that project the same Truths into greater elaborations" (E 5, p. 32)

Attacks on Advancing Tabernacle Truth

PT.1959 Pg. 56

A REFUTATION OF ATTACKS

ON ADVANCING TABERNACLE TRUTH

AS we have shown in considerable detail in our May-June issue (a copy free on request), one of the strong evidences proving that the Lord specially used Bro. Johnson to give the advancing Truth to God's people after Bro. Russell's death, is that Bro. Johnson not only repeatedly reaffirmed those features of the Truth on the progressive Tabernacle picture that had been given through Bro. Russell, but also gave additional pertinent features of Truth, based on, in harmony with, and elaborated out of the pertinent Truth given through Bro. Russell. Other leaders among Truth people not only did not give advancing Truth on the Tabernacle, but also, generally speaking, did not accept it as brought forth by the Lord through Bro. Johnson.

These other leaders could not see, e.g., that a great step of progress in connection with the antitypical Tabernacle had set in—that beginning in the Fall of 1914 in the call of the Youthful Worthies as a class, God was building the Epiphany Tabernacle Court as distinct from the Holy (E Vol. 11, p. 493) and that this meant that the door of entrance into the High Calling, the Door of entrance into the Holy, had at that time closed forever to any desiring to enter, that the Great Company had lost their standing as antitypical Priests, and were soon to be put out of the Holy into the Court, while the crown-retainers remained in the Holy to finish their courses, and that all new consecrators would have their standing, not in the Holy, but in the Court.

Furthermore, many of the leaders objected greatly to and fought against this advancing Truth on the Tabernacle, particularly the teaching that those consecrating after the Fall of 1914 were eligible, not for Little Flockship, but for Youthful Worthiship...

See Page 56-57 for its entirety.

It's easier to defend the Truth against a frontal attack. It is much more difficult to defend the Truth when the error is promulgated from within the movement. 1914 is an established date for the Youthful Worthy call as a class. Some have tried to push the established date of 1914 forward and were corrected. Now, some are trying to push the date backwards. These P.T. articles were used to defend the Truth against such sifting errors.

Since within a few years after 1914 some allowed themselves to be misled and deceived into fighting against the progressive Truth on the Tabernacle, which showed that a new work was opening up from 1914 onward in the development of the Epiphany Court as distinct from the Holy, we should not think it strange that 40 years later, within a few years after 1954, we should have a similar situation, with some allowing themselves to be misled and deceived into fighting against the progressive Truth on the antitypical Tabernacle, as set forth by Bro. Johnson, which shows a new work opening up from 1954 onward, in building the Epiphany Camp as distinct from the Court, though there are still Great Company members and Youthful Worthies left in the Court to finish their course. Rather, we would think it strange if a similar condition did not exist.

And what do we find' It is even so. As we have shown in these columns (see, e.g., P '58, pp. 59-61, 91-94), there are repeated attacks being made, particularly by the teacher of what Bro. Johnson called "sophistry" on the time of the saints' reign (P '38, p. 74; '58, pp. 41-47), against the Truth on the antitypical Tabernacle as this Truth advanced in the Fall of 1954 in harmony with Bro. Johnson's teachings, with the completion of the Epiphany Court in its membership and the beginning of the building of the Epiphany Camp as distinct from the Court. The teachings that there are tentatively-justified ones who have their standing since the Fall of 1954 in the Epiphany Camp as distinct from the Court, and that a new class of consecrated ones, the Consecrated Epiphany Campers, is forming since the Fall of 1954, have been under particular attacks; even as 40 years ago, a few years after 1914, special attacks were made against the teachings that there were consecrated ones having their standing in the Court as distinct from the Holy, and that a new class, the Youthful Worthies, was forming after the Fall of 1914. As a comparison between the course of J.F. Rutherford and other leaders 40 years ago and the errorist under consideration...

All this Truth is available for the brethren to read, yet the error continues...

No more were eligible to become Ancient Worthies after High Calling opened

Youthful Worthies—Bad Results Of Holding Out False Hopes.

Question. (1970)—Is it wrong to hold forth the hope of attaining Youthful Worthiship to those who have consecrated since the Fall of 1954 and those consecrating now?

Answer.—We are not to hold forth false hopes to anyone. Just as no more were eligible to become Ancient Worthies after the High Calling opened (Luke 16: 16; Eph. 4: 4), and as no more could become New Creatures, begotten of the Holy Spirit, prospective Little Flock members, after the door of entrance into the High Calling closed in the Fall of 1914, so since the Fall of 1954, when the Youthful Worthy call or invitation ended (E. vol. 10, p. 114; P. ’55, p. 29; P. ’58, pp. 91-93), no more have had the privilege of becoming prospective Youthful Worthies. Since the Fall of 1954, according to the Epiphany Messenger’s teaching (in harmony with the antitypical 80 days of Lev. 12,...

...in order to come into the antitypical Court, as prospective Youthful Worthies (E. Vol. 10, p. 114). As already noted, soon after the Fall of 1914 Bro. Johnson began teaching, in harmony with the Scriptures, that with the beginning of the Epiphany period in the Fall of 1914 the door of entrance into the High Calling closed, and that new consecrators thereafter had the hope, not of Little Flockship, but of Youthful Worthiship. He realized that this teaching would turn some, especially among those consecrated after 1914, away from him and his teachings, and cause them to look instead to others who, contrary to the Scriptures, still held out to them the hope of the High Calling. However, this did not deter him from steadfastly teaching, in harmony with the Scriptures, that the door of entrance into the High Calling closed in 1914. Similarly, since the Fall of 1954, we have been teaching, in harmony with the Scriptures (e.g., Lev. 12) and the teaching of the Epiphany Messenger, that with the beginning of the Basileia period in the Fall of 1954 in its first lapping beginning, the door of entrance into Youthful Worthiship closed, and that new consecrators thereafter have the hope, not of Youthful Worthiship, but of becoming Consecrated Epiphany Campers...

The Executive Trustee's new thought of two calls going on at the same time contradicts the Truth writings.