Q: I got to thinking about the idea that Jesus came to his earthly temple in 1918-1919 and declared the ones taking the lead (board of directors, governing body etc.) faithful and discrete and appointing them over all his belongings.  If that were true there would nerry be a one left on earth today that was approved.  I would think that for a person to be taking the lead amongst God's people would at least have to be an adult.  Let's for the sake of argument use the age of 20 as the lower limit in age of one fitting this profile.  I'm certainly not being dogmatic about this, just using the age of 20 as a starting point.  A 20 year old person in 1918 would have been born in 1898.  That would make the youngest of the "approved" brothers or sisters to be at least 107 to 108 years old today.  If there is more than 1 or two that fit that description I would be surprised.  It would not be out of the question to come to the conclusion that there are not any from that "generation" of people left.  Does that mean that there are no longer any among the anointed that have recieved Christ's approval at this time?

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A:  As you note, If God's household was judged back in 1918-19 then there is no one left alive today of those who were already judged. Therefore, the obvious question is: Are any of Christ's anointed brothers approved at this time? The Society gets around that illogical situation by claiming that God's household was judged as a body, and not the individuals making up the household, and thus as a group they were found “faithful and discreet.” But there are no scriptures that we can point to that would indicate that Jehovah would judge his people as a unit rather than individually. (Rev. 2:23)

For example, when the apostle Peter talks about the judgment starting with the house of God, he asks: "Now if it starts first with us, what will the end be of those who are not obedient to the good news of God? And if the righteous man is being saved with difficulty, where will the ungodly man and the sinner make a showing?" (1 Peter 4:17,18) Peter shows that the judgment will be on an individual basis, according to what each man is within God’s household, not according to what the overall whole house is. It is not a matter of whether God will reject his household and all those in it, or whether he will automatically accept and bless everyone within it. “For we must all be made manifest before the judgment seat of the Christ, that each one may get his award for the things done through the body, according to the things he has practiced, whether it is good or vile.” (2 Corinthians 5:10; Rom. 14:12; 1 Cor. 4:2-5)

Let us consider for a moment what is really involved in promoting the idea that God's house, as a body, was judged back in 1918/19.

Concerning God's household, the apostle Paul wrote that the "members of the household of God . . . have been built up upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, while Christ Jesus himself is the foundation cornerstone. In union with him the whole building, being harmoniously joined together, is growing into a holy temple for Jehovah. In union with him you, too, are being built up together into a place for God to inhabit by spirit." (Eph. 2:19-22)

An obvious question is: Does Jehovah know who the members are that make up his household? Has he himself not chosen and anointed each individual of those who make up the foundation of his "holy temple" and built them into a place for him to inhabit by spirit? Would there ever, at any time, be any doubt in Jehovah's mind as to who constitutes his household? Would Jehovah ever wonder if maybe Christendom might be his household?

Those who are claiming that God's household was judged as a group, almost ninety years ago, are saying that Jehovah was evaluating Christendom and also the small group of active Bible Students at that time, and he decided in favor of the Bible Students for various reasons, such as having remained neutral during World War I. He is said to have judged them as “faithful and discreet” as opposed to the clergy of Christendom whose hands were drenched in blood due to their participation in the war. Is that possible? Is God’s judgment about deciding who his household was back in 1919? This is what the Watchtower said on this point:

Mankind has entered a period of judgment. We are informed at 1 Peter 4:17 that judgment started “with the house of God”—a judgment of professed Christian organizations that has been apparent since “the last days” got under way with the slaughter of World War I during 1914-18. How has Christendom made out in this judgment? Well, consider the stand of the churches in supporting the wars since 1914. Are not the clergy stained with “the blood marks of the souls of the innocent poor ones” that they preached into the firing lines?—Jeremiah 2:34. —w96 4/1 p. 18 “Praise Jah, You People!”

If the judgment was about deciding between the churches of Christendom and the small group of Bible Students, then we must conclude that there were no anointed ones that Jehovah recognized as belonging to him prior to them being judged as a group in 1918/19, as he had not yet rendered his verdict concerning who it was that made up his household. That would mean that neither C.T. Russell, Judge Rutherford, nor any other members of the board of directors of the Watch Tower Society were recognized by Jehovah as his anointed servants prior to that year, seeing that he had not yet rendered his decision.

But if we dismiss that sort of reasoning then we must conclude that the judging of God’s household is not about identifying the household. It is not about Jehovah judging between Christendom and his anointed as a group, but rather his judgment means the judging of the individual members within his household that he already acknowledges as his people, the household which had its foundation laid at Pentecost, “built up upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, while Christ Jesus himself is the foundation cornerstone.” (Eph. 2:20)

Jehovah has always known and recognized those who belong to him in union with his Son, each and every individual branch in the vine. And as long as they remain in the vine they have Jehovah’s and Christ’s approval. (John 15:1-8) He deals with them individually, as Jesus pointed out, and they are judged in the same way. That is acknowledged in this Watchtower:

This personal responsibility is strongly emphasized when we recall that at the close of each message to the seven congregations comprising the true church, the reward is promised individually “to him that conquers.” —w70 9/15 pp. 565-566 The Hour of Test Is On! (bold mine)

To teach that Jehovah judges his slaves as a body, or group, is unscriptural. It did not happen back in 1918-19 and neither will it happen in the future. But he will judge each individual member within his household in the near future. Jehovah will maneuver events where he will expose what we are really like at heart, without us even being aware that it is taking place. At that time “wicked men and imposters will advance from bad to worse,” while also at the same time “the righteous ones will shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (2 Tim. 3:13; Matt. 13:43; Dan. 12:3, 10) Not until his “day of wrath” will Jehovah reveal his righteous judgment and “render to each one according to his works.” (Rom. 2:5,6)

 
 

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