Search This Blog

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

The Finished Mystery and "Out of the Mouth of the Dragon."

Comments on this post are closed.

The most controversial book ever published by the Bible Students was The Finished Mystery, a verse by verse commentary on Revelation and Ezekiel published in 1917. As well as some internal issues, it resulted in key Watch Tower headquarters staff being arrested in 1918, and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment under the Espionage Act of June 15, 1917. It should be noted at the outset, as most readers will already know, those imprisoned were released in 1919 and all charges against them were ultimately dropped.

But it was a testing time, and in dealing with the problems faced on a day by day basis, various editions of The Finished Mystery were produced. This article is going to look at one paragraph in several of them. For the record, in this article the initials JFR refer to the Society’s President, Joseph F Rutherford, and page numbers in brackets refer to specific pages in the trial transcript United States of America vs Joseph F Rutherford and others (1918).

For a fuller description of how the book came to be produced as a proposed seventh volume of the Studies in the Scriptures series, see the following article on Gertrude Seibert.

https://truthhistory.blogspot.com/2015/08/gertrude-antonette-woodcock-seibert-and.html

The paragraph that caused the controversy was a discussion of Revelation 16:13.


This defined patriotism as murder, “a narrow-minded hatred of other peoples” and “the spirit of the very Devil.”

The United States joined the World War on April 6, 1917, and was appealing to patriotism to recruit its army. Various religious figures supported this and came in for unsparing criticism in The Finished Mystery.

When the government objected to the book, especially pages 247-253 which included the offending paragraph, several steps were taken to calm down the situation. The printers were instructed to stop production (see JFR’s telegram on page 1309) and Bible Students were asked to physically cut out the offending pages from copies offer to the public (see Kingdom News no. 2).


Above is a copy with pages 247-254 excised. Written in pencil along the remaining stub of the pages is “to comply with government requirement.”

However, this did not make the problem go away, and in May 1918 eight members of the headquarters staff were arrested and charged with violating the 1917 Espionage Act. Repeatedly throughout the ensuing trial, these words condemning patriotism were quoted by the prosecution.

Nonetheless, not all Bible Students appeared to be in full agreement with the sentiments as expressed. From the trial transcript (page 552) cross examination of George Fisher by Counsel Isaac Oeland:

Q. Did this language meet with your approval that Satan deals with a certain delusion which is best described by the word, patriotism, but which is in reality murder, the spirit of the very devil; did that meet with your full approval?

A. No, sir.

Q. You knew Mr Woodworth had written that?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. You knew it was to be published and circulated in a book that you had helped to produce?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. And that you did not agree with it?

A. I did not agree with that because my conception of patriotism does not agree with that.

Fisher was still sent down with the other defendants, but would later leave fellowship with defendants Woodworth and Rutherford before his death in 1926.

The 1917 edition of the book with its excised pages was not the end of the matter, because in early 1918 a new version was proposed called the ZG. This was planned as a magazine edition of the book, as other volumes had been before. ZA for example was volume one, The Divine Plan of the Ages. G was the 7th letter of the alphabet so the 7th volume. This is highly collectable today and throws up some interesting questions.


It was dated March 1, 1918, but never released then. When instructions were given to remove pages from the 1917 book edition, Bible Students were also instructed not to circulate this magazine copy, and an alternative March 1, 1918, issue of The Watch Tower was published in its place. The September 15, 1918, Watch Tower reminded Bible Students not to circulate the ZG and referred back to an earlier notification given in the March.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Divine Purpose book on page 90 says that ZG had been printed before the war. For America that would have to be before April 6, 1917. If correct, that would make ZG the first edition, because the trial transcript reveals that the hardback edition was first printed in July 1917. It had mainly been written before the war started (JFR’s testimony on page 974) – that was a key point of the Society’s defense – apart from a few additions including a poem written by Gertrude Seibert (GWS) at the end of the Song of Solomon section and dated June 27, 1917. However, the contract with the Conkey Company for the first edition was only finalised at the end of June 1917 (page 1172) and then very quickly indeed the book was printed in the first half of July to be released at the Bethel on July 17. This was after America entered the war.

However, while the bulk of it was certainly written before the war, the actual printing of ZG may have come later. As an indication, we have the printed date of March 1, 1918 on it. How much before intended publication was that decision taken? Also, on the actual Watch Tower cover of extant copies there was a message to send copies to soliders and sailors serving at the front once readers had finished with them. For this to make sense there would have to be Americans actually serving at the front at the time.


In reality it is a moot point, because as noted earlier the publication was pulled and the general issue of ZG did not see the light of day until 1920. (See The Watch Tower for July 1, 1920, page 199). At that time some copies had the original Watch Tower cover with the above message removed and a green title cover added in its place. (See Letter of Instruction to Directors in Bulletin for May 1, 1921). It should be noted that there was no mention of the ZG in the trial, which focussed on the first edition, and continually kept quoting from that specific passage condemning patriotism. The trial had a lengthy examination and cross-examination of the manager of the Conkey Company who printed the hardback edition. However, the paperback magazine edition was probably printed by another company. Had ZG been in circulation it would have likely been used by the defense, because the offending passage about patriotism had not just been torn out, the text had been altered.

The change is interesting, and would fit a publication that might reach American soldiers. Instead of an attack on “patriotism” the ZG version substituted “Germany autocracy” and condemned German “human butchery.”


Other changes in this special edition were the removal of the verse by verse consideration of Song of Solomon along with Gertrude Seibert’s poem and the addition of a chapter taking readers verse by verse through the world powers of Daniel 7.

Having taken the original offending pages out of the hardback version, later printings of the book in 1918 then replaced the offending pages with a revised text.


What had started as “patriotism” and changed into “German autocracy” then changed again. Now in 1918 the text read “race-hatred” – which of course could apply equally to all sides.

After the war the “Brooklyn eight” were released from prison and shortly thereafter all charges were dropped. Now the original text of the book was restored. Examining the 1924 boxed deluxe edition and also one of the final printings in 1927 (the 2,004,000 edition) it is noted that the criticism of patriotism had been restored in full.

The book went out of print towards the end of the 1920s. A new explanation of Revelation and Ezekiel was to be given in Light (two books on Revelation in 1930) and Vindication (three books on Ezekiel in 1931-1932).


Addenda from Gary

As regards the FM, at the time of their altercation with the civil authorities in 1918 they stated that the FM was “written prior to the time that the United States entered the war”, meaning before April 6, 1917. (See WT March 1, 1918, article headed ‘Religious Intolerance’.)

This statement was largely correct since most was written prior to this time. However, when Fred H. Robison was sent to visit Secretary of War Newton Baker on March 5, 1918, to see how their sudden objection to the publication could be resolved, he was intercepted en route by MID (military) agents who interrogated him instead and so he never got to see Baker. These quizzed him on the FM and he repeated that it had been completed prior to April 6, 1917. However, Robison was forced to back down when it was pointed out to him that it could not all have been completed prior to this time since the book included reference to seven billion dollars appropriated by Congress for the war; so, Robison acknowledged he must have been mistaken.

Indeed, Gertrude Seibert’s poem “written expressly for The Finished Mystery” was dated June 25, 1917, so it is evident that while, no doubt, most of the book was written prior to America’s entry into the war, some was added after. Other references could be found, but I think these two are sufficient to establish the point. 

Robison never got to reach Newton Baker but took advice from those he met that “there was no disposition on the part of the Government (to) interfere with our work in general and that if pages 246-253, inclusive, were removed, there would be no known objection to the volume.” As a consequence, I believe it reasonable to conclude it was just shortly afterward that the the special ZG Watch Tower edition was printed.  As you have noted it adjusts the ‘offensive’ reference to patriotism and excludes the relevant passages from pages 247-253 which were largely quotes from two pacifist ministers. This strongly suggests its writing, printing and distribution to IBSA colporteurs and classes occurred sometime after Robison’s Washington episode on March 5, 1918, but prior to the Department of Justice banning distribution of the FM, in any form, as a violation of the Espionage Act on March 14, 1918, whereupon the IBSA immediately instructed colporteurs and class Secretaries to desist from selling the FM books and hold on to copies of the special ZG Watch Tower edition. 

Thereafter, a belated normal edition of the Watch Tower dated March 1, 1918, was swiftly completed and sent out instead, but the fact that this was completed after the publication date is itself apparent since it makes reference to Brothers Woodward and Herr being arrested on March 4, Robison’s visit to Washington (which I know to have been March 5) and the banning of the FM on March 14.


Addenda – another version

Thanks to correspondent Benek, another variant can be added to the paragraphs on page 247 that originally condemned patriotism.

The original wording caused the attack by the government and copies of The Finished Mystery in circulation had the offending pages removed. However, to replace them a few pages were produced which could fill the gap. Below is an example. The heading plainly shows the purpose, and the text gives us our variant on “patriotism” as “hatred.”


When replacement pages were actually bound into the book at source, at some point in 1918 the wording changed subtly to “race hatred” as covered in the above article. That this became the favored text is shown by The Watch Tower for June 1, 1920, which gives a whole five pages of suggested alterations which readers could make in their copies if they chose.


The notice does not reveal what wording was being replaced, whether “hatred” or the original “patriotism.” It is unlikely to have been the ZG version of “German autocracy” which seems to have stayed in the magazine version only without any reference to a page 247.

As noted in the original article above, in the 1920s the text reverted to the original “patriotism.”


32 comments:

Leroy said...

Awesome article Jerome. Great research and flawless narrative. Do we have any clue as to when was the word "patriotism" changed in the hard bound copies of the book? I have three 1918 copies. Two of them use the word "patriotism" and the other one says "race-hatred".

jerome said...

Thanks for kind words, Leo. It was the collectors group that confirmed for me that "patriotism" was restored in the 1920s printings. I assume that "patriotism" disappeared from the text when they removed the pages, but when "race hatred" replaced it, I don't know.

Gerry Kaspin said...

That’s a great question Leo. I cannot conclusively prove it, but on the basis of the Addenda, I would reason that Leo’s Finished Mystery book with the words ‘race hatred’ would likely have been printed somewhere between March 5, when Robison was informed the authorities took particular exception to the ‘patriotism’ sentence, but before March 15, when all printing of the the book was banned entirely. This being the case, it seems unlikely this hard bound version was distributed until after the ban was lifted and distribution of the ZG Watch Towers was completed. Thereafter, a later editions of The Finished Mystery were printed and distributed with the patriotism sentence restored.

B. W. Schulz said...

This is an excellent article. It sets the standard for guest articles on this blog. Anyone else?

Chris G. said...

Very interesting. thank you for the hard work.

Benek said...

The Finished Mystery 1917
and a certain delusion which is best described as hatred, but which is in really murder, the spirit of the very Devil. (p. 247).

See amendment: as race hatred (The Watchtower 01.06 1920 p. 170).

The Finished Mystery 1918, 1923, 1926, 1927
and a certain delusion which is best described by the word Patriotism, but which is in really murder, the spirit of the very Devil. (p. 247).

The Finished Mystery 1918 (ed. ZG)
and a certain delusion which, as exploited by German autocracy, leads straight to brutal wholesale murder. (The Watchtower 01.03 1918 p. 136).

Benek said...

adjustment:

The Finished Mystery 1918 (850,000 Edition)
and a certain delusion which is best described as race hatred—in reality murder, the spirit of the very Devil. (1 John 3:15.)

The Finished Mystery 1918 (75,000 Edition), 1923, 1926, 1927
and a certain delusion which is best described by the word Patriotism, but which is in really murder, the spirit of the very Devil. (p. 247).

jerome said...

Thanks for the extra references, which support the progression outlined with graphics in the article. The June 1, 1920, WT reference is useful because it lists all manner of suggested revisions Bible Students could make in their copies. It suggests that the text be replaced with "race hatred" - although doesn't indicate which previous text was being replaced. Obviously the original expression "Patriotism" was in the printed editions throughout most of the 1920s as you and the original article both show.

Benek said...

I'm glad I provided a valuable source from 1920.

The Polish editions of 1922, 1923 and 1925 have "nienawiści rasowej" - as race hatred.

„i pewne złudzenia, które najlepiej określić nazwą nienawiści rasowej – będącej w rzeczywistości morderstwem, duchem samego Dyabła” (Dokonana Tajemnica 1923, 1925 s. 294; 1922 s. 94).

I don't have the first Polish edition from 1919, unfortunately.

Benek said...

The 1917 English edition cited above has a circulation of 168,000 (The Finished Mystery).

Leroy said...

The Finished Mystery 1917
and a certain delusion which is best described as hatred, but which is in really murder, the spirit of the very Devil. (p. 247).

If I understood correctly, according to the above reference, the first edition of the hard bound book (1917) says simply “hatred”? From the original article I understood the original term was ”Patriotism”.

jerome said...

The use of "Patriotism" in the early editions is supported by the actual pictures reproduced in the article, and the fact that the government specifically used that wording to attack the Bible Students. We would need to see an actual graphic of a page proved to be from 1917 that just said "hatred to revise that.

It would also be interesting to compare later editions of the book with the suggested changes in the 1920 WT article, to see how many were eventually implemented or not. But not by me!

Benek said...

Jerome!
Your words: "We would need to see an actual graphic of a page proved to be from 1917 that just said "hatred" to revise that"
Please enter an email where I can send my 1917 scans from the 168,000 edition. I can't do it otherwise.

jerome said...

Benek - if you click on contributor "Jerome" on main page of this blog it will take you to my profile and there is an email link there. If you can send the title page showing 1917 as well as the paragraph from that edition showing just "hatred", then I can put another addenda on the article.

Benek said...

Jerome!
Okay shipped as requested

jerome said...

Three hours have gone by since your comment and nothing has appeared in email. I don't know what has gone wrong, but the email address to send to is: john_h_paton@yahoo.co.uk

Suggest you send a test email and then when you have heard from me, any graphics as email attachments. When (hopefully) this is done, then I will take down this comment.

If this still doesn't work, suggest you use the same process to email the blog owner, Bruce. He can forward things to me by other channels.

Benek said...

I sent it again

Jerome!

I am sending scans. Notice that pages 247-254 are cut off in the book. When I bought a book, I had these pages 247-254 in it with the information at the top of page 247 in the margin.

Benek said...

The 1918 French edition (first edition) has the word "patriotism":

„(...) reur que l'on peut definir par l'expression patriotisme.” (Le Mystère de Dieu Accompli 1918 s. 289).

Leroy said...

Benek, I would love to see those scans too. Could you send them to my email leocuellar@gmail.com? or if you agree, Jerome can forward them to me. thanks. in advance

jerome said...

Leo and Benek - I don't know what the problem is - nothing has come through on my special email apart from the test I did to make sure it was working (?). So if Benek wants to first send the material to Leo, and Leo sends it on to me by another route, that would work well.

Benek said...

Okay, I'm sending to Leo. Maybe Jerome has some kind of lock on the scans.

Leroy said...

Thank you Benek, scans received, and already forwarded to you Jerome

jerome said...

Thanks both, now received. I note that the use of "hatred" is not the original text but part of replacement text AFTER the censors stepped in. I will post an addenda to the article to reproduce the page, but it is going to have to wait until tomorrow now.

Benek said...

Okay, finally it worked

That is, we still don't have the original text. And I thought, judging by the print run of 168,000, that this was the first edition. But before that it must have been without the cut pages.

Benek said...

The 1925 German edition has the word "patriotism", unlike the Polish edition 1925 (“as race hatred”):

„(...) und ein gewisses Blendwerk oder Irrwahn, der fälschlicherweise als Patriotismus bezeichnet wird – in Wirklichkeit Mord, der Geist des wahren Teufels. (1. Joh. 3:15)” (Das vollendete Geheimnis 1925 s. 331).

I don't have the first German edition from 1919.

Benek said...

I don't know if another commentary (The Revelation of Jesus Christ—According to the Sinaitic Text) on Revelation 16:13 in 1918 is similar to these words:

„Of the beast:
The Antichrist doctrine of the divine right of the clergy was the primary cause of Kaiserism. This frog has been coming out of the mouth of the papal beast for sixteen centuries. The Kaiser and his ancestors were mistaught by the clergy that they reigned by God’s appointment. This has led them to justify themselves in all the devilish things they have done.” (The Revelation of Jesus Christ—According to the Sinaitic Text 1918 s. 141-142).

Leroy said...

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, p. 141 says:

Of the dragon: The three fundamental truths of history are man’s fall, redemption and restoration. Stated in other language these three truths are the mortal nature of man, the Christ of God and his Millennial Kingdom. Standing opposite to these Satan has placed three great untruths: human immortality, the Antichrist and humanitarianism, as that term is used to represent moralistic self-regeneration. It is this last feature of Satan’s work that is mentioned first, because it deceives more people and turns them away from the hope of the Messianic kingdom. The thought that human nature is self-perfectable has its origin in conceit, and with conceit come intolerance, hate, murder and that false patriotism which has drenched the world with blood. Of course the object has always been “the betterment of the race.” Preachment of such “humanitarianism” has persistently proceeded from the mouth of the dragon, from Babylon’s day till now. Nowhere in the New Testament is hatred of other peoples encouraged. Everywhere and always it is forbidden; and yet, under one guise or another it has been encouraged for centuries by the clergy class who should have been preaching the message delivered to them by the Prince of Peace.

Benek said...

You're right Leo. I didn't notice that "false patriotism" passage above. Interestingly, JFR also wrote about "true patriotism":

„Patriotism is wrongfully invoked. Patriotism means love of country and love for the people of that country. Love means an unselfish desire to do good and an effort to put that desire into action. True patriotism therefore should lead the people to endeavor to help each other; and if true patriotism were invoked, there would be no deadly wars between peoples.” (Government 1928 p. 27).

B. W. Schulz said...

I have deleted Benek's last post to remove a link not permitted on this blog. Without the link, Benek wrote:

I have a question.

Why does the last edition of Volume VII in 1927 not include a commentary on the Book of Ezekiel and the Song of Solomon?

Why was the Publisher’s Preface, which was five pages long, shortened to one page? I have a scan of this short Preface. The name Fisher is no longer mentioned in this Foreword.
The 1926 edition contained this book and this long Publisher’s Preface.
Did Fisher's departure from the Society cause this? If so, in what year did this happen?
He died in 1926 (July 30). Was it about copyright?

Fisher resignation - Editorial committee: The Watchtower, April 1, 1924 p. 107.

It is interesting that today the Bible Students are posting what Fisher wrote.

If this content is off topic, please indicate where I should move it.

Benek said...

The Golden Age announced the death of Fisher May 4, 1927 p. 506:

The charge in George H Fisher’s letter is grossly false and libelous. He is dead, as you know.

Benek said...

Pages 247-253 in Volume VII are discussed (apart from the publications I have mentioned):

The Wathtower March 1, 1918 p. 6221
The Wathtower April 15, 1918 p. 6240
*** w55 5/1 p. 267 ***
*** Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Divine Purpose (1959) p. 91 ***
*** yb75 p. 98 ***

Probably Jerome already knows this, but maybe it will be useful to someone.

Benek said...

I missed:

*** jv chap. 29 p. 652 “Objects of Hatred by All the Nations” ***
When it was learned that because of the war then in progress, pages 247-53 of the book were viewed as objectionable, the Society directed that those pages be cut out of all copies of the book before they were offered to the public.