Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ warned: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.” (Matthew 24:4,5)
"Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!' or ‘There!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:23,24; Mark 13:21,22)
Have you been deceived by a false Christ?
My own investigations into the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses reveal that the official Watchtower doctrine is that, strictly speaking, Jesus Christ is only Mediator for the 144,000 "spiritual Israelites" who have a heavenly hope (see WT April 1, 1979, p 31; Nov 15, 1979, pp 24-27).
This teaching effectively leaves millions of Kingdom Hall attendees, the eternally earthbound “great crowd" of “other sheep”, in need of another "mediator" other than Jesus Christ.
Surely not, you say.
But, yes, the official Watchtower Society teaching is that the "other sheep" need a surrogate "Christ" in the form of the "anointed" class.
How did such a doctrine come about?
The origins are found in what is known as "The Christ" doctrine developed by the founder of The Watch Tower, Charles Taze Russell, who introduced the idea in the first main article, entitled "Why will there be a Second Advent?", published in the first edition of Zion's Watch Tower, dated July 1879, where Russell states:
"We understand that the object of the present witnessing is 'To take out a people for His name' - the Church - who at Christ's coming are united to Him, and receive His name." Rev. iii. 12. - (WT Vol, July 1879: 4)
Receive His name? What exactly does that mean?
In this statement Russell first hints at his developing doctrine that what he calls "the Church" (by which he actually means himself and his followers) is entitled to be called "The Christ".
Referring to Genesis 3:15, where it is prophesied that the "seed" will bruise the serpent's head, and to Genesis 22:18, where God promises Abraham: "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed," Russell comments:
"For the seed is not Christ, the head, alone, but the Church, which is His body, as Paul informs us, Gal. iii. 29, 'Which seed is Christ; and if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise'." - (WT Vol, July 1879: 6)
It is Russell's reasoning that it is a corporate or composite "Christ" (Jesus aided by Russell and his followers) which will bruise Satan, and it is this corporate or composite "Christ" which will bless mankind.
Notice how Russell refers to Jesus as "the second Adam", and to the Church as "the second Eve", in these words:
"The second Adam and the second Eve become one, and are thus the beginning of the new creation, and then the glorious work of elevating mankind in general begins. As Adam, the beginning of the fleshly race, was composed of man and the helpmeet taken from his side, as it is written, 'Male and female created He them and He called their name Adam,' Gen. v. 12, so the 'Second Adam,' of whom Paul says the first 'was a figure,' or type, has a helpmeet taken from His side, and when she is fully formed and perfected, the Bridegroom comes and they go in to the marriage; they become one, 'the new creation of God' (read Eph. v. 25, 30, 32), making in Himself of twain (Jews and Gentiles) 'One New Man.' (Eph. ii. 15.) This new man we have found to be the seed 'to crush the serpent's head.' 'The seed of Abraham,' 'in whom all the families of the earth shall be blest'." - (WT Vol, July 1879: 6)
It is Russell's teaching that, the "first Adam" was a corporate or composite "man" composed of both Adam and Eve.
In developing his doctrine, Russell points out that the Hebrew word 'adam, which translates as "man", is also translated "Adam" due to the simple fact that Adam was given the generic name of the race he would procreate. The Hebrew word 'adam is certainly not restricted to Adam, however, and far more often means "man" in the wider sense of "mankind" or "the human race".
Russell builds his doctrine on the Authorized (King James) Version translation of Genesis 5:2 which states that, after creating the first human pair, God "called their name Adam" (other versions of the Bible translate the Hebrew word 'adam here as "man" or "mankind"). In truth, Genesis 5:2 simply records the fact that God called his latest creation "man", or "mankind", to distinguish them from other creatures.
It is Russell's teaching that, just as the "first Adam" was a corporate or composite "man" composed of both Adam and Eve. Likewise, the "second Adam" must be composed of Jesus and His church who are, unitedly, "The Christ".
When the early Watch Towers, therefore, make statements, such as "As death came by the first Adam, so life comes by the second Adam", the innocent words obscure a cryptic teaching but, occasionally, the doctrine surfaces:
"Christ, the second Adam, both husband and father is developed first. Next in order comes the church as both wife and mother. And after the marriage, which takes place at the Second Advent, the whole family of man will be regenerated (excepting wilful rejectors)." - (WT Vol, August 1879; 25)
The message, although obscure, is nevertheless there. What Russell is saying is that Jesus is the first part of an undeveloped and incomplete Christ. "The Christ", proper, is actually Jesus and the completed church. (Notice, too, the reference to the church being the "mother" of "the whole family of man", the origin of referring to the Watchtower Society as the "mother" organization.) This thought, of an undeveloped Christ, was spelt out later in more detail:
"Eve was taken from Adam and so the church is taken from Christ. The world of mankind came into existence from the uniting of those two, and when united God called their name Adam. It was in the two all died, and we can show that it will be in the Second Adam and Eve, all will be made alive. Paul in 1 Cor. xv. is speaking of death which came by man. But Eve was the instrument direct in their death, she must be included in the statement, 'as in Adam all die,' and if she is, the next, 'so in Christ shall all be made alive,' must include the church. The first two God called Adam, and they brought death and misery on the human family. The second pair God calls 'The Christ or seed' (Gal. iii. 16-29) and they bring life and bless all nations of the earth." - (WT Vol, September 1880: 139)
"It has also been shown from time to time that the Christ of scripture is a complex being, presented to our minds by the figure of a man - Head and Body; - Jesus Himself being the Head and believers being the many members of the one Body. This being true it follows that there is a progressive development of Christ from Jesus in the flesh, until the last member of His Body is exalted to glory." - (WT Vol, November 1880: 160)
"This age will end when the full number of the 'elect' shall have been found and tested. Then the body will have been completed. When The Messiah is complete, The Christ will be complete." - WT Vol, June 15, 1911: 4841)
In "The Divine Plan of the Ages" (Vol I of "Studies in the Scriptures", 1886), Russell puts forward the doctrine that "the mystery which has been hidden from ages" (Col 1:26) is none other than the mystery of the church being "The Christ". Russell states:
"Paul declares (Col 1:27) that this mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, now made manifest to his saints, is 'Christ in You, the Hope of Glory.' This is the great mystery of God which has been hidden from all previous ages, and is still hidden from all except a special class - the saints, or consecrated believers. But what is meant by 'Christ in you?' We have learned that Jesus was anointed with the holy Spirit (Acts 10:38), and thus we recognise him to be the Christ - the anointed - for the word Christ signifies anointed. And the Apostle John says that the anointing which we (consecrated believers) have received abideth in us. (1 John 2:27) Thus the saints of this Gospel age are an anointed company - anointed to be kings and priests unto God (2 Cor. 1:21; 1 Peter 2:9); and together with Jesus, their chief and Lord, they constitute Jehovah's Anointed - the Christ." - (pp 81,82)
Coupled with Russell's teaching that Jesus Christ would never return visibly to the earth, this "Christ" doctrine predictably led to the conclusion that Russell's followers were actually Christ manifested in the flesh:
"So, then, Christ is manifest in your mortal body. (2 Cor 4:11) When the world sees you it sees a member of the Christ, not in glory, but in the flesh." - (WT Vol, March 1883: 455)
Not surprisingly, feeling entitled to be called "The Christ", Russell also sought to acquire other titles of Christ for readers of The Watch Tower:
"We lose our lives for Christ's sake in the sense that we sacrifice present interests and life itself in order that we may be members of the Christ - the world's Prophet, Priest, King, Mediator - his member, his bride and joint-heir as the seed of Abraham, the second Adam through whom the world will soon have opportunity for regeneration on the earthly plane." - (WT Vol, February 1, 1910: 4556)
Notice, if you will, that Russell and his followers also claim to be the composite "Prophet" (Deut 18:15; John 6:14) and, as well as the world's Priest and King, the claim is made to be the "one Mediator between God and men" (1 Tim 2:5).
Not content with being "The Christ", "The Prophet", and "The Mediator", Russell also blasphemously claimed the ultimate appellation, "Mighty God", in an article entitled "The Everlasting Father" which appeared in the November 1881 edition of Zion's Watch Tower, in which Russell sought to appropriate the prophetic titles of Isaiah 9:6 to himself and his followers. The article concluded:
"Soon follows the power which will, under him as our head, constitute the whole body of Christ the "Mighty God" to rule and bless the nations - and the body with the head, shall share in the work of restoring the life lost in Adam, and therefore be members of that company which as a whole will be the Everlasting Father to the restored race." - (WT Vol, November 1881: 298)
With the death of Russell, in 1916, the new president of the Watchtower Society, Joseph F Rutherford (1916-42), continued to teach that "The Christ", the Saviour of the world, was made up of the 144,000 "Anointed" faithful Watch Tower followers:
"Jesus and his glorified church constituting the great Messiah, shall minister the blessings to the people." - (Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920, p 88)
"The word Christ signifies anointed. Anointing means designation to official position in God's arrangement. The Christ is the instrument or channel for the blessing of mankind. The Christ is composed of Jesus the great and mighty head, and 144,000 members." - (The Harp of God, 1921, p 187)
"The new creation is The Christ. The Christ is a composite body made up of many members. The Head of The Christ is Jesus Christ, God's beloved Son. Those who are taken from amongst men, justified, begotten and anointed by the spirit of Jehovah, and who then continue faithful unto death, will constitute the members of The Christ complete." - (Creation, 1927, p 192)
So much for the years 1879 to 1927, but what of today? This doctrine of Russell and Rutherford remains firmly intact but in a more clandestine form accomplished by the Watchtower Society choosing to employ the term "anointed" rather than "Christ". Although relatively obscure, this secluded doctrine is seen to emerge from time to time. For example, the November 15, 1979, Watchtower emphasised that Jesus Christ is only the mediator for the 144,000 "anointed" class (pp 24-27). In turn, this "anointed" or "Christ" class ("spiritual Israel") are stated to be, in effect, the "mediator" for the "great crowd" of 7,000,000 or so Jehovah's Witnesses:
"To keep in relationship with 'our Savior, God,' the 'great crowd' needs to remain united with the remnant of spiritual Israelites." - (WT November 15, 1979: 27)
"Your attitude toward the 'wheatlike anointed brothers' of Christ and the treatment you accord them, will be the determining factor as to whether you go into 'everlasting cutting-off' or receive 'everlasting life'." - (WT August 1, 1981: 26)
“But if we were to draw away from Jehovah’s organization, there would be no place else to go for salvation and true joy." - (WT September 15, 1993: 22)
The Scriptures contain distinct warnings to beware of false "Christs" who would attempt to deceive and mislead true Christians. Interestingly, Jesus forewarned:
"See to it that you be not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and, 'The time is at hand'; do not go after them." - (Luke 21:8)
Not only did Russell and his followers claim to be "the Christ" manifest in the flesh on earth; they also released the book entitled "The Time Is at Hand" in 1889, thus fulfilling both aspects of the warning of Jesus.
"See to it that you be not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and, 'The time is at hand'; do not go after them." - (Luke 21:8)
Not only did Russell and his followers claim to be "the Christ" manifest in the flesh on earth; they also released the book entitled "The Time Is at Hand" in 1889, thus fulfilling both aspects of the warning of Jesus.
