The Gentile Times Reconsidered Chronology Christ

266 THE GENTILE TIMES RECONSIDERED
To overcome the problem created by the Scriptural evidence for
Christ’s universal rule “in the midst of his enemies” to have begun
at the time of his resurrection and exaltation, the Watch Tower
Society explains that Christ’s sitting “at the right hand of God”
means, not that he has been ruling from then on, but rather that he
has been sitting there waiting for his rulership to begin. Support for this
view is found in the way Psalm 110:1–2 is referred to at Hebrews
10:12–13:
When Christ returned to heaven after his resurrection, he did
not start ruling then as King of God’s government. Rather, there
was to be a time of waiting, as the apostle Paul explains: “This man
[Jesus Christ] offered one sacrifice for sins perpetually and sat
down at the right hand of God, from then on awaiting until his
enemies should be placed as a stool for his feet.” (Hebrews 10:12,
13) When the time came for Christ to begin to rule, Jehovah told
him: “Go subduing [or, conquering] in the midst of your
enemies.” 55
This explanation of the word “awaiting” at Hebrews 10:12–13,
however, creates other problems. In his outline of the reign of
Christ at 1 Corinthians 15:24–28, the apostle Paul concludes by
stating that “when all things will have been subjected to him
[Christ], then the Son himself will also subject himself to the One
who subjected all things to him, that God may be all things to
everyone.” This statement gives rise to the following question:
1. If Christ would have to wait until God had put all enemies
under his feet before his rulership could begin, and if he then, “when all
things will have been subjected to him,” would hand over the
kingdom to God, what becomes of his reign? When the time has come
for him to start ruling, it is time for him to hand over the kingdom
to God!
Another question occasioned by the Watch Tower Society’s
explanation is this:
2. If Christ could not start ruling until God had placed all his
enemies as a stool for his feet, and if Christ’s rule began in 1914,
how can it be held that all enemies―including “the last enemy,
death” (1 Corinthians 15:25)―had been put under his feet at that
time?
55 You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth (1982), pp. 136–37. The more recent
book Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life (Brooklyn, N.Y.: Watchtower Bible
and Tract Society of New York, Inc., 1995), similarly explains that Christ’s sitting
at the right hand of God “indicates that Jesus’ rulership would not begin
immediately after his ascension to heaven. Rather, he would wait” for this rulership
to begin, that is, until 1914. (Pages 96–97. Emphasis added.)