Rutherford’s Angelic Channeling
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Is The Watchtower a means or channel employed by God to transmit information to his people?… he could and would transmit information to his people… No man can properly interpret prophecy, and the Lord sends his angels to transmit correct information to his people,…
– The Watchtower, Feb. 15, 1935 p. 52.
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by Ken Raines
[This article contains material from several JW Research Journal articles.]
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J. F. Rutherford was the second president of the Watchtower Society from shortly after the death of C. T. Russell on October 31 of 1916 until his death at Beth-Sarim in 1942. Under his leadership the Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) received much of the unique doctrines and chronology that they have today.
This article looks at his following claims:
The Holy Spirit was removed or taken away from the “remnant” in 1918 as the Advocate and even Teacher of the anointed. If the Holy Spirit did not enlighten him as to the “proper” understanding of Scripture, who or what gave him these unique doctrines? He claimed that Jesus returned invisibly to earth in 1874 (as did Russell before him. See Creation, 1927, p.298 ). In 1918 Jesus came to the “temple” or body of Christ (also called the “remnant” ), also invisibly. Did Jesus teach the remnant directly thereafter? No. He used angels. Believe it or not, he clearly claimed invisible angels transmitted organization instructions and Biblical interpretations into his mind inaudibly. Which seems to imply some form of telepathy. Yes, this gets a little strange. It is something the Watchtower Society does not talk about today.
This article will document with numerous short quotes what he said about angels giving him, and thus the Society and the average Bible Student (“Jehovah’s Witnesses” after 1931) instructions, directions, and even Biblical interpretations. I will only add a few comments to introduce and explain Rutherford’s claims. I will try to let him speak for himself. Of course, for a fuller understanding and to check all this out for accuracy, you will need to read the quotes in context, etc. I think the brief quotes speak for themselves, however.
Under Angelic Direction
Rutherford claimed, starting in about 1930, that the Holy Spirit was removed from the “remnant” in 1918. Thereafter, he claimed that starting in 1918 angels replaced, to a large extent, the Holy Spirit’s office as Teacher and helper of the anointed. He said:
By his spirit, the holy spirit, Jehovah God guides or leads his people up to a certain time, and thus he did until the time when “the comforter” was taken away… in 1918.
– Preservation, 1932, J.F. Rutherford, pp. 193-4.
Instead of the servant’s being moved into action by the operation of the holy spirit as a helper, the Scriptures seem to teach clearly that the Lord directs his angels what to do and that they act under the supervision of the Lord in directing the remnant on earth concerning the course of action to take.
– Vindication III, 1932, J. F. Rutherford, p. 316.
Since 1918 the angels of the Lord have had to do with showing the Ezekiel class the truth…
– Vindication III, 1932, J. F. Rutherford, p. 316.
Even so today, Christ Jesus is present with his retinue of angels, and by these holy instruments the Lord is directing the course of his people.
– Preservation, 1932, J. F. Rutherford, p. 152.
This claim by Rutherford is the source, apparently, of the Society’s current belief that they are “under angelic direction”. For example, they say that angels are directing the declaration of the Kingdom gospel they preach:
… Jehovah’s witnesses today make their declaration of the good news of the Kingdom under angelic direction and support. (Rev. 14:6, 7; Matt. 25:31, 32) And since no word or work of Jehovah can fail, for he is God Almighty, the nations will see the fulfillment of what these witnesses say as directed from heaven. Yes, the time must come shortly that the nations will have to know that really a “prophet” of Jehovah was among them.
– The Watchtower, April 1, 1972 p. 200.
After Rutherford’s death in 1942, the Society quickly reversed his position:
However, the holy spirit is not removed or taken away from the remnant…
– The Watchtower, Aug. 15, 1944, p. 252.
Angelic Information And Instructions
Rutherford not only claimed that he and the rest of the remnant were directed by angels, but that they received information and organization instructions from Jesus through angels. They transmitted the information in a mysterious way that he didn’t understand. In his words:
Certain duties and kingdom interests have been committed by the Lord to his angels, which include the transmission of information to God’s anointed people on the earth for their aid and comfort. Even though we cannot understand how the angels transmit this information, we know that they do it.
– J. F. Rutherford, Preparation, 1933, pp. 36, 37; The Watchtower, August 15, 1933, p. 243; The Watchtower, March 1, 1938 p. 79
These angels are invisible to human eyes and are there to carry out the orders of the Lord. No doubt they first hear the instruction which the Lord issues to his remnant and then these invisible messengers pass such instruction on to the remnant.
– J. F. Rutherford, Vindication III, 1932, p. 250; The Watchtower, September 15, 1938 p. 285.
Since the instructions given to Rutherford for the organization came from God’s angels, the Society’s instructions had to be believed and obeyed by JWs, just as the information given by Moses should’ve been obeyed since it also came from angels, he said. Rutherford, in speaking of the “law covenant” that was “ordained by angels” said:
The angels delivered God’s message with authority from him, and God did not permit disobedience to the message which he caused these angels to transmit.
– The Watchtower, May 15, 1934 p. 148.
Since Rutherford believed that he received information and organization instructions in the same way from angels, he did not permit disobedience to the organization instructions he published:
Some claiming to be fully devoted to Jehovah find it difficult to learn to be obedient to organization instructions,… If you find it difficult to be in harmony with the organization instructions, that is sufficient reason for a careful self-examination to see what is your standing before the Lord…. angels are delegated by the Lord to convey his instructions to the members of his organization on earth. Just how this is done is not necessary for us to understand.
– The Watchtower, December 1, 1933 p. 364.
To those who may choose not to obey the organization’s instructions he said:
Such self-willed ones do not have an understanding. They do not recognize that the Lord is directing his work, that the Lord Jesus at the temple has his own good way of doing things, and that he transmits to his anointed ones the necessary information, and if the instructions sent out are wrong, then the responsibility is to the Lord and not to the local service committee.
– The Watchtower, May 15, 1937 p. 153
So if the instructions we issue to you are wrong, don’t blame us, blame Jesus and the angels – they gave them to us!
Angelic Interpretations
The writer does not give his opinion. No human interpretation of Scripture is advanced.
– Reconciliation, 1928, Foreword (p. 6).
Rutherford claimed not only that angels transmitted information and organization instructions to him, but more importantly, interpretations of Scripture as well. In the February 15, 1936 Watchtower (page 52) quoted at the beginning of this article he implied that part of the “correct information” angels transmitted to him included interpretations of Scripture. To quote again:
Is The Watchtower a means or channel employed by God to transmit information to his people?… he could and would transmit information to his people… No man can properly interpret prophecy, and the Lord sends his angels to transmit correct information to his people,…
In several of his books Rutherford was more explicit. In his book Preparation he said:
This question is propounded for the benefit of those faithful ones of the remnant now on earth, and the angel of the Lord brings to them the needed information in answer to their questions. (Rev. 1:1) This is proof that the interpretation of prophecy does not proceed from man, but that the Lord Jesus, the chief one in Jehovah’s organization, sends the necessary information to his people by and through his holy angels.
– J. F. Rutherford, Preparation, 1933, p. 28; The Watchtower, August 1, 1933 p. 231.
Jehovah’s anointed, pictured by Zechariah, inquire: “WHAT ARE THESE [THINGS] MY LORD?” showing that they seek the divine interpretation of God’s Word and do not seek the conclusion of men… the angels of the Lord at the temple are used to enlighten and comfort the anointed ones and to bring them refreshing truths. Those of the remnant, being honest and true, must say, We do not know; and the Lord enlightens them, sending his angels for that very purpose.
– J. F. Rutherford, Preparation, 1933, pp. 66, 67; The Watchtower, August 15, 1933 p. 248; The Watchtower, September 15, 1938 p. 287.
In Vindication I he said about “cherubim, seraphim and angels” that:
These invisible ones the Lord uses to put in the hands of his “faithful servant” class, that is, the man clothed with linen, the fiery message from his Word, or judgments written, and which is to be used as directed. The resolutions adopted by conventions of God’s anointed people, booklets, magazines, and books published by them, contain the message of God’s truth and are from the Lord Jehovah, and provided by him through Christ Jesus and his underofficers… The interpretation of prophecy, therefore, is not from man but is from Jehovah…
– J. F. Rutherford, Vindication I, 1931, p. 120; The Watchtower, May 1, 1938 p. 143. (The 1938 Watchtower‘s printing of these comments are slightly different from the original ones in Vindication I .)
This last quote of Rutherford’s contains some enormous claims. Most JWs or ex-JWs would, I believe, be surprised that Rutherford made these claims for his literature. He claimed that the “booklets, magazines and books” by the Society, most, if not all of which were written by him, were from “the Almighty God, Jehovah, and provided by him through Jesus Christ and his underofficers”, the “cherubim, seraphim and angels”! Yet Rutherford claimed that this did not mean that this literature was inspired!
Uninspired Angelic Revelations?
The Society in their recent history book, Jehovah’s Witnesses–Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom (1993) said on page 708:
Those who make up the one true Christian organization [i.e., JWs] today do not have angelic revelations or divine inspiration.
What they do not mention at all in this book in review of their history is that Rutherford did claim to receive angelic revelations and thus a form of divine inspiration. These angelic revelations were published in The Watchtower magazine:
Without a doubt the Lord uses his angels to cause the truth to be published in The Watchtower… Certainly God guides his covenant people by using the holy angels to convey his message to them.
– The Watchtower, February 1, 1935 p. 41.
Rutherford, however, claimed that receiving information from angels and publishing the “truth” they gave him in The Watchtower did not mean that The Watchtower and those who prepared its publication were inspired. He said:
Jehovah has made the necessary arrangements within his organization to instruct his people, and all recognize that for some years The Watchtower has been the means of communicating information to God’s people. That does not mean that those who prepare the manuscript for The Watchtower are inspired, but rather it means that the Lord through his angels sees to it that the information is given to his people in due time,…
– Riches, 1936, p. 316.
Is this a ‘distinction without a difference’? How can he claim that what he published in The Watchtower came from angels but was not inspired? The Society has recently defined inspiration as:
The quality or state of being moved by or produced under the direction of a spirit from a superhuman source.
– Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 1, 1988 p. 1202.
By this definition The Watchtower was an inspired publication since it was claimed to be produced under the direction of angels and these are certainly spirits “from a superhuman source”. Rutherford though claimed that these revelations from angels were not inspired revelations somehow. I guess this makes them uninspired revelations!
Angelic Mind Control
How did God by angels transmit these [uninspired] messages, information and interpretations of Scripture and prophecy to the remnant and specifically to Rutherford? He said that he did not know exactly how the angels transmitted the information to him. He said that he did not visually see these angels because they were “invisible to human eyes”. (Vindication III, 1932, p. 250; The Watchtower, September 15, 1938, p. 285.)
He also said that:
These angels doubtless perform in connection with and toward the people of God many things that they cannot see with their natural eyes or hear with their natural ears.
– The Watchtower, August 1, 1936 p. 232; 1937 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, December 8.
This included the information and Biblical interpretations transmitted to them. Rutherford said that these angels transmitted information inaudibly as thoughts into their minds! He said:
… the remnant are instructed by the angels of the Lord. The remnant do not hear audibly sounds, because such is not necessary. Jehovah has provided his own good way to convey thoughts to the minds of his anointed ones.
– Preparation, 1933, J. F. Rutherford, p. 64; The Watchtower, August 15, 1933 pp. 247, 248; The Watchtower, Sept. 15, 1938 p. 286.
Surely the holy angels of the Jehovah God, who are under the command of Christ Jesus and accompany him at his temple as his deputies, are clothed with power to put questions in the minds of those on earth who are devoted to God. It is not necessary for us to know just how this is done, but their can be no doubt about the power of the deputies of the Lord.
– The Watchtower, May 15, 1938 p. 157; Light, book 1, 1930, J.F. Rutherford, pp. 61, 62.
…Jehovah would employ his power through his angels to put in the minds of his servants to take the course that he would have them take.
– The Watchtower, November 1, 1937 p. 326; 1938 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, February 15.
God put it into the minds of his people to declare what constitutes Satan’s organization and to serve notice upon each branch thereof… Jehovah directs his own work, though we hear no audible voices. 23
– 1935 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, Nov. 22; The Watchtower, February 15, 1935 p. 54
Rutherford believed that the Holy Spirit was the force that in the early church God used to enlighten Christians in this manner. He believed that the Holy Spirit was replaced by angels in 1918 and these took over “operating” on the minds of the remnant:
… the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of “the servant”, acting by and through his holy angels, has directed and is directing that work. It was the holy spirit that operated upon the minds of men in the early church to take certain action; but now the Lord Jesus himself has returned, is in his temple, and, acting by and through his holy angels, puts into the mind and heart of the remnant class to take positive action and to do a certain work…
– The Watchtower, September 1, 1930 p. 263; 1931 Yearbook of the International Bible Students Association, Daily Texts and Comments, February 17.
Angels and Armageddon
Rutherford believed that Jehovah God would not even start the battle of Armageddon until He first sent angels to inform the remnant that it was about to start, thus giving them the time to notify mankind of its approach. He said:
The prophetic picture then shows the cherubs, who are officers of Jehovah’s great organization, taking coals of fire and handing the same to Jehovah’s witnesses, and these go out and scatter the fire over the city. This means that the Lord, by and through the officers of his organization who are invisible to man, provides the fiery message that proceeds from God and which is used to notify “Christendom” and all portions of Satan’s organization of God’s purpose to destroy them. This is proof that it is God’s message which he commands men to deliver to others.
– His Vengeance, 1934, J. F. Rutherford, p. 6.
No man can properly interpret prophecy, and the Lord sends his angels to transmit correct information to his people,… The Greater Gideon [Jesus] does not begin the Armageddon battle until the message of truth from Jehovah God concerning the same is transmitted by his angels to the faithful remnant on the earth. 26
– The Watchtower, February 15, 1935 p. 52; See also 1935 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, November 13 that records the last half of this quote.
Rutherford An Oracle?
Was Rutherford really receiving oracles or messages from angels into his mind? Rutherford defined an oracle this way:
An oracle may be properly defined as “a speech or message proceeding or coming from an unseen power, given in answer to an inquiry”.
– The Watchtower, January 15, 1933 p. 20.
This is certainly what he said about his writings; they were responses from angels given after he inquired about the meaning of Scripture and prophecy (see above quotes).
He went on to say:
It was from amongst the Jews that Jehovah selected all his prophets and to whom he spoke or delivered his messages… An oracle is therefore a speech or message that prompts and directs action of the creature. Satan is the mimic god, and hence attempts to counterfeit… To this end he has used and still uses wicked spirit creatures to deliver speech or messages to those who are willing to give heed thereto. Such has ever been a part of the practice of satanic religions. The priest of such satanic religions is said to receive a message from the unseen which he delivers to others, and thus the priest claims to be in communication with a god. However, these priests do not disclose that the god with whom they are in communication is the Devil or some of his invisible assistants.
– The Watchtower, January 15, 1933 pp. 20, 21.
Was Rutherford receiving oracles from angels, demons, or the Devil himself? As the Society has more recently pointed out:
Yes, the Bible shows that there are not only good angels but also wicked ones.
– Awake!, May 22, 1971 p. 28.
If Rutherford was receiving information into his mind from angels as he clearly claimed, which kind were they? Good or evil? Did God really send angels to enlighten Rutherford alone with the “divine interpretation” of Scripture in answer to his inquiries? If so, maybe we should believe the doctrine and chronology he received from these angels. We should certainly respect and read Rutherford’s books more than the Society today says we should.
On the other hand, what if these angels were lying spirits? Would this make Rutherford some kind of “priest” of a “satanic religion”? How would we find out? This is surely an important question to answer, for as the Society has said:
… intelligent inquiry is necessary in order to determine the truth about God’s purposes; we cannot be simply lulled into a false sense of assurance and drift along with a perhaps demonically originated religious inheritance.
– The Watchtower, June 15, 1956 p. 373.
Rutherford himself addressed this question and denied that his claims of angels transmitting information into his mind telepathically (inaudibly) meant that he was involved in spiritism:
The Lord used The Watchtower to announce these truths. Doubtless he used his invisible deputies to have much to do with it. This is not what some may regard as “spiritism”, by any means; but it does mean that God can direct his people without any audible communication with them.
– The Watchtower, May 15, 1938 p. 158; Light, Book I, 1930, J.F. Rutherford, p. 64.
An examination of these claims to determine if Rutherford was informed by “holy angels” or by not exactly holy ones, and thus if the JWs are a “demonically originated” sect will be addressed starting with the next issue of this Journal.
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