1925: Millions Now Living Will Never Die!
As we have heretofore stated, the great jubilee cycle is due to begin in 1925. At that time the earthly phase of the kingdom shall be recognized…. Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old,…
– J. F. Rutherford, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920, pp. 89, 90.
What a happy prospect! Though mistaken, they eagerly shared it with others.
– Jehovah’s Witnesses–Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom, 1993, p. 632 on the “millions” campaign.
by Ken Raines
[This article originally appeared in the JW Research Journal, vol 2, no. 2, Spring, 1995, pp. 14-15. Revised July/August, 2021.]
Starting in 1918 when angels began transmitting information into his mind, J.F. Rutherford, the Watchtower Society’s second president, began to speak on the subject, ‘Millions Now Living Will Never Die.’ In 1920 the talk was being given around the world by various representatives of the Society and Rutherford published it in booklet form under the same title. In it he said that in 1925 the earthly phase of God’s Kingdom would be set-up on earth and the patriarchs of old such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be raised from the dead to help usher in Paradise:
… there will be a resurrection of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other faithful ones of old,… we may expect 1925 to witness the return of these faithful men of Israel from the condition of death,… and made the visible, legal representatives of the new order of things on earth. Messiah’s kingdom once established… there will be peace and not war….
– Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920, J. F. Rutherford, p. 88.
…the old order of things, the old world, is ending… the new order is coming ing in, and that 1925 shall mark the resurrection of the faithful men of old… it is reasonable to conclude that millions of people now on the earth will be still on the earth in 1925. Then,… we must reach the positive and indisputable conclusion that millions now living will never die.
– Millions, p. 97.
Since 1925 was to witness the setting-up of God’s Kingdom on earth, those who obeyed the 144,001 gods from the Pleiades would never have to die. (Millions, p. 97) Heaven was located in the Pleiades star cluster they said, and the “anointed” would be resurrected by 1925 to rule earth from there. One Bible Student was asked what he would do if the prophecy failed and he was still here in 1925. His response was “I believe I will be home in the Pleiades before then.” (The Watch Tower, Nov. 1, 1920, p. 334.)
In reporting on Rutherford’s delivery of the Millions talk to an audience in San Francisco The Golden Age reported:
SPEAKER positively declared that those living in 1925 would not need to die if they obeyed the plain Scriptural injunctions respecting righteous living, etc. His arguments were based primarily upon prophecies that have been fulfilled during the past five years, supplemented by other prophecies which have been in the course of fulfillment since 1878, and which will have their culmination in 1925, the official beginning of the new era during which everlasting life will be possible to whosoever will have it.
–The Golden Age, July 21, 1920, p. 632.
My favorite quote on the 1925 prophecy is from an advertisement for the Millions booklet that appeared on the back page of several Golden Age magazines:
Do these things appeal to you? Unending human life; perpetual health;… no more fear of the landlord, the doctor, the sheriff, the employer, of evil men and angels, of vicious animals, of dependent old age; no more blindness, lameness, deafness, dumbness; no more bald heads, glass eyes, false teeth, or wooden legs; no more sickness, disease, or pestilence; no more ignorance or superstition; no more sorrow; no more tears!
No, we are not trifling: these things and more are absolutely sure, because promised by the Word of God. The world has already ended,… earth’s times of restitution, its springtime, begins to count in 1926.
When that times comes, all the above blessings will not come instantaneously, but will come speedily on those who live through the next five or six years of trouble.
– The Golden Age, January 19, 1921, p. 240.
Watchtower literature was full of references to 1925 and the resurrection being certain:
…there will be a resurrection of Abraham, Issac, Jacob and other faithful ones of old, and that these will have the first favor, we may expect 1925 to witness the return of these faithful men of old from the condition of death, being resurrected and being fully restored to perfect humanity and made the visible, legal representatives of the new order of things on earth…
– The Golden Age, March 16, 1921, p. 381.
Lo, our King is here, and the year 1925 marks the date when all shall see His mighty power demonstrated in the resurrection of the ancient worthies, and the time when “millions now living will never die”.
– The Golden Age, March 1, 1922, p. 350.
The year 1925 is a date definitely and clearly marked in the Scriptures, even more so than 1914.
– The Watch Tower, July 15, 1924, p. 211.
It was even more certain than the certainty Noah had for a coming deluge. They published the following letter about whether JWs were told to stop talking about 1925 and their reply in a 1923 The Watch Tower magazine:
Question: Did the order go forth eight months ago to the Pilgrims to stop talking about 1925? Have we more reason, or as much, to believe the kingdom will be established in 1925 than Noah had to believe that there would be a flood?
Answer:… 1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures… As to Noah, the Christian now has much more upon which to base his faith than Noah had (so far as the Scriptures reveal) upon which to base his faith in a coming deluge.
– The Watch Tower, April 1, 1923, p. 106.
The Gospel of the Kingdom
The 1925 millions message was not only a prophecy by Rutherford, but was THE GOSPEL mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 24:14 that was to be preached in all the world for a witness before the end came in 1925. They said:
We are glad to report that while in Athens arrangements were made for a wider distribution of the message of the kingdom, particularly the book entitled “Millions Now Living Will Never Die”. We feel quite sure that it is the Lord’s will that this message go to all the nations of Christendom as a final witness before the final end of the present order.
– The Watch Tower, December 1, 1920, p. 356.
Surely the words of the Master are now in course of fulfillment: “This gospel [“The World Has Ended: Millions Now Living Will Never Die”] shall be preached in all the world for a witness, and then the end shall come.
– The Watch Tower, October 15, 1920, p. 310. Material in brackets in original.
1925 Arrives!
This prophecy was proclaimed up to 1925. In a confidential “Letter of Instruction to Directors” from the Society’s service department they said:
… the direct appeal is what should be pushed very strenuously during 1925, for it is apparent that 1925 is going to contribute much to the ending of the present order and arrangement of things.
–LETTER OF INSTRUCTION TO Directors, February 1, 1925, p. 1.
However, in the January 1rst Watch Tower they were not so sure anymore:
The year 1925 is here. With great expectation Christians have looked forward to this year. Many have confidently expected that all members of the body of Christ will be changed to heavenly glory during the year. This may be accomplished. It may not be.
– The Watch Tower, Jan. 1, 1925, p. 3.
By the September 1 Watch Tower they were backpedaling as the prophecy was failing, warning JWs not to slack off:
It is to be expected that Satan will try to inject into the minds the thought that 1925 should see an end to the work, and that therefore it would be needless for them to do more.
– The Watch Tower, Sept. 1, 1925, p. 262.
God’s Chronology
However, before 1925 this prophecy and gospel concerning 1925 was, as usual, put forth in the strongest, most dogmatic way imaginable as documented above. They said of the chronology pointing to 1925 as the time of the resurrection that:
… this chronology is not of man, but of God…. the addition of more proofs removes it entirely from the realm of chance into that of proven certainty…. the chronology of present truth [is]… not of human origin.
– The Watch Tower, July 1, 1922, p. 217.
… Scripturally, scientifically, and historically, present-truth chronology is correct beyond a doubt…. Present-truth chronology is correct beyond the possibility of a doubt…. The chronology stands firm as a rock.
– The Watch Tower, June 15, 1922, p. 187. Italics in original.
This chronology leading to 1925 also stated that 1799 “definitely marks beginning of ‘the time of the end’.” (Creation, 1927, J.F. Rutherford, p. 294), “the time of the Lord’s second presence dates from 1874” (Creation, p. 298), etc. which the Society itself no longer believes, let alone that it was from God not man, etc. The whole chronology was false and had to be abandoned after 1925. Even though they said it was not of human origin, but was God’s chronology and thus beyond any possibility of doubt. However 1925 came and went, and with it their credibility as God’s sole channel of communication, the the only turn religion on earth.
1925 Comes And Goes
Despite such statements before 1925, Rutherford had the gall by 1931 to say about the 1925 chronology that “The chronology was good at the time, but it always left some doubt in the mind of a careful student.” (The Watch Tower, January 1, 1931, p. 22.) God’s chronology and dates left doubt to “careful students?” when they said in print it was beyond doubt?
In 1938 in speaking of “elective elders” he said:
They had preached that in an early time God would overthrow “Christendom”. Many had emphasized the year 1925 as the date, and then when that date did not materialize the date was moved up to 1932. Again, 1932 came and “Christendom” was not destroyed…. Because men tried to fix the date when God would destroy modern Nineveh and God did not back up their prophecy… is that any reason to be peeved? (The Watchtower, February 15, 1938, p. 55.)
It is true that in 1931 in his book Vindication 1 (pp. 146, 338, 339) he said that it was “God’s people” who were responsible for setting the 1925 date, but I believe it was reasonable for followers of his to be “peeved” at this false prophecy and gospel and his trying to shift the blame for it back to the “elective elders.” The Society at times have continued to misrepresent their past dogmatic statements about 1925 by saying that their followers were “reading into” their published statements that it was a certainty when they only claimed it was a possibility and merely an expressed opinion anyway. (1975 Yearbook, p. 146; 1980 Yearbook, pp. 62, 63) A review of their comments, including the representative statements above, demonstrates the falsity of these claims. This reminds me of the advice they gave others in the Watchtower of October 15, 1959 in an article titled, “Be A Man – Shoulder the Responsibility”. In it they said (p. 626):
“A POOR writer blames his pen.” That adage points out the common human failing of wanting to shirk responsibility when it comes to shouldering blame…. when we try to shift the blame upon others, more likely than not there is something wrong with our hearts, revealing pride, dishonesty and selfishness.
According to the Watchtower, Rutherford did admit that he made an “ass” of himself over his 1925 prophecy. (The Watchtower, October 1, 1984, p. 24. ) [1]
The fact is that this 1925 prophecy and “gospel” was clearly a false “prophecy” and a false “gospel.” If angels were responsible for him proclaiming it, as his later statements would indicate, the angels were making an “ass” out of him. This indicates either the nature of these spirits or the character or self-deception of Rutherford. The “angels” were lying to him, or Rutherford was making stuff up, or he was self-deluded about angels transmitting new light and a new gospel into his mind. In any case, the 1925 fiasco alone proves Rutherford and the Society are clearly not what they claimed, and continue to claim, to be.
Rutherford made the following claims about what he and the Society published:
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 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’s given to his people in due time, and he brings to pass the events in fulfillment of his prophecy…
– Riches, J.F. Rutherford, 1936, p. 316.
But as Rutherford also stated in 1930 about other religious and political leaders and their “prognostications”:
If he is a false prophet, his prophecy will fail to come to pass. This rule is laid down by God himself… The difference between a true and false prophet is that the one is speaking the word of the Lord and the other is speaking his own dreams and guesses… the false prophets of our day are the financial, political and clerical prognosticators. They presume to foretell future events; but their dreams and guesses never come true… In 1914-1918 these same three classes told the whole world that the great World War would end all wars and make the world safe for democracy … their prophecies did not come true. Therefore, they are false prophets; and the people should no longer trust them as safe guides.
– The Watch Tower, May 15, 1930, pp. 154-156.
1. The Watchtower, December 1, 1993, p. 12 states that Rutherford said he made a “fool” of himself over the 1925 date, apparently editing out his more colorful expression. There they use this admission as evidence of humility on his part.