The suggested answers provided to all questions below are based on and in harmony with the views of the original Watchtower Bible and Tract Society when under the guidance of Pastor Charles Taze Russell. Comments will often include a link to Pastor Russell’s own explanation. However, in any case, we leave your conclusions to your own personal study, prayer, conscience and the influence of the Holy Spirit.
- Who are the Friends of Jehovah’s Witnesses who have created this website?
- Why have the Friends of Jehovah’s Witnesses set up this site? What is your purpose?
- Should we really want to be on earth rather than heaven? Does the Bible give us that option?
- Are the Great Crowd the same as all the people in Paradise Earth?
- What is the role of the Great Crowd on Paradise Earth?
- Is the Great Crowd to be in heaven or on earth?
- Who are the “other sheep” of John 10:16?
- What happens to Anointed who do not make the 144,000
- As the Path Shines Brighter, does the Truth Change?
- Why does God Permit Evil and Human Suffering?
- What is the future mission of the Anointed for which they are now being prepared?
- Will Present Unbelievers Serve and Worship Jehovah on Paradise Earth?
- Will Everyone Be Resurrected from the Dead?
- Have People Received Final Judgment for the Past 6,000 or will they have an Opportunity for Judgment and Restitution on Paradise Earth?
- Will the wicked get an opportunity to repent in Paradise earth?
- Who will occupy the land of Israel in Paradise earth?
- Who does Jehovah make the New Covenant with?
- What prophecies regarding Israel’s regathering have already been or are being fulfilled?
If God created through Jesus, then how should we understand Isaiah 44:24, which says that He alone created everything? Or could it mean that God indeed created everything by Himself, and Jesus was merely an instrument?
Hi Max, thank you for such a thoughtful question regarding the relationship between the Father and the Son in the work of creation. Understanding how **Isaiah 44:24** harmonizes with the New Testament revelation that God created all things “through” Jesus is a “key of knowledge” in seeing the consistency of the Bible.
Based on a careful study of the Scriptures, here is an explanation that maintains this harmony:
### **1. The Father as the “First Cause”**
Scripture identifies **Jehovah as the great “First Cause,”** the Designer and Author of the entire universe. When Isaiah 44:24 states that He “stretched forth the heavens alone,” it emphasizes that He is the **sole source of power and authority**. There was no co-equal or co-eternal “Trinity” of gods working together; rather, the plan originated entirely within the mind of the one Almighty God.
### **2. The Son as the Only Direct Creation**
The harmony is found in the unique nature of the Son. The Logos (Jesus in his pre-human existence) was the **”beginning of the creation of God”** and the only being **directly created** by the Father. Because the Son was the first of all God’s creatures, he was present “in the beginning with the God” (John 1:1, 2).
### **3. The Son as the “Active Agent” or Instrument**
You correctly suggested that Jesus was an instrument. The Father, having created the Son, then performed **all subsequent creative work through him**.
* **The Executor:** While the Father was the Designer, the Son was the **”active agent”** and “honored agency” used to bring the plan into reality.
* **Delegated Authority:** This does not contradict God creating “alone,” because the Son acted entirely under the **commission and power of the Father**.
### **4. Understanding the Term “Alone”**
When Jehovah says He created everything “by myself,” He is distinguishing His supreme position from all other beings who might claim to be God. The Son never claimed to be the Father or a co-equal part of a deity; he always maintained that **”My Father is greater than I”** (John 14:28). In biblical types and history, an ambassador or messenger (like the Logos) often speaks and acts in the name of the one who sent him, so that the sender is credited with the work performed by his representative.
In summary, the Father is the **Source of all things**, and the Son is the **honored instrument** through whom those things were brought into being. This view removes the “mystery” of the Trinity and replaces it with a straightforward, reasonable, and scriptural understanding of God’s “Grand Plan of the Ages”.
Was Enoch really taken to heaven?
Dear Max,
It was great to hear from you! That is a fascinating question about whether Enoch was really taken to heaven. When we look closely at the scriptures and the materials we’ve been studying, we find a very consistent and surprising answer.
The short answer is that Enoch was not taken to the spiritual realm where God dwells. The primary reason for this conclusion is the direct statement made by Jesus in John 3:13, which says, “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven”. Since Jesus was the first to be granted entrance into the heavenly state, no human being—including Enoch or Elijah—could have preceded him there.
To help clarify what actually happened to Enoch, here are a few key points from our study:
• The Meaning of “Heaven”: In the context of ancient prophets being “taken up,” the term “heaven” often refers to the physical sky or the atmosphere surrounding the earth, rather than the celestial throne of God.
• The Nature of His Translation: While Genesis 5:24 states that “God took him” and Hebrews 11:5 explains he was “translated that he should not see death,” it is understood that the execution of his Adamic death sentence was deferred, but not annulled. As an imperfect man, he remained under the condemnation of death until the ransom was paid by Christ. Now I don’t know what the word “translation” means in this context and I will avoid speculating.
• Waiting for the Church: According to Hebrews 11:39, 40, these faithful men of old will not be “made perfect”—meaning they will not receive their full restitution blessings—until the Gospel Church has first received its heavenly inheritance.
• Future Earthly Reward: Enoch is not promised a place in the spiritual Kingdom of heaven, but rather a “better resurrection” to perfect human life on earth (Hebrews 11:35). During the Millennial age, he and the other Ancient Worthies will serve as “princes in all the earth” (Psalm 45:16), acting as visible representatives and instructors for mankind.
In summary, Enoch was miraculously “taken” away from the sight of men to serve as a testimony, but his ultimate reward—like that of all the faithful before Christ—is an earthly one in the coming Kingdom.
I hope this helps Max.
I came across this:
“In 1879, Russell married Miss Mary F. Ackley. She, like his other followers, believed that he was the “faithful and wise servant” (Matthew 24:45) who was providing proper spiritual food to God’s people. His wife collaborated with Russell in publishing the magazine. They had no children. However, in 1896, Mary Ackley began to argue that he was the wicked servant, because the “Pastor” lacked morality.
Documented evidence of Russell’s shameful affairs with his female followers, as well as his cruel treatment of his wife, forced her to seek a divorce several years later. In court, it was proven that indecent relations existed between Russell and a woman named Rose Ball.
News of the divorce proceedings leaked to the general public and damaged Russell’s reputation and work. As a result, he changed the title of his publications to The Scriptures Studies and moved his central office to Brooklyn, New York.”
What can you say about this?
Hi Max, thank you for sharing that quote. These specific allegations have been circulated by critics for over a century, but historical records and court transcripts provide a very different picture of the actual facts.
Based on the sources, here is a clarification of those points:
The Charge of Adultery: During the 1906 legal separation trial, Maria Russell was asked directly on the witness stand whether she believed her husband was guilty of adultery. She answered unequivocally, “No”
The separation was granted not because “cruelty” or “immorality” were proven, but because the jury felt a reconciliation was no longer possible
The “Rose Ball” Incident: Rose Ball was a young orphan being raised by the Russells. The “indecent relations” allegation was a distortion of a single incident where Pastor Russell was found consoling the girl in a fatherly way after she had been in tears. CTR testified she had given him a kiss of gratitude for his kindness
The “Jellyfish” Story: This sensational claim was struck from the court record as unverified and unproven
Russell won or settled multiple libel suits against publications like the Washington Post and the Chicago Mission Friend that printed these false accounts, with the latter eventually publishing a retraction admitting he was a gentleman of the highest integrity
The Sensationalist Press: In Russell’s day, these allegations were promoted by a small number of sensationalist newspapers, such as the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, which acted as champions for his clerical enemies
The general public, however, largely rejected these claims; he remained the “most popular preacher in America,” with over 2,000 newspapers reaching 15 million readers who “heard him gladly”
The Move to Brooklyn: The move from Allegheny to Brooklyn in 1908–1909 was a strategic decision to secure larger facilities for an international ministry in the “City of Churches,” not an attempt to escape scandal
The Title Change: The shift from Millennial Dawn to Studies in the Scriptures occurred in 1904, years before the 1906 trial, to better reflect the series as a Bible study aid
In summary, while the separation was a difficult personal period, the testimony from his own wife and the legal vindications he received prove that the charges of “shameful affairs” were malicious distortions that the public at large did not believe
Is it permitted to eat pork or other unclean animals?
Hi Max, thank you for your question.
Regarding the eating of pork or other animals designated as “unclean” under the Mosaic Law, the Bible Student perspective is rooted in “Christian Liberty”.
As discussed in our studies on the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), the early Church decided that Gentile believers were not bound by the dietary restrictions of the Law of Moses. While the Law served as a “tutor” for a time, we believe that Christians today enjoy “full liberty in Christ” and are not under that “yoke”.
In short, it is considered a matter of individual conscience. We focus more on “character development” and our heart’s condition before God than on ritualistic dietary laws.
What’s your opinion of Paul Johnson? If I’m not mistaken, he founded the LHMM movement.
Hi Max, Paul S.L. Johnson was the founder of the Laymen’s Home Missionary Movement (LHMM) and a pivotal figure in the 1917 leadership crisis. He is famously remembered as the man who dared disfellowship Judge Rutherford” during the struggle for control of the Watchtower Society after Pastor Russell’s death.
Johnson is particularly distinguished for writing his own extensive series of volumes as a continuation of Russell’s Studies in the Scriptures, focusing heavily on biblical types. His movement remains a key Bible Student splinter group, emphasizing congregational independence, character development, and the “Ransom for ALL.” However those brethren saw the door the the heavenly call as being closed; a point of view that most Bible Students would strongly disagree with.
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Since you’re interested in the LHMM, would you like me to find more sources on the specific “types” Johnson identified in his volumes?
Yes, I’d like to learn more