Faith Tested Concerning 1914

11. How was 1914 significant for C. T. Russell and his associates?

¹¹ Years before the outbreak of the first world war, the anointed remnant had been proclaiming that 1914 would be a significant date in Bible prophecy. However, some of their expectations were premature, and their view of what would happen was less than perfect. For example, C. T. Russell, first president of the Watch Tower Society, and his associates could see that a vast preaching work was necessary. They read: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14, King James Version) How, though, could their relatively small group ever do that?

12. How did one of Russell’s associates respond to Bible truth?

¹² Consider how this affected A. H. Macmillan, an associate of Russell. Born in Canada, Macmillan was not yet 20 when he obtained Russell’s book The Plan of the Ages (1886). (This book, also called The Divine Plan of the Ages, became Volume 1 of the widely distributed set Studies in the Scriptures. Volume 2, The Time Is at Hand [1889], pointed to 1914 as the end of “the times of the Gentiles.” [Luke 21:24, KJ]) The very night Macmillan began reading, he thought: “Well, that sounds like the truth!” In the summer of 1900, he met Russell at a convention of the Bible Students, as Jehovah’s Witnesses were then called. Soon Macmillan was baptized and began working with Brother Russell at the Society’s headquarters in New York.

13. What problem did Macmillan and others see as to the fulfillment of Matthew 24:14?

¹³ Based on their reading of the Bible, those anointed Christians pointed to 1914 as a turning point in God’s purpose. But Macmillan and others wondered how the preaching to the nations foretold at Matthew 24:14 could be accomplished in the short remaining time. He later said: “I remember discussing that with Brother Russell frequently, and he would say, ‘Well, brother, right in New York we have more Jews than there are in Jerusalem. We have more Irishmen here than there are in Dublin. And we have more Italians than there are in Rome. Now if we reach them here, that will be reaching the world with the message.’ But that didn’t seem to satisfy our minds. So then the ‘Photo-Drama’ was thought of.”

14. Prior to 1914, what outstanding project was undertaken?

¹⁴ What a ground-breaking undertaking the “Photo-Drama of Creation” was! It combined motion pictures and colored glass slides, synchronized with Bible talks and music on phonograph records. In 1913, The Watch Tower said of a convention in Arkansas, U.S.A.: “It was unanimously resolved that the time has come for the use of moving pictures in teaching Bible truths. . . . [Russell] explained that he had been at work upon this very plan for three years and now had almost ready hundreds of beautiful pictures, which will undoubtedly attract great crowds and herald the Gospel, and help the public back to faith in God.”

15. What sort of results did the “Photo-Drama” have?

¹⁵ The “Photo-Drama” did that very thing after its inaugural showing in January 1914. Following are reports from The Watch Tower of 1914:

April 1: “A minister, after seeing two parts, said, ‘I have seen only one-half of the PHOTO-DRAMA OF CREATION, but already have learned from it more about the Bible than I learned in my three years’ course in the theological seminary.’ A Jew after seeing it remarked, ‘I go away a better Jew than when I came in.’ Several Catholic priests and nuns have visited the DRAMA and expressed great appreciation. . . . Only twelve sets of the DRAMA are yet complete . . . Nevertheless we have already reached and are serving thirty-one cities . . . Over thirty-five thousand per day are seeing, hearing, admiring, thinking and being blessed.”

June 15: “The pictures have made me more zealous to spread the Truth, and have increased my love for the Heavenly Father and our dear Elder Brother Jesus. I daily pray God’s richest blessing upon the PHOTO-DRAMA OF CREATION and all engaged in its presentation . . . I am your servant in Him, F. W. KNOCHE.—Iowa.”

July 15: “We are pleased to note what a wonderful impression for good the pictures have left in this city, and we feel assured that this witness to the world is also being used to gather in many who give evidence of being jewels of the Lord’s own choosing. We know of quite a number of earnest Bible students who are now associated with the Class here as a result of the Photo-Drama work. . . . Your sister in the Lord, EMMA L. BRICKER.”

November 15: “We feel sure you will be glad to hear of the splendid witness that is being given by means of the PHOTO-DRAMA OF CREATION at The London Opera House, Kingsway. The guiding hand of the Lord has been so wonderfully manifest in every detail of this exhibition that the brethren are rejoicing greatly . . . Our audiences were made up from all classes and kinds of people; we have noted many of the clergy in attendance. One vicar . . . asked for tickets that he and his wife might come and see it again. A Church of England Rector has attended the DRAMA several times, and . . . has brought many of his friends to witness it. Two bishops have also been present, and several titled people.”

December 1: “My wife and I truly thank our Heavenly Father for the great and priceless blessing which has come to us through your instrumentality. It was your beautiful PHOTO-DRAMA which was the cause of our seeing and accepting the Truth . . . We have your six volumes of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES. They are a great help.”

Response to Tests Back Then

16. Why did 1914 bring a test of faith?

¹⁶ What, though, when such sincere and devoted Christians found that their expectation of being joined with the Lord in 1914 was not realized? Those anointed ones went through an exceptionally trialsome period. The Watch Tower of November 1, 1914, declared: “Let us remember that we are in a testing season.” About this, Jehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom (1993) states: “The years from 1914 to 1918 did, indeed, prove to be ‘a testing season’ for the Bible Students.” Would they allow their faith to be refined and their thinking to be adjusted so that they could undertake the great work ahead?

17. How did the faithful anointed ones react to remaining on earth past 1914?

¹⁷ The Watch Tower of September 1, 1916, said: “We imagined that the Harvest work of gathering the Church [the anointed] would be accomplished before the end of the Gentile Times; but nothing in the Bible so said. . . . Are we regretful that the Harvest work continues? . . . Our present attitude, dear brethren, should be one of great gratitude toward God, increasing appreciation of the beautiful Truth which He has granted us the privilege of seeing and being identified with, and increasing zeal in helping to bring that Truth to the knowledge of others.” Their faith had been put to a test, yet they faced that test and met it successfully. But we Christians should be aware that tests of faith may be many and varied.

18, 19. What other tests of faith followed for God’s people soon after Brother Russell’s death?

¹⁸ For example, another kind of test came upon the remnant shortly after Brother Charles T. Russell died. That was a test of their loyalty and faith. Who was ‘the faithful slave’ of Matthew 24:45? Some felt that it was Brother Russell himself, and they balked at cooperating with new organizational arrangements. If he had been the slave, what were the brothers to do now that he had died? Should they follow some newly designated individual, or was it now time to recognize that Jehovah was using, not just one person, but an entire group of Christians as an instrument, or slave class?

¹⁹ An additional test came upon true Christians in 1918 when worldly authorities, goaded on by the clergy of Christendom, ‘framed mischief by law’ against Jehovah’s organization. (Psalm 94:20, KJ) A wave of violent persecution was launched against the Bible Students both in North America and in Europe. The clergy-inspired opposition came to a head on May 7, 1918, when U.S. federal warrants were issued for the arrest of J. F. Rutherford and several of his close associates, including A. H. Macmillan. They were falsely accused of sedition, and the authorities ignored their pleas of innocence.

20, 21. As foretold at Malachi 3:1-3, what work was done among the anointed?

²⁰ Though not recognized as such then, a purifying work was under way, as described at Malachi 3:1-3: “Who will be putting up with the day of his coming, and who will be the one standing when he appears? For [the messenger of the covenant] will be like the fire of a refiner and like the lye of laundrymen. And he must sit as a refiner and cleanser of silver and must cleanse the sons of Levi; and he must clarify them like gold and like silver, and they will certainly become to Jehovah people presenting a gift offering in righteousness.”

²¹ As World War I drew to a close, some of the Bible Students faced another test of faith—whether they would maintain strict neutrality as to worldly military affairs. (John 17:16; 18:36) Some did not. So in 1918, Jehovah sent “the messenger of the covenant,” Christ Jesus, to His spiritual temple arrangement to cleanse the small group of His worshipers from worldly blemishes. Those who were committed to displaying true faith learned from the experience and moved forward, zealously continuing to preach.

22. As to tests of faith, what remains to be considered?

²² What we have considered is not just of passing historical interest. It is directly related to the present spiritual condition of Jehovah’s worldwide congregation. But let us in the following article consider some of the tests of faith being faced by God’s people today and see how we may successfully overcome these.

4. How did one brother feel about tests that he and other anointed Christians had experienced?

⁴ In the preceding article, we considered tests that the anointed remnant faced from 1914 onward. Were these a basis for joy? A. H. Macmillan offered this retrospective view: “I have seen many severe trials come upon the organization and testings of the faith of those in it. With the help of God’s spirit it survived and continued to flourish. I have seen the wisdom of patiently waiting on Jehovah to clear up our understanding of Scriptural things instead of getting upset over a new thought. . . . No matter what adjustments we would have to make from time to time in our views, that would not change the gracious provision of the ransom and God’s promise of eternal life. So there was no need for us to let our faith be weakened by unfulfilled expectations or changes in views.”—The Watchtower, August 15, 1966, page 504.

5. (a) What benefits resulted from the remnant’s undergoing tests? (b) Why should the matter of testing interest us now?

⁵ Anointed Christians who survived the testing period of 1914-19 were freed from the dominating influence of the world and from many Babylonish religious practices. The remnant went forward as a cleansed and refined people, willingly offering sacrifices of praise to God and having the assurance that they as a people were acceptable to him. (Isaiah 52:11; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18) Judgment had begun with the house of God, but it would not be completed in one fixed period. The testing and the sifting of God’s people continues. Those who hope to survive the approaching “great tribulation” as part of the “great crowd” are also having their faith tested. (Revelation 7:9, 14) This is being done in ways similar to what the anointed remnant faced as well as in other ways.