The Walsh Trial (1954), Part 1

Download: PDF — The Walsh Trial (1954), Part 1

<--USE BOOKMARKS TAB FOR NAVIGATION

A

LORD STRACHAM.

B

PROOF

L.C.

DOUGLAS WAIAH

C

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE JAMES LATHAM CLYDE, M.P., P.C.; as representing the Minister of Labour and National Service.

D

Tuesday, 23rd November, 1954

E

Counsel for the Pursuer: The Dean of Faculty,

(Sir John Cameron, Q.C.), Mr. Emile, and Miss Clark Butchison.

Counsel for the Defender: Mr. Leslie, Q.C., and Mr. Kissen.

F

PURSUER'S PROOF

G

FREDERICK WILLIAM FRANZ (61)

EXAMINED I reside at Brooklyn, King's County,

New York, United States of America.

I am Vice-President of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, and I am a member of its headquarters staff. Q. Have you an office and a room at its headquarters in Brooklyn which are known as Bethel? A. Yes. Q. Is the particular aspect of your work theological research and study? A. Yes. Q. Are you consulted by the President and the Board of Directors of the Society on all matters of theology? A. Yes. Q. I think that you have been since 1926 engaged in the work or theological research? A. That is true. Q. I think that from your earliest years you, yourself, were brought up as a Presbyterian. A. Yes. Q. Were you educated at the University of Cincinnati? A. Yes. Q. Bad you then the view of taking a Bachelor of Arts degree there with the intention of proceeding to a seminary for training? A. Yes. Q. Was it in April, 1914, that you decided to devote your life to the regular ministry of Jehovah's Witnesses? A. Yes. Q. At that time was the Society known as Jehovah's Witnesses? A. Bo. Q. Was it then called the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society? A. Yes. Q. I think various names were given to the adherents and members of that Society at that stage? A. Yes. Q. I think 1914, as you will explain later, is believed by all Jehovah's Witnesses to be a critical year in the history of the world? A. That is true. Q. And for you, yourself, it was a critical/ critical year in that you devoted your life from that time to the body which is now known as Jenovah's Witnesses.

A. Yes. Q. I think that you underwent the ceremony of baptism by immersion in April, 1914? A. Yes.

Q. From 1914 until 1920 were yourself, a full time minister in field service? A. I was a Full time minister. Q. I think you supplemented or, rather, you provided for your personal needs by working as a stenographer at that time? A. Yes. Q. You said a moment ago that you were a full-time minister in field service. Without anticipating too much, did you occupy the position then of one who is now called a Special Pioneer? X. Yes, I was a Pioneer. Q. Was it what you got field service that you were engaged on? A. You entered the Pioneer Service in April of 1914 on leaving the University. Q. In 1920 were you invited by the then President of the Society, Judge Rutherford, to join the headquarters staff? A. Yes. Q. Was the headquarters at that time situated in Brooklyn? A. Yes, at 124, Columbia Heights. Q. And it still is? A. It still is. Q. After a short period were you put in charge of what is called Pioneer Work in the U.S.A.? A. Yes. I was put in the Pioneer Department at headquarters. Q. In 1926 did you come to England to attend an international convention of the Society and its members? A. Yes, at London. Q. On your return to/ to Brooklyn did you enter the editorial department?

A. Yes. Q. Where I think you are still serving?

A. That is true. Q. In the editorial department responsible for the preparation and initial examination of the various publications of the Society?

A. Yes. Q. Do these publications include a monthly magazine? A. A semi-monthly magazine. Q. Is that called "The Watchtower"? A. "The Watchtower".

Q. Is there another periodical called "Awake"? A. Yes. Q. How frequently is that issued? A. That is published twice a month also. Q. In addition to that, is there prepared and issued yearly what is called a Year Book of the Society? A. Yes. Q. Betting on growth of membership, extent of membership, and its activities throughout one world wherever branches or congregations of the Society exist? A. That is true.

Q. In addition to these regular publications do you prepare and issue a number of theological pamphlets and books from time to time? A. Yes. Q. Can you tell me this; are those theological publications and the semi-monthly periodicals used for discussion of statements of doctrine? A. Yes. Q. Are these statements of doctrine held to be authoritative within the Society? A. Yes. Q. Is their acceptance a matter of choice, or is it obligatory on all those who wish to be and remain members of the Society? A. It is obligatory. Q. Does the responsibility for the issue/ issue of these authoritative pronouncements rest with the President and Board of Directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Trust Society.

A. Yes. Q. We shall hear later as to its organization, but may I take this from you. Is that a chartered body? A. The Board of Directors is a chartered body. Q. Chartered in the United States of America. A. Yes. Q. Are the Board of Directors necessarily all members of the Society? A. They are necessarily members of the Society. Q. Are they also members of a particularly select section of members known as the Anointed? A. That is true.

Q. Are you yourself, a member of the Board? A. I am.

Q. How long have you been a member? A. For some time before the death of Judge Rutherford. Q. That took place in what year? A. Judge Rutherford died in January, 1942.

Q. I think the present President is Mr. Nathan H. Knorr? A. Yes. Q. I have been asking you whether you went into the editorial department and headquarters in 1926, and I think your answer is yes, and that you have been there ever since? A. That is true.

Q. You have just told his Lordship the work the department carried out. In addition to that work have you been carrying on special research work in the Bible? A. Yes. I have carried on special research work in the Bible. Q. And its commentaries?

A. And commentaries and Biblical reforms works.

Q. I think also in the study of comparative religions?

A. Yes. Q. Are you now Head of the Editorial Department?

A. Yes. Q. When did you become Hand of that department?

A. In 1942, at the death of Judge Rutherford.

Q. I think you told us that you occupy a responsible position of the Vice-President of the whole Society to-day?

A. Yes. Q. How long have you competed that?

A. Since the election of the officer of the Society in the autumn of 1945 I have been Vice-President of the Watch Tower Bible and Trust Society, Pennsylvania Corporation.

Q. I think that you studied both Latin and Greek when you were at the University?

A. Yes.

A. Q. Have you also made yourself familiar with Hebrew? A.

Yes. Q. Do you also know and speak Spanish Portuguese and French? A. Spanish Portuguese and German, but I have a reading knowledge of French. Q. So that you have a substantial linguistic apparatus at your command?

B. Yes, for use in my biblical work. Q. I think you are able to read and follow the Bible in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, German and French. A. Yes. Q. It is the case. Is it not, that in 1950 there was prepared and learned what is called the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures? A. Yes. (Shown No. 41 of process) I recognise that as an authentic copy of the new World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures issued in the summer of 1950. Q. Right as it shows.

D. Oversee to be the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures rendered from the original language by the New World Biblical Translation Committee, A.D. 1950?

A. Yes. Q. That is on the flyleaf? A. Yes. Q. And I am that it is copyrighted by the Wachtowar Bible and Tract Society and published by the Wachtowar Bible and Tract Society Incorporated, and made in the U.S.A.? A. Yes. Q. And I think you have a foreword. Are you responsible yourself for the forward? A. That is prepared by the Translation Committee as the signature will show. Q. And are the Christian Greek Scriptures referred to there what they usually call the/ tho Now Testament?

A. That is true. Q. I think that it was your duty, was it not, before the issue of that New World Translation by your Society to chook that translation for accuracy? A. That is true. Q. In light of your studios and in light of your knowledge? A. That is true. Q. And did you do so? A. I did so. Q. I think, as the book shows, that there was a substantial printing of that translation? The first edition was 480,000 copies and the second edition was 1,000,000! A. Yes. Q. So that at least one and a half million copies have been issued; is that right? A. That is true. Q. And have those been issued in connection with the work of the Society all over the world? A. Yes, particularly in English-speaking countries. Q. I should ask you this; has that version been translated into any other language then English? A. No. Q. It is an English translation? A.L. Yes. Q. So may I take it in round figures that you have published and disseminated something like one and a half million copies of that translation under the authority of your Society? A. Yes. Q. And does the Society regard it an authoritative translation of the New Testament Scriptures? A. Yes. Q. And as the foundation of Bible study in English-speaking lands amongst members of the Society with regard to the New Testament? A. Yes. Q. In 1952 was there a similar translation of the/ A.

the Hebrew Scriptures issued by and on behalf of the Society? A. In 1953. Q. Would you look at No. 42 of prose? Is that a first volume of the New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures? A. Yes, that is. Q. And that is a translation of the books of the Old Testament up to and including the Book of Ruth? A. Yes, known as the nototouch. Q. And was it your duty on behalf of the society to check the translation into English from the original Hebrew of that first volume of the Old Testament Scriptures? A. Yes. Q. I think that the flyleaf shows that the first edition of half a million copies was printed and published? A. Yes. Q. Andreas that been distributed? A. I could not say. Q. You cannot say about that? A. No. Q. Anyway that would be the published edition? A. Yes. Q. Have you in foot resolved favourable comments on these two volumes? A. We have. Q. From scholars and theologians who are wholly unconnected with the Society? A. That is true. Q. I want to ask you now some of the simple and fundamental matters about the Association which is now called Johovah's Witnesses. In the first place are Johovah's witnesses an association of Christian people? A. Yes. Q. Is it an international association? A. Yes. Q. Have you congregations all over the world? A. Yes. Q. Perhaps you would look at the Year Book for 1956 No. 38 of Prose, Is that one of the most recent of them/ A the annual Year Book publications issued on behalf of the Society.

Q. As the flyleaf shows does it contain a report for the service year of 1953? A. Yes. Q. I think it is published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society; the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society Incorporated, and the International Bible Students Association, 124 Columbia Knights, Brooklyn. New York? A. Yes. Q. That is where you have your office? A. Yes. Q. It is copyrighted, I see, by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society? A. Yes. Q. I think that over the flyleaf you find the principal officers mentioned: Mr. N.E. Knorr, the President, whom you have referred to. Mr.P.W. Franz, that is yourself, the Vice-president, and Mr. Frank Soutar, the Secretary and Treasurer, who, I think, has accompanied you to give evidence in this case from the United States? A. Yes. Q. On the inside of the flyleaf certain names appear, which I have mentioned and then on the opposite side a double columned shoot indicates the country? A. Yes. Q. I think I am right in saying that there is a very large number of countries all over the world, numbering several hundreds, which appear in that list? A. Not several hundreds, but over one hundred. Q. Well, that is more accurate. The index to which reference is made three takes you to the Annual Report for each country indicated? A. Yes. Q. And shows the activism carried out? A. Yes. Q. So that this Year Book of 1954 shows that the organisation/ organisation is both international and world wide?

A. Yes.

Q. If you would just be so kind to look at pages 32 to 36, do you find there tabulated what is called the 1953 Service Your Report of Jehovah's Witnesses world wide?

Yes. Q. And on page 36 is there set out the grand total of the various activities and the various numbers of persons within the society? A. Yes. Q. The first two columns relate to page 36 to 1952 and 1953, and they are boaded, are they not, "Average publishers" in these first two columns? A. Ica. Q. Is a publisher the equivalent title of a member of the Society? A. Ica. Q. That is to say, one who has been immoran and baptised and thereby undertaken to publish, as you put it, the Gospel of the Kingdom? A. Yes. Q. And that is why you find throughout these proceedings and pleadings, references to publishers, one who publishes the Good News; is that right? A. Yes, that is right. Q. And do I find that the grand total in this world-wide organisation for 1953 of publishers is put at no less than 468,106? A. Yes, that is correct.

Q. Being an increase of ten per cent over the 1952 figures of 426,704? A. Part is incorrect. Q. I think the fourth column gives the actual peak figure for 1953 of publishers as 519,982? A. Yes. Q. I am afraid I put a careless question to you a moment ago. As my friend Mr. Basilic reminded me, where I asked you whether those figures are the numbers of the Society, but I should have/ have asked you did those figures relate to Jehovah's Witnesses, members of the Body?

A. Yes. Q. Members of the Society are limited, are they not under the Charter? A. Yes, to those in membership of the Society. and legally and specifically that is limited to several hundred. Q. But those are Jehovah's Witnesses? A. Yes.

BY THE COURT: Q. You used the word "Society" several times in your evidence. When you use that word to which Society are you referring? A. We are referring to the Pennsylvania Corporation, which supervises the work all over the world, not to the New York Corporation. Q. Is that the Watchtower Bible and Treat Society incorporated? A. n_1 that is the New York Corporation.

EXHINITION CONTINUED: Q. So you point to these figures as indicating the international and world wide operator of Johovah's Witnesses? A. Yes. Q. And so the substantial number who are throughout the world now regarding themselves and regarded as Johovah's Witnesses* L. Yes. Q. Is that association organised on any particular basis you would describe to it? Is it what you call a theoretical

organisation? A. Yes, it is a theocratic organisation.

Q. Has it the dual purpose of the worship of Johovah God and the proaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom throughout the world?

A. Yes. Q. Those are the fundamental purposes?

A. Yes the two are inseparable in fact. The worship of Johovah God includes the active service in the form of publishing the message that he has provided: Q.

Now would you be so kind as to look at the Closed Record, the written pleadings (Shown No. 19 of Process. Would you please look at page 5 of that document which you have in your hand. Do you see what is called Condescendence E, beginning at letter D, on page 5? A. Yes, II - Condescendence for Purauer.

Q. It is the second paragraph of that page, beginning at letter N. The letters are down the right hand side? A. Yes. Q. "The said body, which has more than 25,000 members in the United Kingdom and Eire, is an international "and world wide association of Christian people". I think you have told us this body, Jehovah's Witnesses, is international and world wide, and christian? A. Yes.

Q. Look at the next phrase: "constituting a thoocratic organization for the purposes of worship of Jehovah God and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom throughout the earth". Would you regard that as an accurate summary of the organization and its purposes? A. I regard it as such.

Q. I notice in that sentence I have just read to you the word "Gospel" is set up in a capital letter, and so is the word "Kingdom". I think you said that the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom was/is essential part of the purposes? A. Yes.

Q. Would you just tell me what is the Kingdom which you have in mind as being the Kingdom whose Gospel has to be reached throughout the world? A. The Kingdom is the thoocratic government which Jehovah God established in the A.

the hand of his beloved son Jesus Christ, who is the appointed "king of Kings in the theocratic government. It is a heavenly government, and from there it will rule the inhabitants of the earth. This heavenly government included not only the Lord Jesus Christ, but it includes also associate kings over which he is King of Kings. These associate kings will number 144,000, and they correspond with the faithful members of his congregation, his followers who have continued in his footsteps faithfully to the death.

Q. Now just pause there for a moment. Am I right in thinking that the Kingdom then represents a theocratic kingdom? A. Yes, Jehovah God is its founder, and he is its over-all head.

Q. Do you find in the Greek Scriptures a particular text which refers in particular to the duty of preaching the Gospel of that Kingdom international, and to all nations?

A. Yes.

Q. Would you just tell me where?

A. In Matthew's Gospel, the 24th Chapter, and the 14th verse which, according to the King James' version, reads: "And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all "the world for a witness unto all nations, and then "shall the end come".

Q. Can you tell me whether the Kingdom to which you have referred, and the Gospel of which you regard yourselves under a duty to preach to all nations, is one presently existing, or one which has existed, or one which in to come?

A. No, it is one which exists presently, since the 1014 A.D.

A. Q. Is that a new Kingdom, or a re-established kingdom?

A. It is a re-establishment of a theocratic government with respect to this earth. But it is a new Kingdom in the sense that it is a Reavenly Kingdom, whereas its predecessor was an earthly viable kingdom.

B. I think that this is a matter which you had set out in certain of your authoritative theological publications. Would you please look at No. 16 of Process. Is this called "This Means Everlasting Life"?

C. Incorporated, copywritten in 1960 by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, and issued in an edition of 2½ million copies in England? A. 2½ million. Q. Mine is 2,250,000. A. I have 2,750,000. Q. Is there a chapter headed: "The Appointed Times of the Nation", which begins on page 59. A. That is correct.

D. Q. In that chapter do you find the calculations, and the authoritative calculations, which show that 1914, according to your belief, is the year of the re-establishment of the theocratic Kingdom of Jahovah God in this earth? A. Yes, in the very last paragraph. Q. You find that summed up in paragraph 16 on page 70? A. Yes.

Q. I think you find this matter dealt with in a number of articles in No. 16 of Process, which is a theological publication called: "Let God be True", and one which is published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society Incorporated, the International Bible Students Association, Brooklyn / A Brooklyn, and copywritten in 1946 by the Match Tower Bible and Tract Society, and in the copy I have in my hand the first edition is said to be 10,003,000 printed in 30 languages?

A. That agrees with the copy I have here.

Q. In the Processcopy you have before you, what is the edition?

B. This says: "Second edition 2 million copies". That means in addition to the first. The first edition ran 10,003,000 copies. Then the revised edition was put out on April 1st, 1952, and this comprises two million copies.

C. This matter of the commencement of the second theocratic kingdom in 1914 is referred to throughout the book No. 16 of Process, entitled, "Let God be True"?

A. Yes.

Q. Is that book, like the previous book, No. 16 of Process, an authoritative theological production of the Association and its ruling society?

D. It is.

Q. In particular -- I don't want to take the details -- do I find references to this matter on pages 141, 143, 201, 202, 218 and 287?

I think if you look at the subject index on page 313 you will find the pagination to which I have referred. It has been checked in my copy.

A. Yes, the date is 1914 as the marked year, and it is referred to on pages 141, 143, 201, 202, 218 and 287.

Q. Is this Kingdom to which you refer, and which you believe, held by you?

P. To be that Kingdom referred to in the injunction given by the Greeks, and reported in Matthew Chapter 24, verse 14, which you have just read?

A. Yes.

Q. That is the Kingdom? A. Yes.

Q. At the end of that text you read the words, "And then 'ahall the end come'." Have these words any particular significance in your beliefs? A. Yes. The end there referred to means the end of this world or system of things in the final war of Armageddon, the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Q. Has Armageddon, in your view, yet arrived? A. No. Q. But it is something which will arrive? A. Yes. Q. Is there, in view of the final arrival of Armageddon, any urgency in the need to preach the gospel of the kingdom throughout all the world unto all nations? A. Yes. We believe that the battle of Armageddon will arrive within the generation that began witnessing the events of 1914 and still continues witnessing the evidences of the fact that we are living in the time of the end-of-time world and the time of the prasantha of this established kingdom of God. Jesus told that "All those things shall come to pass within this generation". Q. So therefore there is a matter of urgency? A. There is a matter of urgency and the 12th chapter of Revelation says that the devil who will be restrained with his demons at the battle of Armageddon has great wrath during this period of time because he knows that he breaks short time, and we know it too. Q. What is; in your view, the gospel which is to be prescribed? A. The gospel which is to be prescribed is the gospel of the established kingdom of God in the hands of his King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In / In this chapter 24 of Matthew's gospel where this prophetTo command regarding the preaching of the kingdom in all the inhabited earth to be a witness to all nations—oocursa, Jesus is discussing the kingdom come, the established kingdom, because that is the theocratic government with regard to which the disciples were making inquiry, and they ask him what would be the sign of His presence and of the end of the world or system of things, and Jesus in response gave a list of visible evidences to His disciples by which they would know that He was present invisibly as the divine spirit preacher in the kingdom.

Q. Well, now, that is the gospel and that is the kingdom. May I take it that the particular point of the gospel on which you lay emphasis then is the Good News or Gled Tidings of the information of the re-establishment of the theocratic kingdom in 1914?

A. That is true. Q. I think you told his Lordship that, in your view, that presages Armageddon within the generation.

A. That is right. Q. And, therefore, in your view, there is need for urgency? A. Yes. Q. In the text which you have cited as fundamental you quoted the words, "For a 'witness to all nations'." When you used these words or when you read these words, does that mean anything more than a mere statement of the facts as you see them or does it involve supporting the statement of the facts by evidences? A. Yes, we do not merely call attention to the / the fact that the Bible predicted the coming of this kingdom and that it marked the time for the establishment of the kingdom, but the giving of a witness includes the proclamation of wildness to show that the kingdom has come, that he been established and is now in operation, and this evidence of the presence of the kingdom is furnished by the physical facts on earth since 1914, which are in fulfillment of Bible prophecy and which correspond with the preachers of the great sign which Jesus said would prove that He had come into His kingdom and was reigning.

Q. Do you regard it as a duty laid upon Jehovah's Witnesses to preach this particular gospel before the end comes? A. Yes. The obedience to this commandment given in Matthew 24. 14. 15 is mandatory upon all of the followers of Jesus Christ.

Q. In view of the urgency, do you limit your preaching and spreading of your gospel to word of mouth dissemination or not? A. No. Because of the urgency of the times, we feel ourselves free and authorised by God to use all the modern means of communication in order to attain the greatest spread of this message and to reach as many people of the inhabited earth as we can, and our printed message, therefore, is a printed sermon, the distribution of which is a part of the preaching of this Gled Tidings of the established kingdom.

Q. In addition to the sense of urgency which you have explained, do you regard yourselves as having any responsibility in respect of those who do not / not receive this gospel, as you see it?

I. Yes, we do. We reclise that preserving our lives and proving worthy of everlasting life in God's new world depends upon our obeying the commandment to preach the Good News of the established kingdom, because those who do not align themselves on the side of this kingdom will be destroyed in the battle of Armageddon, and according to the divine rule which is given in Ezekiel's prophecy, chapters 5 and 33, God constitutes as witnesses on earth a watchman class, and He commands this watchman class to give a warning of the coming of the battle of Armageddon, the great executional sword which shall destroy all the adversaries of Jehovah God and of His kingdom by Jesus Christ, and there Jehovah God tells the watchman class that if they fail to warn the wicked of the coming of the executional sword the wicked man shall die all right because of his own wickedness, but because he has failed to receive a warning at the mouth of the watchman class. God will require the blood of the wicked at the watchman's hand, whereas if the watchman is faithful to his command to declare the warning, then if the wicked continues in his rebelliousness against God and His kingdom, he shall die for his own wickedness, but the watchman class has delivered his own soul and shall live subject to divine approval. We feel therefore that we are under obligation to preach the message of the kingdom, to declare the day of vengeance of our God in order that all may be / be warned, the wicked as well as the righteously disposed, and in order, therefore, that we might not be accountable for the death and destruction of anybody at the battle of Armageddon, which is near.

Q. In that setting, therefore, of urgency and of belief in a particular gospel, this association is organised for its purpose of worship and preaching? A. Yes. Q. Is it a voluntary denomination in the sense that it receives no State support? A. Yes. It receives no State support. Q. And does it depend for its financial foundation upon the gifts of members end of those who believe or support its beliefs? Yada, it depends entirely upon voluntary gifts and contributions. Q. And does it profess certain particular tenets and rules which it regards as fundamental? A. Yes. Q. Is it possible to be simultaneously a Jehovah Witness and a member of any other Christian organisation? A. No, it it not possible to do so.

Q. Now, I want to ask you whether acceptance of the tenets, to which I am going to ask you to speak in a moment; is or is not obligatory upon all members of the body? A. Yes. Q. You have been good enough in the course of your evidence to make reference to certain Biblical texts. Can you tell me whether the Bible is or is not the accepted and obligatorily accepted authority of Jehovah's Witnesses on all theological matters? A. Absolutely. Q. And all matters of conduct in relation to their faith? A. Yes. Q. Who is responsible for the interpretation in case of doubt, or in general, of scriptural writings for the guidance of Jehovah's Witnesses? A. We believe that Jehovah God who is the author and inspirer of the Bible is the one who makes the interpretations. He is his own interpreter. He does this by the use of his invisible active force, the Holy Spirit operating upon the minds of his Witnesses upon the earth, and he causes events to come to pass in the earth which are in fulfillment of his prophetic word and which, therefore, throw light upon the true significance of his word. Q. That is very helpful, but it does not quite meet the point I was making. What. I wanted you to tell me was whether you can say how the Biblical texts are authoritatively interpreted; who is the interpreter? A. The Jehovah God is the interpreter, but he guides his people upon this/ this earth, and in this ease the editorial committee of the Society, they study the Scriptures continually, and they examine and re-examine the evidence as it appears, and under this divine guidance with the help of the Holy Spirit they arrive at the understanding of the Scripture.

Q. Is that understanding promulgated to Jehovah's Witnesses through the authority of the President and Directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society?

A. Yes. That is accepted as authoritative, and Jehovah's Witnesses throughout the world will refer to the publications of the Society as settling the issues in any discussion of these subjects.

Q. The authoritative publications are such as those to which you have been referred to, Nos. 15 and 16 of Process?

A. Yes.

Q. In addition may I take it that where in the periodical literature one finds an interpretation of Scriptural texts these also, being issued with the authority of the President and Directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, possess the same authoritative quality?

A. Yes. We take this position because we cannot ascribe our Interpretation of Scripture to any private individual. As the Apostle Peter says in his Second General Letter to the Christians, Chapter One and verses 20 and 21,

"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but/ "but holy men of God speak as they were moved by the "Holy Ghost."

or Spit It. Q. Could I pause now to ask you your understanding of the word theocratic as applied to the organisation known as Jehovah's Witnesses? 1. Yes. Theocratic means simply, God rules. It means that Jehovah God is the Creator, the formal Founder of the organisation, and that he is its directive Hand; that the organisation, therefore, is ruled from the top down and not from the bottom up; that it is, therefore, not a democratic organisation deriving its authority from the people, from the members of the organisation, but it is governed by Jehovah God, the Most High. Q. I would like if I may to explore that in a moment or two. Do I put it fairly this way in your view, that it is theocratic because it is the essential element of the Belief of Jehovah's Witnesses that authority comes from the top downwards? A. That is true. Q. And then at the top is Jehovah God? A. Yes. Q. Who is able to make known His Commandments through the medium of an organisation which he uses on earth? A. Yes. Q. Is it your view and belief that that organisation is the body, the voluntary association of Christian persons who call themselves and are called Jehovah's Witnesses? A. Yes. That is the visible theocratic organisation on earth today. Q. Are these directions/ directions and commands carried out to-day through the executive body which in the end of the day is to be found in the President and Directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society?

A. Yes. Q. And we shall hear how that Society is formed and ordered. Is that regarded by Jehovah's Witnesses as the visible agency which Jehovah God is using at the present time? A. Yes. Q. To conduct a direct work which he wishes done on earth to-day? A. Yes.

Q. That is your belief? A. Yes. Q. Is it for that reason that Jehovah's Witnesses accepts without question doctrines and Biblical interpretations as expounded by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society through its Directors? A. Yes. Q. In publications both periodical and in book form?

A. Yes. Q. Issued by and with the authority of the President and Directors of that Society? A. Yes.

Q. That brings me to another matter which is referred to on Record in the Pleadings, and deals with what in the Pleadings are called the Little Flock or the Anointed. In the first place, would you tell me, what are the Anointed and where do you find authority for their existence to-day or in the past?

A. In the Sixty-first Chapter of Isaiah, the first three verses, we find those prophetic words, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the LORD," here/ here the word Lord is in all capitals to indicate that in the original Hebrew text it is the name Jahovah,

"because the LORD or Jahovah "hath anointed me to

preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath went me

to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to

the captives, and the opening of the prison to them

that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the

LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort

all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in

Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of

joy for mourning, the gament of praise for the spirit

of heaviness; that they might be called trees of

righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might

be glorified." The Lord Jesus Christ was the first one to apply this Scripture to himself. In the Fourth Chapter of Luke's Gospel we have the record to this offoot, recounting how Jesus entered the synagogue at Nazareth and stood up to road. The Prophecy of Isaiah was handed to him. Verse 17 says, "And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he both anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he both sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and he closed the book, and he gave it agr in "to," "to the minister, and sat down."

Verse 21, "And he began to say unto them, This day is the scripture fulfilled in your ears." Christ Jesus before be ascended to Heaven told his then disciples to remain in the City of Jerusalem until they should be endued with power from on High, the Holy Spirit. Q. May I just ask you to pause there a minute. You have traced matters up to Ascension? A. Yes. Q. And you have told us how your authorities come down to that stage. Does that mean then-that you point now to the Twelve Apostles as being in a special position? A. Yes. Q. Given special duties? A..Yes. They are the foundations, resting upon Jesus-Christ of the Christian Congregation.

A. Q. And is it from the Pentecostal outpouring of this Holy Spirit that you trace the anointed? A. Yes. They are the members of the Body of Christ appointed to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit then the apostle John confirms this in his first Letter Chapter 2 verse 20 where he says:

"But ye have anointion or anointing from the Holy One,

and ye all know it." and verse 27 "But the anointing which

you have received of Him abideth in you and ye need not that

any man touch you, but the same anointing touches you of

all things, and is truth and is no lie. and even as it is

taught you shall abide in Him."

Q. So that may I take it that from scriptural texts, texts in the New Testament, you take it that the original anointing of foundation stop, as it is collod in Revolution. was the twelve apostles plus those who received at Pentecost the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?

A. Yes, that was the original congregation.

Q. I think the Pentecostal Body is regarded by you as numbering 120?

A. Yes, the first Chapter of Acts shows that.

Q. Then do you trace the expansion of that body of anointed in the book of Revolution?

A. Yes, the Book of Revolution gives us the definite number making up the complete membership of the Body of Christ, and limits it to 144,000 anointed members.

Q. In addition to setting apart those persons who were inspired at Pentecost, you regard that Pentecostal inspiration as indicative that th: Kingdom of God was to be a spiritual way.

and not an earthly kingdom? A. Yes. Q. Is the Scriptures would indicate the apostles had expected? A. Yes.

The anointed are not merely anointed with the Holy Spirit commissioning them to preach the Good News of the Kingdom, but they are also begotten by the Spirit, becoming the spiritual children or Sons of God, and they have the witness of His Spirit with their spirit that they are sons and that they are joint heirs with Jesus Christ in the Kingdom, as we read in Romans the 8th Chapter and 16th and 17th verses.

Q. Do you find in scriptural revelation any limit upon the total number of those who may be regarded as falling within the class or category of the anointed?

A. Yes, in Revelation, Chapter 7, verses 4 to 8, it is three stated that the number of those who were scaled was 144,000, that they were divided up into twelve groups, each group known as a tribe, composed of 12,000 each, making a total of 144,000.

Also in the 14th Chapter of Revelation, verseal and 3 again the number is given as 144,000 who stand with the Lord Jesus Christ on Mount Zion having His Father's name written on their foreheads.

Q. In the view which you take of that matter is the 144,000 limited to those who lived in the days of Pontoost?

A. No. Q. Or does it include others who are still alive today?

A. Yes, that includes a number who are on earth today alive in the flash.

Q. And are those what you call and treat as the anointed?

A. Yes, those alive on earth today are what the Scriptures call/ call and treat as the Flemont, and thor are the anointed remnant of the members of the Body of Christ.

Q. Are those all within the existing flock of Johovah's Witnesses, or are none cut aside? A. The remnant, we have reason to believe, is sufficient in number on earth today to complete the membership of the Body of Christ, 144,000. However, the fact that a man or woman may be a member of the remnant of anointed ones today does not guarantee that one will pass through the further trials of faith and devotion in the future and come off victorious. There may be those who will succumbe under the test and fall out, in which case they will have to be ropleod by others who dedicate themselves to Johovah God through Jesus Christ, and who will be accepted and justified by din and bogotton of His Spirit and become his spiritual children. Those then will replace the unfaithful ones. Q. Within the Association of Johovah's Witnesses is there a distinction between those who are of the remnant of the anointed and those who are not? A. Yes, there is a distinction. Q. So far as that goes do you mark the distinction by a difference in name? A. Yes. You used the expression while ago:

"The little flook". That is found in Luke's Gospel, Chapter 12, verse 32, where he says, "Pear not. little "flook. for it is your Father's good pleasure to give "you the Kingdom." so Jesus there is taking the entire Body of Christ, 144,000 members. As the little flook such/ Such they are, comparatively speaking.

Then he talks of "other sheop" in the 10th Chapter of John's Gospel. After discussing how Be comes to the fold and calls the little flock of sheop, the porter opens the door to him-boonuan Bo is the Good Shepherd, the right shepherd. Then in the 16th verse of this 10th Chapter of John bo goes on to say "And other sheop I have which are not of this fold. Then also must I bring and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one shepherd, one flock." So those who are not members of the anointed class are referred to as other sheop. This means that they will not be members of the heavenly Kingdom but will have an earthly destiny, living for over in an earthly paradise in obedience to the Kingdom of God.

Q. I will have to come back to that matter later, but we have got to this stage now, have we not, that there is a distinction in this association of Christ between those who are anointed and those who are not anointed? W. Yoà. Q. And you have told me that those who are anointed may be known as the little flock, and those who are not so distinguished are known as the other sheop?

A. Yoà. Q. In the Plandings I find on page 7 of the Closed Record the word "Jonadab" used as a synonym for the other sheop. Is that a correct synonym?

A. Y., s.

Would you just tell me how those who are of the other sheep category can be synonymously called Jonadab?

P. That is broad upon an account given in 2nd Kings Chapter 10, beginning/ A beginning with verse 15.

Thore Johovah God had anointed Johu to be king over the northern Kingdom of Israel. A ten tribe kingdom. Johu had been anointed by a servant of the prophet Elisha and Elisha in turn was carrying out God's command to the prophet Elijah that he should anoint Johu to be king over Israel. Now Johu was given his mission of work and he proceeded to do it, especially to destroy the house of Abeb and Queen Jozobol, the wicked queen of Israel, and as he proceeds to the accomplishment of his mission as Johovah's anointed be comes in contact with this nominal, this richebite, named Johonadab or the shortened form occurs also in Jeremiah's prophecy of Jonadab. We have used the shortened form of Jonadab. He comes across Jonadab, and Jonodab assures him that his heart is with Johu. So Johu gives him his hand and takes him up into his chariot and says, "Come with me and see my soul for Johovah." So they mediate Jonadab ride with King Johu in the chariot. Then a further account shows where he destroys the worshippers of Bael in Jerusalem and wipes it out of the nation and Johu there is a picture of Christ Jesus noting as the executioner of Jud to destroy all false worshipers all the fallen religiousists, and consequently this nominal Jeremiah Jonadab pictures those who are not members of the Kingdom class, the "other sheep". Therefore.

idontinal. Q., So it is from that picture quite similar that/ A that you get the synonymous title of Jonedoba for the other abcopt?

A. Yes. Q. How and last matter on this little chapter. Can the theoretic direction which you have described as transmitting from God through his chosen instruments upon earth operate through the other sheep, or must it operate through those who are of the anointed? A. The direction of the work must operate through the anointed. Q. Does it, therefore, follow from that, that it is only those who are of the anointed who can achieve and hold a position such as president or ordinary member of the Board of Directors of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society? A. Yes, that is true, and we have a by-law which restricts the membership of the Board of Directors to the anointed class. Q. Can you just tell his Lordship one other matter. How is the qualification of being one of the anointed evidenced? I, it is self-determinative selection or is it determined by some external body or external agency? A. No. Membership in the anointed body, of course, can only be determined by Jehovah God himself, because it is a spiritual body.

B and he is the only one who can neglect those whom he accepts by His Holy Spirit and makes them his spiritual children and anoints them as such with his Holy Spirit to be members of the Body of Christ and co-heirs with Jesus Christ in A.

Does it follow your answer is it is a subjective connection, and not an objective one. In other words, you know yourself within your inner spirit whether you are of the anointed, or you are not? A. Yes, the individual who professes to be a member of the anointed seeks his own, that he has dedicated his life to God through Jesus Christ, and he symbolizes this dedication by his baptism by immersion in water. Now he has dedicated himself to God. What will God do with him?

It depends upon God's action whether he shall be of the anointed class or of the other sheep. If God accepts him through Jesus Christ, and justifying him, and accepts him in sacrifice with Jesus Christ, the heavenly God begets him with the holy spirit and anoints him, making him a member of the class. This is in Romans, Chapter 8, verses 16 and 17, which says: God's spirit witnesses with that individual that he is a son of God, and if a son, then an heir, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ. So the individual has a witness of God's spirit within himself, and God manifests that he is a child in line for the Kingdom, by his dealing with that individual, and he puts in the heart of this individual a hope of attaining to the heavenly Kingdom, and gives him an assurance that he is in line for this Kingdom, and that he is being devolved for the Kingdom, and the individual knows by the evidence of his own heart and / and life he is one of the anointed.

He indicates this profession at the annual celebration of the Last Supper, where he partakes of the bread and the wine, which is there served.

Q. Do the other sheop similarly partake of the Last Supper, or not? A. No, they don't, and by that that shows that they are not members of the Mighty.

Q. That really is agreeing to your view of the process of divine selection, which can only be determined by the individual himself, or herself?

A. Yes.

Q. And determined through a process of divine inspiration?

A. Yes, as recorded in here.

Q. I think you have told us that it is only through these chosen and selected instruments that the thoocoratic form of government in the spiritual Kingdom can be exercised?

A. That is right.

Q. And which you believe is exercised?

A. That is right.

Q. I want to ask you now some questions, if I may, as to the summary of the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses. You have told us that the acceptance of the witness's belief is subjective, and non-acceptance, may I take it, will involve expulsion or dis-membership?

A. Yes.

Q. On the foundation of it all would I be right in thinking that it is believed that acceptance, that the accepted authority upon all matters of belief, is the Bible?

A. Yes. We struan especially Jesus' words, John 17 - 17, in prayer to God this word is truth.

Q. Is it part of that fundamental belief that the whole / A whole Bible, both in the New and in the Old Testament, as originally received, was divinely inspired?

A. Yes, in agreement with the Scripture I read a while ago. Q. Shall I go further then. I would like to take you step by step through certain of your authoritative works which vouch for this proposition.

If you look at No. 15 of Process, the book called "Le. 'God be True', do you find at pages 42 and 64 the simple statement of that proposition? A. Yes, you have a simple statement there setting forth the whole Bible.

Q. That is the foundation on which your belief rests? A. Yes. Q. In the second place is it a fundamental tenet that there is one Almighty God in existence who is the creator? ... Yes. Q. To vouch for that very simple and widely held belief, would you look at No. 15 of Process, "Let God be True", at verses 28 and 36; and the words that Jesus Christ is a spirit creature in heaven? A. Yes, He is a spirit creature in heaven.

Q. Is it also the belief that Christ was in existence as a spirit creature in heaven before his first advent on earth? A. Yes, and what John says in the beginning was the word, and the word was than God, and so he was the first creation of God.

Q. That is St. John's Gospel? A. That is right.

Q. If you look at pages 32 and 34 of the book which you have in your hand, No. 16 of Process, do you find that clearly set out? A. Yes, at page 32. Q. And is / is it also part of your belief that after his death on earth, that Christ was exalted to heaven thereafter?

A. Yes, he was resurrected from the dead, not as a human creature, but as a divine spirit creature, and 40 days later he ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God.

Q. Is it also part of your belief in that connection that from the date of his resurrection unto the establishment of the government to which you referred in the earlier part of your evidence, he didn't exercise any rulership as King?

A. No, he didn't exercise any rulership as King with regard to the earth in general, because he had to wait until the termination of the appointed times of the nations, or the times of the Gentiles, which occurred in 1914.

Q. Then as you have told us from scriptural authority, and calculations based thereon, you now hold/to have lasted up until the year 1914?

A. Correct.

Q. Do you find that set out in No. 15 of Process, on pages 41, 140 and 141?

A. Yes, that is correct.

Now in addition I think you issued a compendious and brief tract called: "What do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe?"

Would you look please at No. 25 of Process. I think on page 5 of that tract you will find this matter not out. Isn't that so?

A. Yes, Christ books members of new world.

Incidentally,/that you are looking at that note, do you also find in that tract an exposition of the theory of the Little Flock, or /.

or of the anointed 144,000 to which you referred in your earlier evidence? A. Yes, I see that on page 5. Q. In this matter of belief, that between the resurrection and 1914, no rulership in earth, or in earthly matters, would be exorcised by Jesus Christ, do you find from study that that is a unique belief among Christian communities? A. Yes. Q. And one which, by itself, distinguishes Jehovah's Witnesses from any other? A. Yes. Q. But I think you have told us already that an acceptance of the beliefs and facts is compulsory? A. Yes. Q. And there is no possibility of picking and choosing amongst those facts which you will accept, and those which you will reject. It must be taken as a whole? A. That is right, each individual must prove it by the scriptures. Q. Accepting the exposition of the scriptures in the manner you have already explained? A. That is right.

Q. Do you also believe that Mary was the Mother of Jesus and was a daughter of Adam born in the normal course of human reproduction? A. Yes. Q. Do you or do you not believe that she herself was free from original sin?

A. No, we do not believe in her immnolate conception.

Q. In the fifth place, is it an article of belief that there is an innumerable number of angels which operate under divine direction? A. Yes. Q. And that they have a supervisory charge in relation to those who are Jehovah Witnesses? A. Yes. The Apostle Paul says so in Hebrews the first chapter, saying in the 14th verse, "Are they not 'all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them' who shall be heirs of salvation". Q. I think that is referred to in terms in No. 15 cf Process at page 27.

That is right, isn't it? A. Yes. That refers to the angelic spirit preachers, which make up the universal organisation of God in heaven... Q. And if you look at No. 27 of Process, "Make Sure of All Things", do you find this reference to the creation and functions of the angels page 797? A. Yes. "Angels created before the earth" it says as a sub-heading. Q. And that is followed by the citation of a number of scriptural texts in support of the proposition? A. And the sub-heading. "Many Angels."

"Different ranks". Q. Do you also find in the same volume at page 398 a passage ca to Mary, the Mother of Jesus/ Jesus?

A. Yes, "Jesus' Mother Mary not Immediate or 'Freed from Inherited Sin.' Only Jesus Himself was", is the first sub-heading.

Q. This matter of the angelic creation and their function in relation to Jehovah's Witnesses, is that to your knowledge a unique tenet or belief?

A. No, there are other religious denominations which believe in the existence of angels.

Q. That is not unique?

A. That is not unique in itself.

Q. But is there any unique element in the association between the belief in the existence of the various ranks of angels and their activities in relation to Jehovah's Witnesses?

A. Well, we believe that the angels of God are used in directing the Jehovah's Witnesses. As Jesus' prophecy in Matthew 25, verse 31, says, "When the son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory and all nations shall be gathered before him". Also in the 13th chapter of Matthew, where He speaks of the harvest at the end of the world, it says, "The son of men in heaven will send forth his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and they which do iniquity, and all 'the weak class' - the kingdom class - 'will be gathered into the gorner of the King'." Q. Is it also a matter of belief that the actual witnessing, as you put it, to Jehovah has been going on since the time of Abel?

A. Yes.

Q./ Q.

Will you look at "Make Sure of All Things", No. 27 of Process, page 193. Do you find there a statement,

"Jehovah's Witnesses. Servants of Jehovah, the Almighty God, and native witnesses to his sovereign supremacy.

Since the time of Christ Jesus they are Christian ministers doing the will of God by following the course exemplified by Christ their Leader. The name Jehovah meaning 'The Purposer', his witnesses declare him as the only true God, who is now working out his purpose of vindicating his name and sovereignty and blessing all faithful mankind through his kingdom. Not a seat or cult that follows or adulates human leaders or rites and ceremonies". Then do you find at the foot of the page the sub-heading, "Abel the First of an Unbroken Line of Jehovah's Witnesses on Earth", and a reference to Hebrows? A. Yes, I find that on page 193. The witnesses to Jehovah are referred to many of them being named individually in the 11th and 12th chapters of the book of Hebrews, and there the Apostle Paul names Abel as the first and brings us down to the Lord Jesus Christ as also being a faithful witness of Jehovah God, and he says there in the first verse of chapter 12,

"Seeing that we are surrounded by so great a cloud of wit-nesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that both so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the "ruce that is set before us, looking unto the author and "finisher / "finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ".

So there he calls all those men whom he has named in the preceding chapter 11 of Hobrows witnesses, witnesses of Jehovah God, the same as Jesus Christ Himself was a witness of Jehovah; the Chief Witness Jesus is. Q. It is, of course, common to most, if not all, forms of Christian belief that Christ promised a return to earth? A. That is right. Q. But I think you have gone further, have you not, in one direction and have held that that return took place in 1914? A. Yes, it was an invisible return, because Jesus Christ is now a divine spirit precursor in heaven. He is the image of the invisible God, and being His image, he is invisible to human eyes, the same as Jehovah God Himself, and no man can look upon Him and live. So His second coming must be invisible and when He comes into the kingdom, that is the invisible entry into this governmental function. Q. I think that is set out, isn't it, particularly in No. 15 of Process at page 201? A. Yes, there is reference to this on that page. Q. Now, is that, so for your studies indicated, a unique belief amongst Christian communities? A. It certainly is. Q. Do you regard the Trinity doctrine as one for which there is an scriptural authority? A. No, there is not a whit of scriptural authority for the Trinity doctrine. Q. As you interpret the Scriptures? A. That is right. Q. And, therefore, do you rejoice the doctrine of the Trinity?

A. Yes. Q. I think you said in the course of your evidence that you regarded - when I say you I mean the association regarded the Holy Spirit as the invisible active force of God. Is that right? — A. Yes. Q. The force which moves His servants to do His will? A. That is right. Q. Now would you look please at page 111 of No. 15 of Process. Do you find your rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity there? A. Yes, I find it on page 111. Q. That is the conclusion of a chapter which itself is hounded "Is There a Trinity?"? A. That is right. Q. And is the matter argued out till you reach the conclusion that you hold as a belief, that there is no Trinity? A. Yes. Q. Is that also not out in No. 25 of Process at page 3, top of the page? A. That is true.

A. Q. I want to ask you now your views on the immortality or mortality of the soul. Do you believe that Man possesses an inherently immortal soul? A. No, we do not believe such a thing, because the very first definition in the Bible of a human soul shows that the human creature himself personally is the soul and does not have something invisible resident within him separate and distinct from his body which can carry on a new existence after the death of the body. In Genesis, Chapter Two, Verse 7, "And the Lord God formed 'man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his 'nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living 'soul.'" The Apostle Paul quotes this scripture in First Corinthians, the Fifteenth Chapter and the 45th Verse and says, "The first man Adam was made a 'living soul';". Q. When you say the Christian Man was made a living soul, do you mean inherently immortal or inherently mortal? A. No. He was a mortal soul, and that is the reason why God warned him that if he ate of the forbidden fruit, in the day that he ate thereof he would surely die. So in Exekiel, Chapter 18, Verses 4 and 20, Johovah God says, "All souls are 'mine'; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of 'the son is mine': the soul that minnoth, it shall die." That is reported in the 20th verse of the same chapter, "The soul that minnoth, it shall die." All the rest of the Scriptures are in harmony with that Divine Declaration/ Declaration that the human soul is mortal.

Even Josue in the Garden of Gethsemane said, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death." The Prophet Isaih says that he bore down his soul unto death. You read that in the 53rd Chapter and the last verse of the chapter. There are many other Scriptures which also show that the human soul is mortal. For instance, when Someon pulled down the Temple of the false God Dagan upon the Philistines, he said, "Now let my soul die with the "Philistines." There is no Scripture in the Bible which says that the human soul is immortal. Q. Do you find the mortality of the souls set out on Pages 68 and 69 of No. 15 of Process? A. Yes, under the sub-heading, "Man, the Soul", and then the succeeding sub-heading, "The Human Soul, Mortality." Q. I think you find the same statement summarised very briefly on Page 3 of No. 25 of Process; that is right, isn't it? A. Yes. It is stated there in the last paragraph of the page. Q. If that according to your beliefs is so, it is possible, is it not, that immortality can be obtained? A. Yes. Q. But it is not something automatic. A. No, it is not. The fact is that the word immortality occurs only three times in the whole Bible, three times in the original Greek or the Christian Greek Scripture, namely in First Timothy, 6, 16, in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 50 to 55, where it shows that Christ Jesus, the King of Kings, is the only only one of the Kings who possesses immortality, who alone hath immortality.

Then in First Corinthians, the 15th Chapter, which is the great Resurrection Chapter, it is shown that immortality is put on by the resurrected member of the Body of Christ. He attains to immortality when he is resurrected from the dead as a spirit creature. Then this mortal puts on immortality, and this corruptible puts on incorruption. In Romans, the Second Chapter and the 7th verse it speaks of this class as those who by devotion and continuance in well-doing seek for glory, honour and immortality; or more properly translated according to the New World translation, incorruption, they put on incorruption.

…