Ruth and Naomi

The Bible story of Ruth and Naomi is an amazing example that applies to our lives in a relevant way. Various commentators and podcasts bring out the beauty contained in the details of this story. Among the many lessons we can learn are the following:
* Faith and trusting God above all
* Willingness to risk for a good cause
* God can use the ordinary lives of people to do extraordinary things. King David and Jesus eventually came through the family of Ruth.

None of these things were taught by Johnson. He focused solely on the usefulness of the story to support his own purpose which was determining who are the correct brethren in the truth and who they should follow (him).

There are types in the Bible and many are directly explained. They are there as an illustration of God's plan…mainly as concerns Jesus and the plan of salvation.
Col 2:17 "which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ."
They are not there to teach doctrines or provide details on classes, etc. Johnson abused types and went beyond what he even stated as appropriate uses. Both JF Rutherford (founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses) and Johnson used the story of Ruth to prove that their view and leadership was correct. By doing so each removed much of the beauty of the lessons that can be learned from Scripture that is relevant to our lives.

The story of Ruth and Naomi is explained by Johnson in E4 chapter 6. Here are some the basic antitype time periods as Johnson explains them:
* Famine - Scarcity of new truth from 1844 to 1921
* Ruth Chapter 2 - Period from 1881, when the gleaning began, to 1916
* Ruth Chapter 3 - Period from Dec, 1918, to July, 1919
* Ruth Chapter 4 - Period from July, 1919, to about July, 1921.

Why are these periods of time so important? There is little reference in the Bible to the present time which in the view of the LHMM has even scarcer new truth. Why doesn't the Famine refer to this time?

The character and place antitypes are explained by Johnson as this:
* Elimelech - People who didn't make it into the Church and were in the Miller movement
* Naomi - People who followed Elimelech
* Orpah - Less faithful people…
* Ruth - More faithful people…Youthful Worthies and Jesus (not the Church)
* Boaz - Jesus speaking through Johnson's specific magazine articles
* Nearest Kinsman - Society leaders, its directors and editors
* Moab - Nominal Church
* Canaan - Domain of Truth and its Spirit

Is this information relevant today? How does any of this information help anyone to be a better person? Even if it was true, it amounts to trivia.

Johnson states: “The agreeableness of this Naomi class, indicated in the meaning of Naomi (pleasantness), which made them comply too readily with the wrong directions of their leaders, had made her amenable to bitter (Mara) experiences of disappointment and loss. Beloved brethren, it is always thus when people leave the Truth and its Spirit for error and the world. This should put us on our guard against an easy-going compliance with the directions of leaders, especially at this time when almost all leaders among the Lord's people have become misleaders.”
Who would want to be on the road to disappointment and loss by “leaving the Truth”? Who determines truth and by what standard?

Johnson states that the “fullness of the Gentiles came in, in 1878” - This chronology is highly debatable. See the book “The Gentile Times Reconsidered: Chronology & Christ's Return” by Carl O. Jonsson for a detailed discussion of this topic which leads to the conclusion that most LHMM chronology is faulty.

Paul Johnson uses circular reasoning to prove his point many times. For example, “Thus our application is decidedly factual, for most of us are witnesses that these events occurred in 1918 among Truth people.” To paraphrase this, one might say “Because this story is a type of this article being published in our magazine…and we all saw the article published…this proves that the we're correct.”

Johnson writes “Boaz' going to the gate and sitting down there represents our Lord's preparing to circulate widespread among Truth people the May (printed in February and circulated in July) and August, 1919 TRUTHS” This statement is proof that Johnson believes and uses this Scripture passage on Ruth to prove that only he is the correct leader and distributor of truth in the world. He says Boaz represents Jesus (not Johnson who actually did the publishing). Also, the assumption is made that the people receiving this magazine are “the Truth people”. To paraphrase his statement today: “Boaz represents our Lord preparing to put up a web site in February of 2008 that explains the truth of what Ruth really means to the Truth people.” If you don't accept what is written there, you are evidently “the Error people”.